Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station

Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Aldeburgh in the English county of Suffolk.

The present station has two boats on station. These are the Mersey-class lifeboat 12-34 and the D-class Inshore lifeboat Susan Scott (D-808). The station covers the coast between Harwich station to the south, and Southwold station to the North.

History
The Suffolk Association for Saving the Lives of Shipwrecked Seamen placed a 24ft Norfolk and Suffolk class lifeboat Grafton at Sizewell in 1826, but this was crewed by men from Aldeburgh. The boat was moved to a new station at Aldeburgh when the RNLI took over in 1851.

A new 32ft unnamed boat was stationed at Aldeburgh in 1853, later to be named Pasco in 1867 after Captain Montague G C Pasco R.N. collected £451 for the RNLI.

1899 lifeboat disaster
On 7 December 1899, the lifeboat Aldeburgh (ON 304) was launched to reports of a vessel aground on Shipwash Sands. In violent seas, the boat was capsized, coming to rest on the beach, and trapping 6 of the 18 crew underneath. A huge effort took place to lift the boat, but with no success. Another 3 hours passed until a hole was smashed through the upturned hull, but it was too late. 7 men perished in the disaster.


 * John Pearce Butcher, 52
 * Charles Alfred Crisp, 51
 * Herbert William Downing, 23
 * Allen Arthur Easter, 28
 * Thomas Morris, 36
 * Walter George Ward, 33
 * James Miller Ward jr., 21

A memorial to the disaster is sited in the graveyard at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. It bears the following inscription: On December 7th 1899, in response to signals of distress, a crew of 18 brave men manned the lifeboat “Aldeburgh” which was speedily launched in the teeth of an easterly gale and a heavy rolling sea. At duties call to rescue others with their own lives in their hands, these brave men went afloat, when alas! the boat capsizing seven of them met their end and lie buried here. By a large fund promptly raised to provide for those suddenly bereft, as well as by the monument, fellow townsmen and fellow countrymen near and far paid tribute to an example of noble self-forgetfulness.

New boathouse
The current lifeboat station was built in 1994 to replace a smaller older one on the same site. The new station gave cover for the first time to the boat and Talus MB-H tractor. Incorporated into the design there is a public viewing platform. The station has showers and toilet facilities for the crew and a heated store for their foul weather suits. There are also further equipment storage rooms. This new boathouse was built using part of the bequest of Mrs Eugenie Boucher who died in 1992.

Fleet
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station currently operates two lifeboats. The all-weather Lifeboat is a Mersey-class lifeboat and is called the Freddie Cooper (ON 1193) and has been on station since November 1993. The lifeboat is 38 feet long and is self-righting. She is powered by two 285 hp turbo charged Caterpillar 3208T diesel engines and she has a range of 140 nautical miles. These two engines push the boat through the water to a top speed of 16 knots. Fully laden she weighs 13 tons and she is operated by a volunteer crew of six. The Lifeboat has a capacity to rescue 43 survivors (self-righting up to 21). She was purchased using a bequest to the RNLI from the late Mrs Winifred Cooper in memory of her husband Freddie.

The inshore lifeboat Christine (D-673) was on service at Aldeburgh between April 2007 and 2017. This boat was funded by the bequest of Florence Winifred Kemp in memory of her daughter. The Christine normally has a crew of three or 4 and is powered by a 50 hp outboard engine. She is capable of a top speed of 25 knots. She has the capability to be beached easily with an easy refloat and is ideal for rescues close to shore and on the sandbanks which are along the coast at Aldeburgh.

In 2017, she was replaced with the Inshore boat Susan Scott (D-808)

RNLI Headquarters originally announced in 2016 that Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station would be getting a Shannon-class to replace the current boat, a Mersey-class. The station should have received the new boat in 2021. In July 2023, the RNLI announced that the Mersey-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) at Aldeburgh will be replaced by an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat.

Station honours
The following are awards made at Aldeburgh


 * RNLI Silver Medal
 * Joseph Foster, coastguard - 1824


 * Henry Hutchinson, Chief Officer of coastguard - 1825


 * Mr William Smith, fisherman - 1828


 * Mr Simon Fisher, Master of the Smack Alert - 1840


 * James Cable, Coxswain - 1891
 * William Mann, Second Coxswain - 1891


 * James Cable, Coxswain - 1893 (Second-Service Clasp)


 * Charles Edward Ward, Bowman - 1894


 * Charles Edward Ward, Bowman - 1900 (Second-Service Clasp)


 * James Cable, Coxswain - 1900 (Third-Service Clasp)


 * RNLI Bronze Medal
 * George Chatten, Coxswain - 1938


 * Reuben Wood, Coxswain - 1972


 * John Marjoram, Helmsman - 1977


 * Ian Firman, Coxswain/Mechanic - 1996


 * Ian Firman, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2000 (Second-Service Clasp)


 * The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
 * Nigel Saint, Motor Mechanic - 1972


 * A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
 * Reuban Wood, Coxswain - 1977


 * Lee Firman. Coxswain - 2004
 * David Cook, crewman - 2004


 * Binocular glass
 * W J Osborne, Honorary Secretary for 25 years - 1886


 * Letter of appreciation and a monetary reward from the Committee of Management
 * John Sharman(16) - 1955


 * Medals awarded by the Norwegian Government
 * Aldeburgh Lifeboat Crew - 1892


 * Silver cup from the Imperial Government of Russia
 * James Cable, Coxswain - 1895


 * Monetary Award from the Imperial Government of Russia
 * Aldeburgh Lifeboat Crew - 1895


 * Silver Watch from the German Emperor
 * Coxswain - 1903
 * Second coxswain - 1903
 * Bowman - 1903


 * Monetary Award from the German Emperor
 * Aldeburgh Lifeboat Crew - 1903


 * Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
 * Lee Firman - 2017NYH


 * British Empire Medal
 * Nigel Anthony Saint, Motor Mechanic - 1985NYH

No. 1 Station

 * Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

No. 2 Station

 * No.2 Station closed, 1959