Sir William Hillary - Founder of the RNLI

Sir William Hillary, of Quaker stock, was born 4 January 1771 and died 5 January 1847, his lasting legacy being the founding of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1824.

A multi faceted, unpredictable man, his colourful life included spending his wife’s (heiress Frances Fytche) inheritance of £20,000 on the formation of a private army, put at the disposal of King George III in defence of Napoleon’s threatened invasion.

The Isle of Man

In 1808 he settled on the Isle of Man, rumoured to give Hillary reassuring distance from numerous creditors on the mainland. In 1813 he married, possibly bigamously, a local Manx woman and lived at Fort Anne overlooking Douglas Bay.

It was here he became acutely aware of the treacherous nature of the Irish Sea and an incident on 6 October 1822 gave prelude to the forming of the RNLI.

The Vigilant

In the early hours of that October morning the Royal Naval Cutter ‘Vigilant’ was sheltering from gales in Douglas Bay. As the gale turned to the east, the captain gambled on escape but the Vigilant was left foundering on Connister Rocks.

From his vantage point, Hillary could see urgent help was required and he rushed to the Red Pier. Here he offered payment to any man who would crew nearby pleasure craft to aid the stricken Vigilant.

Enough men to man two boats were found and both were launched. Incredible efforts in the teeth of the gale saw them row in front of the Vigilant and, taking up lines thrown by its crew, drag them to within sight of safety. Further lines were attached from the bay and the Vigilant and all its crew were finally pulled to safety.

The Tragedy of HMS Racehorse

Following the rescue of the Vigilant, Hillary began to contemplate a lifeboat service for the entire British coast. His mind was made up within three months following the tragedy that befell the eighteen-gun brig HMS Racehorse.

Sent to escort the partially repaired Vigilant back to home waters, its captain misread the lights of Casteltown for those of Douglas and foundered on nearby rocks. Help was raised and five boats attempted rescue.

All reached HMS Racehorse and set out on their return to Douglas. Four made home, the fifth did not. Six of the Racehorse crew and three local rescuers were lost. Following a letter from Hillary to the Admiltry, pensions were granted to the families of the deceased and payments made to the remainder of the crews involved.

Though pleased at the outcome, Hillary reasoned that private vessels would not be similarly compensated. Therefore he formulated the three tenets of what would become the RNLI:

• The design and building of suitable lifeboats
• The automatic manning of such lifeboats by trained crews on station.
• The payment of compensation to volunteers maimed in service or, if killed, a pension for the bereaved families.

The Founding of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution

In February 1823, Hillary published a pamphlet titled “An Appeal To The British Navy On The Humanity And Policy Of Forming A National Institution For The Preservation Of Lives And Property From Shipwreck”

The initial response from the Admiltry was tepid and it took an appeal to philanthropic members of London society to give life to his dream. A member of parliament Thomas Wilson and George Hibbert, chairman of the West Indies Merchants, were enthusiastic supporters and the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was founded on 4 March 1824 at The Tavern, Bishopsgate, London.

1n 1854 the name was changed to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the first lifeboat was stationed at Douglas, Isle of Man in recognition of the pioneering work of Sir William Hillary.

References

The Life and Times of Sir Willian Hillary: Robert Kelly (Shearwater Press 1979)

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Sir William Hillary

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