The Museum to Reopen - Sunday May 28th.

Poole’s 19th century lifeboat station on the east end of the quay is still as it was when the last serving crew shut the door in 1974. Now with the support of the Poole RNLI fundraising group the building, which is now a museum, is getting a new lease of life. It’ll be reopened to the public on Sunday 28 May 2006 and the star of the show will be the Thomas Kirk Wright, the first motorised lifeboat to serve Poole and now a vital part of the town’s maritime history.

Thomas Kirk Wright is a real treasure. She’s a rare example of a ‘surf boat’, which was ideal for the shallow waters of Poole Harbour. But she is also a Dunkirk veteran ferrying stranded troops back from the Dunkirk beaches in 1940 as part of the now famous armada of little ships. And the news that she will be back on show has delighted the volunteer crew of today’s Poole lifeboats who believe the old station is a special place where you can feel the presence of the brave crews that have gone before. This they attribute to the very special exhibit housed inside the museum.

Jonathan Clark, Poole RNLI Lifeboat Coxswain, has family links to the building as his father, John Clark, served there:

‘This fine old lifeboat station is a vital part of our heritage. We are very pleased that the Poole lifeboat fundraising group have agreed to run the museum. It means the station of the past will help raise funds to keep our current RNLI lifeboat station running.’

‘I love to call in at the museum whenever I’m on the quay as you can really feel the atmosphere. Memories of characters like Sandy Wills and Ian Stevens are evoked, along with all the other brave men that have gone before. These crews launched without the modern electronics, navigation aids, self-righting capabilities and equipment that we have today. It was a good deal harder to man the lifeboat in those days and the crews of the past should never be forgotten.’

‘It’s hoped to renovate the museum in the very near future, and there will be an opportunity to view the proposed plans. The objective is to give the building a positive future, so we can share the history and heritage of the RNLI’s crews and lifeboats. Our aim is a sympathetic renovation and this can only be achieved with the help and support of the people of Poole, so we hope that you will come along and look at the plans, we welcome all your views.’

The boathouse and gift shop will be open from 28 May 2006 from 10am to 4.30ish and will also open on Tues/Thursday/Friday evenings when the summer activities on Poole Quay are in full swing, subject to willing volunteers and favourable weather! Entry to the museum is free, however donations are always welcome.