Blue Peter Inshore Rescue Life-Boat

Blue Peter Inshore Rescue life-boat (1963). A class D life boat given to the R.N.L.I. by the BBC children's programme Blue Peter. The boat was a result of the 1966 Blue Peter appeal, in which old books were collected in order to raise money. Each of the boats cost around £650, or about 60,000 books. Blue Peter collected enough books to give the R.N.L.I four new class D lifeboats. The Blue Peter 1 was based at Littlehampton from 1967 to 1972 when it was replaced by a new lifeboat from a subsequent appeal. This inshore rescue boat had a 40 h.p engine attached.

A Class D lifeboat given to the RNLI by Blue Peter as the result of a 1966 fundraising appeal. As part of the fundraising viewers were asked to donate old books which were then collected in order to pay for several lifeboats. Blue Peter 1 was launched at ‘The Boat Show’ at Earl’s Court in 1967 before working out of Littlehampton until 1972 when it was replaced by another lifeboat after another Blue Peter appeal.