Wick Lifeboat Station is located at Harbour Quay in Wick, a harbour town and royal burgh in the administrative region of Highland, formerly in the historic county of Caithness, in the NE corner of Scotland.

A lifeboat was first placed at Wick by the British Fisheries Society in 1848. Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1895.

The station currently operates a All-weather lifeboat, 14-20 Roy Barker II (ON 1224), on station since 1997.

History Disaster struck Wick and Caithness on what is still called "Black Saturday", the 19 August 1848. Fishing boats, which had started out in calm weather on Fri 18 August, found themselves in huge seas and a full gale on the Saturday. Ultimately, 18 vessels were wrecked, and 37 Wick fisherman lost their lives.

A lifeboat was then ordered to be placed at Wick by the British Fisheries Society (BFS), and handed to the care of the Wick and Pulteneytown Harbour Trust. She was a 28-foot 12-oar boat, thought to be built to the design of Henry Greathead, but actually built by Edward Oliver, of South Shields. Costing £169, she arrived in Wick on a steamer, on 11 November 1848.

A replacement boat would be supplied again by the BFS in 1857, and then, 12 years later, when the second boat was found to be completely useless due to dry rot, another was provided in 1870. In 1872, the BFS also funded the construction of a boathouse. In 1894, after 24 years further service, the Wick and Pulteneytown Harbour Trust realised that their boat needed replacing, but the benefactor of their boats had disappeared, the BFS having been wound up in 1893.

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 8 November 1894, it was agreed that the station would be taken over by the RNLI. Hector Sutherland, Town Clerk at Wick, and Honorary Secretary of lifeboat station, was also appointed Honorary Secretary for Wick lifeboat station, both stations being run by the same branch committee.

The RNLI immediately ordered a new boat, a self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with both sails and (10) oars, constructed by Woolfe, costing £345, which arrived in Wick on 3 December 1895. On 10 December 1895, the boat was named John Avins at a ceremony at the Rifle Drill Hall, Pulteneytown, the boat funded by the legacy of Mr J. Avins of Birmingham.

In a storm of April 1905, the boat was launched to the aid of four fishing boats in difficulties in Wick Bay. Having just cleared the harbour entrance, the John Avins was hit with a succession of large waves, and smashed against the North Quay wall. Four crew that were washed overboard were recovered to the lifeboat, but the boat was then swept up the Quay and dashed on the rocks. Fortunately all crew were brought ashore, but the boat was badly damaged and subsequently withdrawn from service. A relief lifeboat, Reserve No. 4A, formerly the Oldham (ON 335), was placed at Wick. She remaining there for the next eight years, but was never launched on service.

In 1913, the RNLI decided to close the station temporarily, whilst a new boathouse and roller-slipway was constructed at Salmon Rock to house a new motor lifeboat. Costing £4,000, the boathouse was completed in 1916, but owing to World War I, it would be 1921 before the lifeboat was ready, and Wick would receive their first motor-powered lifeboat, the 45-foot Watson-class Frederick and Emma (ON 659).

At 02:25 on 21 September 1942, the 46-foot Watson-class lifeboat City of Edinburgh (ON 802) was launched in complete darkness and torrential rain, to the aid of the tugboat St. Olaves and the motor-barge Gold Crown, both driven ashore near John O'Groats. Sighted at dawn, 27 men were rescued from the barge, and four from the tug. Cold and exhausted, the lifeboat men revived them with rum. For this service, Coxswain Neil Stewart Jr. was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.

In 1994, the lifeboat 47-016 Norman Salveson (ON 1121) was placed on a mooring in the inner harbour. With the lifeboat now moored afloat, a new station building was required near to the lifeboat, providing up to date crew facilities. Work was started in January 1997 and completed in the August of the same year. On 13 February 1997, Fraserburgh received their current lifeboat, the 14-20 Roy Barker II (ON 1224). Mr Frederick Roy Barker (1909–1992), known as Roy, left his entire estate to the RNLI, known as the Roy Barker Memorial Fund, with the request that all income be used to fund lifeboats. Wick received one of three lifeboats from the fund.

A pontoon berth was constructed in 2007 at a cost of £270,000.

After nearly 30 years on station, it was announced in 2025 that the station's long serving Trent-class lifeboat 14-20 Roy Barker II (ON 1224) would be retired in 2026, replaced by a new £2.7m state-of-the-art All-weather lifeboat.

Station honours The following are awards made at Wick: RNIPLS Silver Medal Andrew Lake, Chief Officer, H.M. Coastguard, Wick – 1828 Robert MacAlister – 1839 James Wishart – 1846 William Williamson, Branch Pilot – 1848

RNLI Silver Medal Cmdr. John Tudor, RN, Agent for British Fisheries Society, Wick – 1857

Silver Medal for Heroism awarded by The King of Norway Neil Stewart Jnr, Coxswain – 1956

RNLI Bronze Medal Neil Stewart Jr., Coxswain – 1942 Donald McKay, Coxswain Mechanic – 1984

Board of Trade Bronze Medal Wick Lifeboat Crew – 1860

'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' Walter McLeod McPhee, Coxswain – 1991 Walter McLeod McPhee, Coxswain – 1992 Ian Alexander Cormack, Acting Second Coxswain – 1992

Vellum Service Certificate John Martin, Motor Mechanic – 1992 Alexander Durand, Assistant Mechanic – 1992 Hugh Gunn, Assistant Winchman – 1992

British Empire Medal Neil Stewart Jr., Coxswain – 1970NYH

Roll of honour In memory of those lost whilst serving at Wick:

Lost when the Wick Harbour lifeboat capsized, on service to the Netherlands galiot Vronia Santina, 8 September 1857. Alexander Bain

Wick lifeboats British Fisheries Society Name Built Class Comments 1848 1848−1858 28-foot non-self-righting (P&S) x (12-oared) non-self-righting lifeboat, funded by the British Fisheries Society, constructed by Edward Oliver of South Shields, costing £169 (P&S) 1858 1858−1870 x (12-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the British Fisheries Board, constructed by Forrestt of Limehouse, London. 1870 1870−1895 34-foot self-righting (P&S) Thought to be identical to the 1857 boat, a 34-foot (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built locally for about £100.

RNLI Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats ON Name Built Class Comments 385 John Avins 1895 1895−1905 34-foot self-righting (P&S) x (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mr J. Avins or Worcester, England, constructed by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £345.Wrecked on service, 14 April 1905. 335 1892 1905−1913 x (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the Oldham LB Fund, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £419 when new.Previously Oldham at . Broken up in 1913. Station closed 1913–1921

Motor lifeboats ON Op.No. Name Built Class Comments 659 − Frederick and Emma 1921 1921−1938 45-foot Watson Transferred to . 802 − City of Edinburgh 1938 1938−1968 46-foot Watson 887 − Sir Geoffrey Baring 1951 1968−1970 Previously at . Transferred to the Relief fleet, later at . 1016 48-13 Princess Marina 1970 1970−1988 1121 1988 1988−1997 Transferred to . 1224 14-20 Roy Barker II 1997 1997− More post-service details can be found on the respective lifeboat class pages.

See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

Notes

References

Sources

External links Wick RNLI Lifeboat Station