HISTORY  OF  THE R.N.L.I.  LIFEBOAT"GRACE  PATERSON  RITCHIE (70-002)"

Named at Wemyss Bay on Wednesday, September 6, 1967

Off Wemyss Bay Pier

Built in 1965 as 'Yard Number 2272' by Yarrow Shipbuilders of Scotstoun in Glasgow,  she was one of a pair Yarrow- built,  70 foot long,  "Clyde Class",  R.N.L.I. lifeboats,  these designed by John Tyrrell M.R.I.N.A. of Arklow.

The first of the R.N.L.I. lifeboats to have a steel hull,  her £57,000 cost was met by a legacy from Miss Grace Paterson Ritchie of Skelmorlie,  her desire being that the boat be deployed in Scottish waters and it too therefore fitting that the new vessel was brought to Wemyss Bay for her naming ceremony,  on September 6, 1967, the service conducted by The Rev. Dr. Donald C. Caskie of Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay's North Church.

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Jennie Lyle,  who named the new lifeboat,standing beside The Rev. Dr Donald C. Caskie, 'The Tartan Pimpernel'

OFFICIAL PROGRAMME

ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION(Supported entirely by voluntary contributions)

President : H.R.H. PRINCESS MARINA, DUCHESS OF KENT

SKELMORLIE AND WEMYSS BAY BRANCH

Naming Ceremony and Service of Dedication of The Life-boat "Grace Paterson Ritchie"

WEMYSS BAY PIER(by kind permission of The General Manager, British Railways, Scottish Region)

on WEDNESDAY, 6th SEPTEMBER, 1967 at 2.45 p.m.

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The life-boat will be named by

Mrs LYLE

This life-boat was provided by a gift from the late Miss GRACE PATERSON RITCHIE

PRICE — YOUR GENEROSITY

PROGRAMME

In The Chair : Captain J. McCrone

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

1 Captain J. McCrone, Chairman of The Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay Branch opens the proceedings.

2 Lieutenant B. Miles R.N.R., Inspector of Life-boats No. 1 Area, describes the life-boat.

3 Andrew C. Syme Esq., an agent for The Trustees of the late Miss Grace Paterson Ritchie, hands over the life-boat to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution on behalf of the Trust.

4 Brigadier J. W. H. Gow C.B.E., D.L., J.P., a Vice-President of The Committee of Management of The Institution and Chairman of The Glasgow Branch, accepts the life-boat on behalf of The Committee of Management of The Institution.

5 His Grace The Duke of Atholl, a member of The Committee of Management of The Institution and Convener of TheScottish Life-boat Council, proposes a vote of thanks to the namer and others.

SERVICE OF DEDICATION

The Reverend Dr. Donald C. Caskie O.B.E., M.A.,Minister of Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay North Parish Church, conducts The Service of

Dedication.

HYMN : "The Lord is My Shepherd" (Tune : Crimond)

THE Lord's My Shepherd, I'll not want,He makes me down to lie

In pastures green; he leadeth meThe quiet waters by.

My soul he doth restore again,And me to walk doth make

Within the paths of righteousness,E'en for His own name's sake.

Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,Yet will I fear no ill ;

For Thou an with me and Thy rodAnd staff me comfort still.

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My table Thou hast furnishedIn presence of my foes;

My head Thou dost with oil anoint,And my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my lifeShall surely follow me,

And in God's house for evermoreMy dwelling-place shall be.

PRAYER

"Our Father . . . "

THE LESSON : Psalm 107 : Verses 23 to 31

DEDICATION OF THE LIFE-BOAT

To the honour and glory of Almighy God and for the noble purpose of rescuing those in peril on the sea, we dedicate this Life-boat, in the Name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Ghost. Amen.

PRAYER

HYMN : "Eternal Father, strong to save"

ETERNAL Father, strong to save,Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deepIts own appointed limits keep.O hear us when we cry to TheeFor those in peril on the sea !

O Trinity of love and power,Our brethren shield in danger's hour;From rock and tempest, fire and foe,

Protect them wheresoe'er they go;Thus evermore shall rise to Thee

Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

BENEDICTION

NAMING OF THE LIFE-BOAT

Mrs Jennie Lyle names the life-boat : "GRACE PATERSON RITCHIE"

Presentation of Bouquet to Mrs Lyle by Susan Walker

Music by Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band - Pipe Major Iain McLeod

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By kind permission of Chief Constable J. R. Inch C.B.E., M.A., LL.B.

and

The Silver Band of The Greenock Battalion of The Boys' Brigade - Bandmaster Mr W. McKechnie

By kind permission of The Executive of the Greenock Battalion of The Boys' Brigade

Singing led by The Combined Choirs of Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay Parish Churches

ABOUT THE 70' LIFE-BOAT

The steel life-boat is 70' long with a beam of 17', a draught of 7' 6" and a displacement, of 77 tons. Her hull was designed by Mr John Tyrrell M.R.I.N.A., of Arklow, Eire. The life-boat is driven by twin 8 L3B Gardner diesel engines each developing 230 brake horse power at 1,150 r.p.m.. Maximum speed is over 11 knots with a range of over 600 nautical miles.

In each engine room there is a 230 volt A.C. generator driven by a 31 b.h.p. diesel engine. A 24 volt D.C. service is also available.

The engine controls in the wheelhouse are duplicated on the flying bridge and there is a radio and chart room. The vessel is fitted with a salvage pump capable of pumping at a rate of 250 gallons per minute and has a blue flashing mast head light for recognition purposes at night.

The crew's quarters are arranged aft below deck. In the forward cabin there is storage space for three stretchers with seats which can be converted into berths.

An inshore rescue boat is carried on the fore deck and a smaller boat of similar type, deflated, is stowed in the forward cabin.

The lifeboat is divided by six athwartship bulkheads. The double bottom is sub-divided into water-tight compartments for the storage of fuel, oil and water. Above the rank top an inner shell is arranged to deck level. The space between this and the shell plating is filled with foamed polyurethane.

The electronic equipment includes Decca navigator, radar, echo sounder, ultra-high, very high and medium frequency radio/telephone equipment.

Mathway power-assisted steeering gear is fitted, which can also be operated manually. The vessel carries standard items of equipment found in life-boats. These include a searchlight, deck floodlights, loud hailer, breeches buoys, parachute flares, hand flares, a wave subduing oil tank with pump, a line-throwing pistol, life-jackets, scrambling nets, hatchets, axes and knives.

Please help The Institution by becoming an ANNUAL SUBSCRIBER toSKELMORLIE AND WEMYSS BAY FUNDS

Convener : Mrs McComick, "Whinhill", Skelmorlie, Ayrshire

DISTRICT ORGANISING SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND :Miss E. M. Lloyd-Jones, 45 Queen Street, Edinburgh 2

Official programme printed by David Macdonald Limited, 29 Albany Street, Edinburgh 1

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The Naming Ceremony at Wemyss Bay

With a length of 70-feet,  beam of 17-feet and a draught of 7¾ feet,  she had a displacement of 75 tons.  Carrying 250 gallons of fresh water,  her maximum speed of 11¼ knots and range of 650 miles were greater than any other R.N.L.I. vessel.  Further distinguishing her from earlier British lifeboats,  she carried two inflatable rescue boats,  the smaller,  packed in a valise abaft the wheelhouse and the larger one powered by a 33-h.p. outboard engine.

Her crew's quarters,  aft and below deck,  were fitted with four berths and a toilet,  a small messing area and a galley with an electric cooker being situated at the after end of her wheelhouse.  A forward cabin,  it too fitted with a small galley andtoilet,  had stowage for six stretchers,  the cabin's settees also converting into berths.

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Divided athwartships by six water-tight bulkheads,  a longitudinal bulkhead separated the twin engine-rooms containing the two 8L3B Gardner diesel engines,  each  developing 230 b.h.p. at 1,150 r.p.m..  Each engine-room also had a 230-volt AC generator,  driven by a 31 b.h.p. diesel engine and an emergency 24 volt DC electrical system.  Engine controls were directly linked to both the wheelhouse and the flying bridge above,  Mathway,  power-assisted steering gear,  adding to the boat's ease of control.

A side-view of a (6-cylinder) Gardner Diesel EngineCruising round the coast of Britain to visit various lifeboat stations before herself being assigned a permanent station for herself,  the new boat was also to visit The Pool of London in the spring of 1966 and,  then,  in the winter of 1968-1969,  she was sent north to Kirkwall for winter weather trials,  trials that no man could have ever conceived,  the first of those trials recalled in the pages of the May 1977 edition of "The Observer Magazine".

"In the cemetery at Kirk Hope on South Walls in Orkney is the memorial to the eight-man crew of the Longhope lifeboat,  the entire company,  who lost their lives in 1969 in the

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Pentland Firth leaving seven widows and 10 orphans. Of these eight,  the coxswain and the motor mechanic both and two sons aboard.

Listen to BBC Scotland Audio Clips About The Longhope Disaster  - 1 -  2 -  3

"South Walls,  where they came from,  has never recovered from this blow and no one wants to speak about it.  In fact there is very little to be said;  because no one knows anything more than the bare outline about what happened.  One very experienced ship-master I spoke with compared the operation to the Charge of the Light Brigade.  The Longhope lifeboat was a 48ft Solent type,  built of steel and just under 28 tons.  She had a maximum speed of 9.2 knots and an endurance at cruising speed of 46 hours.  She was named "TGB",  after an anonymous donor.

R.N.L.I. lifeboat "TGB"

"The lifeboat was launched at 8pm on 17 March,  1969,  after a Mayday (SOS) call by the Captain of the 2,300 ton Liberian steamer "Irene" which was drifting out of control before a South-east gale,  force 9.  This gale had already been blowing for three days and it continued to blow for many more.  There was bad visibility and flurries of snow. Although the captain of the "Irene" gave her position as 18 miles off South Ronaldsay she was actually only three miles off the east Coast.  The Coastguard Rescue Headquarters,  which covers the Orkney archipelago,  had already been alerted to carry out a breeches buoy rescue from the cliffs of the shore,  if the opportunity presented itself.

"At the same time as the "TGB" was launched,  the Kirkwall lifeboat,  the "Grace Paterson Ritchie",  put to sea,  a 70ft Clyde class boat weighing nearly 87 tons and with a maximum speed of 11 knots."At 8.40pm the "TGB" gave her position by VHF radio as 3 miles SE of Cantick Head Lighthouse on South Walls, which placed her five miles from her launching place, off North Head on Stroma and entering the tidal race which runs nine knots on a spring flood tide and was now opposed by a force 9 plus, south-easterly gale. With high water

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at Pentland Skerries just after mid-night the flood was now near its full strength, and it was a spring tide. It was the way into death's dark vale, if ever there was one. "It was a terrible, terrible night. You could see nothing but a white haze, no sea," George Manson said. He is postman at Duncansby and an auxiliary coastguard at the Head.

"Forty minutes later, at 9.30 pm, the "TGB" was sighted by the Principal Lightkeepers. Pentland Skerries in line with Lother Rock, about four miles south-east of her previously reported position.  The "TGB" was now in almost deadly situation, with the flood running like a millrace to the south-east out of the Firth and meeting the floor pouring down the east side of South Ronaldsay, both of them opposed by a south-east gale.

"The last reporting signal for the "TGB" was now picked up by Coastguard headquarters, Wick, and a few minutes later she was seen for the last time, again from Pentland Skerries, in Brough Sound, between the Lighthouse and Brough Ness, identified by her stern light and apparently on a north-easterly course.  It proved impossible even for the 70ft "Grace Paterson Ritchie" to approach the "Irene" at 11.05pm. Kirkwall Coastguard Headquarters asked her coxswain to search the coast of South Ronaldsay south-wards for the "TGB". At 11.15pm the Kirkwall boat fired a parachute flare; but there was no answering signal.

"Nothing more was seen of the Longhope boat until the following afternoon when the Thurso lifeboat found her floating upside down, four miles south-west of Torness some fifteen sea miles away at the Western entrance to the Firth - after a daylight search by Shackleton aircraft, a helicopter and three lifeboats.

"When the "TGB" was righted in Scrabster Harbour she was found to have suffered serious hull damage. Seven bodies were found on board, six in the cabin, one of them a Supernumerary, the seventh, that of the coxswain, at the wheel with a broken neck. The eighth member of the crew, the motor mechanic, was never found. The coxswain is thought to have included the Supernumerary in the crew by breeches buoy through the surf, an operation which he and his crew had performed with conspicuous success a number of times in the past: at Pentland Skerries, the "Ben Barvas", under the cliffs of Hoy, the "Ross Puma" and then, from the foot of a geo (a narrow inlet) on the north shore of the Firth, the "Strathcoe",  to name but a few of their rescues, most of which were from trawlers. 

Not one of the seven Lifeboat men onboard the ‘TGB’ had survived, with the body of the eighth Lifeboat man Assistant Mechanic James Swanson) missing.  The coffin’s of the 7 lifeboat men were carried back across the Pentland Firth to Longhope pier on the Kirkwall Lifeboat ‘Grace Paterson Ritchie’ and on the 22nd of March 1969, after a service at Walls Old Church Longhope, the 7 Lifeboat men were laid to rest in Osmondwall church yard on the shores of Kirkhope looking out on the Pentland Firth.

"The findings of the inquiry held by the RNLI were that the "TGB" had been overwhelmed by very high seas and maelstrom conditions while proceeding eastwards between South Ronaldsay and Pentland Skerries.

"The 17 crew of the "Irene" were rescued from the shore, where she had driven in near Grim Ness at the north-eastern end of South Ronaldsay, by the two coastguard emergency companies in the biggest breeches buoy operation ever effected in Orkney.

"At the moment the Longhope boat went, some time just after 9.35. it seems probably that not even a 70ft boat, such as the "Grace Paterson Ritchie", would have survived in the conditions prevailing north of the Pentland Skerries, with an immense wind against an even more immense tide which would produce seas up to 60ft high with correspondingly deep pits between them.

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"Suddenly, you find your vessel in a position where there's no more buoyancy because there's no water to support her,  "Captain Robert Sutherland, Head of the Department of Nautical Studies at Stromness and an ex-deep water ship-master said, the "Pole Star", the Northern Lighthouse Board's Tender, once fell 30 feet into a hole at the Sumburgh Roost, off Shetland. She survived; but even the "Pole Star" would have found it extraordinarily difficult down there in the Sound that night, and she's a vessel of 1,325 tons.

"I believe that the "TGB" was turned end for end and then fell from a great height, either stunning the crew or creating such disarray that it would be beyond human capacity to handle the boat".

The 47-foot long "TGB" was built in 1962 by J & J White of Cowes,  a Watson Type Motor Lifeboat,  13-feet in beam anddrawing 4-foot 6 inches draught,  able to accommodate the weight of up to 95 people  -  The "TGB" was not self-righting but,  after the ‘Longhope Disaster’,  all lifeboats were fitted with self-righting systems and crew had to be from separate families.

The "TGB" was refurbished and relocated to Aranmore,  County Donegal,  in Eire and was retired from there in 1979 and today the "TGB" can be seen at The Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine.

The "James Barrie" in the River Humber

Just twelve days after that terrible night,  the "James Barrie",  a 666-ton  Hull-based 'side-trawler',  ran aground at Louther Rock, situated on the south end of Orkney, piercing the hull.   She was taking on water so fast that her crew had to abandon her on the rocks.  Two days later, on the 29 March 1969, she floated off the rocks and started to drift, unmanned in the Pentland Firth. The R.N.L.I. lifeboat "Grace Paterson Richie" took the "James Barrie" in tow and headed for Scapa. However the 'Barrie' sank whilst under tow and this remarkable series of photographs shows the ship's last death throws of the ship whilst the lifeboat stands by.

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The "Grace Paterson Ritchie (70-0020)" in foreground

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"The Orcadian" (4/69) wrote :

HULL TRAWLER GROUNDS ON SKERRIES SINKS NEXT DAY WHEN ON TOW TO SCAPA

"The 70ft R.N.L.I. lifeboat "Grace Paterson Ritchie (70-002)",  based at Scapa since the Longhope Lifeboat Disaster and the Wick lifeboat were called out on Thursday night when the 20-year old Hull trawler "James Barrie", with 21 men on board, ran aground on one of the Pentland Skerries - the Louther - situated one mile south-east of Muckle Skerry, on which stands the three-man lighthouse. Standing by the stranded vessel was another Hull trawler, the "Loch Doon".

"The '70-002' was the first of the two lifeboats to arrive on the scene at about 10.45pm and staff coxswain Pegler immediately launched his rubber inshore dingy to investigate. The trawler had apparently driven at fast speed hard on to the rocks soon after 8pm on the south-east side of the Louther. She was well up with just her stern in the water. The trawler was on her port side and reported not to be making water."At midnight, Kirkwall Coastguards stated that the crew were "in no immediate danger". The crew could get off at any time,  their liferafts being on deck. High water would be eight o'clock on Friday morning when it was thought an attempt would be made to refloat the trawler. Both lifeboats stood by her all night as also the "Loch Doon".

"Later in the morning conditions began to worsen as the wind rose and the trawler began to rock and her keel was almost afloat. The skipper gave the order to abandon ship. Despite a fouled propeller and manoeuvring with one engine, Wick lifeboat (Coxswain Neil Stewart) closed in and the 21 trawlermen who had taken to their two rafts were picked up. The 21 men were landed at Wick at 10am by the lifeboat. Their ship had left Hull on Wednesday for the Icelandic grounds.

OFF IN RAFTS

"Skipper James Brocklesby (30) from Hull, said in Wick, "We saw the reef but were too late to avoid it and stuck fast. Shortly before six o'clock the ship began to rock as the wind rose. We went off in our two rafts and were picked up by the Wick lifeboat which came close into us." Second engineer, Dennis Hamilton, (41), from Hull said "We abandoned ship at 6.05am. Water was coming into the engine room and she was leaking badly". Before returning to Scapa - she got back at 10.40am - the '70-002' collected life rafts around the casualty to avoid confusion. The "Loch Doon" went away about 8am.

"Most of the trawler crew left for home by train the same afternoon.  The Mayday from the "James Barrie" was in fact the third call for help from vessels in distress in the Pentland Firth since the tragic loss of the Longhope lifeboat.The other two distress calls were from the

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Aberdeen trawler "Ashlea" which grounded at about four on Stroma on the morning of the Longhope drama and from the local fishing boat "Girl Mina" in trouble in the Firth on the afternoon of the funeral of the Longhope lifeboatmen, (Saturday). The "Ashlea" was aground only half an hour and succeeded in refloating herself making for Scrabster and the "Girl Mina" was towed to Stromness by the '70-002' who had gone out to her assistance.

TRAWLER FOUNDERS

"On Saturday morning the abandoned trawler "James Barrie" was observed by the Pentland Skerries lightkeepers to have suddenly refloated herself and to be drifting away from the rocks. Kirkwall Coastguard were informed and two Orkney fishing vessels "Kildinguie" (Skipper John Dennison) and "Achilles" (Skipper Jas Pottinger), which were in the vicinity made for the trawler as also the 70ft R.N.L.I. lifeboat "Grace Paterson Ritchie (70-002)".

"Once alongside, the lifeboat started to pump the water out of the "James Barrie". Later the lifeboat took her in tow stern first and steered by the "Kildinguie" started on the slow journey to Scapa. But when the convey was nearly halfway to its destination, and half a mile or so off Hoxa Head, the trawler sank and disappeared in less than one minute in 20 fathoms of water. This was nearly six hours after she had come off by herself from the rocks.  The sinking was seen by a number of people on South Ronaldsay who had been watching the progress of the boats. The "James Barrie" is thought to have been holed in her net store for'ard.

"The crew of the "Grace Paterson Ritchie" is not interested in salvage. This vessel was taken in tow to avoid a hazard to shipping in the Firth. Had she been saved any salvage awarded would have gone to the Longhope Disaster Fund.  These events took place just a week after the Longhope lifeboat disaster. She and all her crew were lost on their way to assist the crew of the Liberian registered cargo steamship "Irene".

"It was said that the crew of the "James Barrie" were never in real danger. Both Wick and Kirkwall lifeboats stood by them all night before they abandoned ship. The same trawler had gone aground in the Faroes while seeking shelter during a storm about four years before. Then it had been holed and had been taken into port.

The vessel's owners,  Newington Trawlers, hired a coach to take the crew direct from York to their homes after the sinking  -  They were returning only three days after leaving Hull for the Icelandic fishing grounds".

Also in that week's same issue of the paper,  "The Orcadian" noted that "The Sound of Music" was playing at the Kirkwall cinema  -  truly a period of doom and gloom.

Titled "Lifeboat 70-002",  BBC TV broadcast a programme (Number NGW5040S) about the work of the boat and her crew on Friday,  June 27,  1975.

The "Grace Paterson Ritchie (70-002)" continued to serve on the Kirkwall station until 1988,  when replaced by the Arun Class lifeboat "Mickie Salvesen".

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The "Grace Paterson Ritchie (70-002)" is astern of her relief boat,  the "Charles H. Barret (70-001)" which also covered Clovelly,  in The Bristol Channel

'Mother' and 'baby' in Kirkwall Bay

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1988 and Kirkwall's long serving RNLI lifeboat "Grace Paterson Ritchie",  dressed overall,  goes out for the last time,  to meet her replacement,  the Arun Class lifeboat "Mickie Salvesen".

The "Grace Paterson Ritchie (70-002)" after escortingThe King of Norway into Kirkwall to vist The Queen Mother

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Withdrawn from service in 1988,  the "Grace Paterson Ritchie (70-002)" was sold to Iceland's National Lifesaving Association and,  renamed the "Henry A Halfdansson",  was the lifeboat in Reykjavik until replaced in 2002 by another,  Arun Class lifeboat,  the ex-RNLI Lerwick boat "Soldian".

The "Henry A Halfdansson" (ex-"Grace Paterson Ritchie (70-002)"in front of Iceland's National Lifesaving Association Headquarters

In 2002,  Iain Crosbie bought the "Grace Paterson Ritchie",  lying in Reykjavik and,  renaming her "Grace Ritchie",  he brought her back to the Largs Marina,  on The Clyde  -  just six or seven miles south of where she had first been named  -  and where he is trying to restore her to her former glory after 14 years of hard use in Iceland.

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The "Grace Ritchie" on Ardmaleish Slip in 2002Much-needed Kirkwall Lifeboat story fills a gap   -   Book Review

"Gracie, Mickie and Margaret" by Stephen Manson   -   Price  £9.99

Every so often a book is published which fills a gap on our book shelves. The late Stephen Manson’s compilation of the services of the three Kirkwall lifeboats  -  the "Grace Paterson Ritchie", "Mickie Salvesen" and "Margaret Foster"  -  is just such a book. Here we can find the name time and date of every service performed by the "Grace Paterson Ritchie" and her successors, including the Lifeboats on relief duty.

'Grace’s' story takes us outside Orkney waters on occasions. This is because, although she was the first lifeboat stationed in Kirkwall, she also served elsewhere in an age when new ideas and policies were being tried out. Her full time crew went with her and while in the Bristol channel, this permanent crew lived onboard.

In the foreword by Brig. S. P. Robertson tribute is paid to “The Lifeboat Family” and what this means. Tribute is also paid to Stephen Manson for the incredible amount of work which must have gone in to the compilation of such a detailed and comprehensive work.

In his introduction Stephen gives clear details of the background to the book and what it contains. It is laid out in four chapters.

Chapter One details the lifeboats themselves  -  Chapter Two has the returns of service,  where the service was of particular note or interest there are newspaper excerpts  -  Chapter Three contains an index of service by date, with the concluding chapter giving an alphabetical index.

The foregoing may look very clinical, but the presentation and layout are such that once the book is opened it becomes compulsive reading. There is so much information compressed into the reports that the reader cannot fail to be drawn into the atmosphere of a ‘callout’. In many of these brief reports it is only when one looks at the times given that it is realised just how many hours of stress and strain have taken place. Services seldom take place in perfect weather.

An uncluttered index and layout ensures that this volume will become a classic reference work on this aspect of our heritage. It is truly a history and memorial to all who have served, or helped, in the first 35 years of the RNLI, Kirkwall Lifeboat Station. This is a book which will be of lasting interest.

Contact  -  The Orcadian Bookshop Limited,  50 Albert St,  Kirkwall,  Orkney KW15 1HQ  -  Telephone Number  :  01856 – 878 – 888

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On You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSzG9Ns4pss

On You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eSNiLnwbd0

In 1912, in the wake of the "Titanic" disaster, The Board of Trade ordered that ships should carry sufficient life-boats to accommodate all passengers and crew, the rules previously based on ships' tonnage rather than their certificated complements and such was the ongoing countrywide demand for extra life-boats that Skelmorlie's joiners, then John Hunter's, opposite the school in Skelmorlie Castle Road, between February and late March 1914, built six life-boats, for The Cunard Line, Harland & Wolff's and John Brown's shipyards in Glasgow, the boats taken down The Long Hill and then loaded on to wagons in Wemyss Bay's Goods' Yard, at the railway bridge, the railway company's John Bell (he later Skelmorlie's 'South' Church beadle) and one 'H. Stewart' signing for the receipt and onward delivery of the boats in Hunter's invoice book, it still in existence today.

Join and Visit The Friends of Wemyss Bay Station

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