North Berwick Lifeboat Station
North Berwick Lifeboat Station
North Berwick Lifeboat Station is located in Scotland
North Berwick Lifeboat Station
North Berwick, East Lothian
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationVictoria Road, North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland, UK
CountryScotland, UK
Coordinates56°03′37″N 2°43′03″W / 56.06029°N 2.71763°W / 56.06029; -2.71763
Opened1860
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution

North Berwick Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) marine-rescue facility in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland.

The RNLI first allotted a lifeboat to North Berwick in 1869, in response to the nearby shipwreck of the schooner Bubona the year before.[1] The station closed in 1925 but was re-established in 1967, when the viewers of the BBC children's television programme Blue Peter funded the purchase of four D class lifeboats—one of which, the Blue Peter III, was assigned to North Berwick.[2] Between the years of 1967 and 2013 five Blue Peter Lifeboats, all named Blue Peter III, were placed on station and collectively rescued over 277 people.[3]

The current lifeboat on station is a D-class (D758), the Evelyn M, named after Evelyn Murdoch whose charitable trust (the Evelyn M Murdoch Charitable Trust) paid for the construction of the vessel. The lifeboat was handed over to the RNLI at a ceremony in September 2013 and was accepted on behalf of the RNLI and passed into the care of volunteer crew at North Berwick Lifeboat Station by Sir Peter Housden, Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government and an RNLI council member. The service of dedication was led by Reverend Neil Dougall, and the boat was named Evelyn M by Helen Hanson, trustee of the Miss Evelyn M Murdoch Charitable Trust.[4]

In the last 100 years the station's rescue crews have received three RNLI awards for gallantry and three Blue Peter gold badges.[5]

North Berwick lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats (ALBs)

ON[lower-alpha 1] Name In service [6] Class Comments
Caroline[7] 1860–1867 30ft self-righting (P&S) 6-oared, single-banked
Caroline[7] 1867–1871 30ft self-righting (P&S) 10-oared
Freemasons[7] 1871–1887 30ft self-righting 10-oared, double-banked
121 Fergus Ferguson 1887–1902 34ft 1in self-righting (P&S) 10-oared, double-banked
502 Norman Clark 1902–1920 35ft self-righting (P&S) 10-oared, double-banked
453 Reserve No.6A 1920–1923 35ft self-righting (P&S) Previously John William Dudley at Rye Harbour (Winchelsea)
616 Elizabeth Moore Garden 1923–1925 35ft self-righting (Rubie P&S) Station closed, 1925

Between 1920 and the closing of the station in 1925, the lifeboats were launched only once, with no lives being claimed as saved.

The station was re-opened in 1967 and established as an Inshore Lifeboat Station. Operating out of the lower Granary store, now owned by East Lothian Yacht Club, the original boat house was restored in 1991 and is still used today.

Inshore lifeboats (ILBs)

Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name In service [6] Class Comments
D-112 Blue Peter III 1967–1973 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-216 Blue Peter III 1973–1984 D-class (Zodiac III)
D-306 Blue Peter III 1984–1993 D-class (EA16)
D-452 Blue Peter III 1993–2004 D-class (EA16)
D-619 Blue Peter III 2004–2013 D-class (IB1)
D-758 Evelyn M[8] 2013– 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.

Station honours

The following are awards made to the crew of North Berwick Lifeboat Station:[9]

1973 – For a life saved from a capsized boat on 26 July 1973
Benjamin Pearson, helmsman
Alexander Russell, crew member
  • Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
1973 – For a life saved from a capsized boat on 26 July 1973
James Pearson, crew member

See also

References

  1. ↑ Douglas C. Seaton. "Lifeboat Back on Station". Royal Burgh of North Berwick. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  2. ↑ "North Berwick History". RNLI. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  3. ↑ "End of an era for North Berwick lifeboat station". RNLI. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "New Lifeboat, the 'Evelyn M' named in ceremony at North Berwick". RNLI. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Lifeboat Station: North Berwick". RNLI. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  6. 1 2 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
  7. 1 2 3 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021 (2021 ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
  8. ↑ "A new lady of the waves". East Lothian Courier. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  9. ↑ "North Berwick's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 8 January 2024.

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