THE TOWN OF FRASERBURGH stands facing the North Sea and the Moray Firth and the rocky dangerous coast runs away south to Peterhead and Aberdeen and westwards towards Inverness. It is one of the major fishing harbours in the north east of Scotland. It still has a significant inshore fleet although this is gradually dwindling. There are also many more pleasure craft than a few years ago. The town grew up after Alexander Fraser built a castle at Kinnairds Head in 1570, on the site of a "broch", an ancient fortified roundhouse.

The town was later to be made a Royal Borough by James VI of Scotland and I of England and eventually, in 1786, the original castle became a lighthouse, one of the first in Scotland.

In 1824 and in further consideration to the hazards that surrounded the harbour entrance The National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, as the RNLI was first known, in the year of its foundation placed a rocket line life saving apparatus at Fraserburgh. A lifeboat station was established in 1831 and the recordsof the Institution show a service by "a lifeboat belonging to the town of Fraserburgh, kept by a charge of 6d per man on seamen entering the harbour".

Eventually, after the town's lifeboat station closed, the RNLI placed a lifeboat there in 1858 at the request of the residents. Between that time and 1970, no fewer than 15 bravery medals were awarded to Fraserburgh lifeboatmen, but 13 men also lost their lives trying to save others.

One man to be honoured, only later to lose his life was Coxswain Andrew Noble; he was twice awarded the Institution's silver medal in 1909. The first occasion was in June when a Nairn fishing boat, Henry and Elizabeth, was driven on to rocks while rounding the harbour breakwater. One of the crew was washed overboard and drowned but the remaining six clung to the wreck until the lifeboat could be manoeuvred in close and the men taken off. The second medal service happened in September when another fishing boat, Zodiac, was washed past the harbour entrance and driven aground; this time Coxswain Noble succeeded in rescuing her whole crew of seven men.

But in 1919 came the first of Fraserburgh's three disasters. The station's first motor lifeboat Lady Rothes launched on April 28 in a terrible northerly gale and tremendous seas to HM Drifter Eminent. About one mile from land the lifeboat was caught broadside by a huge wave and overturned.

The crew were thrown overboard, the engines stopped and the lifeboat was driven ashore. Coxswain Andrew Noble and Acting Second Coxswain Andrew Farquhar were drowned.

Between 1919 and 1953 Lady Rothes and her successor, John and Charles Kennedy, carried their crews into many hazardous services which resulted in theaward of two further silver and six bronze medals. But in 1953 tragedy struck again. On February 9 the lifeboat was launched to escort fishing vessels into the harbour. Whilst off the North Pier a heavy swell broke on the lifeboat and capsized her. One man was flung out and the other six were trapped under the canopy. Six men lost their lives: Coxswain Andrew Ritchie, Mechanic George Duthie, Bowman Charles Tait, Assistant Mechanic James Noble and crew members John Buchan and John Crawford.

The following year The Duchess of Kent, a 40ft 9in Watson class lifeboat was provided by the Institution's funds and named by Her Royal Highness, Princess Marina. She launched 46 times saving 11 lives and saw the award of two bronze medals to her gallant crew. But in 1970 disaster hit the town of Fraserburgh for the third time when, on January 21, whilst on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the lifeboat capsized with the loss of five of her six crew. Coxswain John Stephen, Mechanic Frederick Kirkness and crew members William Hadden, James Buchan and James R. S. Buchan lost their lives.

Assistant Mechanic John (Jackson) Buchan was flung clear and was picked up by a Russian trawler.

Fraserburgh was shattered. The local people, always so generously brave and selfless, were stunned by this third disaster.

There was much controversy over the provision of a replacement lifeboat as it was maintained by many that the previous lifeboat had been too small to cope with the extreme conditions that can be experienced in this area. The impasse continued for nine years.However, one man in particular, Mr Jack Provan, the chairman of the station branch, together with many other local supporters remained constant in their determination that a new lifeboat should be allocated to Fraserburgh.

Finally in 1978 Fraserburgh agreed that it wanted and needed a replacement lifeboat. The RNLI offered The Royal British Legion, a stee! 48ft 6in Solent class as a relief lifeboat for training and finally in 1979 the Fraserburgh lifeboat station was reborn.

John Sutherland, now station honorary secretary, volunteered for the crew. Looking back on his decision and the return of a lifeboat to Fraserburgh he remarks: "If you feel the area needs a boat to save life offshore and you are prepared to do that yourself, then it is an easy decision to make. That's why I volunteered. It was no use standing and shouting for someone else to do the job." John Sutherland was made coxswain.

Three brothers also came forward to join the crew, each of them volunteering separately without the knowledge of the others. Albert Sutherland, cousin of John Sutherland and the present day coxswain and his brothers James and Victor, had always been associated with the lifeboat and had often filled in for crew members when they were away at sea. Albert recalls that the three of them and their fishing boat had once been rescued by Thurso lifeboat: "It was a bad night at Scrabster - a real rotten night. Victor, James and I - there would have been lives lost that night had not the lifeboat come along. It was a sense of duty but also a sense of paying something back that made me volunteer." Charles Duthie, brother-in-law to Albert, James and Victor, and Brian Ross, Alex Ritchie and Tommy Summers (now mechanic) also came forward. David Ritchie, now the winchman, volunteered as shed crew, Birnell Herd became deputy launching authority and John Mackinnon station administration officer.

The rebuilding of confidence in the lifeboat and the station as a whole wasa gradual process. John Sutherland recalls: "/( was difficult getting a crew to start with until we got The Royal British Legion, then gradually the crew came about. Each man was a volunteer. The crew are now jelling together very well and are all for the new boat." He recounted one of the early rescues when a very small craft with two men on board suffered engine failure in an onshore wind. They dropped anchor and the lifeboat and a helicopter went out to search for them. The helicopter found them first and the searchlight under the helicopter shone halfway up the cliff as she went in to lift them off.

"There must have only been feet to spare between her rotor-blades and the cliff. Sometimes the smallest ones are the most difficult." The lifeboat then went in and towed the boat clear.

The largest craft they have dealt with was a 2,000 ton coaster. The lifeboat took off 11 people and a dog, "mustn't forget the dog" he laughed. Three weeks later the lifeboat had to take salvage workers off the wreck, which is still out there somewhere under the sea. Captain Sutherland retired as coxswain in 1984 and became honorary secretary.

There is absolutely no comparison, he says, between the two positions.

"You don't get the same feeling of self satisfaction - of doing a job successfully.

It's more nerve wracking watching them go out and waiting for them to come back.

I am on edge from the time they go till when they come back." It was John Sutherland who first thought about a Tyne class lifeboat for Fraserburgh.

"/ saw the Tyne plans in THE LIFEBOAT and was impressed by the design then, before she had even been built. She would fit the boathouse, was made of steel and the lines were very fine." It is not surprising, then, that in hisspeech at the naming ceremony John Sutherland welcomed the Tyne class lifeboat so readily.

"In this Tyne class lifeboat we have a boat that is worthy of the crew that will sail in her. I am confident that all service calls will be answered at this station in the manner that has come to be expected of RNLI lifeboats and thai the long traditions of lifesaving will continue at Fraserburgh." Although Captain Sutherland and the crew are delighted with the new lifeboat there are still some people within Fraserburgh, mainly fishermen, who are sceptical about the capability of a 47ft lifeboat. But Albert Sutherland, - made coxswain only this year, says, "The lifeboat is built for the job it has to do; people have to experience a thing before they can comment." Albert is gradually changing opinions by taking fishermen out on exercise.

Once they have seen how well a Tyne class works they are usually impressed, but the change will be slow.

One of the first services by the Tyne was actually within the harbour. A Danish supply boat reported that she had a man with a badly cut arm on board. The ship came into harbour and as soon as the lifeboat was alongside they simply dropped the seaman overboard.

Fortunately the lifeboat crew were able to catch him.

The nucleus of experienced crew members is now ably supported by the younger men of Fraserburgh. Billy Duthie, son of Charles Duthie, Iain Sutherland, son of Captain John Sutherland, Robert Morrice, Alan Smith and Donald Birnie are those on the lifeboat still in their twenties. James Buchan, the youngest crew member, lost his father in the 1970 disaster. In spite of this he has always wanted to be a member of the crew. When he was 16 he asked to join but his mother Pat understandably would not give her permission.

James was taken on as shed crew but now that hs is 18 he has been accepted as boat crew. Pat Owen (Buchan) is cheerful and effervescent and says that life still has to go on, but even now, on some days, the disaster just "comes over her". She speaks with a mixture of pride and anguish about her son. She knows that he has been out on service once and realises he must do what he feels right, but she cannot avoid feeling anxious.

Iain Sutherland and Donald Birnie speak with pride about their new lifeboat and they and all the crew displayed that pride throughout the day of celebration that was the naming ceremony of the City of Edinburgh. (See Ceremonies, p. 56).