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RNLB Mary Stanford (ON 661)

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Coordinates: 50°56′19″N 0°45′23″E / 50.9387076°N 0.7563534°E / 50.9387076; 0.7563534
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For the Ballycotton lifeboat, see RNLB Mary Stanford (ON 733).

History
NameRNLB Mary Stanford
OwnerRNLI
OperatorRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
BuilderS. E. Saunders
Launched1916
HomeportRye Harbour
Official NumberON 661
General characteristics
Class and typeLiverpool Pulling & Sailing
TypeLifeboat
Length39 ft (12 m)
Beam10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Installed power14 oars & sail
The Mary Stanford Lifeboat Memorial

RNLB Mary Stanford (ON 661) was a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Liverpool-class pulling and sailing type lifeboat stationed in Rye Harbour. On 15 November 1928 the Mary Stanford capsized, drowning the entire crew of 17.

Incident

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The lifeboat was launched in a south-west gale with heavy rain squalls and heavy seas to the vessel Alice of Riga. News was received that the crew of the Alice had been rescued by another vessel and the recall signal was fired three times. Apparently, the lifeboat crew had not seen it. As the lifeboat finally came back into harbour she was seen to capsize and the whole of the crew perished.[1]

On Tuesday 20 November the funeral was held of fifteen of the crew, buried in a communal grave. Hundreds of mourners from all over the country attended.[2] Members of the Latvian Government were among the dignitaries present, recognising that the men had lost their lives going to the assistance of a Latvian vessel. When Henry Cutting's body was found at Eastbourne 3 months later, it was bought back home and interred with his fellow crew members. John Head's body was never recovered.

The Mary Stanford remained at Rye Harbour until the inquiry was over. In January 1929 she was taken to the RNLI depot at Poplar in east London, where she was broken up.

The dependants of those who died were pensioned by the RNLI, with the local fund raising over £35,000.[1]

Memorials

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A memorial tablet made of Manx stone was presented to Rye Harbour by the people of the Isle of Man.[3]

A memorial stained glass window was placed in Winchelsea Church (50°55′27″N 0°42′33″E / 50.9242073°N 0.709197°E / 50.9242073; 0.709197). It depicts a lifeboat putting out to a ship in distress while figures on the shore watch as it goes.[4]

The seventeen men who lost their lives were Herbert Head (47), coxswain, and two sons James Alfred (19) and John Stanley (17); Joseph Stonham (43), 2nd Coxswain; Henry Cutting (39), Bowman and his two brothers Roberts Redvers (28) and Albert Ernest (26); Charles Frederick David (28), Robert Henry (23) and Lewis Alexander (21) Pope, three brothers; William Thomas Albert (27) and Leslie George (24) Clark, brothers; Arthur George (25) and Maurice James (23) Downey, cousins; Albert Ernest Smith (44), Walter Igglesden (37) and Charles Southerden (22).

Allen Maslen of Warwickshire folk rock band Meet on the Ledge wrote a song dedicated to the Mary Stanford, "The Mary Stanford of Rye".[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Rye Harbour Lifeboat: station history". RNLI. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  2. ^ Funeral of the Rye Lifeboat crew at Rye. British Pathé. 1928. Retrieved 20 January 2021. Warriors of the Sea. With simple ceremonial, the fifteen lifeboat heroes of RYE HARBOUR are laid to rest. The disaster occurred on 15 November 1928 when the whole of the 17 man crew of the Mary Stanford Lifeboat were drowned, practically the whole male fishing population of Rye village. Heroes of Rye Harbour laid to rest.
  3. ^ Rye Lifeboat Disaster: Memorial Unveiled. British Pathé. 1931. Retrieved 20 January 2021. MEMORIAL TO SEA HEROES; Lord Blanesburgh performs unveiling ceremony on third anniversary of Rye Lifeboat disaster
  4. ^ Rye Harbour Image Library | Picture. Ryeharbour.net (18 December 2008).
  5. ^ "Meet On The Ledge dust off their acoustic guitars for Coventry gig". Coventry Live. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  6. ^ Duff, Juliet (16 March 2023). "A history of Rye through museum objects". Rye News. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
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