Poole Lifeboat Station

Poole Lifeboat Station
Poole
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	The Quay, Poole, BH15 1HZ
Country	England
Coordinates	50°42′46″N1°59′32″W / 50.712765°N 1.992162°W / 50.712765; -1.992162
Opened	1865 at Sandbanks 1882 at Fisherman's Dock 1974 at Lilliput Marina 1989 at Poole Bridge
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution

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] 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. ^[2]

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. ^[2]

In 1939 a Surf motor lifeboat was placed on station and the last 'pulling and sailing' lifeboat at Poole was withdrawn.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 manned 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. ^[2]

An inflatable Inshore Rescue Boat was added to the station in 1964 but withdrawn in 1970, although by this time a Dell Quay Dory was also in use. This was withdrawn in 1985 but ten years later a B-class (Atlantic 21) ILB was placed on station. ^[2]

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. ^[2]

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. ^[3]

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. ^[2]

The centrepiece of the museum is the Surf-class lifeboat Thomas Kirk Wright, on loan from the National Maritime Museum. ^[4] This had been operated from Poole when the station was in the same building on Fisherman's Dock. It was built in 1932 and withdrawn in 1962. ^[5] In 1940 it had been one of the lifeboats involved in the Dunkirk evacuation. ^[4]

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 and is constructed of corrugated metal.

Poole lifeboats

Former lifeboat City of Sheffield

'ON' is the official number used in RNLI records from 1884.
'Op. No.' is the operational number displayed on the boat.

Pulling and sailing lifeboats

At Poole [6]	ON	Name	Built	Class	Comments
1865–1880	–	Manley Wood	1864	Peake	32 ft (9.8 m) boat. Later renamed Joseph & Mary [7]
1880–1897	188	Boy's Own No. 2	1880	Self-Righter	34 ft (10 m) boat.
1897–1910	316	City Masonic Club	1892	Watson	37 ft (11 m) boat.
1910–1939	608	Harmar	1910	Self-Righter	37 ft 6 in (11.43 m) boat.

Motor lifeboats

At Poole [6]	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. [8]
1962–1969	891	–	Bassett-Green	1951	Liverpool	Sold in 1969. Reported in May 2018 to be in private ownership at Campbeltown.
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. [9]
1971	869	–	Anthony Robert Marshall	1949	Liverpool	Sold in 1980. Reported in December 2022 to be under restoration at Stiffkey.
1972	918	–	The Elliott Gill	1953	Liverpool	Sold August 1974. Reported in September 2022 to be fully restored at Watchet Harbour Marina.
1971–1974	872	–	J B Couper of Glasgow	1949	Liverpool	Sold February 1976 and renamed Etoile Du Nord (GU5045). By December 2022 it was on display at the Peninsular Hotel, Vale, Guernsey.
1974–1983	1029	44-011	Augustine Courtauld	1974	Waveney	Sold 1999 as a lifeboat with RVCP Australia. Resold in 2011 and renamed Augustine Courtauld as a work boat for Melbourne Charter Services, Melbourne. Restored to RNLI Livery.
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).
2001–2016	1131	47-023	City of Sheffield	1988	Tyne	Now preserved at the Emergency Services Museum, Sheffield.

Inshore lifeboats

At Poole [6]	Op. No.	Name	Class	Model	Comments
1965–1967	D-69	Unnamed	D	RFD PB16
1967–1970	D-46	Unnamed	D	RFD PB16
1967–1969	A-2	Unnamed	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 18-03
1969–1972	A-502	Unnamed	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 17-003
1971	A-503	Unnamed	A	McLachlan	Previously ALB No. 18-02
1972–1973	A-500	Unnamed	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 17-001
1974–1975	A-501	Bob Abbot	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 17-002, Unnamed
1975	B-8	Unnamed	B	Trial boat
1975–1985	A-502	Unnamed	A	Hatch	Previously ALB No. 17-003.
1977	B-8	Unnamed	B	Trial boat
1985–1995	A-513	Sam & Iris Coles	A	Boston Whaler
1995–2008	B-710	Friendly Forrester II	B	Atlantic 75
2008	B-736	Toshiba Wave Warrior	B	Atlantic 75
2008–	B-826	Sgt Bob Martin (Civil Service No.50)	B	Atlantic 85
2016–2017	D-798	John Wickens	D	IB1
2017–	D-804	Gladys Maud Burton	D	IB1

Station honours

The following are awards made at Poole ^{[2] [10]}

• 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

References

1. Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. The Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society. p. 59.
2. "Poole's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
3. "Poole's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
4. "Poole Old Lifeboat Museum". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
5. Denton 2009, pp. 18–19.
6. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
7. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021 (2021 ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
8. "Thomas Kirk Wright". The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
9. "National Register of Historic Vessels - George Elmy". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
10. Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN   0 907605 89 3.

External links

• RNLI station information
• Poole Old Lifeboat Museum and Shop