Civil_Service_Lifeboats

Civil Service lifeboats

Civil Service lifeboats

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Civil Service lifeboats are a group of lifeboats belonging to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution which have been funded by The Lifeboat Fund. They usually have the Civil Service designation and number included in the name, such as RNLB E-001 Public Servant (Civil Service No. 44), which was on service at Tower lifeboat station on the Thames between 2002 and 2012.

RNLB 14-06 Windsor Runner (Civil Service No. 42)

Since it was formed, The Lifeboat Fund has donated over £26 million to the RNLI, making it the most regular and significant donor for the institution. Civil servants across the UK organise fundraising collections and promote the lifesaving work of the RNLI. All money raised by the fund goes directly to support the RNLI.

The Lifeboat Fund is an official charity, formerly CISPOTEL, established in 1866 by civil servants, and is run by the Civil Service. It raises funds through donations from both serving and retired employees, from Royal Mail and BT staff, and from legacies.

In addition to providing (so far) 55 lifeboats of all different class types, the money is also put towards training, purchasing kit, and refurbishing lifeboat stations, most recently providing a £400,000 contribution to the new Tower lifeboat station and pontoon on the Thames.[1][2]

Numbering

The first 29 lifeboats share the designation (Civil Service) and numbers 1–11. When a boat was replaced, the new boat would receive the number from the previous boat, and often carry the same name. In the 1950s, this was changed, so that the boats were consecutively numbered, starting with Greater London II (Civil Service No. 30).

Fleet

More information ON, Op. No. ...
  1. ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    Not numbered, but it was the first Civil Service funded lifeboat. Later named Harriott Forteath at Whitby
  2. [N 2]
    Later named Helen Blake at Fethard
  3. [N 3]
    Damaged beyond repair, 1895
  4. [N 4]
    Later in Reserve fleet to 1919, and at Selsey as Reserve No. 3, and then as James William and Caroline Courteney at Fowey
  5. [N 5]
    Damaged beyond repair, 1948
  6. [N 6]
    Wrecked, 1895
  7. [N 7]
    Damaged beyond repair, 1895
  8. [N 8]
    Dunnet Head (Civil Service No. 31) was destroyed by a fire on 10 December 1956 at the boathouse in Thurso, in its first year on service. It was replaced by Pentland (Civil Service No. 31), keeping the same Civil Service number, but this time funded entirely by the RNLI.
  9. [N 9]
    Provided by the RNLI to replace Dunnet Head (ON 920)
  10. [N 10]
    The 1981 Report of the Civil Service and Post Office Lifeboat Fund has Percy Garon listed as No 39. However, 52-16 Richard Evans was designated No. 39 in 1981, Percy Garon now designated (Civil Service) with no number.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "The Lifeboat Fund and the RNLI". RNLI. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  2. [2]
    "The Lifeboat Fund". Civil Service LF. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  3. [3]
    "125 years of CISPOTEL support for the RNLI" (PDF). CISPOTEL. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  4. [4]
    Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 4–132.
  5. [5]
    "The Civil Service Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. 28 (312). November 1932. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  6. [6]
    "Annual Report of the Civil Service and Post Office Lifeboat Fund" (PDF). Civil Service. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  7. [7]
    Parker, Clare. "Cromer RNLI's new inshore lifeboat named during special ceremony". The Lifeboat Fund. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
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