Lionel Lukins “unimmergible” boat, the world’s first unsinkable boat, paved the way for the first purpose-built lifeboat designed and patented in 1785. In 1784 Lukin had begun experimenting with a…
The National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was founded on 4th March 1824 by Sir William Hillary. Hillary witnessed the wreck of HMS Racehorse, in 1822, only two months…
At 3am on 7th September 1838, The Forfarshire struck aground with considerable force… Forty-three passengers and crew, including the captain and his wife, perished. On 5th September 1838 the Forfarshire…
On 9th February 1861, a violent storm wrecked more than 200 ships on the east coast. The Whitby lifeboat crew launched five times to rescue stricken vessels, but on their…
The Zetland is the oldest surviving RNLI lifeboat in the world. It is currently in the Zetland Lifeboat Museum in Redcar. The name Zetland comes from the local Lord of…
On 9th December 1886, the Mexico on its way from Liverpool to Ecuador was caught in a storm. Lifeboats were launched from Lytham, St. Annes and Southport to rescue the crew. The Lytham lifeboat Charles Biggs, rescued the twelve crew but both…
The first motorised RNLI lifeboat, the Duke of Northumberland, was steam powered. She first went into service at Harwich Lifeboat Station in September 1890. The hydraulic steam driven lifeboat used waterjets instead of propellers. This…
The Suevic rescue in 1907 saw the largest number of people saved in a single operation in RNLI history – a record that still stands to date. The SS Suevic…
Henry George Blogg (6 February 1876 – 13 June 1954) was the most decorated lifeboatman in all RNLI history. Blogg of the Cromer Lifeboat Station is referred to as “the…
The modern RNLI crew PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) comes from over 150 years of development and is essential for the safety and lifesaving ability of any crew member that goes…
Foreword Much of the strength of the lifeboat service of Britain…
The Shannon is one of the RNLI’s most recent class of all-weather lifeboat and was the first modern all-weather lifeboat to be propelled by waterjets instead of propellers, making her…
Celebrating the RNLI Bicentenary In the realm of maritime rescue and humanitarian service, few organisations can claim a legacy as profound as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). As the…
