Saving the Shipwrecked
Lifesaving Teams and Apparatus
Concern about the tragic loss of life in shipwrecks led to
voluntary organisations being set up to do their bit. The best
known of these is
Royal National Lifeboat Institution founded in 1824, but there
were also teams of lifesaving volunteers. Some of these manned
rocket apparatus. The apparatus was portable and would be set up on shore as close
as possible to the wreck. A light rope would be fired by rocket
over the wreck, and those on board would attach it to their ship. A
much heavier rope would then be hauled out, so that survivors could
be brought ashore. To do this, they climbed into a breeches buoy, a
piece of equipment combining two trouser legs which supported the
survivor, with a lifebelt in case they were dipped into the
water. Voluntary lifesaving teams, or `companies` as they were often
called, were eventually taken over by the government and
incorporated into the
Coastguard Service.
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