Pwllheli Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 52°53′12.5″N 4°24′14.0″W / 52.886806°N 4.403889°W / 52.886806; -4.403889
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Pwllheli Lifeboat Station
(Gorsaf Bad Achub Pwllheli)
Pwllheli Lifeboat Station
Pwllheli Lifeboat Station is located in Gwynedd
Pwllheli Lifeboat Station
Pwllheli, Gwynedd
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
AddressGlan Y Don Industrial Estate
Town or cityPwllheli, Gwynedd, LL53 5YT
CountryWales, United Kingdom
Coordinates52°53′12.5″N 4°24′14.0″W / 52.886806°N 4.403889°W / 52.886806; -4.403889
Opened1891
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/pwllheli-lifeboat-station

Pwllheli Lifeboat Station is located in the town of Pwllheli, which sits on the Llŷn Peninsula, in the historic county of Gwynedd, Wales.

A lifeboat station was first established here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1891.[1]

The station currently operates a D-class (IB1) lifeboat, Robert J Wright (D-811), on station since 2017.[2]

History[edit]

It is said that the first lifeboat at Pwllheli was placed in the care of Pwllheli Town Council, following the death of Lifeboat Designer Henry Thomas Richardson in 1878, but there are no service records, and no mention of what became of the boat.[3]

Henry Richardson, and his son Henry Thomas Richardson, were the inventors of a type of lifeboat known as the 'Tubular'. The Tubular lifeboat was effectively a type of catamaran, or raft, with a flat deck mounted between two buoyant tubes. The deck of the boat is said to have been 11 inches above the water. This type of craft found favour at Rhyl and New Brighton, but few places otherwise.[4]

When Henry T. Richardson, then of Brynhrfryd, Pwllheli, died on 21 November 1878, he bequeathed to the RNLI, at the death of his wife, the sum of £10,000, to include the provision of two tubular lifeboats, their ongoing maintenance, and the opening of a lifeboat station in Pwllheli. After communication with the Town Clerk in August 1886, the RNLI agreed to open a lifeboat station at Pwllheli.[5]

A boathouse, designed by RNLI Architect Mr. W. T. Douglas, was constructed by E. Williams on a site owned by the town council at Gimblet Rock, at a cost of £609-14s-0d. A 14-oared 35-feet 6in long Tubular-class boat was built by Mechan & Co, of Glasgow, costing £633, and following trials in Liverpool, arrived in Pwllheli in April 1991. It was later named Caroline Richardson (ON 287), after the donor's mother.[6]

It is with some irony, that the Tubular lifeboat designed by the founder of the station, was not liked by the crew. It served just one year at Pwllheli, being launched just once, before it was transferred to Rhyl. In fact, such was the dislike for this type of boat, that the RNLI went to court to gain permission to reallocate the funds to standard type lifeboats, which was granted.[7]

A replacement for the Tubular lifeboat arrived in November 1892, Margaret Platt of Stalybridge (ON 330), a 38-foot 12-oared Self-righting 'pulling and sailing' lifeboat, one using oars and sails, built by McAlister, and costing £423. In just 6 years on service, she would be launched 8 times, and rescue 28 people.[2]

Pwllheli received its first motor lifeboat in 1930. The 40ft Watson-class 40 hp lifeboat Maria (ON 560) was placed at Pwllheli, and after successful trials, was soon followed with a permanent boat, the larger 43ft Watson William McPherson (ON 620). Due to its size, the boat was moored afloat. With a motor-lifeboat placed at Pwllheli, the flanking stations at Criccieth and Abersoch were closed.[6]

1891 Pwllheli Lifeboat Station

For some time, silting at the entrance to Pwllheli harbour prevented the lifeboat getting out at dead-low water. On 3 September 1951, Pwllheli lifeboat was called to the capsized sailing boat Dorothy from Morfa Bychann public school camp, but couldn't launch. By the time Barmouth lifeboat arrived, a School Master and four boys had drowned. Investigations into the accident resulted in the reopening of Criccieth Lifeboat Station in 1953, and the placement of a smaller carriage-based Liverpool-class lifeboat at Pwllheli, Katherine and Virgoe Buckland (ON 905), which would be housed in the boathouse. The building had doors at both ends, allowing the boat to be launched, using a new tractor, either into the harbour, or over the beach into the sea.[6]

With post war leisure activity increasing at the coast, a fast response Inshore rescue boat (IRB), now known as an Inshore lifeboat (ILB), D-class (RFD PB16) (D-16) was placed at Pwllheli in 1964.[2] The latest ILB on station is the D-class (IB1) Robert J Wright (D-811), named in memory of the former Pwllheli Coxswain, who collapsed and died of a heart attack on the lifeboat during a call in 2015.[8]

Ferrari 250 GT SWB 1995GT

In 2015, the RNLI received the most valuable items ever left to the Institution in a single legacy. In a most extraordinary bequest, the RNLI received two rare Ferrari cars from the estate of the late Richard Colton, businessman. Both were sent to auction:

This donation has already helped fund two Shannon-class lifeboats, now based at Hastings and Barry Dock. £100,000 raised locally to help provide a new boathouse for Pwllheli was boosted massively by the allocation of £2.8m from the Colton legacy. A new state-of-the-art boathouse was constructed at Glan-Y-Don, completed in 2020, which was opened officially in September 2021 to house their new Shannon lifeboat 13-39 Smith Brothers (ON 1346).[9][10][11]

In January 2024, following a breakdown in crew relationships, the station was closed, and the Shannon-class lifeboat was removed to RNLI headquarters at Poole, and temporarily placed into the Relief fleet. All volunteer crew were stood down. The station reopened on 3 April 2024 to allow limited operation of the D-class lifeboat, whilst further crew training would continue.[12][13]

On 8 May 2024, it was announced that the Pwllheli Shannon lifeboat 13-39 Smith Brothers (ON 1346) would be returning to station, for a period of intensive crew training to commence on 1 July 2024, before the boat returns to active duty.[14]

Station honours[edit]

The following are awards made to the crew of Pwllheli Lifeboat Station[1]

  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
W McGill, Acting Coxswain - 1972
Roy Morris, crew member - 1972
Robert Wright, Coxswain - 1994
  • A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
Clive Moore, Emergency Mechanic - 1994
Robert Wright, Coxswain - 2003
Andy Green, Helmsman - 2007
Robert John Wright, Coxswain - 2008QBH[15]

Pwllheli lifeboats[edit]

All-weather lifeboats[edit]

ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name In service[2] Class Comments
287 – Caroline Richardson 1891–1892 35-foot 6in Tubular [Note 1]
330 – Margaret Platt of Stalybridge 1892–1898 38-foot Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 2]
418 – Margaret Platt of Stalybridge 1898–1930 38-foot Watson (P&S) [Note 3]
560 – Maria 1930–1931 40ft Watson Ex-Portpatrick, Broughty Ferry
620 – William McPherson 1931–1940 43ft Watson Ex-Aldeburgh, Campbeltown
690 – C.and S. 1940–1943 45ft Watson
841 – Manchester & Salford XXIX 1943–1953 46ft Watson Ex-Dunmore East
905 – Katherine and Virgoe Buckland 1953–1972 Liverpool
869 – Anthony Robert Marshall 1972–1979 Liverpool Ex-Rhyl
978 37-11 The Royal Thames 1979–1991 37ft Oakley Ex-Runswick Bay, Caister
1168 12-010 Lilly and Vincent Anthony 1991–2021 Mersey
1346 13-39 Smith Brothers 2021–2024 Shannon [16]

Inshore lifeboats[edit]

Op. No.[b] Name In service [2] Class Comments
D-16 Unnamed 1964 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-20 Unnamed 1965–1966 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-25 Unnamed 1967 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-153 Unnamed 1968–1978 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-265 Unnamed 1979–1988 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-372 The Lion 1988–1997 D-class (EA16)
D-522 City of Chester II 1997–2007 D-class (EA16)
D-676 Leslie and Peter Downes 2007–2017 D-class (IB1) [17]
D-811 Robert J Wright 2017– D-class (IB1) [8]

Launch and recovery tractors[edit]

Op. No.[b] Reg. No. Type In service[2] Comments
T53 KXT 421 Case LA 1953
T58 OJJ 312 Fowler Challenger III 1953–1965
T63 PXF 163 Fowler 1965–1975
T79 DLB 481C Case 1000D 1975–1976
T66 XYP 400 Fowler 1976–1986
T68 YUV 742 Fowler 1986–1987
T103 E589 WAW Talus MB-H Crawler 1987–2001
T98 C168 NAW Talus MB-H Crawler 2000–2011
T94 B567 FAW Talus MB-H Crawler 2011–2022
SC-T24 HF70 EBK SLARS (Clayton) 2021– John Llewellyn Mostyn Hughes
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ^ a b c Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ 35-foot 6in 14-oared Tubular lifeboat, built by Machan of Glasgow, costing £633
  2. ^ 38-foot 12-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by McAlister, costing £423
  3. ^ 38-foot 12-oared Watson-class non-self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Strickland of Dartmouth, Devon, costing £644

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Pwllheli's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  3. ^ "Badau Achub Llŷn / Llŷn Lifeboats". Cimwch.com. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Tubular Life-Boat". The Lifeboat. 1 (06). September 1852. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Noble Bequests". The Wrexham Advertiser. 7 December 1878. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Morris, Jeff (January 1991). The Story of the Pwllheli Lifeboats (1891–1991). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 1–22.
  7. ^ "Tubular Lifeboats". The Barry Herald. 11 March 1898. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Lifeboat named in memory of coxswain Robert Wright". BBC. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Ferraris sale worth £8.5m help fund Pwllheli RNLI boathouse". BBC. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  10. ^ Brendon Williams (18 December 2020). "RNLI sells two Ferraris to buy Pwllheli lifeboat station". BBC. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Pwllheli boathouse races to the finish line with £2.8M boost from Ferrari sale". Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  12. ^ Rush, Danielle (9 February 2024). "Update on Pwllheli Lifeboat Station". RNLI. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  13. ^ Rush, Danielle (27 March 2024). "Pwllheli RNLI D-class lifeboat to return to limited service". RNLI. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  14. ^ Rush, Danielle; Jones, Caroline (8 May 2024). "Shannon class all-weather lifeboat to return to Pwllheli for intensive training". RNLI. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  16. ^ Forgrave, Andrew (22 April 2021). "Watch £2m jet-propelled lifeboat run aground on North Wales beach - deliberately". North Wales Live. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Lifeboat honours father and son". BBC. 26 April 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

External links[edit]

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