Poole Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Poole, Dorset in England. The first lifeboat was stationed at Poole Harbour in 1865 and the present station was opened in 1988.

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Poole Lifeboat Station
Poole
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	The Quay, Poole, BH15 1HZ
Country	England
Coordinates	50.712765°N 1.992162°W / 50.712765; -1.992162
Opened	1865 at Sandbanks 1882 at Fisherman's Dock 1974 at Lilliput Marina 1989 at Poole Bridge
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution

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Since November 2016 it has operated two inshore lifeboats, an Atlantic 85 and a D class.

The first boathouse was built in 1865 at Sandbanks by the narrow entrance to the large, natural Poole Harbour.^[1][2][3] This was remote from the house in Poole which meant that the crew had to be collected by horse-drawn coach from the Antelope Hotel in the High Street and taken to Sandbanks.^[4]

In 1882 a new boathouse was built on land leased from Poole Corporation on the Fisherman's Dock at the east end of Poole Quay. A dedicated slipway was built in front of the boathouse in 1897 as the public slipway was often blocked by other boats. In 1887 a flagstaff had been erected so that messages could be exchanged with Sandbanks. At this time the crew was summoned to launches by a signal rocket. In 1892 this was changed to a signal mortar but this reverted to rockets in 1914 as the mortar being discharged could be mistaken for an explosion at the nearby gas works.^[4]

In 1939 a Surf motor lifeboat was placed on station and the last 'pulling and sailing' lifeboat at Poole was withdrawn. This was the Thomas Kirk Wright, which on 30 May 1940 sailed to Dunkirk as one of boats summoned to Operation Dynamo, indeed it was the first of 19 lifeboats to arrive there. It was crewed by the Royal Navy but was damaged by enemy fire. After repairs a second trip across the channel was made on 2 June 1940 before eventually returning to more normal duties at Poole.^[4]

An inflatable Inshore Rescue Boat was added to the station in 1964 but withdrawn in 1970, although by this time a Dell Quay Dory was also in use. This was withdrawn in 1985 but ten years later a B-class (Atlantic 21) ILB was placed on station.^[4]

The boathouse at Fisherman's Dock was closed in 1974 and a new station opened with the Poole Harbour Yacht Club at Lilliput Marina. Another move came in 1989 when the lifeboat was moved back to Poole Quay, but this time at the west end beneath Poole Bridge. The following year new crew facilities and storerooms were constructed by adding a two-storey extension to the police office on Poole Quay.

In 1994 a floating boathouse was placed next to the lifeboat mooring for the new ILB that took up service at Poole the following year.^[4]

In November 2016, with the advent of 25 knot boats at flanking stations, the RNLI decided to withdraw the all-weather lifeboat from Poole and stationed a D-class inflatable to work alongside the existing Atlantic 85.^[5]

A year after the boathouse at Fisherman's Dock was closed in 1974, the old boathouse became an RNLI museum. It was handed back to the council in 1991.^[4]

The centrepiece of the museum is the Surf-class lifeboat Thomas Kirk Wright, on loan from the National Maritime Museum.^[6] This had been operated from Poole when the station was in the same building on Fisherman's Dock. It was the station's first motor lifeboat, built in 1939 and withdrawn in 1962.^[7] In 1940 it had been one of the lifeboats involved in the Dunkirk evacuation.^[6]

The crew facilities and storeroom occupies one part of a larger brick-built building facing the water on Poole Quay. The upper floor is set into the roof with a large window overlooking the lifeboat's pontoon. The boathouse for the ILB is moored alongside this pontoon adjacent to the Lifting Bridge.

'ON' is the official number used in RNLI records from 1884.
'Op. No.' is the operational number displayed on the boat.

The following are awards made at Poole^[4][26]

• RNLI Gold Medal

Captain Charles Howe Fremantle, RN - 1824

• RNLI Silver Medal

George Barnes - 1824

Stephen Curtis - 1824

Lt. Joseph Elwin, RN -1825

Lt. Thomas Parsons, RN - 1853

The Right Hon The Viscount Bury, MP - 1868

Mr Charles Pride - 1868

Richard Stokes, Coxswain - 1882

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Richard Wills, Coxswain - 1906

Thomas Wills - 1906

John Wills - 1906

Richard Cartridge - 1906

Henry Russell - 1906

David Coles, crew member - 1986

Steven Vince, crew member - 1986

Raymond Collin, crew member - 1986

• A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution

Steve Vince, Coxswain - 1995

Robert Doak, crew member - 1995

Geoffrey Langley, crew member - 1995

Gavin McGuiness, Helmsman - 2001

Anne Millman, crew member - 2001

Paul Savage, crew member - 2001

• List of RNLI stations