Poole Lifeboat Station
Poole Lifeboat Station is located in Dorset
Poole Lifeboat Station
Poole
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationThe Quay, Poole, BH15 1HZ
CountryEngland
Coordinates50°42′46″N 1°59′32″W / 50.712765°N 1.992162°W / 50.712765; -1.992162
Opened1865 at Sandbanks
1882 at Fisherman's Dock
1974 at Lilliput Marina
1989 at Poole Bridge
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution

Poole Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Poole, Dorset in England. The first lifeboat was stationed at Poole Harbour in 1865 and the present station was opened in 1988. Since November 2016 it has operated two inshore lifeboats, an Atlantic 85 and a D class.

History

The first boathouse was built in 1865 at Sandbanks by the narrow entrance to the large, natural Poole Harbour. This was remote from the house in Poole which meant that the crew had to be collected by horse-drawn coach from the Antelope Hotel in the High Street and taken to Sandbanks.[1]

Fisherman's Dock lifeboat station

In 1882 a new boathouse was built on land leased from Poole Corporation on the Fisherman's Dock at the east end of Poole Quay. A dedicated slipway was built in front of the boathouse in 1897 as the public slipway was often blocked by other boats. In 1887 a flagstaff had been erected so that messages could be exchanged with Sandbanks. At this time the crew was summoned to launches by a signal rocket. In 1892 this was changed to a signal mortar but this reverted to rockets in 1914 as the mortar being discharged could be mistaken for an explosion at the nearby gas works.[1]

In 1939 a Surf motor lifeboat was placed on station and the last 'pulling and sailing' lifeboat at Poole was withdrawn. This was the Thomas Kirk Wright, which on 30 May 1940 sailed to Dunkirk as one of boats summoned to Operation Dynamo, indeed it was the first of 19 lifeboats to arrive there. It was manned by the Royal Navy but was damaged by enemy fire. After repairs a second trip across the channel was made on 2 June 1940 before eventually returning to more normal duties at Poole.[1]

An inflatable Inshore Rescue Boat was added to the station in 1964 but withdrawn in 1970, although by this time a Dell Quay Dory was also in use. This was withdrawn in 1985 but ten years later a B Class ILB was placed on station.[1]

The boathouse at Fisherman's Dock was closed in 1974 and a new station opened with the Poole Harbour Yacht Club at Lilliput Marina. The following year the old boathouse became a museum with the Thomas Kirk Wright as the main exhibit.[1] The museum was handed back to the council in 1991. It closed in 2004 but reopened in 2006.[1]

Another move came in 1989 when the lifeboat was moved back to Poole Quay, but this time at the west end beneath Poole Bridge. The following year new crew facilities and storerooms were constructed by adding a two-storey extension to the police office on Poole Quay. In 1994 a floating boathouse was placed next to the lifeboat mooring for the new ILB that took up service at Poole the following year.[1] In November 2016, with the advent of 25 knot boats at flanking stations, the RNLI decided to withdraw the all weather lifeboat from Poole and stationed a D-class inflatable to work alongside the existing Atlantic 85.[2]

Description

The crew facilities and storeroom occupies one part of a larger brick-built building facing the water on Poole Quay. The upper floor is set into the roof with a large window overlooking the lifeboat's pontoon. The boathouse for the ILB is moored alongside this pontoon and is constructed of corrugated metal.

Current fleet

Former lifeboat City of Sheffield

Former lifeboats

'ON' is the RNLI's sequential Official Number; 'Op. No.' is the operational number painted onto the boat.

Pulling and sailing lifeboats

This list is incomplete

ON Name Built At Poole Class Comments
Manley Wood 1865 1865-1880 Later renamed Joseph & Mary
188 Boy's Own No. 2 1880 1880-1897
316 City Masonic Club 1892 1897-1910 Watson
608 Harmar 1910 1910–1939 Peake

Motor lifeboats

ON Op. No. Name Built At Poole Class Comments[4]
811 – Thomas Kirk Wright 1939 1939–1962 Surf Sold 1964. Now on display in the Old Lifeboat House at Poole.
891 – Bassett-Green 1951 1962–1969 Liverpool Sold in 1969.
May 2018, Private ownership, Campbeltown.
873 – George Elmy 1950 1969-1971 Liverpool Capsized on service at Seaham 17 November 1962. Nine lives lost.
Sold September 1972.
December 2022, Restored to original, on display at Seaham Harbour from July 2013.[5]
869 – Anthony Robert Marshall 1949 1971 Liverpool Sold in 1980.
December 2022, Under restoration, Hewitts, Stiffkey
918 – The Elliott Gill 1953 1972 Liverpool Sold August 1974.
September 2022, Fully restored, at Watchet Harbour Marina
872 – J B Couper of Glasgow 1949 1971-1974 Liverpool Sold February 1976.
Renamed Etoile Du Nord (GU5045).
December 2022, On Display, Peninsular Hotel, Vale, Guernsey.
1029 44-011 Augustine Courtauld 1974 1974–1983 Waveney Sold 1999, lifeboat with RVCP Australia.
Sold 2011. Renamed Augustine Courtauld, Work boat for Melbourne Charter Services P/L, Melbourne. Restored to RNLI Livery.
1089 33-07 Inner Wheel 1983 1983–2001 Brede Sold 2002, Lifeboat in South Africa.
December 2023, still in service at Hout bay as Nadine Gordimer(Rescue 8)
1131 47-023 City of Sheffield 1988 2001-2016 Tyne Now preserved at the Emergency Services Museum, Sheffield

Inshore lifeboats and boarding boats

Op. No. Name At Poole Class Type Comments
D-69 Unnamed 1965–1967 D
D-46 Unnamed 1967–1970 D
A-2 (ex 18-03) Unnamed 1967–1969 A Hatch
A-502 (ex 17-007) Unnamed 1969–1972 A Hatch
A-500 (ex 17-005) Unnamed 1972–1973 A Hatch
A-501 (ex 17-006) Unnamed
Bob Abbot		 1974–1975 A Hatch
A-502 (ex 17-007) Unnamed 1975–1985 A Hatch
A-513 Sam & Iris Coles 1985–1995 A Hatch
B-710 Friendly Forrester II 1995–2008 B Atlantic 75
B-736 Toshiba Wave Warrior 2008–2008 B Atlantic 75
B-826 Sgt Bob Martin
(Civil Service No 50)		 2008– B Atlantic 85
D-798 John Wickens 2016–2017 D D-class (IB1)
D-804 Gladys Maud Burton 2017– D D-class (IB1)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "History of Poole Lifeboat Station". Poole Lifeboat Station. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "Poole's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 45.
  4. ↑ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
  5. ↑ "National Register of Historic Vessels - George Elmy". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
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