Poole Lifeboat Station

Poole Lifeboat Station
Flag of the RNLI
The boathouse and crew building in 2024
Map of Poole showing Poole
General information
Type	Lifeboat station
Location	The Quay, Poole, BH15 1HZ
Country	England
Coordinates	50°42′46″N1°59′32″W / 50.7127°N 1.9921°W / 50.7127; -1.9921
Opened	1865 at Sandbanks 1882 at Fisherman's Dock 1974 at Lilliput Marina 1989 at Poole Bridge
Owner	RNLI
Website
RNLI: Poole lifeboat station

Poole Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Poole, Dorset in England. The first lifeboat was stationed at Poole Harbour in 1865 and the present station was opened in 1988.

Since November 2016 it has operated two inshore lifeboats, an Atlantic 85 and a D class.

History

The first boathouse was built in 1865 at Sandbanks by the narrow entrance to the large, natural Poole Harbour. ^{[1] [2] [3]} This was remote from the house in Poole which meant that the crew had to be collected by horse-drawn coach from the Antelope Hotel in the High Street and taken to Sandbanks. ^[4]

In 1882 a new boathouse was built on land leased from Poole Corporation on the Fisherman's Dock at the east end of Poole Quay. A dedicated slipway was built in front of the boathouse in 1897 as the public slipway was often blocked by other boats. In 1887 a flagstaff had been erected so that messages could be exchanged with Sandbanks. At this time the crew was summoned to launches by a signal rocket. In 1892 this was changed to a signal mortar but this reverted to rockets in 1914 as the mortar being discharged could be mistaken for an explosion at the nearby gas works. ^[4]

In 1939 a Surf motor lifeboat was placed on station and the last 'pulling and sailing' lifeboat at Poole was withdrawn. This was the Thomas Kirk Wright, which on 30 May 1940 sailed to Dunkirk as one of boats summoned to Operation Dynamo, indeed it was the first of 19 lifeboats to arrive there. It was crewed by the Royal Navy but was damaged by enemy fire. After repairs a second trip across the channel was made on 2 June 1940 before eventually returning to more normal duties at Poole. ^[4]

Thomas Kirk Wright (ON 811)

An inflatable Inshore Rescue Boat was added to the station in 1964 but withdrawn in 1970, although by this time a Dell Quay Dory was also in use. This was withdrawn in 1985 but ten years later a B-class (Atlantic 21) ILB was placed on station. ^[4]

The boathouse at Fisherman's Dock was closed in 1974 and a new station opened with the Poole Harbour Yacht Club at Lilliput Marina. Another move came in 1989 when the lifeboat was moved back to Poole Quay, but this time at the west end beneath Poole Bridge. The following year new crew facilities and storerooms were constructed by adding a two-storey extension to the police office on Poole Quay.

In 1994 a floating boathouse was placed next to the lifeboat mooring for the new ILB that took up service at Poole the following year. ^[4]

In November 2016, with the advent of 25 knot boats at flanking stations, the RNLI decided to withdraw the all-weather lifeboat from Poole and stationed a D-class inflatable to work alongside the existing Atlantic 85. ^[5]

Poole Old Lifeboat Museum

The Lifeboat Museum

A year after the boathouse at Fisherman's Dock was closed in 1974, the old boathouse became an RNLI museum. It was handed back to the council in 1991. ^[4]

The centrepiece of the museum is the Surf-class lifeboat Thomas Kirk Wright, on loan from the National Maritime Museum. ^[6] This had been operated from Poole when the station was in the same building on Fisherman's Dock. It was the station's first motor lifeboat, built in 1939 and withdrawn in 1962. ^[7] In 1940 it had been one of the lifeboats involved in the Dunkirk evacuation. ^[6]

Description

The crew facilities and storeroom occupies one part of a larger brick-built building facing the water on Poole Quay. The upper floor is set into the roof with a large window overlooking the lifeboat's pontoon. The boathouse for the ILB is moored alongside this pontoon adjacent to the Lifting Bridge.

Poole lifeboats

• 
  47-023 City of Sheffield
• 
  D-804 Gladys Maud Burton
• 
  B-826 Sgt Bob Martin (Civil Service No.50)

Pulling and sailing lifeboats

At Poole	ON	Name	Built	Class	Comments
1865–1880	—	Manley Wood	1864	Peake	34 ft (10 m) boat. Renamed Joseph and Mary in 1879. [2] [3] [8]
1880–1897	188	Joseph and Mary, Boy's Own No. 2	1880	Self-Righter	34 ft 2 in (10.41 m) boat. [9]
1897–1910	316	City Masonic Club	1892	Watson	38 ft 1 in (11.61 m) boat. [10]
1910–1939	608	Harmar	1910	Self-Righter	37 ft 6 in (11.43 m) boat. [11]

Motor lifeboats

At Poole	ON	Op. No.	Name	Built	Class	Comments
1939–1962	811	—	Thomas Kirk Wright	1939	Surf	Sold 1964. Now on display in the Old Lifeboat House at Poole. [12] [7]
1962–1969	891	—	Bassett-Green	1951	Liverpool	Sold in 1969. Reported in May 2018 to be in private ownership at Campbeltown. [13]
1969–1971	873	—	George Elmy	1950	Liverpool	Capsized on service at Seaham 17 November 1962 with nine lives lost. Sold September 1972. Restored to original condition and on display at Seaham Harbour from July 2013. [14] [13]
1971–1974	872	—	J B Couper of Glasgow	1949	Liverpool	Sold February 1976 and renamed Etoile Du Nord (GU5045). It is on display at the Peninsular Hotel, Vale, Guernsey. [13]
1974–1983	1029	44-011	Augustine Courtauld	1974	Waveney	Sold 1999 as a lifeboat with the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol in Australia where it was named P&O Nedlloyd Strathaird. Later resold and regained the name Augustine Courtauld as a work boat for Melbourne Charter Services, Melbourne. [15] [16]
1983–2001	1089	33-07	Inner Wheel	1983	Brede	Sold 2002 as a lifeboat for South Africa and still in service in December 2023 at Hout Bay as Nadine Gordimer (Rescue 8). [17]
2001–2016	1131	47-023	City of Sheffield	1988	Tyne	Now preserved at the Emergency Services Museum, Sheffield. [18]

Inshore lifeboats

At Poole	Op. No.	Name	Class	Model	Comments
1965–1967	D-69	—	D	RFD PB16	[19]
1967–1970	D-46	—	D	RFD PB16	[19]
1967–1969	A-2	—	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 18-03 [20]
1969–1972	A-502	—	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 17-003 [20]
1971	A-503	—	A	McLachlan	Previously ALB No. 18-02 [20]
1972–1973	A-500	—	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 17-001 [20]
1974–1975	A-501	Bob Abbot	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 17-002 [20]
1975	B-8	—	B	Trial boat	[21]
1975–1985	A-502	—	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 17-003. [20]
1977	B-8	—	B	Trial boat	[21]
1985–1995	A-513	Sam and Iris Coles	A	Boston Whaler	[21]
1995–2008	B-710	Friendly Forrester II	B	Atlantic 75	[22]
2008	B-736	Toshiba Wave Warrior	B	Atlantic 75	[22]
2008–	B-826	Sgt Bob Martin (Civil Service No.50)	B	Atlantic 85	[23]
2016–2017	D-798	John Wickens	D	IB1	[24]
2017–	D-804	Gladys Maud Burton	D	IB1	[25]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Poole ^{[4] [26]}

• RNLI Gold Medal

Captain Charles Howe Fremantle, RN - 1824

• RNLI Silver Medal

George Barnes - 1824

Stephen Curtis - 1824

Lt. Joseph Elwin, RN -1825

Lt. Thomas Parsons, RN - 1853

The Right Hon The Viscount Bury, MP - 1868

Mr Charles Pride - 1868

Richard Stokes, Coxswain - 1882

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Richard Wills, Coxswain - 1906

Thomas Wills - 1906

John Wills - 1906

Richard Cartridge - 1906

Henry Russell - 1906

David Coles, crew member - 1986

Steven Vince, crew member - 1986

Raymond Collin, crew member - 1986

• A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution

Steve Vince, Coxswain - 1995

Robert Doak, crew member - 1995

Geoffrey Langley, crew member - 1995

Gavin McGuiness, Helmsman - 2001

Anne Millman, crew member - 2001

Paul Savage, crew member - 2001

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

References

1. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. p. 105.
2. "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". Life-Boat. Vol. 5, no. 58. 1865. p. 728.
3. "The Life-Boat Stations of the United Kingdom - Poole". Life-Boat. Vol. 11, no. 119. 1881. pp. 221–222.
4. "Poole's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
5. "Poole's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
6. "Poole Old Lifeboat Museum". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
7. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 36–37.
8. Softley, Michael (2000). The brancaster Lifeboats 1874–1935 (1st ed.). Norfolk & Suffolk Research Group. p. 12. ISBN   0952279940.
9. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 10.
10. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 14–15.
11. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 26–27.
12. "Thomas Kirk Wright". The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
13. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 38–39.
14. "National Register of Historic Vessels - George Elmy". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
15. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 46–47.
16. Leach, Nicholas (2001). The Waveney Lifeboats. Bernard McCall. pp. 60–61. ISBN   1-902953-01-0.
17. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 48–49.
18. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 50–51.
19. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 73.
20. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 87.
21. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 88.
22. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 68.
23. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 70.
24. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 84.
25. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 85.
26. Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN   0 907605 89 3.

External links

• RNLI: Poole lifeboat station
• Poole Old Lifeboat Museum and Shop