Cullercoats Lifeboat Station

Cullercoats Lifeboat Station is located on the north side of Cullercoats Harbour, in the town of Cullercoats, North Tyneside, in the county of Tyne and Wear.

A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1852, which became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1854.

The Cullercoats RNLI station currently operates a B-class Inshore lifeboat Daddy's Girl (B-935), on station since 2022.

History
In 1852, Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, president of the RNIPLS, made funds available for the provision of a lifeboat at Cullercoats. A 36-foot long, 15-foot wide, stone-built boathouse was constructed, also at the expense of the Duke. A modified lifeboat, based on the prize-winning design of James Beeching, was created by James Peake, Master Shipwright at Woolwich Royal Naval Dockyard, and a carriage to transport the boat was designed by Col. Colquhoun, RA, Master-General of Ordnance. Both lifeboat and carriage arrived in Cullercoats on 3 September 1852, the boat being named Percy in honour of the Duke.

By 1858, Percy was found to be suffering from dry rot. A replacement 32-foot 10-oared Peake-class lifeboat was ordered from Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £174, and requiring a larger carriage, costing a further £80-5s-0d. Costs were again funded by the Duke of Northumberland, and the boat was once again named Percy.

A replacement boathouse was constructed in 1866 to accommodate the larger 33-foot lifeboat Palmerston. Thirty years later, a third boathouse was constructed in 1896. A brick structure, it was built on the site of the 1866 boathouse, and cost £750. Funded by the Co-operative wholesale society, who had also funded a lifeboat Co-operator No.1 (ON 5) in 1884, it was opened on 8 August 1896 by Mr Tweedell, chairman of the Newcastle branch of the Society. It is still in use to this day, and is grade II listed by Historic England.

The era of Pulling and Sailing lifeboats (those with oars and sails) at Cullercoats came to an end in 1937, with the arrival of a Liverpool-class motor-powered lifeboat (which would also still have sails), the Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794). The boat had a single 35 hp engine, delivering a speed of 7.33 knots, and cost £3,684. After 85 years, this would also be the first non-self-righting lifeboat at Cullercoats, which 2 years later would prove very costly.

On a training exercise in 1939, the lifeboat was capsized off Sharpness Point. 6 crewmen were lost, including the Coxswain and the Honorary Secretary. The remaining crew refused to use another non-self-righting lifeboat, and the station was closed until the arrival of a self-righting boat in 1940.

Following a coastal review in 1968, with All-weather lifeboats at flanking stations Blyth and Tynemouth, and with a D-class Inshore lifeboat at Cullercoats since 1965, the RNLI decided to withdraw the Cullercoats All-weather lifeboat. 37-08 Sir James Knott (ON 975) was formally withdrawn on 4 May 1969, being transferred to the Relief fleet, and then to Redcar in 1972. Over the following years, the D-class lifeboats would be replaced with a larger twin engine C-class lifeboat, and then in 1991, a B-class.

Station honours
The following are awards made at Cullercoats.


 * RNLI Silver Medal
 * Alexander Donkin, 1827
 * The Medal for this service was stolen and re-issued as a new Medal in 1833.


 * John Redford, Coxswain - 1853


 * Andrew Taylor, Coxswain - 1898


 * The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
 * Major William Adamson, Honorary Secretary - 1886


 * Brian Gould, Helmsman - 1995


 * Robert Oliver, Helmsman - 1996


 * Robert Oliver, Helmsman - 2012


 * The Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award 1996 (for the outstanding inshore lifeboat rescue of the year)
 * Robert Oliver, Helmsman - 1997


 * A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
 * Mark Charlton, crew member - 1996
 * David Pendlington, crew member - 1996


 * Robert Oliver - 2010
 * Peter Clark - 2010
 * Grahame Wood - 2010
 * Gary Hawksford - 2010


 * Grahame Wood, crew member - 2012
 * Stephen Potts, crew member - 2012


 * Exceptional First Aid Certificate
 * Ross Dun, crew member - 2011
 * Grahame Wood, crew member - 2011


 * Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
 * Raymond James Taylor, Honorary Secretary - 1995


 * British Empire Medal
 * Geoffrey Cowan, Community Safety Officer - 2020

Roll of honour
In memory of those lost whilst serving Cullercoats lifeboat.


 * Liverpool-class lifeboat Richard Silver Oliver (ON 794), a non-self-righting lifeboat, capsized on exercise - 22 April 1939
 * George Brunton, Coxswain
 * J Redford Armstrong, Second Coxswain
 * J Leonard Abel, Motor Mechanic
 * John Heddon Scott, Assistant Mechanic
 * Lt. Cmdr Lionel E R Blakeney-Booth, RN, Honorary Secretary
 * Kenneth L Biggar, naval cadet

All-weather lifeboats

 * All-weather lifeboat withdrawn in 1969