Chiswick Lifeboat Station is a

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

station on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

at Corney Reach,

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

, in west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is one of the newest stations operated by the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI), and one of the first to cover a river rather than estuarial waters or the sea.

Establishment

The inquiry set up after the collision in 1989 between the ''

Marchioness A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

'' and the dredger ''Bowbelle'', that resulted in the loss of 51 lives, recommended a dedicated

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

presence on the Thames. As a part of this, the government approached the RNLI, who agreed to provide a rescue service that covered the tidal Thames between Teddington and the

Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

. Locations were approved for stations at

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

, Chiswick,

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

. These all became operational at the beginning of 2002.

History

Chiswick Lifeboat Station commenced service on 2 January 2002, and operated with an E-class Tiger Marine fast response boat. In July 2002 the boat was named ''Chelsea Pensioner'' at a ceremony held at the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an ...

. Demand for the services of the Thames lifeboats proved to be much higher than originally anticipated. In 2002, their first year of operation, London lifeboats were called out over 800 times, accounting for 10% of the total number of call-outs, or "shouts", that the RNLI responded to nationwide. Within two months of opening, Chiswick became, and continued to be, the UK's second busiest lifeboat station after

in Central London. Between 2002 and mid-2018, Chiswick was called to 3,387 incidents and rescued more than 1,620 people. In May 2012 a new lifeboat, an E-class lifeboat Mark II named ''Dougie and Donna B'', was also put on service. By 2020 Chiswick was served by three boats; the ''Chelsea Pensioner'', the ''Dougie and Donna B'' and the ''Joan and Kenneth Bellamy''.

Crew

The Chiswick station is manned continuously to provide an immediate response and is coordinated by the

Coastguard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

. The crew is drawn from both full-time staff and a pool of about 50 volunteers.

Boats

Chiswick Lifeboat Station operates three boats.

References

External links