Volunteer Life Brigade
Encyclopedia
A Volunteer Life Brigade is a search and rescue organisation which assists HM Coastguard
in the United Kingdom
in coastal emergencies. There are only a few Volunteer Life Brigades left in the United Kingdom, with most being replaced by Auxiliary Coastguard teams.
, North East England
, a gale at sea caught out many vessels, including a schooner called "Friendship" and a passenger steamer called "Stanley". These vessels tried to make it into the River Tyne
for shelter, but were driven ashore onto the infamous Black Middens at the mouth of the Tyne.
At the time, the Coastguard at Tynemouth consisted of only four men, two of whom were pensioners. Despite their best effort to use the breeches buoy
to rescue those on the vessels, the lines became tangled and could not be untangled. Lifeboats joined in the rescue effort but were unsuccessful.
At dawn the next morning, the rescue effort was resumed with the use of the breeches buoy from Cullercoats
. There were some survivors, but 32 people had died in sight of hundreds of powerless spectators on the shoreline.
John Morrison, who was an officer in the military volunteers based in Tynemouth Castle, was one of those spectators. It was apparent to him that, had there been a body men trained and disciplined as were his volunteers to assist the Coastguards, the breeches buoy
might whave saved all of the people from the ships. He approached John Foster Spence and his brother Joseph, who were both local civic dignitaries, and they readily took up the cause, calling a public meeting in North Shields
Town Hall on 5 December 1864, to sound out opinion.
There was a huge response at the meeting and the result was the founding of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade (TVLB) as a group of men who would be trained, ready and willing to assist HM Coastguard to save life from shipwreck, with over 100 men signing up on the spot. The Board of Trade, who were responsible for HM Coastguard Service, were highly impressed with the principle and the performance of the TVLB.
So impressed were they that they circulated the rules of the TVLB to all Coastguard stations around the coast of the United Kingdom with instructions that similar teams were to be formed at every station. In areas where there were sufficient enthusiastic people to take on the responsibility, Volunteer Life Brigades were to be formed, as at Tynemouth, these being run and administered by elected committees with training assisted by HM Coastguard. In other areas, the Coastguard would recruit teams which would be run and administered by the local Coastguards and would be known as Volunteer Life Saving Companies.
Over the years, many of these Volunteer Life Brigades have been replaced by the Auxiliary Coastguard service, who are groups of local volunteers, trained to high standards, who assist HM Coastguard when called upon. The only Volunteer Life Brigades still in existence are all on the north east coast of England at Tynemouth, South Shields and Sunderland.
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in coastal emergencies. There are only a few Volunteer Life Brigades left in the United Kingdom, with most being replaced by Auxiliary Coastguard teams.
History of Volunteer Life Brigades
On 24 November 1864, at TynemouthTynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
, North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
, a gale at sea caught out many vessels, including a schooner called "Friendship" and a passenger steamer called "Stanley". These vessels tried to make it into the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
for shelter, but were driven ashore onto the infamous Black Middens at the mouth of the Tyne.
At the time, the Coastguard at Tynemouth consisted of only four men, two of whom were pensioners. Despite their best effort to use the breeches buoy
Breeches buoy
A breeches buoy is a crude rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one location to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harness attached...
to rescue those on the vessels, the lines became tangled and could not be untangled. Lifeboats joined in the rescue effort but were unsuccessful.
At dawn the next morning, the rescue effort was resumed with the use of the breeches buoy from Cullercoats
Cullercoats
Cullercoats is an urban area of north east England, with a population 9,407 in 2004. It has now been absorbed into the North Tyneside conurbation, sitting between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay. There is a semi-circular sandy beach with cliffs and caves, and the village is a popular destination for...
. There were some survivors, but 32 people had died in sight of hundreds of powerless spectators on the shoreline.
John Morrison, who was an officer in the military volunteers based in Tynemouth Castle, was one of those spectators. It was apparent to him that, had there been a body men trained and disciplined as were his volunteers to assist the Coastguards, the breeches buoy
Breeches buoy
A breeches buoy is a crude rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one location to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harness attached...
might whave saved all of the people from the ships. He approached John Foster Spence and his brother Joseph, who were both local civic dignitaries, and they readily took up the cause, calling a public meeting in North Shields
North Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
Town Hall on 5 December 1864, to sound out opinion.
There was a huge response at the meeting and the result was the founding of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade (TVLB) as a group of men who would be trained, ready and willing to assist HM Coastguard to save life from shipwreck, with over 100 men signing up on the spot. The Board of Trade, who were responsible for HM Coastguard Service, were highly impressed with the principle and the performance of the TVLB.
So impressed were they that they circulated the rules of the TVLB to all Coastguard stations around the coast of the United Kingdom with instructions that similar teams were to be formed at every station. In areas where there were sufficient enthusiastic people to take on the responsibility, Volunteer Life Brigades were to be formed, as at Tynemouth, these being run and administered by elected committees with training assisted by HM Coastguard. In other areas, the Coastguard would recruit teams which would be run and administered by the local Coastguards and would be known as Volunteer Life Saving Companies.
Over the years, many of these Volunteer Life Brigades have been replaced by the Auxiliary Coastguard service, who are groups of local volunteers, trained to high standards, who assist HM Coastguard when called upon. The only Volunteer Life Brigades still in existence are all on the north east coast of England at Tynemouth, South Shields and Sunderland.