Margate Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station located in Margate in the English county of Kent. The station is over 160 years old. Its crews have earned a number of gallantry awards, including five silver and 1 bronze RNLI medals for bravery.
History.
Original location.
The first lifeboat station in Margate was served by a lifeboat called "Angela and Hannah" which had been given to the town in 1857 by Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts. In 1860, the RNLI took responsibility for the lifeboat and its station.
On 3 January 1861 the Margate committee proposed a design for a new boathouse to be located on land leased from the South Eastern and Chatham Railway company. The RNLI inspector instead suggested that the existing boathouse on the stone pier be refitted to suit the RNLI's needs. The reworked boathouse was opened on 31 August that year.
The new lifeboat and launch carriage was delivered on 4 August 1866, and after a public procession through the town was launched from the new station on 7 August where a public demonstration took place. The new lifeboat was called "Quiver No.1" after "The Quiver" magazine, a periodical of the time which had provided donations from subscriptions toward the cost of 5 new lifeboats in total, (2 of those for Margate) which were put into operation around the coast of Britain and Cork in Ireland from 1866 to 1883, all the boats were named "Quiver" after the magazine. "Quiver No.1" a 34' self-righter was launched 34 times and saved 70 lives in her time at Margate. It was in operation 1866-1883. "Quiver No.1" (ON 265) (the second Margate Quiver) was a 37' self-righter and was launched 68 times saving 61 lives. It was stationed there from 1883-1898 before being put into the reserve lifeboat fleet 1898-1912 where it was put to use in 4 other locations before retiring.
In 1867 it became apparent that the launch system and location of the station on the stone pier had a few shortfalls. Among them was that on several occasions the horses that were used to launch the boat had refused to face the heavy sea after being buffeted about by the fierce waves, thus causing delayed launches. On 4 February 1898 another heavy sea took the 8 launching horses off their feet and threw them around, some went under the launching carriage resulting in the loss of 4 of the horses
Move to Margate Jetty.
On 9 December 1896, it was suggested that the lifeboat should be moved to Margate Jetty, where two slipways would be built to provide an operating capacity of two lifeboats, at an estimated cost of £3,045. A storm damaged the slipways during construction, revealing shortfalls in the design which necessitated revisions to the height of the slipway decks. Subsequent disagreements between the RNLI, the local lifeboat committee and the Margate Pier and Harbour Company further delayed the completion. The slipways, designated Stations 1 and 2, were declared open by politician James Lowther on 14 May 1898. That same day, two new lifeboats were handed over to the station and were christened "Civil Service No.1" (ON 415) and "Eliza Harriet" (ON 411).
By 21 March 1925, construction of a new boathouse and slipway to accommodate a new Watson-class motor lifeboat was completed. The boathouse was 61 ft long and 22 feet wide and was fitted with a petrol-driven winch and dynamo to provide lighting. The new lifeboat, the "Lord Southborough" (ON 688), arrived from London where she had been on exhibition at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. Prior to her arrival at Margate, she was involved in a collision at Gravesend with a shrimping boat which ultimately sank. This episode turned out to be the first service the new lifeboat performed when she rescued the boat's two crewmen.
In 1927 the No. 1 Station was closed and the "Eliza Harriet" was retired after 30 years service. The demolition of the western slipway completed across several months in 1928.
World War II.
The Second World War saw the station fall under the control of the Royal Navy, although day-to-day running was still carried out by the branch personnel. Coxswain Edward Parker was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his work in taking the "Lord Southborough" to the beaches during the Dunkirk evacuation. Following Dunkirk, the Margate Station found itself one of the busiest lifeboat stations during the Battle of Britain, along with the nearby Ramsgate station
1950s–1970s.
The "Lord Southborough" was retired from the station in 1951. On 17 May 1951 the station took delivery of a new all-weather lifeboat called "North Foreland (Civil Service No. 11)" (ON 888), a 46 ft 9in Watson-class motor lifeboat. The boathouse sustained damage following a severe storm in 1953, requiring the complete replacement of the floor
On 20 May 1960 the Margate Station celebrated its centenary under the control of the RNLI. Records show that during that period, the station's crew had rescued more than 1,800 people.
In 1966 the station began to operate an inshore inflatable lifeboat D-class (RFD PB16) with the designation (D-99)
In September 1976, the Margate Pier and Harbour Company closed the iron Margate Jetty to the public as it had become unsafe, but provision was made for the crew to carry on using the jetty for the lifeboat station. After several years of debate, it was decided in 1977 that a new station would be built on shore, and a new carriage-launched Rother-class lifeboat would be supplied.
1978 North Sea storm surge.
On 11 January 1978 a violent storm with gale-force winds and waves hit the North Kent coast. This washed away most of the iron jetty, leaving just the boathouse and slipway with no access to the severely damaged lifeboat house from the shore. Members of the crew were airlifted to the boathouse by Royal Air Force helicopter to launch the "North Foreland", which was stranded inside. The "North Foreland" was taken into Margate Harbour where she remained until she was transferred to Ramsgate where she operated until the new lifeboat was ready to take over at Margate. The inshore station had also sustained damage and that was temporarily housed at Margate Police Station.
Since 1978.
Work began on the present lifeboat station in March 1978 and was completed by August 1978. The new Rother-class lifeboat "Silver Jubilee" (ON 1046) was handed over in November 1978. The naming ceremony took place on 21 November 1979 by HRH Princess Margaret in replacement of HRH Princess Alexandra who was unable to make the journey that day
In the mid-1980s the Margate Station Committee split into two organizations; the Margate RNLI Fundraising Branch and the Margate Lifeboat Operational Committee, which handles day-to-day operations. In 1991 the "Silver Jubilee" was replaced by the Mersey-class lifeboat "Leonard Kent" (ON 1177). The naming ceremony was conducted on 21 May 1992, this time by HRH Princess Alexandra who missed the opportunity of naming the previous boat through illness
In 1998 the boathouse was enlarged and upgraded.
In May 1999 a new D class lifeboat, "Tigger Too" (D-545), was placed in service. It was replaced by the D class "Tigger Three" (D-706) in December 2008.
On 11 November 2011 HRH Queen Elizabeth ll visited Margate where she toured the old town and stood for the two minute silence at 11.00am. Later as Patron of the RNLI she visited the Lifeboat Station and met the crew.
Following the failure to obtain planning permission for a new station building to house a Shannon-class lifeboat, the "Leonard Kent" (ON 1177) was withdrawn in May 2021, and replaced by a B-Class Rigid Inflatable lifeboat (RIB). All Weather Lifeboats (ALB) cover being provided by flank stations.
In 2024 Margate Lifeboat Station commemorates 200 years of the RNLI There are two boats on station, The fast B-Class Atlantic 85 RIB named Colonel Stock (B930) and the D-Class inflatable named Alfred Alexander Staden (D841).
Other equipment included the Talus MB-H
 T107 crawler tractor launch vehicle which continued in launching the Atlantic 85 after the ALB Leonard Kent was withdrawn from service at Margate and returned to Poole where she took on a refit, after which it then went back into service in 2022 replacing Newcastle's Mersey class boat.
Margate has had 2 previous Talus MB-H vehicles starting with unit T111 in 1991 which was replaced with T109 in 2003. T107 had been in place since 2013.
There is also a New Holland Boomer 2035 tractor TA-103 used to launch the D-class.
On 1 October 2024 T107 was withdrawn from service and replaced with a specifically designed RIB launch vehicle Talus MB-4H tractor TW65H. This being a MK3 version of the tractor which is brand new and Margate being the first station to receive the model. After 3 days of training it went into service on 4 October.
Station honours.
The following are awards made at Margate
Coxswain Edward Drake Parker - 1940
William Grant, Coxswain - 1871
William Grant, Coxswain - 1877 (Second Service Award)
William Crawford, Honorary Secretary - 1893
Second Coxswain Steven Clayson - 1905
Dennis R Price, Coxswain - 1952
Alfred Wilson, crew member - 1951
Alfred Wilson, crew member - 1951
Dennis R Price, Coxswain - 1959
David E G Lacey, Helmsman - 1969
Christopher Weatherly Brown, crew member - 1969
Albert Joseph Scott, Helmsman - 1971
Guy William Addington - 2022
References.
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