THE HONORARY SECRETARY of Rye Harbour lifeboat station, Humphrey Lestocq, was at the first floor window of his home on the afternoon of Friday August 27, 1982, watching the flight of a red Tiger Moth fitted with floats, a familiar sight in local skies. After watching the aeroplane do a turn to starboard followed by a roll to port, Mr Lestocq looked down for a moment to remove his cat which was climbing up his leg and as he looked back up he saw the Tiger Moth's nose drop and the aeroplane plummetted straight down behind the sand dunes.

Mr Lestocq waited for a few seconds expecting to see a plume of smoke; when none appeared he knew that the aeroplane must have come down in the sea and not on land, and he ran downstairs to alert Dover Coastguard and the lifeboat crew. It was 1613.

At 1617 Rye's D class inflatable lifeboat launched on service manned by Helmsman Teddy Caister and Crew Members Jeffrey Robus and Keith Robus. She had cleared the harbour mouth by 1622. A breeze gusting up to fresh, force 5, was blowing from the west. The sea was moderate but with heavy surf. It was about an hour and a half before high water.

The woman pilot of the Tiger Moth and her male passenger had managed to climb out on to the floats, which had broken away from the fusilage. By 1625 Rye lifeboat had them both aboard.

While sending a radio message to say that the man had a back injury and needed medical attention the lifeboat headed back for the beach.

At first the intention was to wait for an RAF helicopter from Mansion but both pilot and passenger were suffering from shock and, to save time, they were taken to the slipway in the harbour and transferred to an ambulance. It was now 1645. Within half an hour of the maroons going up the two rescued people were on their way to hospital..