Margate Lifeboat Station is a
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) station located in
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
.
[''OS Explorer Map 150 – Canterbury & the Isle of Thanet''. Published: Ordnance Survey – Southampton. .] The station is over 160 years old. Its crews have earned a number of gallantry awards, including five silver and 1 bronze
RNLI medals for bravery.
History
Original location
The first lifeboat station in Margate was served by a lifeboat called ''Angela and Hannah'' which had been given to the town in 1857 by Baroness
Angela Burdett-Coutts
Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906), born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a British philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and Sophia, formerly Coutts, daughte ...
.
In 1860, the
RNLI
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 ...
took responsibility for the lifeboat and its station.
On 3 January 1861 the Margate committee proposed a design for a new boathouse to be located on land leased from the
South Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC),Awdry (1990), page 199 known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR), was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Easter ...
company.
[Walters, AP. ''The Margate R.N.L.I. Station'' ''And its Lifeboats from 1860''. Margate: Axxent ] The RNLI inspector instead suggested that the existing boathouse on the stone pier be refitted to suit the RNLI's needs.
The reworked boathouse was opened on 31 August that year.
The new lifeboat and launch carriage was delivered on 4 August 1866, and after a public procession through the town was launched from the new station on 7 August where a public demonstration took place.
The new lifeboat was called ''Quiver No.1'' after ''
The Quiver
''The Quiver'' (18611956) was a weekly magazine published by Cassell's and was "designed for the defence and promotion of biblical truth and the advance of religion in the homes of the people."
History
John Cassell (18171865), the English publ ...
'' magazine, a periodical of the time which had provided donations from subscriptions toward the cost of 5 new lifeboats in total, (2 of those for Margate) which were put into operation around the coast of Britain and Cork in Ireland from 1866 to 1883, all the boats were named ''Quiver'' after the magazine. ''Quiver No.1'' a 34' self-righter was launched 34 times and saved 70 lives in her time at Margate. It was in operation 1866-1883. ''Quiver No.1'' (ON 265) (the second Margate Quiver) was a 37' self-righter and was launched 68 times saving 61 lives. It was stationed there from 1883-1898 before being put into the reserve lifeboat fleet 1898-1912 where it was put to use in 4 other locations before retiring.
In 1867 it became apparent that the launch system and location of the station on the stone pier had a few shortfalls. Among them was that on several occasions the horses that were used to launch the boat had refused to face the water after being buffeted about by strong waves, thus causing delayed launches.
Move to Margate Jetty
On 9 December 1896, it was suggested that the lifeboat should be moved to
Margate Jetty
The Margate Jetty (also known as Margate Pier) was a pier in Margate, Kent, in England initially constructed of wood in 1824. It was rebuilt in iron in 1855 and extended and added to over the years. It closed in 1976 over safety concerns and w ...
, where two
slipways
A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
would be built to provide an operating capacity of two lifeboats, at an estimated cost of £3,045. A storm damaged the slipways during construction, revealing shortfalls in the design which necessitated revisions to the height of the slipway decks. Subsequent disagreements between the RNLI, the local lifeboat committee and the Margate Pier and Harbour Company further delayed the completion. The slipways, designated Stations 1 and 2, were declared open by politician
James Lowther on 14 May 1898. That same day, two new lifeboats were handed over to the station and were christened
''Civil Service No.1'' (ON 415) and
''Eliza Harriet'' (ON 411).
[
By 21 March 1925, construction of a new boathouse and slipway to accommodate a new Watson-class motor lifeboat was completed.][ The boathouse was 61 ft long and 22 feet wide and was fitted with a ]petrol
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
-driven winch and dynamo
file:DynamoElectricMachinesEndViewPartlySection USP284110.png, "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, )
A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator (electric), commutator. Dynamos were the f ...
to provide lighting.[ The new lifeboat, the ''Lord Southborough'' (ON 688), arrived from London where she had been on exhibition at the ]British Empire Exhibition
The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925.
Background
In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibit ...
at Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
. Prior to her arrival at Margate, she was involved in a collision at 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 ...
with a shrimping boat which ultimately sank. This episode turned out to be the first service the new lifeboat performed when she rescued the boat's two crewmen.[
In 1927 the No. 1 Station was closed and the ''Eliza Harriet'' was retired after 30 years service. The demolition of the western slipway completed across several months in 1928.
]
World War II
The Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
saw the station fall under the control of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, although day-to-day running was still carried out by the branch personnel. Coxswain Edward Parker was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
for his work in taking the ''Lord Southborough'' to the beaches during the Dunkirk evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...
.[''Heroes All!'' – The story of the RNLI. Authur: Beilby, Alec. Publisher: Patrick Stephens Ltd – Haynes Publishing Group 1992. The Kent Stations- Reference to Dunkirk page 162. ] Following Dunkirk, the Margate Station found itself one of the busiest lifeboat stations during the Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
, along with the nearby Ramsgate station
1950s–1970s
The ''Lord Southborough'' was retired from the station in 1951.[Mayday Mayday – The History of Coastal Rescue in Britain and Ireland. Authors: Farrington, Karen – Constable, Nick. Publisher: Collins 2011. Work: Chapter. 3. page, 107 – Lord Southborough, Operation Dynamo. ] On 17 May 1951 the station took delivery of a new all-weather lifeboat called ''North Foreland (Civil Service No. 11)'' (ON 888), a 46 ft 9in Watson-class motor lifeboat. The boathouse sustained damage following a severe storm in 1953, requiring the complete replacement of the floor
On 20 May 1960 the Margate Station celebrated its centenary under the control of the RNLI. Records show that during that period, the station's crew had rescued more than 1,800 people.
In 1966 the station began to operate an inshore inflatable lifeboat with the designation (D-99)[https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2016/june/16/fifty-years-of-lifesaving-for-margates-rnli-inshore-lifeboat]
In September 1976, the Margate Pier and Harbour Company closed the iron Margate Jetty to the public as it had become unsafe, but provision was made for the crew to carry on using the jetty for the lifeboat station. After several years of debate, it was decided in 1977 that a new station would be built on shore, and a new carriage-launched Rother-class lifeboat
The Rother-class lifeboat was a self-righting lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution around the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1972 and 1995. They were based on the Oakley-class lifeboat.
History
The Ro ...
would be supplied.
1978 North Sea storm surge
On 11 January 1978 a violent storm with gale-force winds and waves hit the North Kent coast. This washed away most of the iron jetty, leaving just the boathouse and slipway with no access to the severely damaged lifeboat house from the shore. Members of the crew were airlifted to the boathouse by Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
helicopter to launch the ''North Foreland'', which was stranded inside.[ The ''North Foreland'' was taken into Margate Harbour where she remained until she was transferred to Ramsgate where she operated until the new lifeboat was ready to take over at Margate.][ The inshore station had also sustained damage and that was temporarily housed at Margate Police Station.][
]
Since 1978
Work began on the present lifeboat station in March 1978 and was completed by August 1978. The new lifeboat ''Silver Jubilee'' (ON 1046) was handed over in November 1978.[ In the mid-1980s the Margate Station Committee split into two organizations; the Margate RNLI Fundraising Branch and the Margate Lifeboat Operational Committee, which handles day-to-day operations. In 1991 the ''Silver Jubilee'' was replaced by the lifeboat ''Leonard Kent'' (ON 1177).] In 1998 the boathouse was enlarged and upgraded.
In May 1999 a new D class lifeboat, ''Tigger Too'' (D-545), was placed in service. It was replaced by the D class ''Tigger Three'' (D-706) in December 2008.[
Following the failure to obtain planning permission for a new station building to house a lifeboat, the ''Leonard Kent'' (ON 1177) was withdrawn in May 2021, and replaced by a B-Class inshore lifeboat. ALB cover being provided by flank stations.]
Station Honours
The following are awards made at Margate[
*]Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
::Coxswain Edward Drake Parker - 1940
* Silver Medal
::William Grant, Coxswain - 1871
::William Grant, Coxswain - 1877 (Second Service Award)
::William Crawford, Honorary Secretary - 1893
::Second Coxswain Steven Clayson - 1905
::Dennis R Price, Coxswain - 1952
* Bronze Medal
::Alfred Wilson, crew member - 1951
*The Maud Smith Award 1951
::Alfred Wilson, crew member - 1951
*The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
::Dennis R Price, Coxswain - 1959
::David E G Lacey, Helmsman - 1969
::Christopher Weatherly Brown, crew member - 1969
::Albert Joseph Scott, Helmsman - 1971
* Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
::Guy Addington - 2022
Margate Lifeboats
No.1 Station Lifeboats
No.2 Station Lifeboats
Inshore lifeboats
Auxiliary vehicles
* Talus MB-H amphibious launch tractor (T-109)
See also
* List of RNLI stations
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) stations are the bases for the RNLI's fleet of search and rescue lifeboats that cover the coastal waters around the entire British Isles, as well as major inland waterways.
The service was establis ...
* 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 ...
* Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
Since its inception, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has provided Lifeboat (rescue), lifeboats to lifeboat stations in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Once past their operation life, the boats have mostly been sold by the RNLI and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margate Lifeboat station
History of Kent
Lifeboat stations in Kent
Margate