Main Menu | Lifeboat Station | Lifeboats | Lifeboat Coxswains | 1899 Lifeboat Disaster & Memorial
ALDEBURGH PAST | Aldeburgh has been home to over a dozen off-shore lifeboats since the first lifeboat arrived in 1851.
No. 1 Station (1851 to 2024)
| From | To | Lifeboat Name | Class | Official No | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1851 | 1853 | [No name] | Previously at Sizewell. | ||
| 1853 | 1870 Oct 17 | [No name] / The Pasco / George Hounsfield | The boat was not named The Pasco until 1867 when Captain Montague G C Pasco R.N. collected £451 for the RNLI. On 8 Jan 1870 the Pasco was renamed the George Hounsfield after Mrs Hounsfield gave £700 to the RNLI with this proviso. | ||
| 1870 Oct 18 | 1890 | [No name] / The Pasco / George Hounsfield | See above. 99 lives rescued. After being taken out of service in 1890, the George Hounsfield remained on the beach and was used as a store until the early 1930’s at least | ||
| 1890 | 1899 Dec 7 | Aldborough / Aldeburgh | Norfolk & Suffolk | 304 | The lifeboat was initially named Aldborough at the request of a donor. Capsized 7 Dec 1899 with the loss of six lifeboatmen (a further lifeboatman died of his injuries in 1900) |
| 1899 | 1901 | Margaret1 | Norfolk & Suffolk | 270 | Previously at Winterton. According to James Cable (1851-1930), the first replacement for the Aldeburgh was the Mark Lane (no doubt temporary) |
| 1902 | 1928 | City of Winchester | Norfolk & Suffolk | 482 | |
| 1930 | 1930 | William Macpherson | Watson | 620 | Previously at Campbeltown. First motor-boat at Aldeburgh |
| 1931 | 1959 | Abdy Beauclerk | Watson | 751 | Took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. Sold by RNLI in 1959. |
| 1959 | 1979 | Alfred and Patience Gottwald | Watson | 946 | |
| 1979 | 1982 | Charles Dibdin | Watson | 948 | Civil Service no 32. Previously at Walmer. |
| 1982 | 1993 | James Cable | Rother | 1068 | 37–40 |
| 1994 | 2024 | Freddie Cooper | Mersey | 1193 | 12-34 |
Freddie Cooper was the last offshore lifeboat to be stationed at Aldeburgh. She was given a grand send-off.
Below are listed the inshore lifeboats stationed at Aldeburgh since 2024
| From | To | Lifeboat Name | Class | Notes |
| now | Susan Scott | D-class | D-808 | |
| 2024 | 2025 | Howard Bell | B-class Atlantic 85 | B-899 training lifeboat delivered 11 March 2024 |
| 2025 | now | Ralph | B-class Atlantic 85 | B-949 delivered 4 February 2025 |
No. 2 Station (1905-1959)
| From | To | Lifeboat Name | Class | Official No | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905 | 1929 | Edward Z Dresden | Liverpool | 545 | In 1929 the name Edward Z Dresden was given to a new Watson class boat stationed at Clacton |
| 1930 | 1936 | James Leith | Norfolk & Suffolk | 607 | Previously at Caister |
| 1936 | 1940 | Baltic | Liverpool | 665 | Previously at Wells-next-the-Sea |
| 1940 | 1959 | Lucy Lavers | Liverpool | 832 | Took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. Transferred to RNLI reserve in 1959 and retired in 1968. Currently undergoing restoration by the Rescue Wooden Boats Charity. |
with (l-r) Reuben Wood (coxswain), Brian Cotton & David Reeves
Page last updated: 15 March 2026
- ex Winterton [↩]