Cromer Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Cromer in the English county of Norfolk.[1] The station operates two lifeboats – one for inshore work and the other for offshore work.
| Cromer Lifeboat Station | |
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| General information | |
| Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
| Location | Cromer Lifeboat Station, Cromer Pier, Cromer, Norfolk |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 52°56′3.4″N 1°18′5.84″E / 52.934278°N 1.3016222°E |
| Opened | 1804 as Norfolk Shipwreck Association |
| Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Fabricated steelwork and concrete |
The current lifeboat station on the end of Cromer Pier was re-built between 1997 and 1999 to replace the smaller 1923 one which was re-located to Southwold in Suffolk where it is used as a lifeboat museum. The new boathouse cost approximately £3 million which was funded by bequests and private donations.[2] Cromer Lifeboat station is one of the most famous of the lifeboat stations operated by the RNLI.[3]
There has been a lifeboat service operated from Cromer for two centuries – predating the establishment of the RNLI. The volunteer crews at Cromer have gained a record of gallantry stretching back to the beginnings of the RNLI. Some of the most notable rescues and service have been carried out by famous coxswains such as Henry George Blogg GC BEM and Henry "Shrimp" Thomas Davies BEM and their crews. To date there have been awards of 45 Bronze medals, 8 Silver medals and 3 Gold medals.
History
In the early days of the station the lifeboats were kept outdoors on the east jetty. From 1804 the privately operated service was funded by a subscription fund which was administered by a local committee led by Lord Suffield, the third baron of Gunton Hall.[3] Other dignitaries on the committee included George Wyndham of Cromer Hall, Thomas Mickleburgh, a local merchant, Joseph Gurney, a Cromer draper and Benjamin Rust who was a grocer.[3] This was the situation of the service until 1857, when with the lifeboat organisation falling into financial troubles and the lifeboats falling into a bad state of repair, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution took over the Cromer station along with other Norfolk Association stations.[3] By this time the association had built a lifeboat house which once stood some 100 yards from the high-water mark close to what is now the inshore lifeboat station. The RNLI altered and renovated this station at a cost of £46.2s.7d.[4] but by the mid-1860s this station had outlived its usefulness and a new boathouse was planned. The new site was on the east gangway and in 1867[3] work started on the new station. The new boathouse work also included building an extension to the sea walls and a slipway across the top of the beach. The work cost £476.4s.0d[3] and was carried out by a local builder by the name of E. Simmons.[3] The cost of the station was met by Benjamin Bond Cabbell[3] who had also bought the new lifeboat for the station.
Station Honours
The following are awards made at Cromer[5][6]
- Henry George Blogg - 1924[7]
- George Cross
converted from EGM
- Henry George Blogg - 1941
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1941[8]
- Henry Thomas Davies, Coxswain - 1970
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1917
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1927 (Second Service Award)
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1941 (Third Service Award)
- Hon Auberon Herbert - 1867
- William Davies - 1917
- Private Stewart Holmes - 1917
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1932
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1934 (Second Service Award)
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1939 (Third Service Award)
- John James Davies, Second Coxswain - 1941
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1941 (Fourth Service Award)
- George Allen, crew member - 1917
- James Allen, crew member - 1917
- Edward Allen, crew member - 1917
- William Allen, crew member - 1917
- Henry Balls, crew member - 1917
- Charles Cox, crew member - 1917
- George Cox, crew member - 1917
- Leslie Harrison, crew member - 1917
- Tom Kirby, crew member - 1917
- Gilbert Mayers, crew member - 1917
- Walter Rix, crew member - 1917
- William Rix, crew member - 1917
- Edward Allen, crew member - 1927 (Second Service Award)
- Leslie Harrison, crew member - 1927 (Second Service Award)
- George Balls, crew member - 1927
- John James Davies (Senior), crew member - 1927
- Robert Davies, crew member - 1927
- William Thomas Davies, crew member - 1927
- Richard J Baker, crew member - 1927
- George Cox, crew member - 1927
- Harry William Davies, crew member - 1927
- James William Davies, crew member - 1927
- John James Davies (Junior), crew member - 1927
- Sidney Charles Harrison, crew member - 1927
- John James Davies (Snr), Bowman - 1931 (Second Service Award)
- John Davies (Snr), Second Coxswain - 1939 (Third Service Award)
- Henry William Davies, Mechanic - 1939 (Second Service Award)
- James William Davies, Assistant Mechanic - 1939 (Second Service Award)
- Henry William Davies, Mechanic - 1941 (Third Service Award)
- Leslie James Harrison, Second Coxswain - 1941 (Third Service Award)
- Harold V Linder, Mechanic - 1941
- John James Davies (Snr), Second Coxswain - 1941 (Fourth Service Award)
- Henry William Davies, Mechanic - 1941 (Fourth Service Award)
- Edward W Allen, Signalman - 1941 (Third Service Award) (posthumous)
- James William Davies, Assistant Mechanic - 1941 (Third Service Award)
- William Thomas Davies, Bowman - 1941 (Second Service Award)
- Sidney Charles Harrison, crew member - 1941 (Second Service Award)
- John James Davies (Jnr), crew member - 1941 (Second Service Award)
- Henry Thomas Davies, crew member - 1941
- James Richard Davies, crew member - 1941
- Robert C Davies, crew member - 1941
- William H Davies, crew member - 1941
- Dr Paul Barclay MC TD - 1974
- Clive Richard Rayment, Helmsman - 1981
- Richard William Davies, Coxswain - 1994
- Medal service certificates
- Frank H Muirhead, crew member - 1981
- Christopher B Craske, crew member - 1981
- The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
- H T Davies BEM, Coxswain - 1974
- R W Davies, crew member - 1974
- Richard Davies, Coxswain - 1989
- William Davies, Second Coxswain - 1998
- Richard Davies, Coxswain - 1999
- A Collective Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
- R W Davies, Coxswain - 1991
- W T Davies, Second Coxswain - 1991
- R J Hannah, Mechanic - 1991
- J W H Jonas, Assistant Mechanic - 1991
- P Jefferies, crew member - 1991
- P Everitt, crew member - 1991
- H Balls, crew member - 1991
- J Howard, crew member - 1991
- Silver Medal of the Canine Defence League
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1932
- A Gold Watch awarded by The Queen of The Netherlands
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1927
- A Silver watch awarded by The Queen of The Netherlands
- Each of the other members of the lifeboat crew - 1927
- Silver medal and a diploma awarded by The Italian Government
- Henry George Blogg, Coxswain - 1932
- Bronze medals and diploma awarded by The Italian Government
- Each of the other members of the lifeboat crew - 1932
- The French Maritime Cross awarded by The French Government
- Henry Thomas Davies, Coxswain - 1948
- The Life-saving medal awarded by The French Government
- Each of the other 11 members of the lifeboat crew - 1948
Cromer Lifeboats
The station operated two offshore boats from 1923. The second boat was replaced by an inshore lifeboat (ILB) in 1967.
All-weather lifeboats
| ON[a] | Op. No.[b] | Name | In service [11] | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | Unnamed | 1804–1830 | Greathead | |
| – | – | Unnamed | 1830–1858 | 31-foot North Country-class (P&S) | Greathead-class? [12] |
| – | – | Unnamed | 1858–1868 | 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) | Peake-class? [12] |
| – | – | Benjamin Bond Cabbell | 1868–1884 | 34-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | [12] |
| 12 | – | Benjamin Bond Cabbell II | 1884–1902 | 35ft Cromer (P&S) | |
| 495 | – | Louisa Heartwell | 1902–1923 | Liverpool (P&S) | |
| 670 | – | H F Bailey | 1923–1924 | Norfolk and Suffolk | (renamed to John and Mary Meiklam of Gladswood when transferred) |
| 694 | – | H F Bailey | 1924–1928 | 45ft Watson | |
| 714 | – | H F Bailey II | 1928–1929 | 45ft 6in Watson | |
| 694 | – | H F Bailey | 1929–1935 | 45ft Watson | |
| 777 | – | H F Bailey III | 1935–1945 | 46ft Watson | |
| 840 | – | Millie Walton, Henry Blogg | 1945–1966 | 46ft Watson | Millie Walton renamed in 1946 |
| 990 | 48-03 | Ruby and Arthur Reed | 1967–1984 | 48ft 6in Oakley Mk.II | |
| 926 | – | Guy and Clare Hunter | 1984–1985 | 46ft 9in Watson | |
| 1097 | 47-006 | Ruby and Arthur Reed II | 1985–1996 | Tyne | |
| 1189 | 12-30 | Her Majesty The Queen | 1996–1999 | Mersey | Carriage launched during boathouse rebuilding |
| 1097 | 47-006 | Ruby and Arthur Reed II | 1999–2007 | Tyne | |
| 1162 | 12-004 | Royal Shipwright | 2007–2008 | Mersey | Carriage launched during slipway rebuilding |
| 1287 | 16-07 | Lester | 2008– | Tamar |
No. 2 lifeboat
When the station received its first motor lifeboat, a No. 2 station was established located in the old boathouse. It was closed in 1967 when the station received an inshore lifeboat.
| ON[a] | Op. No.[b] | Name | In service [11] | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 495 | Louisa Heartwell | 1923–1931 | Liverpool (P&S) | ||
| 514 | Alexandra | 1931–1934 | Liverpool (P&S) | ||
| 770 | Harriot Dixon | 1934–1964 | Liverpool | ||
| 834 | Jose Neville | 1964–1964 | Liverpool | Relief fleet | |
| 980 | 37-13 | William Henry and Mary King | 1964–1967 | 37ft Oakley Mk I |
Inshore lifeboat
| Op. No.[b] | Name | In service [11] | Class | Comments | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-101 | Unnamed | 1967–1970 | D-class (RFD PB16) | ||
| D-26 | Unnamed | 1970–1971 | D-class (RFD PB16) | ||
| D-197 | Unnamed | 1972–1984 | D-class (RFD PB16) | ||
| D-307 | Spirit of Round Table | 1984–1992 | D-class (EA16) | ||
| D-436 | Chloe | 1992–2001 | D-class (EA16) | ||
| D-568 | Seahorse III | 2001–2010 | D-class (EA16) |  | |
| D-734 | George & Muriel | 2010–2022 | D-class (IB1) | ||
| D-868 | Mr Eric Sharpe (Civil Service No.54) | 2022– | D-class (IB1) | [13] |
Gallery
The old lifeboat station that now houses the ILB at Cromer
RNLB Lester
The Cromer Mersey-class Lifeboat "Her Majesty the Queen" (ON1189, temporarily on station during boathouse rebuilding) on the beach at Cromer near the old lifeboat station
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