Civil Service lifeboats

Civil Service lifeboats are a group of lifeboats belonging to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution which have been funded by The Lifeboat Fund. They usually have the Civil Service designation and number included in the name, such as RNLB E-001 Public Servant (Civil Service No. 44), which was on service at Tower lifeboat station on the Thames between 2002 and 2012.

The Lifeboat Fund is an official charity, formerly CISPOTEL, established in 1866 by civil servants, and is run by the Civil Service. It raises funds through donations from both serving and retired employees, from Royal Mail and BT staff, and from legacies.

Since it was formed, The Lifeboat Fund has donated over £26 million to the RNLI, making it the most regular and significant donor for the institution. Civil servants across the UK organise fundraising collections and promote the lifesaving work of the RNLI. All money raised by the fund goes directly to support the RNLI.

In addition to providing (so far) 55 lifeboats of all different class types, the money is also put towards training, purchasing kit, and refurbishing lifeboat stations, most recently providing a £400,000 contribution to the new Tower lifeboat station and pontoon on the Thames.[1][2]

Numbering

The first 29 lifeboats share the designation (Civil Service) and numbers 1–11. When a boat was replaced, the new boat would receive the number from the previous boat, and often carry the same name. In the 1950s, this was changed, so that the boats were consecutively numbered, starting with Greater London II (Civil Service No. 30).

Fleet

ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name C.S.No.[3] Class In service[4] Station Comments
Pre-464 – Civil Service (No. 1) 32-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1866–1878 Wexford [Note 1]
301 – Civil Service No. 1 No. 1 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1878–1897 Wexford No. 2 [Note 2]
415 – Civil Service No. 1 No. 1 40-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1898–1925 Margate No. 2
688 – The Lord Southborough No. 1 45-foot Watson
  • 1925–1951
  • 1951–1955
Pre-604 – Charles Dibdin No. 2 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1875–1888 Tynemouth [5]
204 – Charles Dibdin No. 2 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1889–1905 Tynemouth
552 – Charles Dibdin No. 2 43-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1905–1932 North Deal
762 – Charles Dibdin No. 2 41-foot Beach Type 1933–1959 Walmer
284 – Civil Service No. 3 No. 3 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1877–1899 Portpatrick
437 – Civil Service No. 3 No. 3 37-foot Self-righting (P&S)
  • 1900–1922
  • 1922–1924
  • 1924–1926
  • 1926–1927
704 – Greater London No. 3 Ramsgate
  • 1928–1941
  • 1941–1943
  • 1943–1945
  • 1945–1955
  • 1955–1957
34 – Civil Service No. 4 No. 4 40-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1884–1895 Walmer [Note 3]
394 – Civil Service No. 4 No. 4 40-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1897–1912 Walmer [Note 4]
756 – Civil Service No. 4 No. 4 35ft 6in Self-righting motor 1932–1948 Whitehills [Note 5]
867 – Lady Scott No. 4 46-foot 9in Watson
  • 1949–1981
  • 1981–1986
80 – Civil Service No. 5 No. 5 34-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1886–1905 Maryport
544 – Civil Service No. 5 No. 5 38-foot Watson (P&S) 1905–1931 Maryport
753 – Civil Service No. 5 No. 5 45-foot 6in Watson
  • 1932–1950
  • 1950–1956
  • 1956–1958
273 – Civil Service No. 6 No. 6 42-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1890–1895 Douglas No. 2 [Note 6]
384 – Civil Service No. 6 No. 6 42-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1896–1924 Douglas
784 –
  • Civil Service No. 6,
  • Swn-Y-Mor
 No. 6 46-foot Watson
  • 1936–1963
  • 1964–1967
  • 1967–1972
289 – Civil Service No. 7 No. 7 42-foot Self-righting (P&S) 1890–1895 Kingstown No. 2 [Note 7]
409 – Dunleary No. 7 45-foot Watson 1898–1913 Kingstown No. 2
658 – Dunleary No. 7 45-foot Watson
  • 1919–1938
  • 1938–1939
[Note 8]
828 – The Princess Royal No. 7 46-foot Watson
  • 1939–1968
  • 1968–1969
  • 1969–1976
853 – Winston Churchill No. 8 46-foot 9in Watson
  • 1948–1979
  • 1979–1982
884 – St Cybi No. 9 52-foot Barnett Mk I
  • 1950–1980
  • 1981–1986
897 – St. Andrew No. 10 41-foot Watson
  • 1952–1959
  • 1959–1961
  • 1961–1968
  • 1968–1973
  • 1973–1976
  • 1976–1977
  • 1977–1982
888 – North Foreland No. 11 46-foot 9in Watson
  • 1951–1978
  • 1978–1981
921 – Greater London II No. 30 46-foot 9in Watson
  • 1955–1976
  • 1977–1989
920 – Dunnet Head No. 31 47-foot Watson 1956 Thurso [Note 9]
940 – Pentland No. 31 47-foot Watson
  • 1957–1970
  • 1970–1974
  • 1974–1985
  • 1986–1990
[Note 10]
948 – Charles Dibdin No. 32 42-foot Watson
  • 1959–1975
  • 1975–1977
  • 1977–1979
  • 1979–1982
  • 1982–1988
952 – Duke of Cornwall No. 33 52-foot Barnett Mk II
  • 1960–1984
  • 1984
  • 1984–1989
971 – Joseph Soar No. 34 47-foot Watson
  • 1963–1985
  • 1986–1988
  • 1988–1990
987 70-001 Charles H. Barrett No. 35 Clyde
  • 1966–1968
  • 1968–1975
  • 1975–1988
1026 44-008 Eric Seal No. 36 Waveney 1974–1996 Eyemouth Eric Seal
1037 54-03 Edward Bridges No. 37 Arun 1975–1994 Torbay
1046 37-33 Silver Jubilee No. 38 Rother
  • 1978–1991
  • 1991–1993
– B-527 Percy Garon No Number B-class (Atlantic 21)
  • 1976–1986
  • 1986–1996
  • 1996
  • 1996–1998
  • 1998
[Note 11][6]
1070 52-16 Richard Evans No. 39 Arun
  • 1981–2000
  • 2000–2003
1095 47-004 St Cybi II No. 40 Tyne
  • 1985–1997
  • 1997–2006
1167 12-009 The Princess Royal No. 41 Mersey
  • 1990–2015
  • 2015–2016
1204 14-06 Windsor Runner No. 42 Trent
  • 1995–2004
  • 2004–2008
  • 2008
  • 2008–
1237 17-17 Fraser Flyer No. 43 Severn 1999– Relief fleet
– E-001 Public Servant No. 44 E-class Mk1 2002–2012 Tower
– H-003 The Hunstanton Flyer No. 45 Hovercraft 2003– Hunstanton
– D-654 Angel of Holyhead No. 46 D-class (IB1)
  • 2005–2016
  • 2017–2024
– D-655 Guardian Angel No. 47 D-class (IB1)
  • 2005–2015
  • 2015–
  • Relief fleet
  • Training
– B-806 Mudeford Servant No. 48 B-class (Atlantic 85) 2006–2024 Mudeford
– D-697 Stranraer Saviour No. 49 D-class (IB1)
  • 2008–2019
  • 2019–
– B-826 Sgt. Bob Martin No. 50 B-class (Atlantic 85) 2008– Poole
– B-837 Charles Dibdin No. 51 B-class (Atlantic 85) 2009– New Brighton
– D-738 David Roulston No. 52 D-class (IB1)
  • 2010–2022
  • 2022–2024
1353 13-46 Duke of Edinburgh No. 53 Shannon 2023– Wells-next-the-Sea
– D-868 Mr Eric Sharpe No. 54 D-class (IB1) 2022– Cromer [7]
  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.
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Not numbered, but it was the first Civil Service funded lifeboat. Later named Harriott Forteath at Whitby
  2. ^ Later named Helen Blake at Fethard
  3. ^ Damaged beyond repair, 1895
  4. ^ Later in Reserve fleet to 1919, and at Selsey as Reserve No. 3, and then as James William and Caroline Courteney at Fowey
  5. ^ Damaged beyond repair, 1948
  6. ^ Wrecked, 1895
  7. ^ Damaged beyond repair, 1895
  8. ^ Transferred to Lytham St Annes in 1939, Renamed Dunleary without Civil Service No.7 designation
  9. ^ Dunnet Head (Civil Service No. 31) was destroyed by a fire on 10 December 1956 at the boathouse in Thurso, in its first year on service. It was replaced by Pentland (Civil Service No. 31), keeping the same Civil Service number, but this time funded entirely by the RNLI.
  10. ^ Provided by the RNLI to replace Dunnet Head (ON 920)
  11. ^ The 1981 Report of the Civil Service and Post Office Lifeboat Fund has Percy Garon listed as No 39. However, 52-16 Richard Evans was designated No. 39 in 1981, Percy Garon now designated (Civil Service) with no number.

References

  1. ^ "The Lifeboat Fund and the RNLI". RNLI. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  2. ^ "The Lifeboat Fund". Civil Service LF. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. ^ "125 years of CISPOTEL support for the RNLI" (PDF). CISPOTEL. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  4. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–136.
  5. ^ "The Civil Service Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. 28 (312). November 1932. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Annual Report of the Civil Service and Post Office Lifeboat Fund" (PDF). Civil Service. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  7. ^ Parker, Clare. "Cromer RNLI's new inshore lifeboat named during special ceremony". The Lifeboat Fund. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
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