Lifeboat ceremony interrupted by rescue
A recent ceremony recognizing lifeboat heroes was interrupted as the recipients of the Bravery Medals dropped everything to make another, on the spot emergency rescue.
Petty Officer Anthony Navi and Lieutenant Paul Patterson were being recognised by the Tyne Lifeboat Society when the incident happened. The two men were in the middle of supervising a Sea Cadets exercise on the river at Hebburn when a member of the public fell into the water and started drifting down river with his face in the water.
They sped towards him and hauled him, semi-conscious and struggling, aboard their safety boat and administered first aid before passing him on to emergency services on shore, gaining yet another commendation for their successful rescue effort.
The unscheduled rescue gave the ceremony, which took place on HMS Bulwark during an official reception, an interesting and relevant edge since before the presentation, Tyne Lifeboat Society chairman John Lightfoot had been talking about how the founding of the society had been based on taking the initiative.
He explained that the society’s long and impressive history stretched back 221 years to 1789 when a group of local shipowners formed a lifeboat committee. They offered a reward for the creation of a purpose designed lifeboat which would be the very first to be designed and built with the sole objective of saving lives.
The move had been prompted by the tragic fate of the doomed Newcastle ship, the Adventure, that had gone aground that year near the coast at the Tyne River inlet. Although the tragedy could be seen clearly from the shore, little could be done to save the passengers and crew who were dropping from the rigging into the sea.
William Wouldhave is credited with the best original concept. His ‘non-capsizable’ design was to be built of copper and made buoyant by the use of cork.
Although it did not meet with full approval, Mr Wouldhave was awarded one guinea for his trouble, while Henry Greathead was finally commissioned to adapt this design and build the boat, which was named the Original.
Both men lived and worked in South Shields and are generally credited with being the designers and builder of the world’s first purpose built lifeboat, which was operated by the lifeboat committee.
