Royal National Lifeboat Institutions: Dunbar Lifeboat RNLI Rescues Gala Day 2008 Part 2

http://dunbarlifeboat.org.uk/

Title of Video: Royal National Lifeboat Institutions: Dunbar Lifeboat RNLI Rescues Gala Day 2008 Part 2

In 2008, members of the Edinburgh Cine and Video Society collaborated on a project to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Dunbar Lifeboat Station where we took a collection of cameras and filmed the lifeboat crews practicing training with a variety of inshore rescue situations.

Dunbar Lifeboat Station is situated in the East Lothian town of Dunbar on the South East Coast of Scotland, part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The station currently has a Trent Class all weather lifeboat and a D class inshore lifeboat. At present, Gary Fairbairn is the coxswain.

The RNLI is a UK wide charity that saves lives at sea all over the British Isle coastlines in addition to inshore. It was originally founded on 4th March, 1824. The RNLI has 444 lifeboats of which 332 are based on stations and a further 112 are in the relief fleet. These boats come from the 235 lifeboat stations around the coasts of Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The number of rescues have doubled since since 1980. The RNLI's lifeboats managed to successfully rescue on average 21 people a day according to information during 2008. On that very year the RNLI launched 8,293 times and managed to save 7,612 people, an incredible result. Just for the record, a total of 137,000 lives have been saved since 1824 by the RNLI, an amount that clearly shows the importance of the service.

Looking at the service at Dunbar in a timeline, we should start back in 1808 when the first ever lifeboat was sent to the station. In 1810, 45 men were saved from HMS Pallas by the lifeboats after two trips. Unfortunately after a third attempt, the boat toppled over and everyone drowned except a few men. A sad year in 1821 as the lifeboat was sold and Dunbar Lifeboat Station was closed.

In 1826, Coastguard Randal Stap was awarded a silver medal and £3 for special thanks for making a difficult journey out to sea to bring back ashore the wrecked sloop Brothers all on his own. A further medal, this time silver was awarded to James Brown from the Coastguard who rescued the master and one crew member from the schooner, Susan.

A second silver medal was awarded to a fisherman called Robert Turnbull for his efforts to rescue two people when the fishing yawl, William and James were wrecked.

More optimistic news arrived in 1864 when a new lifeboat station was established by the RNLI and a boathouse was constructed for the cost of £165.00. In 1877, the Dunbar Lifeboat capsized during an exercise where two of the crew died, Clements and Robert Harkis. However, in 1901, the existing lifeboat house was demolished where a new one was built at a cost of £633.00.
The next milestone for the Dunbar Lifeboat Station was in 1905 when a silver medal was awarded to Walter Fairbairn, a Coxswain for the rescue of six from the steamship, King Ja Ja.
In 1907, a second lifeboat station opened at Skateraw, south of Dunbar which at the time was manned by crew from Dunbar. An important historical moment took place in 1909 where the horse drawn launch took place. A Centenary Vellum was awarded in 1930 for the success of the station and service.
By 1931, the lifeboat resided not in the boathouse but afloat at moorings where the old boathouse was used as a gear store and crew room. During World War Two, the second lifeboat was withdrawn and the station at Skateraw closed.
Near disaster struck in 1953 where a boy falls over the cliffs but thanks for Coxswain, R Brunton, he was rescued. Brunton was awarded a Royal Humane Society's testimonial on parchment. The RNLI Dunbar reached it 150th anniversary by 1958 where it received it's second Vellum.
In 1968, an inshore lifeboat station was established with a D class lifeboat. Two years later, a bronze medal was awarded to David Brunton who dived from the boat into the sea to rescue an injured man in the water. Thanks were inscribed on Vellum to Johnathan Alston and framed letters of thanks were awarded to the remaining five crew members.
A similar award was made to Coxswain Robert Wight when the lifeboat Hugh William Viscount Gough searched for divers who were experiencing difficulties between St Abbs and Eyemouth in hurricane seas.
In more recent times, 1993 brought with it a low water mooring berth located at Torness Harbour, south of Dunbar. The lifeboat is kept here when the Dunbar harbour entrance is not possible. Another addition this year was a Waveney class all weather lifeboat. Only two years later, the Waveney class lifeboat was withdrawn and replaced by the Trent class lifeboat Sir Ronald Pechell Bt.
In 2007, the lifeboat station was awarded another Vellum in 2008 to commemorate it's 200th anniversary.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Nv4-gS_jE

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