Fishguard lifeboat, Blue Peter VII - geograph

Fishguard Lifeboat Station (based in Goodwick,

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

) 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 on the quay between Fishguard railway station and the northern breakwater, the station is staffed by two crews and has around 30 members. Operating two lifeboats, a lifeboat ''Blue Peter VII'' and an inshore lifeboat ''Edward Arthur Richardson'', it is one of seven stations with a lifeboat funded by the BBC children's television series ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

''.

History

The station has operated since 1822 and crews have been presented with 29 awards for gallantry including, in 1847, two RNLI Silver Medals to Martha and Margaret Llewellyn. The RNLI took over the station in 1855. In May 1874 the RNLI awarded the Fishguard lifeboat No.1 crew £27 for their lifesaving services over the previous month; they included saving a total of 17 crew from the schooners ''J.T.S.'', ''Squirrel'' and ''Gem'' and the smack ''Lerry''. On 16 November 1882 the lifeboat attended 15 different vessels and saved 46 lives. A slipway was built by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

in 1911 for a new boathouse; both were replaced in 1930. The lifeboat ''Charterhouse'' (ON563) was on station between 1909 and 1931, during which time her crews saved 47 lives. Her centenary was celebrated in 2009, still afloat and renamed ''Marian''. In February 1946 ''White Star'' was at sea for more than 24 hours in severe weather standing by the broken-down submarine and helping to rescue her crew.

Fleet

All Weather Boats

Inshore Lifeboats

Awards

A number of RNLI awards have been made for outstanding achievements during lifeboat services - * 1847:

Silver Medals A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

awarded to Martha and Margaret Llewellyn : 6 other Silver Medals were awarded between 1834 and 1855 * 1873 to 1877: 3 Silver Medals to Coxswain James White for his part in saving 80 lives * 1874: Thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum to Captain W. Harries, W Jenkins and J.G. Annal * 1921:

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

to John Howells, Silver Medals to T.O. Davies, R.E. Simpson and T. Holmes for rescuing 7 from schooner ''Hermina''; 9 other crew members received Bronze Medals for the same service

References

{{Reflist

External links

Fishguard lifeboat station at the RNLI website

1967 historic film showing the launch of Howard Marryat from 6:21
Lifeboat stations in Wales Lifeboat Transport infrastructure completed in 1822 1822 establishments in Wales