Aldeburgh lifeboat station
Aldeburgh lifeboat station.
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station is located in Suffolk
Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationCrag Path, Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5BP
CountryEngland
Coordinates52°9′11″N 1°36′10″E / 52.15306°N 1.60278°E / 52.15306; 1.60278
Opened1851
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Aldeburgh in the English county of Suffolk.[1] the lifeboat station evolved from the Suffolk Shipwreck Association station in 1851 which was originally in Sizewell and there has been a lifeboat here since that date. The present station has two boats on station. These are the Mersey-class lifeboat RNLB Freddie Cooper (ON 1193) and the D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat RNLB Susan Scott (D-808). The station covers the coast between Harwich station to the south, and Southwold station to the North.

New boathouse

The current lifeboat station was built in 1994 to replace a smaller older one on the same site. The new station gave cover for the first time to the boat and Talus MB-H tractor. Incorporated into the design there is a public viewing platform. The station has showers and toilet facilities for the crew and a heated store for their foul weather suits. There are also further equipment storage rooms. This new boathouse was built using part of the bequest of Mrs Eugenie Boucher who had died in 1992.

Fleet

Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station currently operates two lifeboats. The All weather Lifeboat is a Mersey-class lifeboat and is called the Freddie Cooper (ON 1193) and has been on station since November 1993. The lifeboat is 38 feet long and is self-righting. She is powered by two 285 hp turbo charged Caterpillar 3208T diesel engines and she has a range of 140 nautical miles. These two engines push the boat through the water to a top speed of 16 knots. Fully laden she weighs 13 tons and she is operated by a volunteer crew of six. The Lifeboat has a capacity to rescue 43 survivors (self-righting up to 21). She was purchased using a bequest to the RNLI from the late Mrs Winifred Cooper in memory of her husband Freddie.

The inshore lifeboat Christine was on service at Aldeburgh between April 2007 and 2017. This boat was funded by the bequest of Florence Winifred Kemp in memory of her daughter. The Christine normally has a crew of three or 4 and is powered by a 50 hp outboard engine. She is capable of a top speed of 25 knots. She has the capability to be beached easily with an easy refloat and is ideal for rescues close to shore and on the sandbanks which are along the coast at Aldeburgh.

In 2017, she was replaced with the Inshore boat D-808 Susan Scott[2]

RNLI Headquarters originally announced in 2016 that Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station would be getting a Shannon-class to replace the current boat, a Mersey-class. The station should have received the new boat in 2021. In July 2023, the RNLI announced that the Mersey-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) at Aldeburgh will be replaced by an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat.[3]

No. 1 Station

ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name In service [4] Class Comments Photo
Grafton 1826–1851
Unnamed 1851–1853 From Sizewell
Pasco 1826–1851
George Hounsfield 1870–1890
304 Aldeburgh 1890–1899 46ft 3in Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) Capsized 7 December 1899. 8 men died as a result this accident
270 Margaret 1899–1902 44ft Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) Ex Winterton
482 City of Winchester 1902–1928 46ft Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S)
620 William Macpherson 1930 43ft Watson-class Ex Campbeltown. First motor lifeboat at station
751 Abdy Beauclerk 1931–1958 41ft Watson-class
946 Alfred and Patience Gottwald 1959–1979 42ft Watson-class
948 Charles Dibdin
(Civil Service No.32)		 1979–1982 42ft Watson-class Ex Walmer
1068 37-40 James Cable 1982–1993 Rother-class Last displacement hull boat on station
1193 12-34 Freddie Cooper 1993– Mersey-class

No. 2 Station

ON Name In service [4] Class Comments Photo
545 Edward Z Dresden 1905–1929 38ft Liverpool-class (P&S)
607 James Leith 1930–1935 42ft Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) Ex Caister, Pakefield
665 Baltic[5] 1936–1940 38ft Liverpool-class (P&S) Ex Wells
832 Lucy Lavers 1940–1959 Liverpool-class

Inshore lifeboats

Op No Name In service [4] Class Comments
D-111 Unnamed 1977–1980 D-class
D-270 Unnamed 1980–1988 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-376 Unnamed 1988–1997 D-class (EA16)
D-520 Bob Savage 1997–2007 D-class (EA16)
D-673 Christine 2007–2017 D-class (IB1)
D-808 Susan Scott 2017– D-class (IB1)
  1. ↑ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ↑ Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

References

  1. ↑ OS Explorer Map 231 – Southwold & Bungay. ISBN 978 0 319 23805 9.
  2. ↑ "Lifesavers at Aldeburgh RNLI Lifeboat Station were joined by special guests for the official naming ceremony of their new lifeboat on Saturday 10 June". RNLI. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) can today confirmed that the Mersey-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) in Aldeburgh will be replaced by an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat". RNLI. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
  5. ↑ Wells-next-the-Sea Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas & Russell, Paul. Publisher:Tempus publishing Ltd, Edition: first 2006. work: Appendix 2. Lifeboat details, page 115. ISBN 0752438751
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