Gravesend Fundraising Branch

Following the Marchioness tragedy in 1989, The RNLI was invited to provide this facility and four new lifeboat stations were opened on 2 January 2002. Gravesend, Tower and Chiswick, are manned 24 hours a day, using a mix of full-time and volunteer crew, with Teddington having a volunteer crew summoned by pagers.

Our station is at the end of Royal Terrace Pier in Gravesend. Gravesend Lifeboat covers an area from Holehaven, at the western end of Canvey Island, to the Thames Flood Barrier at Woolwich, a distance of 26 miles. A patch which covers Kent, Essex and South London.

Our Lifeboat The ‘Atlantic 85’ class lifeboat, named Olive Laura Deare II came on station in 2008 costing approx. £214,000 and is currently the duty boat.

She is the second lifeboat at the station which Mrs Deare has funded via a generous legacy, following her funding for its predecessor, the E-Class lifeboat Olive Laura Deare. Which can be seen at the RNLI Historic Lifeboat Collection in the Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Please contact the Chair Adrian Soper [email protected] for opportunities at this branch or check our volunteering vacancies.