Aberdeen Lifeboat Station

Aberdeen Lifeboat Station
Aberdeen, Scotland
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Victoria Dock Entrance
Address	Waterloo Quay
Town or city	Aberdeen, AB11 5DF
Country	Scotland, UK
Coordinates	57°08′39″N 2°04′52″W
Opened	1802 1925 RNLI
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/aberdeen-lifeboat-station

Aberdeen Lifeboat Station is located at the entrance to Victoria Dock, in the harbour city of Aberdeen, in the historic county of Aberdeenshire.

A lifeboat was first stationed here in 1802 by the Aberdeen Shipmasters' Society, taken over by the Abderdeen Harbour Commissioners in 1810. The management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1925.

17-24 Bon Accord (ON 1248) in 2017.

The station currently operates a Severn-class All-weather lifeboat, the 17-24 Bon Accord (ON 1248), since 2000, and a D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat, the Buoy Woody 85N (D-830), since 2018.

History

In a great storm of January 1800, a considerable number of ships were wrecked off the Aberdeenshire coast. This prompted moves for a lifeboat in Aberdeen. However, public donations failed to be sufficient, and it was Alexander Baxter of Glassel, Lord Rector of Marischal College, who would fund the first lifeboat for the Aberdeen Shipmasters' Society.

A 10-oared lifeboat was constructed built by Henry Greathead of South Shields, arriving in Aberdeen in 1802. Only one boat of this type survives to this day, and is on display at Zetland lifeboat museum in Redcar.

The lifeboat was stationed at Footdee, on the north side on the entrance to Aberdeen harbour, at the mouth (or foot) of the River Dee. The first lifeboat house is marked next to the Observatory (Port Entrance Control Tower) at Abercromby Jetty on Thomas Telford's map of 1828. A later one appears on the 1865 map, larger, and nearer to the Pilot Square houses. By 1901, two lifeboat houses were in operation, one at the north corner of North Square, Footdee, and a second boathouse, on the landing jetty at Lower Quay.

In 1923, the RNLI brought a motor-lifeboat to Aberdeen on demonstration. At this time, one of the lifeboats still in use at Aberdeen was 70 years old. After much discussion, the lifeboats and equipment of Aberdeen Harbour Commissioners were handed over to the RNLI on 1 January 1925.

Robert and Ellen Robson (ON 669) at Whitby Lifeboat Museum

A 34-foot Self-righting lifeboat was placed at the No.2 station at North Square, Footdee in 1925, the Robert and Ellen Robson (ON 669). She would later serve at Whitby from 1947, the last Pulling and Sailing lifeboat (one with oars and sail) on service with the RNLI. The boat has been restored, and currently is on display at the RNLI Lifeboat Museum at Whitby.

Between 1924 and 1962, the No.2 station boat was launched on service only seven times, the majority of calls being taken by the larger No.1 station lifeboat. The No.2 station was formally closed on 23 April 1962. After some years unused, and a period with the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service, the building was later demolished.

Back in 1825, a 40-foot Watson-class (P&S) lifeboat was placed temporarily at the No.1 station, the William Roberts (ON 505), but this boat was soon replaced with a motor-powered 60-foot Barnett lifeboat, Emma Constance (ON 693), one of only three of this type and size to enter service with the RNLI. Too large to be housed in a boathouse, from this time, the No.1 station lifeboat would be permanently afloat.

In 2000, the Aberdeen station would receive their sixth 'afloat' lifeboat, the RNLB 17-24 Bon Accord (ON 1248).

Station honours

The following are awards made at Aberdeen.

• RNLI Gold Medal

Lt. Henry Randall, RN, H.M. Coastguard - 1825

• RNLI Silver Medal

Lt. John Procter Sanderson, RN, H.M. Coastguard - 1830

Lt. Thomas William Langton, RN, H.M. Coastguard - 1830

James Robinson, Steam Tug Owner - 1844

Thomas Marshall Sinclair, Coxswain - 1937

Thomas Marshall Sinclair, Coxswain - 1937 (Second-Service clasp)

Albert William Bird, Coxswain - 1974

Ian Jack, Motor Mechanic - 1974

• RNLI Bronze Medal

Thomas Marshall Sinclair, Coxswain - 1936

Alexander Weir , Mechanic - 1937

John Masson, crew member - 1937

George Alan Flett, Second Coxswain - 1937

Robert James Brown Esson, Acting Motor Mechanic - 1937

Charles Begg, Second Coxswain - 1976

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

George Alan Flett, Second Coxswain - 1937

James Cowper, Second Assistant Mechanic - 1937

Robert James Brown Esson, Assistant Mechanic - 1937

John M Noble, crew member - 1937

Alexander S Masson, crew member - 1937

George Alan Flett, Coxswain - 1953

George Alan Flett, Coxswain - 1956

George Walker, Assistant Mechanic - 1974

F. Cruickshank, crew member - 1974

A. Walker, crew member - 1974

Ian Jack, Motor Mechanic - 1976

• Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)

William Grieve Deans, Lifeboat Operations Manager - 2018QBH

• British Empire Medal

Rebecca Allen - 2024KBH

Aberdeen lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

No. 1 Station

ON	Op. No.	Name	In service	Class	Comments
–	–		1802–1820	Greathead-class 10 Oar	Run by Harbour Commissioners
Station Closed 1820–1841
–	–		1841–1857	30-foot Pulling	Run by Harbour Commissioners
–	–	Bon Accord I	1857–1924	Self-Righting Pulling	Run by Harbour Commissioners
505	–	William Roberts	1925–1926	40-foot Watson-class (P&S)
693	–	Emma Constance	1926–1951	60-foot Barnett
889	–	Hilton Briggs	1951–1958	52-foot Barnett
944	–	Ramsay Dyce	1958–1976	52-foot Barnett
1050	52-05	B.P. Forties	1976–1998	Arun
1135	52-39	Mickie Salvesen	1998–2000	Arun
1248	17-24	Bon Accord	2000–	Severn

No. 2 Station

ON	Name	In service	Class	Comments
–	Bon Accord II	1875–1924	Self-Righting Pulling	Run by Harbour Commission
669	Robert and Ellen Robson	1925–1939	34-foot Self-righting (Rubie-class) (P&S)
827	George and Elizabeth Gow	1939–1943	Liverpool
669	Robert and Ellen Robson	1943–1947	34-foot Self-righting (Rubie-class) (P&S)
827	George and Elizabeth Gow	1947–1962	Liverpool

Launch and recovery tractors (Aberdeen No.2)

Op. No.	Reg. No.	Type	In service	Comments
T8	AF 4256	Clayton	1925–1938
T18	PY 7589	Clayton	1939–1939	(Stored Aberdeen, 1939–1942)
T33	FYP 356	Case L	1939–1944
T5	IJ 3424	Clayton	1944–1947
T33	FYP 356	Case L	1947–1957
T40	JXR 67	Case LA	1957–1962

Station Closed, 23 April 1962

Inshore lifeboats

Op. No.	Name	In service	Class	Comments
D-168	unnamed	1968–1981	D-class (RFD PB16)
D-281	Sewing Machine Times	1981–1989	D-class (Zodiac III)
D-386	Trevor Edwin Jones	1989–1998	D-class (EA16)
D-536	Margaret II	1998–2008	D-class (EA16)
D-694	James Bissett Simpson	2008–2018	D-class (IB1)
D-830	Buoy Woody - 85N	2018–	D-class (IB1)

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

External links

• Aberdeen Lifeboat Station