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Whitstable Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 51°21′45″N 1°1′32″E / 51.36250°N 1.02556°E / 51.36250; 1.02556
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Whitstable Lifeboat Station
Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
Whitstable Lifeboat Station is located in Kent
Whitstable Lifeboat Station
Whitstable, Kent
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationWhitstable Lifeboat Station
AddressThe Harbour,
Town or cityWhitstable, Kent, CT5 1AB
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°21′45″N 1°1′32″E / 51.36250°N 1.02556°E / 51.36250; 1.02556
Opened1963
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Technical details
MaterialFabricated steelwork clad
with timber, and concrete
Website
Whitstable Lifeboat Station

Whitstable Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in Whitstable in the English county of Kent.[1]

The station was established in 1963,[2] 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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[4] 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.[5]

The annual "Dan Davies Competition" is held in the memory of Whitstable general practitioner Dan Davies,[6] who served as medical officer to the lifeboat station.[7]

In 2023, Whitstable Lifeboat Station celebrated its 60th anniversary. [8]

Whitstable lifeboats

[edit]
Op. No.[a] Name In service [3] Class Comments
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

[edit]
Op. No.[a] Reg. No. Type In service[3] Comments
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. ^ a b Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

Station honours

[edit]

The following are awards made at Whitstable[9]

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
Michael Judge, crew member - 2001[10]
David Andrew Lamberton, Former Helmsman, Lifeboat Operations Manager - 2003[11]
[edit]
  • Whitstable Lifeboat Station
  • Oxford Town and Gown Atlantic 75-class lifeboat
    Oxford Town and Gown Atlantic 75-class lifeboat
  • Oxford Town and Gown Atlantic 75-class lifeboat, just after launch
    Oxford Town and Gown Atlantic 75-class lifeboat, just after launch
  • Oxford Town and Gown inside Whitstable boathouse
    Oxford Town and Gown inside Whitstable boathouse
  • Oxford Town and Gown on her launch cradel inside Whitstable boathouse
    Oxford Town and Gown on her launch cradel inside Whitstable boathouse

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ OS Explorer Map 150 – Canterbury & the Isle of Thanet.Published: Ordnance Survey – Southampton. ISBN 978 0 319 2351 88.
  2. ^ "RNLI Lifeboats". Whitstable Lifeboat Station – Home page. RNLI - Copyright 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  4. ^ a b RNLI. "Whitstable station history". Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. ^ "No. 56797". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2002. p. 19.
  6. ^ Lifeboat, Whitstable (26 June 2017). "Whitstable lifeboat crews in test of seamanship and first aid skills". Whitstable Lifeboat Station. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Obituary; D. O. Davies". British Medical Journal. 1 (6070): 1222–1223. 7 May 1977. ISSN 0007-1447. PMC 1606865.
  8. ^ "Double Celebration at Whitstable RNLI". RNLI. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Whitstable's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
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