Llandudno Lifeboat Station

Llandudno Lifeboat Station
Gorsaf Bad Achub Llandudno
The new Llandudno Lifeboat Station (2017) on the promenade at Craig-y-Don
Llandudno, Conwy
Former namesOrmes Head Lifeboat
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationCraig-y-Don, Colwyn Road, Llandudno, Conwy, LL30 3AA, Wales
Coordinates53°19′19″N 3°50′2″W / 53.32194°N 3.83389°W / 53.32194; -3.83389
Opened1861
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
Llandudno RNLI Lifeboat Station

Llandudno Lifeboat Station (Welsh: Gorsaf Bad Achub Llandudno) is located in the town and seaside resort of Llandudno, sitting on the Creuddyn peninsula, in Conwy County Borough, North Wales.

A lifeboat was first stationed at Llandudno by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1861. The station was initially named Ormes Head Lifeboat Station.[1]

The station currently operates a Shannon-class lifeboat 13-18 William F. Yates (ON 1325), on station since 24 September 2017, and a D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat Dr Barbara Saunderson (D-793) since 2016. In order to accommodate the new Shannon-class lifeboat, a new boathouse was built on the south end of the promenade at Craig-y-Don.[2]

History

The 'Ormes Head' lifeboat was designed to look after the busy shipping area close to the Great Orme, used by the many ships to ferry goods to the enormous Mersyside docks and other North Western destinations. The Great Orme with its shallow waters, strong tides, rocky coastline and often strong winds, claimed many ships and lives. Because of the weather and tidal conditions, plus the depths of water, vicious waves can quickly build up around the Orme and Liverpool Bay.

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 1 December 1859, letters were read from Rev. M. Morgan, of Conway, and Mr. John Jones of Llandudno, which highlighted the necessity of a lifeboat at Llandudno. At a further meeting of the committee on 2 August 1860, and following a visit to the area and report by the Inspector of Lifeboats, it was decided to establish a lifeboat station at Llandudno.[3][4]

A third meeting of the committee on 4 October 1860, noted letters from the Misses Browne, of Toxteth Park, Liverpool, and their donation of £200, which they wished to be used for the purchase of a life-boat to be stationed at Llandudno, and to be called The Sisters' Memorial, in memory of a deceased sister.[4]

A new lifeboat house was constructed on Augusta Street, adjacent to the entrance of Llandudno Railway Station, at a cost of £147-10s. It was thought that it would be easy to transport the lifeboat by rail to other parts of the coast if required, but the circumstances never arose, and this never happened.[1][5]

The new 32-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (10) oars, and costing £190, arrived in Llandudno on 14 January 1861, transported with its carriage and equipment free of charge, by the London and North Western Railway. The following day, the lifeboat was duly named Sisters Memorial, and launched on demonstration.[6]

The name of the station was formally changed to Llandudno Lifeboat Station in 1893

In 1903, a new boathouse was constructed on Lloyd Street, at a cost of £1300. Llandudno sits on the isthmus between the mainland and the Great Orme, with a shore on either side of the town. The site of the Llandudno Lifeboat Station on Lloyd Street was almost equi-distant from both of Llandudno's shores, from where the lifeboat could be towed equally quickly in either direction.[1][7]

Whilst allowing a launch in either direction, the downside was that the station was approximately 700 metres (0.43 mi) from either launching point, with its consequential launch travelling the streets of Llandudno taking on average 12–15 minutes, depending on traffic conditions.[7]

On 27 March 1919, the Llandudno lifeboat Theodore Price (ON 486) was launched into a north-westerly gale, to the aid of the schooner Ada Mary of Liverpool. In danger of being driven ashore after losing her sails, and one anchor cable, the lifeboat managed to rescue her crew of two in difficult conditions. After a further two hours, battling to return to Llandudno, the lifeboat made for Colwyn Bay. Coxswain John Owen was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.[8]

More recently, Llandudno lifeboat has undertaken some famous and unusual rescues. One mammoth 18-hour rescue in gale force winds in 2008 saw the lifeboat, under the command of Coxswain Graham Heritage, going 34 miles offshore to rescue a couple in distress whose boat had become anchored to the sea bed by fishing nets. Crew member Tim James was put aboard and spent an hour and a half, frequently submerged by waves, freeing the boat from the nets. As a result of their service that year The Crew were awarded the North Wales 'Your Champions' 2008 team award and Tim James received the top award 'Champion of Champions'.[9] A couple of years earlier, the inshore boat was launched to the aid of a humpback whale that had become tangled in ropes and a buoy off Rhos-on-Sea. The whale was successfully cut free probably saving its life.[10]

The Llandudno inshore lifeboat serves the immediate coastline of the Great Orme, Little Orme, Rhos-on-Sea, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno West Shore. On the West Shore there are dangerous sands, widely used by families visiting the seaside, that can quickly become flooded trapping people on the sand bars as the tide floods. Sadly these sands have caused tragedy in recent years and it is for this reason that the Llandudno Inshore Lifeboat, along with Conwy Inshore Lifeboat, are on 24-hour call for an immediate launch.

In 2011, Dan Jones, a former Llandudno Lifeboat RNLI coxswain was awarded an MBE for his dedication to the service.[11]

New lifeboat station

Llandudno was scheduled to receive a new Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat in 2015, but the existing lifeboat station was too small to house it. In previous years, a number of attempts had been made to relocate the lifeboat station without success, due to planning complaints raised by local hoteliers, who did not want a lifeboat station interrupting the view in front of their hotel. On the other hand, local residents around the existing lifeboat station complained of the ground shaking, every time a launch was undertaken.[12]

Construction of a new boathouse at Craig-y-Don finally began in the spring of 2016 and was completed in the summer of 2017. The new Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat arrived at the new station on 24 September 2017.[13][14]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Llandudno.[1][8]

John Owen, Coxswain – 1919
  • The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
Robert Jones, Helm – 1974
  • A Special Framed Certificate
Llandudno Lifeboat Station – 1990 (Towyn and Pensarn Flooding)
  • A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
Craig Roberts, duty officer at Conwy Marina – 1997
Meurig Glynn Davies, Coxswain – 1993QBH[15]
Ian (Dan) Jones, Head Launcher and former Coxswain – 2011NYH[16]

Roll of honour

In memory of those lost whilst serving Llandudno lifeboat.[1]

  • Taken ill after the inaugural launch of lifeboat Sunlight No. 1 (ON 124) on 3 December 1887, and died two weeks later.
Edward Jones, Second Coxswain (47)
  • Died after being run over by the lifeboat carriage during launch, 7 November 1890.
Robert Williams
  • Died after being run over by the lifeboat carriage during launch, 8 August 1892.
Arthur Whalley (32)
  • Died from exposure following service of the Theodore Price (ON 486) to the ketch Lily Garton,22 February 1908.
John Williams, crew member

Llandudno lifeboats

Pulling and sailing (P&S) lifeboats

ON[a] Name Built On station[17] Class Comments
Pre-377 Sisters Memorial 1860 1861–1867 32-foot Peake Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 1]
Capsized 7 February 1867.
Pre-486 Sisters Memorial 1867 1867–1887 33-foot Peake Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 2]
Capsized 10 August 1885.
124 Sunlight No. 1 1887 1887–1902 37-foot Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 3]
486 Theodore Price 1902 1902–1930 37-foot Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 4]
465 Sarah Jane Turner 1901 1930–1931 37-foot Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 5]
Previously at Montrose
512 Matthew Simpson 1903 1931–1933 37-foot Self-Righting (P&S) [Note 6]
Reserve lifeboat No. 4C, previously at Berwick-upon-Tweed and Ramsey.
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Motor lifeboats

ON[a] Op. No.[b] Name Built On station[18] Class Comments
768 – Thomas & Annie Wade Richards 1933 1933–1953 35ft 6in Self-righting motor [Note 7]
851 – Tillie Morrison, Sheffield 1947 1953–1959 35ft 6in Self-righting motor [Note 8]
Previously at Bridlington
792 – Annie Ronald & Isabella Forrest 1936 1959–1964 Liverpool Previously at St Abbs, Bridlington and Scarborough
976 37-09 The Lilly Wainwright 1964 1964–1990 Oakley
1164 12-006 Andy Pearce 1990 1990–2017 Mersey
1325 13-18 William F. Yates 2017 2017- Shannon

Inshore lifeboats

Op. No.[b] Name On station[19] Class Comments
D-54 Unnamed 1965–1966 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-109 Unnamed 1967–1976 D-class (RFD PB16)
D-250 Unnamed 1977–1988 D-class (Zodiac III)
D-359 41 Club I 1988–1996 D-class (EA16)
D-508 John Saunderson 1996–2006 D-class (EA16)
D-656 William Robert Saunderson 2007–2016 D-class (IB1)
D-793 Dr Barbara Saunderson 2016– D-class (IB1)

Launch and recovery tractors

Op. No.[b] Reg. No. Type On station[20] Comments
T2 AH 5933 Clayton 1922
T14 XW 2075 Clayton 1933–1946
T12 LLY 75 Clayton 1946–1948
T40 JXR 67 Case LA 1948–1956
T31 FGU 821 Case L 1956–1961
T33 FYP 356 Case L 1961–1964
T73 500 GYR Case 1000D 1964–1965
T72 518 GYM Case 1000D 1965–1969
T56 MYR 426 Fowler Challenger III 1969–1977
T86 SEL 395R Talus MBC Case 1150B 1977–1987
T102 E387 VAW Talus MB-H Crawler 1987–1999
T94 B567 FAW Talus MB-H Crawler 1999–2008
T91 UAW 558Y Talus MB-H Crawler 2008–2017
SC-T14 HF67 CAV SLARS (Clayton) 2017– Named Roy Barker
  1. ^ a b ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ^ a b c Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 32-foot x 7-foot 10in (10-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of the Misses Brown of Liverpool, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £190.
  2. ^ 33-foot x 8-foot 7in (10-oared) Peake self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of the Misses Brown of Liverpool, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £246.
  3. ^ 37-foot x 8-foot (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Lever Brothers of Warrington, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £529.
  4. ^ 37-foot x 9-foot 3in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Miss A. G. G. Rolleston of Hyde Park, London, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £908.
  5. ^ 37-foot x 9-foot 3in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of the late Sir Samuel Turner of Rochdale, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £911.
  6. ^ 37-foot x 9-foot 3in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of the Misses Simpson of Lancaster, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £928 when new.
  7. ^ 35-foot 6in x 9-foot 3in self-righting lifeboat, legacies of Dr T. Richards and Miss S. Lewis, with a single 35hp 'Weyburn' AE6 petrol-engine, providing 7⅓ knots, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £3,010.
  8. ^ 35-foot 6in x 10-foot self-righting lifeboat, gift of Messrs. J. & D. Morrisonb, with twin 18hp 'Weyburn' AE4 petrol-engines, built by J. Samuel White of Cowes, costing £10,573.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Llandudno's station history". Llandudno Lifeboat Station. RNLI. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  2. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 130.
  3. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. IV (35): 233. 2 January 1860. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. IV (39): 372–373. 1 January 1861. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Llandudno - Carnarvonshire IV.4.5". Maps. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. IV (41): 485. 1 July 1861. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  7. ^ a b "SH7782SE - A". Maps. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. p. 245. ISBN 0907605893.
  9. ^ "Couple rescued from the high seas". BBC News. 4 September 2008.
  10. ^ "Whale trapped in mooring rope freed". Wales Online. 4 February 2005. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  11. ^ Llandudno lifeboat’s coxswain gets MBE - North Wales Weekly News
  12. ^ Wena Alun Owen (7 May 2012). "Llandudno town centre boathouse rethink to fit new lifeboat". BBC Wales News. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  13. ^ "Lifeboat plans for home by sea". BBC News. 20 May 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  14. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 71.
  15. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  17. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 8–36.
  18. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 46–71.
  19. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 87–99.
  20. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 103–106, 113.
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