Brooke Lifeboat
The stretch of coast between the Needles and St Catherine’s Point is the most treacherous on the Isle of Wight. The clay and smooth rock slabs known as Brook and Brighstone Ledges extend half a mile out to sea, stretch for six miles and have claimed many ships and lives in thick fogs, heavy ground swells and wild south-westerly storms.
For hundreds of years, ‘wreck,’ like smuggling, was an important source of income for Islanders. Cargoes they came across in this way included valuable building materials, spices, salt, sugar and wine. If the longshoreman could not use the goods themselves they would sell them on, often using the smugglers’ distribution routes and networks. The timbers from wrecks were used to build houses, sheds and boats; the panelling in Mottistone Church roof, for example, is taken from the Cedarine, wrecked in 1862.
A record of vessels ashore between Compton Chine and Chilton Chine, Isle of Wight.
Courtesy of Nova Scotia Museum
Tales of rescues from 1301 - 1859 before the days of the first Brooke lifeboat Dauntless which was first called out on New Year's Day 1861
Then as now the lifeboats were supported by public donations. We see that in Brook there was a tradition of raising money for the lifeboat in both entertaining and instructive ways:
An entertainment was given in the Hulverstone School Room yesterday, the profits of which were donated to the Lifeboat Disaster Fund.
Between its establishment in 1860 and its closure in 1937 Brook Lifeboat had six coxswains.
All were expert seaman and all, except for Jack Seely, were local longshoremen and fishermen. Living all their lives in Brook, they knew more than anyone the different sea states, the local weather and every detail of the coastline.
The coxswain’s job was to judge the exact moment to shout ‘Launch!’ when the thirty or more helpers hauled on the two ropes which shot the boat from its carriage into the sea.
The experience and knowledge required and the qualities of nerve and judgement are so exacting...It is an affair not of minutes but of seconds, and hesitation, vacillation, or weakness spells disaster.
Launch, J E B Seely.
Alf Woodford and General Jack Seely, Lord Mottistone, joint coxswains - 1933-1937
Roland Hayter - coxswain 1919-1933 -stands to the left of General Jack Seely. Roland Hayter, below, lived in Brook Villa. He was a carrier and nephew to John Hayter, the first coxswain of Brooke Lifeboat.
Thomas William Hookey was the son of James and Harriett Hookey of Downton Farm. He became a farmer and blacksmith and was also a churchwarden. Tom was in the crew of the William Slaney Lewis when it rescued the Eider in 1892.
Ben’s father James Jacobs (born c.1827) was one of the first volunteer crew members of the Brook rowing lifeboat station when it opened in 1860. James served in the crew up until 1892 and continued to help launch the lifeboat from Brook beach up to his death, from pneumonia, aged 71 in 1898.
‘Brook’s notable storm warrior,’ was what the Isle of Wight County Press called John Hayter. Over his 32 years as the first coxswain of the Brooke boat, John Hayter became the most decorated lifeboatman in the Island’s history.
30ft x 7ft self-righter, built by Forrest of Limehouse, London.
Cost £148 9s 6d.
February 2nd 1867
The American ship Fanny Larribee, 1271 tons in ballast, went ashore off Brook Chine. In spite of a heavy ground swell, Captain Randall decided to stay with his ship until a tug arrived and eventually the vessel was re-floated.
New Year’s Day 1861
The first call for Brooke’s first lifeboat Dauntless, came at 7am on New Year’s Day. The 32 pounder lifeboat canon on the cliff top boomed out over Brook and in a few minutes the whole village was alive with activity.
32ft x 7ft 6in self-righter, built by Forest of Limehouse, London.
Cost £274
November 15th 1871
The fine Liverpool barque Cassandra was sailing from London to Madras when she was caught in a particularly fierce gale in the Channel.
In 1872 there were four rescues:
the Norwegian ship Sjorn, the barque Hope, the brig L’Etoile and the brigantine Malcolm Brown.
October 18th 1874
When the brig Hermoso Habanero struck on the rocks at Sudmore below Mottistone, the crew took to their boats, but as the sea was so rough they had to secure them to the anchor in the bows of the vessel.
January 15th 1875
The lifeboat once more proved its worth when the barque Blanche Margeurite from Philipville, on her way to Dunkirk loaded with barley struck on the Sudmore ledge. A crew of ten lives were saved in spite of heavy seas in which no ordinary boat could have survived.
January 19th 1876
The Brooke lifeboat was launched to rescue fourteen men on board the barque Mignonette and succeeded in bringing all ashore in thick weather and a heavy ground swell.
December 14th 1883
The Castle Craig, from Odessa in the Black Sea, was loaded with Russian grain, oil and feathers when she lost her bearings in thick fog and drove on to Brook Ledge.
November 1884
On a Tuesday morning at 1am a small schooner, Princess of Thule, owned by its captain and bound for Montrose, was laden with maize and came ashore on the rocks at Brook in very thick fog. With assistance from coastguards and fishermen she was lightened of some of her cargo and got off the rocks at 7.30pm.
January 30th 1886
A 100 ton schooner, William Thornborrow, bound from Teignmouth for London with a cargo of pipe clay, came ashore at Brook and soon became full of water and likely to become a total wreck. Captain Spiller and his crew took to their boats and abandoned her. She was afterwards boarded by the coastguards who took charge of her on behalf of the Receiver of Wrecks. The captain and crew rowed round the Needles and up through the Solent to land at Cowes.
The final Brooke Lifeboat was the Susan Ashley. She was 35ft by 8ft 6in. A self-righter she was built by Thames Ironworks and cost £844.
November 27th 1910
The French ketch Rene went ashore at Sudmore. Brooke Lifeboat arrived in time to see her get off and sail away
1912
The engines of a steamer, Poplar, broke down 5 miles out at sea and Brooke lifeboat stood by until tugs arrived.
February 4th 1916
During a south-west gale and heavily breaking seas, a Norwegian ship, the Souvenir, went ashore on Brook Ledge.
1926
The Urkiole Mendi was bound for Algeria from Middlesborough with a cargo of iron ore when it came ashore. Brooke lifeboat stood alongside with the Yarmouth motor lifeboat until she was re-floated.
1932
The 2600 ton steamer Roumelian of Liverpool collided with the SS St Nazare 24 miles south west of the Needles. The St Nazare continued her journey while the Roumelian limped towards the safety of the Solent.
Never before have the beach and cliffs at Brook presented such a scene of animation and interest as on Whit Monday afternoon, when a crowd, which must have numbered 2,000 saw what will probably be the last launch of the Brook lifeboat by horse power...
Subcategories
Memories
In this section of the website you will find the memories of local people that relate to the Brooke lifeboat station.
