Port Erin Lifeboat Station

Port Erin Lifeboat Station
Port Erin Lifeboat Station in 2023
Port Erin Lifeboat Station is located in Isle of Man
Port Erin Lifeboat Station
Location within Isle of Man
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationBreakwater Road, Port Erin, Isle of Man
Coordinates54°05′06″N 004°46′06″W / 54.08500°N 4.76833°W / 54.08500; -4.76833
Opened1883
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Port Erin RNLI Lifeboat Station

Port Erin Lifeboat Station is located on Breakwater Road in Port Erin, a town 13.5 miles (21.7 km) south-west of Douglas, on the south-west coast of the Isle of Man, a British Crown Dependency.

A lifeboat station was established at Port Erin by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1883.[1]

The station currently operates the B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat, Neil Crowe (B-951), funded by the Gough Ritchie Trust, on station since 2025.[2]

History

At a meeting of the RNLI Management Committee on 7 September 1882, and following requests from local residents, it was agreed to form a Lifeboat Station at Port Erin.[3]

On 28 August 1883, a 32 ft (9.8 m) 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (10) oars, was drawn on its carriage by eight horses, in grand procession from Douglas to the shore at Port Erin, where a Brass Band was in attendance. The cost of the lifeboat and its equipment had been defrayed from the legacy of the late Mr Richard Roberts of Blackley, Manchester.[4]

The 1884 Lifeboat House at Port Erin

On arrival at Port Erin, the ceremony commenced with an address by Henry Loch, Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. After the lifeboat was handed to the care of the local lifeboat committee, and accepted by branch president Dr. R. Radcliffe, the lifeboat was named Ann and Mary of Manchester, in accordance with the wishes of the benefactor. The lifeboat was then launched for a demonstration to the assembled crowd.[4]

A boathouse was constructed in 1884, opposite the Raglan Pier, at a cost of £250.[1]

Ann and Mary of Manchester saw her first service on 4 January 1888, launching at 08:45 to the schooner Lyra, which had struck Carrick Rock whilst on passage from Liverpool to Dublin, and was wrecked in Port St Mary bay. The Master had been washed overboard and lost, but the lifeboat rescued the three remaining crew.[5][6]

In accordance with the wishes of the Coxswain and crew for a larger lifeboat, Ann and Mary of Manchester was replaced in 1892, and a 37 ft (11 m) 12-oared lifeboat was provided to the station, arriving in January that year. The cost of the lifeboat was defrayed from the legacy of the late Miss L. C. Sargenson of New Bond Street, London, and in accordance with her wishes, the lifeboat was named William Sugden (ON 321). The boat served Port Erin for 20 years, and saved 12 lives.[7]

To make launching easier, a slipway was constructed in 1900, at a cost of £1,000.[1]

10 August 1925 saw the arrival of a 40 ft (12 m) self-righting motor-powered lifeboat on station, Ethel Day Cardwell (ON 647), previously on service at Tynemouth. This was the same year that a new boathouse was constructed along the breakwater road, a building still in use today. It is notable by its very steep 1:4 slipway, still regarded as the steepest incline of any RNLI lifeboat station.[8]

The naming ceremony of the sixth lifeboat for Port Erin, a 37 ft (11 m) Rother-class lifeboat, was held on 4 August 1973. The lifeboat was named Osman Gabriel after her donor, Major Osman Gabriel. Between 1973 and 1992, she was launched 70 times, and saved 55 lives.[9][10]

In 1990, a coastal review determined that a Mersey-class All-weather lifeboat would be placed at Peel, replacing their B-class (Atlantic 21), whilst Port Erin would receive an Atlantic 21 Inshore boat, to replace their Rother-class All-weather lifeboat.[11]

On 24 June 2025, Port Erin received a new B-class (Atlantic 85) Inshore lifeboat. The lifeboat has been funded by the Gough Ritchie Trust, one of five lifeboats provided by the trust for the island, and named Neil Crowe (B-951) after one of their founding trustees, on 12 July 2025.[12]

Notable rescues

Just after 06:00 on the 9 September 1970, the Port Erin All-weather lifeboat Matthew Simpson (ON 823) was launched into a very rough sea and SSW gale, to reports of the coaster Moonlight in difficulties, 5 miles (8 km) north of Chicken Rock. A life-raft located by aircraft was found to be empty. At 11:00, a second life-raft was spotted, and found to contain just two survivors from the Moonlight. The two men were landed at Port Erin by the lifeboat at 13:00. For this service, Coxswain Alfred Dennis Maddrell BEM was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.[13]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Port Erin:[1][13]

  • RNLI Bronze Medal
    Alfred Dennis Maddrell BEM, Coxswain – 1970
  • 'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum'
    Peter Woodworth, Coxswain – 1978
  • British Empire Medal
    Alfred Dennis Maddrell, Coxswain – 1969QBH[14]

Port Erin lifeboats

Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats

ON[a] Name Built On station[15] Class Comments[15][16]
Pre-660 Ann and Mary of Manchester 1883 1883–1892 32-foot Prowse self-righting (P&S) [Note 1]
Sold in 1894.
321 William Sugden 1891 1892–1912 37-foot self-righting (P&S) [Note 2]
Sold in 1912.
634 Henry Kirk 1912 1912–1925 37-foot self-righting (P&S) [Note 3]
Sold in 1937. Renamed Peal o'Bells. Last reported at Southampton in 1948.
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Motor lifeboats

ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name Built On station[17] Class Comments[18]
647 – Ethel Day Cardwell 1917 1925–1939 40-foot self-righting (motor) [Note 4]
Previously at Teesmouth. Transferred to the relief fleet. Sold in 1942, and renamed Bay Monarch.
823 – Matthew Simpson 1939 1939–1972 41-foot Watson
998 32-27 Osman Gabriel 1972 1973–1992 Rother
All-weather lifeboat withdrawn in 1992
More post-service details can be found on the respective lifeboat class pages.

Inshore lifeboats

B class

Op. No.[b] Name On station[19] Class Comments
B-515 Vee Webber 1992–1993 B-class (Atlantic 21) Previously Blue Peter II at Beaumaris
B-594 Herbert and Edith 1993–2006 B-class (Atlantic 21)
B-813 Muriel and Leslie 2006–2025 B-class (Atlantic 85) [20]
B-951 Neil Crowe 2025– B-class (Atlantic 85) [12]
  1. 1 2 ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. 1 2 Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m) x 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) (10-oared) Prowse-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mr R. Roberts of Blackley, Manchester, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £282.
  2. ↑ 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m) x 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded from the legacy of Miss L. C. Sargenson of London, built by Forrest of Limehouse, London, costing £544.
  3. ↑ 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m) x 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded from the legacy of Mr H. Kirk of Beeston, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £1,239.
  4. ↑ 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m) x 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) self-righting (motor) lifeboat, legacy of Mr J. T. Cardwell, built by S. E. Saunders of Cowes, costing £4,746 when new.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Port Erin Lifeboat Station". RNLI. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  2. ↑ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2026). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2026. Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society. p. 67.
  3. ↑ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. XI (126): 675. 1 November 1882. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. XII (130): 214. 1 November 1883. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "Lyra". The Lifeboat. XIII (149): 608. 1 August 1888. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "Disasters At Sea". The Times. No. 32274. London. 5 January 1888. col. E, p. 10.
  7. ↑ "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. XV (163): 6–7. 1 February 1892. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  8. ↑ Port Erin Lifeboat Station History. RNLI. 1999. pp. 2–3.
  9. ↑ "Naming Ceremony". imuseum. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  10. ↑ Morris 2008, p. 40.
  11. ↑ Morris, Jeff (2003). Peel Lifeboats 1828-2003. pp. 1–46.
  12. 1 2 Beesley, Niki (24 June 2025). "New Atlantic 85 class lifeboat arrives at Port Erin RNLI". RNLI. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  13. 1 2 Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. pp. 339–340. ISBN 0907605893.
  14. ↑ "British Empire Medal (Civil Division)". The Gazette. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  15. 1 2 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society. pp. 16–41.
  16. ↑ Farr, Grahame; Morris, Jeff (1992). List of British Lifeboats Part 1 & 2 (Second ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society. pp. 42–53.
  17. ↑ Leonard & Denton 2026, p. 24–43.
  18. ↑ Morris, Jeff (2008). List of British Lifeboats Part 3 (Third ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society. p. 3.
  19. ↑ Leonard & Denton 2026, pp. 62–67.
  20. ↑ "New lifeboat handed over". isleofman.com. 3 May 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
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