An Introduction

Welcome to my pages dedicated to the Upgang lifeboat, William Riley of Birmingham & Leamington and the "Whitby Historic Lifeboat Trust" After so many years have passed since the Rohilla tragedy I had not given any thought that any of the six lifeboats involved in the tragedy might still exist today, it therefore came as a bit of a surprise to learn about the William Riley. The William Riley was hauled six miles over land to a point on top of the east cliff adjacent to what remained of the once proud liner. The lifeboat was then lowered down a 200 ft perpendicular cliff by hand in a manoeuvre that would be almost unlikely today, even with today's technological advances. With the failing light and the unabated sea conditions it was deemed too hazardous for the lifeboat to be launched straight away much to the disappointment of all those present

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The lifeboat was spotted on an Internet auction website ebay although in a visibly poor state by a lifeboat enthusiast. He and the seller agreed on a price and the lifeboat was removed from the auction. The buyer initially wanted the lifeboat transported Newbiggin, Northumberland where it could be restored alongside another ex - lifeboat. However, contact with interested people in Whitby revealed an incredible level of enthusiasm for seeing the lifeboat returned to Whitby for restoration. A meeting of interested parties was held with sufficient numbers to form a trust to oversee the restoration of the lifeboat.

It would likely be quite a task at cost to have the boat fully restored and would certainly require a band of willing supporters. With my obvious interest in the Rohilla I was invited to become a trustee and I was only to happy to accept the invitation. The restoration of the lifeboat could only be done if a suitable base was found? The photograph to the left shows the boat in a poor state and is a clear example of the daunting task that lay ahead of any restoration.

The content of the original index page has been split into two individual pages as it was becoming quite extensive, the second page holds information about the William Riley as an RNLI lifeboat. The latest photograph to grace my William Riley pages surround its guest appearance at the top of "Robin Hoods Bank" last December for the Victorian Weekend, where the boat generated quite a bit of interest.

Tim Hicking and his wife Vanessa performed admirably alongside the boat explaining the history of the boat and handing out the publicity pamphlets on what was a bright but still an exceptionally bitter day, although the traditional winter coats would have given some protection. By sheer coincidence the boat was positioned in front of the "Victoria Hotel" as if to promote the weekend theme! A small step placed alongside the boat allowed people the opportunity of being able to see the inside of the fully restored boat. There was a small board promoting the trust, but it would have been nice to have had some form of advertising board, possibly inside the boat with some of the photographs of the William Riley when she was found. As the boat stands today many people will not be able to envisage the derelict condition of the boat, further confirming the task undertaken to restore the former lifeboat.

In order to make sure that the boat's centenary did not go unmarked the trust held  a 'talk' at the local museum. It was only on seeing a small A5 poster of the presentation that I learnt it was being held it seemed such a shame that such an important event was marked with a talk and with such little promotion? There is not really much I can add but will do so soon.

** First Fundraising Venture **

The former lifeboat had its first major fundraising venture last July recreating the journey undertaken by the Tynemouth motor lifeboat "Henry Vernon" in 1914 to the wreck of the Rohilla. As this page is updated the trust has just completed yet another fundraising row, this time in Scotland, the aim being to raise in excess of £5000. It is a more realistic figure to be raised and this time round the trust would do well to actually release the figures raised, details of both fundraising events can be found on my fundraising page. Plans are already being made for next year with speculation that the trust is planning another ambitius challenge, crossing the Channel?

** New Pages **

I have added five new pages related to the fundraising row from Scarborough to Whitby which includes four gallery pages. I have added a page detailing the record held for the boat within the RNLI which provides a history of the lifeboat movements. There is also a page dedicated to the William Riley's future including news of a scheduled television appearance next week and a 'Royal Visit', all of which can be found my fundraising page. I have also updated my Sitemap to reflect the new pages and therefore help browsers locate a specific page, if you have any problems you are welcome to use the search facility on my main index page which searches all the pages throughout this website and also those of my other sub domains.

"Troubles"

Unfortunately the restoration of the boat has not been all plain sailing and the trust faced a serious dilemma when the work approached the replacement of the decking. The town is well known for its shipbuilding and skilled traditional boat builders, yet there were moves to award the contract for the decking to a company that would be doing the work with the boat in its base at Northumberland. A number of trustees had concerns about the boat leaving Whitby and a fierce debate ensued. There has been a level of animosity that I would never have expected and underhand tactics that would shame any responsible trustee. I was told by the Chairman in no uncertain terms that my involvement as a trustee was not what I believed it to be. It was explained that only those actively working on the boat on a regular basis were allowed any involvement in the decision making process, something which practically eliminated over 60% of the trustees? I am not (or was not) able to actively work on the boat itself but that did not mean I was not doing my bit. Designing, building and maintaining a detailed and comprehensive website for a charitable trust is not something to be taken lightly and as anyone with such responsibilities will confirm it can be a demanding task. I was also canvassing support for the trust from a list of my personal Rohilla contacts with one such endeavour netting the trust fund a £500 donation, but even so it did not make me any more of an equal trustee, how bizarre was that!

I cannot give a single example of the bitterness I received as their were many, far more than I ever thought possible especially from the man who served as chairman and one who professed to being the driving force behind the whole project. I personally find his actions questionable at best, hypocritical at their worse, for a man of his standing to behave in such a way is unnerving. To allow you to see why feel I was forced to walked away from the trust resigning my position along the way I have included an insight on three select pages which can be accessed via the link below.

The Whitby Historic Lifeboat Trust has its own website, however it is basic at best and berift of any real information and also limited in terms of illustrations. Should you fancy making your own decisions about the website it can be found here. The following two e-mail addresses can be used if you would like to contact the trust direct.

P. Thompson (ex Chairman) whitby_museum@rnli.org.uk

D. Charlton (Treasurer) dave.jch@btinternet.com

In the meantime if you have any questions, queries or suggestions relating to the William Riley pages here, please do not hesitate to contact me using the link below. Likewise if you have any suggestions or ideas for the website I would like to hear from you.