The station was established by the RNLI in 1869 following appeals from local residents after a number of shipwrecks nearby. The Institution had already awarded a silver medal to local man Thomas M. Rees for risking his life in an incident in 1867. The station, consisting of a boathouse and slipway at Porthstinan (St Justinians), was provided with the 32-foot Augusta, donated by the Earl of Dartmouth. Augusta remained in service until 1885, saving 23 lives.[2]
From 1885 to 1910, 16 lives were saved by the crew of the station's new lifeboat, Gem (ON 59). The lifeboat was wrecked on The Bitches reef during a rescue on 13 October 1910, and three crewmen drowned: Coxswain John Stephens, and lifeboatmen Henry Rowlands and James Price. Papers concerning the loss are held at Pembrokeshire Record Office (Ref:DX/93/11).[3] A temporary lifeboat, Charlotte, was stationed at Porthclais for two years; meanwhile, a new station and slipway were constructed to accommodate the station's first motor-powered lifeboat, General Farrell (ON 614).[2]
General Farrell remained on station until 1936, her crew saving 17 lives in the intervening years. She was replaced by Swn-y-Mor which saw one of the busiest periods in the station's history, her crews saving 108 lives in her 26 years of service which was marked in 1956 by the loss of lifeboatman Ieuan Bateman. A couple of years earlier the tanker World Concord broke in two in hurricane-force winds; a combined effort by St Davids and Rosslare Harbour lifeboats rescued 42 people from the tanker.[4]
Swn-y-Mor had been donated by the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund, and the same institution donated the next lifeboat, Joseph Soar (ON 971), in 1963. Already fitted with some innovative equipment, she was converted for self-righting in 1974, and during her tenure the crew saved 45 lives.[2] As of 2015, Swn-y-Mor was still operating as a private yacht, rigged as gaff ketch[5] motor sailer.[6]
Joseph Soar was transferred to Dunbar in 1985, and sold by the RNLI in 1992 when she was given a civic send-off at Poole. As of 2012 she was still operating, as a pleasure craft in Northern Ireland, and undergoing a complete refit in 2013. She had the distinction of having one of the longest services (27 years) in the RNLI's history.[7][8]
St Davids in 2021
From 1985 to 1988 the station's All-weather lifeboat was Ruby & Arthur Reed (ON 990), formerly on station at Cromer Lifeboat Station, where she had already been involved in saving 58 lives and enabled a further 9 lives to be saved at St Davids. She was replaced by 47-026 Garside (ON 1139), a new Tyne-class lifeboat which, until superseded in 2013 by the Tamar-class lifeboat Norah Wortley,[9] had been launched more than 160 times.
After the withdrawal of the RAF Rescue Service helicopter from nearby RAF Brawdy, St Davids trialed an Inshore lifeboat in 1997, and the following year took possession of a permanent addition to the station of a D-class ILB, Dewi Sant (D-543) (Saint David). This was replaced in 2008 by Myrtle & Trevor Gurr (D-704). The lifeboat station and slipways were modernised extensively in the 1990s.[2] In April 2013 St. David's New Tamar-class lifeboat was placed on station, temporarily moored afloat pending construction of the new boathouse and slipway. In certain weather conditions, the Tamar had to be removed to a safe anchorage and for this reason the Tyne class Garside remained on station in the 1910s boathouse, with St Davids in the unusual situation of operating two ALBs at the same time.[10]
In 2014 construction started on a new larger lifeboat house and slipway capable of accommodating the Tamar-class, with improved access for bringing in equipment and evacuating casualties and more extensive modern facilities; the cost is in the region of £9.5 million. The new facility is a short distance from the existing boathouse which remained in service until the new boathouse was completed.[11] With completion of the new boathouse, Garside was withdrawn from service and launched down the slipway of the old boathouse for the last time on 21 October 2016 on her way back to the RNLI depot at Poole for decommissioning.
The new Tamar, 16-26 Norah Wortley (ON 1306), was launched from the new station for the first time on 21 October 2016;[12] her naming ceremony took place on 14 March 2017 on the occasion of the official opening of the new station.[13]
Today
The station employs two full-time members, Coxswain and Mechanic. The remaining crew, who all live within about 3 miles of the station, are volunteers and are contacted by pager when needed.[14] Neighbouring lifeboat stations are Fishguard to the north, Little and Broad Haven to the south and Rosslare Harbour in Ireland to the west.
The lifeboat station is the embarkation point for ferries to Ramsey Island.
Station honours
The following are awards made to the crew of St Davids Lifeboat Station[15][16]
Tamar-class lifeboats are all-weather lifeboats (ALBs) operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. They have replaced the majority of the older Tyne ALBs. The prototype was built in 2000 and 27 production boats were constructed between 2006 and 2013.
Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station is a RNLI base in Norfolk, England. There were originally two separate stations at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston – two coastal towns either side of the River Yare. These were merged in 1926.
Cromer Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. The station operates two lifeboats – one for inshore work and the other for offshore work.
The Lizard Lifeboat Station refers to several Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat stations located on the Lizard in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The first was established at the southernmost point of the peninsula in 1859. Since then successive stations have all been in operation at different locations on The Lizard. The current station is located at Kilcobben Cove 0.5 mi (0.80 km) east of the village of Lizard.
The Mumbles Lifeboat Station is at Mumbles Pier, located at the south-western corner of Swansea Bay, near the village of Mumbles, within the city and county of Swansea, in the historic county of Glamorgan, Wales.
The Southend-on-Sea lifeboat station is a lifeboat station at Southend-on-Sea in the English county of Essex, operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) since 1879.
Angle Lifeboat Station is located near the village of Angle, on the southern side of the entrance to the Milford Haven Waterway in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Salcombe Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Salcombe, Devon in England. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1869. The Salcombe Lifeboat has twice capsized, in 1916 with the loss of 13 lives, and in 1983 with no loss of life. Since 2008 the station has operated a Tamar-class all weather boat (ALB) and an Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat (ILB).
Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations for the sea around Land's End, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The first lifeboat was stationed at Sennen Cove in 1853. Since 2009 it has operated a Tamar-class all weather boat (ALB) and a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat (ILB).
Torbay Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Brixham, Devon in England. Brixham Lifeboat Station was opened in 1866 but since 1924 has been known as 'Torbay'. Since 2005 it has operated a Severn-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) together with a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat (ILB).
Baltimore Lifeboat Station is located at Bull Point, near Baltimore, County Cork, on the south-west coast of Ireland.
Porthdinllaen Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) operated lifeboat station in the coastal village of Porthdinllaen, within the community of Dwyfor on the Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd, North Wales
Shoreham Harbour Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in the town of Shoreham-by-Sea in the English county of West Sussex.
Eastbourne Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station in the town of Eastbourne in East Sussex. Founded two years before the RNLI was established, the station has operated continuously since 1822, and its lifeboats have been responsible for saving over 700 lives.
Holyhead Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station in the coastal town of Holyhead, Anglesey, Wales. It is one of the three oldest lifeboat stations situated on the North Wales coast, a disused building of which houses the Holyhead Maritime Museum.
Moelfre Lifeboat Station is located in the village of Moelfre, on the north east coast of Anglesey, Wales.
Swanage Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located on Peveril Point in the town of Swanage in Dorset, England. It operates two lifeboats, the Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat 13-13 George Thomas Lacy and the D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat (ILB) Roy Norgrove (D-884).
Barrow Lifeboat Station is located on Roa Island, near the town of Barrow in Furness, formerly part of Lancashire, but now in Cumbria. A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1864.
Beaumaris Lifeboat Station is located in the town of Beaumaris, on the Isle of Anglesey, in Wales.
Peterhead Lifeboat Station is located at West Pier, in the harbour town of Peterhead, in the NE corner of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
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Royal National Lifeboat Institution 
