Bournemouth Lifeguard Corps (BLGC) was founded in 1965. There had been several meetings with Bournemouth Borough Council to obtain permission to patrol the beach with several Councillors objecting on the grounds that the patrols would give the impression that the beach was unsafe. However, the argument was won by the more forward-thinking members and the fact that the RNLI was proposing to withdraw the inshore lifeboat (ILB) based at the pier.

The members of the Corps were fortunate in obtaining an old carpark attendants' hut that was situated east of Bournemouth Pier and, following a successful first season, the Council saw the potential of having Lifeguards on their beach and granted some land for the Corps to set up a Headquarters at Durley Chine.

The Corps remained on this site until 2020. With the removal of the ILB by the RNLI some of the crew decided to support the Corps. This support secured the old Lifeboat House under the pier for the new BLGC rescue boat, Mirby (Mini Inshore Rescue Boat with a Y on the end)

The Corps also had a visit from members of the Durban Lifeguard Club who demonstrated a reel and line rescue aid. Due to cost, they could not afford to fly it back to South Africa, so they donated it to the Corps. This piece of equipment is probably the most treasured item the Corps possesses, having won the National Reel and Line Championships more than a dozen times.

The seventies was the decade that really established the Corps on the RLSS map as one of the most progressive clubs in Great Britain.

In 1971 the Bournemouth Ladies team became only the second team to win the National Championships three times in a row. This feat has never been repeated.

During the late 60s and early 70s, as part of the Bournemouth Regatta Week, the Corps held a lifeguard competition which consisted of a relay using different lifeguard skills and an incident. This attracted several teams from around the south coast. Following sponsorship from the Leeds Building Society the Competition became The Bournemouth Lifeguard Regatta Championships. The events were held over two days with teams participating from all over the country. The Regatta became the competition to win and had the largest club participation of any Club organised competition.

During the Seventies, the Corps was instrumental in starting the Cadet Lifeguard programme. A new hut for BLGC also came to fruition, which It was six times larger than the old hut. This provided changing rooms and a storage area for equipment. Members of the Corps did a parade from Bournemouth Pier to the new HQ accompanied by Poole Sea Scout Band.

Following the successes of the 1970s the Corps continued to grow and recognition led to publicity, receiving visits from the Blue Peter television programme and the Mayor of Bournemouth. BLGC also managed to secure sponsorship from Max Factor to replace Mirby with a 4m Searider called MAXI.

The Regatta Lifeguard Championships became known as The Lifeguard Championships, due to the quality of the competitors and the incredible teamwork from the Corps members to organise a multi event competition.

The Corps also sent the first members from Britain to the World Championships, with a team made up from Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch. Along with Poole Lifeguards a Boat Handling course was set up for training crews and coxswains. This developed into a multi vessel course for canoes, rowing boats and power boats. This allowed the Corps to produce some of the most proficient boat handlers in the Lifeguard world with many of the Corps members teaching at the National Advanced Boat Handling Corse held on the Solent.

The summer of 1987 was the busiest summer for BLGC. It was recorded that the Corps completed 83 rescues from the sea on the August bank holiday alone.

At the beginning of the 90s a full refurbishment of the HQ took place with the changing and Operations room being refurbished. The boat house was removed from the site next to the Durley Inn to the Little Durley Yard with a second garage being built. This allowed the rescue facilities to be increased and following a bequest from an anonymous donor the Corps replaced “Maxi” with two new Seariders “Ellen”, which was a 4-meter with a central console and a 50hp outboard and “Maxi 2”, a 4-meter open boat with 40hp outboard. This proved successful for covering the many events that were beginning to become popular in Poole Bay.

Towards the end of the 90s the RNLI and the Council contracted the RNLI to provide the Lifeguards on the beach within the Borough of Bournemouth. This could have seen the demise of the Corps, which happened to clubs in other areas of the country. However, the expertise of the Corps assisted the RNLI to establish successful safety cover and cooperation to ensure that the local clubs were not covering the same events and to co-ordinate the dates of events. This became the Poole Bay and Christchurch Lifeguard Association (PBCLSA) which incorporated BLGC, Poole, Branksome, Southbourne and Christchurch Lifeguards.

The Corps continued to adapt, as the RNLI became established as the day-to-day Lifeguard provider, and moved into event cover, with Duathlons, Triathlons and sponsored swims in open water, being the majority events.

The two rescue boats were replaced with Arancia boats.

With the collapse of many Lifeguard clubs around the country, National Lifeguard Championships and the Regatta was finally cancelled. The Corps, however, continued to successfully compete in Lifesaving Championships nationally and internationally.

The Corps started the Rookie section which became very well supported. The Rookie programme has seen a number of Second-Generation Lifeguards become full members. During these years the Corps began to reinvent itself and also affiliated with SLSGB.

This was the decade in which the Corps became a Registered Charity. This means that the Corps can recover VAT and raise money as a charity.

The Corps continued to be successful in national competitions including competing in the IRB 'Champs' where we have always achieved one of the top three places and brought home a silver medal from the World Lifesaving Championship. BLGC competed in pool sport lifesaving competitions, doing equally as well, with a masters team representing the club in the World Lifesaving Championship, achieving gold medals. 2015 saw one of the largest celebrations in the Corps history, the 50th anniversary, which was highlighted by a celebration dinner with current and former members from each of the decades and included some of the founder members.

There was also a Lifeguard Beach open day where some of the past members showed that they had not forgotten the spirit of the Corps by partaking in various events.

The negotiations for the replacement of the Headquarters began with the Council and plans were drawn up for a major Lifeguard and Open Water learning and competition centre at Joseph Steps.

One event that has always been a major day for the Corps is the traditional Boxing Day Demonstration. It began in the sixties with a demonstration with Corps members wearing 1930s style swimwear and this has taken place every year since (apart from three or four years when inclement weather caused a cancelation). This event in the seventies would raise upwards of £500 and still attracts substantial funding annually.

2020 was a rough year for everyone. However, within the club we have still managed to make progress with obtaining a new site for our training centre. We are now situated at Joseph Steps which is approximately 500m away from our old base at Durley Chine. But this site is a lot bigger and provides a lot more potential for the club.