Walmer Lifeboat Station | |
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![]() 1871 Walmer Lifeboat Station | |
General information | |
Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Location | Walmer lifeboat station, The Strand, UK |
Address | The Strand |
Town or city | Walmer, Kent, CT14 7DY |
Country | UK |
Coordinates | 51°12′48.71″N1°24′10.66″E / 51.2135306°N 1.4029611°E |
Opened | 1856 |
Owner | ![]() |
Website | |
https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/walmer-lifeboat-station |
Walmer Lifeboat Station is located on The Strand on Walmer promenade, in the county of Kent.
Following an appeal, a station was established here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1856. [1]
The station currently operates two Inshore lifeboats, the B-class (Atlantic 85) Donald McLauchlan (B-808) since 2006, and the D-class (IB1) Duggie Rodbard II (D-794) since 2016. [1]
Over two thousand ships are believed to have been wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, and the masts of several wrecks are visible from the shore at low tide. For many years, there were three lifeboats located along a 3 miles stretch of coast opposite the sands, North Deal, Kingsdown and Walmer.
In 1830, RNLI Gold and Silver Medals were awarded, for the rescue of 13 crew from the ship Mountaineer, and three Deal boatmen, on 24 November 1829. [2] [3] [4]
In 1856, the RNLI issued an appeal to place a lifeboat at Walmer, highlighting the dangers of the Goodwin Sands to international trade through the Port of London. One member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club offered to pay half the cost of a lifeboat, if the remaining club members raised the remainder. A site for a boathouse was provided by landowner Mr Frederick Leath, and a wooden boathouse was constructed, costing £186-11s-0d. A 29-foot 6in self-righting 'pulling and sailing' (P&S) lifeboat (one with oars and sails), costing £160-2s-6d, was built by Forrestt of Limehouse, and arrived along with a launching carriage in Walmer in November 1856. The boat was named Royal Thames Yacht Club. [5]
In 1871, a new brick-built boathouse was constructed, replacing the 1856 wooden boathouse, which was dismantled, and reconstructed at North Deal. [5]
Crew member E Young drowned in 1896 when he was trying to board the Steamship Trapian from the lifeboat. The Walmer station was closed in 1912, but was reopened in 1927, when it was deemed the most suitable of the three local stations to operate the intended motor-powered lifeboat. Lifeboat Barbara Fleming (ON 480) was transferred from Kingsdown when that station was closed, and kept on a launching cradle at the head of the beach. Soon afterwards, from 1933, the station had its first motor lifeboat. [6]
In 1933, motor lifeboat Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No.2) (ON 762) was placed on service. She would take part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. In 1944, Coxswain Joseph Mercer was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal for the rescue of 13 men from an anti-submarine boat stranded on the Goodwin Sands. In 26 years service to Walmer, Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No.2) (ON 762) would be launched 412 times, and save 241 lives. [4] [5] [7]
The last All-weather lifeboat at Walmer was the RNLB Hampshire Rose (ON 1024). Launching 132 times in 15 years, she would save 57 lives. In 1964, a D-class (RFD PB16) Inshore lifeboat had been placed at Walmer. When the Hampshire Rose was retired from service on 5 May 1990, she was replaced with the addition of a B-class (Atlantic 21) lifeboat, and Walmer was permanently established as an Inshore lifeboat station. The boathouse was extended in 1992, to accommodate the Talus Atlantic 85 DO-DO launch carriage. A new Atlantic 21, RNLB James Burgess (B-589), was also placed on service in 1992, in the same year as a visit by the Queen Mother as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and on 22 January 1997 a new D-class (EA16) lifeboat, RNLB Lord Kitchener (D-514), was placed on service. [1]
Most recently, Atlantic 85-class lifeboat, RNLB Donald Mclauchlan (B-808) was placed on station in December 2006, with a new D-class (IB1), RNLB Duggie Rodbard II (D-794) arriving in 2016. [1]
The following are awards made at Walmer [6] [4]
ON [lower-alpha 1] | Op.No. [lower-alpha 2] | Name | In service [9] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | – | Royal Thames Yacht Club | 1856–1861 | 29-foot 6in Self-righting (P&S) | [Note 1] |
– | – | Royal Thames Yacht Club | 1861–1871 | 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
– | – | Centurion | 1871–1884 | 36-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
34 | – | Civil Service No.4 | 1884–1895 | 40-foot 1in Self-righting (P&S) | |
394 | – | Civil Service No.4 | 1897–1912 | 40-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
Station Closed 1912–1927 | |||||
480 | – | Barbara Fleming | 1927–1933 | 40-foot Self-righting (P&S) | Transferred from Kingsdown when that station closed |
762 | – | Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No.2) | 1933–1959 | 41ft Watson | First motor lifeboat at station |
948 | – | Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No.32) | 1959–1975 | 42ft Watson | |
1024 | 37-32 | The Hampshire Rose | 1975–1990 | Rother | |
Op.No. [lower-alpha 2] | Name | In service [1] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
D-14 | Unnamed | 1964 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-26 | Unnamed | 1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-24 | Unnamed | 1966 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-135 | Unnamed | 1967–1970 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-200 | Unnamed | 1971–1976 | D-class (Avon S650) | |
D-254 | Unnamed | 1977–1988 | D-class (Zodiac III) | |
D-363 | Unnamed | 1988–1997 | D-class (EA16) | |
D-514 | Lord Kitchener | 1997–2006 | D-class (EA16) | [10] |
D-663 | Duggie Rodbard | 2006–2016 | D-class (IB1) | |
D-794 | Duggie Rodbard II | 2016– | D-class (IB1) | [11] |
Op.No. [lower-alpha 2] | Name | In service [1] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
B-512 | US Navy League | 1990–1992 | Atlantic 21 | |
B-589 | James Burgess | 1992–2006 | Atlantic 21 | |
B-808 | Donald McLauchlan | 2006– | Atlantic 85 | |
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Media related to Walmer Lifeboat Station at Wikimedia Commons