#238 Poole Lifeboat Station

Two years after our very first visit of this challenge at Teddington Lifeboat Station, we were heading to Poole in Dorset. Arriving in the town early we parked the car and took a stroll along the Quay to the Old Lifeboat Museum. Unfortunately the museum  was closed due to renovations on their historic lifeboat, Thomas Kirk Wright. This lifeboat was a Dunkirk Little Ship and was used by the Admiralty to evacuate troops from Dunkirk on 30^th May 1940, being the first lifeboat to reach the French beaches. We took some photos around the outside of the station and of the original slipway and will return in future when it is open to have a look inside.

After lunch we headed to the current Poole Lifeboat Station. We were to meet JP, who is also visiting lifeboat stations, with his companion Boris the Monkey. We chatted for a while outside of the station and learnt about JP’s journey with Boris, a very inspiring and moving story.

We had been contacted by BBC South East news on the Friday before our visit and asked to take some video clips of us approaching the station and some general shots that they could perhaps use in a feature about our challenge. So we enlisted the help of JP and set about taking some video footage. Whilst doing this we were met by Helen, one of Poole Lifeboat Stations visits officers. After sending the video clips off, we joined Helen and headed into the Lifeboat Station.

Poole Lifeboat Station

Helen invited us into the crew room where we enjoyed the view of the quay and the spectacular multi-million pound new yachts moored outside of the Sunseeker manufacturing facility. Helen then showed us an informative video about the work of the RNLI and Poole Lifeboat Station. We were joined by John, another of the visits officers who had helped make the arrangements for our visit.

The station was opened in 1865 with a boat house built on Sandbanks, now a destination for the rich and famous. The old lifeboat station we visited was built in 1882 with the slipway being added in 1897. This boathouse was used up until 1962. After a brief spell of 15 years’ operating from Lilliput Marina, the station moved back to the Quay in 1989. In 1993 a floating boathouse was built in its present location to house an Atlantic 75 lifeboat. This was replaced by a double boathouse in 2018 after the removal of their All-weather Tyne Class being replaced by a D-Class Inshore Lifeboat. The floating double boathouse is the only one of its kind in the estate, with Brighton and Burnham-on-Crouch the only other stations with a single floating boathouse housing Atlantic 85 lifeboats.

After a good chat with Helen and John in the station building we headed down to the boathouse. Here we were able to take plenty of photos and had a discussion about the operation and the boats themselves. The boats lay on a hydraulic bed which lowers them into the water for launch.

Their D-Class, Gladys Maud Burton (D-804), joined the station in 2017. At the naming ceremony in June 2018, Mr Tim Sharpley represented the late Gladys Maud Burton. Gladys lived in Lilliput, Poole and died in February 2010 aged 100. He shared that her husband had fought in the Second World War and talked about the experiences of the huge Atlantic swells, Gladys lived by the sea all her life and admired the RNLI and by all accounts she was a ‘formidable’ lady, and altruistic, as her generous bequest to Poole Lifeboat Station left a legacy that was used to fund the D class that bears her name along with other legacies and donations to fund the floating boathouse.

Alongside the D-Class lies the Atlantic 85, B-826 Sgt Bob Martin (Civil Service No. 50). She joined the station in 2008. Sgt Bob is one of 53 lifeboats funded by The Communications and Public Service Lifeboat Fund (The Lifeboat Fund), an official charity of the Civil Service. The lifeboat is named in memory of Sgt. Bob Martin, a Chelsea Pensioner who raised £200,000 for the RNLI. You can find out more about this amazing charity here: https://thelifeboatfund.org.uk/

Whilst chatting, we heard a siren coming from the quay side and realised that the pagers had been activated. We noticed a crew member hastily heading towards us and so we promptly left the boathouse. We were just exiting the pontoon when we discovered the pager had been cancelled. We were so close to witnessing a “shout” on our last visit.

We were later met at the station by Lifeboat Press officer, Anne-Marie who took some great photos outside of the station before welcoming us back up to the crew room where we had a cup of tea and a fabulous chat with her and crew member Tom, who works at the All-Weather Lifeboat Centre where the boats are built.

Both were very generous with their time and we enjoyed a good bit of banter as well and some more serious discussions.

After an incredible visit we said our farewells to John, Helen, Tom and Anne-Marie and thanked them for their time and hospitality. We also said our farewells to JP and Boris and wished him well.

It was then time to head to the RNLI College just up the road from the Lifeboat Station where we would enjoy a two night stay and some fantastic behind the scenes experiences the following day. More on that in our next blog.

And that was it, 238 RNLI Lifeboat Stations visited over the course of 2 years and a lot of miles. We have made some amazing friendships, seen the most spectacular scenery and enjoyed warm welcomes at every station where we have met the crews. Without exception we have met dedicated self-less heroes who risk their lives to save others without judgement or prejudice and they are what makes this unique and incredibly valuable rescue charity so very special.