Pwllheli Lifeboat Station

Pwllheli Lifeboat Station is located in the town of Pwllheli, which sits on the Llŷn Peninsula, in the historic county of Gwynedd, Wales.

A lifeboat station was first established here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1891.

The station currently operates a D-class lifeboat, Robert J Wright (D-811), on station since 2017.

History
It is said that the first lifeboat at Pwllheli was placed in the care of Pwllheli Town Council, following the death of Lifeboat Designer Henry Thomas Richardson in 1878, but there are no service records, and no mention of what became of the boat.

Henry Richardson, and his son Henry Thomas Richardson, were the inventors of a type of lifeboat known as the 'Tubular'. The Tubular lifeboat was effectively a type of catamaran, or raft, with a flat deck mounted between two buoyant tubes. The deck of the boat is said to have been 11 inches above the water. This type of craft found favour at Rhyl and New Brighton, but few places otherwise.

When Henry T. Richardson, then of Brynhrfryd, Pwllheli, died on 21 November 1878, he bequeathed to the RNLI, at the death of his wife, the sum of £10,000, to include the provision of two tubular lifeboats, their ongoing maintenance, and the opening of a lifeboat station in Pwllheli. After communication with the Town Clerk in August 1886, the RNLI agreed to open a lifeboat station at Pwllheli.

A boathouse, designed by RNLI Architect Mr. W. T. Douglas, was constructed by E. Williams on a site owned by the town council at Gimblet Rock, at a cost of £609-14s-0d. A 14-oared 35-feet 6in long Tubular-class boat was built by Mechan & Co, of Glasgow, costing £633, and following trials in Liverpool, arrived in Pwllheli in April 1891. It was later named Caroline Richardson (ON 287), after the donor's mother.

It is with some irony, that the Tubular lifeboat designed by the founder of the station, was not liked by the crew. It served just one year at Pwllheli, being launched just once, before it was transferred to Rhyl. In fact, such was the dislike for this type of boat, that the RNLI went to court to gain permission to reallocate the funds to standard type lifeboats, which was granted.

A replacement for the Tubular lifeboat arrived in November 1892, Margaret Platt of Stalybridge (ON 330), a 38-foot 12-oared Self-righting 'pulling and sailing' lifeboat, one using oars and sails, built by McAlister, and costing £423. In just 6 years on service, she would be launched 8 times, and rescue 28 people.

Pwllheli received its first motor lifeboat in 1930. The 40ft Watson-class 40 hp lifeboat Maria (ON 560) was placed at Pwllheli, and after successful trials, was soon followed with a permanent boat, the larger 43ft Watson William McPherson (ON 620). Due to its size, the boat was moored afloat. With a motor-lifeboat placed at Pwllheli, the flanking stations at Criccieth and Abersoch were closed.



For some time, silting at the entrance to Pwllheli harbour prevented the lifeboat getting out at dead-low water. On 3 September 1951, Pwllheli lifeboat was called to the capsized sailing boat Dorothy from Morfa Bychann public school camp, but couldn't launch. By the time Barmouth lifeboat arrived, a School Master and four boys had drowned. Investigations into the accident resulted in the reopening of Criccieth Lifeboat Station in 1953, and the placement of a smaller carriage-based Liverpool-class lifeboat at Pwllheli, Katherine and Virgoe Buckland (ON 905), which would be housed in the boathouse. The building had doors at both ends, allowing the boat to be launched, using a new tractor, either into the harbour, or over the beach into the sea.

With post war leisure activity increasing at the coast, a fast response Inshore rescue boat (IRB), now known as an Inshore lifeboat (ILB), D-class (D-16) was placed at Pwllheli in 1964. The latest ILB on station is the D-class Robert J Wright (D-811), named in memory of the former Pwllheli Coxswain, who collapsed and died of a heart attack on the lifeboat during a call in 2015.



In 2015, the RNLI received the most valuable items ever left to the Institution in a single legacy. In a most extraordinary bequest, the RNLI received two rare Ferrari cars from the estate of the late Richard Colton, businessman. Both were sent to auction:
 * A silver 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, sold for £1.93m
 * A red 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB, sold for £6.6m

This donation has already helped fund two Shannon-class lifeboats, now based at Hastings and Barry Dock. £100,000 raised locally to help provide a new boathouse for Pwllheli was boosted massively by the allocation of £2.8m from the Colton legacy. A new state-of-the-art boathouse was constructed at Glan-Y-Don, completed in 2020, which was opened officially in September 2021 to house their new Shannon lifeboat 13-39 Smith Brothers (ON 1346).

In January 2024, following a breakdown in crew relationships, the station was closed, and the Shannon-class lifeboat was removed to RNLI headquarters at Poole, and temporarily placed into the Relief fleet. All volunteer crew were stood down. The station reopened on 3 April 2024 to allow limited operation of the D-class lifeboat, whilst further crew training would continue.

Shannon lifeboat 13-39 Smith Brothers (ON 1346) returned to Pwllheli on 30 June 2024, allowing for a period of intensive crew training to commence on 1 July 2024, before the boat returns to active duty.

Station honours
The following are awards made to the crew of Pwllheli Lifeboat Station


 * The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
 * W McGill, Acting Coxswain - 1972
 * Roy Morris, crew member - 1972


 * Robert Wright, Coxswain - 1994


 * A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
 * Clive Moore, Emergency Mechanic - 1994


 * Robert Wright, Coxswain - 2003


 * Andy Green, Helmsman - 2007


 *  Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
 * Robert John Wright, Coxswain - 2008QBH