Role reversal at Littlehampton RNLI as couple pass the pager and Bea prepares for her first Christmas saving lives at sea

RNLI volunteer Bea Homer is getting ready to spend her first Christmas on call at Littlehampton lifeboat station - after swopping roles with her partner who was previously on the crew for nine years.

It means Bea, who joined the station as shore crew in February, will have her eye on her pager during the festivities, while partner Ian Foden, who stood down from being RNLI crew earlier this year, will take over duties at home preparing the Christmas roast.

Becoming crew has been a dream come true for Bea who grew up in Selsey. She used to watch the maroons (flares that were used before pagers) go up to alert the town’s lifeboat to launch and was so impressed that at ten years old she undertook a sponsored walk to raise funds for the RNLI.

When she moved to Littlehampton last year she finally got the chance to join the crew, starting as shore crew, who help launch and recover the lifeboat, and now as a trainee crew member on the lifeboats.

‘I didn’t imagine at ten years old I would end up at 44 bouncing around at sea!’ said Bea, who works as a management accountant for the NHS. ‘I was a bit worried and anxious to start with, but as soon as we exited the harbour it was just amazing, you can’t describe that feeling. So from that point I knew I definitely wanted to join the trainee crew programme’.

Partner Ian has already had to get used to Bea dashing off a moments notice: ‘A couple of weeks ago the pager went off just after I was serving up the fish, so I left him to sort out the rest of the dinner and when I came home bless him, he had put both of our dinners into the oven to keep them warm and waited for me’.

The couple have family coming over for Christmas this year, but it will be a new experience with Bea now on the crew:  ‘It will be the first year for me where I’ll be leaving the turkey and leaving him to it! It is very much, you go, you drop whatever point of the roast you are at. You just have to go.’

‘He is incredibly supportive, it’s fantastic.  I don’t think you can volunteer in this role without the absolute support of your partner,’ added Bea. ‘You might be out for a meal or you are at home doing something together with the family, knowing they just support you going and abandoning them basically!’

‘It’s an amazing feeling knowing that yes you are abandonding the Christmas roast, but you are going to help someone who needs your help. There’s no question you just drop everything and you run,’ said Bea.

Bea is one of thousands of RNLI volunteers who will be on call this Christmas and is asking the public to support the charity’s Christmas appeal to save every one. 

With thousands of volunteers around Ireland and the UK, each RNLI crew member signs up to save every one from drowning – the charity’s mission since 1824. This Christmas many will leave loved ones behind to answer the call, each time hoping to reunite another family, and see those in trouble at sea safely returned. Over the past decade, RNLI lifeboats have launched over 1,200 times during the festive period.

These rescues would not be possible without donations from the RNLI’s generous supporters, helping to fund the essential kit, training and equipment needed by lifeboat crews all year round.