Henry was enrolled onto the crew list of the Sheringham Lifeboat in 1946. This allowed him to compete for one of the three ‘free’ lifebelts, with the other six ‘belts allocated to retained crew members. Until he was voted ‘bowman’ at the start of the 1950’s he did not keep a record of his service calls but mentions in his memoirs that his first service call was 24th May 1946.
Here are the locations of service calls answered by the Sheringham Lifeboat, 'Foresters Centenary', in 1946 -7, along with details of each call.
Steamer Report on Sheringham Shoal (15 Feb 1946)
Three Fishing Vessels (24 May 1946)
This was Henry’s first service call in the crew of the Sheringham lifeboat. Teddy ‘Fiddy’ West, the shore signalman, was acting coxswain as 1st and 2nd coxswains Jimmy Dumble and John ‘Sparrow’ Hardingham as well as 1st Mechanic Teddy ‘Lux’ Craske were at sea.
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| Teddy "Fiddy" West |
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| 'Foresters Centenary' Returning (24th May 1946) |
SS 'Bilsdale' (26 October & 9 / 10 December 1946)
Sheringham lifeboat was called out three times to SS 'Bilsdale'.
SS 'El Morro' (14 Sept 1947)
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| SS 'El Morro' |
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| Launching 'Foresters Centenary' Late 1940's |
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| SS 'El Morro' Arriving at the Breakers Yard, 1950's |
Ketch ‘Livre’ ( 21 Sept. 1947) Saved Yacht & 2 Persons
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| 'Foresters Centenary' Returns to Station |
This mix of calls from fishing vessels, merchant shipping and pleasure craft was to continue for many decades to come, for the Sheringham lifeboat, and Henry.
