Ramsgate Lifeboat Station

Ramsgate Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in the Port of Ramsgate in the English county of Kent. The station is one of the oldest to operate in the British Isles and has launched to many notable services. Among the awards won by its crews over the years are 42 RNLI medals, including 2 gold, 39 silver and 1 bronze, the last being awarded in 2000.[1]

Ramsgate Lifeboat Station
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station.
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station is located in Kent
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationRamsgate Lifeboat Station, Western Crosswall, Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Ramsgate, Kent
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°19′44″N 1°25′10″E
Opened1802 The first lifeboat, built by Henry Greathead, was provided by the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour.
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
Technical details
MaterialFabricated steelwork clad
with timber, and concrete

History

A lifeboat station was first established at Ramsgate Harbour in 1802 by the trustees of the harbour,[1] pre dating the formation of any national lifeboat organisation by more than 20 years. After a lapse in service between 1824 and 1851 a station was re-established by the trustees.

In 1865, the lifeboat station was taken over by the Board of Trade and the RNLI, who ran it jointly until 1922, when the RNLI it took over full responsibility, and who run the service to this day.[1] The current lifeboat station, on the harbour wall between the inner and outer pools of the main harbour opened in 1998 and services both an onshore lifeboat, the 'Bob Turnbull' and offshore lifeboat, the 'RNLB Esme Anderson'.[2][3][4]

Dunkirk evacuation

During the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk in 1940, Lifeboat Prudential, of Ramsgate was the first little ship to the rescue. The lifeboat left Ramsgate at 2.20 in the afternoon with Coxswain Howard Primrose Knight in command with her own crew of eight men. They had been issued with gas masks, steel helmets and the lifeboat was loaded with four coils of grass warp and cans of fresh water for the troops. She took in tow eight boats, most of them wherries, manned by eighteen naval men, and when she reached Dunkirk her role was to tow the wherries between the beaches and the waiting ships. In total she rescued 2,800 troops from the beaches. For his 'gallantry and determination,' Coxswain Howard Knight was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.[5]

Fleet

All Weather Boats
Dates in service Class ON Op. No. Name Comments
1851–1865 Self-Righter Northumberland
1866–1877 Self-Righter Bradford
1887–1893 Self-Righter ON 117 Bradford
1893–1905 42ft Self-Righter ON 350 Bradford
1905–1926 43ft Self-Righter ON 537 Charles and Susanna Stephens
1926–1953 Ramsgate-class ON 697 Prudential First motor lifeboat at station
1953–1976 46ft 9in Watson-class ON 901 Michael and Lily Davis
1976–1990 Waveney-class ON 1042 44-016 Ralph and Joy Swann
1990–1994 Tyne-class ON 1154 47-036 Kenneth Thelwall II
1994–present Trent-class ON 1197 14-02 Esme Anderson
  • Trent Class Relief Lifeboat Corinne Whiteley (ON-1253) at Ramsgate, 4 April 2010
    Trent Class Relief Lifeboat Corinne Whiteley (ON-1253) at Ramsgate, 4 April 2010
  • Trent Class Lifeboat Esme Anderson (ON-1197) at Ramsgate, 11 August 2009
    Trent Class Lifeboat Esme Anderson (ON-1197) at Ramsgate, 11 August 2009

Inshore Lifeboats
Dates in service Class Op. No. Name
1969–1972 Hatch-class A-500 (previously 17-001)
1972–1975 Hatch-class A-502 (previously 17-003)
1975–1984 McLauchlan-class A-510 (previously 18-010)
1984–2000 Atlantic 21-class B-558 Ramsgate Enterprise
2000–2014 Atlantic 75-class B-765 Bob Turnbull
2014 – present Atlantic 85-class B-878 Claire & David Delves

See also

References
  1. "Station History". Royal National Lifeboat Institution Ramsgate. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  2. "Boathouses". Royal National Lifeboat Institution Ramsgate.
  3. "RNLB Esme Anderson". Royal National Lifeboat Institution Ramsgate. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  4. "Bob Turnbull". Royal National Lifeboat Institution Ramsgate. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011.
  5. "No. 34953". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 September 1940. p. 5711.
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