James Haylett

Haylett was born in 1825 in Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk, Eng-
land the son of Samuel Haylett (1791-1879) and Sarah Sheales
(1789-1872). Little is known about his childhood but according
to parish records he married Sarah Smith (1825-1897) in Au-
gust 1844 and went on to father 7 children. Somewhere between
1851 and 1861 he moved a few miles down the Norfolk coast
(in common with many other Winterton boatmen and their fam-
ilies) to Caster-on-Sea Where he became a shareholder in the
Caister Beach Company. The Beach Company men, of which
there were 40, made their living from the sea in whichever man-
ner they could. Part of this work was to salvage vessels stranded
on the notorious sands off of the North Norfolk coast and a de-
cision was made collectively by the men to save people before
property regardless of the impact this could make on their lucra-
tive salvage fees. Despite this decision they were often looked
upon as mercenary. The practicality of these men is perhaps
summed up by Haylett in replying to a judge during an inquest,
who suggested that the beach men profited from the
"misfortune of others". Haylett replied "No Sir, We profit from
their mistakes!". This uncompromising attitude linked to a real
knowledge of their waters provided one of the cornerstones for
the modern lifeboat service.