Port St Mary Lifeboat Station - 1936-1949 ; RNLB "Sir Heath Harrison"; ON. 785

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A Motor Lifeboat - RNLB " Sir Heath Harrison "

In 1936 the station got a new lifeboat, a 35' 6" self - righting type named the ' Sir Heath Harrision ' donated by Lady Harrison. Self righting lifeboats were a medium type of boat used where ever a boat was required to be launched of a carriage or skids. She was 35' 6" by 9', and on service, with crew and gear weighed 7 tons. They were divided into six water tight compartments. In trials if a sea broke on board they could free the water in twelve seconds and if capsized, even with a hole in the bottom , could right themselves in four seconds. Driven by a single propeller by a 35 hp petrol engine in a water tight engine room. Her speed was 7 knots and had a range of 100 miles at full speed. With a crew of seven she was capable of taking thirty people on board in rough weather. The cost of building this class was £ 3500.

On the 5th September 1936, three small yachts left Port St Mary just after lunchtime to take part in a yacht race at Castletown. The ' Speedwell' , an 18ft half decked yacht , was the last to leave with the owner, Mr H Turnball at the helm and with a crew of two teenagers, Jack Knight , 16 years old , and Robert Guest , 14 years old who were both visitors to Port St Mary. The sea was rough and the wind freshening and it was raining heavily.

The ' Speedwell' was sighted from Castletown Pier, as just off the Stack at Scarlett. The other two yachts were sighted at the same time. However a heavy rain storm then obscured the ' Speedwell ' from view and when it passed ' Speedwell ' had disappeared whilst the other yachts safely reached Castletown.

The new motor lifeboat was launched at 2.35 pm, in the command of George Kelly to search off the Stack. In addition a motor boat from Castletown put out to assist along with the old Castletown Lifeboat, which had been converted into a motor fishing boat called the 'Faithful' . It was the crew of the old Castletown Lifeboat who found the body of the youngest of the boys about a mile from where the ' Speedwell ' had last been seen. No sign of the other two yachtsmen was found and the search was called off at teatime that afternoon.

A new era for Lifeboat design was a response to new challenges and the need for increasing speed to reduce response times was highlighted by the next service , which was to aid in a search for an aeroplane.

At 4.40 pm on the 21st January 1937, Mr Quayle , the Hon. Secretary received a telephone call from the Coastguards at Castletown to request the Lifeboat be launched. An aeroplane had left Barton airfield outside Liverpool at 10 am to go to Belfast with two people on board and had not been seen since. Since Port St Mary lay under the flight path, the lifeboat was launched with the instructions to search SSW from Port St Mary for 16 miles toward Liverpool. In addition , Lifeboats from Port Erin, Douglas , Peel , Ramsey , New Brighton, Lytham and Kirkcudbright.

After two and hours , a message was received from the Coastguards that a steamship had picked up one of the aircraft's crew about 25 miles from the Liverpool Bar Lightship. A recall signal was fired in order that the lifeboat should return. The lifeboat was by now some 16 miles offshore with a southerly strong wind, gusting to gale force and rough seas. The signal was sighted and the lifeboat returned back to harbour some five and half hours after setting out.

It transpired that the aircraft had left Barton with three hours petrol for the flight and had ditched some 25 miles NW of the Bar Lightship close to two steamships , one of which was the SS ' Ben Maye ' , a Manx ship, bound from Liverpool to Castletown. The other steamship recovered one person and then both vessels commenced a search for the missing occupant of the aircraft. After being unable to find the other person , the steamships continued their passages and on the arrival of the ' Ben Maye ' in Castletown with this information the search with the Lifeboats was called off after having spent a combined 44 hours at sea. This was the first time all the Manx lifeboats were involved in the same emergency at the same time and is one of the first large scale searches combined with lifeboats from the U.K.

Nine days later the ' Sir Heath Harrison ' was called out when the Coastguards at Scarlett had seen a vessel disappear some 3 miles SE of the Chickens Rock Lighthouse. There was an ESE gale blow , showers of sleet and a very rough sea running .

The Lifeboat signal was fired at 2.55 a.m. by the Coxswain G Kelly to summon the crew. The lifeboat proceeded SSE from Port St Mary for about 6 miles then altered course to SSW for three miles then back to ESE to a point 2 miles off Langness Point. On reaching this point at 8.30 am and with no signs or traces of any wreckage, their search was abandoned. The vessel seen by the Coastguards was never identified and the cause of the 'disappearance' never established.

On the 4th April, at 3.15 am, the Lifeboat crew were put on standby by the Coastguards after their lookouts on Braddha Head reported being able to hear a ships foghorn blowing continuously, a sign of distress. An hour later, further word was received that Port Erin Lifeboat, the ' Ethel Day Cardwell ', had been launched to escort the SS 'Ben Varrey ' of Ramsey into Port Erin bay. The SS ' Ben Varrey 'had struck the Stack rock underneath the Calf of Man lighthouses whilst slow steaming in dense fog. The severe tidal currents had swept the vessel inshore as she made passage for Peel with a cargo of coal. She fortunately refloated but was badly holed and managed to proceed to Port Erin under her own steam.

Severn weeks later on the 26th May, the lifeboat went to the assistance of another vessel on the rocks of the Calf. At 8 am word was received from a fisherman that a large vessel was on the rocks on the north side of the Calf. There was a calm sea but dense sea fog.

The lifeboat reached the scene at 9 am and found the motor vessel ' Ross ', fast on the rocks close to the tide race of the Big Sound , with her No. 1 hold full of water and a large hole in her hull. She was owned by B J Sutherland of Newcastle on Tyne and was bound from Glasgow to Liverpool. A sizeable vessel of 3000 registered tons , she had 33 people on board ( 26 crew and 7 passengers ). The passengers were taken aboard the Lifeboat before the master of the ' Ross ', a Mr J Dodds, under took an attempt to refloat the vessel. At 11.15 am , she was successfully refloated and under her own power managed to make her way to Port Erin bay, with the Lifeboat in escort, and to a safe anchorage.

Tragedy struck during the summer. On the 10 Th. June the lifeboat had been successfully exercised and was recovered on its carriage. The carriage was then hauled upon the present long slipway using a winch in the boathouse. The winch was a manual one and helpers were required to place braking chocks under the carriage wheels to prevent it running back down the slip. One of the hauling cables broke which resulted in the carriage running backwards with such momentum that the braking chokes failed to hold. The men at the winch were struck by the large winch handle resulting in servere injuries to Jim Crebbin and John Evans. Mr Evans injuries were so bad that he died the next day.

An emergency Committee meeting was held on the 12th with Cdr Cousins, the District Inspector of Lifeboat who had come to conduct an inquiry into the reasons for the fatal accident. As a result caterpillar tracks were substituted for the carriage wheels and the surface of the slipway was roughed to provide greater grip.

Later that summer, once again assistance was required for a vessel which had run aground during dense fog.

At 7.45 pm on Saturday, 28 Th. August , the Coastguards at Scarlett Point, reported to the Hon. Secretary ,Mr G Quayle, that a steamer had run aground on rocks near the Point. There was a dense fog at the time and the ' Sir Heath Harrison ' was out of commission. Coxswain G Kelly was ill, so three lifeboat crew members, William Kneen, Fred Kneen and Fred Watterson were asked if they would man the motor yacht ' Sea Pink ' and proceed to the spot reported.

It took them half an hour to find their way to Scarlett Point and they found the steam trawler ' Minerva ' of Douglas fast on the rocks. The crew of nine was safe and they informed the lifeboatmen that they didn't require any assistance. They had already sent a message to the trawlers owners for them to send another trawler to their aid to assist the refloat. They expected that they would refloat at high water during the middle of that night and did in deed safely refloat .

The following month the ' Sir Heath Harrison ' was called out to the assistance of a rowing boat. During the afternoon of the 19th September , the lighthouse keepers at Langness had spotted a rowing boat with three occupants in the tide race off Dreswick Point and with a freshening northerly breeze, they were being quickly swept southwards and out to sea. Using an Adlers lamp , the lighthouse keepers flashed a Morse code message to the Coastguard at Scarlett Point. The Coastguards then telephoned the Hon. Secretary of Port St Mary lifeboat. The lifeboat was underway within 12 minutes of the signal maroons.

It took an hour for the lifeboat to find the rowing boat four miles south of Langness. The three occupants were three school boys from King Williams College. The boys were in a distressed state and had been rowing so hard against wind and tide that they had badly blistered hands. Also the rowing boat had a considerable amount of water in it. The boys were taken aboard the lifeboat and the rowing boat taken in tow back to Derbyhaven .

Two months later on the 17th November, the three masted schooner ' Invermore ', ran aground in a SE gale. At 9.05 pm a message was received from the Coastguards at Scarlett that a boat was in distress 11 miles south of Douglas Head Lighthouse but that another steamer was rendering assistance. Five minutes later another message was received that the steamer had been unable to render any help. The lifeboat was launched and proceeded to the location .It was a bitterly cold and stormy night with a SE to ESE gale whipping up a very heavy sea. The Lifeboat discovered no signs of the boat in distress or of the steamer which was supposed to be standing by it and which had issued the distress message. After a through search the lifeboat returned to the harbour at 1 am but due to a heavy swell on the slipway it was decided not to rehouse the lifeboat. It transpired that the steamer was the ' Diane ' and that the boat was the schooner ' Invermore '.

At 2 am a wireless message was received from the Finnish steamer ' Diane ' that it was still alongside a schooner in distress in a position between Langness and Douglas approximately 7 miles of the land. the lifeboat crew assembled again and proceeded to sea to search as far as Douglas Head. However they still found no trace of either the steamer or the schooner. At the same time Port Erin lifeboat was also launched to search the west side of the Island and found the ' Invermore '. The ' Sir Heath Harrison ' returned to Port St Mary and was moored at 6.30 am.

At 10.15 am , a message was received from the Coastguards at Scarlett that at 5 am a vessel had been seen 10 miles north of the Chicken Rock Lighthouse with a heavy list to port and was requiring assistance. On starting the lifeboats engines it was found that the propellers had be come fouled with seaweed and could not be worked free. In the end a crane was used to lift the stern clear of the water to allow the propellers to be partly cleared. The boat was then rehoused to complete the job however too much time ( an hour and a half ) was lost . During the work to clear the props , the Peel Lifeboat was launched to go to the aid of the vessel.

1938 was a much quiet year , there only being one ineffective callout. This came on the 28th March when distress signals were seen flying on the Chickens Rock Lighthouse. The weather was fine and the sea calm. However it was low water and the lighthouse tender vessel high and dry. The tenders skipper could not be contacted and it was decided to send the Lifeboat to find out what was wrong at the Lighthouse. The crew was summoned and the Lifeboat launched. However a mile and a half west of the breakwater a local fishing boat was met. Her crew had also seen the signals and had proceeded to assist. They had taken off a sick lighthouse keeper and so both boats returned to Port St Mary were the keeper was landed for medical assistance.

The War Years 1939 to 1945 - Aeroplanes and things that go bump in the night

The war years brought new demands for the Lifeboat service all over the British Isles. The Blackouts effected not only the homes and factories of Britain but also the harbours and lighthouses all along the coast. In addition many young men went away to join the armed services leaving only the essential workers and the elderly to man the voluntary services. Also the use of maroons to callout crews was suspended until after the war finished.

1939 was a quiet year; there being only one service call. On the 19th December, a little after midnight the Coastguard at Scarlett reported that a boat was ashore on Langness Point. The wind was ENE with a heavy ground swell and it was two hours into the flood. The Lifeboat reached Langness Point a half hour after launching and found the 200 ton steam trawler ' Juneo ' of London, registered LO 200. She was owned by Hewitts of Fleetwood with a crew of ten. She had been bound from Fleetwood to fishing grounds to the south and west of the Island and had run ashore in the mist and darkness as the lighthouse was blacked out. The master of ' Juneo ' told Cox George Kelly, that the trawler was not holed. However she was stuck in a dangerous position but should refloat as the tide continued to flood. A cadge anchor was run out using the lifeboat to carry and drop it to seaward of the trawler. At 3.15 am the trawler refloated successfully and the Lifeboat continued to standby until 4 am when the master of the ' Juneo ' reported that all was clear and the vessel in no further danger. The 'Sir Heath Harrison ' returned to Port St Mary at 4.45 am however due to the blackouts , it was not rehoused until daylight.

A month later there was another call to go to the aid of a Fleetwood steam trawler. On the 26th January at 7.30 am Ramsey Lifeboats Hon. Secretary received a message from Douglas Police station that a vessel was in distress two miles north off Laxey. The Coxswain and the District Coastguard were informed. The weather was so servere that Ramsey Lifeboat was not able to launch into a SE storm and blizzard. The Coastguards left with their rocket team and reached Bulgham Bay at 9.15 am due to dense fog and the storm. With visibility down to 10 yards, the area of the wreck was located at 10 am, some 600 feet below Ballaragh Cliff. A man could be heard calling for the Lifeboat, but the trawler was not visible. A rocket was fired from the top of the cliff in the direction of the calls but it was blown back over the top of the cliff. At 11.45 am after the rocket brigade had managed to get down the cliff another rocket was fired in the direction of the calls but with the dense fog the results of its landing were not known. At 12.30 pm visibility had begun to improve and a mast on top of a funnel could be made out together with what appeared to be a man on top of it. Another rocket and line was fired but the breaking seas washed it away almost immediately. A fourth rocket was made ready but the man had disappeared. A search was made along the bottom of the cliffs for bodies but no traces were found. By 8.00 pm the rescuers were forced to give up their search because of the pitch black conditions of that night.

At 8.30 pm Hon Secretary , G Quayle received a message that a boat had been showing distress flares about two miles north of Laxey. There was a SE gale blowing , the weather was poor ; heavy sleet and bitterly cold with a large sea was running. The message added that the Douglas Lifeboat was off service and that owing to the heavy sea it was not possible to launch the Ramsey Lifeboat. The ' Sir Heath Harrison ' launched at 9 pm and it took 4 hours to reach the position of the wreck. The Lifeboat searched for 3 hours using flares to illuminate the area but in the pitch blackness and poor visability , no sign of the vessel or wreckage was found. During their time afloat the engine room made 6 inches of water and the pumps were permanently manned. The Lifeboat got back to Port St Mary at 6.30 am ten hours after setting out but because of the blackout restrictions it wasn't until 10am that the boat was rehoused.

At daylight the Coastguards located the wreck of the ' Merisina ' of Fleetwood aground on the rocks at the bottom of Bulgham Bay , two miles north of Laxey together with six bodies which had been washed ashore. It was believed that the total crew had been twelve.

Hon. Secretary G Quayle recorded that it was the worst night the boat had been out in the past seven years.

On March 16, 1940 the 140' coaster ' Alwyn ', left Preston for an overnight voyage to Belfast with a cargo of coal. There was a strong SE wind blowing , the sea was rough and rain with coastal mist. The night was pitch black and the early hours of the 17th , she ran aground on the rocks of St. Michael's Isle at the north end of Langness. The vessel's stern veered to port, her propeller still turning and fouling the rocks, shearing off the blades.
The Lifeboat was launched at 2.50 am and proceeded to the wreck. It took an hour and a half to reach the Alwyn due to visibility being poor and the Langness Lighthouse being unlit. The searchlight was used to try and establish communication with the shore but none could be made. In addition Douglas Lifeboat was also asked to proceed to the site.
Meanwhile the Castletown Rocket Brigade had arrived at the scene and assisted in saving seven of the crew of nine who had taken to the ships lifeboats. The strong SE wind had lead to a large swell which had made abandoning ship very hazardous and one of the crew who had survived had to be taken to hospital in Douglas.
The crew of the Sir Heath Harrison waited until daybreak when clearing skies enabled them to locate the wreck and after speaking with the crew of the Douglas Lifeboat discovered that the crew had been taken off.
The Hon Secretary Robert Quayle commented that the war had now depleted the number of men whom could be called on to man the Lifeboat. It had taken him an hour to raise seven men capable of naming the lifeboat before it could be launched.

At a Branch Committee meeting on the 17th April, a Letter of Thanks from the Institution to mechanic James Clugston for his part in the service to the " Merisina" was read out.

The next three services were all to aeroplane which had crashed into the sea.

The first was on the 7 December 1940 had been seen to crash off Langness Point by Mr Quillin, the Head lighthouse keeper.
Westland Wallace Mk. II K6073 of No. I Ground Defence Gunnery School, took off from Ronaldsway aerodrome on a drogue towing exercise during the afternoon of 7th December, 1940. The exercise was being carried out over the gunnery ranges at Langness Point.
The crew of K6073 that afternoon were Pilot/Officer Roniflaw Kronpieski, 76699 (Polish), aged 22 and Corporal George Millar, 546007 (RAF), aged 33.
At approximately 4.00 pm, Donald Dobson, a Gunnery Instructor at Ronaldsway and the officer in charge of the exercise that afternoon, observed the target aircraft (K6073) executing a Dumbell turn. As it came out of the turn a puff of black smoke came from the front of the aircraft and it immediately began to lose height, the propeller slowing to an idle. The aircraft glided down parallel to the coast and ditched in the sea, 800 yards SE off Langness Point.
Donald Dobson watched the two crew members of the aircraft climb over the fuselage to the tail, which they clung to for approximately one minute, before K6073 sank.
Dobson had immediately despatched one of the ground gunners to Langness lighthouse to alert the coastguard.
The lighthouse keepers, Walter Quillin, and Mr Hudson, launched a 14ft dinghy in a northerly gale, in an attempt to reach the men in the water, but because of the running sea their attempt was unsuccessful.
Flying Officer J. Clark, took off in another Wallace to search the area for the crew. The Port St.Mary lifeboat, "Sir Heath Harrison" under command of 2nd Coxswain, William Kneen, was launched at 4.42 pm and a Scottish herring drifter, "Margaret Rose", FR163, also proceeded to the scene where very rough seas were encountered. After a prolonged search nothing further was seen of the two men and it was called off at 7 pm.
The Port St Mary Lifeboat Honary Secretary, Robert Quayle reported that the wind was N by E, 50 mph, (i.e. severe gale) with squalls and hail showers.
At 2.30 pm, on the 17th January, 1941, information was received at RAF Jurby, reporting the discovery of a body on the foreshore, west of the airfield. Corporal William Brindley was sent with a vehicle to recover the body and return to Jurby. After examination by Flight Lieutenant Lillie, a medical officer, the body was identified as that of George Millar, the drogue operator of K6073. The body of the pilot, Roniflaw Kronpieski was never recovered from the sea.
Mr Walter Quillin, the head lighthouse keeper, was, in March, 1941 the recipient of a framed letter of thanks from the Air Ministry and a monetary award and citation from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, for conspicuous bravery and gallantry in attempting to save the lives of the airmen. He later returned the monetary award to the RNLI funds.

The next was the following May, when a Blackburn Botha, a twin engined bomber aircraft was seen to crash close to the Carrick Rock. Botha L6326 had taken off at 10.00 am, 2nd May, from RAF Squire's Gate, Blackpool on a training flight. Its course was set out westerly, across the Irish Sea.
At 10.55 am, the aircraft was seen by the Auxiliary Coastguard, William H. McGain, at Port St. Mary breakwater flying very low off the south coast of the Island. Minutes later it ditched in the sea at the north east end of the Carrick Rock, off Port St. Mary. The cause of the aircraft ditching was stated as being the result of engine failure.
William McGain and John J. Hudson, High Street, Port St. Mary immediately proceeded to the scene in a motor boat. Here they found an aircrewman, still strapped in his seat, in the partly submerged wreckage. After cutting him free and getting him aboard, they searched quickly for the other occupants of the aircraft, but finding nobody they returned to Port St. Mary. Hudson applied artificial respiration to the man throughout the journey. On reaching the breakwater, the airman was examined by Flying Officer Thomas C. Corson, medical officer at RAF Ronaldsway, and Doctor Lewthwaite, who both pronounced life extinct.
The lifeboat and another motor boat put out for the scene where part of the aircraft was still afloat. After an unsuccessful attempt to raise the plane to see if there were any other casualties, the search was called of.
The following day, divers went out to the wreck, in the MFV 'White Heather', and recovered two other bodies from the aircraft.
At about 5.00 pm on 4th May, the body of the final member of the crew, was recovered by divers. Now that all members of the crew had been accounted for, the remains of the aircraft were towed ashore and landed at Chapel Beach, below the Bay Queen Hotel, to await removal by the RAF.

On the 21st July, the Lifeboat was called out to assist in the search for the pilot of a RAF Hurricane, who had been forced to bail out about five miles south of the Calf of Man. The Lifeboat was guide to the position by two planes circling over the spot and when about half an mile away observed the body of the airman being recovered by an Naval motor launch.

The Hurricanes of 302 (Polish) Squadron arrived at Jurby on 29th May, 1941, for convoy protection duties.

On the 21st, one of 302's aircraft, piloted by Sgt. Pilot Henry Szope, was on patrol off the south of the Island. At 5.55 pm, while in a position 5 miles south of the Calf of Man, Szope balled out of his aircraft. The reasons are unclear, but from messages received by another aircraft on patrol in the area, it would seem his aircraft may have caught fire.

Just after 6.00 pm the Port St. Mary Lifeboat was launched. The crew were told to look out for an aircraft circling in the search area and to use this aircraft as a guide to the airman in the sea. The Naval patrol vessel, 'Shuttle'was also ordered to the search area and it was this vessel, that found the pilot at 7.30 pm. Szope was hauled aboard the vessel and immediately artificial respiration was used to try and revive him. The naval vessel arrived at the Victoria Pier in Douglas at 8.30 pm and was met by Naval Surgeon, Captain Irvine, who examined the Polish airmen and pronounced him dead.

The wartime black out of lighthouse continued to be a problem for the safe navigation of shipping. On the 24th September , the lifeboat crew were put on standby when a Danish coaster , the auxiliary vessel " Merkur 2", ran aground in the middle of the night on Gansey Point. The sea was calm and the crew of the stranded vessel came ashore in a small fishing boat which had gone to their help. The 300 ton vessel was not holed and refloated safely on the next tide.

A similar accident occurred on the evening of the 10th January 1942 when the small coaster, SS Speke of Liverpool, ran aground on Gansey Point at about 7.30 pm during sleet showers.

The Speke was bought in 1938 by Nicholsons from Belgian owners E. Rau of Ostend. She was a small steam coaster and rather than triple compound steam engines, she had the less efficient compound engines in order to save space. She was 217 tons gross, 112 ft long, 22 ft beam, 9 ft draught and had been built at Cochrane, Selby 1913.

The lifeboat had taken off the crew without difficulty due to light winds. The Lifeboat returned at 4.30 am the next morning with the crew of the SS Speke to put them back on board whilst an attempt was made to refloat the vessel. The Speke came free an hour later and made her way into Port St Mary harbour under her own power. She had however been holed and was making some water.

The following year on 27 Sept 1943, the Speke was lost on a passage from Liverpool to Preston. She was loaded with a cargo of 144 tons of wood pulp from Canada in rolls and bales in the Alexandra dock on 26 and 27 September. Some 28 tons of this was carried as deck cargo on top of the hatch. She entered the Mersey via the Gladstone Lock at 7.1 0 pm on 27 September. Shortly after 9 pm, she reported by morse lamp to the Examination Vessel cruising in the vicinity of the Bar Lightship. The wind was moderate SSW (force 5) with rain squalls and was steadily deteriorating. She only had 10 miles to go to reach the shelter of the Ribble estuary. The Speke was never seen again. The bodies of her 7 crew and 2 DEMS gunners were picked up at various beaches around the west coast.

There was an inquiry to help ascertain the cause of the tragedy. Even though ships were being lost to enemy action through mines, air attack and U-boats, the lack of any wreckage suggested that these were not the cause. She was routed through a swept sea lane and no new mines could have been dropped because no enemy aircraft had been sighted since the area was swept. Another piece of evidence was that the bodies recovered showed no signs of injury (apart from the rather grisly fact that one eye was missing). What gave a clue to the most probable cause was an incident that occurred when she was being loaded with cargo. She was found to have a slight list and, when the ship's derrick was being used to transfer some bales weighing less than a ton, she developed an even greater list - of some 6 degrees. This suggested that she was rather unstable and that if her cargo shifted a little, she might capsize. Indeed evidence was presented at the inquiry that the cargo in the hold was stowed with sufficient empty space to have allowed such movement.

There was some uncertainty as to whether the deck cargo was securely lashed in place. It was not the case that all the cargo was put on board regardless. Indeed 124 bales were left behind in the barge from which she was loading.

Such loading practices cannot have been uncommon, so why had the Speke survived for so long? By this time in the war, coasters were provided with anti-aircraft defence under the Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships Organisation. The gunners were naval ratings. The Speke had been fitted with an Oerlikon gun and heavy protection was built around the wheelhouse. These and other alterations added some 18 tons to her top weight - enough to change her stability substantially. This extra top weight was partly offset by some 8 tons of cement used to affect temporary repairs to the bottom of her hull. The combination of this additional weight added to her superstructure and the deck cargo was her undoing.

A court case was brought by the widow of one of the naval gunners claiming negligence by the stevedores who loaded the Speke. This investigated in great detail the loading of the bales and rolls. The judge ruled that negligence was not proved.

On 20th January 1942 ,the Sir Heath Harrison was launched to search for flares spotted of Santon Head. The Lifeboat was launched at 11.10pm ,low water, into a SE gale with driving sleet and rain. The sea off Langness was very rough and it was 1 am before the Lifeboat arrived at the position reported. It searched without success as the steam trawler " William Hanbury" of Fleetwood had been already driven onto the rocks. The Coastguards managed to save nine of the crew of twelve.

8th August, another steamship grounded this time due to dense fog. At 4.15 am that morning word was received from the Coastguard lookout at Scarlett that a vessel had grounded about a quarter mile form Castletown Breakwater on the Lheeah Rio rocks. The early part of the night had been dense fog and later the wind had freshened to gale force with heavy rain.

Wilfred Hudson, the master of the 650 ton SS Gorsefield had been on passage Dublin to Siloth, sailing light. As the night drew in and knowing he was close to the south of the Isle of Man he had decided to proceed at slow speed. However, the strong ebb tide off the Langness peninsular had taken the vessel well off course. They end up steaming into Castletown Bay, unaware of their position, until they struck rocks without seeing any signs of a coastline.

The Sir Heath Harrison arrived alongside at 5.30 am and stood by until the vessel refloated on the rising tide. After checking that no water was being made, the Master of the Gorsefield continued on his voyage.

It is often hard to imagine some of the measures that are necessary that is required in wartime. The next service call for the Sir Heath Harrison involved what would be considered an environmental disaster these days- the need for an 11,000 ton oil tanker to discharge its cargo into the Carrick Bay !

On the 29th October, the Norwegian tanker, " Spananger ", had been bound fully laden with crude oil from Milford Haven to the Clyde with an escort vessel to join up with a convoy being formed. At about 2 am in light winds but hazy conditions the tanker ran onto the Carrick Rock at high water. The lifeboat launched at 3 am after a request from the Master of the tanker for immediate assistance and stoodby her until daybreak when they were released. In the meantime the 45 crew of the Spananger stayed on board and started to discharge part of the cargo.

At noon a tug arrived but failed to pull the tanker of the rocks. Work continued through the day and further crude oil was discharged into the bay. A second tug arrived in the evening to assist in the attempt to pull the tanker off on the next high tide.

At 2 am on the 30th, the Hon. secretary was requested to use the lifeboat to transfer the Head Naval Officer of the District to the tanker to organise the salvage attempt. The wind had now freshened from the north east some what and there was a gale forecasted. The Naval authority considered that now the tanker was light when they attempted to pull her off there was a real risk of the vessel capsizing and they wanted the lifeboat there just in case there was a need to pick off the tankers crew of 45.
At 3 am , the two tugs succeeded in pulling the tanker off the Carrick. After checking that there was no serious damage the tanker left with her escort of repairs in Liverpool.

It is noted that the lifeboat crew helpers who got covered in oil when recovering the lifeboat on the slipway that morning were given extra compensation for the cost of their clothes and that Cox George Kelly had to get helpers to clean the boat down.

The " Spenanger " apparently spent a few days in Liverpool for repairs but missed the convoy from the Clyde to Newfoundland that it should have joined. However it left on its own under orders for a full speed crossing in a zig zag pattern and arrived safely at her destination before the convoy !

22nd March 1943, the 5000 gross tons steamship " Nolisement" (link with picture and details of the ship) of Cardiff ran aground at Strandhall in a fresh east wind. She had been bound for the Middle East with a cargo of military equipment. The lifeboat put to sea at 8 am and found the steamer and her crew of 49 not to be in immediate danger although her engines were not working. A tug was expected at noon so it was decided to return to harbour and await the arrival of the tug.

At 1.30 pm the Dutch tug Seine arrived and the Lifeboat put to sea again. The efforts of the tug were unsuccessful as the Nolisement had been carried by the wind and tide further ashore and into a more dangerous position. Consequently the Lifeboat returned to harbour and waited until 7.30 pm when the Government Salvage Inspector arrived and was taken out to the wreck. Just after midnight the tug finally managed to pull the Nolisement clear of the rocks with one of the lifeboat crew on board acting as a pilot. However the steamship was badly damaged and making water.

Later on the 23rd the Nolisement was towed up to Ramsey Bay in order to be beached to make repairs. She was safely grounded on the North Beach at Ramsey in spite of a strong NE wind. An Admiralty tug arrived to supervise the repairs and salvage operation and after a few days an attempt was made to tow her of for full repairs in Liverpool. However after a few miles , she started to make water again and was beached for a second time, just south of the Queens Pier. Once pumped out work commenced again and finally on the 5th April she was towed away to Liverpool.

During the period that the Nolisement was being repaired, the Sir Heath Harrison was again in action again. At midnight on the 27th the three masted collier " Parknasilla" the auxiliary coastguard on duty at the end of Port St Mary breakwater saw a vessel entering the bay on what appeared to be a dangerous tack. So the harbour lights were turned on and the signal letter U ( you are running into danger ) made to the vessel. It then altered course to get out of the Bay and in doing so ran aground on the Carrick rock. The lifeboat launched and proceeded to the Carrick where the Collier had already managed to refloat itself. The master informed Coxswain Kelly that every thing was alright and then proceeded on his voyage to Belfast.

On the 21st July an aircraft ditched into the sea about 2 miles SE of Scarlett Point. The lifeboat was called for but a shortage of help and a very low ebb tide meant that it would be slow to launch the lifeboat. Consequently the Hon. Secretary asked a motor boat to proceed which the owner consented to do. The two occupants of the plane were saved by a rowing boat from the Langness Lighthouse after their plane sank a few minutes after it had ditched.

A month later and the lifeboat were asked to launch for another aircraft which had ditched 15 miles SW of Port St Mary. However between the first call at 5.30 am by the Naval Officer in charge for the I .O. M . and another by the District Coastguard some minutes later it became clear that a launch was not required. Apparently the aircraft had ditched twenty miles away and two RAF Air Sea Rescue motorboats were already on the way.

The evening of the 15th September and an invasion barge LCT 2429 was in danger of being blown ashore in Castletown Bay during a SW gale .The lifeboat launched at 9 pm to proceed and standby the barge which 14 people on board. A heavy swell was running into Castletown Bay and the barge was about half a mile from the beach. The lifeboat guided the barge into Castletown harbour at 11.20 pm and then returned to station. Some minor damage was done to the lifeboats fenders.

The Chief District Officer for the Admiralty rang the next day to thank all those involved for their prompt launch and good work.

Three weeks later on the 6th October, word was received that the 7000 ton SS " Valldemosa" was adrift 2 miles SW of the Chickens Rock without any engine power in a SSW gale with rough seas and torrential rain. At 2.30 am a further message was received that the vessel was ashore at the Burroo Rock on the SE tip of the Calf. The crew was summoned but it took an hour to get enough helpers to launch the lifeboat. The boat proceeds but found no sign of a vessel aground and started to search the coastline of the Calf. At the same time Port Erin's lifeboat the " Matthew Simpson" also proceeded to the south of the Calf and located the " Valldemosa" at anchor near the Chickens Rock. The Port Erin lifeboat stood by whilst repairs were made to the steamers engines; heavy seas continuously sweeping over the Port Erin boat.

The Port St Mary lifeboat had gone to Port Erin to find out what news was known and returned at 6 am to the Chickens Rock to find the Port Erin Lifeboat already standing by the steamer. Both lifeboats then stood by until 7.30 am when the gale had moderated and a Government boat had arrived to assist in the salvage. The Port St Mary lifeboat then left and the Port Erin boat stayed until mid afternoon when two tugs arrived on scene. The Valldemosa was able to get underway under her own power later that afternoon.

A curious record of a standby call for the lifeboat exists in the Station records for the 7th Decemeber 1944. At 8:15pm the Coxswain George Kelly, received a call from the Coastguards at Ramsey requesting the crew immediately assemble and standby. A little over an hour later a second phone call stating that the crew could stand down as the 'position of the destoryer was OK'. The destroyer involved and the nature of its difficulties is not recorded.

However , A Corkills' Dictionary of Shipwrecks off the IoM records that on the night of 7th December 1944, the 190 foot long, steamship Glenmaroon, of Belfast, was bound from Larne for Ellesmere Port, with a cargo of empty petrol cans.
She was about 22 miles east-southeast of Douglas Head when through the darkness and snow squalls came the noise of an aircraft engine, approaching closer and closer. Incredibly the unknown aircraft attacked the Glenmaroon, causing damage to the starboard side of the vessel and started a fierce fire as well as holing the ship. The Glenmaroon began to settle. The lamp trimmer was cut off on the foredeck by the fire, so climbed the port rigging of the foremast and slid down the preventer wire from near the masthead, and managed to get past the fire. Three crewmen were lost when the ship foundered. The destroyer HMS Clare picked up Captain Adair and the survivors.
It has been subsequently discovered that the attacking aircraft was British and had attacked the Glenmaroon by mistake.

On the 20th December there was a SSW gale with driving rain showers when an Admiralty auxiliary MFV 693 got into difficulties in Castletown Bay when its engines broke down.

At midday word was received that a vessel was flying distress signals in Castletown Bay . So the Lifeboat proceeded and found that MFV 693 had one anchor down but it was failing to prevent it from drifting towards the shore. The crew of three was taken off which resulted in some damage to the bow of the lifeboat and they were then landed into Castletown Harbour. The Naval officer in Charge for the Island asked that the lifeboat take an extra anchor out to the MFV and together with some navy sailors make the vessel secure. This they managed to do and then returned to Port St Mary with the sailors and crew of MFV 693. On the way back, the master of the casualty told Coxswain James Clugston, that they had been bound from Poole to Glasgow . They had left Holyhead the previous night for Douglas and some miles south of the Island their engine had started to give trouble and finally broke down. Using a very small sail belonging to their boarding boat they had managed to get into Castletown Bay by a controlled drift, but with increasing wind their anchor had started to drag.

The final service of the wartime years occurred in March 1945 and was a bit of a smelly affair !

On the 19th , the small Dutch coaster " Duurswold" ran aground at Balladoole during fog in the night. A strong SW wind and rain developed as daybreak came. She was carrying a cargo of 210 tons of patent manure from Plymouth to Glasgow and the crew hoped she would refloat on the rising tide. The Naval Officer in charge asked that the Lifeboat standby at about 2 pm ( high water ) to assist in operations to refloat the vessel. However the launch was cancelled as the wind had freshened considerably and with heavy seas the seven crew of the " Duurswold" had been forced to abandon their vessel which was badly holed and making water.

The Post War years 1946 -1948

The summer of 1946 saw the return of the holiday tourist trade to the Island and a rapid increase in pleasure boating. During the summer the Lifeboat was called out six times to assist two small rowing boats, a power boat and three yachts .

At Easter a small power boat from Douglas had its engine break down 3 miles SSE of Port St Mary and was drifting rapidly in a northerly gale offshore. When the lifeboat arrived it was found that the powerboat had taken a lot of water and her two crew were wet through. They were taken on board and their boat towed back.

The service of real note was on the 5th June to the racing yacht " Aileena" of Glasgow which had left the Clyde for Liverpool in order to take part in the New Brighton to Douglas yacht race. A SW gale had developed and the yacht had taken shelter in Derbyhaven. At 11 am it was observed flying distress signals as her anchor cable had parted and her small boat had sunk. The Sir Heath Harrison was underway in twenty minutes and encountered very rough seas in going round Langness. The centreboard jammed and some fenders were washed away in very heavy seas. It took an hour to reach the yacht which was found to have anchored again. The four crew of the yacht did not want to come of but asked if the Lifeboat could run out another anchor for them. This was done and Cox Kelly said he would standby as long as they were showing their distress signals. The crew still refused to leave their yacht but took down their signals and then the lifeboat left them to safely ride out the gale.

In August there was a succession of three incidents; the first two involving holiday visitors in small boats who ended up in drifting out to sea due to fresh winds when they got too far from the harbour and the last one a small yacht that was becalmed and ended up drifting up and down the coast. All were located and brought back to Port St Mary safely.

On the 27th October the lifeboat was called out to go to an overdue small yacht , the "Arrow" of Derbyhaven which was found SE of Scarlett with its sails blown away. Both occupants were exhausted and wet as the strong northerly wind which had developed had taken them out to sea.

At a branch committee meeting in April 1947 after a visit of the Deputy Chief Inspector, Cdr. Michelmore and DI Middleton , it was recommended that the lifeboat slip be extended by 100 foot, a new carriage should be furnished and that consideration to a larger afloat boat be made by the Management Committee of the Institute. Furthermore the District engineer expected that an electric winch to replace the hand cranked one in the boathouse would be fitted within two months.

At midnight on the 6th May , the lifeboat was launched for a report of white flares about 7 miles S by W from the Scarlett Point Coastguard lookout. After a wide search of the are until 3 am when heavy rain began to fall and visibility became poor , the search was called off without spotting anything.

On the 13th of the next month a 30 foot motor yacht , the " Posina" of Belfast, went aground on the Seal Rock ,just south of Castletown harbour entrance, in the early hours of the morning. The Lifeboat arrived to find the vessel fast, her engine room awash and the vessel in danger of sinking. The vessel was saved from sinking and she and her two crew were towed into Castletown on the rising tide.

During the recovery of the Lifeboat after the service, the bowman Stanley Kneen, accidentally had his foot crushed under a wheel of the Lifeboat carriage. A Doctor was summoned to dress the injury which consisted of a badly smashed toes and then he was taken to hospital.

At noon Tynwald day ,the Lifeboat was called out to a sailing yacht observed drifting helplessly about 3 miles south of Scarlett. A westerly gale was blowing and the Lifeboat eventually found her some 4 miles east of Langness. When alongside the "Alana" no signs of life could be found so with some difficulty 2 crewmen were put on board only to find there was nobody there. The yacht was waterlogged and in danger of sinking so it was left to drift whilst the lifeboat searched the coast in case her crew had abandoned her in a dingy. However it transpired that the 16 ton , 35 foot long " Alana" had broken free of her moorings in Derbyhaven during that night and in owner was not aware that she had gone. The search was called off in the late afternoon and the " Alana " was salvaged the next day by some fishing boats and towed into Douglas.

At the end of August a full scale search was made for a holidaymaker who had hired a rowing boat for the day when he failed to return in the evening. The Lifeboat launched at 11 pm and searched the coast including putting a man on the Calf to check with the Bird Warden and continued without success until 8 am the next day. Later it was discovered the man was safe having abandoned the rowing boat at the Sound after failing to row against the tide. He beached it and walked that evening and never informed anybody of his actions. The matter was put in the hands of the police.

At the Branch AGM for 1947 in October , the questions of the delay in extending the slipway and the installation of an electric winch were raised . During a recent visit the District Inspector, Commander Middleton, had suggested a larger boat to be kept permanently afloat was under consideration and that shoreworks would be likely to be deferred.

The Lifeboat was involved in a prolonged search along with the Douglas, Port Erin and Peel Lifeboats on the 10 June 1948 for a De Havilland 89A Rapide aircraft, G-AIUI, which was overdue at Ronaldsway airport from Birmingham with a pilot and 7 passengers . It was thought to have crashed somewhere in the sea around the south and west coast of the Island. Conditions were a fresh SE wind and hazy visibility.
The wreckage was found the following afternoon a couple of hundred feet below the summit of Cronk-ny-Arrey-Lhaa. Remarkably two people survived the crash and a nights exposure to the elements before they where located by a RAF Mouuntain rescue unit based at RAF Jurby.

The Lifeboat left at 11pm, 10th June, and searched a large area from Derbyhaven to the west of the Chickens Rock. It returned at 7.25 am to refuel and then continued searching until 12.30 when the search was called off. A problem did occur during that morning- at 10.45 am that morning , the Hon. secretary got a phone call from the Coastguard to say that an Avro Anson XIX, G-AGNI, was also in difficulties off Braddha Head and could the lifeboat be alerted. However the Lifeboat was not fitted with radio and contact could not be established. In the end some local boatmen from Port Erin rescued the crew and passengers of the Anson which had been forced to ditch in the sea a half mile NW of Braddha Head due to running out of fuel.

The next month the Sir Heath Harrison was in action in a WSW near gale when the 63 ton ketch " Sarah Latham " got into difficulties in the Langness tide race. The ketch from Chester was one of the last working sailing craft around the coast. She was laden with 117 tons of bricks and tiles from Connahs Quay ,on the Dee estuary to Belfast and typical of the time was manned by her Master, Captain Ralph Ashton, his wife , a mate and two crew.

They had been about 20 miles SW off the Calf of Man when the weather turned foul and visibility bad. First her mizzen sail was blown away, followed by the foresail. Despite using their engine she became unmanageable, wallowing heavily in large seas. Finally some of the caulking between her planks gave out and they started to take water which resulted in the engine failing and finally their pumps became clogged. Now drifting helplessly before the gale they were driven towards the shore of the Island and finally they managed to get an anchor to hold them when they were a quarter mile from the rocks on Langness Point.

The Coastguard lookout at Scarlett Point spotted their distress signals at 4.30 am and phoned for Port St Mary Lifeboat. The Sir Heath Harrison was launched a little after 5 am and got to the ketch within half an hour. With skill Coxswain Kelly took the Lifeboat alongside the ketch which was in the middle of the Langness tide race and took off the crew as the ketch was in immediate danger of sinking. A short time later the " Sarah Latham" sank. Her crew were landed at 6.25 am and looked after in the boarding house of the lifeboats signalman, Arthur Halleton.

On 28th September the lifeboat was asked to launch for a missing aircraft but the launch was cancelled before the boat was in the water. The crashed aircraft, a converted Handley Page Halifax, G-AJNZ, was overdue at Liverpool from Nutt's Corner, Belfast and believed to have ditched SE of the Island. However, at middday it was found on the hillside on the west side of the Island, again located near to the summit of Cronk-ny-Arrey-Lhaa. All four of its crew were killed.

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