Stromness Lifeboat Station is located in the harbour town of

Stromness Stromness (, ; ) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital. Etymology The name "Stromnes ...

, the second largest town of

Mainland, Orkney The Mainland, also known as Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's popu ...

, in the Isles of

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. A lifeboat was first stationed at Stromness by the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

(RNLI) in 1867. The station currently operates a All-weather lifeboat, 17-16 ''Violet, Dorothy and Kathleen'' (ON 1236), on station since 1998.

History

On 1 January 1866, the ''Albion'' was wrecked on

Graemsay Graemsay () is an island in the western approaches to Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The island has two lighthouses. Graemsay lies within the parish of Stromness. Geography and geology Graemsay lies between Hoy and Stromne ...

, one of the Orkney Islands. Fortunately 90 people survived, but 11 people died, including one man from Graemsay attempting a rescue. Following this event, a request was made to the RNLI to open a lifeboat station in the area, and after a visit by their Inspector of Lifeboats, this was agreed at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 1 August 1867. At the time, Stromness would be the most northerly of all the RNLI stations. A boathouse was constructed at The Ness by Robertson & Smith, costing £144-19s-6d. An order for a 33-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (10) oars, and costing £280, was placed with Forrestt of

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

, London, and a launch-carriage cost a further £98-10s-0d. Transported to Stromness free of charge by the Aberdeen, Leith and Clyde Shipping company, the boat arrived in Stromness in August 1867. The lifeboat was provided out of a gift of £620 from

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

manufacturer and philanthropist

Titus Salt Sir Titus Salt, 1st Baronet (20 September 1803 – 29 December 1876) was an English manufacturer, politician and philanthropist in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, who is best known for having built Salt's Mill, a large textile mill ...

, and was duly named ''Saltaire'' after his

model village A model village is a mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. "Model" implies an ideal to which other developments could aspire. Although the villages ...

near Shipley in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

An RNLI inspection in 1890 proved that The Ness was a difficult location to launch the boat. At a practice launch into a gale, it took over an hour to get the boat afloat. Whilst conditions were still not perfect at Stromness, it was recommended that the boat be relocated to Stromness harbour and remain afloat. A new 42-foot 12-oared Self-righting lifeboat was ordered from McAlister of

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

, funded by the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds (Ashton Order) Friendly Society, and named ''Good Shepherd'' at a ceremony in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

on 16 May 1891. The boat arrived in Stromness on 15 June 1891. Work began in 1900 on the construction of a new boathouse with roller slipway at Stromness harbour. Costing £1250, the boathouse was completed in 1902. RNLI trials of motor-powered lifeboats began in the early 1900s, using modified pulling and sailing lifeboats. In 1907, the RNLI placed an order with the

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cann ...

for four new purpose-built motor-powered lifeboats. The first of these was the £2,995 42-foot self-righting ''John A. Hay'' (ON 591), with a 30 hp petrol engine, providing 6.5 knots, funded from the legacy of Mr John Alexander Hay of Cheltenham. Setting out from London Docks on 15 April 1909, along with a similar boat for , she covered the 768 in 15 days, arriving in Stromness on 30 April. On 15 June 1916, during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the HMS Hampshire struck a mine off Marwick Head, just 12 north of Stromness, and sank with the loss of 737 lives, including that of Field Marshal Earl Kitchener. There were only 12 survivors. There is speculation whether it would have made any difference given the conditions, but the lifeboat was never called out. Old Lifeboat Station - geograph

Melville, Dundas and Whitsun, of Glasgow started construction of a replacement boathouse and roller-slipway in 1925, on the site of the previous boathouse. Costing £10,660, it was completed in 1926. However, when a new lifeboat was due for Stromness two years later, it was proposed that they receive a 60-foot lifeboat, which would need to be kept afloat due to the size. Honorary Secretary at Stromness, Mr George Thompson, travelled to London to meet RNLI 'Naval Architect'

James Rennie Barnett James Rennie Barnett OBE (6 September 1864 – 13 January 1965) was a Scottish naval architect.James Rennie Barnett, Birth and Death Certificates, General Register Office for Scotland. Early life Barnett was born in Johnstone, son of Janet Barne ...

, and the result was the 51-foot Barnett (Stromness-class) lifeboat, suitable for slipway launches from a boathouse. As it turned out, the new Stromness lifeboat, ''J. J. K. S. W.'' (ON 702), would be the only one housed. Stromness Lifeboat performed an exceptional service in 1930, but without a good outcome. On 28 March 1930, in gale conditions, the Aberdeen trawler ''Ben Doran'' was wrecked on

Ve Skerries The Ve Skerries or Vee Skerries (, West Skerries) are a group of low skerries (rocky islands) north west of Papa Stour, on the west coast of Shetland, Scotland. They define the southwest perimeter of St Magnus Bay. Skerries The skerries are: * ...

, near

Papa Stour Papa Stour is one of the Shetland Islands in Scotland, with a population of fifteen people, some of whom immigrated after an appeal for residents in the 1970s. Located to the west of mainland Shetland and with an area of 828 hectares (3.2 ...

, on the west side of

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

. Despite recent moves to locate a lifeboat in

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

, there were no lifeboats based in Shetland. After all other rescue attempts failed, the Stromness lifeboat, being the nearest, was launched at 16:30 on 30 March. In very poor conditions, the lifeboat first sailed to

Scalloway Scalloway (, name of the bay) is the largest settlement on the west coast of the Mainland, Shetland, Mainland, the largest island of the Shetland, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. Now a fishing port, u ...

as a staging point for food and a refuel, arriving at 07:30 on the 31 March, before heading around Shetland with a local Pilot, to Ve Skerries. All that was found was the wreck, and no survivors. The lifeboat headed back to Scalloway, before commencing the 16½ hour journey back to Stromness, arriving at 23:00 on 1 April. ''J.J.K.S.W.'' (ON 702) had been away for 55 hours, and travelled 320 miles. Lifeboat at Stromness harbour - geograph

Lifeboat at Stromness harbour - geograph

At 08:50 on 17 June 1992, the relief lifeboat 52-31 ''Newsbuoy'' (ON 1103) was tasked to the aid of the replica 12th century longboat, on passage from

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

to Faroe. The vessel, the Hebredean

Birlinn The birlinn () or West Highland galley was a wooden vessel propelled by sail and oar, used extensively in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland from the Middle Ages on. Variants of the name in English and Scots language, Lowland Scots inc ...

''Aileach'' had suffered steering failure, north of

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath (, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in Great Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mainland by the Ky ...

. After a journey of over in force 6–7 conditions, the lifeboat arrived with the vessel at 13:51. With the crew of nine aboard the lifeboat, the vessel was taken in tow, arriving back at Stromness at 20:55, a service of over 11 hours. A "Collective Letter of Thanks, signed by the Chairman of the Institution" was presented to the lifeboat crew. In 1998, Stromness received their latest lifeboat. A lifeboat, the largest type of the RNLI fleet, fitted with twin Caterpillar 3412 1200 bhp marine diesel engines, providing a top speed of 25 knots, and cost £1,580,000. Funded from the estate of the late Miss Violet Matton of

Seaford, East Sussex Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven, East Sussex, Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. I ...

, and the wills of her two sisters, Dorothy and Kathleen, she was named 17-16 ''Violet, Dorothy and Kathleen'' (ON 1236).

Station honours

The following are awards made at Stromness *

RNLI Silver 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 ...

::Robert Leask Jnr, Farmer – 1873 ::Robert Greig, Coxswain – 1908 *

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 ...

::William Johnston, Coxswain – 1922 ::William Johnston, Coxswain – 1929 (Second-Service Clasp) * The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum ::The son of Robert Leask Jnr – 1873 ::William Sinclair, Coxswain – 1953 ::John Banks, Coxswain – 2002 * A Collective Letter of Thanks, signed by the Chairman of the Institution ::James Flett, Coxswain – 1992 ::John Banks, Second Coxswain – 1992 ::Ronald Taylor, Mechanic – 1992 ::James Adam, Assistant Mechanic – 1992 ::Douglas Adam, crew member – 1992 ::William Wilson, crew member – 1992 ::Robert Craigie, crew member – 1992 * Letter of appreciation from the Danish Government ::Stromness Lifeboat Crew – 1939 * Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) ::George Linklater Thomson, Honorary Secretary – 1941KBH

Stromness lifeboats

Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats

Motor lifeboats

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

Stromness RNLI Lifeboat Station
Stromness Orkney Lifeboat stations in Scotland 1867 establishments in Scotland