SPECIAL 175th ANNIVERSARY
REMEMBRANCE SERVICE

A special Remembrance Service for the drowning of eleven brave Worthing fishermen was held on the 175th anniversary at St. Mary's Broadwater Church on 25th November 2025.

It was the dedication of everyone involved, from the planning and preparation stages through to the various community groups taking part, that made it all possible.

Together, we made the occasion a great success. In connection with the service and the research into the descendants, a Royal Acknowledgement was received in a Letter of Appreciation from Buckingham Palace:

“The King greatly appreciates the tracking down of descendants of those brave fishermen who lost their lives rescuing the Lalla Rookh cargo ship in 1850.

“His Majesty was deeply touched also to hear of the devotion in honouring these men with a special Remembrance Service, which included the series of short films Launch of the Worthing Lifeboat, originally commissioned by the then Prince of Wales in 1898.”

Four years later, in 1902, the Prince of Wales was crowned King Edward VII, and His Majesty King Charles III is his great-great-grandson.

Paul Holden, renowned editor of the Worthing Journal, covered the Special Anniversary Service in full. Headlined by the RNLI's founding motto—“With courage nothing is impossible”—the in-depth feature covered 8 pages of the glossy magazine and is reproduced below, with his kind permission.

The story of the Lalla Rookh Disaster attracted the attention of BBC TV, who came and filmed at Broadwater Church, as well as the old Lifeboat House.

We look forward to seeing you at this year's service.