Hartlepool History
The early history of the station is not clear but there have been five stations at different times. Two were at West Hartlepool and three at Hartlepool. There is now only one station at Hartlepool.
1803 The first lifeboat was kept near the North Pier and was provided from local subscriptions.
1826 A Silver Medal was awarded to George Grey for saving five crew from the vessel Economy.
1857 A Silver Medal was awarded to Henry Houghton for rescuing seven crew from the wrecked brigantine Era.
1869 A Silver Medal was awarded to Mr Thomas Dawson when his three steam tugs assisted 51 fishing boats and their 104 crew to safety.
The RNLI took over the two stations at West Hartlepool.
1875 The RNLI took over three lifeboats belonging to the Port; two were kept in a boathouse and the third on the shore.
1890 Silver Medals were awarded to Pilot Thomas Pounder and James Metcalf for rescuing two people from a capsized boat.
1901 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain Thomas Rowntree for rescuing four people from the ketch Young John.
1906 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain Shepherd Sotheran for the 31-hour joint rescue, with Seaton Carew lifeboat, of 39 people from the steamship Clavering.
1914 The boathouse was severely damaged on 16 December when three German ships bombarded the town.
1923 The station’s first motor lifeboat arrived at the station. By this time there was only one station at Hartlepool.
1927 The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to Mechanic HW Jefferson for saving the lifeboat after a fire had started in the engine room whilst in the boathouse. Mr Jefferson took the boat down the slip and into the harbour.
1930 A Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain Robert Hood for rescuing nine crew from the schooner Doris.
1942 A Gold Medal, the RNLI’s highest accolade, was awarded to Coxswain William Bennison, the Silver Medal to Mechanic Herbert Jefferson and Bronze Medals to Crew Members Thomas Gilchrist, Robert Horsley, Edward Wallace, Richard Coulson, William Horsley, and Herbert Pearson for rescuing five people from the steamship Hawkwood.
1959 Head Launcher Thomas Kennedy died following an accident whilst rehousing the lifeboat after an exercise.
1968 An inshore lifeboat (ILB) station was established with a D class lifeboat. The all weather lifeboat was withdrawn on 20 June.
1970 The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to Helmsman Douglas Gibbin for a service to the fishing coble Our Tracey when the D class lifeboat was damaged.
1972 The D class lifeboat was withdrawn and replaced with a B class Atlantic 21 lifeboat.
1973 A Bronze Medal was awarded to ILB Crew Member Douglas Gibbin and Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum to Helmsman Michael O’Connor and Crew Member Ian Holdsworth for rescuing a boy from a capsized sailing dinghy on 1 October 1972.
1977 The all weather lifeboat station re-opened and the Waveney class lifeboat The Scout was sent to the station and named by Her Majesty The Queen on 14 July.
1986 A Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain Robert Maiden for rescuing four crew from the cargo ship Anne aground on the Longscar Rocks on 10 November 1985.
1993 A collective Framed Letter of Thanks was presented to the Coxswain and crew when the lifeboat The Scout capsized twice whilst on service to the tanker Freja Svea. Crew Member Robbie Maiden was washed overboard and picked up by an RAF helicopter and taken to hospital where he recovered.
1997 A Tyne class lifeboat was placed on service.
2000 A new B class Atlantic 75 lifeboat, B-766 BBC Radio Cleveland, was placed on service.
2003 The station was awarded a Vellum to commemorate 200 years as a lifeboat station.
2004 A Trent class lifeboat, ON-1274 Betty Huntbatch, was placed on service on 27 September.
Station honours
At Hartlepool lifeboat station the following awards have been made:
Framed Letter of Thanks 1
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum 4
Bronze Medal 9
Silver Medal 8
Gold Medal 1
