Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station

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Aldeburgh lifeboat station
Flag of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.svg
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station 8 April 2012 (1).JPG
Aldeburgh lifeboat station.
Suffolk UK relief location map.jpg
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General information
Type RNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationCrag Path, Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5BP
CountryEngland
Coordinates 52°9′11″N1°36′10″E / 52.15306°N 1.60278°E / 52.15306; 1.60278
Opened1851
Owner Flag of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.svg Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Aldeburgh in the English county of Suffolk. [1]

Contents

The present station has two boats on station. These are the Mersey-class lifeboat 12-34 RNLB Freddie Cooper (ON 1193) and the D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat Susan Scott (D-808). The station covers the coast between Harwich station to the south, and Southwold station to the North.

History

The Suffolk Association for Saving the Lives of Shipwrecked Seamen placed a 24ft Norfolk and Suffolk class lifeboat Grafton at Sizewell in 1826, but this was crewed by men from Aldeburgh. The boat was moved to a new station at Aldeburgh when the RNLI took over in 1851.

A new 32ft unnamed boat was stationed at Aldeburgh in 1853, later to be named Pasco in 1867 after Captain Montague G C Pasco R.N. collected £451 for the RNLI. [2]

1899 lifeboat disaster

On 7 December 1899, the lifeboat Aldeburgh (ON 304) was launched to reports of a vessel aground on Shipwash Sands. In violent seas, the boat was capsized, coming to rest on the beach, and trapping 6 of the 18 crew underneath. A huge effort took place to lift the boat, but with no success. Another 3 hours passed until a hole was smashed through the upturned hull, but it was too late. 7 men perished in the disaster. [3]

John Pearce Butcher, 52
Charles Alfred Crisp, 51
Herbert William Downing, 23
Allen Arthur Easter, 28
Thomas Morris, 36
Walter George Ward, 33
James Miller Ward jr., 21 [4]

A memorial to the disaster is sited in the graveyard at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. It bears the following inscription:

On December 7th 1899, in response to signals of distress, a crew of 18 brave men manned the lifeboat “Aldeburgh” which was speedily launched in the teeth of an easterly gale and a heavy rolling sea. At duties call to rescue others with their own lives in their hands, these brave men went afloat, when alas! the boat capsizing seven of them met their end and lie buried here. By a large fund promptly raised to provide for those suddenly bereft, as well as by the monument, fellow townsmen and fellow countrymen near and far paid tribute to an example of noble self-forgetfulness.

New boathouse

The current lifeboat station was built in 1994 to replace a smaller older one on the same site. The new station gave cover for the first time to the boat and Talus MB-H tractor. Incorporated into the design there is a public viewing platform. The station has showers and toilet facilities for the crew and a heated store for their foul weather suits. There are also further equipment storage rooms. This new boathouse was built using part of the bequest of Mrs Eugenie Boucher who died in 1992.

Fleet

Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station currently operates two lifeboats. The all-weather Lifeboat is a Mersey-class lifeboat and is called the Freddie Cooper (ON 1193) and has been on station since November 1993. The lifeboat is 38 feet long and is self-righting. She is powered by two 285 hp turbo charged Caterpillar 3208T diesel engines and she has a range of 140 nautical miles. These two engines push the boat through the water to a top speed of 16 knots. Fully laden she weighs 13 tons and she is operated by a volunteer crew of six. The Lifeboat has a capacity to rescue 43 survivors (self-righting up to 21). She was purchased using a bequest to the RNLI from the late Mrs Winifred Cooper in memory of her husband Freddie.

The inshore lifeboat Christine (D-673) was on service at Aldeburgh between April 2007 and 2017. This boat was funded by the bequest of Florence Winifred Kemp in memory of her daughter. The Christine normally has a crew of three or 4 and is powered by a 50 hp outboard engine. She is capable of a top speed of 25 knots. She has the capability to be beached easily with an easy refloat and is ideal for rescues close to shore and on the sandbanks which are along the coast at Aldeburgh.

In 2017, she was replaced with the Inshore boat Susan Scott (D-808) [5]

RNLI Headquarters originally announced in 2016 that Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station would be getting a Shannon-class to replace the current boat, a Mersey-class. The station should have received the new boat in 2021. In July 2023, the RNLI announced that the Mersey-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) at Aldeburgh will be replaced by an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat. [6]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Aldeburgh [7] [8]

Joseph Foster, coastguard - 1824
Henry Hutchinson, Chief Officer of coastguard - 1825
Mr William Smith, fisherman - 1828
Mr Simon Fisher, Master of the Smack Alert - 1840
James Cable, Coxswain - 1891
William Mann, Second Coxswain - 1891
James Cable, Coxswain - 1893 (Second-Service Clasp)
Charles Edward Ward, Bowman - 1894
Charles Edward Ward, Bowman - 1900 (Second-Service Clasp)
James Cable, Coxswain - 1900 (Third-Service Clasp)
George Chatten, Coxswain - 1938
Reuben Wood, Coxswain - 1972
John Marjoram, Helmsman - 1977
Ian Firman, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1996
Ian Firman, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2000 (Second-Service Clasp)
Nigel Saint, Motor Mechanic - 1972
Reuban Wood, Coxswain - 1977
Lee Firman. Coxswain - 2004
David Cook, crewman - 2004
W J Osborne, Honorary Secretary for 25 years - 1886
John Sharman(16) - 1955
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Crew - 1892
James Cable, Coxswain - 1895
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Crew - 1895
Coxswain - 1903
Second coxswain - 1903
Bowman - 1903
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Crew - 1903
Lee Firman - 2017NYH [9]
Nigel Anthony Saint, Motor Mechanic - 1985NYH [10]

Aldeburgh lifeboats

No. 1 Station

ON [lower-alpha 1] Op. No. [lower-alpha 2] NameIn service [11] ClassCommentsPhoto
––Grafton1826–1851
1851–1853		 24-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) 1826–1851 at Sizewell
[12]
––Unnamed,
later Pasco		1853–187032-foot Self-righting (P&S)Renamed Pasco in 1867 [12]
––George Hounsfield1870–189040-foot Self-righting (P&S) [12]
304–Aldeburgh1890–1899 46-foot 3in Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) Capsized 7 December 1899. 8 men died as a result this accident
270–Reserve No.11899–1901 44-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) Formerly Margaret at Winterton.
352–Bolton1901–1902 43-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S)
482–City of Winchester1902–1928 46-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) Running ashore with the lifeboat (5020717746).jpg
629–Reserve No.1A1929–1931 34-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) Previously Hugh Taylor at Gt.Yarmouth
751– Abdy Beauclerk 1931–1958 41ft Watson
946–Alfred and Patience Gottwald1959–1979 42ft Watson
948– Charles Dibdin
(Civil Service No.32) 		1979–1982 42ft Watson Ex Walmer
106837-40James Cable1982–1993 Rother Last displacement hull boat on station
119312-34 Freddie Cooper 1993– Mersey Aldeburgh Lifeboat 8 April 2012 (4).JPG

No. 2 Station

ON [lower-alpha 1] NameIn service [11] ClassCommentsPhoto
545Edward Z Dresden1905–1929 38-foot Liverpool (P&S)
620William Macpherson1930 43ft Watson Ex Campbeltown. First motor lifeboat at station
607James Leith (Leath)1930–1936 42-foot Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) Ex Caister, Pakefield
665Baltic [13] 1936–1940 38-foot Liverpool (P&S) Ex Wells
832 Lucy Lavers 1940–1959 Liverpool No.2 Station closed, 1959 Lucy Lavers Lifeboat.jpg

Inshore lifeboats

Op. No. [lower-alpha 2] NameIn service [11] ClassComments
D-111Unnamed1977–1980 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-270Unnamed1980–1988 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-376Unnamed1988–1997 D-class (EA16)
D-520Bob Savage1997–2007 D-class (EA16)
D-673Christine2007–2017 D-class (IB1)
D-808Susan Scott2017– D-class (IB1)

Launch and recovery tractors

Op. No. [lower-alpha 2] Reg. No.TypeIn service [11] Comments
T66XYP 400Fowler1975
T67YLD 792Fowler1985–1987
T85SEL 394RTalus MBC Case 1150B1987–1993
T116K920 DUJ Talus MB-H Crawler 1993–2005
T115K499 AUX Talus MB-H Crawler 2005–2021
T102E387 VAW Talus MB-H Crawler 2021–
  1. 1 2 ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. 1 2 3 Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

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RNLB <i>Freddie Cooper</i> (ON 1193)

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References

  1. ↑ OS Explorer Map 231 – Southwold & Bungay. ISBN   978 0 319 23805 9.
  2. ↑ "Aldeburgh Lifeboats". Aldeburgh Past and Present. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "Station History". Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "The legacy of the Aldeburgh acorns: How one lifeboatman's superstition lives on". RNLI. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Lifesavers at Aldeburgh RNLI Lifeboat Station were joined by special guests for the official naming ceremony of their new lifeboat on Saturday 10 June". RNLI. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) can today confirmed that the Mersey-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) in Aldeburgh will be replaced by an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat". RNLI. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Aldeburgh's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN   0 907605 89 3.
  9. ↑ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "British Empire Medal (Civil Division)". The Gazette. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  12. 1 2 3 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
  13. ↑ Wells-next-the-Sea Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas & Russell, Paul. Publisher:Tempus publishing Ltd, Edition: first 2006. work: Appendix 2. Lifeboat details, page 115. ISBN   0752438751