David Freeman joined Flamborough lifeboat station in April 1972 and has retired after 54 years. With treasurer Paul Arro, 100 years of service has gone in 2026.

Captain David Freeman has retired from Flamborough lifeboat station after 54 years. He officially joined on 9 April 1972, and the RNLI says he was involved with the station before that date. (RNLI, 9 September 2026)

He is the second Flamborough volunteer of that vintage to step back this year. Treasurer Paul Arro stood down on 31 May 2026 after 46 years, having joined the station’s appeal fund committee in 1980 and taken the treasurer’s role on 11 November 1991. (RNLI, 3 August 2026) Between them, the two have given the station 100 years.

Every job at the station, in order

David Freeman started as shore crew at North Landing and stayed in that role for a year. He then became boat crew, and did that for about 20 years, serving on the Friendly Forrester and the Will and Fanny Kirby.

The station he joined is not the one he leaves. In 1993 Flamborough changed completely:

  • the inshore lifeboat station at South Landing was established on 12 July 1993
  • the all-weather lifeboat was withdrawn from North Landing on 15 August 1993

(RNLI Flamborough station history)

He moved with it, and spent seven years as an inshore lifeboat helmsman at South Landing. He also drove the launching tractor and the station’s Bobcat. In 2003 he became a Launch Authority, the person who decides whether the lifeboat goes out after a 999 call, and he held that until 2016, when he became Lifeboat Operations Manager.

Timeline of David Freeman's 54 years at Flamborough lifeboat station, from shore crew in 1972 to Lifeboat Operations Manager

The night off Flamborough Head

The service he singles out is from the winter of 1983 into 1984, when a south-easterly gale caught fishing cobles out off the head.

He told the RNLI: “The weather was extremely bad, with a strong south-easterly gale around Flamborough Head. There were a number of fishing cobles that needed help, so we worked our way through them, getting them to Scarborough and then coming back for the others. It was a long operation in difficult conditions, but everyone knew what needed to be done. When you are out there, you are focused on getting people home safely.”

On his 54 years, he said: “When I started in 1972, I certainly never thought I would still be involved 54 years later. The RNLI has been a huge part of my life and I have met so many great people through the station.”

He was at Westminster Abbey and at the Buckingham Palace garden party for the RNLI’s 200th anniversary in 2024. He says he will now spend more time building and restoring model boats.

RNLI Area Operations Manager David Scott said it was “difficult to comprehend the reach and impact of his 54 years volunteering and how many generations of families have been affected by his actions and by his leadership of Flamborough Lifeboat Station”.

Who is coming through

The station has not been standing still while its long servers leave. Two things happened this summer.

  • A new lifeboat arrived on 30 June 2026. The Atlantic 85 B-959 Forever Yibba replaced B-820 Elizabeth Jane Palmer, which had been on service at Flamborough since 13 August 2007, a run of 19 years. (RNLI, 30 June 2026)
  • Three volunteers qualified as navigators in August. Greg Stokes, Andria Donnison and Sophie Wiles passed their assessments, which lets them navigate Forever Yibba. (RNLI, 20 August 2026)

What it means for you

The service does not change. Flamborough remains an inshore station at South Landing, on call around the clock, and the RNLI has not said the retirements affect cover.

If you are on the coast and something goes wrong, the number is 999, and you ask for the coastguard. Do not contact a lifeboat station directly, because that adds a delay before the right crews are sent.

If you want to volunteer, the station is at South Landing, Flamborough, and the RNLI lists its roles and contacts on the Flamborough station page. Both of this year’s departures show what the commitment can look like: Paul Arro took the minutes of management meetings from 1983 onwards, and was the station’s first honorary press officer when the RNLI created that role in 1988.

Flamborough is on the headland about five miles from Bridlington, and the station covers the water around Flamborough Head.

For what else is on across the district, see our things to do in East Yorkshire page.

Sources