Anstruther Lifeboat Station

Anstruther Lifeboat Station operates from Middle Pier at Anstruther, a harbour town on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately 9 miles (14 km) south-east of St Andrews, on the Fife peninsula, on the east coast of Scotland. A lifeboat station was established in Anstruther by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1865. The station currently operates the All-weather Shannon-class lifeboat 13-47 Robert and Catherine Steen (ON 1354), on station since 2024, and the D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat Akira (D-802), on station since 2016. History Ever since its founding in 1824, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), later to become the RNLI in 1854, would award medals for deeds of gallantry at sea, even if no lifeboats were involved. Between 1832 and 1834, 5 medals for gallantry were awarded on three occasions in the Anstruther area. In 1834, the RNIPLS Gold Medal (Second-Service Gold lifeboat) was awarded to Lt. Henry Randall, RN, and a RNIPLS Silver Medal (Second-Service Silver lifeboat) to Chief Boatman Kenneth McCulloch, for the rescue of seven crew off the schooner Wanderer, when it was wrecked at Elie in a storm in 1833. Randall had previously been awarded a gold medal for a rescue off Aberdeen in 1825, and Kenneth McCulloch was awarded the RNIPLS Silver Medal for saving the three crew of the sloop Vine when it was wrecked at Elie harbour on the 6 March 1832. Silver medals were also awarded to two other coastguards, A Murray and J Mason, for saving the five crew of the schooner John, when it got into trouble during bad weather in December 1833. On Thursday 1 June 1865, following his visit to the town, the deputy Inspector of Lifeboats recommended to the RNLI committee of management, that a lifeboat station be established at Anstruther. A 32-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' lifeboat, on with sails and (10) oars, was dispatched to the town. The lifeboat arrived on 18 November 1865, with the day being declared a local holiday. Having been conveyed to the town free of charge by the various railway companies, the lifeboat was drawn in procession through the town on its carriage to West Beach. "The Institution has just founded a life-boat station at Anstruther, on the coast of Fifeshire, where the fishermen were very anxious to have a life-boat for service to shipwrecked vessels, as well as to fishing-boats, which might be overtaken by storms, and, in running for shelter, might get blown to leeward of the pier, and be wrecked." The entire cost of the station had been funded by the gift of £600 (equivalent to £65,179 in 2025) from Miss H. Harvie of Cheltenham, along with a donation of £60 from local fishermen. She requested that the lifeboat be named in memory of the pioneering meteorologist Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865). After a service of dedication by Rev. A. Gregory, the lifeboat was named Admiral Fitzroy. In 1892, the RNLI inspector found there was no need to employ a paid bowman for the lifeboat. as the station at that time had six volunteer coxswains and a full crew to staff it, although by 1899, the number of coxswains had reduced to four. Up until 1897 the station had used a mortar to alert the volunteer crew, however this was deemed too dangerous to vessels in the harbour, so a handbell was used from that point on. A new lifeboat house was constructed on Middle Pier in 1904, costing over £1,600. Around this time a new Coxswain Superintendent was appointed, to replace the numerous coxswains who has operated the station before on a rotating basis. In 1965 a new Oakley-class lifeboat was sent to the station. It was named The Doctors (ON 983) in a ceremony by Princess Alice in memory of the family of Dr Nora Allan, who had gifted the cost of the lifeboat. At this time the station was re-adapted for the new lifeboat, a trailer and tractor. The Doctors was withdrawn from the station after 26 years and was replaced by a Mersey-class lifeboat in 1991. At this time the slipway was refurbished and the boathouse extended and modernised. Further modifications were made to the boathouse in 1995 with a two-storey extension, providing new crew facilities. In order to provide a faster local response, the D-class (EA16) Inshore lifeboat Global Marine (D-552) was placed on service in 2003, for a 12-month trial period. A D-class Inshore lifeboat remains on service at Anstruther to this day. The station was again upgraded in 2009, at a cost of £273,000, to provide permanent housing for the D-class (IB1) Inshore Lifeboat The Rotary Centenary Queen (D-667). Volunteer lifeboat helm Barry Gourlay, a mechanical engineer, received the RNLI Bronze Medal in 2013, and volunteer crew members fisherman Euan Hoggan and PhD student Rebecca Jewell were accorded the "Thanks of the Institute inscribed on Vellum", for the rescue of two people in difficult sea conditions. MV Princess had run onto rocks near Crail in the early hours and was breaking up in a force 5 winds, heavy rain and a 3 metres (9.8 ft) swell. The volunteer crew used the Inshore lifeboat, later transferring the casualties to Kingdom of Fife. The RNLI stated in the award ceremony in London that the volunteer had "undoubtedly" save the lives of the stricken crew. 2016 saw the arrival of a replacement D-class (IB1) Inshore Lifeboat Akira (D-802). In 2019 it was announced that the RNLI planned to build a purpose-built new facility further along the shoreline that will be capable of housing a Shannon-class lifeboat. The Anstruther crew featured on a BBC documentary Saving Lives At Sea in 2019. In March 2024, prior to service, the new Anstruther Shannon-class lifeboat, 13-47 Robert and Catherine Steen (ON 1354), was placed on display at Westminster Abbey for the RNLI 200 anniversary service. She was later transported to Anstruther, and became operational at 10:00 on 27 August 2024. Station honours The following are awards made at Anstruther: RNIPLS Gold Medal For saving seven lives of the schooner Wanderer, 2 February 1833 Lt. Henry E. Randall, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1834 (Second-Service Gold Lifeboat) RNIPLS Silver Medal For saving three lives of the sloop Vine, 6 March 1832 Kenneth McCulloch, Chief Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1832 For saving seven lives of the schooner Wanderer, 2 February 1833 Kenneth McCulloch, Chief Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1834 (Second-Service Silver Lifeboat) For saving five lives of the schooner John, 3 December 1833 Andrew Murray, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1834 John Mason, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1834 RNLI Bronze Medal For saving two lives of the motor vessel Princess, 1 August 2012 Barry A. L. Gourlay, Helm – 2013 Thanks of the Institute inscribed on Vellum For saving two lives of the motor vessel Princess, 1 August 2012 Euan Hoggan, Crew Member – 2013 Rebecca Jewell, Crew Member – 2013 Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) For services to the Institution John Salter Murray (former Coxswain) – 2007QBH Anstruther 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 Inshore lifeboats Launch and recovery tractors See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats Notes References