Anstruther Lifeboat Station operates from Middle Pier at Anstruther, a harbour town on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately south-east of St Andrews, on the Fife peninsula, on the east coast of Scotland.

A lifeboat station was established in Anstruther by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1865.

The station currently operates the All-weather lifeboat 13-47 Robert and Catherine Steen (ON 1354), on station since 2024, and the Inshore lifeboat Akira (D-802), on station since 2016.

History Ever since its founding in 1824, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), later to become the RNLI in 1854, would award medals for deeds of gallantry at sea, even if no lifeboats were involved. Between 1832 and 1834, Five medals for gallantry were awarded on three occasions in the Anstruther area.

In 1834, the RNIPLS Gold Medal (Second-Service Gold lifeboat) was awarded to Lt. Henry Randall, RN, and a RNIPLS Silver Medal (Second-Service Silver lifeboat) to Chief Boatman Kenneth McCulloch, for the rescue of seven crew off the schooner Wanderer, when it was wrecked at Elie in a storm in 1833.

Randall had previously been awarded a gold medal for a rescue off Aberdeen in 1825, and Kenneth McCulloch was awarded the RNIPLS Silver Medal for saving the three crew of the sloop Vine when it was wrecked at Elie harbour on the 6 March 1832.

Silver medals were also awarded to two other coastguards, A. Murray and J. Mason, for saving the five crew of the schooner John, when it got into trouble during bad weather in December 1833.

On Thursday 1 June 1865, following his visit to the town, the deputy Inspector of Lifeboats recommended to the RNLI committee of management, that a lifeboat station be established at Anstruther.

A self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' lifeboat, on with sails and (10) oars, was dispatched to the town. The lifeboat arrived on 18 November 1865, with the day being declared a local holiday. Having been conveyed to the town free of charge by the various railway companies, the lifeboat was drawn in procession through the town on its carriage to West Beach.

The entire cost of the station had been funded by the gift of £600 () from Miss H. Harvie of Cheltenham, along with a donation of £60 from local fishermen. She requested that the lifeboat be named in memory of the pioneering meteorologist Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865). After a service of dedication by Rev. A. Gregory, the lifeboat was named Admiral Fitzroy.

In 1892, the RNLI inspector found there was no need to employ a paid bowman for the lifeboat, as the station at that time had six volunteer coxswains and a full crew to staff it, although by 1899, the number of coxswains had reduced to four. Up until 1897, the station had used a mortar to alert the volunteer crew, but this was deemed too dangerous to vessels in the harbour, so a handbell was used from that point on. A new lifeboat house was constructed on Middle Pier in 1904, costing over £1,600. Around this time, a new Coxswain Superintendent was appointed to replace the numerous coxswains, who has operated the station before on a rotating basis.

24 years after the first purpose-built motor-powered lifeboat was first placed at , Anstruther were assigned their first motor lifeboat. The lifeboat Nellie and Charlie (ON 764) was funded from the legacy of Mr Neil Robertson of Pitlochry, and was constructed by J. Samuel White of Cowes. 7000 people attended the service of dedication and naming ceremony on 21 July 1933. Nellie and Charlie served at Anstruther for 17 years, launching 54 times, and saving 72 lives.

In 1965, a new lifeboat was sent to the station. It was named The Doctors (ON 983) in a ceremony by Princess Alice in memory of the family of Dr Nora Allan, who had gifted the cost of the lifeboat. At this time the station was re-adapted for the new lifeboat, a trailer and tractor.

The Doctors was withdrawn from the station after 26 years, and replaced by the lifeboat 12-17 Kingdom of Fife (ON 1174) in 1991. At this time the slipway was refurbished and the boathouse extended and modernised. Further modifications were made to the boathouse in 1995 with a two-storey extension, providing new crew facilities.

In order to provide a faster local response, the Inshore lifeboat Global Marine (D-552) was placed on service in 2003, for a 12-month trial period. A Inshore lifeboat remains on service at Anstruther to this day.

The station was again upgraded in 2009, at a cost of £273,000, to provide permanent housing for the Inshore Lifeboat The Rotary Centenary Queen (D-667).

Volunteer lifeboat helm Barry Gourlay, a mechanical engineer, received the RNLI Bronze Medal in 2013, and volunteer crew members fisherman Euan Hoggan and PhD student Rebecca Jewell were accorded the "Thanks of the Institute inscribed on Vellum", for the rescue of two people in difficult sea conditions. MV Princess had run onto rocks near Crail in the early hours and was breaking up in a force 5 winds, heavy rain and a swell. The volunteer crew used the Inshore lifeboat, later transferring the casualties to Kingdom of Fife. The RNLI stated in the award ceremony in London that the volunteer had "undoubtedly" save the lives of the stricken crew.

2016 saw the arrival of a replacement Inshore Lifeboat Akira (D-802).

In 2019 it was announced that the RNLI planned to build a purpose-built new facility further along the shoreline that will be capable of housing a lifeboat. The Anstruther crew featured on a BBC documentary Saving Lives At Sea in 2019.

In March 2024, prior to service, the new Anstruther lifeboat, 13-47 Robert and Catherine Steen (ON 1354), was placed on display at Westminster Abbey for the RNLI 200 anniversary service. She was later transported to Anstruther, and was declared operational at 10:00 on 27 August 2024.

13-47 Robert and Catherine Steen (ON 1354) is one of the RNLI's "Launch-a-Memory" lifeboats. To assist with the cost of the lifeboat, 10,000 supporters were asked to pledge a donation, in return for their designated name being placed within the numbers on the lifeboat.

Station honours The following are awards made at Anstruther:

RNIPLS Gold Medal For saving seven lives of the schooner Wanderer, 2 February 1833 Lt. Henry E. Randall, RN, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1834 (Second-Service Gold Lifeboat) RNIPLS Silver Medal For saving three lives of the sloop Vine, 6 March 1832 Kenneth McCulloch, Chief Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1832 For saving seven lives of the schooner Wanderer, 2 February 1833 Kenneth McCulloch, Chief Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1834 (Second-Service Silver Lifeboat) For saving five lives of the schooner John, 3 December 1833 Andrew Murray, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1834 John Mason, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Elie – 1834 RNLI Bronze Medal For saving two lives of the motor vessel Princess, 1 August 2012 Barry A. L. Gourlay, Helm – 2013 'The Thanks of the Institute inscribed on Vellum' For saving two lives of the motor vessel Princess, 1 August 2012 Euan Hoggan, Crew Member – 2013 Rebecca Jewell, Crew Member – 2013 Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) For services to the Institution John Salter Murray (former Coxswain) – 2007QBH

Anstruther lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats ON Name Built Class Launches/ Comments 1865 1865–1888 32-foot Prowse self-righting (P&S) 13 / 18 x (10-oared) Prowse-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Miss H. Harvie of Cheltenham, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £252.Condemned and sold for £6 in 1888. 164 Royal Stuart 1888 1888–1904 34-foot self-righting (P&S) 5 / 0 x (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mrs Atherton Howard of Cheltenham, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £377.Condemned in 1904, and broken up in 1905. 521 James and Mary Walker 1904 1904–1933 15 / 46 x (12-oared) non-self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mrs M. A. Walker of West Calder, built by Thames Ironworks, costing £1,018.Sold in 1933. Renamed Cameronian, later Ishbara. Under restoration as James and Mary Walker for display in Anstruther. Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

Motor lifeboats ON Op.No. Name Built Class Launches/ Comments 764 – Nellie and Charlie 1933 1933–1950 54 / 72 876 – James and Ruby Jackson 1950 1950–1965 63 / 45 983 37-16 The Doctors 1965 1965–1991 79 / 23 1174 12-17 Kingdom of Fife 1991 1991–2024 152 / 50(–2014) 1354 2023 2024– More post-service details can be found on the respective lifeboat class pages.

Inshore lifeboats Op.No. Name Class Comments D-552 Global Marine 2003–2004 12 month evaluation D-500 2004–2005 D-461 Spirit of RAOC 2005–2006 2006–2016 D-802 Akira 2016–

Launch and recovery tractors Op.No. Reg. No. Type Comments T15 FU 4892 Clayton 1933–1949 T47 KGP 2 Case LA 1949–1959 T44 KGJ 57 Case LA 1959–1965 T81 DLB 483C Case 1000D 1965–1977 T79 DLB 481C Case 1000D 1977–1985 T81 DLB 483C Case 1000D 1985–1991 T112 H977 SNT Talus MB-H Crawler 1991–2003 T110 G751 MNT Talus MB-H Crawler 2003–2012 T104 E269 YUJ Talus MB-H Crawler 2012–2016 T110 G751 MNT 2016–2024 SLARS (Clayton) 2024–

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

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