Skegness Lifeboat Station

Samual Moody[6][7] had been on the Skegness lifeboat as crew and as Coxswain for a considerable time. Back in 1851 he was sent a recommendation from the Lincoln County Association for having personally assisted in the saving of 53 lives over a period of 21 years. On 18 October 1854[7] Coxswain Moody and his crew launched their lifeboat out to the stricken vessel Atlanta out of Shields. The brig had been driven on to the shore in a north-north-easterly gale three miles north of Skegness. The Skegness lifeboat had to be drawn up to the beach from the town by six horses before her launch.[7] Aboard the vessel was the captain, his wife and child and eight more members of its crew.[8] In pitch black and in heavy seas coxswain Moody took the private lifeboat out to the vessel and rescued all aboard. For his part in the rescue, Moody was awarded an RNLI Silver Medal.[7]

On 5 December 1875[9] the lifeboat Herbert Ingram (first) had to be pulled two miles along the beach to rescue the Colchester barge Star, which had been on passage from Hull to Poole when it was driven aground at Winthorne Gap in a fresh easterly gale. At 6 am the lifeboat was launched through heavy breaking surf into a headwind and took twenty minutes to reach the casualty.[9] Two crew men were immediately taken off the stricken vessel, but the master fell into the water between the two boats. Samual Moody and George Chesnutt, at great risk to themselves immediately went into the water with a line and held on to the master whilst the lifeboat was rowed to shore. For their bravery in this rescue both Moody and Chesnutt were awarded RNLI silver medals.[9]

An outstanding rescue occurred on 13 November as the Azha had suffered heavy storm damage off the Humber and drifted south for 4 days, helpless. She was waterlogged and afloat only because she carried pit-props. Her 6 Norwegians and 2 Swedish crew were close to death when she was seen from Skegness. The 8-oared “Samuel Lewis”, the last unpowered lifeboat, was launched with Coxwain Matthew Grunnill and his nephew Montague as Second. The weather was still very severe but the lifeboat managed to get alongside the Azha, aground on the Skegness Middle Sand, and take off her 8 crew. The brig was breaking up and was abandoned. The lifeboat could only get to shore late in the day, further South. King Haakon VII of Norway awarded the 2 Coxwains with silver medals and written thanks with a £20 award to the crew for their lifesaving work – just in time.[2]

Oakley-class lifeboat Charles Fred Grantham (ON 977) was one of several rescue boats launched following the sinking the previous day of an Oil rig called Sea Gem 47 miles north-west of the Norfolk town of Cromer.[3] Also involved in the search were the Wells-next-the-Sea Oakley-class lifeboat Ernest Tom Neatherercoat (ON 982), the relief Sheringham Oakley-class lifeboat James and Catherine Macfarlane (ON 989), Cromer lifeboat Henry Blogg (ON 840) and the Humber Watson-class lifeboat City of Bradford III (ON 911).[10] All the lifeboats were involved in this extensive search for survivors in heavy seas and a gale-force wind. On board the Sea Gem when she sank were thirty two crew.[10] Nineteen of the crew were taken aboard the steamship Baltrova and five were known to have perished.[10] Eight other of her crew were missing. The Skegness boat searched for 14 hours in freezing conditions.[3] The eight missing men were never recovered. For the lifeboats part in this long and arduous search the RNLI sent the station a letter of appreciation for their determination and high standard of seamanship during the service.