Weymouth, for obvious reasons has a close and varied relationship with the sea, whether that be through trade, fishing, naval activity or the attractiveness of the town and its beaches to tourists. Whilst the sea appeals to us for the aforementioned reasons, it also presents very real dangers. The Dorset coastline either side of Weymouth become the final resting place of hundreds of vessels, many of which resulted in the loss of life. In response to the human tragedy unfolding at sea, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution as it became known in 1854, was formed. Weymouth’s first lifeboat was funded through the patronage of the Earl of Strafford and the service launched in 1869. Most RNLI heritage including its archive is held at the organisation’s headquarters in Poole. However, you will find 33 entries relating to ‘lifeboat’ within DHC’s online catalogue. In addition, the purchase of one item at auction, thanks to generous funding from Dorset Archives Trust casts some light upon the early years of Weymouth’s lifeboat and its crew.
The (duplicate) Return of Services 1874-1882 describes a series of instances where the Weymouth lifeboat and its crew came to the rescue of various distressed vessels. Each entry in the volume records in some detail each instance of the lifeboat’s activities starting with a precis of how the stricken vessel had come to be where it was and the weather conditions at the time. This is followed by a series of details about the vessel (tonnage, crew size, port of origin and destination, number of lives saved – and number lost).
Also listed are the names of each of the lifeboat crew and an injunction to note ‘any special case of individual exertion’. The pecuniary side to maintaining the lifeboat service also forms part of the record with an entry for ‘amount, if any, of reward received locally or from elsewhere’. Also detailed in a separate section are the direct costs of paying expenses to the crew, paying anyone who assisted in the ‘launch and haul up of the lifeboat’ and where necessary the cost of transporting the lifeboat overland to its launch point. When all details were completed, they were signed off by the coxswain and honorary secretary of the Weymouth lifeboat station. As perhaps might be expected in cases where life and limb were very much at risk, details were very important. A paragraph summarising the incident was also included to be incorporated into the minutes of the RNLI’s central committee.
Fortunately, in none of the instances recorded in the volume was loss of life experienced. One incident on 2-3 April 1874 relates how a Brazilian vessel en route from London to Rio de Janeiro was rendered helpless due to its ‘disabled engineer’. Stranded off Lulworth ‘in a most dangerous place’ during a ‘hurricane…so thick they could not see the shore’ the ship was successfully boarded and pulled by tug to safety. The cost of the lifeboat launch was £13 and 4 shillings.
This single archival item contains within it a range of fascinating information and reminds us, if it were ever necessary of the perilous nature of seafaring – and the bravery of those who then and now risk their lives to save others.