Walton and Frinton Lifeboat Station

Walton and Frinton Lifeboat Station is located at The Parade in Walton-on-the-Naze, a seaside town in the Tendring District of the county of Essex.^[1]

Walton and Frinton Lifeboat Station
Walton and Frinton Lifeboat Station
Walton on the Naze
General information
Type	Lifeboat Station
Address	The Parade
Town or city	Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, CO14 8EA
Country	England
Coordinates	51°50′50.20″N 1°16′17.81″E
Opened	1884
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Walton and Frinton RNLI Lifeboat Station

A lifeboat station was established at Walton-on-the-Naze in 1884 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).^[2]

In October 2022, the RNLI announced changes to the lifeboat cover on the Essex coast. In April 2024, the Walton and Frinton All-weather Tamar lifeboat 16-19 Irene Muriel Rees (ON 1299) was withdrawn, leaving no operational lifeboat on station. The former boarding-boat John Wickens (D-798), now officially in the relief fleet, is still on station for training and evaluation purposes.^[3][4]

History

1884–1914: early years

The RNLI station opened in 1884, with a 37-foot self-righting lifeboat called Honourable Artillery Company (ON 31) built by Forrestt and Son of Limehouse.^[5] The lifeboat was paid by and named for the drama club of the Honourable Artillery Company, which had been stationed at Walton in 1860. The lifeboat was stationed in a purpose-built lifeboat house on northern end of the Walton seafront.^[6] This boathouse is now the home of the Walton Maritime Museum.^[7]

In 1894, disagreements between the RNLI crew and station committee led to some crew members resigning to set up a private lifeboat station in the town.^[8] For the next twenty years, Walton was covered by two lifeboats whose crews were in tense rivalry.^[9]

In 1900 the Honourable Artillery Company was retired after 16 years of service. Her replacement was a Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboat called James Stevens No.14 (ON 432).^[10]

1914–1928: World War I and replacement lifeboats

During World War I (1914 – 1918), the Walton lifeboat assisted both Allied and neutral vessels off the Essex coast. On 29 December 1917, the James Stevens was called out in a gale to assist the 780-ton SS Peregrine of London, which was stranded just off Clacton-on-Sea.^[11] After a lengthy search, the lifeboat located the Peregrine and rescued all 59 passengers and the chief steward. After dropping the passengers off, the lifeboat returned to the ship, which had broken in half, and saved the remaining 32 crew members. The rescue was not completed until 9 am on December 30. The James Stevens No.14 was badly damaged during the rescue, and her first and second coxswains were awarded RNLI Medals in Silver and Bronze, respectively.^[12]

James Stevens No.14 was at Walton for a total of 28 years. In 1928 she was replaced by a new Ramsgate-class lifeboat motor lifeboat named E.M.E.D. (ON 705).^[13]

1940–1977: Dunkirk evacuation and new lifeboats

In May 1940, the E.M.E.D. was one of the Little Ships of Dunkirk which assisted in the Dunkirk evacuation early in World War II. She was commandeered and crewed by the Royal Navy for transporting soldiers on the beach to larger ships waiting offshore. Working inside Dunkirk harbour, E.M.E.D. survived three enemy air attacks off Gravelines, although a during one attack a shell killed the officer in charge of the lifeboat.^[13] Despite sustaining some damage during the operation, she was repaired and returned to Walton lifeboat station after the evacuation. In total, the E.M.E.D. lifeboat was launched a total of 57 times during the war and is credited with saving 20 lives.^[6]

In 1953 the station received a new 46 ft 9 in Watson class lifeboat called Edian Courtauld (ON 910) to replace E.M.E.D. The Edian was the last new-built lifeboat allocated to Walton until 2011. Built at a cost of £29,687, she was a gift from yachtsman and Arctic explorer Augustine Courtauld, and was named for his mother.^[14] Originally powered by twin Ferry VE4 diesels, these were replaced by 65 hp Parsons Barracuda engines in 1967. Edian Courtauld served at Walton until July 1977, launching on service 224 times and saving 143 lives.^{[citation needed]}

In 1977, Edian Courtauld was replaced by a self-righting 48ft 6in Oakley-class boat, The Earl and Countess Howe (ON968), which had been built in 1963 at a cost of £40,348. Powered by twin Gardner 6LX 110 hp diesels, she had spent 14 years stationed at Yarmouth Lifeboat Station on the Isle of Wight before being transferred to Walton. The Earl and Countess Howe served at Walton until January 1984, launching on service 64 times and saving 21 lives.^{[citation needed]}

1984–2005: lifeboat replacements and station work

In 1984, The Earl and Countess Howe was retired and replaced by City of Birmingham (ON 1012), a 48ft 6in Solent-class lifeboat.^[15] The City of Birmingham launched to several of the Radio Ships moored off the Essex coast including to the Radio Caroline ship Ross Revenge. This lifeboat was stationed at Walton until August 1993 and during her service there she launched on service 186 times, saving 40 lives.^[2]

In 1993, the second prototype Tyne-class lifeboat Sam and Joan Woods (ON 1075), built in 1982, was allocated to the station after spending nine years in the RNLI Relief Fleet. Sam and Joan Woods stayed at Walton for less than three years, launching on service 67 times and saving 10 lives, before being replaced in May 1996 by the 1989-built Tyne-class vessel Kenneth Thelwall II (ON 1154).^[16]

In 1998 work was carried out on the station facilities. ^[15]

In 2005 the station was once again improved with a new berth and wave break constructed alongside the pier, allowing quicker and safer boarding response times. The work cost around £1 million.^[17] The new wave break was officially opened on 1 May 2005 by the RNLI's Chief of Operations Michael Vlasto.^[18][19]

2011: Irene Muriel Rees

The Irene Muriel Rees (ON 1299) anchored in the wave-break

Kenneth Thelwall II served at Walton until May 2011, when the station received its first brand new lifeboat since 1953, the Tamar-class Irene Muriel Rees (ON 1299). The lifeboat was built at a cost of £2.7 million, funded in part from the legacy of £1 million from the estate of Irene Muriel Rees.^[20]

2018–2024

In 2018, the RNLI had to relocate Irene Muriel Rees to a mooring at Titchmarsh Marina, after safety concerns were raised over the structure of Walton Pier. The boat was returned to the Pier mooring after three weeks, but crews had undergone training in that time, so they could access the boat using a small inflatable boarding boat, rather than access via the Pier.^[21]

In October 2022, the RNLI announced changes to the Essex lifeboat allocation. A new Shannon-class lifeboat was to be stationed at the flanking station at Clacton-on-Sea, and the Walton and Frinton Tamar will be withdrawn, for reallocation elsewhere, being replaced with a D-class Inshore lifeboat. It was expected that the changes would be completed by 2024.^[4]

Walton and Frinton Lifeboat 16-19 Irene Muriel Rees (ON 1299) was transferred to RNLI HQ in April 2024, leaving no operational lifeboat on station. In a statement on 14 May 2024, it was confirmed that the All-weather lifeboat was permanently withdrawn from Walton and Frinton, and would not be returning. Efforts are underway to accelerate the delivery time of its replacement, a D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat. Until the new boat is on service, lifeboat cover will be provided from flanking stations at Harwich, and at Clacton-on-Sea, where a new Shannon-class lifeboat went on service in March 2025.^[3][22]

Station awards

The following are awards made at Walton and Frinton^[2][23]

• RNLI Silver Medal

Henry Britton, Coxswain – 1902

William Hammond, Coxswain – 1918

Thomas Henry Bloom, Coxswain – 1939

Frank Bloom, Coxswain – 1976

• RNLI Bronze Medal

John Charles Byford, Second Coxswain – 1918

Walter Jonas Oxley, crew member – 1939

Fraser Thomas Bacon, crew member – 1939

Frederick John Williams, crew member – 1939

Thomas Henry Bloom, Coxswain – 1941

Thomas Claude Brooke, Mechanic – 1941

Thomas Henry Bloom, Coxswain – 1946 (Second Service Award)

Walter Jonas Oxley, Coxswain – 1964 (Second Service Award)

Frank Bloom, Coxswain – 1967

Keith Richardson, Assistant Mechanic – 1973

Jack Barrett, crew member – 1973

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Coxswain Frank Bloom and to each of his crew – 1966

The nine members of the Walton and Frinton Lifeboat crew – 1967

The Crew of Walton and Frinton Lifeboat – 1973

The Crew of Walton and Frinton Lifeboat – 1976

Dennis Finch, Coxswain – 1985

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

D. Finch, Coxswain – 1985

R. Kemp, Second Coxswain – 1985

J. Berry, Mechanic – 1985

M. Richardson, Asst Mechanic – 1985

B. Oxley, crew member – 1985

T. Halls, crew member – 1985

B. Ward, crew member – 1985

S. Moore, crew member – 1985

G. Edwards, crew member – 1985

J. Fletcher, shore helper – 1985

A. Davies, shore helper – 1985

J. Oxley, shore helper – 1985

J. Hatcher, shore helper – 1985

R. Peters, shore helper – 1985

K. Coleman, shore helper – 1985

R. Lacey, shore helper – 1985

S. Oxley, shore helper – 1985

Robert Thomas Kemp, Coxswain – 1990

Brian Oxley, Coxswain – 1995

Gary Edwards, Second Coxswain – 1995

James Berry, Mechanic – 1995

Michael Richardson, Assistant Mechanic – 1995

Russell Bettany, crew member – 1995

Roger Lacy, crew member – 1995

John Oxley, crew member – 1995

• Letters of Thanks, signed by the Deputy Director

Dennis Finch, Coxswain and his crew – 1983

• Awarded an Inscribed Silver Watch by the German Government

John Byford, Coxswain – 1932

Walton and Frinton lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

On Station[24]	ON[a]	Op. No.[b]	Name	Class	Comments[24]
1884−1900	31	−	Honourable Artillery Company	34-foot Peake Self-righting (P&S)	34 ft (10 m) pulling and sailing lifeboat.
1900−1928	432	−	James Stevens No. 14	Norfolk and Suffolk	Motor fitted in 1906. Sold in 1928, reported to be in store at Walton-on-the-Naze in 2023.[25]
1928−1953	705	−	E.M.E.D.	Ramsgate	Sold in 1956 for further use in Chile. Now preserved at Valparaíso.
1953−1977	910	−	Edian Courtauld	46-foot 9in Watson	Sold in 1981, now a pleasure boat in Bristol.
1977–1984	968	48-01	The Earl and Countess Howe	Oakley	First stationed at Yarmouth in 1963.
1984−1993	1012	48-009	City of Birmingham	Solent	First stationed at Exmouth in 1970. Sold for further use in Uruguay; retired in 2015 and now reported to stored near Montevideo.
1993−1996	1075	47-002	Sam and Joan Woods	Tyne	Originally deployed in the Relief Fleet from 1982. Sold for further use in Finland from 2002.
1996−2011	1154	47-036	Kenneth Thewall II	Tyne	Originally stationed at Ramsgate in 1989. Sold in 2011, last reported working at Castletownbere.
2011−2024	1299	16-19	Irene Muriel Rees	Tamar	Withdrawn to relief fleet, April 2024[3]

All-weather lifeboat withdrawn from station, April 2024.

Inshore lifeboats

On Station[26]	Op. No.[b]	Name	Class	Comments
2024−	D-798	John Wickens	D-class (IB1)	Former Boarding Boat. On station for training and evaluation.

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.

Geographic location of neighbouring stations

See also

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