Cresswell Lifeboat Station

After the founding of the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1824, and later when it became the RNLI, it wasn't uncommon for any acts of gallantry at sea, whether by lifeboat, or other means, to be rewarded with RNIPLS or RNLI medals for gallantry. For the rescue of six men from the vessel Julius on 23 November 1861, which was aground and breaking up on Broad Sand Rocks, Thomas Brown (Big Tom), a Cresswell boatman, was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal. Some years later, in 1874, James Brown and his three sons, all of Cresswell, were drowned, when their fishing coble overturned within sight of the shore. James was the brother of Thomas. At the…