Stornoway Lifeboat Station is located at Stornoway, a harbour town on the east coast of the Isle of Lewis, part of the Outer Hebrides, an archipelago sitting off the north-west coast of Scotland.

A lifeboat was first placed at Stornoway by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1887.

The station currently operates a All-weather lifeboat, 17-18 Tom Sanderson (ON 1238), on station since 1999.

History After reviewing the report by the Chief Inspector of Lifeboats, following his visit to the Isle of Lewis, at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 4 November 1886, it was decided to establish a lifeboat station at Stornoway.

There were no issues finding sufficient local support and crew members. A lifeboat house was built on Shell Street, at the bottom of Lifeboat Road (now Ferry Road), on land provided by Lady Matheson, and a concrete slipway was constructed to the waters edge. The total cost of construction was £1000. The site of the lifeboat house is now occupied by an electrical wholesaler.

The first lifeboat was a self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (10) oars. A gift of £1,000 received from Mrs Duguid of Kensington Gore was appropriated to the station, and in accordance with the donor's wishes, the lifeboat was named Isabella (ON 120). Isabella would be the first of four P&S boats stationed at Stornoway until 1929.

In 1929, Stornoway would receive their first motor-powered lifeboat. The boat was a 51-foot Barnett-class lifeboat, with twin 60-hp engines, delivering a top speed of . It was also the first RNLI lifeboat equipped with a radio-telephone. The 100W unit had a range of approximately . Provided from the legacy of Mrs Harriot Richardson of Greenwich, at a ceremony on 9 September 1929, the lifeboat was named William and Harriot (ON 718).

William and Harriot was launched to the aid of the Swedish motor-vessel Hervor Bratt of Gothenburg om 29 January 1949, which had run aground on Trodday Island, Skye. 20 men were brought ashore. The Hervor Bratt would later receive assistance from the lifeboat City of Glasgow (ON 720) after her tow line broke during recovery. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution was later awarded the Plaque of Merit and a Diploma, by the Swedish Lifeboat Society.

A new lifeboat arrived in Stornoway in 1955. The James and Margaret Boyd (ON 913), a 52-foot Barnett-class (Mk.I) lifeboat, costing £36,500, was named at a ceremony on 5 July 1955, by H.R.H. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, president of the Institution. It was reported that the helicopter transporting her belongings was the first to visit the Isles of Lewis.

On 30 January 1962, the James and Margaret Boyd was called out to the motor fishing vessel Maime, which had broken down in gale-force conditions leaving Stornoway harbour, and drifted on to the rocks at Battery Point. Arriving on scene at 20:35, the Bowman was injured by a flare, and he was returned immediately to the harbour, the lifeboat getting back to the Maime at 21:00. In rain and sleet showers, a line was finally passed to the vessel, with instructions to climb over the rocks, attached to the line. One man made the attempt, but not fastened to the line, he was washed away and drowned. Not wanting to suffer the same fate, the two remaining survivors refused to leave that way. A rubber dinghy was then borrowed from the nearby HMS Malcolm, and with both the Coxswain and John MacDonald veering down, the two survivors were pulled from the Maime. The rescue had taken over seven hours. Mechanic John MacLeod and Assistant Mechanic John MacDonald were each awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal. Coxswain Malcolm MacDonald was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.

In the early hours of 29 September 1980, the Stornoway lifeboat, 48-015 Hugh William Viscount Gough (ON 1020), was launched into a southerly gale to the aid of the fishing boat Junella, aground on rocks north of Skye. The lifeboat arrived after 3 hours, and skillfully avoiding the surrounding rocks, the lifeboat was held alongside the vessel for 40 minutes, allowing all 29 men to leave the Junella. Coxswain Malcolm MacDonald, as his uncle before, was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.

Princess Alexandra was invited to name the new Stornoway lifeboat in 1984, as had her mother some 30 years previously. However, she didn't have quite so far to travel this time, as the boat was named at The Prospect, West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. This was the home of Sir William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, chairman of the Beaverbrook Foundation, which had funded a second lifeboat. On the 23 February 1984, the new lifeboat was named 52-28 Max Aitken II (ON 1098).

In 1999, the Max Aitken II was withdrawn to the Relief fleet, later serving at , before being sold to China in 2005 as an operational lifeboat, named Hua Ying 385.

On 3 February 1999, Stornoway would receive a lifeboat 17-18 Tom Sanderson (ON 1238). Stornoway's lifeboat is notable as the only Severn-class boat that doesn't have a crane.

Station honours The following are awards made at Stornoway. RNLI Silver Medal Malcolm (Calla) MacDonald, Coxswain – 1962 Malcolm (Calum) MacDonald, Coxswain/Mechanic – 1981 RNLI Bronze Medal Malcolm (Calla) MacDonald, Coxswain – 1952 John MacLeod, Mechanic – 1962 John MacDonald, Assistant Mechanic – 1962 Malcolm (Calum) MacDonald, Coxswain/Mechanic – 1989 'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' Each of the crew of the Stornoway lifeboat – 1980 Malcolm (Calum) MacDonald, Coxswain/Mechanic – 1993 'A Collective Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution' Malcolm (Calum) MacDonald, Coxswain/Mechanic – 1993 Donald MacLeod, Second Coxswain – 1993 Robert Hughson, Assistant Mechanic – 1993 John MacLennan, crew member – 1993 Murdo Campbell, crew member – 1993 John MacDonald, crew member – 1993 Angus MacIver, crew member – 1993 Plaque of Merit and a Diploma, awarded by the Swedish Lifeboat Society Royal National Lifeboat Institution – 1949 Freedom of the Burgh of Stornoway Malcolm (Calla) MacDonald, former Coxswain – 1973 'A Framed Letter of Thanks, signed by the Chair of the RNLI Council' David Mackinnon, Coxswain – 2020 'Letters of Thanks, signed by the RNLI Chief Executive' Martin Murray, Mechanic – 2020 John MacLeod, crew member – 2020 Ross Hall, crew member – 2020 Gavin Maciver, crew member – 2020 Norman Matheson, crew member – 2020 Ruaraidh Ferguson, crew member – 2020 British Empire Medal Malcolm (Calla) MacDonald, former Coxswain – 1969QBH Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) Dr. Alistair Brian Michie, Stornoway Rescue Helicopter Crew and Lifeboat Medical Adviser – 2005QBH John Jamieson MacLennan, Chair, Lifeboat Management Group – 2022QBH

Stornoway lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats ON Name Built Class Comments 120 Isabella 1887 1887−1901 34-foot self-righting (P&S) x (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mrs Duguid of Kensington, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £372.Sold in 1901. 473 1901 1901−1918 x (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, the anonymous gift of 'T.E.W', built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £880.Transferred to the Relief fleet. Later at . 559 Janet 1906 1918−1924 35-foot self-righting (P&S) x (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Col. J. A. Hay of Cheltenham, built with a special shallow draft by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £810.Previously at Port Eynon. Sold in March 1925. 639 James Marsh 1914 1924−1929 x (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Miss C. Marsh of Aberdeen, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, completed by S. E. Saunders of Cowes, costing £1,338.Previously at . Sold in 1937.

All-weather lifeboats ON Op.No. Name Built Class Comments 718 – 1929 1929−1954 51-foot Barnett 913 – James and Margaret Boyd 1954 1954−1973 Transferred to 1020 Hugh William Viscount Gough 1973 1973−1984 Transferred to . 1098 52-28 Sir Max Aitken II 1984 1984−1999 Transferred to the Relief fleet. Later at . 1238 17-18 Tom Sanderson 1998 1999− 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 Stornoway RNLI Lifeboat Station