Holyhead Lifeboat Station
  Location shown on Anglesey, Gwynedd | |
| General information | |
|---|---|
| Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
| Location | Anglesey |
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 53°19′05″N 4°38′31″W / 53.318°N 4.642°W |
| Opened | 1828 |
| Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Holyhead Lifeboat Station (Template:Lang-cy) is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat station in the coastal town of Holyhead, Anglesey, Wales. It is one of the three oldest lifeboat stations situated on the North Wales coast, a disused building of which houses the Holyhead Maritime Museum.
History
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Holyhead Lifeboat Station was first mentioned in 1825 when it was decided a lifeboat would be built for the coastal town of Holyhead. A local committee was formed three years later and the first lifeboat arrived at the station shortly afterwards.[1] The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) took over control of the station in 1855 and an lifeboat house was built three years later. The station covered the shipping lane in and out of Liverpool. In 1890 Holyhead Lifeboat Station received its first steam lifeboat, which was one of six to serve in the RNLI. The lifeboat was involved in an operation to rescue crewmembers of the SS Harold in 1908 which anchored near rocks between North Stack and South Stack. It was retired in 1928 when it was replaced by a motor-powered lifeboat and twenty-one years later a new boathouse and slipway were constructed on Salt Island.[2] The boathouse and slipway were used until 1980, when a new Arun-class boat was allocated to the station and kept afloat in the harbour. Unfortunately, wash from the ferry traffic led to the boat's GRP hull being damaged, and as a temporary measure a steel-hulled Waveney-class boat was placed on station while the boathouse and slipway were reconditioned and a new Tyne-class boat was constructed for the station. The new boat entered service in 1985, and slipway launching continued until 1997 when a new, more protected, berth was found for an Arun-class boat to take over, to be replaced in 2003 by the present Severn class.
An inshore lifeboat station was established on the site in 1967. The boathouse was expanded in 1987 to fit a D-class lifeboat (EA16) and its launching trolley. Its current inshore boat, the D-791 Mary & Archie Hooper, entered service in 2016; the current all-weather boat that serves the station, the Severn-class ON 1272 Christopher Pearce, was first used in 2003.[2] Lead was stolen from the station's roof in the morning of 16 June 2011.[3] In February 2015 the station appointed its first female helm.[4]
Fleet
All Weather Lifeboats
| ON | Op. No. | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 717 | A.E.D. | 1929–1950 | Barnett-class | ||
| 884 | St.Cybi (Civil Service No.9) |
1950–1980 | Barnett-class | ||
| 1086 | 52-15 | Hyman Winstone | 1980–1983 | Arun-class | |
| 1003 | 44-004 | Faithful Forester | 1984–1985 | Waveney-class | |
| 1095 | 47-004 | St.Cybi II (Civil Service No.40) |
1985–1997 | Tyne-class | |
| 1123 | 52-37 | Kenneth Thelwall | 1998–2003 | Arun-class | |
| 1272 | 17–41 | Christopher Pearce | 2003– | Severn-class |
Inshore Lifeboats
| Op. No. | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-116 | unnamed | 1967–1976 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
| D-249 | Caribbean I | 1976–1988 | D-class (Zodiac III) | |
| D-358 | unnamed | 1988–1996 | D-class (EA16) | |
| D-507 | Spirit of Bedworth and Nuneaton | 1996–2005 | D-class (EA16) | |
| D-654 | Angel of Holyhead | 2005–2016 | D-class (IB1) | |
| D-791 | Mary & Archie Hooper | 2016– | D-class (IB1) |
Station Honours
The following are awards made to the crew of Holyhead Lifeboat Station
Holyhead have been awarded 49 medals. 4 Gold, 32 Silver and 13 Bronze
- Rev James Williams - 1835
- Captain William Owen - 1835
- William Owen, Coxswain - 1908
- Lieut Commander H H Harvey VRD,
- RNR, Inspector of Lifeboats for the North West area - 1967
- Thomas Hughes - 1929
- Robert Stables, Coxswain - 1833
- Captain William Owen - 1833
- Oliver Anthony, Master Mariner - 1833
- Richard Morris, Coxswain - 1835
- Henry Parry, Coxswain - 1840
- William Rowlands, Coxswain - 1866
- William Rowlands, Coxswain - 1867 (Second Service Award)
- Thomas Roberts, Coxswain - 1833
(This service was carried out in the Rhosneigr lifeboat).
- Thomas Roberts, Coxswain - 1833
- Coxswain Roberts - 1886 (Second Service Award)
- Edward Jones, Coxswain - 1887
- J O Williams, Honorary Secretary - 1888
- Edward Jones, Coxswain - 1889 (Second Service Award)
- Robert Jones, Second Coxswain - 1889
- Mr William Owen - 1890
- Mr George Jones - 1890
- Mr John Roberts - 1890
- Mr John Morris - 1890
- Mr J O Williams, Chief Officer of HM Coastguard - 1890 (Second Service Award)
- Thomas W Brooke, crewman - 1908
- George Jones, crewman - 1908
- Lewis Jones, crewman - 1908
- Richard Jones, crewman - 1908
- Samuel Jones, crewman - 1908
- James Lee, crewman - 1908
- William McLaughlin, crewman - 1908
- Charles H Marshall, crewman - 1908
- William Owen Jnr, crewman - 1908
- Lewis Roberts, crewman - 1908
- Thomas Alcock, Coxswain - 1967
- E S Jones, Motor Mechanic - 1967
- William Jones, Coxswain - 1977
- Richard Jones, Coxswain - 1943
- John Jones, Motor Mechanic - 1943
- Richard Jones, Coxswain - 1949 (Second Service Award)
- W J Jones, Second Coxswain - 1967
- F Ward, Acting Bowman - 1967
- J Sharpe, Acting Assistant Mechanic - 1967
- J Hughes, crew member - 1967
- D Drinkwater, crew member - 1967
- B Stewart, crew member - 1967
- D Forrest, Mechanic - 1971
- Gareth Ogwen-Jones, crewmember - 1971
- John Hughes, crew member - 1971 (Second Service Award)
- William Jones, Coxswain, - 1977 (Second Service Award)
- The Thanks of the Institution on Vellum
- Awarded to each of the 15 crew - 1883
(This service was carried out in the Rhosneigr lifeboat).
- Awarded to each of the 15 crew - 1883
- All the lifeboat crew - 1978
- Brian Thomson, Coxswain - 2007
- The Sugar Manufacturer’s Association (of Jamaica) Ltd Case of Rum 1954
- For the longest continuous service during the winter months of 1953/54
- Holyhead lifeboat crew - 1954
References
- ^ "About". Holyhead Lifeboat Station. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Holyhead lifeboat station". History Points. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ "Thieves steal lead from Holyhead lifeboat station". North Wales Chronicle. 17 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ Wyn-Williams, Gareth (19 February 2015). "Holyhead RNLI gets its first female helm in almost 200 years". Daily Post. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
External links
 RNLI lifeboat stations in Wales | |
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(Stations are ordered in clockwise order around the coast) |