2016 May

LLANDUDNO’S LIFEBOATS

19 May 2016

Elan Rivers and John Lawson-Reay gave members of the Group a comprehensive illustrated talk covering the history of Llandudno’s lifeboats and their brave crews from 1861 through to the present day.

Llandudno’s first lifeboat was a gift from two sisters, Misses Brown of Liverpool who, together with their older sister had been regular visitors to the resort.

Sisters Memorial” – Llandudno’s first lifeboat.  Photo courtesy: John Lawson-Reay

It arrived by rail on 11 January 1861 and was the first lifeboat in North Wales. The intention was for it to be conveyed by train to other coastal towns when it was needed, but there is no record of this ever happening.  The boat was 32 feet long and powered by ten oarsmen. The Hon. William Lloyd Mostyn offered a lifeboat house near to the railway station and later that year Lady Augusta Mostyn launched the boat naming it “Sisters’ Memorial”.  A team of horses was required to take the boat to the beach and it was launched by means of a rope and pulley system anchored out in the bay.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution decided that Llandudno needed a bigger lifeboat and, in 1867, a boat of the same length arrived but with a wider beam of 8 feet 7 inches.  This boat was also named ” Sisters’ Memorial” and served the town for 20 years until it was replaced by a 37 foot boat with 12 oars called “Sunlight No. 1” paid for by the Lever Brothers of Port Sunlight, makers of Sunlight Soap.

A new slightly wider lifeboat, named the “Theodore Price” arrived in 1902 and was at Llandudno for 28 years during which time she rescued many casualties.

In 1904 a new lifeboat station was opened in Lloyd Street, convenient for launching from both North and West Shores.

The crew of one of the early lifeboats.  Photo courtesy: John Lawson-Reay

                       In June 1930 the “Theodore Price”  was replaced by the “Sarah Jane Turner” but, after only three service launches, she was replaced at the end of 1931 by another 37 foot pulling boat, the “Matthew Simpson”.

The Age of Motorised Lifeboats

September 1933 saw the end of pulling boats with the arrival of a lifeboat powered by a petrol engine and a top speed of 7.33 knots.  This boat was called “Thomas Annie Wade Richards” and saw service for 20 years until 1953 when she was replaced by the “Tillie Morrison, Sheffield” – the last of Llandudno’s wooden lifeboats.  This boat was in service for only six years when she was converted into a private cabin cruiser.  The “Tillie Morrison, Sheffield” currently sits in the boatyard at Deganwy Marina awaiting restoration by a group of local enthusiasts from the Ships’ Timbers Maritime Museum.

“Tillie Morrison, Sheffield” in  May 2016 before restoration

In 1959 the “Tillie Morrison, Sheffield” was replaced by the “Annie Ronald and Isabella Forrest” a Liverpool Class lifeboat 35 feet 6 inches long with a 35 horse power petrol engine.

A new lifeboat arrived in March 1964 – the “Lilly Wainwright” – a 37 foot Oakley class self-righter with twin diesel engines. 

Only days later an inshore lifeboat was delivered to Llandudno.  This small fast boat was 15 feet 6 inches long and powered by a 40 h.p. outboard engine capable of a top speed of 20 knots.  Manned by a crew of two or three it could be launched in minutes and was a revolution for rescue work.  During the disastrous floods at Towyn in February 1990 when hundreds of people were stranded in their homes, the inshore lifeboats from Llandudno, Rhyl and Flint helped to evacuate 580 people.

The present Llandudno lifeboat is the “Andy Pearce” which arrived in November 1990.  It is a 12 meter self-righting boat 280 h.p. caterpillar diesel engines.

The date of Elan and John’s talk to the Deganwy History Group coincided with the commencement of the groundwork for building a new lifeboat station on the Promenade at Craig-y-Don, to replace the present building in Lloyd Street.  The new boathouse, scheduled to be completed in 2017, will house a £2.2M technologically-advanced 25 knot Shannon class lifeboat together with a revolutionary new launch and recovery unit.  The boat will be powered by twin Scania diesel engines and Hamilton water jets and named “RNLB William F Yates”, whose legacy, plus others, is funding the boat.

************

Eric

Latest Research