We are posting a page a week to cover the recent RNLI exhibition which highlighted the role of the Lifeboats in the South of the Island. Introduction 1824 Sir William Hillary, founder of the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, later to become the RNLI is synonymous with Douglas Bay, where he regularly observed plight of seafarers drowning within yards of the safety of the shore watched by helpless bystanders. In the Christmas of 1822, Sir William gave shape to an idea, which led to the notion of a National Lifeboat Service. He sent it to the Admiralty but months passed by and nothing was heard. Sir William made a second appeal during November of 1823, circulating every principal maritime power in Europe and America. His perseverance paid off and, on 12 February 1824 at the City of London tavern, a preliminary meeting was held chaired by the Liberal MP Thomas Wilson, looking into the formation of a national lifeboat institute. Wilson convinced Sir William his idea stood a greater chance of being formed by direct appeal to the general public and the nobility. On 4th March 1824, at the tavern in Bishopgate Street, The National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was formed under the chairmanship of the then Archbishop of Canterbury and King George IV was its first patron. Although Sir William was not elected chairman of the new organisation, the inaugural meeting conferred a unanimous vote of thanks to him. On the 22 June 1824, he wrote a proposal for the Isle of Man District Association with lifeboats and mortars to be placed at Douglas, Castletown, Peel, Ramsey, and jointly Port Erin / Port St Mary. This proved over optimistic and the committee was finding contributions hard to come by. However, he got his way on one point - and the first lifeboat ordered by the Institution was given into his charge for use on the Isle of Man. During October 1824, an editorial in The Sun announced that the Institution had presented Sir William with a 22ft boat for use in the Isle of Man, together with two sets of line throwing mortars. It also noted that an offer to build two more boats for use on the Island, if the inhabitants would bear half the cost. What Sir William failed to point out to the Institution was that there was already another lifeboat being built for Douglas, paid for by subscriptions raised in the wake of the Vigilant rescue and the loss of the Racehorse. The Greathead lifeboat built in Sunderland arrived in Douglas in November 1824 and was named True Blue.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 20:46:33 +0000
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