Barmouth Lifeboat Station

Barmouth Lifeboat Station
Barmouth Lifeboat Station
Barmouth, Gwynedd
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Promenade, Barmouth, Gwynedd, LL42 1NF
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Coordinates	52°43′15″N4°03′21″W / 52.720955°N 4.055815°W / 52.720955; -4.055815
Opening	1820s
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Barmouth Lifeboat Station is located in Barmouth, a town at the mouth of the Afon Mawddach river in Gwynedd, Wales. A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1828. ^[1]

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution currently operate a Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat and a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat. ^[2]

History

Following a request by the Rev. Frederick Ricketts, a lifeboat was provided to the town in 1828. Local funding provided the first boathouse, reported to be a stone building measuring 30' x 9', with a doorway 6' 6" x 6', and costing £95. This building is now the Harbour Master's office. ^[3]

The first lifeboat was a six-oar 26 ft Palmer type, which served until the early 1850s. This was replaced in 1852 by an 8-oar boat, which was lengthened in 1859 and converted to 12 oars. ^[3]

The third lifeboat at Barmouth was the Ellen, a double banked 10-oar vessel. In 1885, the Jones-Gibb (ON 64), with 12 oars double-banked, was placed at Barmouth, remaining in service until 1905. She was followed by a second Jones-Gibb (ON 538) in service until 1939. ^[4]

A new boathouse was constructed in 1859, located 1/4-mile south east of the town. A slipway was built, so the lifeboat could be launched directly into the river. However, in 1864, the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway began work on the Pwllheli to Aberystwyth Railway line, which required the construction of a bridge across the Afon Mawddach. As a result, the line was bridged right over the top of the slipway, creating a unique situation where the boathouse was located to the north of the railway line, and the lifeboats launching underneath the railway line to the river on the south side. ^[3]

On 20 March 1982, Barmouth received a new All-weather lifeboat. A Rother-class lifeboat, built by Wm. Osborne of Littlehampton, costing £240,000, and the first lifeboat to be fitted with Radar. A naming ceremony was planned for later in the year, to coincide with a Royal Visit to Barmouth, and on a cold wet 25 November 1982, Diana, Princess of Wales, named the boat Princess of Wales (ON 1063). ^[3]

A new lifeboat station was constructed on the promenade, to the west of the town in 2004. Costing £1.23 million, it provided up to date facilities for the crew, and able to house both the All-weather lifeboat, and the D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat. A new Shannon-class all-weather lifeboat arrived in March 2019, and was named 13-30 Ella Larsen (ON 1337) later in that year. ^[4]

Shannon class Ella Larsen

Barmouth is an RNLI "Explore" category station whereby, subject to operational requirements and availability of staff, visitors can look around the station. An RNLI Visitors' Centre and gift shop is also housed within the building.

During the lifetime of the station thirteen awards for bravery have been presented.

Station Honours

The following are awards made at Barmouth ^{[1] [5]}

• RNLI Silver Medal

For rescuing seven men from the vessel Neptune on 2 February 1825

Edmond Lewis - 1825

For rescuing a woman who had fallen over a cliff on 21 June 1971

John Henry Stockford - 1971

Colin Pugh - 1971

Dr Robert Airdrie Haworth - 1971

• The Ralph Glister Award 1971

(for the most meritorious service of the year performed by the crew of an inshore lifeboat)

For rescuing a woman who had fallen over a cliff on 21 June 1971

John Henry Stockford - 1971

Colin Pugh - 1971

Dr Robert Haworth - 1971

• RNLI Bronze Medal

For rescuing two men from the fishing vessel Boy Nick on 22 November 1978.

Evan Jones, Coxswain - 1979

• Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum

For the rescue of two men from the vessel Isabel on 18 September 1858

Rev. O. Lloyd, Honorary Secretary - 1858

For saving the boat and crew of the American ship Troy on 19 November 1859

Rev. O. Lloyd, Honorary Secretary - 1858

For rescuing four swimmers off Barmouth on 16 July 1957

George Berridge - 1957

William Morris, Motor Mechanic - 1957

For the rescue of three from the trawler Gardelwen on 31 October 1982

Edward Leonard Vaughan, Acting Coxswain - 1982

• Vellum Service Certificate

For the rescue of three from the trawler Gardelwen on 31 October 1982

Kenneth Ingram, Mechanic - 1982

Harry Allday, Acting Second Coxswain - 1982

Robert Buckley, crew member - 1982

John Stockford, crew member - 1982

Llewelyn Griffin, crew member - 1982

• Maud Smith Award 1957

(for the bravest act of lifesaving during the year by a member of a lifeboat crew).

For rescuing four swimmers off Barmouth on 16 July 1957

William Morris, Motor Mechanic - 1958

• Testimonial on Parchment, awarded by the Royal Humane Society

For entering the sea to rescue a man who had jumped from Barmouth Viaduct on 19 October 1980

John Henry Stockford - 1980

• British Empire Medal

George Kenneth Jeffs, Coxswain Assistant Mechanic - 1989 ^[6]

Barmouth Lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

ON [lower-alpha 1]	Op.No. [lower-alpha 2]	Name	In service [4]	Class	Comments
–	–	Unnamed	1828–1853	26-foot Palmer-type	[Note 1] [3]
–	–	Unnamed	1853–1867	27-foot Peake	[Note 2] [3] [1]
–	–	Ellen	1867–1885	34-foot Self-Righting (P&S)	[4]
64	–	Jones-Gibb	1885–1905	37-foot Self-Righting (P&S)
538	–	Jones-Gibb	1905–1939	38-foot Watson (P&S)
817	–	Laurence Ardern, Stockport	1939–1949	Surf
864	–	Chieftain	1949–1982	Liverpool
1063	37-38	Princess of Wales	1982–1992	Rother
1185	12-26	Moira Barrie	1992–2019	Mersey
1337	13-30	Ella Larsen	2019–	Shannon	[7]

Inshore lifeboats

Op.No. [lower-alpha 2]	Name	In service [8]	Class	Comments
D-137	Unnamed	1967–1978	D-class (RFD PB16)
D-268	Unnamed	1979–1988	D-class (RFD PB16)
D-374	Unnamed	1988–1997	D-class (EA16)
D-524	Pilgrim	1997–2007	D-class (EA16)
D-514	Lord Kitchener	2007	D-class (EA16)
D-678	Rotarian Clive Tanner	2007–2017	D-class (IB1)
D-814	Craig Steadman	2017–	D-class (IB1)	[9]

Launch and recovery tractors

Op. No. [lower-alpha 2]	Reg. No.	Type	In service [8]	Comments
T97	C282 LNT	Talus MB-H Crawler	2004
T121	DX04 YZG	Talus MB-H Crawler	2004–2019
SC-T18	HF68 DDL	SLARS (Clayton)	2019–

1. ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
2. Op.No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

Notes

1. 26ft x 6ft Palmer Type, 6-oared, non-self-righting, built by Harton
2. 27ft x 7ft 6in Peake-class, 8-oared, self-righting, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London.

References

1. "Barmouth's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
2. "RNLI - Barmouth Lifeboat Station". RNLI. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
3. Morris, Jeff (December 2004). The Story of the Barmouth Lifeboats. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 1–50.
4. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
5. Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN   0 907605 89 3.
6. "British Empire Medal (Civil Division)". The Gazette. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
7. "New £2.2m lifeboat arrives at Barmouth RNLI". BBC. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
8. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
9. "Barmouth RNLI's new lifeboat named in memory of Holyhead crew member". RNLI. Retrieved 25 September 2017.