The History of the George Elmy
The Origin
In 1949 the RNLE commissioned the East Cowes boat builder (Isle of White Groves & Guttridge to produce a twin-engine, Liverpool class boat, official number ON S73. The boat was funded from a legacy of Miss Elizabeth Elmy, a spinster of Stoke Newington, London, In remembrance of her late brother George, she had requested it was named George Elmy.
The newly built lifeboat arrived on station at Seaham Harbour in January 1950 and was formally blessed and named by Lady Londonderry on the 26th June 1950
Decades of Service
George Elmy and her crew responded to 26 calls for assistance and rescued 20 people in 12 years unti the night of 17th November 1962 when the call came to go to the aid of the fishing coble 'The Economy'.
This call proved to be the last for the George Elmy and her brave crew. Having rescued all five on board the Economy she began the return to the Economy, she began the return to safety of her home port. Unfortunately, within a boat length of the South Pier a freak wave overwhelmed the lifeboat and all but one of those on board was lost.
On 17 Nov 1962, nine men died in the rescue attempt.
Lifeboat Crew of the 'George Elmy"
John T. Miller (Coxswain)
Fred Gippert (Second Coxswain)
Arthur Brown
Leonard Brown
James Farrington
Crew of the coble "Economy"
David Burrell (aged 9)
Gordon Burrell
George Firth
Joseph Kennedy
Sole Survivor of the coble 'Economy'
Donald Burrell, David Burell's Father.
The 1962 Tragedy
After inspection and subsequent repair by the RNLI, George Elmy was put back into service as a relief boat, then into the reserve fleet serving some time at Poole harbour. She was eventually sold out of service in 1972 for the sum of £600.
She then began a career as a fishing boat in various harbours until offered for sale on eBay in May 2009. She was then bought from the highest bidder by the East Durham
Heritage Group with the aid of a loan from Local fisherman
Tommy Smith, the George Elmy arrived back in Seaham 15th
May 2009.
Aftermath
Restoration
Fundraising then began in earnest and with the aid of major national funders and many local donations from all sides of the community. The target was reached in early April 2011 to allow the restoration of the historic vessel to begin. Before entering the town's marina, the lifeboat stopped at the site of the capsize for the crew to lay a wreath in memory of those lost 51 years earlier.
Hundreds of people turned up to witness a formal blessing and re-naming ceremony close to where the original one was held almost 53 years ago.
The George Elmy now takes pride of place in the former Seaham lifeboat station, which has been renovated as part of the development of Seaham's North Dock and now forms part of the East Durham Heritage and Lifeboat Centre.
Legacy Today
The East Durham Heritage & Lifeboat Centre is managed and staffed solely by volunteers of the East Durham Heritage Group and enthusiastic new volunteers are always needed. If members of the public feel they would like to help then they should please visit the Centre.
Our aim is to collect and preserve information and artifacts relating to Seaham's heritage and make it available to all generations as an educational facility. "Without knowing our past how can we know and appreciate our present and future?"