Bangor RNLI down the years as lifeboat crew mark 60th anniversary saving lives at sea

2025 is a very special year for the volunteer crew at Bangor RNLI as they mark 60 years of saving lives at sea. And this weekend that milestone will be marked with the official naming of a new inshore Atlantic 85 class lifeboat.

Ruby Robinson was officially named during a ceremony at the lifeboat station today, Saturday, May 17 alongside a service of dedication to coincide with Bangor RNLI’s 60^th anniversary.

Records held in the archives of Bangor Lifeboat station indicate that a lifeboat in Belfast Lough was first established at Groomsport in 1858, following the wrecking of a vessel near Bangor, with the loss of all the crew and in full view of local people standing on the shore.

Groomsport lifeboats launched 55 times and saved 87 lives over a period of 62 years from 1858 to 1920, when the station was closed. It was reported that the number of lifeboat services were not more numerous due to the great number of fisherman and pilots in the area ‘of a fine and hardy type, who are not slow to risk their lives in their own boats, in which they have great confidence’.

Some 45 years after the closure of Groomsport Lifeboat Station an ever increasing demand for lifesaving services along the coast led to considerations of re-establishing a lifeboat service in the Belfast Lough area. Under the guidance of Ernie Hay, the first Honorary Secretary and North Down Borough Council Officer, the RNLI chose to place a D-Class inflatable lifeboat at Bangor Harbour, opening for business on 15 May 1965.

With the co-operation of North Down Borough Council, the lifeboat was stored in the Tower House yard and was launched on a trolley at the slipway beside the old Harbour Masters Office. The co-operation between North Down Borough Council and the RNLI has continued without a break since those times.

The service of the lifeboat continued under the care of local volunteers and the demands put upon her volunteer crew increased year on year. Successive Honorary Secretaries managed the operational demands and the Branch Fundraising Committee and Ladies’ Guild worked hard behind the scenes, raising the funds to cover operational costs. Over 40 local businesses also contributed to the funds by maintaining collecting boxes on their premises.

In 1984, following the construction of the Eisenhower Pier, North Down Borough Council built a new boathouse and slipway, which allowed for the subsequent upgrading of the boat to an Atlantic 21 class lifeboat, the then ‘Rolls Royce’ of fast inshore lifeboats. The Youth of Ulster, a new boat funded by local donations, was put on station in 1990 and was formally named by HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex in 1991.

In 2002 the RNLI invested £250,000 in building a new boathouse and crew facilities on a site kindly granted by North Down Borough Council. This boathouse was designed to accommodate the latest class of fast response inshore lifeboat.

Everyone connected with Bangor RNLI - the crew, station management, fundraisers and helpers - are all volunteers, giving freely of their time, braving all weathers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help save life at sea.

Since Bangor RNLI was established in May 1965, it has been served by three different classes of lifeboat. A D class lifeboat was placed on service first, followed by an Atlantic 21 class lifeboat in 1988 ahead of the latest class, the Atlantic 85 arriving in 2006.

The new north Down lifeboat, which went on service in June last year, was funded by a legacy from Dennis Filby from Norfolk in England. The youngest in a family of six, Mr Filby was known as an unassuming man who loved country life. He worked for Ruby Robinson and her husband on their farm in Hingham, Norfolk and Mrs Robinson invited Dennis to become Farm Manager after Mr Robinson died.

This was on a smaller farm in Hilborough, Norfolk. He ran the farm until he died in 2019. It was therefore his wishes to leave the majority of his estate to fund a lifeboat to be named Ruby Robinson in her memory. Some of Mr Filby’s family members will be attending the naming ceremony to see his legacy.

The Ruby Robinson replaced the Jessie Hillyard, which had been used to save lives at sea by the shores of Belfast Lough for almost 18 years. Since its arrival last year, the new lifeboat has launched 33 times with the volunteer crew coming to the aid of 25 people, one of whom was a life saved.

Captain Byron Griffiths, Bangor RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said: "This is a special weekend for our lifeboat volunteers, our families and all our supporters as we prepare to mark the 60th anniversary of the station and as we name our wonderful new lifeboat in memory of Ruby Robinson, remembering the generosity of the late Dennis Filby. We are proud custodians of this lifeboat, which will go on to rescue and save many lives in the years ahead."

See our photo gallery below of life at the station down the years.