SAVING THE
THOMAS LINGHAM

This project was pre-CIC and funded privately and with loads of practical "hands-on" help from our fantastic local community. The installation is now almost complete and is now proudly exhibited in the Memorial Garden in Rhosneigr.

 

This is a shining example of how, with collaboration and determination, a community scheme can come together and be delivered. Visits to the Memorial Garden have tripled since the Rhosneigr Lifeboat came home. We hope to have an informal opening bash towards the summer so keep an eye on the website.

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Firedog Creative CIC will be taking on the ongoing maintenance and insurance commitments for the exhibit together with web presence and associated merchandising.

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This lifeboat is the last of four that served Rhosneigr between 1872 and 1924.

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Commissioned in 1903 and launched the following year, the Thomas Lingham spent two decades in RNLI service, saving lives along this rugged coastline before retiring in 1924. 

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A self-righting Rubie Class pulling design, she relied entirely on the strength and courage of ten volunteer oarsmen, each launch a test of teamwork, endurance and bravery. 

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After being saved from the maritime breaker’s yard, the Thomas Lingham has now been brought home to Rhosneigr, returning to the village more than a century after she last launched from these shores. 

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Today, she stands in the Memorial Garden as a tangible piece of the community’s maritime heritage, just 150 metres south of the original lifeboat station at the Boatpool and whilst lovingly preserved remains in private ownership.

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Inside the boat, you’ll find the commemorative tablet once displayed in the lifeboat building before the vessel itself passed into private ownership. What remains here is the boat’s original framework and teak cross-boarding allowing forthcoming generations to appreciate the shape, craftsmanship and character of this historic lifesaver, the Thomas Lingham.