Redcar Lifeboat Station | |
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General information | |
Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Location | Redcar, North Yorkshire |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 54°37′07″N 1°03′49″W / 54.6185°N 1.0637°W |
Estimated completion | 1970 |
Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Website | |
Official webpage |
Redcar Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station based in the town of Redcar in North Yorkshire, England. The station is the furthest north in Yorkshire.[1]
The station operates Inshore Lifeboats (ILB) with All-Weather Lifeboats being stationed at Hartlepool to the north, and Whitby to the south. Redcar operates two Inshore Lifeboats (ILB); the B-class (Atlantic 85) Leicester Challenge III (B-858) and the D-class (IB1) Eileen May Loach-Thomas (D-786).[2]
A lifeboat, operated by local fisherman, first operated from the town in 1802.[note 1][3] It was constructed by Henry Greathead, and at the time Redcar was just a small fishing hamlet consisting of two rows of terraced houses.[4] The lifeboat was named Zetland and served the area and the Teesbay Lifeboat and Shipwreck Society until 1859 when the RNLI took over.[5] Under the auspices of the RNLI, it served for six more years before being damaged and scheduled to be broken up. However, the local population arranged for the boat to be kept, which the RNLI agreed to on condition that it not be used in competition with their replacement boat, Crossley.[6] The Crossley itself only lasted three years on the station; its self-righting buoyancy airboxes made the lifeboat too small and so the Burton-on-Trent was brought to the station in 1867.[7]
In the early days of the lifeboat station, before it was taken over by the RNLI, a drummer boy would alert the lifeboat crew to a launch by playing Come Along, Brave Boys, Come Along.[8] The lifeboat station itself was supplied by Lord Zetland, and the modern day (1970s) lifeboat station is located on this site too.[3]
A former lifeboat house was built in 1877 to house the lifeboat Emma and is now grade II listed.[9] In 1936 the RNLI purchased the building and it is now the lifeboat museum and houses Zetland, the world's oldest surviving lifeboat.[10] Emma was named after Emma Dawson and was a gift to the townspeople by local benefactors, but Emma and her lifeboat station were completely outwith the responsibilities of the RNLI, being purely a local concern with money and support also being provided by the Order of Free Gardeners.[10][11]
In 1910, the RNLI built a new lifeboat house on the promenade to house their boat (Fifi and Charles), the Emma having fallen into disrepair a decade earlier.[12] This building was in turn demolished in the early 1970s after a new lifeboat station was constructed nextdoor.[13] In 1970, the County Borough of Teesside Council built a new lifeboat station for the RNLI on the seafront at Redcar.[14] In 2014 the exterior of the lifeboat station was refurbished.[15]
The following are awards made at Redcar[30][31]
ON[a] | Op. No.[b] | Name | In service [35] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zetland | 1802–1880 | Greathead-class | The world's oldest surviving lifeboat, Zetland, which was named after the Marquess of Zetland, saved 500 lives. She is now preserved in the Redcar lifeboat museum[36] | ||
Crossley | 1864–1867 | 33-foot Self-righting (P&S) | The boat was deemed to be too small due to the addition of boxes with buoyancy to aid self-righting and was transferred to Middlesbrough[37] | ||
Burton-on-Trent | 1867–1884 | 36-foot Self-righting (P&S) | [7] | ||
7 | The Brothers | 1884–1907 | 34-foot 2in Self-righting (P&S) | Damaged whilst attempting to rescue the crew of the Awa Maru in December 1906.[38][27] | |
577 | Fifi and Charles | 1907–1931 | 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) | ||
737 | Louisa Polden | 1931–1951 | 35ft 6in Self-righting motor | The first motorboat to serve at Redcar[39] | |
881 | City of Leeds | 1951–1965 | 35ft 6in Self-righting motor | [39] | |
892 | Aguila Wren [40] | 1965–1972 | Liverpool | ||
975 | 37-08 | Sir James Knott | 1972–1986 | Oakley | The last All-Weather Lifeboat (ALB) to serve at Redcar. The ALB coverage was supplied by neighbouring Teesmouth station and the Redcar Station became host to two Inshore Lifeboats (ILBs).[39] |
Op. No.[b] | Name | In service[41] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
D-5 | Unnamed | 1963 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-6 | Unnamed | 1963 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-31 | Unnamed | 1964–1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-12 | Unnamed | 1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-37 | Unnamed | 1966 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-12 | Unnamed | 1967 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-136 | Unnamed | 1967–1978 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-267 | Unnamed | 1979–1988 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-373 | Unnamed | 1988–1997 | D-class (EA16) | |
D-523 | Peterborough Beer Festival I | 1997–2007 | D-class (EA16) | |
D-660 | City of Leeds II | 2006 | D-class (IB1) | [42]Stationed at Redcar as part of the relief fleet |
D-511 | Margaret | 2007 | D-class (EA16) | |
D-516 | Spirit of the Exe | 2007 | D-class (EA16) | |
D-677 | Jacky Hunsley | 2007–2014 | D-class (IB1) | [43][44] |
D-786 | Eileen May Loach-Thomas | 2015– | D-class (IB1) | [45] |
Op. No.[b] | Name | In service[41] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
B-520 | Wildenrath Whizzer | 1986–1990 | Atlantic 21 | |
B-580 | Leicester Challenge | 1990–2001 | Atlantic 21 | |
B-777 | Leicester Challenge II | 2001–2012 | Atlantic 75 | [46] |
B-858 | Leicester Challenge III | 2012– | Atlantic 85 | [45] |