North Berwick Lifeboat Station

North Berwick Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) marine-rescue facility in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland.

North Berwick Lifeboat Station
North Berwick Lifeboat Station
North Berwick, East Lothian
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Victoria Road, North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland, UK
Country	Scotland, UK
Coordinates	56°3′37.2″N 2°43′3.5″W
Opened	1860
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution

The RNLI first allotted a lifeboat to North Berwick in 1869, in response to the nearby shipwreck of the schooner Bubona the year before.[1] The station closed in 1925 but was re-established in 1967, when the viewers of the BBC children's television programme Blue Peter funded the purchase of four D class lifeboats—one of which, the Blue Peter III, was assigned to North Berwick.[2] Between the years of 1967 and 2013 five Blue Peter Lifeboats were placed on station, all named Blue Peter III and collectively rescued over 277 people.[3]

The current Lifeboat on station is a D-class (D758), the Evelyn M, named after Evelyn Murdoch whose charitable trust (the Evelyn M Murdoch charitable trust) paid for the construction of the vessel. The lifeboat was handed over to the RNLI at a ceremony in September, 2013. The Lifeboat was accepted on behalf of the RNLI and passed into the care of volunteer crew at North Berwick Lifeboat Station by Sir Peter Housden, Permanent Secretary at the Scottish Government and RNLI Council Member. The Service of Dedication was led by Reverend Neil Dougall and named ‘Evelyn M’ by Helen Hanson, trustee of the Miss Evelyn M Murdoch Charitable Trust.[4]

In the last 100 years the station's rescue crews have received three RNLI awards for gallantry and three Blue Peter gold badges.[5]

Fleet

All Weather Lifeboats (ALBs)

Dates in service	Class	Name
1860-1867	6 oared, single banked, self-righting	Caroline
1867-1871	30 foot, 10 oared, self-righting	Caroline II
1871-1887	30 foot, 10 oared, double banked, self-righting	Freemason
1887-1902	34 foot, 10 oared, double banked, self-righting	Fergus Ferguson
1902-1920	35 foot, 10 oared, double banked, self-righting	Norman Clark
1920-1921	"Temporary Lifeboat"
1921-1923	Pulling & Sailing	John William Dudley
1923-1925	Pulling & Sailing	Elizabeth Moore Graden

Between 1920 and the closing of the station in 1925 the lifeboats were launched only once with no lives being claimed as saved.

The station was re-opened in 1967 and established as an Inshore Lifeboat Station. Operating out of the lower Granary store, now owned by East Lothian Yacht Club, the original boat house was restored in 1991 and is still used today.

Inshore Lifeboats (ILBs)

Dates in service	Class	Op. No.	Name
1967–1973	D-class (RFD PB16)	D-112	Blue Peter III
1973–1984	D-class (Zodiac III)	D-216	Blue Peter III
1984–1993	D-class (EA16)	D-306	Blue Peter III
1993–2004	D-class (EA16)	D-452	Blue Peter III
2004–2013	D-class (IB1)	D-619	Blue Peter III
2013–present	D-class (IB1)	D-758	Evelyn M

References

1. Douglas C. Seaton. "Lifeboat Back on Station". Royal Burgh of North Berwick. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
2. "North Berwick History". RNLI. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
3. "End of an era for North Berwick lifeboat station". RNLI. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
4. "New Lifeboat, the 'Evelyn M' named in ceremony at North Berwick". RNLI. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
5. "Lifeboat Station: North Berwick". RNLI. Retrieved 17 December 2009.

External links

• www.northberwicklifeboat.org.uk
• North Berwick Lifeboat Station

Photos

• North Berwick Lifeboat flickr group
• Lifeboat on parade in North Berwick
• Blue Peter III
• Emergency lifeboat launch