This is the former Tynemouth lifeboat, built in 1917. She was on duty from 1918 t0 1939 after which she was in the reserve fleet. In 1941 there was a disastrous bombing of the Tynemouth Lifeboat Station and Henry Frederick Swan returned to replace the bombed vessel until final withdrawal in 1947. In 1948 she was given to the 1st Tyne Sea Scouts. Not long after she was sold to the 1st Alnmouth and Lesbury Sea Scouts who kept her until the 1960s. In 1963 she went to Wearmouth Schools as part of a nautical skills scheme under Durham County Council, who renamed her “Wearsider”. In 1972 she was sold into private ownership. NEMT bought her from an individual who had kept her at Lemington and transported her to a temporary storage site at Tyne Dock courtesy of Port of Tyne.
The restoration of the lifeboat started with it’s transportation from Tyne Dock to its present location in the NEMT’s premises in Wapping Street in South Shields. The lifeboat had to be lifted by crane (supplied by Reeds ) onto a transporter lorry (supplied by Gallacher Bros. of Annfield Plain) for the journey. Due to the length of the lifeboat and the transporter, it was not possible to deliver it to the riverside entrance of the NEMT premises so the lifeboat had to be lifted, swung and then lowered onto a cradle in the side road alongside the NEMT building. The crane then lifted the lifeboat over the top of the NEMT building before being positioned at the riverside entrance of the building. With careful handling, the lifeboat was pulled into the NEMT building and now stands in its present position.
The first job was to lift the lifeboat up to a suitable height and chocks inserted so that any work on the underside of the hull could be carried out safely. The vessel was subsequently stripped down and a detailed survey undertaken by boatbuilder Fred Crowell who prepared a work schedule.
The project is on hold until other restoration projects are completed and whilst funds are raised.
Highlights in the history of the Tynemouth Lifeboat:
“Henry Frederick Swan” 1918-1947
First Period of Service 16-02-1918 until 24-10-1939
On the night of February 13th 1918 the then Tynemouth Lifeboat “HenryVernon” was called out to a rescue for the last time.
At the time of this rescue a new motor-lifeboat for the Tynemouth Station was heading north from her builder’s yard on the Isle of Wight.
Work had started on building this new lifeboat in 1915 at the Cowes yard of S E Saunders. She was another 40ft x10ft 6ins self-righter, but was fitted with a Tyler C2 petrol engine, which gave her a top speed of 7.5 kts.
Built at a cost of £6,901, she arrived at Tynemouth on February 16th.
She had been provided as a result of a gift from a Mrs Lowe of Bath, formally Mrs Swan of Newcastle, and the boat had been named Henry Frederick Swan” after her late husband who had been prominent in the Tyne Shipbuilding Industry, and who had also served as Chairman of the Tynemouth Branch of the RNLI for many years.
The “Henry Vernon” was transferred to Sunderland where she remained in service until 1935.
There was a period of nearly two years before the first effective service recorded by the “Henry Frederick Swan” took place on December 30th 1920.
While returning to her home port of North Shields heavily laden with fish, the steam trawler “Current” developed steering gear problems as she entered the Tyne and she ran aground on the Black Middens. Four of her crew managed to get ashore in the ship’s boat to get help, leaving one man on board.
“Henry Frederick Swan” slipped her moorings at 11.45 pm and managed to put four lifeboat-men on board the stranded trawler. A kedge anchor was put out and the vessel was hauled off successfully early that morning at 5.30 am.
Rather than continue to keep the new lifeboat on permanent moorings and the crew having to use a boarding boat, difficult at some stages of tide and weather; discussions began in September 1919 with a view to housing her.
An existing boathouse was acquired from the War Office and adapted to take “Henry Frederick Swan” situated at Clifford’s Fort alongside the Tyne Lifeboat Society’s boathouse.
It was decided to keep the lifeboat on a trolley in the boathouse, but the trolley way leading to the water was leased from the Duke of Northumberland.
An electric winch was provided to haul the boat and trolley back into the boathouse. The total cost of all this work came to £3,700.
On August 14th 1922 the “Henry Frederick Swan” was specially launched to take members of the newly formed Tynemouth Ladies Lifeboat Guild afloat for a short trip to sea, after which the Guild’s President, the Mayoress of Tynemouth Mrs. Alex Mitchell, together with the Honorary Secretary Mrs Jones and the Honorary Treasurer Mrs Steel thanked Major Burton and Coxswain Cowell, pledging that in addition to their fund raising efforts, members of the Guild would always be present when the Lifeboat returned from service to provide hot drinks and a meal for the lifeboat-men and for the survivors brought ashore.
The ladies were split into several crews, each with a Captain, and when the Lifeboat was called out on service, one or other of these ladies would be informed and her crew would go to the boathouse and prepare food and drinks for the return of the boat.
Although she was called out on service on a number of occasions in the intervening years, on February 13th 1931 “Henry Frederick Swan” recorded another effective service, being launched at 1.00 pm that afternoon after three cobles had been reported in difficulties off Souter Point in heavy seas in a north-easterly gale.
Upon arrival at the location no trace of the cobles was found so the Lifeboat made for Sunderland where all three cobles had just arrived safely.
Making her way back to the Tyne however, “Henry Frederick Swan” came across another North Shields coble “Irene” in some difficulty and escorted her back to the Tyne.
Later that year on 1st September “Henry Frederick Swan” was again launched at 8.50 am for an emergency call out to the Lowestoft drifter “Ex Fortis” having run aground at the end of the South Pier. The Master of the drifter requested the lifeboat to put three of his crew ashore to obtain ropes, to be returned to the vessel, where work proceeded to re-float her un-damaged.
“Henry Frederick Swan” was again involved in a dramatic wreck and life saving on 25th February 1933 when that morning the Steam Ship “Eilandi” of London was driven onto the Black Middens in heavy seas and a south-easterly gale.
The Lifeboat was launched at 9.40 am and under the command of Coxswain Taylor; she dropped anchor close to the stranded steamer, veering down towards her to fire a line aboard, but the crew refused to leave the vessel by that means.
As an alternative method of rescue, with great skill and judgement the Coxswain manoeuvred the Lifeboat up to the weather-side of the steamer, the more sheltered lee-side being impossible because of shallow water.
Six men jumped down to safety in the lifeboat, but the Master and one crew member miss-timed their jump, falling into the sea, but were soon picked up and all were landed at 11.05 am.
On this occasion the RNLI made additional monetary awards to the lifeboat crew.
Called out many times in the intervening years, what turned out to be one of the last emergency call outs in her first long period of service took place on August 11th 1938 when she was launched at 8.25 am as a result of the Coastguard reporting a vessel ashore in thick fog at Souter Point.
She was the Lowestoft drifter “Young Man” found to have a serious list, but abandoned with the crew of ten nearby in the ship’s boat, picked up by the Lifeboat, to be put back on board the drifter and a kedge anchor laid out.
On the high tide at 3.20 pm the drifter re-floated and was subsequently escorted into harbour and to safety.
Sadly the last call out for the “Henry Frederick Swan” in her first period of service was a major tragedy for the RNLI, with considerable loss of life for lifeboat-men.
Shortly after 3.00 pm April 22nd the Cullercoats motor-lifeboat “Richard Silver Oliver” capsized whilst on exercise off Sharpness Point. “Henry Frederick Swan” was launched immediately to search for survivors but non were found in the water. Of the ten men on board six lost their lives and their boat drifted ashore upside down in King Edward’s Bay.
Two days later, after she had been righted on the sands she was re-floated, and under her own power, but escorted by “Henry Frederick Swan” she returned to Cullercoats.
A very sad and poignant end to the first period of service, to be replaced by the “John Pyemont” a new more powerful boat on 24th October 1939, at which point “Henry Frederick Swan” was placed in the Reserve Fleet.
Henry Frederick Swan with the 1st Alnmouth and Lesbury Sea Scouts
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