Zetland Lifeboat

The "Zetland" is the oldest surviving lifeboat in the world. It is currently in a free museum in Redcar. The name "Zetland" comes from the local Lord of Manor, the Marquess of Zetland. The "Zetland" is on the National Register of Historic Ships.

The lifeboat was stationed at Redcar in 1802, built by Henry Greathead of South Shields.

Not all rescue attempts were successful. On Christmas Day 1836, a crewman was washed from the "Zetland" and drowned during a vain attempt to save the crew of the Danish brig "Caroline". The man, William Guy, was a Tees pilot, and it is said that he left a service in chapel to take his place in the lifeboat.

During 1858 the Tees Bay Lifeboat Society decided to hand over the administration of their boats to the RNLI. On 17 February 1864, the "Zetland" sustained damage whilst rescuing the crew of seven from the brig "Brothers". The RNLI considered the old boat no longer fit for service and supplied a new self-righting lifeboat named "Crossley". Arrangements were made to have the "Zetland" broken up and a local carpenter was employed to carry out the task. An angry crowd prevented the work commencing and, after negotiation, the boat was given to the townspeople providing it would not 'compete' with the new RNLI lifeboat.

In 1872, the "Zetland" was repaired following fundraising which totalled £100. In 1880, it was launched with two other Redcar lifeboats (the "Crossley" and the "Emma") and saved 7 lives sailors from the brig "Luna".

The boat was the centrepiece of 1963 "International Lifeboat Conference" in Edinburgh. The "Zetland" lifeboat remains fully preserved and open for public visits in the Zetland Lifeboat Museum, which is a listed building on the Esplanade, Redcar, just a few hundred yards from the present Redcar Lifeboat Station.

References

*cite web|url=http://www.redcarlifeboat.org.uk/zetland/history/history.htm|title=Redcar Lifeboat's history|publisher=Zetland200|accessdate=2007-11-22Rs|date=November 2007
*cite web|url=http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/the_heritage_trust|title=The Heritage Trust|publisher=RNLI|accessdate=2008-01-07
*cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/6592807.stm|title=Lifeboat museum marks centenary|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2008-01-07
*cite web|url=http://nationalhistoricships.org.uk/index.cfm/event/getVessel/vref/627|title=Zetland|publisher=National Register of Historic Ships|accessdate=2008-08-20

Further reading

*cite book|isbn=1858250242|publisher=Smith Settle Ltd|date=1994-04-14|title=All Her Glories Past: Story of the Zetland Lifeboat|last=Phillipson|first=David|oclc=37397778
*cite book|isbn=0906022002|publisher=Langbaurgh Museum Service|year=1974|title=The Zetland lifeboat (Information sheet)|oclc=16370720

External links

* [http://www.redcarlifeboat.org.uk/Pages/history/history.html Redcar's lifeboats]
* [http://www.redcarlifeboat.org.uk/zetland/info.htm Zetland200]