On 23 November 1824 the Unity was wrecked near Lyme Regis. The National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (as the RNLI was known at the time) awarded medals to three of the people involved in the rescue efforts. Captain Richard Spencer of the Coastguard fitted two local fishing boats with air-tight boxes and cork fenders from 1825 so that they could be used as lifeboats if the need was to arise again. Another wreck occurred on 26 December 1852 when the Heroine struck rocks. The lifeboats were no longer in use but five men attempted a rescue in a small boat. It capsized and four of them drowned. The RNLI then ordered a lifeboat for the Lyme Regis and it arrived in the town by September 1853.[1][2]
A new lifeboat station was built in 1883, the original one being part-exchanged for a new site. It was closed in 1932 by which time the RNLI's lifeboats had been called out on 32 occasions. By now the motor lifeboats at Weymouth and Exmouth could provide more effective service than the 'pulling and sailing' lifeboat at Lyme Regis which was only equipped with oars or with sails when conditions allowed.[1]
The RNLI started to deploy inshore lifeboats (ILBs) around the country in the 1960s to better respond to incidents involving leisure activities on the coast. A D-class ILB was stationed at Lyme Regis from 1967. A Hatch-class ILB arrived in 1970 but this was replaced in 1973 with a larger Atlantic 21 rigid inflatable ILB.[2]
A new lifeboat station was opened on The Cobb in July 1997.[2]
Service awards
The most decorated member of the Lyme Regis lifeboat crew is John Hodder. He was awarded an RNLI Bronze Medal for his part in rescuing two boys in difficulties after taking a dingy out on 14 March 1971. He was in an ordinary boat and not wearing the usual safety gear but still dived into freezing water to effect a rescue. He was awarded a second clasp to his medal when helmsman to the ILB on 13 August 1979, in service to a yacht in trouble off Beer Head. Crew member Colin Jones also received an RNLI Bronze Medal for his part in the same rescue. John Hodder also received the 'Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum' for his part in saving four people from a yacht on 31 March 1977, and another for rescuing people cut off by the tide on 11 September 1984.[2]
Crew members Robert Jefford and Lionel Harry Fisher received the 'Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum' for rescuing five people from a capsized cabin cruiser on 25 June 1967. Jefford was drowned on 17 January 1969 when the ILB itself capsized while on service to a catamaran that was in difficulty.[2]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
