Runswick Lifeboat Station


Runswick RNLI Lifeboat Station was located in the village of Runswick Bay, approximately north-west of Whitby, in the county of North Yorkshire, England.
A lifeboat station was established here in 1866 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
In 1978, the nearby lifeboat station at Staithes was reopened as in Inshore lifeboat station, and renamed Staithes and Runswick Lifeboat Station. The Runswick All-weather lifeboat 37-11 The Royal Thames was withdrawn, and Runswick Lifeboat Station closed.
Following a meeting of the local population, and with the view that a rescue service was still required, the Independent Runswick Bay Rescue Boat was established in 1982.

History

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 1 February 1866, the report of the Inspector of Lifeboats was approved, following his visit to Runswick. The October 1866 edition of the RNLI journal 'The Lifeboat', reported of the establishment of a new station at Runswick, in response to the loss of life from a local shipwreck during the previous winter.
The new self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' lifeboat, one with sails and oars, along with its carriage, was transported from London to Whitby free of charge, by the Great Northern and North Eastern railway companies, from where the boat was towed by steamer to its station. Funded by the Sheffield Lifeboat Fund, primarily through the efforts of former mayor Thomas Jessop, the lifeboat was according named Sheffield, where it had been exhibited prior to its arrival at Runswick.
In April 1901, all the fit and able men were fishing in the bay, when a sudden storm erupted over the area. Older men from the village were drafted in to crew the lifeboat, but it was hauled into the sea by the women of the village.
A new station was erected on the site of the previous lifeboat house in 1910. The enlarged station was necessary to accommodate the new lifeboat Hester Rothschild.
In 1933, a new motor-powered lifeboat was received on station, and was named The Always Ready. Soon afterwards, Coxswain of the lifeboat Robert Patton died at sea, attempting to rescue a disabled seaman. The lifeboat was renamed Robert Patton - The Always Ready in 1934.
On the evening of 28 August 1957, schoolmaster Christopher Jardine took a party of schoolchildren to bathe in the harbour, despite a rough sea and flood tide. Shouts for help were soon heard by head lifeboat launcher George Hanson, who jumped into the water fully-clothed, and rescued one boy. He then went out again to assist the schoolmaster, but collapsed face-down in the water.
Two local men, Stephen Jackson and James Wright, along with lifeboat coxswain Frank Verill, put out in a small boat, and brought Mr Hanson ashore, but he died soon afterwards. The search continued for Mr Jardine, whose body was found after dark. A memorial clock and barometer in memory of George Hanson was later erected in the village. A pension was granted to Mr. Hanson's widow by the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust.
In 1978, following a coastal review by the RNLI, the lifeboat station at Staithes was re-opened as an Inshore lifeboat station. With motor-powered lifeboats at and, the Runswick station was closed. Staithes lifeboat station was named Staithes and Runswick Lifeboat Station.The Runswick lifeboat The Royal Thames, was transferred to.
Following the withdrawal of the Runswick lifeboat, it was still felt that with the popularity of the bay, particularly in the holiday season, some sort of rescue cover was still required. A meeting was held in 1980, and the local population at Runswick Bay set about to raise £4000 for their own rescue boat. Runswick Bay Rescue Boat was established at Runswick Bay in 1982, and this now operates in conjunction with all rescue services on the coast, coordinated by HMCG.
For more information about the current rescue service, please see:–

Coxswain Robert Patton

At 04:25 on 8 February 1934, the new Runswick lifeboat The Always Ready launched to the aid of the steamship Disperser, which had started to sink whilst under tow in gale force conditions. Seven of the eight crew were taken off by the tugboat, but the eighth, a young man with a physical handicap, was still aboard. Reaching the vessel an hour after launch, the lifeboat eventually managed to get alongside. However, the man didn't jump, but lowered himself over the side, and then wouldn't let go. Coxswain Patton grabbed the man, but still he wouldn't let go. As the lifeboat was swept away, the Coxswain was left clinging to the man, and then fell into the sea. He was crushed three times as the lifeboat moved in and out to the vessel. The man was eventually dragged into the lifeboat, but the Coxswain had been badly injured, and was taken to hospital with broken ribs, a broken pelvis, fractured vertebrae, and other injuries. Visited in hospital by a representative of the Institution, he said, "I could not let the poor lad go, as he might have drowned". Patton died nine days after the event.
Robert Patton, Coxswain of Runswick Lifeboat, was posthumously awarded the RNLI's highest honour, the RNLI Gold Medal. The medal, and the vote, inscribed on vellum, and signed by H.R.H. Prince of Wales, president of the Institution, was presented to Mrs Patton by the Prince of Wales in London on 20 April 1934.
At a ceremony on 20 September 1934, the new lifeboat, The Always Ready, which had not yet been officially named, was named Robert Patton–The Always Ready by the Princess Royal.

Station honours

The following are awards made at Runswick.

Roll of honour

In memory of those lost whilst serving Runswick lifeboat.
  • On service to the steamship Disperser, 8 February 1934
  • Drowned during the attempted rescue of a man in the harbour, 28 August 1957.