Henry 'Joyful' West, BEM, retired as coxswain of Sheringham lifeboat at the end of 1984 after a long and distinguished career. He is a man who would rather talk about the achievements of others than his own, but the 'Joyful' era is well worth recording.

WHAT is IT ABOUT Norfolk fishermen and lifeboatmen that they give each other nicknames which often become better known than the names with which they were christened? Like Spitfire pilots in war comics, a peculiar noun or adjective is squeezed between Christian and surname, always begging an anecdotal explanation. At Sheringham lifeboat station there have been, in succession. Coxswain John 'Sparrow' Hardingham, Coxswain Henry 'Downtide' West and, most recently, Coxswain Henry 'Joyful' West.

Behind Henry 'Joyful' West's nickname lies a colourful explanation giving clues to the strong family traditions at Sheringham and to the type of men you will find at the station. After no fewer than 38 years on the lifeboat, the last 21 of which he spent as coxswain, 'Joyful' has just retired. And, despite a career that could have earned him any number of respectful sobriquets, the 'Joyful' turns out to have been handed down from his great-grandfather. A methodist and great singer, the original 'Joyful' West gloried in the 100th Psalm which begins 'Oh be joyful in the Lord all ye lands . . .'. He became famous for his rendition of these lines and the name stuck—for generations.

Today's 'Joyful' West joined the crew in 1946; it was just after the war when Sheringham lifeboat, along with all the other east coast lifeboats, had been busier than at any other time in their history, launching to ditched aircraft and airmen who had bailed out over the sea. Although many lives were saved it was often a depressing job; so many planes and survivors vanished beneath the waves before a lifeboat could reach them. The people of Sheringham were made constantly aware of the war and one of Henry West's more vivid memories as a young man at Sheringham was looking out to sea and seeing flashes from the guns of German 'E' boats as they attacked allied convoys.

After the war, Sheringham lifeboat reverted to the services for which a lifeboat had originally been stationed there, as far back as 1838; those of escorting local fishing boats to safety in treacherous weather and launching to rescue the crews of larger ships driven ashore by gales. The town of Sheringham itself was born of fishing and it was a natural step for the local fishermen to decide, in 1838, to run their own lifeboat. The Upcher family who owned the Sheringham estate, fostered the interests of the fishing community which ran crab and lobster boats and which, thanks to loans from the Upchers, progressed to the larger herring luggers for which Sheringham and Cromer were famous in the late 19th century.

Augusta, Sheringham's first lifeboat, provided by the Hon. Mrs Charlotte Upcher, and named after her youngest daughter, who died of tuberculosis when she was twenty, saw many years successful service. She was run privately, outside the auspices of the RNLI, but in 1867 the Institution decided to introduce its own pulling lifeboat, Duncan, at Sheringham to operate in addition to the fishermen's lifeboat. At some stations this would have fired intense rivalry between the crews, but it seems that Sheringham men were not prone to pettiness and the strong religious influence that pervaded the town possibly helped them to love their neighbour better than controversy. It was only in 1935, when the Augusta's private lifeboat successor, Henry Ramey Upcher, was withdrawn from service that the RNLI had sole lifeboating interest at Sheringham. (Henry Ramey Upcher is now preserved and on public display in the town.) Nowadays, Henry West will tell you that Sheringham is a very happy station with lifeboatmen as good as ever they were. There is still a hint of sadness in his kind, clear eyes when he thinks about his retirement, but no resentment that the time has come to hand over the coxswain's cap to a younger man—afterall, it is not moving far away—only to his younger brother Jacko, the man with whom he has been fishing all his life aboard their crab boat, Our Boys.

Are there any differences, then, apart from the lifeboat herself, from the time Henry West joined the crew? The only noticeable change is that in 1946 every crew member was a fisherman except the emergency mechanic; today only 12 out of the crew list of 20 are fishermen.

A nationwide symptom of the wasting fishing industry. But the crew's will to help is just as strong, 'Joyful' insists.

Moreover, the station's traditional links with the church are still plain to see and the lifeboat's infectiously amiable mechanic, Brian Pegg, is a tuba player and deputy bandmaster with Sheringham Salvation Army band.

It is sometimes difficult to imagine how as gentle a man as 'Joyful' West, could have taken on and survived the ravages of a North Sea gale, time and time again throughout his life. There cannot be many lifeboat coxswains whose spare time passion is ballroom dancing, but 'Joyful and his wife Betty have won many prizes for their prowess on the dance floor. The record of 149 launches and 102 lives saved by the lifeboat at Sheringham since Henry West joined the crew proves his strength, however. It was aboard the 35ft 6in Liverpool class single-engined lifeboat, Foresters' Centenary, that he began his career. She was the station's first motor lifeboat for which a new lifeboathouse had been built. Still used today, the boathouse sits huddled beneath a cliff on the promenade to the west of the town. Limited space means that it has been built parallel to the shore with a turntable in front of the main doors so that the lifeboat can be pulled on her carriage by tractor out of the boathouse and turned to face the sea.

By 1951 Henry West had shown his worth to the extent that he was made second coxswain at the young age of 27.

His vast experience was built on occasions such as the night in May 1955 when the lifeboat launched to assist the Turkish steamer, Zor. Another ship had already taken off the captain's wife and four men and neighbouring Wells lifeboat had rescued a further five. Four men had stayed aboard Zor to see if she could be saved by connecting a tow, but as the ship listed more and more, Coxswain 'Downtide' West drove his lifeboat alongside the steamer, her keel plainly visible to the lifeboat crew, who pulled the four survivors to safety. Minutes later Zor keeled over and sank. 'Downtide' was awarded the thanks of the RNLI, inscribed on vellum for this rescue.

Surprisingly, Henry 'Downtide' West and Henry 'Joyful' West are not related, or not directly enough for the lineage to be easily traced. There have been many different Wests at Sheringham over the years, it is one of the recurring local surnames, along with Littles, Peggs, Coopers and Craskes—all good lifeboating families. So many people sharing the same surname in a small community goes some of the way to explaining such a profusion of identifying nicknames.

Apart from the same name, the coxswain and second coxswain also had in common membership of the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows, a friendly society. It had long been an ambition of 'Downtide's' that the society should fund the new lifeboat at Sheringham and in 1961 his wish came true when the 37ft self-righting, twin-engined Oakley class, The Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows, arrived at the station.

Very soon after she arrived, on August 15, 1961, she was launched into a short steep sea and a strong and squally north-westerly breeze. A smoke distress flare had been set off by a motor yacht, five miles out to sea. When the lifeboat reached the casualty, a 35ft converted ship's lifeboat, Lucy, she was found to be making water, with her engine out of action. There were two men, one woman and a boy on board.

Coxswain 'Downtide' West ran in on her port side and the lifeboat's Henry 'Downtide' West.

bowman, Arthur Scotter, jumped on board. On a second run in, Second Coxswain Henry 'Joyful' West and Signalman Eric Wink also succeeded in boarding Lucy. They found the woman unconscious and it was clear that she would have to be taken aboard the lifeboat. Two more difficult runs in and the woman was safely transferred, together with the boy and Lucy's owner.

A tow was then attempted but the line parted immediately and as the Lucy was now full of water and threatening to capsize in the short steep seas, the remaining crew member and the three lifeboatmen had to be taken off. In a scramble the four men were pulled aboard the lifeboat, but not before Bowman Scotter narrowly escaped being crushed between the two boats.

This service brought the thanks of the Institution on vellum to Coxswain 'Downtide' West as well as to Second Coxswain 'Joyful' West, Bowman Scotter and Signalman Wink. 'Downtide' remained coxswain until the end of the following year which saw, in June, the official naming of The Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows by Princess Marina.So, on January 1, 1963, Henry vices in his time as coxswain. There was 'Joyful' West began his long term as coxswain. In the time between then and now he has witnessed the change in emphasis in the type of service carried out by Sheringham lifeboat and indeed lifeboats everywhere. More and more calls are to pleasure sailors and holidaymakers, less and less to fishermen.

But for those fishermen who remain, the lifeboat is as ready as ever to launch when crab boats or herring boats are out in a dangerous sea.

'Joyful' has seen some strange serthe occasion when a cabin cruiser, out of control and circling furiously at full speed, had to be stopped by a controlled collision with the lifeboat, to see if anyone was aboard. No one was, and the cabin cruiser sank soon afterwards from the effects of the collision.

Another memory which brings a smile to 'Joyful's' face is the day in November 1976 when he launched after the fishing boat, Restless Wave, had fired a red flare. For a reason they would firmly not divulge, the local Henry 'Joyful' West (second from r) helps to carry the woman survivor from Lucy ashore. He was awarded the RNLI's thanks on vellum for his part in this rescue.police were also showing undue interest in the boat and her crew. Just as he had been one of the willing volunteers to leap aboard when the crew of Lucy were rescued, so on this occasion, two of his crew enthusiastically prepared to board the casualty to help make a tow line fast. As the lifeboat drew alongside the fishing boat, whose engine had failed, 'Joyful' was surprised to see his two crew members freeze at the guardrails with what appeared to be an uncharacteristic attack of the jitters.

Then he saw the two men on the deck of the casualty; Captain Hook and Long John Silver would have paled to insignificance beside them and one of them even had a lethal knife strapped to his side. Deeming discretion to be the better part of valour, a tow rope was passed politely aboard the fishing boat, leaving the crew in residence to make it fast. The casualty was towed to Great Yarmouth where policemen eagerly awaited their arrival. To this day, 'Joyful' and his crew have never discovered what the police were after.

Henry West is very attached to his lifeboat; the day he took her to sea for the last time must have been a sad occasion. He can continue to help the station and remain close to the crew after retirement, but no coxswain can avoid a feeling of severance from the lifeboat when he retires. The Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows has been on station for longer even than 'JoyfulY 21 years as coxswain. And although there have been some changes to her—and all 37ft Oakley class lifeboats—over the years, she is still the same trusty boat.

Like her sister 37ft Oakleys in the RNLI fleet, Sheringham lifeboat has now been fitted with a radar mast forward. More recently she has had more powerful Thorneycroft 52hp engines installed, and, perhaps the most noticeable adaptation of all, she has a shelter which completely covers the steering position and transforms her from an open boat to one which can provideprotection and warmth to the entire crew in bad weather.

Sheringham were pioneers of this shelter which is now being fitted to all 37ft Oakleys. The need for one became very obvious after a horrendous service carried out by their neighbours at Wells in February 1979 when their lifeboat, Ernest Tom Nethercoat, also an open 37ft Oakley class, was out for 11 hours in a violent north-easterly storm and continuous blizzard to stand by the disabled Romanian freighter, Savinesti.

On their return to harbour the lifeboat's crew, some of them with frostbite, were unable to walk when they came ashore because of the effects of the bitter cold in an open boat.

Sheringham, one of the most neighbourly of lifeboat stations, keeping in regular radio contact with other stations up and down the east and north east coast, were listening to all the events of that day, suffering deeply for the members of the Wells lifeboat crew. They realised the need to keep crew members warm and with the help of their district hull surveyor, Paul Johnson, (whom Henry West describes as 'a clinking fellow'), devised the prototype cockpit shelter.

So it is at a station with a strange combination of innovation and tradition that Henry 'Joyful' West relinquishes the helm of the lifeboat. His experience and helpfulness will undoubtedly bolster the station and its loyal fund raisers well into the future. He has huge admiration for the people who provide the back-up; for his honorary secretary, Lt Cdr Martin Swindells, who has held the position for ten years and who is headmaster of the nearby Beeston Hall School; for the committee who run the station and particularly for the hardworking fund raisers of the branch and ladies guild who, through their efforts, bring in thousands of pounds of support every year. In June 1982, when Henry West was awarded the British Empire Medal, the whole community felt proud. It was a worthy tribute to a modest man who has shared the history of Sheringham lifeboat for 38 years and who, without a doubt, has contributed hugely to a station which provides friendly, caring and highly effective service..