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RNLB Solomon Browne

 ON 954

Sept 1960 - Dec 1981

The lifeboat was provided out of legacies left by Miss Lydia Mary Dyer Browne of Launceston, Cornwall, Miss Blanche Waterhouse of Huddersfield, and Miss S.W. Davies of Timperley.

The naming ceremony and service of dedication of the ‘Solomon Browne’ took place at Mousehole Harbour on Saturday, 17 September, 1960 at 3pm.

In cold, blustery weather, several hundred people crowded Mousehole’s Old Quay to watch Lady Tedder name the new £35,000 Penlee Lifeboat. The crowd held their breath when the champagne bottle did not break for the first time.

Coxswain Jack Worth saved the day - he had a small hammer in his hand and smartly smashed the bottle “in true sailor’s fashion”

The Dean of Truro (The Very Rev.H.M.Lloyd, DSO, OBE) dedicated the lifeboat, (top photo) assisted by the Vicar of Paul (The Rev. J.H. Tyrrell) and by the minister of St Clements Methodist Church (The Rev. J.P. Horner, B.D.)

Crew of the Solomon Browne lifeboat 1960 - 1970

Coxswain John Thomas Worth (Jack)

crew member on the Brothers Lifeboat, the W & S Lifeboat, and
Coxswain of the Solomon Browne lifeboat 1960-1970.

The crew of the new Solomon Browne Lifeboat

Left to Right - Arnold Gartrell, Owen Ladner, Clifton Pender, Clarrie Williams, Coxswain Jack Worth,
Jack Wallis, Mechanic Johnny Drew & Ned Tregenza.

The memorial to the crew of the Solomon Browne lifeboat can be found in the north east corner of Paul church.

The Bishop of Truro, Rt. Rev. Peter Mumford, dedicated the memorial to the Penlee Lifeboatmen at Paul Parish Church on Sunday 24 April 1983. With him is the Vicar, the Rev. Geoffrey Harper and Canon Hugh Cadman who was Vicar of Paul at the time of the tragedy.

Photo credit - Andrew Besley

The huge granite boulder, three feet high and weighing a ton, was brought from the sea, close to the point where the Penlee Lifeboat ‘Solomon Browne’ and the coaster ‘Union Star’ were lost 16 months earlier on 19 December 1981.It unique memorial to the eight Mousehole heroes.

The full story can be found by clicking this link Solomon Browne