Abdy Beauclerk by Eric Ravilious[1]
History
British RNLI Flag
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)
BuilderJ. Samuel White, Cowes, Isle of Wight
Official Number:ON 751
Donor:
StationNo: 1 Station Aldeburgh
Laid down1931
Acquired1931
Fate
  • Used as pilot vessel for
  • Cork Harbour Commissioners and renamed St. Ita
General characteristics
Class and typeWatson beach class
TonnageDisplacement of 16 tons
Length41 ft 0 in (12.50 m) overall
Beam12 ft 3 in (3.73 m)
Installed power2 x 35hp AEC Weyburn petrol
PropulsionTwin screw set in tunnels
Speed7.5 kn (13.9 km/h)
Range122 nmi (226 km)
NotesAlso fitted with a mizzen mast and sail.

RNLB Abdy Beauclerk (ON 751) was a 41ft 'Aldeburgh' Type Beach Motor[2] which was stationed in the town of Aldeburgh in the English county of Suffolk.[3] She was on the No: 1 station at Aldeburgh from 1931[4] until she was sold out of the RNLI fleet in 1959,[5] a total of 28 years service.

Description

The Abdy Beauclerk was the first of five 'Aldeburgh' type motor beach lifeboats built.[6] She was built in 1931 by J. Samuel White in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Some stations around the coast such as Aldeburgh required a larger heavier boat than other motor life boats such as the Liverpool class. The flat nature of the foreshore at some stations precluded the use of slipways and with no suitable harbour facilities to hand it was not possible for stations such as Aldeburgh to keep a heavy Watson or Barnett-class lifeboat on station.[6] The beach design was 41 feet long and 12 foot 3 inches wide and weighed just under 16 tons. The wide beam of the lifeboat made up for her shallow draught. She was fitted with twin screws, with the propellers housed in tunnels to protected them when being launched or hauled back up the beach. The lifeboat was powered by two 35 horse power Weyburn petrol engines which produced a top speed of 7.5 KT and gave her a range of 122 miles.[6] Although this class of twin engine lifeboats no longer carried sails, the Aldeburgh crew requested that this lifeboat be fitted with a mizzen mast and sail as they preferred to have this arrangement.

The Abdy Beauclerk was paid for by a private legacy from the estate of William Abdy Beauclerk[5] of Tower Court, Ascot, Berkshire, England; he was the grandson of William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans.[7]

Service history

The Abdy Beauclerk arrived in Aldeburgh in December 1931 and was officially launched in May 1932 by Prince Albert, Duke of York.[1]

At 8:00 am on 23 November 1938, the lifeboat was launched to assist three barges in distress during heavy seas and a northerly gale.[8] The barges were two and a half miles east of the station. The first of the barges, Grecian, refused help when the Abdy Beauclerk reached her. The second, the Astriid, had lost her topsail had damage to her spar and rigging. Two crewman were taken off her. The unnamed third barge also refused help. The Abdy Beauclerk returned to the Grecian, and this time took two crewman to safety. For his part in the rescue the coxswain of the Abdy Beauclerk, George Chatten, received an RNLI Bronze Medal.[8]

The artist Eric Ravilious painted the Abdy Beauclerk in 1938; the painting is now in the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne.[1]

Wartime service

During the Second World War the lifeboats along the coast of East Anglia contributed to many wartime rescues and services. The Abdy Beauclerk was the first English lifeboat to perform a wartime rescue, which occurred on 10 September 1939, just seven days after the declaration of war.[9] The 8,641-ton[9] merchantman SS Magdapur[10] was en route from to Southampton when she either struck a mine or was torpedoed. The Magdapur began to sink by the bow. The Abdy Beauclerk assisted in the rescue of seventy survivors and the retrieval of one of six crewman who had been killed.[9]

On 30 May 1940, the Abdy Beauclerk and the Lucy Lavers, which served Aldeburgh's No: 2 Station, were commandeered by the Royal Navy to assist in the Dunkirk evacuation. They remained there until 4 June 1940.[4][11]

Retirement from service

The Abdy Beauclerk remained on the No:1 station at Aldeburgh until 1959 when she was replaced with a 42 ft Watson-class lifeboat called Alfred and Patience Gottwald (ON 946). At the same time the No: 2 station was closed. Abdy Beauclerk was sold by the RNLI out of the service. She was renamed Saint Íte and she spent time working as a pilot vessel for Cork Harbour Commissioners, in the Republic of Ireland. She is believed to still be in Ireland.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ravilious: The Lifeboat". Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  2. ↑ Leach, Nicholas (2019). Powering to the Rescue; A history of RNLI motor lifeboats. Lily Publications Ltd. pp. 78–79.
  3. ↑ OS Explorer Map 231 – Southwold & Bungay. ISBN 978 0 319 23805 9.
  4. 1 2 "The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships". Abdy Beauclerk. Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  5. 1 2 The Story of The Aldeburgh Lifeboats (28 page Paperback): Author: Morris Jeff: Publisher Lifeboat enthusiasts' Society (1994) :ASIN B0018TW60Y
  6. 1 2 3 Rescue at Sea, An International History of Lifesaving, Coastal Rescue Craft and Organisations. Page: 129 Early Motor Lifeboats. Author:Clayton Evans. Published by: Conway Maritime Press (Chrysalis Books) 2003. ISBN 0 85177 934 4
  7. ↑ "St Albans, Duke of (E, 1683/4)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  8. 1 2 Lifeboat Gallantry RNLI medals and how they were won. Edited by:Barry Cox. Published:Spink, London, 1998. Page 273 – George Chatten.ISBN 0 907605 89 3
  9. 1 2 3 "The End of Sail - Abdy Beauclerk and Lucy Lavers". Aldeburgh Museum Online. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "SHARKHUNTERS International – History of the german submarine U-13". Contains photo of the Magdapur sinking - SHARKHUNTERS International. Copyright © Sharkhunters International, Inc. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships". Lucy Lavers. Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
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