# Peterhead Lifeboat Station

Peterhead Lifeboat Station is located at West Pier, in the harbour town of Peterhead, in the NE corner of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
A lifeboat was first stationed here in 1865 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
The station currently operates a Tamar-class All-weather lifeboat, 16-03 The Misses Robertson of Kintail (ON 1282), on station since 2006.

## History

Even before some places had lifeboats, acts of gallantry at sea were rewarded by the Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, founded in 1824 by Sir William Hillary Bt., later to become the RNLI. Six RNIPLS Silver Medals were awarded at Peterhead before 1840.
The first Peterhead lifeboat was a 33-foot self-righting 'pulling and sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with oars and sails, placed on service in 1865, and named People's Journal No.1 (ON 240). The boat had been funded from an appeal by the Dundee periodical newspaper 'The People's Journal', which had also raised enough money to fund a second boat, People's Journal No.2, placed at Arbroath. A boathouse was constructed on the eastern side of South Harbour, at the end of Castle street, next to the Coastguard Station, at a cost of £120.
The lifeboat station was rebuilt and enlarged in 1900, but in 1908, it was decided to remove the slipway, and the lifeboat was moored afloat.
In 1911, it was decided to open a No.2 station, and place an additional lifeboat at Peterhead. A site was chosen on the western side of South Harbour, off Lodge Walk / Merchants Quay. Five tenement houses were purchased at a cost of £445 in order to acquire the site. A boathouse with slipway was estimated to cost £2000, which was completed in 1912. The 43-foot Watson-class non-self-righting motor lifeboat Alexander Tulloch (ON 622) was placed on station.
On 26 December 1914, a former fishing trawler, which had been requisitioned by the Royal Navy as a minesweeper, HMS Tom Tit (H35), was wrecked on the Horseback Rock at Peterhead, during a full south-south-easterly gale. The Peterhead No.2 lifeboat Alexander Tulloch was launched to the rescue, but was capsized and wrecked. Three of the lifeboat crew were lost. The crew of the Tom Tit were rescued by the Rocket Brigade. Lifeboatman Charles Cameron died some years later of illness, aggravated by the exposure and injuries suffered in 1914.
The Russian steamship Kiev ran aground on Rattray Head on 26 October 1916, on passage from Arkhangelsk (Archangel) to Leith with 69 crew and 22 passengers. The Peterhead lifeboat John Ryburn (ON 565) arrived to the wreck, but couldn't get alongside. Seven or eight people were lost off the Kiev, but 60 people were rescued one by one, being pulled through the water by line to the lifeboat. A further 14 were found in the ships boat, and towed to shore. Another 10 people were rescued by other means. £550 was gifted to the RNLI by the Russian Volunteer Fleet, in recognition of the service to SS Kiev. James and William Cameron received the Carnegie Hero Fund award, with James also receiving the RNLI Silver Medal.
In 1928, the 37-foot pulling and sailing lifeboat George Pickard (ON 400) was withdrawn, and the No.1 station was closed. The lifeboat had been on station for 31 years. By this time, there had been a motor-powered lifeboat at the No.2 station for 16 years. George Pickard (ON 400) was sold out of service, and spent many years as a yacht, until finally being broken up in 2007.

## Notable rescues

Between the morning of 23 January 1942, and mid-day on the 26 January 1942, the Peterhead lifeboat Julia Park Barry of Glasgow (ON 819) was launched four times, to three steamships, the Fidra (26 crew) of Glasgow, the Runswick (44 crew), and the Saltwick (36 crew), the latter two vessels both of Whitby. All three vessels had run aground off Peterhead in blizzard conditions, with winds up to 105 miles per hour (169 km/h). The lifeboat was at sea for over 9 hours, with the crew standing by for 54 hours, with little rest. Showing extraordinary determination and courage, the lifeboat rescued a total of 106 lives, over a period of 75 hours.
Six members of the crew were awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal. David Falconer Wiseman, the Motor Mechanic, was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal. In the first such award in Scotland for 104 years, Coxswain John Buchan McLean received the RNLI Gold Medal.

## 1980s onward

In 1986, Peterhead received a new Tyne-class lifeboat, funded by The Robertson Trust, a philanthropic organisation, established in 1961 by the Robertson sisters – Elspeth, Agnes and Ethel (Babs), who donated their shares in the family businesses (drinks company Edrington) to the Trust for charitable purposes. At a ceremony on 21 May 1988, with the lifeboat presented on the slipway, the lifeboat was named Babs and Agnes Robertson (ON 1127), after two of the sisters.
In May 1999, a new station building with improved crew facilities was constructed close to the 1912 station, at West Pier. A new berth was created for the lifeboat to remain afloat, just inside the South Harbour.
In 2006, the Tyne-class lifeboat Babs & Agnes Robertson (ON 1127) was transferred to The Mumbles, and Peterhead, along with Tenby, would be one of the first two stations to receive the new 16 m (52 ft) Tamar-class lifeboat. The Robertson Trust once again funded the lifeboat. At a ceremony on 11 May, Shonaig Macpherson CBE, Trustee of The Robertson Trust, named the lifeboat The Misses Robertson of Kintail (ON 1282), in memory of three sisters Agnes, Babs and Elspeth.

## Station honours

The following are awards made at Peterhead
* RNLI Gold Medal
       John Buchan McLean, Coxswain - 1942
* RNIPLS Silver Medal
       John Sutter, Master Mariner - 1827
       Alexander Mackintosh, Master Mariner - 1827
       James Wallace, Master Mariner - 1827
       Lt. Andrew Sims, RN, Chief Officer of H.M. Coastguard - 1829
       Lt. Andrew Sims, RN, Chief Officer of H.M. Coastguard - 1836 (Second-Service award)
       John Gray, Master of the ship Eclipse - 1840
* RNLI Silver Medal
       Godfrey Bosville McDonald Beatson, Chief Officer, H.M. Coastguard - 1863
       Alexander Forbes, Shipbuilder - 1863
       James Cameron, Coxswain - 1916
       John Reid Strachan, Coxswain - 1933
       David Falconer Wiseman, Mechanic - 1942
* RNLI Bronze Medal
       James Cameron, Coxswain - 1917
       David Falconer Wiseman, Motor Mechanic - 1933
       Alexander Wilson Hepburn, Assistant Second Coxswain - 1942
       William Strachan, Acting Bowman - 1942
       William Summers, Assistant Mechanic - 1942
       George Cordiner, Crew Member - 1942
       Alexander Gowans, Crew Member - 1942
       Alexander Strachan, Crew Member - 1942
       Capt. James Winter, Harbour Master, Acting Coxswain - 1943
* Carnegie Hero Fund award
       James Cameron - 1917
       William Cameron - 1917
* The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
       William Boyd, Honorary Secretary - 1896 (30 years service)
       John Buchan, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1979
       John B McLean, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1987
* Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum
       John Buchan McLean, Coxswain - 1951
       Stephen Ritchie, Probationary Crew Member - 2005
* Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
       David Martin, Lifeboat Operations Manager - 2015NHY

## Roll of honour

In memory of those lost whilst serving Peterhead lifeboat.
* Lost on service to HMS Tom Tit, when the lifeboat Alexander Tulloch was wrecked, 26 December 1914
       James Geddes, Second Coxswain
       Thomas Geddes
       David Strachan
       Charles Cameron (died some years later from the effects of exposure)

## Peterhead lifeboats
### All-weather lifeboats
#### No.1 Station

| ON | Name | In service | Class |
| 240 | People's Journal No.1 | 1865−1893 | 33-foot Self-righting (P&S) |
| 342 | George Pickard | 1893−1897 | 38-foot Self-righting (P&S) |
| 400 | George Pickard | 1897−1928 | 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) |

#### No.2 Station

| ON | Op.No. | Name | In service | Class |
| 622 | − | Alexander Tulloch | 1912−1914 | 43ft Watson |
| 565 | − | John Ryburn | 1915−1921 | 43ft Watson |
| 668 | − | Duke of Connaught | 1921−1939 | 45ft Watson |
| 819 | − | Julia Park Barry of Glasgow | 1939−1969 | 46ft Watson |
| 1008 | 48-005 | James and Mariska Joicey | 1969−1986 | Solent |
| 1127 | 47-019 | Babs and Agnes Robertson | 1986−2006 | Tyne |
| 1282 | 16-03 | The Misses Roberston of Kintail | 2006− | Tamar |
* 1 2 ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
* ↑ Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.