North Berwick Lifeboat Station

North Berwick Lifeboat Station
North Berwick Lifeboat Station
North Berwick Lifeboat Station is located in Scotland
North Berwick Lifeboat Station
North Berwick, East Lothian
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationThe Lifeboat Station
AddressVictoria Road
Town or cityNorth Berwick, East Lothian, EH39 4JP
CountryScotland, UK
Coordinates56°03′37″N 2°43′03″W / 56.06029°N 2.71763°W / 56.06029; -2.71763
Opened1860
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
North Berwick RNLI Lifeboat Station

North Berwick Lifeboat Station is located on Victoria Road, in North Berwick, a seaside town and former royal burgh, on the south side of the Firth of Forth, 20 miles (32 km) east of Edinburgh .

A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1867.[1]

The station currently operates a D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat, Sunijo (D-891), on station since 2024.[1]

History

The RNLI first allotted a lifeboat to North Berwick in 1867, in response to the nearby shipwreck of the schooner Bubona the year before.[2]

Between 1920 and 1925, the lifeboats were launched only once, with no lives being claimed as saved. As a result, the station was closed in 1925.

The station was re-opened in 1967 and established as an Inshore Lifeboat Station. At the same time, viewers of the BBC children's television programme Blue Peter funded the purchase of four D-class (RFD PB16) lifeboats, with one being assigned to North Berwick, the Blue Peter III (D-112).[3] Between the years of 1967 and 2013, five Blue Peter lifeboats were placed on station, all named Blue Peter III, and collectively rescued over 277 people.[4]

The re-opened station initially operated out of the lower Granary store (now owned by East Lothian Yacht Club). The original 1900 boat house was brought back into use to house the inshore lifeboat, when it was restored in 1991. It was extended in 1997, and is still in use today.[5]

The current lifeboat on station is a D-class (D-758), the Evelyn M, named after Evelyn Murdoch, whose charitable trust (the Evelyn M Murdoch Charitable Trust) paid for the construction of the vessel. The lifeboat was handed over to the RNLI at a ceremony in September 2013 and was accepted on behalf of the RNLI and passed into the care of volunteer crew at North Berwick Lifeboat Station by Sir Peter Housden, Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government and an RNLI council member. The service of dedication was led by Reverend Neil Dougall, and the boat was named Evelyn M by Helen Hanson, trustee of the Miss Evelyn M Murdoch Charitable Trust.[6]

In the last 100 years the station's rescue crews have received three RNLI awards for gallantry and three Blue Peter gold badges.[7]

North Berwick lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

ON[a] Name In service[8] Class Comments
Pre-364 Caroline 1867–1871 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) 10-oared
Pre-564 Freemasons 1871–1887 30-foot Self-righting (P&S) 10-oared, double-banked
121 Fergus Ferguson 1887–1902 34-foot 1in Self-righting (P&S) 10-oared, double-banked
502 Norman Clark 1902–1920 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) 10-oared, double-banked
453 John William Dudley 1920–1923 35-foot Self-righting (P&S)
616 Elizabeth Moore Garden 1923–1925 35-foot Self-righting (Rubie P&S) Station closed, 1925

Inshore lifeboats (ILBs)

Op. No.[b] Name In service [1] Class Comments
D-112 Blue Peter III 1967–1973 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-216 Blue Peter III 1973–1984 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-306 Blue Peter III 1984–1993 D-class (EA16)
D-452 Blue Peter III 1993–2003 D-class (EA16)
D-570 Roger B Harbour 2003–2004 D-class (EA16)
D-619 Blue Peter III 2004–2013 D-class (IB1)
D-758 Evelyn M 2013–2024 D-class (IB1) [9]
D-891 Sunijo 2024– D-class (IB1) [10]
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat. Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.
  2. ^ Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat, carried on the hull.

Station honours

The following are awards made to the crew of North Berwick Lifeboat Station:[5][11]

1973 – For a life saved from a capsized boat on 26 July 1973
Benjamin Pearson, helmsman
Alexander Russell, crew member
  • Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
1973 – For a life saved from a capsized boat on 26 July 1973
James Pearson, crew member
2020 - For services to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and to the community in North Berwick.
Alexander Stewart Auld - 2020QBH[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  2. ^ Douglas C. Seaton. "Lifeboat Back on Station". Royal Burgh of North Berwick. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  3. ^ "North Berwick History". RNLI. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  4. ^ "End of an era for North Berwick lifeboat station". RNLI. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  5. ^ a b "North Berwick's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  6. ^ "New Lifeboat, the 'Evelyn M' named in ceremony at North Berwick". RNLI. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Lifeboat Station: North Berwick". RNLI. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  8. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–120.
  9. ^ "A new lady of the waves". East Lothian Courier. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  10. ^ "North Berwick RNLI open day as town's new lifeboat arrives". East Lothian Courier. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  11. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0-907605-89-3.
  12. ^ "British Empire Medal (Civil Division)". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.

Photos

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