Longhope History
1874 The lifeboat station was established.
1891 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain Benjamin Stout for rescuing 22 men from the steamship Victoria.
1900 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain Stout on his retirement.
1906 Six Silver Medals were awarded to six fishermen who saved nine crew from the steamship Dinnington.
A new boathouse and slipway were built.
1930 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain John Swanson for rescuing nine crew from the trawler Braconmoor.
1932 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain John Swanson for rescuing eight crew from the trawler Dorbie.
1936 A Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain William Dass for rescuing 41 men from the trawler Nepunia.
1946 The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to Honorary Secretary William Sutherland who retired after 24 years.
1951 A Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain Alfred Johnston for a service lasting 23 hours and for rescuing 40 crew from the tanker Oljaren.
1959 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain Daniel Kirkpatrick for rescuing 14 crew from the trawler Strathcoe.
1960 The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to Coxswain Daniel Kirkpatrick for a service to the trawler George Robb. The trawler was lost with all her crew.
1964 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain Daniel Kirkpatrick for rescuing nine crew from the trawler Ben Barvas. Five other survivors were also rescued from another trawler.
1968 A Silver Medal, and the Maud Smith Award for the bravest act of lifesaving in 1968, was awarded to Coxswain Daniel Kirkpatrick for rescuing 15 crew from the trawler Ross Puma. The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to the other five crew members.
1969 On 17 March the station suffered one of the worst tragedies in British lifeboat history. The lifeboat T.G.B. was lost with all eight crew after answering a mayday call during one of the most severe storms in the islands.
They were Coxswain Daniel Kirkpatrick, Second Coxswain James Johnston, Bowman Daniel R Kirkpatrick, Mechanic Robert R Johnston, Assistant Mechanic James Swanson, and Crew Members Robert Johnston, John T Kirkpatrick and Eric McFadyen.
A memorial to the eight lifeboatmen stands in Kirkhope Cemetery at South Walls.
1973 A Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain Jack Leslie for rescuing 11 crew from the trawler Ross Tern.
1974 A Centenary Vellum was awarded to the station.
1988 A Tyne class lifeboat was sent to the station and over the next two years the boathouse and slipway were adapted and a crew room was built.
1999 A Framed Letter of Thanks was presented to Coxswain Ian McFadyen and crew for a service to the blazing chemical tanker Multitank Ascania. During this service Mechanic John Budge broke his leg.
Longhope’s tradition of slipway-launched lifeboats came to an end when the Tyne class lifeboat was replaced by an Arun class lifeboat.
2001 A decision was made for Longhope to be allocated a new Tamar class lifeboat in due course.
2003 A breakwater and pontoon berth were completed in April.
2004 The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to Coxswain Kevin Kirkpatrick for rescuing three people from the yacht Dasher. Mechanic John Budge received a Framed Letter of Thanks.
2006 The new Tamar class lifeboat Helen Comrie was placed on service on 26 October.
2007 Dr Christine Bradshaw was awarded a Bronze Medal for Gallantry after, despite not being a regular crew member, going out on the lifeboat to assist three injured men on the tanker FR8 Venture. In force 12 winds and a 15m swell, she was winched from the new Tamar class lifeboat to the tanker. One of the men was already dead and another had received fatal injuries, but Dr Bradshaw was able to save the third man's life. The lifeboat crew, headed by Coxswain Kevin Kirkpatrick, and the Coastguard helicopter crew received a collection Framed Letter of Thanks from the Chairman.
Station honours
At Longhope lifeboat station the following awards have been made:
Framed Letter of Thanks 3
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum 8
Bronze Medal 4
Silver Medal 13
