Wells Lifeboat Station

The naming of the Ernest Tom Neathercoat, 1965

This film opens by setting the scene. There are shots of the marshes and surrounding countryside taken from the A149, approaching Wells from Stiffkey, and there are shots of the quay. The film shows an old piece of film of a large sailing ship aground. This is not at Wells. There are shots of both the new and the old lifeboat stations. The old lifeboat house has become a cafe. Frank Taylor, the harbourmaster, talks about whelk fishing, which has replaced oyster fishing in Wells, and there are shots of the whelk fishers returning and of the whelks being boiled. The commentary explains that the fishers have to go 15 to 20 miles out to sea to catch the whelks.There are further shots of the old lifeboat station and some stills showing it as it was. This was built for £300 in 1869 and was the home of the first Wells lifeboat, the Eliza Adams. Whilst the film shows shots of the coaster 'Jonet' aground at Mundesley in March, 1969, the commentary tells the story of the 'Ocean Queen.' This was a brig that ran aground at Wells on October 28th, 1880. 11 lifeboat men were drowned trying to save her crew, who were able to walk ashore at low tide. There are shots of the memorial to the crew of the Eliza Adams. An old piece of film of an Irish lifeboat illustrates sailing lifeboats. The film takes up the story of the Wells Lifeboat Station. The present house was built in 1895 at a cost of ?550. The commentary explains about the boat. A pulling lifeboat is shown at Whitby to illustrate this. Details of Wells lifeboats are sketched in by the commentary. In 1936, the station received its first motor lifeboat, the Royal Silver Jubilee and in 1945 this was replaced by the Cecil Paine. The film shows the Cecil Paine on her last practice launch. The coxswain, David Cox, tells about the lifeboat and compares it with past oats. A sill shows an older lifeboat being hauled up the beach by horses. Wells was the last station in Britain to use horse in this way. The film also shows shots of the Inshore Rescue boat at work. There are shots of whelk fishers hauling pots at sea. The coaster 'The Dependence' is shown aground at Holkham Bay. Tractors and trailers unload her cargo.The final sequence of the film shows the naming ceremony of the Ernest Tom Neathercoat in 1965 by HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. There are crowd shots and Princess Marina arrives at the beach where she is presented to assorted dignitaries. The lifeboat, bedecked with flags is launched. A helicopter of the Air Sea Rescue Service hovers overhead. There are shots of the lifeboat and the film ends with a still of an older lifeboat.

Featured Buildings

Old Wells Lifeboat Station, the Jubilee Cafe; Present Wells Lifeboat Station

Keywords

Coastal scenes; lifeboats

Other Places

Mundesley; Wells; Whitby