Station History

Station History

Lifeboats

The first lifeboat to be stationed at Filey was in 1804 but no records of the services carried out by this boat have been found. In 1823 records show a new lifeboat was built for Filey at the cost of £94-6-0d she was built at Scarborough by Skelton and was 29ft long by 8ft 6in wide and rowed by 12 oars, this lifeboat is reported to have saved some 70 lives in 40 years at Filey but no exact records can be found. On the 9th December 1852 the RNLI took over the running of the Filey lifeboat station, which up till then had been run by the people of the town

In 1862 the RNLI placed a new lifeboat on station at Filey, she was to be called "Hollon" and paid for by a gift of £250 from Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Hollon the Lord and Lady Mayoress of York. They had once the misfortune of being caught out in a storm at sea and had survived the experience and thought an appropriate way of marking their survival was to provide a lifeboat. The "Hollon" was transported free of charge from London to Filey by Great Northern and North Eastern Railways she was a 33ft by 8ft, 10 oared self-righting lifeboat, she was taken into service at Filey on November 26th 1863. The "Hollon"served at Filey till 1884 launching 21 times and saving 28 lives.

In 1884 it was decided a new lifeboat was needed for Filey and upon learning of this Mr R.W.Hollon sent £650 to the RNLI to pay for the new boat complete with all her equipment. The new lifeboat to be called "Hollon the Second" was placed on service at Filey on September 13th 1884,she was a 34ft by 8ft, 10 oared self-righter built by Woolfe and son at a cost of £345. The "Hollon the Second" served at Filey until 1907 and launched 37 times, saving 0 lives.

On April 18th 1907 a new lifeboat arrived at Filey, built at Thames Ironworks Boatyard she cost £955 and was to be called "Hollon the Third" the cost being defrayed from a bequest of Mr.R.W Hollon of York the lifeboat was a 35ft by 8ft 3in, 10 oared self-righter and served at Filey until 1937, launching 110 times and saving 121 lives.

On May 8th 1937 the RNLI replaced " Hollon the Third" with the "Thomas Masterman Hardy" Built in 1915 she had served at Lime Regis until that Station closed in 1932, she served at Filey until 1940,launching 11 times and saving 0 lives.

In 1938 work started in Cowes on the Isle of Wight at the Groves and Gutteridge boatyard on a new lifeboat for Filey, called "The Cuttle" costing £4444 and provided by a legacy from a Miss F.L.Cuttle she arrived at Filey on May the 22nd 1940, she was a single engined 35ft 6in 'Liverpool' class lifeboat a non self-righter powered by a 35hp 'weyburn' petrol engine and had a top speed of 7.5 knots, she served at Filey until 1953 then, she was taken to Skegness where she served until 1964. at Filey "The Cuttle" launched 77 times and saved 28 lives.

Filey's next lifeboat arrived at station on October 21st 1953, called the "Isa and Penryn Milstead", she again had been built at the Groves and Gutteridge yard at a cost of £14,881 the money coming from a legacy of the late Mr. A.P.Milstead. She was a 35ft 6in 'Liverpool' class, this time powered by two 'kadenacy' diesel engines which again gave her a speed of 7.5 knots. She served at Filey until 1968 launching 87 times and saving 12 lives.

On the 1st of May 1966 Filey received its first Inshore Lifeboat or D-Class as they were to be called, Filey still has a D-Class lifeboat, receiving it's latest boat "Rotary District 1120" provided by Kent and East Sussex Rotary club on the 7th march 2001 and up to the 12th November 2003, the Inshore lifeboats stationed at Filey have launched 528 times and saved 277 lives.

The next ALB to arrive at Filey was on May 18th 1968 called the "Robert and Dorothy Hardcastle" built in 1962 at a cost of £33,000 she had been stationed at Boulmer in Northumberland until the RNLI closed the station and re-allocated her to Filey, she was a 37ft 'Oakley' and had been paid for by a legacy from a Mr. H.R. Hardcastle and was driven by two 43.hp p4m engines which gave her a top speed of 8 knots, totally self righting she served at Filey until June 2nd 1991 launching 180 times and saving 22 lives

On the 21st May Filey's Present lifeboat arrived on station called, the "Keep Fit Association", she is a 12 metre 'Mersey' class lifeboat, fully self righting and powered by two caterpillar 285hp engines giving the boat a top speed of 17 knots. The money to pay for her was raised by the Keep Fit association appeal, Filey lifeboat appeal and various legacies. Built at Green marine and fitted out at F.B.M on the Isle Of Wight at a cost of £455,000 she as up until the 12th November 2003 launched 147 times and saved 19 lives.

The lifeboats at Filey at times have to go to boatyards for repair or refits and when this happens a temporary or relief lifeboat is sent to station to cover while the station boat is away and at Filey the relief lifeboats over the years have launched a further 34 times and saved 16 lives.

This is only a brief history of the station lifeboats, as the website develops it is hoped I will be able to add more memorable services carried out by these boats in detail and they will be accompanied by as many photo's as possible.