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Wexford Lifeboat Station

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Wexford Lifeboat Station is the base for a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) inshore lifeboat at Wexford in Ireland.

Wexford Lifeboat Station
Flag of the RNLI
The lifeboat station built in 2007
Wexford Lifeboat Station is located in Ireland
Wexford Lifeboat Station
Map of Ireland showing Wexford
General information
TypeLifeboat station
LocationWexford
AddressFerrybank South
CountryIreland
Coordinates52°20′30″N 6°27′42″W / 52.3418°N 6.4617°W / 52.3418; -6.4617
OpenedFirst lifeboat 1838
Current station 2002
Cost£552,000
OwnerRNLI
Website
RNLI: Wexford Lifeboat Station

The first lifeboat for Wexford Harbour was at Rosslare Fort Lifeboat Station from 1838. A second, larger lifeboat for Wexford was stationed here from 1858 although the smaller lifeboat continued to be known as the Rosslare Fort lifeboat until 1866. The station at Rosslare Fort was closed in 1925 due to coastal erosion, the lifeboat operating from Wexford Quay until 1927 when the station was closed. The RNLI returned to Wexford in 2002 and opened the current station in 2007.

History

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Map showing development of lifeboat stations around Wexford

The Coastguard requested a lifeboat be stationed at Rosslare in 1838. A second-hand lifeboat was provided which was replaced by a newly built one in the following year when a boathouse was also provided, a brick building 27 ft (8.2 m) long and 13 ft (4.0 m) wide.[1][2]

The Rosslare lifeboat disappears from the RNLI's list of lifeboats after 1855. In 1858 it was decided to establish a 'new station' because of the sand banks in and around Wexford Harbour. The lifeboat was built in London but was destroyed in a fire at the boat yard on 19 June 1858 so it was 1859 by the time the station was ready. It was still located on Rosslare Point but known as Rosslare Fort. By the end of the year a second, larger sailing lifeboat had arrived. This was known as the Wexford No. 1 lifeboat and kept moored afloat. From 1866 the smaller boat was known as Wexford No. 2. A new boathouse was built closer to the shore in 1879.[3][4][5][6][7]

Rosslare Point is a spit of land at the south end of Wexford Harbour. The lifeboat station was remote from any villages and so unusually had a paid crew (most RNLI crews are volunteers). They lived in cottages near the Coastguard's fort. Severe storms on 27 and 31 December 1924 made three breaches in the spit, one was 380 yd (350 m) wide. Another storm blew up on 11 January 1925 which lasted until the 13th. The slipway and huts were covered in sand; a capstan and its concrete foundation was uprooted. On 14 January the lifeboat took the crews' families to Wexford for safety. It was decided to reopen the Rosslare Harbour Lifeboat Station which is further south, but the Wexford lifeboat was moored in Wexford Harbour until this was ready in 1927.[8][6]

The RNLI opened a new station at Wexford in 2002 for an inshore lifeboat. This made use of the facilities of the Wexford Harbour Boat Club until the permanent station was built in 2007.[9][10]

Service awards

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The coastguards received recognition from the RNLI during the early years of the lifeboat being stationed at their fort. S J Lett received RNLI gold medal for his part in saving 8 people from the wrecked Ariadne on 25 November 1838. Another wreck on 31 January 1839 resulted in 5 lives being saved and Thomas Bates receiving a silver medal.[11]

Mark Devereux was a master pilot as well as a member of the lifeboat crew. He was awarded an RNLI silver medal after riding a horse into the water to rescue people from the schooner Mary after it was wrecked on 13 November 1840. On 18 September 1852 he was one of many people who launched boats to go to the aid of the Bhurtpoor which had run aground while carrying hundreds of emigrants to New Orleans. 419 people were saved and Devereux was awarded silver clasp to go with his medal. He achieved a second silver clasp after launching the No. 2 lifeboat to save a man from the Teazer on 30 January 1865.[11][12][13]

Lifeboat coxswain Marcus Boyle was awarded a silver medal for leading the rescue of 4 men, 8 women and 6 children from the Montagu which ran aground in a storm in 1878. Thomas Wickham became the coxswain in 1884 and also won a silver medal for saving people from the Annie in 1896. He was followed by Edward Wickham who was appointed coxswain in 1899. He too received a silver medal following a service to the Puffin in 1906 and then a silver clasp to go with it for his part in the ss Mexico disaster.[8]

The Norwegian schooner Mexico was wrecked in a storm on 20 February 1914. The Fethard lifeboat was launched but capsized, drowning 9 of its crew. The 5 survivors managed to reach South Keeragh Island and bring the schooner's crew across to them. The Wexford and Dunmore East lifeboats managed to rescue the two crews from the island three days later. The Wexford crew used a skiff to reach the island. It was holed when it struck rocks but the lifeboat crew wrapped a loaf of bread in oilskins and blocked the hole so that the rescue could be completed. In addition to Edward Wickham's silver clasp, James Wickham and William Duggan were both awarded silver medals by the RNLI along with silver medals from the King of Norway, and All-Ireland medals from the Gaelic Athletic Association. Lifeboat Chief Inspector Holmes came from London to oversee the rescue operation and also received a silver medal.[8][1][14][11]

Area of operation

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The inshore lifeboat at Wexford has a range of 3 hours and top speed of 25 kn (46 km/h).[15] Adjacent lifeboats are at Rosslare Harbour to the south where an all-weather Severn-class is stationed, and at Courtown to the north which has its own inshore lifeboat.[6]

Wexford lifeboats

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The first lifeboat to be stationed at Rosslare Fort was a small, buoyant boat. When the station reopened in 1859 it was provided with two self-righting boats, the larger one (designated No. 1) being a sailing boat to reach off-shore sandbanks, and a smaller one (designated No. 2) which was usually operated closer to shore with oars but could use sails when conditions allowed. A new design was provided in 1900, again a sailing lifeboat but not self-righting. The final lifeboat in 1921 was a similar design but fitted with a single engine.

The lifeboats stationed at Wexford since 2002 have been small D-class inshore lifeboats.

At Wexford ON Name Class Built Comments
1838–1839 — — Plenty 1826 24 ft (7.3 m) boat with 8 oars, built by William Plenty of Newbury, Berkshire, costing £130 when new. Originally built for Arklow Lifeboat Station.[16]
1839–1855 — — Palmer 1839 26 ft (7.9 m) boat with 5 oars.[2]
1859–1866 — — Peake 1858 28 ft (8.5 m) boat with 6 oars.[4][17]
1860–1871 — — Peake 1852 40 ft (12 m) sailing lifeboat, built to Beeching's design but modified to Peake's plan.[5][17]
1866–1879 — Civil Service Self-Righter 1866 32 ft (9.8 m) boat with 10 oars.[18][5]
1871–1890 — Ethel Eveleen Self-Righter 1871 40 ft (12 m) sailing lifeboat.[19][5]
1879–1897 301 Civil Service No. 1 Self-Righter 1878 34 ft (10 m) boat with 10 oars. Number 2 boat withdrawn from Wexford in 1897 so transferred to Fethard and renamed Helen Blake.[7][5][20]
1890–1898 274 Andrew Pickard Self-Righter 1890 42 ft (13 m) sailing lifeboat.[21][20]
1900–1921 442 James Stevens No. 15 Watson 1900 Sold for private use at Rosslare Point.[22][23]
1921–1927 653 William Evans Watson 1921 Motor lifeboat, stationed at Wexford Quay when the station Rosslare Point had to be closed. Served at Galway Bay from 1927 until 1939.[24][25]

Inshore lifeboats from 2002

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At Wexford Op. No. Name Class Model Comments
2002 D-469 Winifred & Cyril Thorpe D EA16 First deployed in the Relief Fleet in 1994.[26]
2002–2004 D-426 Lord Feoffees II D EA16 First stationed at Bridlington in 1992.[26]
2004–2005 D-447 Thomas Campbell D EA16 First stationed at Amble in 1993.[26]
2005–2015 D-644 Phillip Robert Booth D IB1 [27]
2015– D-782 Alfred William Newman D IB1 [27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Centenaries of life-boat stations". Life-boat. Vol. 31, no. 337. 1939. pp. 50–51.
  2. ^ a b "Annual report". Life-boat. Vol. 1, no. 3. 1852. pp. 40–41.
  3. ^ "Fire at Messers Forrest's Boat-builders, Limehouse". Life-boat. Vol. 4, no. 29. 1858. p. 91.
  4. ^ a b "Additional stations and new life-boats". Life-boat. Vol. 4, no. 31. 1859. p. 118.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Life-boats of the United Kingdom: Wexford and Rosslare Branch". Life-boat. Vol. 12, no. 137. 1885. pp. 646–648.
  6. ^ a b c Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 111.
  7. ^ a b "Additional stations and new life-boats". Life-boat. Vol. 10, no. 111. 1879. p. 421.
  8. ^ a b c "Closing of the Wexford station". Life-boat. Vol. 26, no. 284. 1925. pp. 68–72.
  9. ^ "Wexford's new lifeboat station back in action after a 75-year gap". Irish Independent. 17 April 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Wexford's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Rosslare Harbour's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Award of medals, gratuities, etc". Life-boat. Vol. 1, no. 8. 1853. p. 11.
  13. ^ "List of the rewards for saving life from wrecks voted by the Royal National Life-Boat Institution". Life-boat. Vol. 6, no. 60. 1866. p. 51.
  14. ^ Doe, Helen (2024). One Crew. Amberley Publishing. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-1-3981-2235-2.
  15. ^ Cameron, Ian (2009). Riders of the Storm. Orion Books. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-7528-8344-1.
  16. ^ Morris, Jeff (June 1987). The Story of the Arklow Lifeboats. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 1.
  17. ^ a b "Annual report". Life-boat. Vol. 4, no. 36. 1860. pp. 248–249.
  18. ^ "Additional stations and new life-boats". Life-boat. Vol. 6, no. 62. 1866. pp. 217–218.
  19. ^ "Additional stations and new life-boats". Life-boat. Vol. 8, no. 87. 1873. pp. 386–387.
  20. ^ a b Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 12–15.
  21. ^ "Additional stations and new life-boats". Life-boat. Vol. 14, no. 158. 1890. p. 424.
  22. ^ "Additional stations and new life-boats". Life-boat. Vol. 17, no. 198. 1900. pp. 800–801.
  23. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 20–21.
  24. ^ "The voyage of the motor life-boat William Evans from Cowes to Wexford". Life-boat. Vol. 24, no. 274. 1921. pp. 207–208.
  25. ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 28–29.
  26. ^ a b c Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 79–80.
  27. ^ a b Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 83–85.
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