Withernsea Lifeboat Station

Withernsea Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station located in the town of Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is one of four RNLI stations in the East Riding of Yorkshire, with another five in North Yorkshire.

Withernsea Lifeboat Station
Withernsea Lifeboat Station
Location within the East Riding of Yorkshire
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationWithernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates53.7260°N 0.0407°E / 53.7260; 0.0407
Opened1998
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Official website

A lifeboat was located at Withernsea between 1862 and 1913. Then again from 1974 until the present day.

History

A lifeboathouse was built in 1862 in Arthur Street in the town.[1] This was replaced in 1882 by another structure[2] which had a 15 feet (4.6 m) high door to get the boat in and out. It was also furnished with a sloping floor which allowed the water to drain away from underneath the boat.[3]

The station was closed in 1913 in favour of a new location at Easington further down the coast. Launching had become difficult at Withernsea and most of the wrecks were occurring nearer to Easington than at Withernsea. Easington operated for twenty years before it was itself closed. Withernsea was re-activated in 1974 after a period of 60 years,[4] in response to a national increase in pleasure craft and water-based activities closer to the shoreline.[5]

Since the station re-opened in 1974, members of the team have been awarded eight gallantry awards, including two RNLI bronze medals.[6] In 2017, the station had seventeen call-outs.[7] The station is one of four in the East Riding of Yorkshire, with Humber to the south and Bridlington to the north.[8] Currently the Withernsea Lifeboat station operates an Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) with All-Weather Boat coverage being supplied by the two adjacent stations.

The fifth lifeboat house in Withernsea was opened in 1998, on the site of the 1974 building (boathouses had been built in 1861, 1882, 1974, 1983 and 1998).[9][10] The octagonal lighthouse in the town of Withernsea, is now host to a lighthouse and lifeboat museum.[11]

Withernsea is due to receive a new 'D'-Class lifeboat in July 2019; it will be named Mary Beal.[12][13]

Notable rescues

One of the more unusual rescues that the Withernsea Lifeboat crew performed was in January 1989 when the minibus they were travelling in on the M1 motorway was caught up in the Kegworth Air Disaster. The crew assisted with the rescue effort at the roadside.[14]

Fleet
Dates in service Class ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name Comments
1862–1882 Pelican [15]
1882–1911 Admiral Rous [3]
1911–1913 Dungeness 623 Docea Chapman After closure of Withernsea in 1913, the lifeboat served at Easington lifeboat station until 1933.[16]
1974–1983 D-58 Unnamed Had previously been at Skegness for seven years.[17][18]
1983–1990 D-289 Unnamed [17]
1990–1999 D-Class D-394 Banks' Staff II [19]
1999–2009 D-Class D-541 Brian and Margaret Wiggins [20]
2009– D-Class D-701 Henley Eight [21]
  1. ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

References
  1. Historic England. "Monument No. 1547092 (1547092)". PastScape. Retrieved 5 March 2019.,
  2. "Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey; Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, Bempton to Donna Nook" (PDF). historicengland.co.uk. English Heritage. p. 133. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  3. "Sea change for Withernsea lifeboat base station". The Yorkshire Post. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. Leach 2018, pp. 139–140.
  5. Leach 2018, pp. 46–47.
  6. "Withernsea Lifeboat Station: History". rnli.org. RNLI. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  7. Davidson, Trudi (8 May 2018). "Appeal launch for new Withernsea lifeboat in memory of Mary Beal". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  8. "New lifeboat and station for Bridlington". Bridlington Free Press. 12 December 2014. ProQuest 1635403514.
  9. Leach 2018, p. 139.
  10. "R.N.L.I." withernsealighthouse.co.uk. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  11. Chrystal 2012, p. 78.
  12. Davidson, Trudi (8 May 2018). "Appeal launch for new Withernsea lifeboat in memory of Mary Beal". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  13. "Mayday! Please help our Withernsea lifeboat appeal". Holderness Gazette. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  14. "Air disaster remembered 30 years on". BBC News. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  15. "A GRIMSBY SMACK ASHORE NEAR WITHERNSEA". York Herald (5, 908). 15 January 1876. p. 6. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  16. "Name Louisa II | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  17. Leach 2018, p. 140.
  18. "RNLI Skegness > Our Lifeboats". www.rnliskegness.org.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  19. Floyd, Mike, ed. (Winter 1993). "What and Where? The Lifeboat Fleet of the RNLI...". The Lifeboat. Poole: RNLI. 53 (526): 133. ISSN 0024-3086.
  20. Floyd, Mike, ed. (Summer 1999). "Withernsea's D Named". The Lifeboat. Poole: RNLI (548): 6. ISSN 0024-3086.
  21. "Four honoured for years of dedicated service to RNLI". The Henley Standard. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2019.

Sources
  • Chrystal, Paul (2012). Lifeboat Stations of North East England; From Sunderland to The Humber, Through Time. Stroud: Amberley. ISBN 978-1-4456-1376-5.
  • Leach, Nicholas (2018). The Lifeboat Service in England; the North East Coast, Station by Station. Stroud: Amberley. ISBN 978-1-4456-6832-1.
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