Lowestoft Lifeboat Station

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.

History
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.

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.

47-020 Spirit of Lowestoft

Station Honours
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 SS Hopelyn, 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


 * Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry (EGM)
 * John Thompson Swan - 1924


 * RNLI Gold Medal
 * Lieut Robert Bates Matthews, RN - 1827


 * John Thompson Swan, Coxswain - 1922


 * RNLI Silver Medal
 * 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


 * RNLI Bronze Medal
 * 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)


 * The Maud Smith Award 1988 (for the bravest act of lifesaving during the year by a member of a lifeboat crew)
 * John Catchpole, Coxswain - 1988


 * The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
 * Shane Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1996


 * John Fox, Coxswain/Mechanic - 2010


 * A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
 * Michael Knott 1976


 * John W Catchpole, Second Coxswain - 1981


 * Coxswain J Catchpole - 1989


 * Shane G Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1990


 * Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
 * S Coleman, Second Coxswain/Mechanic - 1989


 * Silver Medals from the Austrian Government
 * Crew of 1866 Lowestoft Lifeboat - 1893