A CORNERSTONE of Swanage life was celebrated at the weekend as the community came together for the 150 anniversary of the creation of Swanage RNLI.

An open day took place at the Swanage Lifeboat Station at Peveril Point Road last Saturday (September 13) which saw supporters and volunteers gather to reflect on the many lives that were saved since the first lifeboat – the Charlotte Mary – was launched.

A thanksgiving service was also held at St Mary’s Church on Sunday, September 14.

The creation of the service came about as a result of a rescue on January 23 1875.

A ship laden with coal was travelling down to Poole Harbour from Sunderland when it struggled to pass Peveril Point and hit rough conditions causing it to hit the ledges in the early hours of the morning.

The Coastguard Lookout at Peveril Point at the time saw the ship was in difficulties and telegraphed to the nearest lifeboat station, in Poole, for help.

The coastguards fired rocket lines to the boat but, with the stormy weather and rough seas, they broke.

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The current lifeboat station is still situated on the original site Picture: Swanage Lifeboat Station

As conditions worsened, the chief Coastguard officer, John Lose, realised that the situation was desperate, and the lifeboat might not reach the Point in time.

This resulted in the launch of the station’s two boats and his prompt actions meant that all the crew were saved.

For his part in the rescue, Lose was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal and his men were rewarded.

In a write up of the creation of Swanage Lifeboat Station, Nick Reed said: “The rescue was seen from the shore by the distinguished Swanage resident John Charles Robinson.

“Robinson lived at Newton Manor and was an influential person in the Victorian art world.

“After witnessing the wreck he wrote in the Times, ‘five dark, sodden bundles, rather than living creatures, were seen, all clustered together clinging to a mass of tangled rigging a the highest part of the ship’s hull… Soon we see a coil of rope thrown from the largest boat and caught by one of the living ‘bundles’… and in a few minutes (thanks be to Heaven!) all five – one a very small one were safely stowed in the boat‘.

Picture: Swanage Lifeboat Station

“The “very small one” was the ship’s cabin boy and it’s believed he was adopted by one of the Poole lifeboat crew!“

Support for a lifeboat station grew throughout 1875 helped by Robinson and other prominent locals, such as George Burt and Lord Eldon.

In March 1875, Robinson again wrote to the Times: “The wreck of the Wild Wave has, thanks to the publicity given to it in The Times, resulted in unmixed gain to the seafaring interest. The Swanage lifeboat will, in a few weeks, be an established institution…”.

The station finally opened on September 16, 1875.

The first lifeboat stationed at Swanage was the Charlotte Mary. The vessel cost £389 and was named after the late sisters of one of the station’s first benefactors, Miss Margaret Ryder-Wilde.

Both the RNLI and NCI, in Swanage, can trace their origin back to the early days of the local coastguard station.

The current lifeboat station is still situated on the original 1875 site and was rebuilt in 2015/2016 to accommodate the station’s new Shannon class lifeboat.