Welcome to our second Railway 200 Friday of the year! We are continuing our year-long celebration of Railway 200 through monthly posts that highlight connections between rail and maritime heritage. Today, we are exploring the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and their links with rail in the UK. Having celebrated their 200th anniversary last year, the RNLI has always had a connection with the developing UK rail network, primarily through the delivery of lifeboats to their stations.
In the July 1867 volume of The Lifeboat Journal, it is stated that almost all lifeboats were transported entirely or partially by rail to their stations. Throughout the 1860s, the Journal tells the stories of several vessels transported by rail, primarily from London to different locations along the UK Coast: the Albert Edward and the Royal Wiltshire, in 1864; and the Earl of Carrick, in 1865, are some examples. This transport service was provided to the RNLI free of charge by the railway companies and greatly assisted their operation.
As time goes on, less detail is given in the Journal, but vessels continued being delivered by rail, including some of those which are listed on the National Register of Historic Vessels today, such as James Stevens No.10 in 1899, Ryder in 1902, James & Mary Walker in 1904, and Jane Hannah MacDonald III in 1910. When transferring from one station to another, railways were also used, as was the case with Henry Finlay, transported from Ardrossan to Teignmouth in 1931.
Through the Lifeboat Magazine Archive, we can find other ways that the RNLI and railway companies and staff worked together. For example, in April 1926, the Magazine described how a passing train helped save the lives of ten fishermen of the herring drifter Eyedale which was wrecked off Berwick-on-Tweed. The driver and fireman of the train saw the distress signal sent from the vessel and quickly passed the information onto the coast guard and the local lifeboat station. Less than two hours later, lifeboat Proctor was picking up the sailors from the doomed fishing vessel, with no loss of life.
Sometimes, the lifeboat crew were also current or former railway staff. John Howells was one of these, a Coxswain who served in the Fishguard Station in Wales, on Charterhouse, one of the first three lifeboats designed and built to have a motor from their inception. Howells is best known for his role in the rescue of seven crew members from the Dutch Motor Schooner Hermina. For this service, Howells received a Gold Medal from the RNLI, as well as a Gold Watch from the Dutch Government and the Medal of the Order of the British Empire. Years before, he had worked for the Great Western Railway Company – who funded the Fishguard Station’s relocation twice during Howells’ service.
Coxswain John Howells
The cooperation between the RNLI and the railways can also be seen in the financial support provided by rail companies and their staff to the RNLI. In 1928, a generous donation of £938 15s was made to the RNLI by the staff of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company, highlighted in our January Railway 200 article. To this day, railways provide an important platform for RNLI fundraising through collections in major railway stations near the Institution’s fundraising branches, such as their May Day Campaigns.
Finally, we wanted to feature the Lizard Lifeboat Station, where the RNLI and the railway coexists in the same space. It was built in 1961 on a cliff just above the waterline, and the station is only accessible via a short railway leading down to the station building. The Lizard Peninsula is known for its difficult shoreline, served by the RNLI since 1859 and, without the advent of rail, their work at this location would be much harder.
We would like to thank the RNLI for supporting our research this month. Next time, we will explore how railway companies extended their reach and leisure offer through the use of paddle steamers. Until then!
Images credit: RNLI
Learn more about RNLI and their connections to rail:
The Lifeboat Magazine Archive, a fantastic resource for research into the RNLI’s history
The West Wales Maritime Heritage Society’s page on Charterhouse, which they currently hold
