Longhope Lifeboat Station sits on Longhope Pier at Longhope, a settlement on the north coast of the island of South Walls, one of the islands of the Orkney archipeligo, off the north coast of mainland Scotland.
A lifeboat station was established at Longhope by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1874.
The station currently operates a All-weather lifeboat, 16–05 Helen Comrie (ON 1284), on station since 2006.
History Following requests from local residents, and a visit by Capt. John Ward, Inspector of Lifeboats, at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 5 March 1874, it was decided to appropriate the gift of £800 to the Institution from Mr Dickinson Eddleston of Sowerby Bridge, and establish a lifeboat station at Longhope, in the Orkney Islands.
A lifeboat house costing £228 was constructed about west of Longhope on the Isle of Hoy, at the western end of The Ayre causeway, which joins South Walls to Hoy. (coord: ) The site was granted by landowner J. Moodie Heddle, who also pledged a subscription of £30 per annum to the Institution.
The new self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with both sails and 12 oars, was dispatched to the station, and was named Dickinson Edleston after the donor. The first launch of the new boat took place on 25 September 1874, under the guidance of Capt. David Robertson, RN, assistant Inspector of Life-boats.
The Dickinson Edleston was launched at 16:30 on 3 March 1891, into gale force conditions, to the aid of the Victoria, on passage from Hamburg to New York, but was now sinking in the Pentland Firth. Her 22 crew, including 11 Germans, were rescued. They were landed at Widewall Bay on South Ronaldsay. Such were the conditions, that the lifeboat was forced to remain there until the weather improved, finally arriving home at 13:30 on 5 March. For leading the rescue, Coxswain Benjamin Stout was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal, along with a Gold Watch from The Emperor of Germany. The Emperor also rewarded £24 to the lifeboat crew.
In 1906, a new lifeboat house and slipway was constructed at Brims, on Hoy, about to the south of the original boathouse. The new boathouse, which cost £2,700, was constructed to house a new 43-foot Watson-class (P&S) lifeboat. Anne Miles (ON 550) would serve Longhope for the next 20 years, launching on service seven times, and saving eight lives. When she was replaced in 1926, Longhope would receive their first motor-powered lifeboat.
Motor-power Longhope's new motor-lifeboat was a 45-foot 6in Watson-class lifeboat, built by S. E. Saunders of Cowes, with a single 80-hp 'Weyburn DE6' petrol engine, and costing £8,330. The boat set out from the boatyard in Cowes at 18:30 on 1 September 1926, arriving at at 08:30 five days later, having called at , , and . After two days rest at Montrose, the journey continued via , with the lifeboat arriving at Longhope on 9 September 1926. The lifeboat was funded from the legacies of Mr W. G. King, Mr J. Turnbull, Mr G. J. Jesset and Mrs S. H. Sandford, and to represent the four benefactors, at a ceremony on 6 June 1928, the lifeboat was formally named K. T. J. S. (ON 698), by HRH Prince George.
On 5 January 1930, the steam trawler Braconmoor of Aberdeen ran ashore at Tor Ness Point, in a south-easterly gale. K. T. J. S. was launched at 02:00, and arrived with the wreck after one hour, to find it surrounded by dangerous rocks and in heavy surf. In a service lasting five hours, with considerable skill, the lifeboat was brought close, and a line thrown to the vessel. All nine crew were rescued by Breeches buoy, although the Master didn't survive the rescue. Coxswain John Swanson was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal. Just two years later, again off Tor Point, eight men were rescued from the trawler Dorbie of Hull. Swanson was awarded a Second-service clasp to his silver medal.
K. T. J. S. was transferred to in 1933. During her short time at Longhope, she had been launched 24 times, and saved 25 lives. Her replacement was a twin-engined version of the 45-foot 6in Watson-class lifeboat, offering greater power and manoeuvrability. The new lifeboat was the third funded from the legacy of William McCunn of Largs, and at a ceremony on 15 September 1933, was named Thomas McCunn (ON 759).
After serving Longhope for nearly 30 years, Thomas McCunn (ON 759) was withdrawn to the Relief fleet in April 1962, and replaced with a slightly larger 47-foot Watson-class lifeboat, costing £35,500. T. G. B. (ON 962) was equipped with twin 60-hp Gardner 5LW diesel engines, delivering a top speed of . During a remarkable spell of service during her seven years at Longhope, she would launch 34 times, and save 24 lives.
Even before the naming ceremony, she had landed 10 men from their ship's boat, after their vessel Nella Dan of Denmark sank on 4 August 1962. Coxswain Daniel Kirkpatrick would receive his second RNLI Silver Medal for the rescue of nine men from the Aberdeen trawler Ben Barvas on 3–4 January 1964. Kirkpatrick would earn a third silver medal for the rescue of 15 men from the trawler Rosa Puma on 1 April 1968, but he would be lost the following year, before it had been awarded..
Longhope lifeboat disaster
At 20:00 on 17 March 1969, during a period of particularly bad weather, and force 9 gales, the Longhope lifeboat T.G.B. (ON 962) was launched into snow flurries and poor visibility, to the aid of the Liberian registered steamship Irene, which was adrift in the Pentland Firth. Also launched was the lifeboat, 70-002 Grace Paterson Ritchie (ON 988). The last radio signal from T.G.B. was received at 21:28, and she was seen from the Pentland Skerries lighthouse at 21:35. A radio message at 22:10, to inform that conditions alongside the Irene were impossible, was never acknowledged.
By 22:30, concerns about the Longhope lifeboat were growing. The Kirkwall lifeboat was redirected to her last known position, but nothing was found. Lifeboats from , and were also launched. The Irene had been driven ashore on South Ronaldsay, and by 01:30, all the crew had been rescued by the Coastguard using a Breeches buoy.
Tuesday 18 March 1969 was London Lifeboat Day. Coins were dropped into collection boxes all over the city, as the nation waited for news. At 13:40, the worst outcome was reported. The Thurso lifeboat had found the Longhope lifeboat, floating upturned, four miles south-west of Tor Ness. It was towed back to Scrabster, where the bodies of seven crew members were discovered still aboard. An eighth crew member, James Swanson, was never found. It was later revealed that Daniel Kirkpatrick's watch had stopped at 21:47.
1,200 people attended a memorial service at St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall on Sunday, 23rd March. At a ceremony held on 9 August 1970, a memorial to the crew of T. G. B. was unveiled at Osmundwall cemetery by HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
1969 onwards The loss of the crew of T. G. B. was a pivotal moment for the RNLI. It was decided that all subsequent new lifeboats would be constructed to be self-righting. The non-self-righting T. G. B. was refurbished, and was re-deployed. After serving at for a further nine years, and a period in the relief fleet, T. G. B. was placed on display at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine. Longhope lifeboat station would again be operational on 22 May 1970, with a relief lifeboat, the 52-foot Barnett-class (Mk.I) Hilton Briggs (ON 889), and a new crew. Jack Leslie, second coxswain at , was appointed as the new coxswain.
Longhope would receive their permanent replacement later in 1970. This was the new self-righting lifeboat 48-007 David and Elizabeth King and E. B. (ON 1010), built by Groves and Guttridge, with twin 110-hp Gardner 6LX engines, and costing £58,936. Over the next 18 years at Longhope, she would launch 77 times, and save 32 lives. Coxswain Jack Leslie would receive the RNLI Bronze Medal, for the rescue of 11 people on 9–10 February 1973, from the trawler Ross Tern which had run ashore on Swona.
In 1988, a new lifeboat, 47-025 Lord Saltoun (ON 1138), was placed at Longhope. Modification work was carried out on the boathouse to accommodate the new boat, including the installation of a new fuel storage tank, and replacement to the bottom sections of the slipway keelway channel. Further works were carried out in 1990, with a crew room and toilet facilities constructed in the roof space.
In the 1990s, it was decided to schedule the placement of a new All-weather lifeboat at Longhope. In the interim period, a 15-year-old lifeboat, 52–28 Sir Max Aitken II (ON 1098) arrived on station on 12 August 1999, which due to its size, had to be moored at Longhope harbour. For the first time in 125 years, the Longhope lifeboat would be permanently stationed in Longhope.
However, in 2001, plans were changed again, and it was decided that instead of a new Severn-class lifeboat, the station would receive one of the new 'Fast Slipway Lifeboats' (FSB2), subsequently designated as . It is not known if there were plans to construct a new boathouse with slipway, but this never materialised. The old station on Hoy became the Longhope Lifeboat Museum, opening in May 2002. The Watson-class lifeboat Thomas McCunn (ON 759) is the primary exhibit. A new boathouse was constructed at Longhope Harbour, and a breakwater and pontoon berth were completed in April 2003, at a cost of £450,000.
The Longhope lifeboat was launched on 27 August 2004 into dreadful conditions, with recorded wind speeds up to . Coxswain Kevin Kirkpatrick was accorded 'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum', for saving the yacht Dasher and its three crew. Mechanic John Budge received 'A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution'.
The new All-weather lifeboat 16-05 Helen Comrie (ON 1284) was placed on service on 26 October 2006. The first major service for a Tamar-class lifeboat came just 16 days later, on 11 November 2006, when the lifeboat was called to assist the Oil tanker FR8 Venture. Whilst trying to set anchor, in Force 12 conditions, three men on the bow were hit by a large wave, and washed down the deck. Two were killed, and the third was seriously injured. Local GP Dr Christine Bradshaw was taken out to the vessel, and treated the casualty, returning with the man to hospital via helicopter. Collective Framed Letters of Thanks, signed by the Chairman of the Institution, were awarded to Coxswain Kevin Kirkpatrick and his crew, and to Captain Noble and the crew of the helicopter. A rare award for non lifeboat crew, Dr Bradshaw received the RNLI Bronze Medal for gallantry, and later, a special commendation from the The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society.
After serving as Longhope lifeboat coxswain for two decades, Kevin Kirkpatrick, who lost his father, uncle and grandfather in the Longhope Lifeboat Disaster, stood down from the role in 2022.
Longhope lifeboat station celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2024.
Station honours The following are awards made at Longhope: RNLI Silver Medal Benjamin Stout, Coxswain – 1891 Benjamin Stout, Coxswain – 1900 (Second-service clasp) William Cheyne, fisherman – 1906 Daniel Fiddler, fisherman – 1906 William Groat, fisherman – 1906 Edward Jamieson, fisherman – 1906 Bremner Taylor, fisherman – 1906 William Taylor, fisherman – 1906 John Swanson, Coxswain – 1930 John Swanson, Coxswain – 1932 (Second-service clasp) Daniel Kirkpatrick, Coxswain – 1959 Daniel Kirkpatrick, Coxswain – 1964 (Second-service clasp) Daniel Kirkpatrick, Coxswain – 1968 (Third-service clasp) James Michael Bower Endowment Fund, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Coxswain – 1960 Daniel Kirkpatrick, Coxswain – 1964 Daniel Kirkpatrick, Coxswain – 1968 RNLI Bronze Medal William Dass, Coxswain – 1936 Alfred Johnston, Coxswain – 1951 Jack Leslie, Coxswain – 1973 Dr Christine Bradshaw, GP – 2007 'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' Longhope Lifeboat Crew – 1930