Cullercoats Lifeboat Station

Cullercoats Lifeboat Station is located on the north side of Cullercoats Harbour, in Cullercoats, North Tyneside, a town which sits 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the mouth of the River Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear. A lifeboat station was established at Cullercoats 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. The Cullercoats lifeboat station currently operates a B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat Daddy's Girl (B-935), on station since 2022. 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 constructed 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 first 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). Station honours The following are awards made at Cullercoats. 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 British Empire Medal Geoffrey Cowan, Community Safety Officer – 2020 Roll of honour In memory of those lost whilst serving Cullercoats lifeboat. Lost when Liverpool-class lifeboat Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794), a non-self-righting lifeboat, capsized on exercise, 22 April 1939 George Brunton, Coxswain (45) John Redford Armstrong, Second Coxswain (44) John Leonard Abel, Motor Mechanic (36) John Heddon Scott, Assistant Mechanic (33) Lt. Cmdr. Lionel E. R. Blakeney-Booth, RN, Honorary Secretary (43) Kenneth L. Biggar, naval cadet (16) Cullercoats lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list. Motor lifeboats All-weather lifeboat withdrawn in 1969 Inshore lifeboats D-class and C-class B-class Launch and recovery tractors See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats Notes References External links Cullercoats RNLI Lifeboat Station