Barmouth Lifeboat Station

Following a request by the Rev. Frederick Ricketts, a lifeboat was provided to the town by the RNIPLS in 1828. The first lifeboat was a 26 ft (7.9 m) six-oared Palmer type, which arrived aboard the sloop Dove on 25 October 1828. The unnamed boat was operated by the Harbour Trust until 1851.^[3]

Local funding provided the first boathouse. It was initially said that a new boathouse would be constructed, but it is possible that an older 1800s building was converted. There are reports of a stone building measuring 30 ft (9.1 m) x 9 ft (2.7 m), with a doorway 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) x 6 ft (1.8 m), and costing £95. It is thought that this building is now the Harbour Master's office.^[3]

On 28 December 1851, with the existing lifeboat deteriorating, Capt. Kenyon of Barmouth wrote to the RNIPLS, requesting that the lifeboat be replaced. In October 1853, a new 27 ft (8.2 m) Peake-class self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (eight) oars, was built by Forrestt of Limehouse at a cost of £135, and was delivered to Caernarfon free of charge by the London and North Western and the Chester and Holyhead Railway companies. The lifeboat was then sailed down to Barmouth by the crew.^[3][4]

In 1859, both the Barmouth and Criccieth lifeboats were taken away, and were extended by 6 ft (1.8 m), the Barmouth lifeboat now being 33-foot-long (10 m), rowing 12 oars.^[3]

In order to accommodate the boat, a new boathouse was constructed 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) south east of the town, where the lifeboat could launch directly into the Afon Mawddach. However, in 1864, the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway began work on the Pwllheli to Aberystwyth Railway, which required the construction of the Barmouth Bridge across the Afon Mawddach. As a result, the line was bridged right over the top of the slipway, creating a unique situation where the boathouse was located to the north of the railway line, and the lifeboat launched underneath the railway line, to the river on the south side.^[3]

The third lifeboat at Barmouth was the Ellen, a 10-oared (double banked) vessel, placed on station in 1867. She was provided by an 'anonymous' gift, from a lady known only as E.P.S. In 1885, the Jones-Gibb (ON 64), with 12 oars double-banked, the gift of Mrs F. G. Smart of Tunbridge Wells, was placed at Barmouth, remaining in service until 1905. She was followed by a second Jones-Gibb (ON 538), which was in service until 1939.^[5]

In 1939, Barmouth would finally receive a motor-powered lifeboat, some thirty years after the first ones were introduced. The 32 ft (9.8 m) boat was one of only nine Surf-class lifeboats constructed, a lightweight vessel suited to shallow conditions. It employed twin 12-hp "Weyburn F2" engines, which drove two internal Hotchkiss Internal Cone water-jet propulsion units, rather than standard propellers, and was capable of 90 mi (140 km) without refueling.^[6][7]

The new lifeboat, which cost £3,492, was funded from the legacy of Mrs. M. A. Ardern, of Prestbury, Cheshire. At a ceremony on 8 Aug 1939, a service of dedication was carried out by the Venerable Thomas A. Williams, BA., Archdeacon of Merioneth, with singing led by the Barmouth Male Voice Choir, accompanied by the Harlech Silver Prize Band. Lady Harlech then named the lifeboat Lawrence Ardern, Stockport (ON 817) in accordance with the donor's wishes.^[8]

In 1964, in response to an increasing amount of water-based leisure activity, the RNLI placed 25 small fast Inshore lifeboats around the country. These were easily launched with just a few people, ideal to respond quickly to local emergencies. More boats were gradually deployed, and a D-class (RFD PB16) Inshore lifeboat (ILB) was placed at Barmouth in June 1967.^[9][10]

For a service on 21 June 1971, two crew members of the ILB, and medical advisor Dr Howarth, were each awarded the RNLI Silver Medal, and collectively awarded The Ralph Glister Award for 1971, for their efforts to try to save a woman who had fallen 80 ft (24 m) from a cliff at Friog.^[10][11]

On 20 March 1982, Barmouth received a new All-weather lifeboat, a Rother-class lifeboat, built by William Osborne of Littlehampton, costing £240,000, and the first lifeboat to be fitted with radar. A naming ceremony was planned for later in the year, to coincide with a Royal Visit to Barmouth, and on a cold wet 25 November 1982, Diana, Princess of Wales, named the boat Princess of Wales (ON 1063).^[3]

A new lifeboat station was constructed on the promenade, to the west of the town in 2004. Costing £1.23 million, it provided up-to-date facilities for the crew, and is able to house the All-weather lifeboat, the D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat, and both launch tractors.^[10]

The station received a new Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat on 10 March 2019. The £2.2 million lifeboat was primarily funded by The Basil Larsen 1999 Charitable Trust, and at a ceremony on 8 June 2019, the boat was formally handed to the RNLI. She was then passed to the care of the Barmouth branch of the RNLI, and named 13-30 Ella Larsen (ON 1337).^[12]

Barmouth is an RNLI "Explore" category station whereby, subject to operational requirements and availability of staff, visitors can look around the station. An RNLI Visitor Centre, and gift shop, are also housed within the building.

The following are awards made at Barmouth:^[10][13]

• RNIPLS Silver Medal

  For rescuing seven men from the vessel Neptune on 2 February 1825

  Edmund Lewis, seaman – 1825

• RNLI Silver Medal

  For rescuing a woman who had fallen over a cliff on 21 June 1971

  John Henry Stockford, crew member – 1971

  Colin Pugh, crew member – 1971

  Dr Robert Haworth, Hon. Medical Advisor – 1971

• The Ralph Glister Award 1971
  (for the most meritorious service of the year performed by the crew of an inshore lifeboat)

  For rescuing a woman who had fallen over a cliff on 21 June 1971

  John Henry Stockford, crew member – 1971

  Colin Pugh, crew member – 1971

  Dr Robert Haworth, Hon. Medical Advisor – 1971

• RNLI Bronze Medal

  For rescuing two men from the fishing vessel Boy Nick on 22 November 1978.

  Evan David Jones, Coxswain – 1979

• 'The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum'

  For the rescue of two men from the vessel Isabel on 18 September 1858

  Rev. O. Lloyd, Honorary Secretary – 1858

  For saving the boat and crew of the American ship Troy on 19 November 1859

  Rev. O. Lloyd, Honorary Secretary – 1858

  For rescuing four swimmers off Barmouth on 16 July 1957

  George Berridge – 1957

  William Morris, Motor Mechanic – 1957

  For the rescue of three from the trawler Gardelwen on 31 October 1982

  Edward Leonard Vaughan, Acting Coxswain – 1982

• Vellum Service Certificate

  For the rescue of three from the trawler Gardelwen on 31 October 1982

  Kenneth Ingram, Mechanic – 1982

  Harry Allday, Acting Second Coxswain – 1982

  Robert Buckley, crew member – 1982

  John Stockford, crew member – 1982

  Llewelyn Griffin, crew member – 1982

• Maud Smith Award 1957
  (for the bravest act of lifesaving during the year by a member of a lifeboat crew).

  For rescuing four swimmers off Barmouth on 16 July 1957

  William Morris, Motor Mechanic – 1958

• Testimonial on Parchment, awarded by the Royal Humane Society

  For entering the sea to rescue a man who had jumped from Barmouth Viaduct on 19 October 1980

  John Henry Stockford – 1980

• British Empire Medal

  George Kenneth Jeffs, Coxswain / Assistant Mechanic – 1989NYH^[14]

• List of RNLI stations
• List of former RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats