When St Abbs lost its lifeboat station in 2015, the small Scottish Borders community faced the end of a 104-year connection with sea rescue. Ten years on, a privately funded boat is still answering coastguard calls and protecting people along the coast.
The return was made possible in large part by a £250,000 donation from businessman Sir Boyd Tunnock, whose support helped the village launch the Thomas Tunnock lifeboat barely a year after the old station closed.
A village rallies behind its lifeboat
The RNLI said there was no clear need for a station at St Abbs after an extensive review, pointing to the nearby service at Eyemouth. But the decision sparked a strong local response, with a petition against the closure gathering around 13,000 signatures.
After the station shut on 8 September 2015, the community began raising the £500,000 needed for an independent lifeboat. Tunnock agreed to provide half of that sum, describing the donation at the time as a “lot of caramel wafers”.
The new boat was named after his late brother and grandfather. Its launch, in 2016, brought the service back much sooner than local volunteers had expected.
A century of rescue work
St Abbs first gained an RNLI lifeboat in 1911, four years after the wreck of the cargo vessel Alfred Erlandsen. Villagers had gathered on the cliffs but could do little as people cried for help from the rocks.
The tragedy helped inspire women’s rights campaigner and philanthropist Jane Hay to call for a lifeboat and rocket apparatus in the village. Over the following century, St Abbs crews rescued hundreds of people.
The service remains rooted in the harbour and is run by local volunteers. Operations manager Barry Shaw said the crew still responds to coastguard requests and protects people using the surrounding coast.
Today’s volunteers include fishermen and a dive boat operator, with local helms continuing to crew the boat. Shaw joined after moving to the village in 2020 and said the role was about more than going out on the water: it also meant supporting the wider community.
Why this is good news for Britain
St Abbs has kept a vital coastal rescue service operating through local fundraising, charitable support and volunteer effort. That means practical protection for people at sea, while preserving an important community service in a small Scottish coastal village.
