Borth Lifeboat Station

Borth Lifeboat Station (Welsh: Gorsaf Bad Achub Y Borth) is located on High Street in Borth, a village 7 miles (11 km) north of Aberystwyth, overlooking Cardigan Bay, in the county of Ceredigion. A lifeboat station was established at Borth by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in June 1966. The station currently operates a D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat, Annie Lizzie (D-893), on station since 2024. History A private lifeboat operated at Borth between 1830 and 1850. No further details are available. In 1964, in response to an increasing amount of water-based leisure activity, the RNLI placed 25 small fast Inshore lifeboats around the country. These were easily launched with just a few people, ideal to respond quickly to local emergencies. More stations were opened in the following years, and a new station was opened at Borth in June 1966. The choice of Borth as a location for a lifeboat is accredited to the campaigning of two local men, councillor Gethin Evans, and WWII veteran Aran Morris , who said that his memories of Arctic convoys of World War II inspired him to press for the lifeboat station, because it used to take rescuers 20 minutes to get to Borth from Aberystwyth and Aberdyfi during an emergency. A new station boathouse was constructed in 1987, to replace the original wooden Hardun type boathouse. This provided better storage areas for the boat and equipment, new crew facilities, and a souvenir shop. On 10 December 2000, the Borth D-class (EA16) lifeboat May (D-479) was returning from exercise, when they were called to assist in the rescue of the Helm of the Aberdovey B-class (Atlantic 75), who had been thrown overboard during their exercise session. The man had been swept into shallower water, which could not be accessed by the larger Atlantic 75. The Borth lifeboat set out on the 3 mi (4.8 km) journey, with Helm Amos Bewick delivering an outstanding job of keeping the small Inshore boat steady in now worsening conditions, arriving on scene in 20 minutes. After 10 minutes searching, the crew man was found, and brought aboard the Borth lifeboat, the other two crew members of the D-class, Martyn Davies and Alex Shepard, needing all their effort to keep the small inshore boat from capsizing in the large waves. Returning to Aberdovey, the crewman was airlifted to hospital. For his skills and seamanship, Helm Amos Bewick was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal, with Medal Service Certificates awarded to Davies and Shepard. Thomas Aran Morris, Vice-President of Borth Lifeboat Station, was awarded the MBE in 2008. Amos Bewick was awarded with a certificate in 2018, to acknowledge his 21 years of outstanding service with Borth Lifeboat. Station honours The following are awards made to the crew of Borth Lifeboat Station RNLI Bronze Medal Amos Bewick, Helm – 2001 Medal Service Certificates and badges Martyn Davies, crew member – 2001 Alex Shepard, crew member – 2001 The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum Ronald Davies, Helm – 1978 Ronald Davies, Helm – 1987 Vellum Service Certificates Dilwyn Owen, crew member – 1987 Richard Jeremy, crew member – 1987 Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution Louis Paul De La Haye, crew member – 1987 Andrew William Doyle, crew member – 1987 Richard Jenkins, crew member – 1998 Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) Ronald James Davies, Lifeboat Operations Manager – 2004QBH Thomas Aran Morris, Vice-President, Borth Lifeboat Station – 2008NYH Borth lifeboats Launch and recovery tractors See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats References External links Borth RNLI Lifeboat Station