Wick Lifeboat Station

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Disaster struck Wick and Caithness on what is still called "Black Saturday", the 19 August 1848. Fishing boats, which had started out in calm weather on Fri 18 August, found themselves in huge seas and a full gale on the Saturday. Ultimately, 18 vessels were wrecked, and 37 Wick fisherman lost their lives.^[4]

A lifeboat was then ordered to be placed at Wick by the British Fisheries Society (BFS), and handed to the care of the Wick and Pulteneytown Harbour Trust. She was a 28-foot 12-oar boat, thought to be built to the design of Henry Greathead, but actually built by Edward Oliver, of South Shields. Costing £169, she arrived in Wick on a steamer, on 11 November 1848.^[5]

A replacement boat would be supplied again by the BFS in 1857, and then, 12 years later, when the second boat was found to be completely useless due to dry rot, another was provided in 1870. In 1872, the BFS also funded the construction of a boathouse. In 1894, after 24 years further service, the Wick and Pulteneytown Harbour Trust realised that their boat needed replacing, but the benefactor of their boats had disappeared, the BFS having been wound up in 1893.^[6][5]

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 8 November 1894, it was agreed that the station would be taken over by the RNLI. Hector Sutherland, Town Clerk at Wick, and Honorary Secretary of Ackergill lifeboat station, was also appointed Honorary Secretary for Wick lifeboat station, both stations being run by the same branch committee.^[5][7]

The RNLI immediately ordered a new boat, a 34-foot Self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with both sails and (10) oars, constructed by Woolfe, costing £345, which arrived in Wick on 3 December 1895. On 10 December 1895, the boat was named John Avins at a ceremony at the Rifle Drill Hall, Pulteneytown, the boat funded by the legacy of Mr J. Avins of Birmingham.^[5]

In a storm of April 1905, the boat was launched to the aid of four fishing boats in difficulties in Wick Bay. Having just cleared the harbour entrance, the John Avins was hit with a succession of large waves, and smashed against the North Quay wall. Four crew that were washed overboard were recovered to the lifeboat, but the boat was then swept up the Quay and dashed on the rocks. Fortunately all crew were brought ashore, but the boat was badly damaged and subsequently withdrawn from service. A relief lifeboat, the Oldham (ON 335), was placed at Wick, remaining there for the next 8 years, but was never launched on service.^[5]

In 1913, the RNLI decided to close the station temporarily, whilst a new boathouse and roller-slipway was constructed at Salmon Rock to house a new motor lifeboat. Costing £4000, the boathouse was completed in 1916, but owing to the First World War, it would be 1921 before the lifeboat was ready, and Wick would receive their first motor-powered lifeboat, the 45ft Watson-class Frederick and Emma (ON 659).^[2]

At 02:25 on 21 September 1942, the 46ft Watson-class lifeboat City of Edinburgh (ON 802) was launched in complete darkness and torrential rain, to the aid of the tugboat St. Olaves and the motor-barge Gold Crown, both driven ashore near John O'Groats. Sighted at dawn, 27 men were rescued from the barge, and four from the tug. Cold and exhausted, the lifeboat men revived them with rum. For this service, Coxswain Neil Stewart Jr. was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.^[8][9]

In 1994, the Tyne-class lifeboat 47-016 Norman Salveson (ON 1121) was placed on a mooring in the Inner harbour. With the lifeboat now moored afloat, a new station building was required near to the lifeboat, providing up to date crew facilities. Work was started in January 1997 and completed in the August of the same year. On 13 February 1997, Fraserburgh received their current lifeboat, the 14-20 Roy Barker II (ON 1224). Mr Frederick Roy Barker (1909–1992), known as Roy, left his entire estate to the RNLI, known as the Roy Barker Memorial Fund, with the request that all income be used to fund lifeboats. Wick received one of three Trent-class lifeboats from the fund.^[10]

A pontoon berth was constructed in 2007 at a cost of £270,000.^[2]

The following are awards made at Wick:^[2][9]

• RNIPLS Silver Medal

Andrew Lake, Chief Officer, H.M. Coastguard, Wick – 1828

Robert MacAlister – 1839

James Wishart – 1846

William Williamson, Branch Pilot – 1848

• RNLI Silver Medal

Cmdr. John Tudor, RN, Agent for British Fisheries Society, Wick – 1857

• Silver Medal for Heroism awarded by The King of Norway

Neil Stewart Jnr, Coxswain – 1956

• RNLI Bronze Medal

Neil Stewart Jnr., Coxswain – 1942

Donald McKay, Coxswain Mechanic – 1984

• Board of Trade Bronze Medal

Wick Lifeboat Crew – 1860

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Walter McLeod McPhee, Coxswain – 1991

Walter McLeod McPhee, Coxswain – 1992

Ian Alexander Cormack, Acting Second Coxswain – 1992

• Vellum Service Certificate

John Martin, Motor Mechanic – 1992

Alexander Durand, Assistant Mechanic – 1992

Hugh Gunn, Assistant Winchman – 1992

• British Empire Medal

Neil Stewart Jnr., Coxswain – 1970NYH^[11]

In memory of those lost whilst serving at Wick:

• Lost when the Wick Harbour lifeboat capsized, on service to the Netherlands galiot Vronia Santina, 8 September 1857.^[12]

Alexander Bain

British Fisheries Society lifeboats

More information Name, Built ...

Name	Built	On station[5]	Class	Comments[13]
Unnamed	1848	1848−1858	28-foot non-self-righting (P&S)	[Note 1]
Unnamed	1858	1858−1870	34-foot Peake Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 2]
Unnamed	1870	1870−1895	34-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 3]

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RNLI lifeboats

Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats

More information ON, Name ...

ON[a]	Name	Built	On station[14]	Class	Comments[13]
385	John Avins	1895	1895−1905	34-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 4]
335	Reserve No.4A	1892	1905−1913	34-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[Note 5] Previously Oldham at Abersoch.

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Station Closed 1913–1921

Motor lifeboats

More information name=ON, Op.No. ...

name=ON	Op.No.[b]	Name	Built	On station[14]	Class	Comments
659	−	Frederick and Emma	1921	1921−1938	45-foot Watson
802	−	City of Edinburgh	1938	1938−1968	46-foot Watson
887	−	Sir Geoffrey Baring	1951	1968−1970	46-foot 9in Watson	Previously at Clacton-on-Sea
1016	48-13	Princess Marina	1970	1970−1988	Oakley
1121	47-016	Norman Salveson	1988	1988−1997	Tyne
1224	14-20	Roy Barker II	1997	1997−	Trent

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1. [a]

   ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
2. [b]

   Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

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