RNLB ''Freddie Cooper'' (ON 1193), a fast carriage lifeboat. was the All-weather lifeboat formerly on station in the town of

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...

''OS Explorer Map 231 – Southwold & Bungay''. . in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. The ''Freddie Cooper'' has the Operational No: 12-34 and was on station from 1993 to 2024.

Description

The ''Freddie Cooper'' was laid down in 1992 by Green Marine of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. She was delivered to the station in 1993. Her hull has been constructed using a fibre-reinforced composite making her robust, strong and very light. The lifeboat is designed to self-right if capsized but only if her passenger capacity has reached 21 people. If the lifeboat’s survivor compartment is fully ladened with 43 people then the lifeboat is non self-righting. Due to the nature and terrain at the Aldeburgh station, the lifeboat is launched and retrieved using a supplied carriage which gives her quick and safe access across Aldeburgh’s shingle beach. The lifeboat is powered by two Caterpillar marine diesel 3208T engines. Each engine produces 285 horsepower which will push the lifeboat through the water at a top speed of . Her fuel tanks hold 1,110 of diesel which give a range of . The lifeboats propellers are installed in tunnels which protect them when launching or in the shallow waters as is the situation at Aldeburgh.

Service and rescues

''Red House Lugger''

On 29 August 1996, ''Freddie Cooper'' was launched, along with

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

lifeboat , to assist the yacht ''Red House Lugger'' which had sent out a

mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiz ...

signal during a storm. The yacht was approximately southeast of Lowestoft.''Lifeboat Gallantry'' RNLI medals and how they were won. Edited by:Barry Cox. Published:Spink, London, 1998. Page 403/404. On arrival, the lifeboats found that the P&O cargo ferry ''MV Norking'' was sheltering the yacht. The lifeboats evacuated the yacht's crew, and the ''Lugger'' was towed to

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

, with the rescue taking around 12 hours in total. On 27 November 1996, coxswain of the ''Freddie Cooper'', Ian Firman, received the

RNLI Bronze Medal A number of awards have been established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) since its creation in 1824. None are approved by the Crown, and are therefore unofficial awards. As such, they do not appear in the official British order ...

for his part in the rescue.

''Rose Bank''

On Sunday 20 May 2000, the ''Freddie Cooper'' was launched to assist the small

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

yacht ''Rose Bank'', which was struggling in gale force 7 winds. During the search, the weather deteriorated sharply and Harwich lifeboat Fraser Flyer (Civil Service No. 43) (ON 1237) was also launched to assist. Initially reported to be seven miles east of Aldeburgh, the ''Rose Bank'' had drifted to 20 miles east of Aldeburgh by the time she was located. The wind had escalated to gale force 11, a violent storm, and waves were up to high. All four ''Rose Bank'' crew members were rescued, but the lifeboats were unable to secure the yacht for towing. The drifting ''Rose Bank'' was recovered three days later by a fishing boat and was towed into

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. Coxswain Ian Firman was awarded a second-service clasp to his RNLI bronze medal.

Service and rescues 2000 to date

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freddie Cooper Mersey-class lifeboats Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats by name 999 1193