Broadstairs Lifeboat Station

Broadstairs Lifeboat Station was a former lifeboat station in Kent, England. It was rather unusual, as it never had a boathouse, although a building was provided by the Harbour Commissioners in which to store all the equipment. The lifeboat was kept under a tarpaulin, and was stored on the pier at Broadstairs, a harbour town on the east coast of Kent.

A lifeboat was first placed here in 1850, when one was presented to the town by former residents and lifeboat manufacturers Thomas and John White, now of Cowes.

Management of the station was taken over by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1868.

Broadstairs lifeboat station was closed in 1912.

History
In 1850, Thomas White and his son John, of Cowes, presented one of their Lamb and White type lifeboats to their former home town of Broadstairs. The boat was of the type they supplied to The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, non-self-righting, as Thomas preferred a more buoyant and stable craft. Thomas founded the boat building company J. Samuel White, which would come to be well known for the manufacture of lifeboats for the RNLI. He was descended from John White who had married Mary Culmer of Broadstairs in 1721, she from a family known for its boatbuilding, and one of the founding families of Broadstairs. This first boat would be named Mary White.

The lifeboat would first be called on the 6 March 1851 by the Walmer coastguard, to a brig wrecked on the Goodwin Sands in gale-force conditions. Arriving at the vessel, Coxswain Solomon Holborn and lifeboatman George Castle went aboard the vessel, and 7 of the 10 crewmen were helped to the lifeboat. At that point, the brig turned over, and the line parted, with the lifeboat swept away from the vessel. Holborn and Castle realised their situation, and jumped into the sea, but were soon rescued. The three remaining crew members of the vessel were lost. It may be that the lifeboat was named later, or maybe extraordinary coincidence, but the lost vessel, on her maiden voyage from Sunderland to Smyrna, (now Izmir), was named Mary White. Each of the 8 lifeboatmen was awarded the Silver Medal.

In 1853, Thomas and John White would present a second lifeboat to Broadstairs, the 30-foot Culmer White. Both the Culmer White and the Mary White would be involved in a remarkable rescue in 1857. At 3:00pm in a storm on 5 January, the 1000 ton American transatlantic vessel Northern Belle was in trouble, and dropped anchor off Kingsgate. The Broadstairs lifeboat Mary White was taken 2 mi overland, in case she was required. A crowd onshore watched the vessel, expecting her to be driven ashore. The lugger Victory of Margate with 12 crew made an attempt to reach the vessel, but was hit by an exceptional wave, and to the horror of all those watching, disappeared from view. All aboard were lost. The lugger Ocean then managed to get 5 men aboard to help save the Northern Belle. The following morning, the vessel had been driven onto the rocks, and 23 men could be seen lashed to the remaining rigging. The Mary White set out, and rescued 7 men. The Culmer White had also been transported to Kingsgate, and rescued a further 14 men. She then set out again, and recovered the last two men aboard, the Pilot and Captain. One lifeboatman, George Emptage, was aboard the Mary White, and then also made the two trips on the Culmer White. On the direction of American President Franklin Pierce, the 21 lifeboatmen from Broadstairs were awarded the United States Presidential Silver Medal For Lifesaving.



By 1867, both lifeboats were found to be deteriorating, and the boatmen made a request of the RNLI to establish a station at Broadstairs, which was agreed. In April 1868, a 36-foot lifeboat constructed by Forrestt of Limehouse arrived in Broadstairs, provided from a gift by Mrs. Collins of London, and named Samuel Morrison Collins at a ceremony on 25 August in memory of her son, who had been lost at sea. To aid with launching the boat, a slipway was constructed from the side of the pier in 1869, costing £88-15-0d. Capt. James Elyard was appointed Honorary Secretary,and Jeremiah Walker was Coxswain.

It was not uncommon for Capt. James Elyard to be one of the crew of the Broadstairs lifeboat, but even following promotion to Major, duties which required him to relinquish his role of Honorary Secretary, he still took an active part, and remained on the committee. The lifeboat launched to the aid of the schooner Lion of Goole on 12 March 1876, and managed to save the vessel and crew of four, bringing them to Dover harbour. For this, and 17 other services, which had resulted in saving 49 lives, Maj. James Elyard, of the 2nd Royal Surrey Militia, was awarded the RNLI Gold Medal.

The Samuel Morrison Collins provided exceptional service at Broadstairs, launched 84 times in her 20-years on station, and saving 129 lives. The boat was replaced in 1888 by the Christopher Waud, Bradford (ON 189), which would record 52 launches in just 8 years, and save 46 lives. When flares were seen off the shore at North Foreland, the lifeboat was launched, and found the brigantine Douse ashore on the rocks. Her six crewmen were rescued, and landed at Ramsgate.

In 1896, the Christopher Waud, Bradford was found to be suffering from rot, and was withdrawn. Reserve No.3 lifeboat, (ON 190), was placed on service for just one year, but in that time was launched 13 times, and saved 16 lives.

A new boat was sent to the station in 1897, built by Rutherford of Birkenhead. When completed, the boat was towed to Bristol in extremely poor conditions, and then transited the Avon canal to the River Thames and on to Broadstairs. On arrival on 15 March 1897, it was found to have been badly damaged on the journey, and was immediately returned to London, for repairs at Thames Ironworks, finally returning to station on 17 September 1897. Provided from the legacy of Miss Ivy Webster, of Exeter, the boat was named at her request, the Francis Forbes Barton (ON 399). The Francis Forbes Barton would record 115 launches, and save 77 lives in the 15 years she was on service at Broadstairs.

With the decline in the number of sailing vessels, and with three lifeboats nearby, two at Margate, and one at Ramsgate, it was decided that there was sufficient cover for the area. Despite an exception service record, launching 269 times in a 62-year period, and saving 275 lives, Broadstairs Lifeboat Station was closed on 18 July 1912. The Francis Forbes Barton (ON 399) would later serve at North Deal. The boat is currently stored at Ramsgate awaiting restoration (2024).

Station honours
The following are awards made at Broadstairs


 * RNLI Gold Medal
 * Maj. James Elyard, 2nd Royal Surrey Militia, Committee Member - 1876


 * RNLI Silver Medal
 * Solomon Holborn, Coxswain - 1851
 * George Castle - 1851
 * George Wales - 1851
 * John Crouch - 1851
 * Edward Chittenden - 1851
 * John Wales - 1851
 * Paul Sackett Hansell - 1851
 * Richard Crouch - 1851


 * Capt. James Elyard, Honorary Secretary - 1869


 * William Foreman, Coxswain - 1892


 * Jethro Pettit, Coxswain - 1901


 * United States Presidential Lifesaving Medal - Silver
 * James Bene - 1857
 * John Castle - 1857
 * George Castle - 1857
 * John Cowell - 1857
 * Alfred Emptage - 1857
 * Edward Emptage - 1857
 * George Emptage - 1857
 * Robert Gilbert - 1857
 * William Hiller - 1857
 * Thomas Holborn - 1857
 * Fred Laurence - 1857
 * Jethrow Miller - 1857
 * Robert Miller - 1857
 * William Ralph - 1857
 * Robert Parker - 1857
 * James Rowse - 1857
 * John Sandwell - 1857
 * Thomas Sandwell - 1857
 * Robert Simpson - 1857
 * William Wales - 1857
 * Jeremiah Walker - 1857


 * The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
 * Capt. James Elyard, Honorary Secretary - 1872

Broadstairs lifeboats

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