Holyhead Lifeboat Station

Holyhead Lifeboat Station (Welsh: Gorsaf Bad Achub Caergybi) is located at Newry Beach, off Beach Road, Holyhead, a port town which sits on Holy Island, a smaller island to the north-west of the main Isle of Anglesey, separated by the Cymyran Strait, in North Wales. It is one of the three oldest lifeboat stations situated on the North Wales coast, a disused building of which houses the Holyhead Maritime Museum. A lifeboat was first placed at Holyhead in 1829 by the Anglesey Association for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (AAPLS). Management of the lifeboats of the AAPLS was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1855. The station currently operates 14-19 Ger Tigchelaar (ON 1205), a Trent-class All-weather lifeboat, on station since 2026, and the smaller D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat, Mary & Archie Hooper (D-791), on station since 2016. History In 1808, on behalf of a local committee, William Vickers made an application to Lloyd's of London for assistance funding a lifeboat. At a meeting on 13 January, the request was reviewed and agreed, and a grant of £50 was offered. However, there is no further evidence of any lifeboat, and it is assumed the boat never materialised. A request was then made to the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1825, but again there seems to be no further evidence of a lifeboat. In 1828, the Anglesey Association for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (AAPLS) was founded, by the Rev. James Williams and Mrs Frances Williams, of Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy, Anglesey. On 26 March 1823, they had witnessed the loss of 140 lives from the wreck of the vessel Alert, and spent the following five years raising funds and gaining support for a lifeboat service. A 31-foot 6in (8-oared) Palmer-class lifeboat was constructed by McVeagh of Holyhead, at a cost of £80, and placed at Holyhead in 1829 by the AAPLS. Over the following years, the station would become one of six operated by the AAPLS. In 1854, the RNIPLS changed its name to become the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and in 1855, all six lifeboat stations of the AAPLS, Cemlyn (no.1), Holyhead (no.2), Rhoscolyn (no.3), Penmon (no.4), Llanddwyn (no.5) and Moelfre (no.6), were transferred over to the management of the RNLI. It was usual for the RNLI to immediately replace the lifeboat on assuming management of a station, but in this case, the 1829 lifeboat must have been in reasonable condition, as it wasn't until 1858 that it was replaced. It was by then showing signs of decay, and a 30-foot Peake-class self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (10) oars, was constructed by Forrestt of Limehouse, at a cost of £161. At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 5 August 1875, the receipt of £2,500 was recorded, gifted from Samuel, John and Joshua Fielden, for the construction and maintenance of a lifeboat, to be named Thomas Fielden (ON 192) in memory of their late uncle. The three men were the sons of John Fielden of Todmorden, a British industrialist and Radical Member of Parliament for Oldham (1832–1847). On the death of John's brother Thomas, the three nephews inherited an estate of £1.3million. It was decided to appropriate the funds for the purchase of a 37-foot self-righting lifeboat for Holyhead, where a new boathouse was also constructed. A further gift of £2000 in 1891 funded the replacement 39-foot self-righting lifeboat, again named Thomas Fielden (ON 300). In 1892, Holyhead Lifeboat Station received its first Steam lifeboat, which was one of six to serve in the RNLI. The lifeboat was involved in an operation to rescue crew members of the SS Harold in 1908, which anchored near rocks between North Stack and South Stack. The third steam Lifeboat to serve at Holyhead, James Stevens No.3, was retired in 1928 when it was replaced by a motor-powered Watson-class lifeboat, H.C.J. (ON 708). Twenty-one years later, a new boathouse and slipway were constructed on Salt Island. The boathouse and slipway were used until 1980, when a new Arun-class boat was allocated to the station and kept afloat in the harbour. Unfortunately, wash from the ferry traffic led to the boat's GRP hull being damaged, and as a temporary measure, a steel-hulled Waveney-class boat was placed on station, while the boathouse and slipway were reconditioned and a new Tyne-class boat was constructed for the station. The new boat entered service in 1985, and slipway launching continued until 1997 when a new, more protected, berth was found for another Arun-class boat, 52-37 Kenneth Thelwall (ON 1123) to take over. In 2003, the Arun-class was replaced by the Severn-class Lifeboat, 17–41 Christopher Pearce (ON 1272). An Inshore lifeboat station was established on the site in 1967. The boathouse was expanded in 1987 to fit a D-class (EA16) and its launching trolley. The current inshore boat, Mary & Archie Hooper (D-791), entered service in 2016. Lead was stolen from the station's roof in the morning of 16 June 2011. In February 2015 the station appointed its first female helm. The Christopher Pearce was reallocated to the RNLI relief fleet in 2025, with Holyhead receiving the Trent-class lifeboat 14-07 Frederick Storey Cockburn (ON 1205) from the relief fleet. In February 2026, 14-07 was replaced by 14-19 Ger Tigchelaar (ON 1223), previously at Arklow. Station honours The following are awards made at Holyhead: RNIPLS Gold Medal Capt. William Owen, of the brig Stanley – 1835 RNLI Gold Medal William Owen, Coxswain Superintendent – 1908 Lt. Cmdr. Harold Harknett Harvey , RNR, Inspector of Lifeboats (North West) – 1967 RNIPLS Silver Medal Thomas Hughes, Boatman 1st Class – 1829 Robert Stables, Coxswain – 1833 Capt. William Owen, Master Mariner – 1833 Oliver Anthony, Master Mariner – 1833 Richard Morris, Lifeboat Keeper – 1835 Henry Parry, Quartermaster, H.M. Packet Doberell – 1840 RNLI Silver Medal William Rowlands, Coxswain – 1866 William Rowlands, Coxswain – 1867 (Second-Service clasp) Thomas Roberts, Coxswain – 1883 (This service was carried out in the Rhosneigr lifeboat). Thomas Roberts, Coxswain – 1886 (Second-Service clasp) Edward Jones, Coxswain – 1887 John O. Williams, Chief Officer, H.M. Coastguard, Holyhead, Hon. Secretary – 1888 Edward Jones, Coxswain – 1889 (Second-Service clasp) Robert Jones, Second Coxswain – 1889 Thomas W. Brooke, crewman – 1908 George Jones, crewman – 1908 Lewis Jones, crewman – 1908 Richard Jones, crewman – 1908 Samuel Jones, crewman – 1908 James Lee, crewman – 1908 William McLaughlin, crewman – 1908 Charles H. Marshall, crewman – 1908 William Owen Jnr., crewman – 1908 Lewis Roberts, crewman – 1908 Thomas Alcock, Coxswain – 1967 Eric Samuel Jones, Motor Mechanic – 1967 William Jones, Coxswain – 1977 RNLI Bronze Medal Richard Jones, Coxswain – 1943 John Jones, Motor Mechanic – 1943 Richard Jones, Coxswain – 1949 (Second-Service clasp) William John Jones, Second Coxswain – 1967 Francis Ward, Acting Bowman – 1967 Jack Sharpe, Acting Assistant Mechanic – 1967 David Graham Drinkwater, crew member – 1967 John Michael Hughes, crew member – 1967 Brian Gordon Stewart, crew member – 1967 Donald Malcolm Forrest, Mechanic – 1971 Gareth Ogwen Jones, crew member – 1971 John Michael Hughes, crew member – 1971 (Second-Service clasp) William John Jones, Coxswain – 1977 (Second-Service clasp) The Thanks of the Institution on Vellum Awarded to each of the 15 crew – 1883 (This service was carried out in the Rhosneigr lifeboat). Holyhead lifeboat crew – 1978 Holyhead lifeboat crew – 1954 Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) Thomas Brian Thomson, Coxswain – 2007QBH Roll of honour In memory of those lost whilst serving Holyhead lifeboat: Lost when the lifeboat capsized on service to the schooner Henry Holman of Plymouth, 14 January 1865. William Hughes Died as a result of exposure and injuries, after falling on rocks on service to the steamship Meath, 1 February 1892. Robert Jones, Coxswain Killed in a boiler room explosion aboard Steam-class lifeboat Duke of Northumberland, 26 June 1901 John Owen Thomas Owen Killed when the vessel The Gardner Williams rolled on top of the lifeboat, 28 March 1920 Thomas J. Michael (36) Holyhead lifeboats Holyhead / Holyhead No.1 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. Steam lifeboats Motor lifeboats Holyhead No.2 Holyhead No.3 Holyhead Inshore lifeboats See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats Notes References External links Holyhead RNLI Lifeboat Station