| Lowestoft Lifeboat Station | |
| Map Type: | Suffolk |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Location: | Lowestoft, Suffolk |
| Location Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 52.4717°N 1.7531°W |
| Building Type: | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
| Owner: | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Lowestoft Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) operated lifeboat station in the town of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. The station is located at the mouth of Lowestoft's outer harbour on the South pier. It is one of the oldest lifeboat stations in the United Kingdom, having been established in 1801.
The station was established in 1801, when a lifeboat built by Henry Greathead began operating from the town. In 1807 the station became the first to operate a sailing lifeboat, the Frances Anne, which operated until 1850 and saved over 300 lives. The RNLI took control of the station in 1855.[1]
A second station operated in the town between 1870 and 1912, whilst the South Broads Lifeboat Station, an inshore station, operated at Oulton Broad between 2001 and 2011.[2]
Crews from Lowestoft have received 45 awards for gallantry, including 39 medals. The RNLI Gold Medal has been awarded twice. The first award was to Lieutenant R B Matthews RN in October 1827. Coxswain John Swan was the second recipient, for his actions during the rescue of the crew of the merchant ship, wrecked on North Scroby Sands in October 1922. The lifeboat Michael Stephens took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.
The following are awards made at Lowestoft[3] [4]
John Thompson Swan - 1924[5]
Lieut Robert Bates Matthews, RN - 1827
John Thompson Swan, Coxswain - 1922
Lieut John Crouchley Evison, RN - 1834
Lieut Richard Joachim, RN - 1836
Mr Francis Stannard, Master of the schooner Glenmoriston - 1853
Lieut Richard Joachim, RN - 1855 (Second-Service clasp)
Captain Richard Joachim, RN - 1857 (Third-Service clasp)
Robert Hook, Coxswain - 1859
Nathaniel Colby, crew member - 1859
Francis Smith, crew member - 1859
James Butcher, crew member - 1859
William Rose, crew member - 1859
Alfred Mewse, crew member - 1859
Thomas Liffen, crew member - 1859
Richard Butcher crew member - 1859
Captain Richard Joachim, RN - 1861 (Fourth-Service clasp)
Robert Hook, Coxswain - 1873 (Second-Service clasp)
Mr George Edward Hall, master of the fishing boat Trial - 1882
John Thompson Swan, Coxswain - 1914
John Thompson Swan, Coxswain - 1918 (Second-Service clasp)
Ralph A W Scott, Motor Mechanic - 1922
Albert Spurgeon, Coxswain - 1927
George Ayers, Second Coxswain - 1918
George William Ayers, crew member 1922 (Second-Service clasp)
John Rose, crew member 1922
H Allerton, crew member 1922
J Ayers, crew member 1922
W Butcher, crew member 1922
C Mewse, crew member 1922
Albert Spurgeon, crew member 1922
F Swan, crew member 1922
Albert Spurgeon, Coxswain - 1943 (Second-Service clasp)
Thomas Victor Knott, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1974
Peter Gibbons, Second Coxswain - 1974
Thomas Victor Knott, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1976 (Second-Service clasp)
John Catchpole, Coxswain - 1988
Shane Gordon Coleman, Coxswain and sole crew member of the Lowestoft Pilot boat,
(also Second Coxswain/Mechanic of the Lowestoft lifeboat) - 1990
John Catchpole, Coxswain - 1996 (Second-Service clasp)
John Catchpole, Coxswain - 1988
Shane Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1996
John Fox, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2010
Michael Knott 1976
John W Catchpole, Second Coxswain - 1981
Coxswain J Catchpole - 1989
Shane G Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1990
S Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1989
Crew of 1866 Lowestoft Lifeboat - 1893
| Name | Class | Length | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1801–1802 | – | |||||
| 1807–1850 | – | Frances Ann | Designed by Lionel Lukin, the forerunner of the Norfolk and Suffolk type.[6] [7] | |||
| 1850–1876 | – | Victoria | Number 1 lifeboat. Renamed Laetitia by 1874.[8] | |||
| 1870–1886 | – | George | Number 2 lifeboat.[9] | |||
| 1875–1905 | 22 | Samuel Plimsoll | Number 1 lifeboat.[10] | |||
| 1886–1890 | 23 | The Two Sisters | Number 2 lifeboat. Originally in service at with the name Sisters. | |||
| 1890–1892 | 288 | Stock Exchange | Number 2 lifeboat.[11] | |||
| 1893–1912 | 356 | Stock Exchange | Number 2 lifeboat. | |||
| 543 | Kentwell | Number 1 lifeboat. |
| Name | Class | class=unsortable | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921–1939 | 663 | – | Agnes Cross | Previously John and Mary Meiklam Of Gladswood at Gorleston. | ||
| 1939–1963 | 838 | – | Michael Stephens | Watson | Later stationed at . Sold in 1976 and now used as a pleasure boat on the River Yealm.[12] | |
| 1963–1986 | 970 | – | Frederick Edward Crick | Watson | ||
| 1986–1987 | 924 | – | Archibald and Alexander M. Paterson | [13] | ||
| 1132 | On display at Chatham Historic Dockyard since June 2019. | |||||
| 2014– | 13-05 | Patsy Knight | [14] | |||