Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station

Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Aldeburgh in the English county of Suffolk.[1] the lifeboat station evolved from the Suffolk Shipwreck Association station in 1851 which was originally in Sizewell and there has been a lifeboat here since that date. The present station has two boats on station. These are the Mersey-class lifeboat RNLB Freddie Cooper (ON 1193) and the D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat RNLB Christine (D-673). The station covers the coast from Harwich to the south, and Southwold to the North.

Aldeburgh lifeboat station
Aldeburgh lifeboat station.
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationCrag Path, Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5BP
CountryEngland
Coordinates52°9′11″N 1°36′10″E
Opened1851
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution

New boathouse

The current lifeboat station was built in 1994 to replace a smaller older one on the same site. The new station gave cover for the first time to the boat and Talus MB-H tractor. Incorporated into the design there is a public viewing platform. The station has showers and toilet facilities for the crew and a heated store for their foul weather suits. There are also further equipment storage rooms. This new boathouse was built using part of the bequest of Mrs Eugenie Boucher who had died in 1992.

Fleet

Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station currently operates two lifeboats. The All weather Lifeboat is a Mersey-class lifeboat and is called the Freddie Cooper (ON 1193) and has been on station since November 1993. The lifeboat is 38 feet long and is self-righting. She is powered by two 285 hp turbo charged Caterpillar 3208T diesel engines and she has a range of 140 nautical miles. These two engines push the boat through the water to a top speed of 16 knots. Fully laden she weighs 13 tons and she is operated by a volunteer crew of six. The Lifeboat has a capacity to rescue 43 survivors (self-righting up to 21). She was purchased using a bequest to the RNLI from the late Mrs Winifred Cooper in memory of her husband Freddie.

RNLI Headquarters have announced that Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station will be getting a Shannon-class to replace the current boat, a Mersey-class. The station can expect to receive the new boat in 2021.

The inshore lifeboat Christine has been on service at Aldeburgh since April 2007. This boat was funded by the bequest of Florence Winifred Kemp in memory of her daughter. The Christine normally has a crew of three or 4 and is powered by a 50 hp outboard engine. She is capable of a top speed of 25 knots. She has the capability to be beached easily with an easy refloat and is ideal for rescues close to shore and on the sandbanks which are along the coast at Aldeburgh.

No. 1 Station
Dates in service Class ON Op. No. Name Comments Photo
1826–1851 Grafton
1851–1853 Unnamed From Sizewell
1826–1851 Pasco
1870–1890 George Hounsfield
1890–1899 46ft 3in Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) ON 304 Aldeburgh Capsized 7 December 1899. 8 men died as a result this accident
1899–1901 44ft Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) ON 270 Margaret Ex Winterton
1902–1928 46ft Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) ON 482 City of Winchester
1930 43ft Watson-class ON 620 William Macpherson Ex Campbeltown. First motor lifeboat at station
1931–1958 41ft Watson-class ON 751 Abdy Beauclerk
1959–1979 42ft Watson-class ON 946 Alfred and Patience Gottwald
1979–1982 42ft Watson-class ON 948 Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No. 32) Ex Walmer
1982–1993 Rother-class ON 1068 37–40 James Cable Last displacement hull boat on station
1994–present Mersey-class ON 1193 12-034 Freddie Cooper

No. 2 Station
Dates in service Class ON Name Comments Photo
1905–1929 35ft Liverpool-class (P&S) ON 545 Edward Z Dresden
1930–1936 42ft Norfolk and Suffolk-class (P&S) ON 607 James Leith Ex Caister, Pakefield
1936–1940 38ft Liverpool-class (P&S) ON 665 Baltic[2] Ex Wells
1940–1959 Liverpool-class ON 832 Lucy Lavers

Inshore lifeboats
Dates in service Class Op No Name
1980–1989 D-class (EA16) D-270 Unnamed
1989–1997 D-class (EA16) D-376 Unnamed
1997–2007 D-class (EA16) D-520 Bob Savage
2007–present D-class (IB1) D-673 Christine
  • The Exterior viewing platform of the lifeboat station
  • The Bow of ON 1193 Freddie Cooper
  • The Stern of the Freddie Cooper
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References
  1. OS Explorer Map 231 – Southwold & Bungay. ISBN 978 0 319 23805 9.
  2. Wells-next-the-Sea Lifeboats. Author: Leach, Nicholas & Russell, Paul. Publisher:Tempus publishing Ltd, Edition: first 2006. work: Appendix 2. Lifeboat details, page 115. ISBN 0752438751
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