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Holyhead Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 53°19′05″N 4°38′31″W / 53.318°N 4.642°W / 53.318; -4.642
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Holyhead Lifeboat Station
(Gorsaf Bad Achub Caergybi)
Holyhead Lifeboat Station is located in Anglesey
Holyhead Lifeboat Station
Anglesey
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationHolyhead Lifeboat Station
AddressPrince of Wales Road, Newry Beach
Town or cityHolyhead, Anglesey, LL65 1YA
CountryWales, United Kingdom
Coordinates53°19′05″N 4°38′31″W / 53.318°N 4.642°W / 53.318; -4.642
Opened1828
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Holyhead RNLI Lifeboat Station

Holyhead Lifeboat Station (Welsh: Gorsaf Bad Achub Caergybi) is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station in the coastal town of Holyhead, Anglesey, 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.

History

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Holyhead Lifeboat 1950 until 1980 Barnett Class ON884 St Cybi (CS No 9) at Chatham

Holyhead Lifeboat Station was first mentioned in 1825 when it was decided a lifeboat would be built for the coastal town of Holyhead. A local committee was formed three years later and the first lifeboat arrived at the station shortly afterwards.[1] The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) took over control of the station in 1855 and an lifeboat house was built three years later. The station covered the shipping lane in and out of Liverpool.

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.[2] 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 present 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 lifeboat (EA16) and its launching trolley. Its current inshore boat, (D-791) Mary & Archie Hooper, entered service in 2016.[2] Lead was stolen from the station's roof in the morning of 16 June 2011.[3] In February 2015 the station appointed its first female helm.[4]

Station honours

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The following are awards made at Holyhead[5][6]
Holyhead have been awarded 49 medals. 4 Gold, 32 Silver and 13 Bronze

Rev James Williams - 1835
Captain William Owen - 1835
William Owen, Coxswain - 1908
Lieut Commander Harold Harknett Harvey VRD,
RNR, Inspector of Lifeboats for the North West area - 1967
Thomas Hughes - 1929
Robert Stables, Coxswain - 1833
Captain William Owen - 1833
Oliver Anthony, Master Mariner - 1833
Richard Morris, Coxswain - 1835
Henry Parry, Coxswain - 1840
William Rowlands, Coxswain - 1866
William Rowlands, Coxswain - 1867 (Second Service Award)
Thomas Roberts, Coxswain - 1833
(This service was carried out in the Rhosneigr lifeboat).
Coxswain Roberts - 1886 (Second Service Award)
Edward Jones, Coxswain - 1887
John O Williams, Chief Officer of HM Coastguard, Hon. Secretary - 1888
Edward Jones, Coxswain - 1889 (Second Service Award)
Robert Jones, Second Coxswain - 1889
John O Williams, Chief Officer of HM Coastguard, Hon. Secretary - 1890 (Second Service Award)
William Owen, Pilot - 1890
George Jones, Boatman - 1890
John Roberts, Farmer and Fisherman - 1890
John Morris, Farmer - 1890
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
Richard Jones, Coxswain - 1943
John Jones, Motor Mechanic - 1943
Richard Jones, Coxswain - 1949 (Second Service Award)
William John Jones, Second Coxswain - 1967
Francis Ward, Acting Bowman - 1967
Jack Sharpe, Acting Assistant Mechanic - 1967
John Michael Hughes, crew member - 1967
David Graham Drinkwater, crew member - 1967
Brian Gordon Stewart, crew member - 1967
Donald Malcolm Forrest, Mechanic - 1971
Gareth Ogwen-Jones, crewmember - 1971
John Michael Hughes, crew member - 1971 (Second Service Award)
William Jones, Coxswain, - 1977 (Second Service Award)
  • The Thanks of the Institution on Vellum
Awarded to each of the 15 crew - 1883
(This service was carried out in the Rhosneigr lifeboat).
All the lifeboat crew - 1978
  • The Sugar Manufacturer’s Association (of Jamaica) Ltd Case of Rum 1954
    for the longest continuous service during the winter months of 1953/54
Holyhead lifeboat crew - 1954
Thomas Brian Thomson, Coxswain - 2007[7]

Holyhead lifeboats

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All-weather lifeboats

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Holyhead (No.1)

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ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name In service[8] Class Comments
– – Unnamed 1829–1858 31-foot 6in Palmer [9]
Pre-313 – Unnamed 1858–1864 30-foot Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 1]
Pre-310 – Princess of Wales 1864–1875 30-foot Self-Righting (P&S)
192 – Thomas Fielden 1875–1891 37-foot Self-Righting (P&S)
300 – Thomas Fielden 1891–1897 39-foot Self-Righting (P&S)
231 – Duke of Northumberland 1897–1922 Steam
420 – James Stevens No.3 1922–1928 Steam
708 – H.C.J. 1928–1929 45ft 6in Watson
717 – A.E.D. 1929–1950 51-foot Barnett
884 – St.Cybi
(Civil Service No.9) 		1950–1980 52-foot Barnett Mk1
1086 52-15 Hyman Winstone 1980–1983 Arun
1003 44-004 Faithful Forester 1984–1985 Waveney
1095 47-004 St.Cybi II
(Civil Service No.40) 		1985–1997 Tyne
1123 52-37 Kenneth Thelwall 1998–2003 Arun
1272 17-41 Christopher Pearce 2003– Severn
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Holyhead No.2

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ON[a] Name In service[10] Class Comments
264 Joseph Whitworth 1890–1915 37-foot Self-Righting (P&S)
617 Fanny Harriet 1915–1929 37-foot Self-Righting (P&S)
485 Reserve No.D7 1929–1930 34-foot Self-Righting (Motor) [Note 2]

Holyhead No.3

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ON[a] Name In service[10] Class Comments
231 Duke of Northumberland 1892–1893 Steam [Note 3]

Inshore lifeboats

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Op. No.[b] Name In service[10] Class Comments
D-116 Unnamed 1967–1976 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-249 Caribbean I 1976–1988 D-class (Zodiac III)
D-358 Unnamed 1988–1996 D-class (EA16)
D-507 Spirit of Bedworth and Nuneaton 1996–2005 D-class (EA16)
D-654 Angel of Holyhead
(Civil Service No.46) 		2005–2016 D-class (IB1)
D-791 Mary & Archie Hooper 2016– D-class (IB1)
  1. ^ a b c ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ^ a b Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Later named Forester
  2. ^ Previously Robert and Catherine at Appledore (Braunton Burrows)
  3. ^ Later in service at No.1

References

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  1. ^ "About". Holyhead Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Holyhead lifeboat station". History Points. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Thieves steal lead from Holyhead lifeboat station". North Wales Chronicle. 17 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  4. ^ Wyn-Williams, Gareth (19 February 2015). "Holyhead RNLI gets its first female helm in almost 200 years". Daily Post. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Holyhead's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  6. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0-907605-89-3.
  7. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  8. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–120.
  9. ^ Farr, Graham (1975). George Palmer's Lifeboats, 1828–47. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0905033019.
  10. ^ a b c Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
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