Jump to content

Porthcawl Lifeboat Station

Add links
Coordinates: 51°28′26″N 3°42′06″W / 51.47389°N 3.70167°W / 51.47389; -3.70167
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Porthcawl Lifeboat Station
Gorsaf Bad Achub Porthcawl
Porthcawl Lifeboat Station
Porthcawl Lifeboat Station is located in Wales
Porthcawl Lifeboat Station
Porthcawl, Bridgend
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
AddressThe Esplanade
Town or cityPorthcawl, Bridgend, CF36 3YR
CountryWales, UK
Coordinates51°28′26″N 3°42′06″W / 51.47389°N 3.70167°W / 51.47389; -3.70167
Opened1860 & 1965
Closed1902
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Porthcawl RNLI Lifeboat Station

Porthcawl Lifeboat Station is located at The Esplanade, in the town of Porthcawl, on the South Wales coast, in Bridgend, Wales.

A lifeboat station was established here in 1860 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), but was closed in 1902, when Porthcawl Dock closed. The station was reopened in 1965 as an Inshore Lifeboat Station, with a D-class (EA16) Inshore lifeboat. [1]

The station currently operates a B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat, Rose of The Shires (B-832), on station since 2009, and the smaller D-class (IB1) lifeboat, Hugo Missen (D-861), on station since 2022.[2]

History

[edit]

Ever since its founding in 1824, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), later to become the RNLI in 1854, would award medals for deeds of gallantry at sea, even if no lifeboats were involved.

In just a 4 year period between 1856 and 1860, no fewer than nine RNLI Silver Medals were awarded for rescues in the Porthcawl area.[3]

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 6 October 1859, following an visit and recommendation by the RNLI District Inspector, and in receipt of a letter from Capt. Crewe Read and Rev. E. P. Nicholl, highlighting the need for a lifeboat on the Glamorganshire coast, it was decided that a station be established at Porthcawl.[4]

The station opened in April 1860, when the 30-foot self-righting 'pulling and sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with (6) oars and sails, The Good Deliverance, was placed here. A boathouse costing £120 was constructed on the promenade, at the entrance to Knights Arms Square.[5]

On 5 December 1869, the Porthcawl lifeboat rescued 11 crew, the Master's wife, and the Pilot, from the schooner Loretta of Bilbao.[6][7]

After 12 years service, the 6-oared lifeboat was replaced in 1872. The lifeboat had been launched 17 times, saving 26 lives.[8]

A larger 32-foot 10-oared lifeboat, costing £248, along with a new launch carriage, at a further cost of £100, was provided to the station. The expenses were covered by the donation of £680 from Miss J. E. Chafyn Grove of Wiltshire, in memory of her brother, a benefactor of the Institution. The lifeboat arrived in March 1872, and after a procession to Newton Sands, avoiding heavy snowstorms on the day, the lifeboat was named Chafyn Grove by the donor.[9][10][11]

The existing boathouse was enlarged, and a harness room was also included, to store equipment, for the six horses needed to launch and recover the lifeboat. The Chafyn Grove would serve until 1887, launching eight times, and saving the lives of 28 people.[8]

In 1887 the station received another new lifeboat, Speedwell (ON 127). The lifeboat was funded by an anonymous gift of £700 from a 'Lady'. The lifeboat was used very little, with only 9 launches, and two lives saved, until the station closed in 1902.[8][12]

Porthcawl Lifeboat Station was closed in 1902, due to the cessation of commercial traffic to the Docks. Since the majority of the stations launches were for commercial traffic, it was deemed unnecessary to have a lifeboat station, and the boathouse was sold. The lifeboat on station at the time of closure, Speedwell (ON 127), was transferred to West Hartlepool, but served just one year, before being broken up in 1904.[13]

In 1965, the RNLI re-established a station at Porthcawl, and placed a D-class (RFD PB16) Inshore lifeboat on service. This lifeboat was one of the first D-class lifeboats, designed to give a rapid response to recreational water users around the coast. Due to the RNLI selling the old boathouse, the new lifeboat was housed in a lean-to next to Jennings building, and the crew were recruited using adverts in the local press.[14]

On 30 December 1994, the station was alerted to a windsurfer in difficulty, caught in a riptide. Even thought the conditions were well beyond the operational limits of the D-class (EA16), Tiger D (D-390) was launched with experience helm Stuart Roberts, along with Carl Evans and Wayne Evans. When the surfer was finally pulled aboard, he was still attached to his board by an elastic cord, which shot into the lifeboat, hitting Roberts on his 'bump cap', which was dented. Stuart Ian Roberts, helmsman, was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.[3]

Porthcawl Tractor in use on the RNLI Slipway in Porthcawl

In 1996, it was decided that Porthcawl needed a larger lifeboat and a new, purpose built boathouse was constructed to house a brand new B-class (Atlantic 75) lifeboat, along with a new Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic launch tractor and Talus Atlantic Drive Off / Drive On launch carriage.[1][15]

In 2022, D-class (IB1) lifeboat (D-861) Hugo Missen replaced relief lifeboat (D-776) Super G II, based at Porthcawl since 2020. The lifeboat was named in memory of Hugo Joseph Missen, son of Helm Joseph Missen and his fiancé Jessica Entwistle, who died of cancer in December 2016 aged 15 months. Hugo was also the grandson of Porthcawl RNLI’s Lifeboat Operations Manager, Philip Missen MBE. [16]

Station honours

[edit]

The following are awards made at Porthcawl.[1][3]

Charles Taw, Capt. of the schooner Devonport – 1856
John Jones, Pilot – 1857
James Pearse, Pilot – 1857
Thomas Pearse, Pilot – 1857
George Clark, Pilot – 1857
James Collopy, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Porthcawl – 1858
Daniel Shea, Chief Officer, H.M. Coastguard, Porthcawl – 1858
Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, MP - 1860
John Williams, Farmer - 1860
Daniel P. Davies, Pilot's Apprentice – 1914
Stuart Roberts, Helm – 1995
William H. B. Cotton – 1929
Nick Beale, Helm – 2002[17]
Aileen Jones, Helm – 2004[18]
(Aileen was the first female lifeboat crew member to be awarded an RNLI medal.)
  • The Maud Smith Award 1994
    (for the bravest act of lifesaving during the year by a member of a lifeboat crew)
Stuart Roberts, Helm – 1995
Nick Beale, Helm – 2002
Aileen Jones, Helm – 2004 (first female recipient of the award)
  • The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award,
    for the outstanding inshore lifeboat rescue of the year
Nick Beale, Helm – 2002
  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
Carl Evans, crew member – 1995
Wayne Evans, crew member – 1995
Timothy Morgan, Helm – 2002
Riccardo Rava, crew member – 2002
Stephen Knipe, crew member – 2002
Simon Emms, crew member – 2004
  • A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
L. S. Knipe – 1968
J. Lock – 1968
R. A. Comley – 1968
John Williams, Honorary Secretary – 1995
Philip Missen, Helm – 1997
Steve Jones, crew member – 1997
Philip Missen, Helmsman – 1998
Ross Martin, crew member – 1998
Riccardo Rava, crew member – 2002
Carl Evans, crew member – 2002
Stephen Jones, Helm – 2002
Christopher Missen, Helm – 2020
  • Commendation by the Lifesaving Operations Director of the Institution
Christopher Kitney, crew member – 2020
Angharad Masson, crew member – 2020
Ryan Lecraw, crew member – 2020
Philip Leonard Missen, Inshore Lifeboat Crew – 1998QBH[19]
Christine Aileen Jones – 2016QBH[20]

Porthcawl lifeboats

[edit]

All-weather lifeboats

[edit]
ON[a] Name On Station[10] Class Comments
Pre-361 The Good Deliverance 1860–1872 30-foot Self-Righting Peake (P&S) [Note 1][21]
Pre-567 Chafyn Grove 1872–1887 32-foot Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 2][11]
127 Speedwell 1887–1902 34-foot 2in Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 3][12]
Station closed in 1902
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Inshore lifeboats

[edit]

D-class

[edit]
Op. No.[b] Name On Station[22] Class Comments
D-52 Unnamed 1965–1970 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-174 Unnamed 1970–1983 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-291 Donald Rigby Middleton 1983–1989 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-390 Tiger D 1989–1996 D-class (EA16)
D-class lifeboat withdrawn 1996, reinstated 2012
D-714 Jean Ryall 2012–2020 D-class (IB1)
D-776 Super G II 2020–2022 D-class (IB1)
D-861 Hugo Missen 2022– D-class (IB1) [16]
Our Buoy Hugo's Fund[23]

B-class

[edit]
Op. No.[b] Name On Station[24] Class Comments
B-549 Blenwatch 1996 Atlantic 21
B-726 Giles 1996–2009 Atlantic 75
B-832 Rose of The Shires 2009– Atlantic 85 [25]

Launch and recovery tractors

[edit]
Op. No.[b] Reg. No. Type On Station[26] Comments
TW29Hc N144 WUJ Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk2) 1996–2008
TW27Hc M741 RUX Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk2) 2008–2015
TW29Hc N144 WUJ Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk2) 2015–
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ^ a b c Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ 30-foot x 7-foot (6-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Beeching of Great Yarmouth to Peake design, costing £148.
  2. ^ 32-foot x 7-foot 9in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, costing £248.
  3. ^ 34-foot 2in x 8-foot (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Porthcawl's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  2. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 129.
  3. ^ a b c Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. ISBN 0907605893.
  4. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. IV (35): 231. 2 January 1860. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Glamorgan Sheet XXXIX". Maps. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Loretta of Bilboa". The Lifeboat. VIII (81): 152. 1 August 1871. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Ship News". The Times. No. 26621. London. 15 December 1869. col F, p. 6.
  8. ^ a b c "Dive Into Our History". Porthcawl RNLI. RNLI. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. VIII (87): 389. 1 February 1873. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  10. ^ a b Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 14.
  11. ^ a b "Annual Report 1873". The Lifeboat. VIII (88): 407, 410, 416–417. 1 May 1873. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Annual Report. 1888". The Lifeboat. XIII (148): 467, 472–473. 1 May 1888. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  13. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 22–23.
  14. ^ "Inshore Rescue Boats". The Lifeboat. XXXVIII (407): 3. March 1964. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  15. ^ "Talus MB-4H Tractor". Details of the MB-4H production. Clayton Engineering Ltd. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  16. ^ a b "New inshore lifeboat Hugo Missen goes on service at Porthcawl RNLI". RNLI. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Journal". The Lifesaving Awards Research Society (110): 67. August 2024.
  18. ^ "Journal". The Lifesaving Awards Research Society (110): 69–70. August 2024.
  19. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". London Gazette. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Annual Report 1860". The Lifeboat. IV (36): 245–247. 2 April 1860. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  22. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 87–92, 97–100.
  23. ^ "Our Buoy Hugo's Fund". Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  24. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 81–84.
  25. ^ "Lifeboat will get crews to the rescue faster". Wales online. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  26. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 108.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Porthcawl_Lifeboat_Station&oldid=1288221314"