Shelley the Lifeboat Labrador by John Periam

around.  Shelley loved it as well and when I was on duty became part of the team.  There was a beach area also which often used to get busy as it was ideal place for children to swim. The rowing club was opposite so club members used to be out practicing most weekends and evenings.  Shelley was always keen to help them put their boats into the water and often ended up in a splashing game with the crews and became part of their weekend fun.  I could also trust her knowing she would not run off and every now and then she used to pop her head around the crew room door to see if I was still there.
     
    On one occasion I recall a keen sea angler fishing off the rocks who had a small bag by his side.  Unknown to him Shelley decided to investigate the bag and removed another carrier bag which contained his food.  Before anyone knew it she had taken it away devouring the contents under the boathouse steps.  He must have gone home wondering what had happened. As it was too late for me to do anything about it so we both put it down to experience.  It was part of her character and had happened before, her retriever instinct never left her for one moment!
     
    The ‘shouts’ as we called them were mostly dinghy related with the ILB towing them back to the relevant sailing club. Of course there were more serious   situations with lost children and the odd strong wind which took rubber dinghies out to sea with the occupant still in them.                                   
     
    One Saturday ‘The Red Arrows’ were displaying off Brighton and John Condell a crew member who had his own boat took three of us down to watch the display from the end of the pier.  I left Shelley in the boathouse with a couple of helpers which she was used to.
     
    It was a day that was to change my life!  The display started and the beaches and piers were packed to capacity. There were also a lot of private boats moored near us to watch the display.  It was about half way through the eighteen minute display that the two singleton Hawk aircraft did their cross over; always a highlight.  Unknown to us and those watching a yacht sailed into the flight path resulting in one of the aircraft clipping the top of the mast. 
     
    This caused the aircraft to loose control after part of its wing tip broke off.
    The pilot had no option than to eject and the aircraft by a miracle went over the pier crashing into the sea the other side. It all happened in a split second and I am glad to say no one was hurt.  Had the aircraft gone into the pier or the promenade the result would have been totally different.  John was a first class lifeboat man and within minutes had radioed the coastguard as we with full power on went to the pilot’s aid.
     
    There were no injuries reported so we pulled him on board with his chute attached.  His name was Steve Johnson and apart from a small cut to his head he was fine. We took him ashore and he was taken to hospital.  He returned to flying with the team a few days later.
     
    We were asked to stay over the wreckage of the aircraft until the Navy Divers arrived which turned out to be about 8pm at night.  It became very cold and we only had our summer gear on.  A further incident happened when a member of the public from the beach swam out in his diving gear and removed part of the rear ejector seat pin as a souvenir. He surfaced alongside our boat and was arrested by a policeman who had been taken out by the Brighton Lifeboat.  We found out later that it could have been very nasty. Once removed the pin may have fired the rear seat and as we were right over this wreckage it would have come through the bottom of our boat!                                                                                 
     
    I was concerned about Shelley so John radioed the Coastguard.  They touched base with the stations