Southwold Lifeboat Station | |
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Southwold Lifeboat Station. | |
General information | |
Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Location | Southwold Lifeboat Station |
Address | Ferry Road, |
Town or city | Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6NB |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 52°18′54″N1°40′21″E / 52.31500°N 1.67250°E |
Opened | 1841 |
Owner | ![]() |
Website | |
Southwold RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Southwold Lifeboat Station is located at the end of Ferry Road at Southwold Harbour, on the north bank of the River Blyth, in the county of Suffolk. [1]
A lifeboat was first stationed at Southwold by the Southwold Lifeboat Society in 1841. Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854. [2]
The station currently operates an Atlantic 85-class lifeboat called Annie Tranmer (B-868), on station since 2013, which has an operational range of 25 miles (40 km). [3] The Atlantic 85 is the third generation Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) in the B-class series. The lifeboat has a manually operated self-righting mechanism and can be beached in an emergency without sustaining damage to engines or steering gear. She is easy refloat and is ideal for rescues close to shore and on the sandbanks which are along the coast at Southwold.
The lifeboat is operated by a crew of around 18 volunteers. [4] Charity abseil events at Southwold lighthouse raised over £20,000 for the lifeboat in both 2009 and 2011. [4] [3]
A lifeboat was first stationed in the town in 1841 [5] with the first motorised boat being put into service in 1926. [6] The station's lifeboat, Mary Scott, took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. She was towed to Dunkirk by the paddle steamer Emperor of India together with two other small boats. Between them they took 160 men to their mother ship, then made a journey with 50 men to another transport vessel. She was abandoned on the beach, recovered and returned to service with the RNLI at Southwold.
An Inshore lifeboat station equipped with a D-class (RFD PB16) lifeboat was established in 1963. This was replaced by a B-class (Atlantic 21) lifeboat, Sole Bay (B-518), in 1973. Medal Services – 1972: Bronze Medal Patrick Pile and Martin Helmer. 1981: Bronze Medal Helm Roger Trigg. [6]
The current boathouse was built in 1993 near the entrance to Southwold Harbour at the mouth of the River Blyth. [6] A winch and davit are used to launch the boat. These were repositioned in 2012 following essential repair work carried out to the harbour wall. [7] [8]
The station covers an area of approximately 25 miles (40 km). Neighbouring lifeboat stations are located at Lowestoft and Aldeburgh along the North Sea coast.
The following are awards made at Southwold [6] [9]
ON [a] | Name | On Station [11] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
– | Solebay | 1841–1852 | 40ft Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) | [5] |
Pre-246 | Harriett | 1852–1855 | 38-foot Self-righting (P&S) | [Note 1] |
28 | Harriett, London Coal Exchange No. 1 | 1855–1870 1870–1893 | 40-foot Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) | [Note 2] [12] |
353 | Alfred Corry | 1893–1918 | 44-foot Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) | [Note 3] |
352 | Bolton | 1918–1925 | 43-foot Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) | [Note 4] |
691 | Mary Scott | 1925–1940 | 46-foot 6in Norfolk and Suffolk-class (Motor) | [13] |
ON [a] | Name | On Station [14] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-454 | Quiver No. 2 | 1866–1882 | 33-foot Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) | [Note 5] |
29 | Quiver No. 2 | 1882–1897 | 30-foot Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) | [Note 6] |
405 | Rescue | 1897–1920 | 32-foot Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) | [Note 7] |
Op. No. [b] | Name | On Station [15] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
D-6 | Unnamed | 1963 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-25 | Unnamed | 1964 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-14 | Unnamed | 1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-36 | Unnamed | 1965–1970 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-191 | Unnamed | 1970–1973 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
Op. No. [b] | Name | On Station [16] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
B-518 | Sole Bay | 1973–1985 | Atlantic 21-class | |
B-562 | The Quiver | 1985–1998 | Atlantic 21-class | |
B-750 | Leslie Tranmer | 1998–2013 | Atlantic 75-class | |
B-868 | Annie Tranmer | 2013– | Atlantic 85-class | |