Following an incident in 1971 which resulted in the drowning and near drowning of a man and his wife whilst sailing half a mile off the beach at Mundesley in Norfolk, the Mundesley Parish Council called a meeting to discuss the feasibility of establishing an Inshore Lifeboat. The RNLI and Coastguard were approached but were unable to help due to heavy commitments in other areas.

It was therefore decided to set up an independent rescue unit, funded and manned from within the village, resulting in the formation of “The Mundesley Volunteer Inshore Lifeboat Service Ltd”. – a Limited Company and registered charity. As a Limited Company, a board of directors was duly elected, chosen from a broad section of the community including proposed crew members.

In the spring of 1972, a Zodiac inflatable was borrowed from a local businessman and established in a temporary boathouse. Extensive fundraising then followed that summer which resulted in the purchase of a 4M Avon Sea Rider semi-rigid inflatable, wholly owned by the Service. A wooden site hut was donated by a contractor working on the nearby Bacton Gas Terminal and converted into a boathouse. Since then the Service has gone from strength to strength and now has a purpose-built Station with many facilities including drying room and training room.

During the last fifty years, the lifeboat has taken part in many sea rescues as well as being involved as part of the NNDC Operational Flood Plan as the crew are also trained to Swiftwater and Flood  Rescue Technician level.

The boat is on call 365 days per year, 24 hours a day and the crew are on duty every Sunday and Bank Holiday during the summer.