Arbroath Lifeboat Station
| Inshore Lifeboats | |
|---|---|
| Launch Method | Carriage |
| Address | East Grimsby, Arbroath, Angus DD11 1RB |
| Telephone | 01241 873235 |
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
Established in 1803, Arbroath is one of the two oldest lifeboat stations in Scotland. For most of its history it ran all-weather lifeboats from a slipway — the last in Scotland — but in 2024 the station converted to a fast inshore configuration with an Atlantic 85 and a D-class lifeboat. Its long story is woven through the Angus fishing community, and includes both two Gold Medal services of 1827 and the town’s darkest day, the loss of six crew in the 1953 Robert Lindsay disaster.
Arbroath set up a Lifeboat Committee in 1803 and, with money from Lloyd’s of London and public donations, ordered a Greathead lifeboat that arrived that August. By the early 1850s the boat was no longer seaworthy; after a report by Assistant Inspector Captain D. Robertson, the RNLI took over the station in 1865, bringing formal appointments of coxswain, secretary and patron, and a new lifeboat house at East Grimsby.
The first motor lifeboat, John and William Mudie, arrived in 1932. After the 1953 disaster the station rebuilt its crew and continued with Watson, Rother and Mersey-class boats, the Mersey Inchcape arriving in 1993. An inshore D-class was added in 1968.
Following an RNLI coastal review, the all-weather lifeboat was withdrawn: 12-35 Inchcape left for the last time in March 2024, and the station took delivery of the D-class Mintybell (D-892) in July 2024. The Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat June Marshall (B-954) followed in October 2025, opening a new chapter for one of Scotland’s most historic stations. The decision to withdraw the all-weather boat after more than two centuries was deeply felt in the town, where most of the fundraising guild resigned in protest, and where the names on the Robert Lindsay memorial still belong to local fishing families with descendants in Arbroath today.
