# Whitstable Lifeboat Station

Whitstable Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in Whitstable in the English county of Kent.
The station was established in 1963, and has always operated an inflatable inshore lifeboat.
The first lifeboat was one of the first D-class (RFD PB16) lifeboats in the RNLI fleet, D-2. In 1974, Whitstable received the larger twin engine B-class (Atlantic 21) B-516. The current lifeboat is the B-class (Atlantic 85) named Lewisco (B-877), which has been on the station since 2014.
Boathouse accommodation has been improved over the years, with a single storey extension added to the side to improve crew facilities in 1989, and a new boathouse completed in 2000.
A number of awards have been made to Whitstable crew. These include, between 1977 and 2010, one RNLI bronze medal and four "Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum" for bravery during rescues. The station also received the RNLI’s "Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Annual Award" for the most meritorious rescue by an inshore lifeboat crew in 2009. In the 2003 New Year Honours David Andrew Lamberton, the station's honorary secretary, was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the RNLI.
The annual "Dan Davies Competition" is held in the memory of Whitstable general practitioner Dan Davies, who served as medical officer to the lifeboat station.
In 2023, Whitstable Lifeboat Station celebrated its 60th anniversary.

## Whitstable lifeboats

| Op. No. | Name | In service | Class |
| D-2 | Unnamed | 1963–1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) |
| D-24 | Unnamed | 1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) |
| D-28 | Unnamed | 1965 | D-class (RFD PB16) |
| D-45 | Unnamed | 1965–1968 | D-class (RFD PB16) |
| D-49 | Unnamed | 1968–1969 | D-class (RFD PB16) |
| D-45 | Unnamed | 1969–1970 | D-class (RFD PB16) |
| D-182 | Unnamed | 1970–1974 | D-class (RFD PB16) |
| B-516 | Unnamed | 1974–1984 | B-class (Atlantic 21) |
| B-560 | British Diver | 1984–2000 | B-class (Atlantic 21) |
| B-764 | Oxford Town & Gown | 2000–2014 | B-class (Atlantic 75) |
| B-877 | Lewisco | 2014– | B-class (Atlantic 85) |

### Launch and recovery tractors

| Op. No. | Reg. No. | Type | In service |
| T54 | MJT 722P | Case LA | 1975–1977 |
| TW04 | TEL 705R | Talus MB-764 County | 1977–1994 |
| TW32 | L161 LAW | Talus MB-764 County | 1994–2000 |
| TW49Hb | W652 RNT | Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk1.5) | 2000–2008 |
| TW59Hc | DU04 DVW | Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk2) | 2008–2014 |
| TW23Hc | K805 CUX | Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk2) | 2014– |
* 1 2 Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

## Station honours

The following are awards made at Whitstable
* RNLI Bronze Medal
       David Parry, Helmsman - 2000
* The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
       David Victor Foreman, Helmsman - 1977
       Michael A Judge, Helmsman - 1981
       Michael Gambrill, Helmsman - 1986
       Jonathon Carter - 2010
* The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award 2009 (for the outstanding inshore lifeboat rescue of the year)
       Jonathon Carter - 2010
* Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
       Michael Judge, crew member - 2001
       David Andrew Lamberton, Former Helmsman, Lifeboat Operations Manager - 2003

## Gallery

* Whitstable Lifeboat Station
* Oxford Town and Gown Atlantic 75-class lifeboat
* Oxford Town and Gown Atlantic 75-class lifeboat, just after launch
* Oxford Town and Gown inside Whitstable boathouse
* Oxford Town and Gown on her launch cradel inside Whitstable boathouse
vteNeighbouring Stations to Whitstable :
North Sea
North Sea
North Sea
Sheerness Lifeboat Station
Whitstable Lifeboat Station
Margate Lifeboat Station
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station :