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Longhope Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 58°48′05″N 3°12′20″W / 58.8013°N 3.2055°W / 58.8013; -3.2055
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Longhope Lifeboat Station
Flag of the RNLI
Longhope Lifeboat Station
Longhope Lifeboat Station is located in Orkney Islands
Longhope Lifeboat Station
Map of Orkney showing Longhope
General information
TypeLifeboat station
LocationLonghope, Orkney
AddressLonghope Pier, Longhope, Orkney, KW16 3PG
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates58°48′05″N 3°12′20″W / 58.8013°N 3.2055°W / 58.8013; -3.2055
Opened1874; 150 years ago (1874)
Cost£450,000
OwnerRNLI
Website
RNLI Longhope Lifeboat Station

Longhope Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Longhope on the island of South Walls, in Orkney, Scotland. It opened in 1874 and since 2004 has operated a Tamar-class lifeboat. In 1969 its lifeboat and crew of eight were lost during a rescue mission.

History

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A lifeboat station was built at Brims on Hoy and the lifeboat was first launched on 25 September 1874.[1] It was always known as 'Longhope' after the larger town on the adjacent island of South Walls. It was replaced in 1906 by a new station with a slipway at Brims. The boathouse was modified in 1990 when new crew facilities were installed in the roof space but it was closed in 1999 and a new one opened at Longhope. A pontoon mooring was provided so that the Arun-class could be moored afloat.[2] The old station on Hoy subsequently became the Longhope Lifeboat Museum, opening in May 2002.[3]

Longhope lifeboat disaster

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The Irene, a Liberian tanker, was adrift with no fuel in the Pentland Firth on the evening of 17 March 1969. The Longhope lifeboat T.G.B. was launched and made its way through high seas and snow flurries towards the disabled vessel. It radioed its position at 9:28 but was never heard from again. The Kirkwall Clyde-class lifeboat was in the area and was sent to look for the Longhope lifeboat. It was later joined by lifeboats from Stronsay, Thurso and Stromness. It was found capsized by the Thurso crew the following afternoon and towed to Scrabster.[4][5][6]

There had been eight men on board when it launched: Coxswain Daniel Kirkpatrick, his sons Daniel R Kikpatrick and John Kirkpatrick; Mechanic Robert Johnston, his sons James Johnston and Robert Johnston; along with Eric McFadyen and James Swanson. Swanson was never found but the bodies of the other seven were recovered from inside the lifeboat.[4]

Service awards

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Benjamin Stout, the lifeboat's coxswain, was awarded an RNLI Silver Medal for leading the rescue of 22 people from the SS Victoria which was sinking in the Pentland Firth on 3 March 1891. Half of the rescued people were German so the Emperor of Germany gave a gold watch to the coxswain and money to the crew.[2]

Coxswain John Swanson was awarded a silver medal after rescuing the crew from the trawler Braconmoor which ran aground on 5 January 1930. He was awarded for another silver service to another trawler, the Dorbie, which was wrecked on 9 January 1932.[2]

The lifeboat was launched on 12 April 1951 to aid the tanker Oljaren of Gothenburg which had gone ashore. 40 people were rescued, but it took 23 hours to do so. The Swedish government gave a cash award to the crew and coxswain Alfred Johnston received an RNLI bronze medal. A silver medal was also awarded to Daniel Kirkpatrick for the rescue by breeches buoy of 14 people from a trawler on 4 February 1959. He was given two more silver awards for rescues on 3 January 1964 and 1 April 1968.[2] This meant that he was the person at that time with three silver medals, however he was drowned while attempting to aid the Irene on 17 March 1969.[4]

Another bronze medal was awarded for saving 11 people from the trawler Ross Tern which ran aground on Swona. The coxswain on this occasion was Jack Leslie. The RNLI's chairman sent a framed 'Letter of Thanks' to Leslie and the crew after they attended a chemical tanker which was on fire, along with the Thurso lifeboat, on 19 March 1999.[2]

A yacht named Dasher with a crew of three got into difficulty in high wind on 27 August 2004. The lifeboat went to their aid in the difficult conditions, after which coxswain Kevin Kirkpatrick received the 'Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' and mechanic John Budge was given a framed 'Letter of Thanks' from the chairman. On 11 November 2007 the lifeboat was launched in a Force 12 storm to aid three men who had been injured on a tanker. Doctor Christine Bradshaw was transferred to the tanker by a helicopter winch. She was later awarded an RNLI bronze medal and the lifeboat crew received a framed 'Letter of Thanks'.[2]

Longhope lifeboats

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  • David and Elizabeth King and E. B. (1970–1988)
    David and Elizabeth King and E. B. (1970–1988)
  • Sir Max Aitken II (1999–2004)
    Sir Max Aitken II (1999–2004)
  • Helen Comrie (From 2006)
    Helen Comrie (From 2006)
At Longhope ON Op. No. Name Class Built Comments
1874–1886 — — Dickinson Edleston 1874 37 ft (11 m) boat with 12 oars.[1]
1891–1904 307 — Samyntas Stannah Self-Righter 1891 [7]
1904–1906 291 — Christopher North Graham Self-Righter 1890 Originally built for Thorpeness Lifeboat Station.[7]
1906–1926 550 — Ann Miles Watson 1905 [8]
1926–1933 698 — K.T.J.S. Watson 1926 First motor lifeboat at Longhope. Sold in 1950 after service at Aith and Arranmore but wrecked in 1980.[9]
1933–1962 759 — Thomas McCunn Watson 1933 Preserved at Longhope Lifeboat Museum since 2000.[10]
1962–1969 962 — T.G.B. Watson 1962 Transferred to Arranmore after the disaster of 17 March 1969. It was withdrawn in 1986 and put on display at the Scottish Maritime Museum.[11]
1970 889 — Hilton Briggs Barnett 1951 Originally stationed at Aberdeen, withdrawn from Invergordon in 1975. Sold and used as a pleasure boat, reported to be in Bristol in 2022.[12]
1970–1988 1010 48-007 David and Elizabeth King and E. B. Solent 1970 Transferred to Invergordon. Sold in 1990 and reported to be a pleasure boat at Glasson Dock in 2023.[13]
1988–1999 1138 47-025 Lord Saltoun Tyne 1988 Sold in 2012 for use as a work boat. Reported to be at Carrickfergus in 2021.[14]
1999–2004 1098 52–28 Sir Max Aitken II Arun 1984 Originally stationed at Stornoway. Withdrawn in 2005 and sold for further use as a lifeboat in China.[15]
2004–2006 1149 52–43 The Queen Mother Arun 1989 Originally stationed at Thurso. Sold in 2009 for use as a pilot boat at Montevideo.[14]
2006– 1284 16–05 Helen Comrie Tamar 2006 [16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Additional stations and new life-boats". The Lifeboat. 9 (97): 390. 1875. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Longhope station history". RNLI. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Our museum". Longhope Lifeboat Museum. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Kipling, Ray; Kipling, Susannah (2006). Never Turn Back. Sutton Publishing. pp. 76–78. ISBN 0-7509-4307-6.
  5. ^ "Longhope lifeboat disaster: 'They were an example for us to live by'". BBC News. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Longhope Disaster". The Lifeboat. 41 (428): 608–612. 1969. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  7. ^ a b Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society. pp. 14–15.
  8. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 24–25.
  9. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 30–31.
  10. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 32–33.
  11. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 42–43.
  12. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 38–39.
  13. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 44–45.
  14. ^ a b Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 52–53.
  15. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 50–51.
  16. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 56.
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