Cullercoats Lifeboat Station is located on the north side of Cullercoats Harbour, in Cullercoats, North Tyneside, a town which sits north of the mouth of the River Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear.

A lifeboat station was established at Cullercoats by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1852, which became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854.

The Cullercoats lifeboat station currently operates a Inshore lifeboat Daddy's Girl (B-935), on station since 2022.

History In 1852, Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, president of the RNIPLS, made funds available for the provision of a lifeboat at Cullercoats. A 36-foot long, 15-foot wide, stone-built boathouse was constructed, also at the expense of the Duke. A modified lifeboat, based on the prize-winning design of James Beeching, was constructed by James Peake, Master Shipwright at Woolwich Royal Naval Dockyard, and a carriage to transport the boat was designed by Col. Colquhoun, RA, Master-General of Ordnance. Both lifeboat and carriage arrived in Cullercoats on 3 September 1852, the boat being named Percy in honour of the Duke.

By 1858, Percy was found to be suffering from dry rot. A replacement 32-foot 10-oared lifeboat was ordered from Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £174, and requiring a larger carriage, costing a further £80-5s-0d. Costs were again funded by the Duke of Northumberland, and the boat was once again named Percy.

A replacement boathouse was constructed in 1866 to accommodate the larger 33-foot lifeboat Palmerston. Thirty years later, a third boathouse was constructed in 1896. A brick structure, it was built on the site of the 1866 boathouse, and cost £750. Funded by the Co-operative wholesale society, who had also funded a lifeboat Co-operator No.1 (ON 5) in 1884, it was opened on 8 August 1896 by Mr Tweedell, chairman of the Newcastle branch of the Society. It is still in use to this day, and is grade II listed by Historic England.

The era of Pulling and Sailing lifeboats (those with oars and sails) at Cullercoats came to an end in 1937, with the arrival of a motor-powered lifeboat (which would also still have sails), the Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794). The boat had a single 35-hp engine, delivering a speed of 7.33 knots, and cost £3,684. After 85 years, this would also be the first non-self-righting lifeboat at Cullercoats, which 2 years later would prove very costly.

On a training exercise in 1939, the lifeboat was capsized off Sharpness Point. 6 crewmen were lost, including the Coxswain and the Honorary Secretary. The remaining crew refused to use another non-self-righting lifeboat, and the station was closed until the arrival of a self-righting boat in 1940.

Following a coastal review in 1968, with All-weather lifeboats at flanking stations and , and with a Inshore lifeboat at Cullercoats since 1965, the RNLI decided to withdraw the Cullercoats All-weather lifeboat. 37-08 Sir James Knott (ON 975) was formally withdrawn on 4 May 1969, being transferred first to the relief fleet, and then to in 1972. Over the following years, the lifeboats would be replaced with a larger twin engine lifeboat, and then in 1991, a .

Station honours The following are awards made at Cullercoats.

RNIPLS Silver Medal Alexander Donkin – 1827

John Redford, Coxswain – 1853

RNLI Silver Medal Andrew Taylor, Coxswain – 1898

The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum Major William Adamson, Honorary Secretary – 1886 Brian Gould, Helm – 1995 Robert Oliver, Helm – 1996 Robert Oliver, Helm – 2012

The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award 1996 Robert Oliver, Helm – 1997

A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution Mark Charlton, crew member – 1996 David Pendlington, crew member – 1996 Robert Oliver – 2010 Peter Clark – 2010 Grahame Wood – 2010 Gary Hawksford – 2010 Grahame Wood, crew member – 2012 Stephen Potts, crew member – 2012

Exceptional First Aid Certificate Ross Dun, crew member – 2011 Grahame Wood, crew member – 2011

Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) Raymond James Taylor, Honorary Secretary – 1995

British Empire Medal Geoffrey Cowan, Community Safety Officer – 2020

Roll of honour In memory of those lost whilst serving Cullercoats lifeboat.

Lost when lifeboat Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794), a non-self-righting lifeboat, capsized on exercise, 22 April 1939 George Brunton, Coxswain (45) John Redford Armstrong, Second Coxswain (44) John Leonard Abel, Motor Mechanic (36) John Heddon Scott, Assistant Mechanic (33) Lt. Cmdr. Lionel E. R. Blakeney-Booth, RN, Honorary Secretary (43) Kenneth L. Biggar, naval cadet (16)

Cullercoats lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats ON Name Built Class Comments Percy 1852 30-foot Self-righting Peake (P&S) 30-foot x 8-foot (12-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by The Duke of Northumberland, built by James Peake of HM Dockyard, Woolwich. Pre-351 Percy 1859 1859–1865 32-foot Self-righting Peake (P&S) 32-foot x 7-foot 9in (10-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by The Duke of Northumberland, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £174. Pre-452 Palmerston 1866 1866–1884 33-foot Self-righting (P&S) 33-foot x 8-foot (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mr P. Reid of London, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £275. 5 1884 1884–1907 37-foot 1in Self-righting (P&S) 37-foot 1in x 8-foot (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the Manchester Central Co-operative Society, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £388. 571 Co-operator No.1 1907 1907–1937 37-foot 6in Self-righting (P&S) 37-foot 6in x 8-foot 6in (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the Manchester Central Co-operative Society, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £879.

Motor lifeboats ON Op. No. Name Built Class Comments 794 – Richard Silver Oliver 1937 1937–1939 Capsized on exercise, 1939, with the loss of six crew. The station was closed until 1940. 727 – Westmorland 1930 1940–1951 Previously at 880 – 1950 1951–1963 35-foot 6in Self-righting (motor) 975 Sir James Knott 1963 1963–1969 All-weather lifeboat withdrawn in 1969

Inshore lifeboats D-class and C-class Op. No. Name Class Comments D-50 1965 D-87 D-100 1969–1974 D-229 1975–1984 1984–1991 formerly

B-class Op. No. Name Class Comments B-514 Guide Friendship 1 1991–1992 B-591 1992–2006 B-590 Wolverson X-Ray 2006–2007 B-811 Hylton Burdon 2007–2022 B-935 Daddy's Girl 2022–

Launch and recovery tractors Op. No. Reg. No. Type Comments T19 TY 2547 Clayton 1949–1951 T5 IJ 3424 Clayton 1951–1954 T14 XW 2075 Clayton 1954–1955 T35 FYM 558 Case L 1955–1963 T71 519 GYM Case 1000D 1963–1969 TW18H H710 RUX 1991–1993 TW22H K501 AUX Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk2 1993–2004 TW21H J495 XUJ Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic Mk2 2004–2017 TW59H 2017–

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

Notes

References

External links Cullercoats RNLI Lifeboat Station