Meet Your Coastguards: Southend-on-sea Coastguard Rescue Team

It’s time for another Meet Your Coastguard, and this week, we’re with our Coastguard Rescue Team at Southend-on-sea. Around 40 miles east of London, the popular coastal resort is home to five Blue Flag beaches, an iconic 1.3-mile pier (the longest of its kind in the world), and just off the coast, six war-era Maunsell forts. 

The coastal city hosts one of the biggest annual air shows in Europe, and with the UK’s most hours of sunshine per month, it’s a popular destination for holiday makers.

Most importantly, Southend is home to the Southend-on-sea Coastguard Rescue Team. The group of five Coastguard Rescue Officers, a Deputy Station Officer and Station Officer, cover around 70 miles of coastline and inlets of the Thames Estuary, from Benfleet to Battlesbridge. 

Here, we speak with Station Officer Del and Coastguard Rescue Officers Alan, David and John. 

Why did you join HM Coastguard?

Station Officer Del joined HM Coastguard after seeing the team step in to help people in need along the coast. He knew that the team was made of volunteers and felt that he wanted to be among what he affectionately calls "his kind of truly selfless people".

For Coastguard Rescue Officer and City of London worker Alan, HM Coastguard was an opportunity to give something back. Alan’s father spent more than 30 years in Essex Fire and Rescue Service and having grown up in what he fondly refers to as the "999 family", it just felt like the right thing to do.

David, an armed forces veteran and MBE holder, also has a connection to the emergency services too, having previously worked for the fire and rescue service. Now self-employed, he says that HM Coastguard felt like a natural progression for someone with his skillset – even if he initially knew very little about the seaside he’d lived next to for so long. 

Lifelong seafarer John, meanwhile, has sailed the oceans and raced extensively across UK waters, when not working full time as a Chartered Surveyor. After entering retirement, he joined HM Coastguard to put back into the community and share his knowledge of weather, tides, and safe coastal activities.

What do you enjoy most about being a member of the team?

Alan says that the team is like a second family. Being a team player is important when supporting a front-line emergency service. Trusting your colleagues, being calm under pressure, and communicating are all vitally important in helping those in need. And Del agrees, with David adding that the team are a great bunch: they’re well-led and professional, yet patient and supportive too. There are a lot of dynamics at play, while working as a team to resolve incidents. 

John appreciates the sense of belonging that comes from being part of a UK-wide organisation with a common purpose. He points out that, as well as the team being there to save the lives of total strangers, they also protect their colleagues too. “Constant training and the application of new skills gives a strong sense of satisfaction for a job well done,” he says. 

What is the most unusual incident you have attended?

“I once hiked two miles to rescue a stranded sheep on a saltmarsh,” says Del. To his surprise, he soon discovered that sheep can swim! Reaching the area, he found that the woolly casualty had swiftly self-rescued itself to land and walked back to their field.

For David, the devil lay in the detail, as he recalls the amount of paperwork needed in the sad event of recovering a dead porpoise that had been washed ashore. “I never imagined I’d be studying and counting how many teeth a porpoise had,” he jokes. 

Meanwhile, Alan’s chase of a small (and very naughty) dachshund dog lasted more than 12 hours, across mudflats and marshland. The incident concluded happily, though not before various news outlets and regional TV programmes had gotten hold of the story.

John’s discovery of a fully armed Victorian explosive set hares running after it was found to be in a precarious position next to Southend Pier. After a swift emergency response, the team playfully gave the story a headline of its own: ‘Oldest pier in the world saved by oldest Coastguard in the world…’.

Which local beach is your favourite and why?

Del’s favourite beach is Thorpe Bay, where the tide stays in longer and it’s perhaps a little quieter than the city’s main beaches. It's a great place for engaging in his love of water sports, paddle boarding, kayaking and cold water dips.

Alan and David prefer wilder stretches of coastline from the fishing village of old Leigh to Two Tree Island, while John thinks that beaches east of the Pier are ideal. He’s also got fond memories of West Beach at Shoebury from his school years.

What new skills have you learned as a Coastguard Rescue Officer?

For David, new skills learned include working safely and more confidently both in and around water. After he finished his CRO training, he went on holiday to Cyprus where all the coastal activities he saw took on a different perspective, he says.

Advanced first aid is among the skills Alan considers most important. Having been on secondment to the East of England Ambulance Service for three months over the COVID-19 pandemic, he says it was invaluable to have learned even more from being on the frontline during such a crucial time.

Station Officer Del has picked up many skills over the years, but those that stand out most are search skills; from behavioural understandings to map reading. 

While keeping casualties alive and providing critical Casualty Care have been among the biggest skills increase for John. 

“When all emergency services ‘talk the same language’, information is standardised, more reliable, and acted upon,” he adds.

What is the most challenging part of your role?

“Without doubt, there are times when the outcome of an incident is not what we’d hoped,” says Alan, "but training kicks in and the team do the best they can for anyone affected or involved. 

"HM Coastguard has a great support mechanism in place to support colleagues, and it's actively encouraged to take part," he adds. 

Alan is close to finishing his Officer-in-Charge (OIC) training and is expected to officially go live end of the summer. He is also kept busy as the Southend Coastguard Media officer, and is proud to have built a following so Southend-on-Sea is one of the most followed CRT accounts in the UK. This helps the team get important safety messages across the community.

The theory elements of the training were tough to begin with for David, who’d been unfamiliar with the acronyms and terminology often used by people on the coast or working at sea. He says that he adapted by ‘unlearning’ some former habits, while adjusting to new policies and protocols.

Meanwhile, John has recently passed his OIC training, received after a year of rigorous testing and assessment. The role entails mitigating risk and protecting bystanders, the rescuer, and the team from danger. 

As Station Officer, Del's observation are different – he’s looking at the team’s strengths and weaknesses, helping to build confidence across the team’s varied skillset.

What is the most unusual place you've been when your pager has gone off?

A multitude of answers come back from the team, including being halfway down the pier, out shopping, showering and even up a ladder fixing a roof!

When you're not working or volunteering as a Coastguard, what do you enjoy doing?

Alan holds a private pilot’s licence, but he tends not to fly so much now, instead keeping fit with obstacle course races and triathlon events. Del enjoys adventuring on the water, as well as summer barbecues. He is also the owner of two very energetic dogs.

As Chair of a Community Interest Company, David looks after a heritage and community building in Shoebury, and helps at events like Remembrance parades and military shows, and supports the Poppy Appeal. When not volunteering, he also rides a 20-year-old Harley Davidson motorbike which he says helps to "relive his youth!".

A keen seafarer, John sails and maintains his own boats. He’s got two dogs, which he enjoys exercising, and he’s now the proud owner (and builder) of an eco-house close to the seafront. His campervan, children and grandchildren also keep him busy.

What do you do for a living?

Alan has worked in the City of London for more than 35 years, but nowadays he’s looking to take it easier as he nears retirement and continues with his volunteering work for HM Coastguard. It’s a similar story for John, who is now retired as a Chartered Surveyor in London, after 45 years in practice.

But for David, however, there’s no sign of stopping, as he owns and manages a property portfolio in the UK and Cyprus. 

Del is a coach and joint owner of an outdoors activity company, which he says keeps him active, while he manages group paddle boarding, kayaks and cold-water swims.