Ramsgate Lifeboat Station
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station.
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station is located in Kent
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationRamsgate Lifeboat Station, Western Crosswall, Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Ramsgate, Kent
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°19′44″N 1°25′10″E / 51.32889°N 1.41944°E / 51.32889; 1.41944
Opened1802 The first lifeboat, built by Henry Greathead, was provided by the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour.
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
Technical details
MaterialFabricated steelwork clad
with timber, and concrete

Ramsgate Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in the Port of Ramsgate in the English county of Kent. The station is one of the oldest to operate in the British Isles and has launched to many notable services. Among the awards won by its crews over the years are 42 RNLI medals, including 2 gold, 39 silver and 1 bronze, the last being awarded in 2000.[1]

History

A lifeboat station was first established at Ramsgate Harbour in 1802 by the trustees of the harbour,[1] pre dating the formation of any national lifeboat organisation by more than 20 years. After a lapse in service between 1824 and 1851 a station was re-established by the trustees.

In 1865, the lifeboat station was taken over by the Board of Trade and the RNLI, who ran it jointly until 1922, when the RNLI it took over full responsibility, and who run the service to this day.[1] The current lifeboat station, on the harbour wall between the inner and outer pools of the main harbour opened in 1998 and services both an onshore lifeboat, the 'Bob Turnbull' and offshore lifeboat, the 'RNLB Esme Anderson'.[2][3][4]

Dunkirk evacuation

During the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk in 1940, Lifeboat Prudential, of Ramsgate was the first little ship to the rescue. The lifeboat left Ramsgate at 2.20 in the afternoon with Coxswain Howard Primrose Knight in command with her own crew of eight men. They had been issued with gas masks, steel helmets and the lifeboat was loaded with four coils of grass warp and cans of fresh water for the troops. She took in tow eight boats, most of them wherries, manned by eighteen naval men, and when she reached Dunkirk her role was to tow the wherries between the beaches and the waiting ships. In total she rescued 2,800 troops from the beaches. For his 'gallantry and determination,' Coxswain Howard Knight was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.[5]

Ramsgate Lifeboats

All Weather Lifeboats

ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name In service[6] Class Comments
Northumberland 1851–1865 Self-Righter
Friend[7] 1865–1866 29ft 1in Self-Righter (P&S)
Bradford 1866–1877 Self-Righter
Bowman[7] 1877 44ft Self-Righter (P&S)
Bradford[7] 1877–1887 44ft Self-Righter (P&S)
117 Bradford 1887–1893 40ft Self-Righter (P&S)
350 Bradford 1893–1905 42ft Self-Righter (motor)
537 Charles and Susanna Stephens 1905–1926 43ft Self-Righter (P&S)
697 Prudential 1925–1953 Ramsgate-class First motor lifeboat at station
901 Michael and Lily Davis 1953–1976 46ft 9in Watson-class
1042 44-016 Ralph and Joy Swann 1976–1990 Waveney-class
1154 47-036 Kenneth Thelwall II 1990–1994 Tyne-class
1197 14-02 Esme Anderson 1994–2023 Trent-class
1303 16-23 Diamond Jubilee[8] 2023– Tamar-class

Inshore Lifeboats

Op. No. Name In service[6] Class Comments
A-500 Unnamed 1969–1971 Hatch-class (previously 17-001)
A-502 Unnamed 1972–1975 Hatch-class (previously 17-003)
A-510 Unnamed 1975–1984 McLachlan-class (previously 18-010)
B-558 Ramsgate Enterprise 1984–2000 Atlantic 21-class
B-765 Bob Turnbull 2000–2014 Atlantic 75-class
B-878 Claire & David Delves 2014– Atlantic 85-class
  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

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Station History". Royal National Lifeboat Institution Ramsgate. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "Boathouses". Royal National Lifeboat Institution Ramsgate.
  3. ↑ "RNLB Esme Anderson". Royal National Lifeboat Institution Ramsgate. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Bob Turnbull". Royal National Lifeboat Institution Ramsgate. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011.
  5. ↑ "No. 34953". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 September 1940. p. 5711.
  6. 1 2 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–128.
  7. 1 2 3 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021 (2021 ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
  8. ↑ Ray, John (13 November 2023). "Arrival of RNLB 'Diamond Jubilee' at Ramsgate's Royal Harbour". RNLI. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.