Torbay Lifeboat Station can be found on Berry Head Road in Brixham, a fishing port on the south shore of Tor Bay, approximately due east of Plymouth, on the south-east coast of Devon, England.
A lifeboat station was established at Brixham in 1866 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and was known as Brixham Lifeboat Station. Since 1924, the station has been Torbay Lifeboat Station.
The station currently operates a All-weather lifeboat (ALB), 17-28 Alec and Christina Dykes (ON 1255), on station since 2001, and a much smaller inshore lifeboat (ILB), Leslie & Mary Daws (D-788), on station since 2015.
History During the evening of 10 January 1866, a severe storm blew up and at least 74 vessels sought refuge again in Tor Bay and in the harbours at Brixham and Torquay. Tor Bay is sheltered from three sides, but at midnight, the wind changed direction to the exposed east side, and increased in strength to a full hurricane. Anchor chains parted, and many ships smashed into each other, or were driven ashore. At least 40 ships were wrecked and 73 people were lost. Coastguard and other helpers worked tirelessly to effect rescues. Fisherman Christopher Bartlett was let down a cliff on a line to one vessel, managing to save the lives of the whole crew bar one. The following day, the lifeboat China was brought by road to Torquay. Launching at 14:00, eleven men from two ships were rescued.
On 22 January 1866, a letter was sent to the RNLI from the Receiver of Wrecks for Torbay, requesting that a lifeboat be placed at Brixham. No time was lost, and the report of the visit to Brixham on 29 January by the Inspector of Lifeboats, Capt John Ward, RN, was read and approved at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 1 February.
The monies of the Exeter Lifeboat Fund, raised through the efforts of Thomas Brandreth Gibbs, and Mr W. Brodie, were appropriated to the establishment of the new lifeboat station at Brixham. A self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and 10 oars, was constructed by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, and first transported to Exeter. On 1 October 1866, the lifeboat was drawn on its carriage by eight horses, through the city in grand procession, to the banks of the River Exe. There it was named City of Exeter by the mayoress, before being launched into the river on demonstration, testing the self-righting capabilities to a crowd of some 20,000 people. The lifeboat was then conveyed to Brixham, where it was launched for the first time on 10 November. The lifeboat had been transported from London to its destinations free of charge by the London and South Western and South Devon Railway Companies.
Initial plans for a site for a boathouse had to be revised, when difficulties arose with the Admiralty, and on arrival, the boat was stored under a tarpaulin. A boathouse was later constructed at Bolton Cross, at a cost of £175.
In 1873 a new boathouse and slipway was built near the breakwater so that the boat could be launched straight into the harbour. The old boathouse was used as a fire station for many years but was demolished and the site used for a new post office.
Following a petition from local residents, a second lifeboat station, Torquay Lifeboat Station, was opened on the north shore of Tor Bay in 1876, at Beacon Cove in Torquay.
The third lifeboat to be placed at Brixham, was one of five lifeboats funded from the estate of the late Mr E. A. Newbon of Islington, and was named Betsey Newbon (ON 361). The lifeboat arrived on station on 5 February 1894. However, the lifeboat was much disliked by the crew, and after being launched just twice, with no lives saved, the boat was replaced on 4 December 1896, by a lifeboat, again taking the name Betsey Newbon (ON 395). No records of any issues have been found, but it can be assumed there may have been fundamental flaws with the boat, as unusually, it wasn't transferred to another station, but broken up after being withdrawn, at just three years old.
In 1917, Brixham Lifeboat Station was renamed as Brixham and Paignton Lifeboat Station.
Five years later in 1922, the 'pulling and sailing' (P&S) lifeboat Betsey Newbon (ON 395) was replaced by a new motor lifeboat, Alfred and Clara Heath (ON 672), costing £8,302. With its single 45-hp Tylor engine, it could quickly cover a larger area, and operate in more severe weather. This effectively rendered the remaining P&S lifeboat at obsolete, and the station at Beacon Cove was closed the following year. In 1924, Brixham and Paignton lifeboat station was renamed again, this time as Torbay Lifeboat Station.
A larger motor lifeboat, George Shee (ON 734), was sent to Torbay in September 1930. This was too large to be kept in the boathouse, so it was moored in the harbour near the slipway. The boathouse was retained as a workshop but during World War II, part of it was dismantled, to make it easier for the Royal Navy to reach a new large slipway which was built over the old lifeboat slipway. The RNLI built a small pier in 1950 for the boarding boat that was used to ferry crews out to the lifeboat.
1960s onwards
A Inshore lifeboat was sent to Torbay for the summer of 1964. It proved a useful addition to the station and so became a permanent feature. Until 1970, the ILB was an inflatable Inshore Rescue Boat, but between 1970 and 1987, the station operated a rigid hull lifeboat, moored in the harbour. Since January 1987, a modern D Class has been Torbay's ILB. A portable building was provided as a temporary boathouse for the ILB but in 1990 work was undertaken on the boathouse to house the ILB and improve the crew facilities. Further improvements were made in 2007, and in 2008 a new pontoon was provided for the All-weather lifeboat (ALB).
The lifeboat station was granted the Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Torbay on 29 April 1988.
Area of operation The RNLI aims to reach any casualty up to from its stations, and within two hours in good weather. To do this the Severn class lifeboat at Torbay has an operating range of and a top speed of . Adjacent all-weather lifeboats are at Exmouth Lifeboat Station to the north, and Salcombe Lifeboat Station to the south. ILBs are also stationed at to the north and to the south.
Service Awards William Mogridge William Mogridge was coxswain of the Torbay Lifeboat from October 1932 until January 1942. During this time he was awarded four medals by the RNLI and one from the French government for leading rescues in difficult conditions.
On the evening of 30 December 1935, he took the Lifeboat Gorge Shee through a gale to help the Satanicle, a French trawler east of Start Point. News of the trawler's problems were received at the station after a radio message from the Black Hawk, an American steamer, was picked up in Paignton. H. M. Smardon, the station's secretary, arranged for the coastguard to send a message back to the Black Hawk, asking them to use their searchlight to guide the lifeboat to the trawler. When the lifeboat arrived at the scene it found two other vessels standing by trying to give aid, but they had been unable to get a tow line across to the trawler. The crew was taken off with difficulty, the lifeboat being damaged when it was washed against the trawler, and they landed in Brixham early the next morning. Mogridge was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal and Smardon received a letter of appreciation. The French government also awarded Mogridge a silver medal (first-class), Second Coxswain W. Pillar was given a silver medal (second-class) and bronze medals went to the other six members of the crew.
On 23 January 1937, the SS English Trader ran aground on the Checkstone Ledge near the mouth of the River Dart. The lifeboat sailed from Brixham at 05:25 that morning and stood by while tugs tried to pull the casualty off the shore. The lifeboat was refuelled at Kingswear, but at 06:00 on the morning of 24 January, the captain of the stricken vessel asked the lifeboat to take the crew off. During this time a strong gale had blown up and waves were now breaking right over the beached ship. Mogridge brought the lifeboat under the stern and alongside to take off the ship's 32 crew and also 20 people from the tugs who had gone aboard to help. He then reversed the lifeboat out to safety. After landing the rescued men at Dartmouth the lifeboat returned to Brixham, reaching its mooring at 12:15, nearly 31 hours after casting off. The RNLI awarded Mogridge a second-service clasp to go with his earlier bronze medal.
Mogridge took the lifeboat to sea in the afternoon of 9 December 1938, to the aid the Channel Pride, an inshore fishing boat that had lost power whilst returning to Dartmouth after a gale blew up. They had dropped anchor but it did not hold and they were blown towards the high cliffs. Waves were breaking up the cliffs because to the force of the storm. The lifeboat found the small boat with the help of a fire lit on the cliff top. It came right alongside and the two fishermen jumped on board, by which time the storm had blown the boats within of the cliffs. Mogridge was subsequently awarded an RNLI Silver Medal for his tremendous courage and outstanding seamanship on this occasion.
Another gale was blowing in Torbay on 16 December 1939 and the schooner Henrietta ran aground off Dartmouth. When Mogridge and his crew arrived they found the sailing ship rolling heavily. He managed to come alongside and it took just three minutes for the seven crew members to be brought on board the lifeboat. The boat rolled over onto the lifeboat and caused a gash along her side. Mogridge was awarded a second-service clasp for the silver medal he had won a year earlier. Bronze medals were given to William Pillar, his deputy, Richard Harris, the mechanic, and Frederick Sanders, the lifeboat's bowman.
Other service awards In total, Torbay Lifeboat Station crew have been awarded 26 RNLI medals for gallantry, one gold, six silver and 19 Bronze, the last in 2008. These are some of the most notable examples.
On New Year's Day 1915, the Torbay Lifeboat's second coxswain, William Pillar was out fishing in his Brixham Fishing Smack Provident BM291, when he and his crew (First Hand William Carter, Second Hand John Clarke, Apprentice Daniel Taylor, né Ferguson) went to the aid of which had been torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat , saving the lives of 71 men after a difficult rescue in darkness and high seas. For this outstanding gallantry they were each awarded the Albert Medal by His Majesty King George V.
In the early hours of 17 December 1944 the George Shee put to sea after two vessels were reported aground between Paignton and Torquay. The tug Empire Alfred was from the shore but the waves were breaking from the beach so the lifeboat could only approach with extreme caution. It took half an hour to get the 14 crew off the tug, during which time the lifeboat often touched the bottom. They then turned to the second boat, Yard Craft 345 but ran aground before reaching it. The lifeboat forced itself free in reverse. After landing the people rescued from the tug at Brixham, they returned for another attempt. Many lifeboats struggled to find full crews during World War II and on this occasion the Torbay crew was two short, so the Assistant Mechanic had to join the crew on deck while the Motor Mechanic Richard Harris operated both engines on his own, sometimes waist deep in water. The five people on the craft were taken on board the lifeboat and back to Brixham. Harris was awarded an RNLI bronze medal, and coxswain Frederick Sanders received his second silver medal.