RNLI Station - Sunderland, UK - Lifeboats and Rescue Stations on Waymarking.com

There is a RNLI shop about 1/2 mile away that has an information board about the history of the RNLI in Sunderland.

Sunderland is the oldest operational RNLI lifeboat station in Britain. It was established in 1800 and taken over by the RNLI in 1865, when a lifeboat was supplied at the request of local seamen. Since then, owing to difficulty in obtaining a suitable site, there have been seven different stations serving the area, often simultaneously - between 1873 and 1887 Sunderland had four lifeboat stations at one time. The current station was established in 1912, and is now the only one.

To date, Sunderland's volunteer crew members have been awarded three RNLI Silver Medals. The first of these medals was awarded in 1856 to Joseph Hodgson, a carver from Sunderland, in testimony to his extraordinary efforts saving lives. Over a period of 12 years, he personally rescued 10 people from drowning and assisted various vessels (including lifeboats) in saving about 17 others. The second medal was presented two years later to Coxswain William Davison for his role in saving a total of 98 people during his long service with the RNLI. In 1891, Coxswain Ralph Thompson received the station's third Silver Medal for 26 years' service during which he saved 23 lives.

Further awards and thanks - both formal and informal - have been presented to the stations' crews over the two centuries. In 1984, The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to Helmsman Michael Tighe and a Vellum Service Certificate was presented to Crew Member Alan Dijon for rescuing a sailboarder in difficulties. Three years later, Coxswain Anthony Lee received A Framed Letter of Thanks for his rescue of two men from the missing fishing vessel Sea Fox after a 4-hour search A Framed Letter of Thanks was awarded in 1995 to Crew Members David Graham, Gerard McGill and Ian Donkin for rescuing three children stranded halfway up a cliff to the west of Marsden Rock. The award was given again in 1999, this time to Helm Michael Cowe and Crew Members Martin Barry and Brian Clark-Barkess for the rescue of a fisherman who had been swept into the sea at Hendon Tanks. The station has seen technological innovation too. The RNLI's first experimental motor lifeboat, J McConnell Hussey, was sent to Sunderland in 1911. Originally built in 1893 as a pulling-sailing lifeboat, she was fitted with a 12hp engine to reach casualties quickly, at a speed of 6 knots. She served until 1914 and her crews saved three lives. In 1966, volunteers at Sunderland marked another lifeboat milestone, receiving their first inshore D class lifeboat.

Currently, Sunderland Lifeboat Station operates two classes of inshore lifeboat: the Atlantic 85 Wolseley and the D Class Helen & Ian Tytter. Both are fast, robust, quick to launch and highly manoeuvrable, making them suitable for rescues closer to shore.

Name of the Lifeboat or station: Sunderland Lifeboat Station Number of the Lifeboat: B-801 and D-000 Adress: Sunderland Lifeboat Station Marine Activity Centre, North Dock Sunderland, Tyne and Wear United Kingdom SR6 0PW Callsign Marifoon: Not listed

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