Thurso Lifeboat Station is located at Scrabster Harbour, near the town of Thurso, in the administrative area of Highland, historically Caithness, on the north coast of mainland Scotland.

A lifeboat was first stationed at Thurso by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1860.

The station currently operates a All-weather lifeboat, 17-42 The Taylors (ON 1273), on station since 2004.

History Between 1830 and 1856, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), later the RNLI, had awarded no less than six silver medals for Gallantry to Coastguard, Fishermen and other locals, for rescues performed around Thurso.

In 1859, it was decided to establish a station in Thurso.

A boathouse was commissioned to be built at Scrabster Harbour, at a cost of £103. In October 1860, a new self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (six) oars, arrived at Thurso, transported free of charge, initially to Granton, Edinburgh by the General Steam Navigation Company, and onwards to Thurso by the Aberdeen, Leith, and Clyde Steam Shipping Company.

The cost of the lifeboat was gifted to the Institution by A. W. Jaffray of London, who had also donated the cost of the and lifeboats to the Institution. The lifeboat, costing £145, and built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, was named Polly in accordance with the wishes of the donor.

Polly was only called upon six times in her 11 years on service, but in that time managed to save 49 lives. She was replaced in 1871 by a slightly larger 10-oared boat, Charley Lloyd, which served for another 19 years, being called out 31 times, and rescuing 255 lives.

In 1890, the third lifeboat assigned to Thurso was also the third lifeboat funded by the Co-operative Union, named Co-operator No.3 (ON 282) at a ceremony on the River Clyde, to coincide with the Co-operative Congress meeting in Glasgow.

1929 saw the arrival of Thurso's first motor-powered lifeboat. She was a 45-foot 6in Watson-class lifeboat, named H. C. J. (ON 708) by the Duchess of Portland on 13 September 1929. She served Thurso for 27 years, being launched 102 times, and saving the lives of 138 people.

On the 8 February 1944, the Thurso lifeboat H.C.J. was launched into a northerly gale at 14:30, when two dinghies were spotted 13 miles west of Thurso. On arrival on scene at 16:30, it was realised the two dinghies were in fact life-rafts, from the Norwegian vessel Freidig, which had foundered after the cargo shifted. Of the seven men aboard the rafts, there were only two survivors, who were landed at Wick at 19:10. For this service, Coxswain John McLeod was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.

RNLB Dunnet Head (Civil Service No.31) (ON 920) arrived on service at Thurso in January 1956. Funded by the Civil Service charity The Lifeboat Fund, she was a 47-foot Watson-class lifeboat, with two 60-hp Gardner 5LW engines, built by Wm. Osbourne of Littlehampton, and costing £35,000. She was named in a ceremony at Scrabster Harbour in August 1956 by HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.

On the night of 10 December 1956, Disaster struck, when both the boat and boathouse were fully consumed by fire. Fire crews from both Thurso and Wick attended, but the intensity was such that only one wall of the boathouse remained, along with the iron keel and engines of the boat. The destruction was so complete that no evidence was left as to the cause of the outbreak.

The boat would be replaced by the Pentland (Civil Service No.31). This time fully funded by the RNLI, she still retained the Civil Service designation.

The Thurso 52-43 The Queen Mother (ON 1149) was launched at 03:55 on 19 March 1999, into gale-force 8–9 conditions, to the aid of the long chemical tanker Multitank Ascania, disabled, and drifting towards Dunnet Head, carrying 1750 tonnes of Vinyl acetate monomer. In a service involving rescue helicopters from Lossiemouth and Stromness, the Orkney Harbours tug Einar, and also the lifeboat, the Master and crew were rescued, and the vessel was brought away from the shore, at one point being just 400m away from the rocks, particularly due to the towing efforts of the Thurso lifeboat. For his skill and seamanship shown in averting an ecological disaster, Coxswain William Farquhar was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal, with the rest of the crew accorded Medal Service Certificates and badges.

In 1860, the first RNLI lifeboat at Thurso cost just £145. 144 years later, in 2004, Thurso received their latest All-weather lifeboat, a 25-knot lifeboat, 17-42 The Taylors (ON 1273), costing £2 million.

At midday on Thursday 9 November 2017, Shetland coastguard received reports that the creel boat Sparkling Line was drifting to shore, after it had broken down, with its propeller fouled. Thurso lifeboat was launched into gale-force conditions, and waves of . A nine-and-a-half hour operation took place to recover the vessel and crew in extreme conditions, considered one of the toughest calls encountered, with the tow line breaking five times. The creel boat was finally brought into Scrabster harbour at 22:00.

Station honours The following are awards made at Thurso:

Medal of the Order of the British Empire John McLeod, Coxswain – 1944 RNIPLS Silver Medal John Morgan, Chief Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Staxigoe – 1830 Benjamin Sinclair, Merchant – 1835 John Smith – 1840 James Wishart – 1847 Robert Williamson, fisherman – 1848 RNLI Silver Medal Donald Thompson – 1856 John Brims, Coxswain – 1886 John Brims, Coxswain – 1894 (Second-Service Clasp) RNLI Bronze Medal Angus McPhail, Coxswain – 1931 John McLeod, Coxswain – 1944 William Farquhar, Coxswain – 1999 Medal Service Certificate William Munro, Second Coxswain – 1999 Duncan Munro, Assistant Mechanic – 1999 Donald Mackay – 1999 Gordon Munro – 1999 John Webster – 1999 James Brims – 1999 Kevin Oag – 1999 Scott Youngson – 1999 'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' Angus McPhail, Coxswain – 1929 Angus McPhail, Coxswain – 1930 Adam McLeod, Second Coxswain – 1931 Angus Macintosh, Coxswain – 1953 John Manson, Second Coxswain – 1982 Ross Farquhar, Coxswain – 1982 William Donald Munro, Second Coxswain – 1997 Duncan (Dougie) Munro, Second Coxswain – 2004 Vellum Service Certificates William Miller, Acting Motor Mechanic – 1997 Duncan Munro, Assistant Mechanic – 1997 James Brims, crew member – 1997 Thomas Davidson, crew member – 1997 Donald McKenzie, crew member – 1997 Gordon Munro, crew member – 1997 Kevin Oag, crew member – 1997 John Webster, crew member – 1997 William Miller, Motor Mechanic – 2004 Gordon Munro, Deputy Second Coxswain – 2004 James Brims, Assistant Mechanic – 2004 Bruce Farquhar, Emergency Mechanic – 2004 Scott Youngson, crew member – 2004 Kevin Davidson, crew member – 2004 The Emile Robin Award 1999 William Farquhar, Coxswain – 1999 Lady Swaythling Trophy for outstanding seamanship in 2004 Duncan (Dougie) Munro, Second Coxswain – 2004 'A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution' Captain and crew of RAF helicopter Rescue 137 – 1999 Master and crew of the tug Einar – 1999 William Farquar, Coxswain – 2001 William Munro, Coxswain – 2002 'Letter of Appreciation signed by the Chief Executive of the Institution' Brian Williams, Honorary Secretary – 2001 William Miller, Motor Mechanic – 2001 Duncan Munro, Second Coxswain – 2001 Gordon Munro, Deputy Second Coxswain – 2001 James Brims, Assistant Mechanic – 2001 Bruce Farquhar, Emergency Mechanic – 2004 J. Webster, crew member – 2001 Scott Youngson, crew member – 2001 'Letter of Appreciation signed by the Operations Director of the Institution' James Brims, crew member – 2001 Kevin Davidson, crew member – 2001 Gordon Munro, Deputy Second Coxswain – 2004 James Brims, Assistant Mechanic – 2004 Scott Youngson, crew member – 2004 Kevin Davidson, crew member – 2004 Iron plaques and diplomas awarded by The German Government Coxswain, Second Coxswain and Bowman – 1928 Certificates of appreciation awarded by The German Government Thurso Lifeboat Crew – 1928 Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) John Miller, Honorary Secretary – 1948KBH

Thurso lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats ON Name Built Class Comments Polly 1860 1860−1871 30-foot Peake self-righting (P&S) x (6-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of A. W. Jaffray of London, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £145. Altered to 10-oared in 1863.Broken up in 1872. Pre-554 Charley Lloyd 1871 1871−1890 33-foot Peake self-righting (P&S) x (10-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mr C. Lloyd of Kennington, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £285.Sold in 1890. 282 1890 1890−1909 x (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the Manchester Central Co-Operative Society, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £594Condemned and broken up in 1909. 585 Sarah Austin 1908 1909−1929 40-foot Watson (P&S) x (12-oared) Watson-class non-self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Miss S. Austin of Tottenham, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £1,622.Transferred to the Relief fleet. Sold in 1935. Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Motor lifeboats ON Op.No. Name Built Class Comments 708 − H. C. J. 1928 1929−1956 Previously at and . 920 − Dunnet Head 1955 47-foot Watson Destroyed by fire on 10 December 1956. 711 − James Macfee 1928 1956−1957 45-foot 6in Watson Relief lifeboat 940 − Pentland(Civil Service No.31) 1957 1957−1970 47-foot Watson Transferred to the Relief fleet. Later at . 1014 The Three Sisters 1970 1970−1988 Transferred to . 1052 54-07 City of Bradford IV 1976 1988−1989 Previously at . Transferred to . 1149 52-43 The Queen Mother 1989 1989−2004 Transferred to . 1273 17-42 The Taylors 2004 2004− More post-service details can be found on the respective lifeboat class pages.

See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

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External links Thurso RNLI Lifeboat Station