Local & Social History Books

By Rob Blann

A chronological record of a close-knit Sussex coastal community during the Victorian Age, taking the reader on a journey through Lifeboat parades, exciting rescue missions, sailing and rowing regattas, and deep sea fishing trips in large luggers to distant waters, as well as showing the other side of life when tragedies occurred or when it was difficult for fishermen to feed their large families.

Spanning just 50 years, this most comprehensive and immensely readable record preserves for all time the history of these gallant Lifeboatmen. The happy days, when men are plucked from certain death; the sad days when nature's terrible force prevents even the bravest of men from achieving their goal.

A Town's Pride brings to us the lives of those people, men and women, dedicated to the cause of saving life at sea. Even now, when Worthing no longer boasts its own lifeboat, the author, the great great grandson of Tom Blann, one of the crew of the first Lifeboat, continues this tradition as a supporter of the RNLI.

This book reviews a Lifeboat service born out of a catastrophe, an account spanning half a century of Queen Victoria's reign.

Great occasions are described in much detail. Annual events are reconstructed in a tradition many a sportsman will know as an essential part of the day, the pub post-mortem. Throughout, the readiness of the Lifeboat crew to serve, and the keenness and pride in Worthing's Lifeboat supporters are abundantly apparent.

Some of the illustrations are breathtaking. Each Lifeboat can be imagined and many of the characters in the text can be recognised in the photographs.

Nationwide progress of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution is traced throughout the period, 1850 1901, and part of the proceeds go to the RNLI. Beautifully illustrated with over 100 authentic period photographs, this book is a boon for Lifeboat enthusiasts and those interested in social history.

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