Cullercoats Lifeboat Station

Cullercoats Lifeboat Station is located on the north side of Cullercoats Harbour, in the town of Cullercoats, North Tyneside, in the county of Tyne and Wear.

Cullercoats Lifeboat Station
Cullercoats Lifeboat Station
Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Cullercoats Lifeboat Station
Address	Cullercoats Harbour, North Side
Town or city	Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear, NE30 4PZ
Country	UK
Coordinates	55°02′07.7″N 1°25′55.3″W
Opened	1852
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Cullercoats RNLI Lifeboat Station
Listed Building – Grade II
Feature	Cullercoats Lifeboat Station (1896)
Designated	22 March 2013
Reference no.	1411983[1]

A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1852, which became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854.^[2]

The Cullercoats RNLI station currently operates a B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat Daddy's Girl (B-935), on station since 2022.^[3]

History

In 1852, Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, president of the RNIPLS, made funds available for the provision of a lifeboat at Cullercoats. A 36-foot long, 15-foot wide, stone-built boathouse was constructed, also at the expense of the Duke. A modified lifeboat, based on the prize-winning design of James Beeching, was created by James Peake, Master Shipwright at Woolwich Royal Naval Dockyard, and a carriage to transport the boat was designed by Col. Colquhoun, RA, Master-General of Ordnance. Both lifeboat and carriage arrived in Cullercoats on 3 September 1852, the boat being named Percy in honour of the Duke.^[4]

By 1858, Percy was found to be suffering from dry rot. A replacement 32-foot 10-oared Peake-class lifeboat was ordered from Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £174, and requiring a larger carriage, costing a further £80-5s-0d. Costs were again funded by the Duke of Northumberland, and the boat was once again named Percy.^[4]

A replacement boathouse was constructed in 1866 to accommodate the larger 33-foot lifeboat Palmerston. Thirty years later, a third boathouse was constructed in 1896. A brick structure, it was built on the site of the 1866 boathouse, and cost £750. Funded by the Co-operative wholesale society, who had also funded a lifeboat Co-operator No.1 (ON 5) in 1884, it was opened on 8 August 1896 by Mr Tweedell, chairman of the Newcastle branch of the Society. It is still in use to this day, and is grade II listed by Historic England.^[5][6]

The era of Pulling and Sailing lifeboats (those with oars and sails) at Cullercoats came to an end in 1937, with the arrival of a Liverpool-class motor-powered lifeboat (which would also still have sails), the Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794). The boat had a single 35-hp engine, delivering a speed of 7.33 knots, and cost £3,684. After 85 years, this would also be the first non-self-righting lifeboat at Cullercoats, which 2 years later would prove very costly.^[7]

On a training exercise in 1939, the lifeboat was capsized off Sharpness Point. 6 crewmen were lost, including the Coxswain and the Honorary Secretary. The remaining crew refused to use another non-self-righting lifeboat, and the station was closed until the arrival of a self-righting boat in 1940.^[5][8]

Following a coastal review in 1968, with All-weather lifeboats at flanking stations Blyth and Tynemouth, and with a D-class Inshore lifeboat at Cullercoats since 1965, the RNLI decided to withdraw the Cullercoats All-weather lifeboat. 37-08 Sir James Knott (ON 975) was formally withdrawn on 4 May 1969, being transferred to the Relief fleet, and then to Redcar in 1972. Over the following years, the D-class lifeboats would be replaced with a larger twin engine C-class lifeboat, and then in 1991, a B-class (Atlantic 21).^[4]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Cullercoats.^[5][9]

• RNIPLS Silver Medal

Alexander Donkin – 1827

The medal for this service was stolen and a new medal was re-issued in 1833.

John Redford, Coxswain – 1853

• RNLI Silver Medal

Andrew Taylor, Coxswain – 1898

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Major William Adamson, Honorary Secretary – 1886

Brian Gould, Helm – 1995

Robert Oliver, Helm – 1996

Robert Oliver, Helm – 2012

• The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award 1996
  (for the outstanding inshore lifeboat rescue of the year)

Robert Oliver, Helm – 1997

• A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution

Mark Charlton, crew member – 1996

David Pendlington, crew member – 1996

Robert Oliver – 2010

Peter Clark – 2010

Grahame Wood – 2010

Gary Hawksford – 2010

Grahame Wood, crew member – 2012

Stephen Potts, crew member – 2012

• Exceptional First Aid Certificate

Ross Dun, crew member – 2011

Grahame Wood, crew member – 2011

• Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Raymond James Taylor, Honorary Secretary – 1995^[10]

• British Empire Medal

Geoffrey Cowan, Community Safety Officer – 2020^[11]

Roll of honour

In memory of those lost whilst serving Cullercoats lifeboat.^[5]

• Liverpool-class lifeboat Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794), a non-self-righting lifeboat, capsized on exercise, 22 April 1939

George Brunton, Coxswain

J Redford Armstrong, Second Coxswain

J Leonard Abel, Motor Mechanic

John Heddon Scott, Assistant Mechanic

Lt. Cmdr Lionel E R Blakeney-Booth, RN, Honorary Secretary

Kenneth L Biggar, naval cadet

Cullercoats lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

ON[a]	Op. No.[b]	Name	On Station[12]	Class	Comments
Pre-250	–	Percy	1852–1859	30-foot Self-righting Peake (P&S)	[Note 1]
Pre-351	–	Percy	1859–1865	32-foot Self-righting Peake (P&S)	[Note 2]
Pre-452	–	Palmerston	1866–1884	33-foot 1in Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 3]
5	–	Co-operator No.1	1884–1907	37-foot 1in Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 4]
571	–	Co-operator No.1	1907–1937	37-foot 6in Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 5]
794	–	Richard Silver Oliver	1937–1939	Liverpool	[Note 6]
Station Closed 1939–1940
727	–	Westmorland	1940–1951	35ft 6in Self-righting motor
880	–	Isaac and Mary Bolton	1951–1963	35ft 6in Self-righting motor
975	37-08	Sir James Knott	1963–1969	Oakley

All-weather lifeboat withdrawn in 1969

Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Inshore lifeboats

D-class and C-class

Op. No.[b]	Name	On Station[13]	Class	Comments
D-50	Unnamed	1965	D-class (RFD PB16)
D-87	Unnamed	1966–1968	D-class (RFD PB16)
D-100	Unnamed	1969–1974	D-class (RFD PB16)
D-229	Unnamed	1975–1984	D-class (Zodiac III)
C-512	Unnamed	1984–1991	C-class (Zodiac Grand Raid)	formerly D-512

B-class

Op. No.[b]	Name	On Station[14]	Class	Comments
B-514	Guide Friendship 1	1991–1992	B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-591	Edmund and Joan White	1992–2006	B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-590	Wolverson X-Ray	2006–2007	B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-811	Hylton Burdon	2007–2022	B-class (Atlantic 85)
B-935	Daddy's Girl	2022–	B-class (Atlantic 85)

Launch and recovery tractors

Op. No.[b]	Reg. No.	Type	On Station[15]	Comments
T19	TY 2547	Clayton	1949–1951
T5	IJ 3424	Clayton	1951–1954
T14	XW 2075	Clayton	1954–1955
T35	FYM 558	Case L	1955–1963
T71	519 GYM	Case 1000D	1963–1969
TW18H	H710 RUX	Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk1.5	1991–1993
TW22H	K501 AUX	Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk2	1993–2004
TW21H	J495 XUJ	Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk2	2004–2017
TW59H	DU04 DVW	Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk2	2017–

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

• List of RNLI stations
• List of former RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

Notes

1. 30-foot 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat
2. 32-foot 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London
3. 33-foot 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London
4. 37-foot 1in 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London
5. 37-foot 6in Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Thames Ironworks.
6. Capsized on exercise, 1939, with the loss of 6 crew. The station was closed until 1940.