THE HISTORY OF TENBY LIFEBOAT
R.N.L.B. FLORENCE
In july 1862 the Committee of Management of the R.N.L.I. decided to build a new boat for the Tenby station and a new lifeboat house on Castle beach. The lifeboat house cost £123.10.0d the launching carriage cost £86.0.0d and the lifeboat cost £260.0.0d it was a 33 foot by 8 foot ten oared self-righter built by Forrest of London.
The lifeboat arrived at Tenby in july 1863 after being transported by rail from London to Ferryside; free of charge, by the Great Western and South Wales Railway Companies. She was named 'Florence'after MissF.R.Magenis whose gift covered the cost of the new lifeboat.
Her first service was on December 3rd l863 to a number of local fishing smacks after a North West gale sprang up during the morning. Two of the smaller boats failed to make Tenby harbour and the lifeboat rescued the crew of one of them; the other boat was saved by the large smack 'Emma'. Almost a year later,on November l8th,l864 the sloop 'Active' of Carmathen was seen flying a distress signal in Caldey Roads.The lifeboat was launched in a West-North-West gale and in the heavy, breaking seas found it difficult to get alongside the sloop though she eventually succeeded in taking off the crew of three. Coastguard officer Thomas Monger was appointed coxswain in l865 and his first service was on November 25th of that year when he rescued one man from the smack 'Mary' of Cardigan which had gone ashore and broken up on the south Sands. Floreces busiest period and the most effective service was between October 1867 and September 1868 when she went to the assistance of the brigantine 'Nameless' of cork the schooner 'Emily Anne' of Caernarvon, two other Cork brigantines ('Peregrine' and 'Helen Anna') and the schooner 'Sarah pringle' of Liverpool. Her last service in that period was to the schooner 'Carnsew' of Liverpool. In eleven months she had saved twenty four lives. Her last services were between 1872 and1874. In the latter year on September 22nd (it was to be her last service call) she saved the crew of three of the French lugger 'Marie' of Lannion.
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