Rhyl Lifeboat Station

Rhyl Lifeboat Station
The Boathouse of Rhyl Lifeboat Station
Rhyl Lifeboat Station is located in Denbighshire
Rhyl Lifeboat Station
Rhyl, Denbighshire
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationMarine Parade, Rhyl, UK
CountryWales, UK
Coordinates53°19′30.3″N 3°29′20.0″W / 53.325083°N 3.488889°W / 53.325083; -3.488889
Opened1852
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Rhyl Lifeboat Station

Rhyl Lifeboat Station is operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in the North Wales town of Rhyl. For over 150 years, the Lifeboat Crew in Rhyl have been saving lives at sea. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1852 and the present station was opened in December 2001. The station operates a Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat (ALB), and an D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat (ILB).

History

In 1852, the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariner’s Society placed a lifeboat at Rhyl. Shortly after, in 1853, the lifeboat Gwylan-y-Mor capsized with the loss of six of her crew.[1]

In 1963, Rhyl Lifeboat Anthony Robert Marshall (ON 869) was launched on service to the first lifeboat rescue of a hovercraft.[2] For this service, the RNLI silver medal for gallantry was awarded to Coxswain Harold Campini.

In 1967, the first D-class ILB Lifeboat (D-141) was put on service in Rhyl to accompany the All-Weather Lifeboat for inshore rescues.

In 1973, the RNLI Bronze medal for gallantry was awarded to Helmsman Don Archer-Jones for the courage and seamanship he displayed when the ILB rescued 2 boys cut off by the tide, and clinging to a perch marking the sewer outfall between Rhyl and Prestatyn, in a gale force westerly wind and a rough sea on 7 August. Crew member Paul Frost was awarded a medal service certificate.

In 2002, The Duke of Kent, presented the lifeboat station with an anniversary Vellum to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Rhyl lifeboat.

Description

The lifeboat station is built on the promenade in Rhyl. The building contains the All-weather lifeboat (ALB) with Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS), Inshore lifeboat (ILB), launched with a marinised County Tractor, and a Land-Rover Defender, used for Search and Rescue operations off the coast of Rhyl. The station also has a short concrete slipway that leads down to the beach. Each boat is kept on a carriage attached to a tractor which propels it down to the water and brings it back after use. A fundraising shop is situated on the west side of the boathouse.

Area of operation

The Shannon-class All-Weather lifeboat at Rhyl has a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). The lifeboat can cover an area from Colwyn Bay (west) to Mostyn (east). North of the station the All-Weather lifeboat covers the Oil and Gas platforms of the Douglas and Hamilton fields, and also the windfarms of North Hoyle; Rhyl Flats; and the Gwynt-Y-Mor fields. Rhyl Lifeboat is a part of the contingency plan for any evacuation of the rigs. The area also covers the outer approaches to Liverpool. Adjacent ALBs are at Llandudno Lifeboat Station to the west, and Hoylake to the east. There is an ILB station at both Flint and West Kirby to the east.

Notable rescues

  • 1962 - ALB, First service ever made by a lifeboat to a hovercraft [3]
  • 1973 - ILB, Rescue to children stuck on sewer outfall [4]
  • 1990 - Towyn and Pensarn floods [5]
  • 2011 - ALB, Rescue kayaker with hypothermia [6]
  • 2011 - ILB, Rescue to mother and son with hypothermia [7]
  • 2012 - ALB, Rescue to cargo ship in Llanddulas [8]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Rhyl[9][10]

Harold Louis Campini, Coxswain - 1962
Don Archer-Jones, Helmsman - 1973
  • Medal Service Certificate
Paul Frost, crew member - 1973
  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
the crew of the lifeboat -1962
Donald Jones, Helmsman - 1974
Richard Perrin, crew member - 1974
James Quinn, crew member - 1974
  • Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
Shore Crew - 1962
Martin Jones, Mechanic - 2001
Bruce Arnold Herbert, Coxswain - 1991[11]
Jean Olive Frost, Manageress of the Rhyl Lifeboat Souvenir Shop - 2008[12]
Paul Frost, crew member - 2011[13]
Martin Peter Jones, Coxswain - 2017[14]

Rhyl lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

No.1 Station

ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name In service[15] Class Comments
Pre-244 – Gwylan-y-Mor 1852–1856 26-foot Self-righting (P&S)
70 – Unnamed,
Morgan 		1856–1868 32-foot Tubular (P&S)
Pre-490 – Henry Nixson No.2 1868–1869 33-foot Self-righting (P&S) Relief boat whilst ON 70 repaired
70 – Unnamed,
Morgan 		1869–1893 32-foot Tubular (P&S)
287 – Caroline Richardson 1893–1897 35-foot 7in Tubular (P&S)
398 – Caroline Richardson 1897–1939 34-foot Tubular (P&S)
835 – The Gordon Warren 1939–1949 Surf
869 – Anthony Robert Marshall 1949–1968 Liverpool
993 37-22 Har Lil 1968–1990 Oakley
1000 37-29 Mary Gabriel 1990–1992 Rother
1183 12-24 Lil Cunningham 1992–2019 Mersey
1341 13-34 Anthony Kenneth Heard 2019– Shannon [16]

No.2 Station

ON[a] Name In service[15] Class Comments
Pre-457 Jane Dalton 1878–1888 33-foot Self-righting (P&S)
166 Jane Martin 1888–1899 34-foot 2in Self-righting (P&S)

Inshore lifeboats

Op. No.[b] Name In service[17] Class Comments
D-141 Unnamed 1967–1975 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-243 Unnamed 1976–1987 D-class (Zodiac III)
D-348 Banks' Staff I 1987–1995 D-class (EA16)
D-485 Stafford with Rugeley 1995–2004 D-class (EA16)
D-632 Godfrey and Desmond Nall 2004–2014 D-class (IB1)
D-770 Mary Maxwell 2014– D-class (IB1)

Launch and recovery tractors (ALB)

Op. No.[b] Reg. No. Type In service[17] Comments
T6 DM 3318 Clayton 1921–1938
T12 LLY 75 Clayton 1938–1940
T37 GGF 497 Case L 1940–1954
T53 KXT 421 Case LA 1954–1955
T63 PXF 163 Fowler Challenger III 1955–1963
T60 OXO 323 Fowler Challenger III 1963–1972
T67 YLD 792 Fowler Challenger III 1972–1974
T58 OJJ 312 Fowler Challenger III 1974–1975
T68 YUV 742 Fowler Challenger III 1975–1978
T60 OXO 323 Fowler Challenger III 1978–1983
T67 YLD 792 Fowler Challenger III 1983–1984
T92 A462 AUX Talus MB-H Crawler 1984–1997
T91 UAW 558Y Talus MB-H Crawler 1997–2007
T93 A496 CUX Talus MB-H Crawler 2007–2019
SC-T20 HF19 EHH SLARS (Clayton) 2019– Violet Rose Saw

Launch and recovery tractors (ILB)

Op. No.[b] Reg. No. Type In service[17] Comments
TA09 KLG 681Y Ford 4000 1993–1995
TA25 PHS 545V County 1184 1995–1998
TA35 Q678 BRM County 1184 1998–2003
TW33 M562 OUX Talus MB-764 County 2002–2006
TW31 L526 JUJ Talus MB-764 County 2006–2008
TW44 S193 RUJ Talus MB-764 County 2008–2010
ST02 WA54 HRP Softrak Loglogic 2010–2012
TW05 UJT 151S Talus MB-764 County 2012–
  1. ^ a b ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ^ a b c d Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

See also

References

  1. ^ A Melancholy Catastrophe 1853
  2. ^ The World's first rescue by Lifeboat of a hovercraft
  3. ^ Rhyl History
  4. ^ 1973 - Rhyl - Don Archer-Jones
  5. ^ Towyn floods remembered: 20 years on
  6. ^ Kayaker rescued five hours after paddling out to windfarm
  7. ^ Rhyl RNLI volunteers rescue mother and son with hypothermia
  8. ^ Oil leaks from Carrier off Llanddulas after crew saved
  9. ^ "Rhyl's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  10. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0 907605 89 3.
  11. ^ "British Empire Medal (Civil Division)". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  15. ^ a b Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–120.
  16. ^ Rush, Danielle (7 October 2019). "Historic day planned at Rhyl RNLI to welcome home new £2.5M Shannon". RNLI. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  17. ^ a b c Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.