Benjamin Bond Cabbell II (ON 12) was a Cromer non self-righter type lifeboat stationed at Cromer

Cromer lifeboat station

Cromer Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. The station operates two lifeboats - one for inshore work and the other for offshore work....

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of Norfolk from September 1884 until September 1902.

Design and construction

The Benjamin Bond Cabbell II was the fifth lifeboat to be stationed at the Norfolk town of Cromer, and the second lifeboat to bear the name Benjamin Bond Cabbell

Benjamin Bond Cabbell

Benjamin Bond Cabbell FRS DL , British politician and philanthropist, was educated at Westminster School, and went up to Oriel College, Oxford, in June 1800, but left the university in 1803 without a degree. He was called to the bar of the Middle Temple in 1816 and practised on the western circuit...

. At the design process for this lifeboat, a number of meetings were held by the RNLI’s chief inspector of Lifeboats, Captain the Hon H.W. Chetwynd and the service’s surveyor Mr Prowse with the crew of the Cromer Lifeboat. At the meetings the lifeboat men were asked what there preferences were, when considering designs for the new lifeboat. The local men who were mainly fishermen expressed a desire for a new boat to be on the lines of the lifeboat which had been stationed there before 1858. These suggestions by local men, Mr James Davis, Mr James Mayes and Mr Thomas Blogg were very similar to the Norfolk and Suffolk Type lifeboats. By the 27 November 1883 the surveyor, Mr Prowse, had agreed a design with the local fisherman, and an order was placed with James Beeching boat builders, of Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...

 .

Construction

The new lifeboat hull was constructed using the clench method fixed with copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 fastenings. The keel was 4 inches (10.2 cm) deep and 5 inches (12.7 cm) wide, with an iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 keel

Keel

In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...

 plate and a belt of cork. She was 35 feet (10.7 m) long with a breathe of 10 in 6 in (3.2 m). The inside depth was 4 feet (1.2 m). There were fourteen oar

Oar

An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles are that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...

s which were double banked and she was also equipped with a dipping lug

Lugger

A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...

 sail. The lifeboat would be steered by either a rudder

Rudder

A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...

 or sweep oars. Benjamin Bond Cabbell II had a watertight deck, with copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 tubes and self acting valves to release the water, and portable airtight cases round the sides of the boat between the deck and the thwart

Thwart

A thwart is a strut placed crosswise in a ship or boat, to brace it crosswise.In rowboats it can also serve as a seat for a rower....

s. Cork packed air-cases were placed under the deck in the wings of the lifeboat. These cases weighed 4.5 tons and drew 18 inches (45.7 cm) of water clear of ballast. The boat had a relatively light construction with a high bow and a raking stem. The keel was curved, typical of the north country designed lifeboats first built in the late eighteenth century. The water ballast tanks had ten relieving valves and the rudder was retractable to prevent it being damaged when beach launched or during the recovery procedure.

Service

The Benjamin Bond Cabbell II was formally named and christened on the 29 September 1884 by Mrs Bond Cabbell when she broke a bottle of claret over the boat, followed by a launch from the lifeboats carriage, whilst the band played Rule Britannia and the church bells rang. The Benjamin Bond Cabbell II was launched to only thirteen times during her service at Cromer, saving twenty six lives in the process. Her first service took place on the 28 January 1888. Benjamin Bond Cabbell II was launched at 11:15 am to the brigantine Jane Marie of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 which was bound from Hartlepool

Hartlepool

Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...

 for Greenwich

Greenwich

Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...

 with a cargo of coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

. The crew of seven were taken on board the Benjamin Bond Cabbell II and landed at Cromer.

A Hero’s early years

On the 28 December 1894 a young eighteen year old boy joined the crew of the Benjamin Bond Cabbell II for the first time. His name was Henry George Blogg

Henry Blogg

Henry George Blogg GC BEM was a famous lifeboatman from Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk, England.Henry Blogg of Cromer is referred to as "the greatest of the lifeboatmen"...

 and he would go on to be referred to as "the greatest of the lifeboatmen". Henry Blogg GC

George Cross

The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...

 BEM

British Empire Medal

The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...

 (6 February 1876 – 13 June 1954) took part in his first service to the schooner Fair City of Gloucester

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

 . She had lost her mast and rigging in severe weather. The lifeboat stayed with her through the night escorting her part way to shore before her crew were taken of by the Sea Palling

Sea Palling

Sea Palling is a village and a civil parish covering in the English county of Norfolk. The village is south-east of Cromer, north-east of Norwich and north-east of London. The village lies east of the A149 between Kings Lynn and Great Yarmouth...

 Lifeboat Hearts of Oak ON351. The schooner then broke in to pieces and sank

Last service

Her final service was to the steamship Celerity of Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...

 on the 17 February 1901. The Celerity was bound from Rochester to Leith

Leith

-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....

 carrying a cargo of cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

 when she began shipping water and her fires had to be extinguished. After standing by her all night the lifeboat then escorted the vessel to Great Yarmouth. The Benjamin Bond Cabbell II was withdrawn from service after the RNLI deemed she was unfit for further service. She was replaced by Louisa Heartwell

Cromer Lifeboat Louisa Heartwell ON 495

The Louisa Heartwell ON 495 was the sixth lifeboat to be stationed at Cromer on the coast of the English county of Norfolk She was launched from the beach station and was on station from 1902 to 1932. During her period on station at Cromer the Louisa Heartwell had only two coxswains during her...

 in 1902.

Service and rescues

Date	Casualty	Lives saved
1888
October 22	Brigantine Jane Maria of London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	7
1893
November 18	Fishing boat from Overstrand Overstrand Overstrand is a village on the north coast of Norfolk in England, two miles east of Cromer. It was once a modest fishing station, with all or part of the fishing station being known as Beck Hythe...	5
November 18	Fishing boat from Runton East Runton East Runton is a small village in Norfolk, England situated close to the North Sea. It was once a traditional fishing village outside Cromer but is now a popular holiday destination for camping and caravan holidays. The village is within the parish of Runton that also includes West Runton. The...	3
1894
October 26	Five fishing boats, landed 7
December 28	Schooner Fair City, of Gloucester Gloucester Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham.... , stood by and gave help
1897
December 3	Ketch Hero, of Goole Goole Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...	4
1901
February 17	Steamship Celerity of Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea... , saved vessel	7