Liverpool-class lifeboat

Former Clovelly, twin engined RNLB William Cantrell Astley (ON 871)
Class overview
Builders
Operators Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Succeeded byOakley
Built
  • Single engine: 1931–1941
  • Twin engine: (1940), 1945–1954
In service1931–1984
Completed
  • Single engine: 28
  • Twin engine: 32
Retired60
General characteristics
TypeMotor lifeboat
Displacement6-8 tons
Length35 ft 6 in (10.82 m)
Propulsion
  • Single engine: 35 hp (26 kW) Weyburn AE6 Petrol
  • Twin engine: 2 x 18 hp (13 kW) Weyburn AE4 Petrol/20 hp (15 kW) Ferry Kadenacy FKR3 Diesel
Speed6.5–7.5 knots (12.0–13.9 km/h; 7.5–8.6 mph)
Range70–120 nautical miles (130–220 km; 80–140 mi)
Crew7

The Liverpool-class motorised lifeboat was a non-self-righting boat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) from its stations around the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The boats were designed for carriage launching and were developed from the Liverpool-Class Pulling and Sailing type of lifeboats - there were two types built, single and twin engined.

History

The Liverpool class, designed by James Barnett, was derived from the 35ft 6in Self-righting motor-class lifeboat and had many similarities with it. Lifeboatmen at many stations preferred non self-righting boats due to their better stability and the Liverpool class was designed to be light enough for carriage launching at these stations. The single-engined version entered service in 1932 and was powered by an RNLI designed, Weyburn Engineering built AE6 six-cylinder 35 horsepower (26 kW) petrol engine mounted in a watertight compartment. Like all early motor lifeboats, the Liverpool class carried an auxiliary sailing rig and had a drop keel just forward of the engine room. 28 boats were built between 1931 and 1941. The introduction of tractors to assist with carriage launching enabled the RNLI to consider a heavier, twin-engined version of the Liverpool class and a prototype was ordered but was destroyed in an air raid at the builder's yard at Cowes in May 1942. Production got underway early in 1945 and the boat was powered by two 18 hp (13 kW) Weyburn AE4 four-cylinder petrol engines mounted in a watertight compartment. The extra redundancy of twin engines reduced the need for auxiliary sails. 31 boats were built between 1945 and 1954, the last 21 of which were powered by 20 hp (15 kW) Ferry Kadenacy FKR3 diesels. The William Cantrell Ashley now July 2017 is in dry standing Penarth marina, Cardiff.

Description

The Liverpool class was based on the 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m) Self-righting motor introduced in 1929, but had greater beam (10 ft (3.0 m) rather than 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)) and much shallower endboxes. The shelter was extended forward to cover the engine compartment, which was watertight and allowed the engine to continue to operate as long as the air intake was not submerged. The single propeller was protected by the keel. The twin-engined variant was visually very similar but had 8 in (20 cm) more beam and the twin propellers were in protective tunnels. In the mid-1960s the petrol engines in the first ten boats were replaced by 47 hp (35 kW) Parsons Penguin diesels (as were a couple of the Ferry engined boats). Only one single-engined boat, ON 832, was re-engined with a diesel engine, a Parsons Porbeagle of 47 hp.

Fleet

Single screw boats

ON[a] Name Built Builder In service Station Comments[1]
750 Oldham 1931 Groves & Guttridge 1931–1952 Hoylake Sold in 1952. Renamed Grey Lass but broken up at Hoylake in 1955.
760 Anne Allan 1932 Thorneycroft 1932–1953 Skegness [2] Sold in 1953. Reported in December 2022 as having been restored to original condition and now at Padstow.[3]
764 Nellie and Charlie 1933 J. Samuel White 1933–1950 Anstruther Sold April 1951. In December 2021 it was in use as a pleasure boat for RW Davis & Sons Ltd. At Sharpness.
765 Fifi and Charles 1933 J. Samuel White 1933–1962 Weston-super-Mare Sold October 1962. By August 2008 it had been renamed Wyvern and was at Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine in France.
766 The Always Ready 1933 J. Samuel White 1933–1954 Runswick Sold May 1954. Reported to be at Portishead Marina in December 2021.
770 Harriot Dixon 1934 Groves & Guttridge 1934–1964 Cromer No.2 Sold December 1964. Reported in December 2022 to be under restoration at Stiffkey, Norfolk.
771 The Three Sisters 1934 J. Samuel White 1934–1954 Coverack Sold in 1954. Had a wheelhouse added and used as a pleasure boat but broken up in October 2008 in Rhyl.
772 Elizabeth and Albina Whitley 1934 Groves & Guttridge 1934–1948 Flamborough Sold January 1953. Reported in December 2022 to be in storage at Stiffkey, Norfolk, with the name Albina.
1948–1952 Reserve fleet
773 Joseph Braithwaite 1934 J. Samuel White 1934–1949 Maryport Sold December 1952. Reported in January 2019, to be in a back garden in Barry, Wales.
1950–1952 Reserve fleet
781 W.R.A. 1935 J. Samuel White 1936–1954 North Sunderland Sold to Guatemala as a lifeboat in 1958.
1954–1958 Reserve fleet
782 Margaret Dawson 1935 J. Samuel White 1936–1952 Gourdon Sold 1956. Wrecked and later broken up at Holyhead.
1952–1955 Reserve fleet
786 Foresters Centenary 1936 Groves & Guttridge 1936–1961 Sheringham Sold 1961. On display at The Mo Sheringham Museum.
791 Elizabeth Wills Allen 1936 J. Samuel White 1936–1950 Seaham Sold February 1953. Reported in December 2022 as being at Stiffkey, Norfolk, for restoration.
1950–1953 Reserve fleet
792 Annie Ronald and Isabella Forrest 1936 J. Samuel White 1936–1949 St Abbs Sold March 1965. In September 2021 it was reported to be a leisure boat named Arif at Walton-on-the-Naze.
1949–1952 Reserve fleet
1952–1953 Bridlington
1953–1956 Reserve fleet
1956–1958 Scarborough
1958–1959 Reserve fleet
1959–1964 Llandudno
793 Clarissa Langdon 1937 J. Samuel White 1937–1962 Boulmer Sold March 1965. Reported in November 2021 to be a workboat named Homewards at Foula, Shetland Islands.
1962–1963 Reserve fleet
1963 Seaham
1963–1965 Reserve fleet
794 Richard Silver Oliver 1937 J. Samuel White 1937–1939 Cullercoats Capsized on exercise at Cullercoats 22 April 1939 with the loss of 6 lives.[4]

Sold in 1963 to the Chilean Lifeboat Service, renamed Valparaiso II and stationed at Lirquén, Chile. Damaged in service but then destroyed by vandals while awaiting repairs in 1978.

1940–1945 Newquay
1945–1952 Ilfracombe
1953–1961 Criccieth
1961–1963 Reserve fleet
795 Frank and William Oates 1937 Groves & Guttridge 1937–1951 Eyemouth Sold 1964. Reported in April 2019 to have been renamed Seren-y-Mor and at Tenby.
1952–1955 Girvan
1956–1963 Reserve fleet
1963–1964 Hastings
796 Herbert John 1937 Groves & Guttridge Destroyed by fire at the builder's yard on 18 June 1937.
797 Howard D 1937 Saunders-Roe 1937–1948 St Helier Under German control at St Helier 1940–1945.

Sold in 1964. In December 2022 it was at the Jersey Maritime Museum.[5]

1948–1953 Flamborough
1953–1956 Arbroath
1956–1962 Reserve fleet
1962–1963 Seaham
1963–1964 Reserve fleet
798 Ann Isabella Pyemont 1937 Groves & Guttridge 1937–1965 Kilmore Quay Sold 1966. Reported in December 2022, working as a fishing boat with the stern shortened.
799 Helen Sutton 1937 Saunders-Roe 1937–1952 Peel Sold to Guatemala as a lifeboat in 1958, taking up service in 1959.
1952–1958 Reserve fleet
800 Sarah Ann Austin 1937 Groves & Guttridge 1937–1961 Blackpool Sold August 1965. Reported in June 2022 to be a pleasure boat at Woodbridge, Suffolk.
1962–1965 Reserve fleet
825 Herbert John 1939 Groves & Guttridge 1939–1952 Cloughey Sold in 1966. Reported in April 2022 to have been restored to original condition but in private ownership at Brodick, Isle of Arran.[6]
1952–1966 Youghal
827 George and Elizabeth Gow 1939 Morgan Giles 1939–1943 Aberdeen No.2 Used by RAF as a rescue craft in the Azores 1943–1946.

Sold in 1965. By December 2021 it had been restored to original condition on the River Yonne at Migennes in France.

1943–1946 Royal Air Force
1947–1962 Aberdeen No.2
1962–1964 Reserve fleet
831 Caroline Oates Aver and William Maine 1939 Groves & Guttridge 1940–1948 St Ives Sold July 1960. Last reported in 1969 when it was a fishing boat at Barmouth in Wales.
1948–1960 Ferryside
832 Lucy Lavers 1939 Groves & Guttridge 1940–1959 Aldeburgh No.2 This Lifeboat was one of the Little Ships of the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.

Sold 1968. It was reported in December 2022 at Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, in use as a tour boat in fully restored condition.

1959–1964 Reserve fleet
1964 Hastings
1964–1968 Reserve fleet
833 The Cuttle 1940 Groves & Guttridge 1940–1953 Filey Sold August 1966. Lost off the Île d'Oléron, France, 6 October 1967.
1953–1964 Skegness
1964–1966 Reserve fleet
834 Jose Neville 1941 Groves & Guttridge 1941–1964 Caister Sold August 1966. Was a fishing vessel named Concorde in Southwold but by 2008 it had been renamed Valas at Slaughden Quay, Aldeburgh, and was still there in April 2022.
1964–1966 Reserve fleet
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

Twin screw boats

ON[a] Name Built Builder In service Station Comments [1]
839 W. and B. Groves & Guttridge Was to have been a prototype for twin-screw Liverpool-class lifeboats but was destroyed in an air raid at builders yard 4 May 1942
850 Cecil Paine 1945 Groves & Guttridge 1945–1965 Wells-next-the-Sea Sold in 1973. Reported in April 2000 to be the retired lifeboat Patreo-Joao-Rabgel at Sesimbra, Setepal, Portugal.
1965–1972 Kilmore Quay
1972–1973 Relief fleet
861 Edgar, George, Orlando and Eva Child 1948 Groves & Guttridge 1948–1968 St Ives Sold in 1983. By December 2022 it was in storage at Stiffkey, Norfolk.
1968–1970 Reserve fleet
1970–1975 Blackpool
1975–1982 Relief fleet
862 Thomas Corbett 1948 Groves & Guttridge 1948–1970 Ramsey Sold in 1981. Used by Venture Scouts at Crosshaven, Ireland then taken to Hoylake for preservation but before this was completed it was moved to Stiffkey, Norfolk, in 2020.[7]
1970–1974 Hoylake
1974–1981 Clogherhead
863 St. Albans 1948 Groves & Guttridge 1948–1970 New Quay Sold December 1970. Renamed Lorraine but broken up at Arklow in 2005.
864 The Chieftain 1948 Groves & Guttridge 1949–1982 Barmouth Sold April 1982. By December 2022 had been restored to original condition and working as a tour boat in Whitstable.
869 Anthony Robert Marshall 1949 Groves & Guttridge 1949–1968 Rhyl Sold in 1980. By December 2022 was under restoration at Stiffkey, Norfolk.
1968–1972 Reserve fleet
1972–1979 Pwllheli
1979–1980 Relief fleet
870 William and Laura 1949 Groves & Guttridge 1949–1980 Newcastle Sold September 1980. Since then preserved by the Ulster Folk and Transport Museums.
871 William Cantrell Ashley 1949 Groves & Guttridge 1949–1968 Clovelly Sold in 1968. It was on display at the Hoylake Lifeboat Museum which has since closed. It was used as a trip boat in Looe, Cornwall, but by December 2021 was in private ownership at Penarth Marina.
872 J.B. Couper of Glasgow 1949 Groves & Guttridge 1949–1953 St Abbs Sold February 1976. Renamed Etoile Du Nord (GU5045) and by December 2022 was on display at the Peninsular Hotel, Vale, Guernsey.
1953–1965 Kirkcudbright
1966–1971 Youghal
1971 Reserve fleet
1971–1974 Poole
1974–1975 Relief fleet
873 George Elmy 1950 Groves & Guttridge 1950–1962 Seaham Capsized on service at Seaham 17 November 1962. Nine lives lost.

Sold September 1972. Restored to original condition and on display at Seaham Harbour since July 2013.[8]

1963–1969 Reserve fleet
1969–1971 Poole
874 Robert Lindsay 1950 Groves & Guttridge 1950–1953 Arbroath Capsized on service at Arbroath 27 October 1953 with six lives lost.

Sold in 1968. Reported in December 2022 to be under restoration at Stiffkey, Norfolk.

1953–1955 Reserve fleet
1955–1960 Girvan
1960–1961 Reserve fleet
1961–1968 Criccieth
875 Richard Ashley 1950 Groves & Guttridge 1950–1966 Newbiggin Sold in 1967. Renamed Kirstey of Luing. Reported to be a yacht at Red Bay, Northern Ireland, in 1980 but now believed to have been lost at Dún Laoghaire.
876 James and Ruby Jackson 1950 Groves & Guttridge 1950–1965 Anstruther Sold in 1969. A wheelhouse was added and it was used as a pleasure boat named Galore. It was lost at Dún Laoghaire in 1998.
1965–1967 Reserve fleet
877 George and Caroline Ermen 1950 J. Samuel White 1950–1974 Clogherhead Sold July 1974. Renamed Boreas. By 2009 it was a derelict hull at Camuscross on the Isle of Skye.
882 B.H.M.H. 1951 Rowhedge Ironworks 1951–1973 Minehead Sold in 1985. Reported in September 2020, to be on the River Thames at Chiswick and restored to original condition.
1973–1981 Relief fleet
1981–1984 Clogherhead
891 Bassett-Green 1951 Groves & Guttridge 1951–1962 Padstow No.2 Sold in 1969. By May 2018 it was in private ownership at Campbeltown in Scotland.
1962–1969 Poole
892 Aguila Wren 1951 Groves & Guttridge 1951–1964 Aberystwyth Sold December 1972. Reported in December 2022 to be under restoration at Donaghadee, Northern Ireland.
1965–1972 Redcar
893 Clara and Emily Barwell 1951 Groves & Guttridge 1951–1963 Eyemouth Sold February 1969. Wheelhouse added for use as a fishing boat named Ellie Lou (LT545) which was at Lowestoft in December 2022.
1963–1968 Reserve fleet
894 Oldham IV 1952 Groves & Guttridge 1952–1970 Hoylake Sold in October 1970 but its location since then is unknown.
895 Edith Clauson-Thue 1952 Groves & Guttridge 1952–1969 Gourdon Sold in 1969. Reported in October 2002 to be the fishing boat Rambler (SO299) at Courtown, Ireland.
902 Constance Calverley 1952 Groves & Guttridge 1952–1965 Cloughey Sold in 1970. By October 2002 it was working as a fishing boat with a wheelhouse added. Sunk at Youghal, Ireland.
1965–1970 Reserve fleet
903 Helen Harris - Manchester & District XXXI 1952 Groves & Guttridge 1952–1972 Peel Sold in 1972. By December 2021 it was at Migennes, France, in storage for preservation.
904 Robert and Phemia Brown 1952 Groves & Guttridge 1952–1966 Ilfracombe Sold in 1967. Last reported at Weymouth, Dorset, in 1971.
905 Katherine and Virgoe Buckland 1952 Groves & Guttridge 1953–1972 Pwllheli Sold in 1972.
April 2019, Wheelhouse added, trip boat, Tenby
906 W. Ross MacArthur of Glasgow 1953 Groves & Guttridge 1953–1964 St Abbs Sold February 1969. Later to Caister Lifeboat and renamed Shirley Jean Ayde in 1973.

Sold to Pembroke Dock Authority in 1992 and renamed Mariners Friend then sold into private ownership in 1994. By 2009 it was on display at the Old Lifeboat House, Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk.

1964–1968 Reserve fleet
914 Tillie Morrison, Sheffield II 1953 Groves & Guttridge 1953–1967 Bridlington Sold in 1969. Renamed Rescue II then Rescue III. Reported in December 2023 to be operated by Chaddy's Charters as a trip boat at Port Taranaki, New Zealand, but in unaltered condition.
1967–1968 Reserve fleet
915 Friendly Forester 1953 Groves & Guttridge 1953–1983 Flamborough Sold 1984 for display at Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight.[9] amusement park. Moved to the Thornwick Bay Holiday Village, Yorkshire, in October 2019.[10]
916 Maria Noble 1953 Groves & Guttridge 1953–1960 Exmouth Sold in 1975. By July 2015 was under restoration to be a youth training boat in Limerick.
1960–1961 Reserve fleet
1961–1970 Blackpool
1970–1973 Reserve fleet
917 ISA and Penryn Milsted 1953 Groves & Guttridge 1953–1968 Filey Sold in 1968. A wheelhouse was added for it to be used as a fishing boat named Achievable(YH15). Reported to be at Great Yarmouth in December 2022.
918 The Eliott Gill 1953 Groves & Guttridge 1954–1970 Runswick Sold August 1974 to be used as a fishing boat. By September 2022 it had been fully restored and based at Watchet, Somerset.
1970–1974 Reserve fleet
927 Grace Darling 1954 Groves & Guttridge 1954–1967 North Sunderland Sold in 1985. On display at Chatham Historic Dockyard since April 1996.[11]
1967–1971 Reserve fleet
1971–1984 Youghal
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

References

  1. ^ a b Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
  2. ^ >Leech, Nicholas (2008). Skegness Lifeboats – An illustrated History. Landmark Publishing. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-84306-423-7.
  3. ^ "National Register of Historic Vessels – Anne Allan". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Richard Silver Oliver". RNLI. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  5. ^ "National Register of Historic Vessels - Howard D". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  6. ^ "National Register of Historic Vessels - Herbert John". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  7. ^ "National Register of Historic Vessels - Thomas Corbett". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  8. ^ "National Register of Historic Vessels - George Elmy". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  9. ^ "National Register of Historic Vessels - Friendly Forester". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  10. ^ "Lifeboat returns to coast after three decades away". 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  11. ^ "National Register of Historic Vessels - Grace Darling". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
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