Lowestoft Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 52°28′18″N 1°45′11″E / 52.47167°N 1.75306°E / 52.47167; 1.75306
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Lowestoft Lifeboat Station
Lowestoft Lifeboat Station.
Lowestoft Lifeboat Station is located in Suffolk
Lowestoft Lifeboat Station
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationLowestoft, Suffolk
CountryEngland
Coordinates52°28′18″N 1°45′11″E / 52.47167°N 1.75306°E / 52.47167; 1.75306
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Lowestoft Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) operated lifeboat station in the town of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. The station is located at the mouth of Lowestoft's outer harbour on the South pier. It is one of the oldest lifeboat stations in the United Kingdom, having been established in 1801.[1]

History[edit]

The station was established in 1801, when a lifeboat built by Henry Greathead began operating from the town. In 1807 the station became the first to operate a sailing lifeboat, the Frances Anne, which operated until 1850 and saved over 300 lives.[1] The RNLI took control of the station in 1855.[1]

A second station operated in the town between 1870 and 1912, whilst the South Broads Lifeboat Station, an inshore station, operated at Oulton Broad between 2001 and 2011.[2]

RNLB Spirit of Lowestoft 47-020


47-020 Spirit of Lowestoft

Station Honours[edit]

Crews from Lowestoft have received 45 awards for gallantry, including 39 medals. The RNLI Gold Medal has been awarded twice. The first award was to Lieutenant R B Matthews RN in October 1827. Coxswain John Swan was the second recipient, for his actions during the rescue of the crew of the merchant ship SS Hopelyn, wrecked on North Scroby Sands in October 1922.[1] The lifeboat Michael Stephens took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.[1]

The following are awards made at Lowestoft[3][4]

John Thompson Swan - 1924[5]
Lieut Robert Bates Matthews, RN - 1827
John Thompson Swan, Coxswain - 1922
Lieut John Crouchley Evison, RN - 1834
Lieut Richard Joachim, RN - 1836
Mr Francis Stannard, Master of the schooner Glenmoriston - 1853
Lieut Richard Joachim, RN - 1855 (Second-Service clasp)
Captain Richard Joachim, RN - 1857 (Third-Service clasp)
Robert Hook, Coxswain - 1859
Nathaniel Colby, crew member - 1859
Francis Smith, crew member - 1859
James Butcher, crew member - 1859
William Rose, crew member - 1859
Alfred Mewse, crew member - 1859
Thomas Liffen, crew member - 1859
Richard Butcher crew member - 1859
Captain Richard Joachim, RN - 1861 (Fourth-Service clasp)
Robert Hook, Coxswain - 1873 (Second-Service clasp)
Mr George Edward Hall, master of the fishing boat Trial - 1882
John Thompson Swan, Coxswain - 1914
John Thompson Swan, Coxswain - 1918 (Second-Service clasp)
Ralph A W Scott, Motor Mechanic - 1922
Albert Spurgeon, Coxswain - 1927
George Ayers, Second Coxswain - 1918
George William Ayers, crew member 1922 (Second-Service clasp)
John Rose, crew member 1922
H Allerton, crew member 1922
J Ayers, crew member 1922
W Butcher, crew member 1922
C Mewse, crew member 1922
Albert Spurgeon, crew member 1922
F Swan, crew member 1922
Albert Spurgeon, Coxswain - 1943 (Second-Service clasp)
Thomas Victor Knott, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1974
Peter Gibbons, Second Coxswain - 1974
Thomas Victor Knott, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1976 (Second-Service clasp)
John Catchpole, Coxswain - 1988
Shane Gordon Coleman, Coxswain and sole crew member of the Lowestoft Pilot boat,
(also Second Coxswain/Mechanic of the Lowestoft lifeboat) - 1990
John Catchpole, Coxswain - 1996 (Second-Service clasp)
  • The Maud Smith Award 1988
    (for the bravest act of lifesaving during the year by a member of a lifeboat crew)
John Catchpole, Coxswain - 1988
  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
Shane Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1996
John Fox, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2010
  • A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
Michael Knott 1976
John W Catchpole, Second Coxswain - 1981
Coxswain J Catchpole - 1989
Shane G Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1990
  • Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
S Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1989
  • Silver Medals from the Austrian Government
Crew of 1866 Lowestoft Lifeboat - 1893

Lowestoft Lifeboats[edit]

ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name In service [6] Class Comments
– – Victoria,
later Laetitia 		1850–1876 42ft Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) [7]
– – George 1875–1905 32ft Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S) [7]
22 – Samuel Plimsoll 1875–1905 44ft 4in Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S)
23 – The Two Sisters
(Lowestoft No.2) 		1886–1890 46f 3in Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S)
288 – Stock Exchange
(Lowestoft No.2) 		1890–1892 46ft Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S)
356 – Stock Exchange
(Lowestoft No.2) 		1893–1912 46ft Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S)
543 – Kentwell 1905–1921 46ft Norfolk and Suffolk (P&S)
663 – Agnes Cross 1921–1939 46ft 6in Norfolk and Suffolk (Motor) Previously John and Mary Meiklam Of Gladswood at Gorleston
838 – Michael Stephens 1939–1963 46ft Watson [8]
970 – Frederick Edward Crick 1963–1986 47ft Watson
924 – Archibald and Alexander M. Paterson 1986–1987 52ft Barnett [9]
1132 47-020 Spirit of Lowestoft 1987–2014 Tyne On Display at RNLI Collection, Chatham Historic Dockyard since June 2019
1312 13-05 Patsy Knight 2014– Shannon [10]
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ^ Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Lowestoft Lifeboat Station, Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  2. ^ RNLI closes South Broads lifeboat station at Oulton Broad, BBC news website, 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  3. ^ "Lowestoft's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  4. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0 907605 89 3.
  5. ^ "Medal of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Gallantry" (PDF). London Gazette. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  6. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  7. ^ a b Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
  8. ^ "Michael Stephens". Assoc. Dunkirk Little Ships. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  9. ^ "ARCHIBALD & ALEXANDER M PATERSON". National Historic Ship Register. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Historic occasion is celebrated as Duke of Kent attends lifeboat naming ceremony in Lowestoft". The Lowestoft Journal. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
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