Flint inshore lifeboat station
Flint inshore lifeboat station
An inshore lifeboat was established at Flint in May 1966. The D-class boat was kept in a garage near Flint Castle. This boathouse was built in 1985. The photo, courtesy of the RNLI, shows the boat Tangent 1, based here 1988-1996.
Helmsman Robert Alan Forrester received a bronze medal in 1983 after the lifeboat rescued the two crew of a cabin cruiser which had run aground and was taking on water 1.5km south east of Mostyn dock. In a strong north-westerly wind and rough sea, crew members Denis James Smith and Terrance Henry Jacklin boarded the cruiser to carry off one of the people on board, who had collapsed. They both received framed letters of appreciation.
In 2000 the crew received a Certificate of Commendation for rescuing a dolphin which was stranded in Mostyn dock. In 2001 Flint station tested a new hovercraft lifeboat on the Dee mudflats.
In August 2013, Flint lifeboat rescued a dolphin which had become stranded in the Saltney Ferry area. It had been spotted near Connah’s Quay three days earlier.
The lifeboat service in the UK is provided not by government but by the RNLI, a charity which relies on donations from the public. Since it was established in 1824, the RNLI is estimated to have saved c.140,000 lives. It employs some crew members but most, 40,000 in total, are volunteers who leave their work, families or beds whenever their lifeboat is needed.
Postcode: CH6 5PE View Location Map
Footnotes: More Flint rescues
1990 - A Special Framed Certificate presented to the station for services during the Towyn floods (click here for this story). The crew helped more than 200 people to safety
1991 - A Framed Letter of Appreciation to Graham Oare after he used his 17ft open fishing boat to rescue three fishermen whose boat had capsized and sunk off Flint Castle
2009 - Chief Executive Awards to Robert Schofield and Gareth Prothero for their help in the Cumbria floods, as part of the RNLI’s national floodwater relief team.