Plymouth Lifeboat Station

Plymouth Lifeboat Station
Location within Devon
Former names	Millbay Customs Office
General information
Type	Lifeboat station
Address	Custom House Lane
Town or city	Plymouth, Devon
Country	England
Coordinates	50°21′47″N4°09′01″W / 50.36301°N 4.15038°W / 50.36301; -4.15038
Current tenants	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Completed	1850 (as customs office)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	George Wightwick
Designations	Grade II
Website
www.plymouthlifeboat.co.uk

Plymouth Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Plymouth in England. The first lifeboat was stationed in the city in the early 1800s. The station moved to its present site at Millbay Docks in 1992, a Grade II-listed three-storey tower. Since 2003 it has operated a Severn-class all-weather boat (ALB) along with an B-class Atlantic inshore lifeboat (ILB).

History

Plymouth was one of the towns that received one of the Lloyds North Country-class lifeboats in the first decade of the nineteenth century, but it never saw service. In 1825 a new lifeboat was provided by the new National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (renamed the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1854), but this too saw no use. ^[1]

A new lifeboat station was established in Plymouth in 1862 with a lifeboat house on the West Wharf of the outer basin of Millbay Docks. This was replaced in 1897 by a new boathouse at the Camber (at the seaward end of the wharf) with its own 130-foot (40 m) launching slip which allowed the lifeboat to get to sea more quickly. The station's first motor lifeboat was a Barnett-class which had to be kept moored afloat due to its 60-foot (18 m) length. A new station was built on the Princess Royal Pier in 1979 and a new mooring was provided alongside. From 1988 until 1992 the lifeboat was moored in Sutton Harbour while the area around the Princess Royal Pier was redeveloped as a marina, but it then returned to Millbay. ^{[2] [3]}

An Inshore Rescue Boat (IRB) was first stationed at Plymouth in May 1967. For the first year. this was a D-class inflatable lifeboat. Larger A-class ILBs were then provided, 18-foot (5.5 m) Hatch and McLachlan lifeboats. The McLachlan class boat was withdrawn in 1983.

In 2004, an Inshore boat was again put on station at Plymouth, the 7.5-metre (25 ft) Atlantic 75 Millennium Forester (B-775). ^[4] .

The current Inshore boat is the B-class (Atlantic 85), Annabel E Jones (B-908). ^[5]

Service awards

A number of rescues carried out by the station's lifeboats have been recognised by letters, certificates and medals from the RNLI management, including three that resulted in a total of four bronze medals.

• Coxswain Walter Crowther was awarded a medal after the Robert and Marcella Beck was called out on 13 January 1942 (during the Second World War) to a Sunderland flying boat of the Royal Australian Air Force which had been blown onto rocks in a storm. The lifeboat crew managed to get a rope across to the flying boat and towed her and her crew to safety. ^[6]
• Another medal was awarded to Coxswain John Dare "for his courage, determination and excellent seamanship" on 16 January 1974. A Danish coaster, the Merc Enterprise had capsized 26 miles (42 km) south of Rame Head. The lifeboat Thomas Forehead and Mary Rowse fought through hurricane-force winds to reach the casualty. A helicopter managed to winch seven people out of the water while the lifeboat searched for other survivors but failed to find any. ^[7]
• The third bronze medal rescue involved the Thomas Forehead and Mary Rowse II on 15 February 1978. The Elly Gerda ran aground near Looe in a Force 8 storm. The lifeboat managed to rescue two of the trawler's crew but the heavy seas then washed the trawler off the rocks. The lifeboat escorted it back into harbour and then returned to Plymouth, where it had left its berth nearly 14 hours earlier. The RNLI awarded medals to both the Coxswain, Patrick Marshall, and the Mechanic, Cyril Alcock, "for their courage, determination and seamanship". ^[8]

Station Honours

The following are awards made at Plymouth ^{[9] [10]}

• RNLI Silver Medal

James Craggs, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard - 1825

John Miller, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard - 1825

Richard Eddy, Pilot - 1825

Lt. John Woolland Bake, RN, H.M. Coastguard - 1828

Francis M. Strong, Second Master, H.M.S. Spartiate - 1833

Thomas Huss, Master's Assistant, RN, H.M.S. Rover - 1833

Augustus Charles May, Mate, RN, H.M.S. Rover - 1833

Lt. Adrian Thomas Mann, RN, H.M. Coastguard- 1833

Richard Eddy, Pilot - 1834 (Second-Service Silver Medal)

Richard Eddy, Pilot - 1834 (Third-Service Silver Boat)

Lt. Thomas Holloway Holman, RN, H.M. Coastguard - 1838

James Samuel William Grandy, Mate, Revenue Cutter Harpy - 1839

Andrew Gillespie, Gunner, Revenue Cutter Stork - 1839

Lt. John Cornish, RN, H.M. Coastguard - 1843

William Teel, Coxswain - 1884

• RNLI Bronze Medal

Walter Crowther, Coxswain - 1942

John Dare, Coxswain - 1974

Patrick John Marshall, Second Coxswain - 1978

Cyril Alcock, Motor Mechanic - 1978

Sean Marshall, Second Coxswain - 2002

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Eight crew members - 1942

John Dare, Coxswain - 1985

Patrick Marshall, Coxswain - 1995

David Milford, Coxswain - 2002

David Milford, Coxswain - 2003

Sean Marshall, Second Coxswain - 2003

Facilities

Since 1992 the all-weather lifeboat has been moored afloat in the Millbay Marina, which is on the eastern side of the outer basin. The inshore lifeboat is kept next to it in a floating cradle. ^[11]

Crew facilities and storage are in the old Customs Office on the quay close to the moorings. This is a Grade II Listed building which was erected in 1850 to the design of George Wightwick. It is built from granite, octagonal in plan and three storeys high. This gave the customs officers all-round views of the area. ^{[12] [13] [14]}

Area of operation

The RNLI aims to reach any casualty up to 50 miles (80 km) from its stations, and within two hours in good weather. To do this the Severn class lifeboat at Plymouth has an operating range of 250 nautical miles (460 km) and a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). ^[15] The Atlantic 75 can go out in Force 7 winds (Force 6 at night) and can operate at up to 32 knots (59 km/h) for 2½ hours. ^[16] Adjacent all-weather lifeboats are stationed at Salcombe to the east, and Fowey to the west. There is also an ILB at Looe between Plymouth and Fowey. ^[11]

Plymouth lifeboats

Pulling and sailing lifeboats

'Pulling and sailing' lifeboats were equipped with oars but could use sails when conditions allowed.

At Plymouth	ON	Name	Built	Class	Notes
1800s	–	–	?	North Country	[1]
1825–?	–	–	1825	Newbury	[1]
1862–1873	–	Prince Consort	1862	Peake	[6] [Note 1]
1873–1885	–	Clemency	1873	Peake	[6]
1885–1898	44	Escape	1885	Peake	[6] [17]
1898–1922	412	Eliza Avins	1898	Peake	[18]
1922–1926	531	Reserve No.6A	1904	Peake	[19] [Note 2]

Motor lifeboats

Sybil Mullen Glover

At Plymouth [5]	ON [lower-alpha 1]	Op. No. [lower-alpha 2]	Name	Built	Class	Notes
1926–1943	696	–	Robert and Marcella Beck	1926	Barnett
1943–1946		–	Minister Anseels			[Note 3]
1946–1947	671	–	The Brothers	1922	Watson
1947–1952	696	–	Robert and Marcella Beck	1926	Barnett	[Note 4]
1952–1974	890	–	Thomas Forehead and Margaret Rowse	1952	Barnett	[Note 5]
1974–1987	1028	44-010	Thomas Forehead and Margaret Rowse II	1974	Waveney	[Note 6]
1988–2002	1136	52-40	City of Plymouth	1987	Arun	[Note 7]
2003–	1264	17-35	Sybil Mullen Glover	2002	Severn

Inshore lifeboats 1967–1983

At Plymouth [5]	Op. No.	Name	Built	Class	Notes
1967–1968	D-130	(no name)	1967	D-class (RFD PB16)
1968–1972	A-1 (18-01)	(no name)	1966	A-class (Hatch)	[Note 8]
1972–1977	A-509	(no name)	1972	A-class (McLachlan)
1977–1979	A-507 (18-007)	(no name)	1972	A-class (McLachlan)
1979–1980	A-506 (18-006)	(no name)	1972	A-class (McLachlan)
1980–1983	A-507 (18-007)	(no name)	1972	A-class (McLachlan)

The inshore lifeboat was withdrawn from Plymouth in 1983.

Inshore lifeboats from 2004

Coventry and Warwickshire

At Plymouth [5]	Op. No.	Name	Built	Class	Notes
2004–2005	B-775	Millennium Forester	2001	B-class (Atlantic 75)
2005	B-700	Susan Peacock	1993	B-class (Atlantic 75)	[Note 9]
2005–2006	B-769	Coventry and Warwickshire	2001	B-class (Atlantic 75)	[Note 10]
2006–2018	B-775	Millennium Forester	2001	B-class (Atlantic 75)
2016–2020	A-31	Unnamed	–	Arancia-class
2018–	B-908	Annabel E Jones	2018	B-class (Atlantic 85)

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

Notes

1. Prince Consort was withdrawn following damage incurred while rescuing 12 people from two vessels in a gale on 8 December 1872.
2. Reserve No.6A was previously Brothers Freeman at Littlehampton before being transferred to Plymouth.
3. Robert and Marcella Beck was requisitioned by the Admiralty and stationed in Iceland during World War II. Its place was taken by the Minister Anseele, a Belgian lifeboat, found derelict in the English Channel early in the war, repaired and loaned by the Belgian Government to the British lifeboat fleet.
4. Robert and Marcella Beck returned to station in 1947 but was sold in 1952. It was reported in use as a pleasure boat at Hamburg in 2008 carrying the names Blasbeg/Idle Hours
5. Thomas Forehead and Margaret Rowse served in the RNLI relief fleet until 1981. It was sold two years later and was reported in 2009 as being at Larne having been converted to a pleasure boat and renamed Ornsay.
6. Thomas Forehead and Margaret Rowse II was stationed at Fowey until 1996 and then spent some time in the relief fleet before being withdrawn from service in 1997. In 1999 it was sold to the New Zealand Coastguard and was stationed at New Plymouth where it is named Westgate Rescue.
7. City of Plymouth was in the relief fleet until 2004. The following year it was sold for further service as a lifeboat at Skagaströnd in Iceland where it is named Hunabjorg.
8. A-class were originally numbered 18-XXX in the ALB series, but the Hatch and McLachlan lifeboats were later renumbered in the ILB series.
9. Susan Peacock was the first Atlantic 75 lifeboat, a total of 97 being built between 1993 and 2003. Between 2006–2009, it was part of the RNLI training fleet.
10. Coventry and Warwickshire was built as the Weston-super-Mare Lifeboat and returned to that station until 2018.

See also

• List of RNLI stations

References

1. Leach, Nicholas (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. Chacewater: Twelveheads Press. p. 30. ISBN   978-0-906294-72-7.
2. Langley, Martin (1987). Millbay Docks. Port of Plymouth Series. Exeter: Devon Books. p. 7. ISBN   0-86114-806-1.
3. Leach (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. pp. 31–34.
4. Leach (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. p. 35.
5. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
6. Leach (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. p. 31.
7. Leach (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. p. 33.
8. Leach (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. p. 34.
9. "Plymouth's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
10. Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN   0 907605 89 3.
11. Denton, Tony (2010). Handbook 2010. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 68.
12. Historic England. "Former dock police station and custom office at South East entrance to Millbay Docks (1113301)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 11 August 2019.
13. Kittridge, Alan (1993). Plymouth: Ocean Liner Port of Call. Truro: Twelveheads Press. pp. 13, 115. ISBN   0-906294-30-4.
14. "Station History". Plymouth Lifeboat Station. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
15. Wake-Walker, Edward (2008). The Lifeboats Story. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. pp. 110–111. ISBN   978-0-7509-4858-6.
16. "Atlantic 75 and 85 (B Class)". RNLI. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
17. Denton (2010). Handbook 2010. p. 2.
18. Denton (2010). Handbook 2010. pp. 10–11.
19. Denton (2010). Handbook 2010. pp. 14–15.

External links

• RNLI station information