| Ramsgate Lifeboat Station | |
| Map Type: | Kent |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Location: | Ramsgate Lifeboat Station, Western Crosswall, Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Ramsgate, Kent |
| Location Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 51.3289°N 1.4194°W |
| Building Type: | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
| Material: | Fabricated steelwork clad with timber, and concrete |
| Opened Date: | 1802 The first lifeboat, built by Henry Greathead, was provided by the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour. |
| Owner: | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Ramsgate Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in the Port of Ramsgate in the English county of Kent. The station is one of the oldest to operate in the British Isles and has launched to many notable services. Among the awards won by its crews over the years are 42 RNLI medals, including 2 gold, 39 silver and 1 bronze, the last being awarded in 2000.
A lifeboat station was first established at Ramsgate Harbour in 1802 by the trustees of the harbour,[1] pre dating the formation of any national lifeboat organisation by more than 20 years. After a lapse in service between 1824 and 1851 a station was re-established by the trustees.
In 1865, the lifeboat station was taken over by the Board of Trade and the RNLI, who ran it jointly until 1922, when the RNLI it took over full responsibility, and who run the service to this day.[1]
The current lifeboat station, on the harbour wall between the inner and outer pools of the main harbour, opened in 1998, and services both an inshore lifeboat, the Claire & David Delves (B-878) and offshore lifeboat, the RNLB 16-23 Diamond Jubilee (ON 1303).
RNLI 16-23 Diamond Jubilee (ON 1303)
During the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk in 1940, Lifeboat Prudential, of Ramsgate was the first little ship to the rescue. The lifeboat left Ramsgate at 2.20 in the afternoon with Coxswain Howard Primrose Knight in command with her own crew of eight men. They had been issued with gas masks, steel helmets and the lifeboat was loaded with four coils of grass warp and cans of fresh water for the troops. She took in tow eight boats, most of them wherries, manned by eighteen naval men, and when she reached Dunkirk her role was to tow the wherries between the beaches and the waiting ships. In total she rescued 2,800 troops from the beaches. For his 'gallantry and determination,' Coxswain Howard Knight was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.
The following are awards made at Ramsgate[1] [2]
Howard Primrose Cooper Knight, Coxswain - 1940
Charles Fish, Coxswain - 1881
Charles Fish, Coxswain - 1891 (Second Service Award)
William Miller - 1826
Captain Edward Gimar - 1829
James Hogbin, Coxswain - 1857
Isaac Jarman, Coxswain - 1864
Isaac Jarman, Coxswain - 1870 (Second Service Award)
Charles Fish, Bowman - 1870
Mr Daniel Reading, Master of Ramsgate Harbour Steam Tug - 1872
James Simpson - 1874
William Wharrier - 1874
(mate and engineer respectively of the Ramsgate Harbour Tug)
Richard Goldsmith, crew member - 1881
Henry Belsey, crew member - 1881
David Berry, crew member - 1881
Thomas Cooper Snr. crew member - 1881
Thomas Cooper Jnr. crew member - 1881
Thomas Friend, crew member - 1881
John Goldmith, crew member - 1881
Stephen Goldsmith, crew member - 1881
Henry Meader, crew member - 1881
Robert Penney, crew member - 1881
Charles Vernon, crew member - 1881
Alfred Page, Master - 1881
William Wharrier, crew member - 1881 (Second Service Award)
William Austen, crew member - 1881
Charles Knight, crew member - 1881
Edward Revell, crew member - 1881
George Woodward, crew member - 1881
Richard Yare, crew member - 1881
(Master and crew of the tug Vulcan)
William Wharrier, engineer, of the Ramsgate Harbour Tug - 1890 (Third Service Award)
Alfred Page, Tug Master - 1892 (Second Service Award)
Thomas James Watson - 1892
William Burton - 1892
Edwin Hurle - 1892
Arthur E Fisher - 1892
(the crew of the smack Britain's Pride of Ramsgate)
Alfred Page, Tug Master - 1898 (Third Service Award)
John Hawkins - 1906
William Cooper, Coxswain - 1916
Thomas W Read, Second Coxswain - 1916
Ronald N Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1986
Ronald N Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2000 (Second Service Award)
Douglas S Kirkaldie. Coxswain - 1952
Charles Fish, Coxswain - 1881
Richard Goldsmith, crew member - 1881
Henry Belsey, crew member - 1881
David Berry, crew member - 1881
Thomas Cooper Snr. crew member - 1881
Thomas Cooper Jnr. crew member - 1881[3]
Thomas Friend, crew member - 1881
John Goldmith, crew member - 1881
Stephen Goldsmith, crew member - 1881
Henry Meader, crew member - 1881
Robert Penney, crew member - 1881
Charles Vernon, crew member - 1881
Alfred Page, Master - 1881
William Wharrier, crew member - 1881
William Austen, crew member - 1881
Charles Knight, crew member - 1881
Edward Revell, crew member - 1881
George Woodward, crew member - 1881[4]
Richard Yare, crew member - 1881
(Master and crew of the tug Vulcan)
Douglas S Kirkaldie. Coxswain - 1952
Ronald N Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1986
Ronald N Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2000
Ronald N Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2000
Ronald N Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic -2000
Thomas J H Cooper, Coxswain - 1968
Michael Petts, crew member - 1975
Timothy Hurst, crew member - 1975
Malcolm H R Llewellyn - 1980
Bryan L E Morgan - 1980
(Coxswain and Launch Seaman of the Trinity House Pilot Vessel Versatile)
Timothy E Hurst, Helmsman - 1985
Timothy Hurst, Emergency Mechanic - 2000
Lance Oran, crew member - 2000
R Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1983
D Pegden, Second Coxswain/Assistant Mechanic - 1983
D Cooper, Emergency Mechanic - 1983
W Blay, crew member - 1983
T Brown, crew member - 1983
T Hurst, crew member - 1983
Ronald N Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1984
D Pegden, 2nd Coxswain/Assistant Mechanic - 1984
T Hurst, crew member - 1984
M Mett, crew member - 1984
N Stephens, crew member - 1984
R Noble, crew member - 1984
Timothy Hurst, crew member - 1984
Ronald N Cannon, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2000
Christopher Andrews, Helmsman - 2008
Harvey Cole, crew member - 2008
John Rabbatts, crew member - 2008
Coxswain and Crew - 1940
Ronald N Cannon, Retired Coxswain/Mechanic - 2017[5]
Coxswain W Cooper - 1911
The Master of the Tug Aid - 1911
Gold watch to the Coxswain- 1919
Binoculars to the Second Coxswain - 1919
Gold Medals to the Lifeboat Crew - 1919
| ON | Op. No. | Name | In service[6] | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | Northumberland | 1851–1865 | Self-Righting | |
| – | – | Friend | 1865–1866 | 29-foot 1in Self-Righting (P&S) | [7] |
| – | – | Bradford | 1866–1877 | ||
| – | – | Bowman | 1877 | 44-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | |
| – | – | Bradford | 1877–1887 | 44-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | |
| 117 | – | Bradford | 1887–1893 | 40-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | |
| 350 | – | Bradford | 1893–1905 | 42-foot Self-Righting (motor) | |
| 537 | – | Charles and Susanna Stephens | 1905–1926 | 43-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | |
| 697 | – | Prudential | 1925–1953 | [8] [9] | |
| 901 | – | Michael and Lily Davis | 1953–1976 | ||
| 1154 | 47-036 | Kenneth Thelwall II | 1990–1994 | ||
| 1197 | 14-02 | Esme Anderson | 1994–2023 | ||
| 1303 | 16-23 | Diamond Jubilee | 2023– | [10] | |
| Op. No. | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-500 (17-001) | 1969–1971 | |||
| A-502 (17-003) | 1972–1975 | |||
| A-510 (18-010) | 1975–1984 | |||
| B-558 | Ramsgate Enterprise | 1984–2000 | ||
| B-765 | Bob Turnbull | 2000–2014 | [11] | |
| B-878 | Claire & David Delves | 2014– | ||