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Cullercoats Lifeboat Station

Coordinates: 55°02′07.7″N 1°25′55.3″W / 55.035472°N 1.432028°W / 55.035472; -1.432028
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Cullercoats Lifeboat Station
Cullercoats Lifeboat Station
Cullercoats Lifeboat Station is located in Tyne and Wear
Cullercoats Lifeboat Station
Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationCullercoats Lifeboat Station
AddressCullercoats Harbour, North Side
Town or cityCullercoats, Tyne and Wear, NE30 4PZ
CountryUK
Coordinates55°02′07.7″N 1°25′55.3″W / 55.035472°N 1.432028°W / 55.035472; -1.432028
Opened1852 RNIPLS
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Cullercoats Lifeboat Station
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureCullercoats Lifeboat Station (1896)
Designated22 March 2013
Reference no.1411983[1]

Cullercoats Lifeboat Station is located on the north side of Cullercoats Harbour, in the town of Cullercoats, North Tyneside, in the county of Tyne and Wear.

A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1852, which became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854.[2]

The Cullercoats RNLI station currently operates a B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat Daddy's Girl (B-935), on station since 2022.[2]

History

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In 1852, Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, president of the RNIPLS, made funds available for the provision of a lifeboat at Cullercoats. A 36-foot long, 15-foot wide, stone-built boathouse was constructed, also at the expense of the Duke. A modified lifeboat, based on the prize-winning design of James Beeching, was created by James Peake, Master Shipwright at Woolwich Royal Naval Dockyard, and a carriage to transport the boat was designed by Col. Colquhoun, RA, Master-General of Ordnance. Both lifeboat and carriage arrived in Cullercoats on 3 September 1852, the boat being named Percy in honour of the Duke.[3]

By 1858, Percy was found to be suffering from dry rot. A replacement 32-foot 10-oared Peake-class lifeboat was ordered from Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £174, and requiring a larger carriage, costing a further £80-5s-0d. Costs were again funded by the Duke of Northumberland, and the boat was once again named Percy.[3]

A replacement boathouse was constructed in 1866 to accommodate the larger 33-foot lifeboat Palmerston. Thirty years later, a third boathouse was constructed in 1896. A brick structure, it was built on the site of the 1866 boathouse, and cost £750. Funded by the Co-operative wholesale society, who had also funded a lifeboat Co-operator No.1 (ON 5) in 1884, it was opened on 8 August 1896 by Mr Tweedell, chairman of the Newcastle branch of the Society. It is still in use to this day, and is grade II listed by Historic England.[4][5]

The era of Pulling and Sailing lifeboats (those with oars and sails) at Cullercoats came to an end in 1937, with the arrival of a Liverpool-class motor-powered lifeboat (which would also still have sails), the Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794). The boat had a single 35 hp engine, delivering a speed of 7.33 knots, and cost £3,684. After 85 years, this would also be the first non-self-righting lifeboat at Cullercoats, which 2 years later would prove very costly.[2]

On a training exercise in 1939, the lifeboat was capsized off Sharpness Point. 6 crewmen were lost, including the Coxswain and the Honorary Secretary. The remaining crew refused to use another non-self-righting lifeboat, and the station was closed until the arrival of a self-righting boat in 1940.[4][6]

Following a coastal review in 1968, with All-weather lifeboats at flanking stations Blyth and Tynemouth, and with a D-class Inshore lifeboat at Cullercoats since 1965, the RNLI decided to withdraw the Cullercoats All-weather lifeboat. 37-08 Sir James Knott (ON 975) was formally withdrawn on 4 May 1969, being transferred to the Relief fleet, and then to Redcar in 1972. Over the following years, the D-class lifeboats would be replaced with a larger twin engine C-class lifeboat, and then in 1991, a B-class (Atlantic 21).[2][3]

Station honours

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The following are awards made at Cullercoats.[4][7]

Alexander Donkin, 1827
The Medal for this service was stolen and re-issued as a new Medal in 1833.
John Redford, Coxswain - 1853
Andrew Taylor, Coxswain - 1898
  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
Major William Adamson, Honorary Secretary - 1886
Brian Gould, Helmsman - 1995
Robert Oliver, Helmsman - 1996
Robert Oliver, Helmsman - 2012
  • The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award 1996
    (for the outstanding inshore lifeboat rescue of the year)
Robert Oliver, Helmsman - 1997
  • A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
Mark Charlton, crew member - 1996
David Pendlington, crew member - 1996
Robert Oliver - 2010
Peter Clark - 2010
Grahame Wood - 2010
Gary Hawksford - 2010
Grahame Wood, crew member - 2012
Stephen Potts, crew member - 2012
  • Exceptional First Aid Certificate
Ross Dun, crew member - 2011
Grahame Wood, crew member - 2011
Raymond James Taylor, Honorary Secretary - 1995[8]
Geoffrey Cowan, Community Safety Officer - 2020[9]

Roll of honour

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In memory of those lost whilst serving Cullercoats lifeboat.[4]

  • Liverpool-class lifeboat Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794), a non-self-righting lifeboat, capsized on exercise - 22 April 1939
George Brunton, Coxswain
J Redford Armstrong, Second Coxswain
J Leonard Abel, Motor Mechanic
John Heddon Scott, Assistant Mechanic
Lt. Cmdr Lionel E R Blakeney-Booth, RN, Honorary Secretary
Kenneth L Biggar, naval cadet

Cullercoats lifeboats

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All-weather lifeboats

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ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name In service[10] Class Comments
Pre-250 Percy 1852–1859 30-foot Self-righting Peake (P&S) [Note 1]
Pre-351 Percy 1859–1865 32-foot Self-righting Peake (P&S) [Note 2]
Pre-452 Palmerston 1866–1884 33-foot 1in Self-righting (P&S) [Note 3]
5 Co-operator No.1 1884–1907 37-foot 1in Self-righting (P&S) [Note 4]
571 Co-operator No.1 1907–1937 37-foot 6in Self-righting (P&S) [Note 5]
794 Richard Silver Oliver 1937–1939 Liverpool [Note 6]
Station Closed 1939–1940
727 Westmorland 1940–1951 35ft 6in Self-righting motor
880 Isaac and Mary Bolton 1951–1963 35ft 6in Self-righting motor
975 37-08 Sir James Knott 1963–1969 Oakley
All-weather lifeboat withdrawn in 1969
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Inshore lifeboats

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Op. No.[b] Name In service[2] Class Comments
D-50 Unnamed 1965 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-87 Unnamed 1966–1968 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-100 Unnamed 1969–1974 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-229 Unnamed 1975–1984 D-class (Zodiac III)
C-512 Unnamed 1984–1991 C-class (Zodiac Grand Raid) formerly D-512
B-514 Guide Friendship 1 1991–1992 B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-591 Edmund and Joan White 1992–2006 B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-590 Wolverson X-Ray 2006–2007 B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-811 Hylton Burdon 2007–2022 B-class (Atlantic 85)
B-935 Daddy's Girl 2022– B-class (Atlantic 85)

Launch and recovery tractors

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Op. No.[b] Reg. No. Type In service[2] Comments
T19 TY 2547 Clayton 1949–1951
T5 IJ 3424 Clayton 1951–1954
T14 XW 2075 Clayton 1954–1955
T35 FYM 558 Case L 1955–1963
T71 519 GYM Case 1000D 1963–1969
TW18H H710 RUX Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk1.5 1991–1993
TW22H K501 AUX Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk2 1993–2004
TW21H J495 XUJ Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk2 2004–2017
TW59H DU04 DVW Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk2 2017–
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ^ a b c Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 30-foot 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat
  2. ^ 32-foot 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London
  3. ^ 33-foot 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London
  4. ^ 37-foot 1in 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London
  5. ^ 37-foot 6in Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks.
  6. ^ Capsized on exercise, 1939, with the loss of 6 crew. The station was closed until 1940.

References

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  1. ^ Historic England, "Cullercoats Lifeboat Station (1411983)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 16 May 2024
  2. ^ a b c d e f Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  3. ^ a b c Morris, Jeff (June 1994). The History of the Cullercoats Lifeboats. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 1–46.
  4. ^ a b c d "Cullercoats' station history". RNLI. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Cullercoats Lifeboat Station". Historic England. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  6. ^ Heslop, Anna (18 April 2019). "80th Anniversary of Cullercoats Lifeboat Disaster". RNLI. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  7. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0-907605-89-3.
  8. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  9. ^ "British Empire Medal (Civil Division)". The Gazette. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  10. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–120.
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