Holyhead Lifeboat Station () is located at Newry Beach, off Beach Road, Holyhead, a port town which sits on Holy Island, a smaller island to the north-west of the main Isle of Anglesey, separated by the Cymyran Strait, in North Wales. It is one of the three oldest lifeboat stations situated on the North Wales coast. A former boathouse now houses the Holyhead Maritime Museum.
A lifeboat was first placed at Holyhead in 1829 by the Anglesey Association for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (AAPLS). Management of the lifeboats of the AAPLS was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1855.
The station currently operates 14-19 Ger Tigchelaar (ON 1205), a All-weather lifeboat, on station since 2026, and the smaller Inshore lifeboat, Mary & Archie Hooper (D-791), on station since 2016.
History In 1808, on behalf of a local committee, William Vickers made an application to Lloyd's of London for assistance funding a lifeboat. At a meeting on 13 January, the request was reviewed and agreed, and a grant of £50 was offered. However, there is no further evidence of any lifeboat, and it is assumed the boat never materialised.
A request was then made to the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1825, but again there seems to be no further evidence of a lifeboat.
In 1828, the Anglesey Association for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (AAPLS) was founded, by the Rev. James Williams and Mrs Frances Williams, of Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy, Anglesey. On 26 March 1823, they had witnessed the loss of 140 lives from the wreck of the vessel Alert, and spent the following five years raising funds and gaining support for a lifeboat service.
A 31-foot 6in (8-oared) Palmer-class lifeboat was constructed by McVeagh of Holyhead, at a cost of £80, and placed at Holyhead in 1829 by the AAPLS.
Over the following years, the station would become one of six operated by the AAPLS. In 1854, the RNIPLS changed its name to become the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and in 1855, all six lifeboat stations of the AAPLS, (no.1), Holyhead (no.2), (no.3), (no.4), (no.5) and (no.6), were transferred over to the management of the RNLI.
Often the RNLI would immediately replace the lifeboat, on assuming management of a station, but in this case, the 1829 lifeboat must have been in reasonable condition, as it wasn't until 1858 that it was replaced. It was by then showing signs of decay, and a self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (10) oars, was constructed by Forrestt of Limehouse, at a cost of £161. A substantial boathouse was constructed by the Lords of the Admiralty, at the expense of The Crown.
At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 5 August 1875, the receipt of £2,500 was recorded, gifted from Samuel, John and Joshua Fielden, for the construction and maintenance of a lifeboat, to be named Thomas Fielden (ON 192) in memory of their late uncle. The three men were the sons of John Fielden of Todmorden, a British industrialist and Radical Member of Parliament for Oldham (1832–1847). On the death of John's brother Thomas, the three nephews inherited an estate of £1.3million.
It was decided to appropriate the funds for the purchase of a 37-foot self-righting lifeboat for Holyhead, where a new boathouse was also constructed.
A further gift of £2000 in 1891 funded the replacement 39-foot self-righting lifeboat, again named Thomas Fielden (ON 300).
In 1892, Holyhead Lifeboat Station received its first lifeboat, which was one of six to serve in the RNLI. The lifeboat was involved in an operation to rescue crew members of the SS Harold in 1908, which anchored near rocks between North Stack and South Stack. The third steam Lifeboat to serve at Holyhead, James Stevens No.3, was retired in 1928 when it was replaced by a motor-powered Watson-class lifeboat, H.C.J. (ON 708).
Twenty-one years later, a new boathouse and slipway were constructed on Salt Island.
The boathouse and slipway were used until 1980, when a new boat was allocated to the station and kept afloat in the harbour. Unfortunately, wash from the ferry traffic led to the boat's GRP hull being damaged, and as a temporary measure, a steel-hulled boat was placed on station, while the boathouse and slipway were reconditioned and a new boat was constructed for the station. The new boat entered service in 1985, and slipway launching continued until 1997 when a new, more protected, berth was found for another Arun-class boat, 52-37 Kenneth Thelwall (ON 1123) to take over.
In 2003, the Arun-class was replaced by the Lifeboat, 17–41 Christopher Pearce (ON 1272).
An Inshore lifeboat station was established on the site in 1967. The boathouse was expanded in 1987 to fit a and its launching trolley. The current inshore boat, Mary & Archie Hooper (D-791), entered service in 2016. Lead was stolen from the station's roof in the morning of 16 June 2011. In February 2015 the station appointed its first female helm.
The Christopher Pearce was reallocated to the RNLI relief fleet in 2025, with Holyhead receiving the lifeboat 14-07 Frederick Storey Cockburn (ON 1205) from the relief fleet. In February 2026, 14-07 was replaced by 14-19 Ger Tigchelaar (ON 1223), previously at .
Station honours The following are awards made at Holyhead:
RNIPLS Gold Medal Capt. William Owen, of the brig Stanley – 1835
RNLI Gold Medal William Owen, Coxswain Superintendent – 1908 Lt. Cmdr. Harold Harknett Harvey , RNR, Inspector of Lifeboats (North West) – 1967
RNIPLS Silver Medal Thomas Hughes, Boatman 1st Class – 1829 Robert Stables, Coxswain – 1833 Capt. William Owen, Master Mariner – 1833 Oliver Anthony, Master Mariner – 1833 Richard Morris, Lifeboat Keeper – 1835 Henry Parry, Quartermaster, H.M. Packet Doberell – 1840
RNLI Silver Medal William Rowlands, Coxswain – 1866 William Rowlands, Coxswain – 1867 (Second-Service clasp) Thomas Roberts, Coxswain – 1883 Thomas Roberts, Coxswain – 1886 (Second-Service clasp) Edward Jones, Coxswain – 1887 John O. Williams, Chief Officer, H.M. Coastguard, Holyhead, Hon. Secretary – 1888 Edward Jones, Coxswain – 1889 (Second-Service clasp) Robert Jones, Second Coxswain – 1889 Thomas W. Brooke, crewman – 1908 George Jones, crewman – 1908 Lewis Jones, crewman – 1908 Richard Jones, crewman – 1908 Samuel Jones, crewman – 1908 James Lee, crewman – 1908 William McLaughlin, crewman – 1908 Charles H. Marshall, crewman – 1908 William Owen Jnr., crewman – 1908 Lewis Roberts, crewman – 1908 Thomas Alcock, Coxswain – 1967 Eric Samuel Jones, Motor Mechanic – 1967 William Jones, Coxswain – 1977
RNLI Bronze Medal Richard Jones, Coxswain – 1943 John Jones, Motor Mechanic – 1943 Richard Jones, Coxswain – 1949 (Second-Service clasp) William John Jones, Second Coxswain – 1967 Francis Ward, Acting Bowman – 1967 Jack Sharpe, Acting Assistant Mechanic – 1967 David Graham Drinkwater, crew member – 1967 John Michael Hughes, crew member – 1967 Brian Gordon Stewart, crew member – 1967 Donald Malcolm Forrest, Mechanic – 1971 Gareth Ogwen Jones, crew member – 1971 John Michael Hughes, crew member – 1971 (Second-Service clasp) William John Jones, Coxswain – 1977 (Second-Service clasp)
The Thanks of the Institution on Vellum Awarded to each of the 15 crew – 1883 Holyhead lifeboat crew – 1978
The Sugar Manufacturer’s Association (of Jamaica) Ltd Case of Rum 1954 Holyhead lifeboat crew – 1954
Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) Thomas Brian Thomson, Coxswain – 2007QBH
Roll of honour In memory of those lost whilst serving Holyhead lifeboat: Lost when the lifeboat capsized on service to the schooner Henry Holman of Plymouth, 14 January 1865. William Hughes
Died as a result of exposure and injuries, after falling on rocks on service to the steamship Meath, 1 February 1892. Robert Jones, Coxswain
Killed in a boiler room explosion aboard lifeboat Duke of Northumberland, 26 June 1901 John Owen (47) Thomas Owen
Killed when the vessel The Gardner Williams rolled on top of the lifeboat, 28 March 1920 Thomas J. Michael (36)
Holyhead lifeboats Holyhead / Holyhead No.1 ON Name Built Class Comments 1829 1829–1858 31-foot 6in Palmer x (8-oared) Palmer-class lifeboat, funded by the Anglesey Lifeboat Association, built by McVeagh of Holyhead, costing £80.Condemned in 1858. Pre-313 1857 1858–1864 30-foot Peake self-righting (P&S) x (10-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the RNLI, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £161.Lengthened in 1864, and transferred to . Pre-310 1857 1864–1875 36-foot Peake self-righting (P&S) x (12-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mr Jos. Leather of Liverpool, built and modified by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £158 when new.Previously unnamed at . Capsized 14 January 1865. Sold in 1875. 192 Thomas Fielden 1875 1875–1891 x (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Samuel, John and Joshua Fielden of Todmorden, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £444.Sold in 1891. 300 Thomas Fielden 1891 1891–1897 39-foot self-righting (P&S) x (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Samuel, John and Joshua Fielden of Todmorden, built by McAlister of Dumbarton, costing £448.Transferred to . 231 1889 1897–1922 Previously at . 420 James Stevens No.3 1898 1922–1928 First in service at Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.
Holyhead No.2 ON Name Built Class Comments 264 Joseph Whitworth 1889 1890–1915 37-foot self-righting (P&S) x (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Sir Joseph Whitworth, gift of Lady Whitworth, built by James Beeching of Great Yarmouth, costing £450.Sold in 1915. 617 Fanny Harriet 1911 1915–1929 x (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Miss F. H. Roe of Bath, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £1,107 when new.Previously at . Later stored for eight years. Sold in 1937. 485 1902 1929–1930 34-foot Dungeness self-righting (P&S) x (10-oared) Dungeness-class (Rubie) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Miss F. H. Roe of Bath, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £1,107.Previously at . Later used for demonstration purposes. Sold in 1934. Renamed Misty Dawn, later Girl Anne. Broken up at Montrose basin, October 2002.
Holyhead No.3 ON Name Built Class Comments 231 1889 1892–1893 Previously at . Transferred to
Holyhead ON Op.No. Name Built Class Comments 708 – H.C.J. 1928 1928–1929 45-foot 6in Watson Transferred to 717 – A.E.D. 1929 1929–1950 51-foot Barnett Transferred to 884 – St.Cybi(Civil Service No.9) 1950 1950–1980 1067 52-15 Hyman Winstone 1980 1980–1984 Transferred to the relief fleet, later at 1003 44-004 Faithful Forester 1967 1984–1985 Previously at 1095 St.Cybi II(Civil Service No.40) 1985 1985–1997 1123 52-37 Kenneth Thelwall 1987 1998–2003 Previously at 1272 17-41 Christopher Pearce 2003 2003–2025 1205 14-07 1995 2025–2026 Previously at 1223 14-19 Ger Tigchelaar 1995 2026– Previously at More post-service details can be found on the respective lifeboat class pages.
Inshore lifeboats D class Op.No. Name Class Comments D-116 1967–1976 D-249 Caribbean I 1976–1988 D-358 1988–1996 D-507 1996–2005 Angel of Holyhead(Civil Service No.46) 2005–2016 D-791 Mary & Archie Hooper 2016–
See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
Notes
References
External links Holyhead RNLI Lifeboat Station