On 30 November 1993 the Mersey class lifeboat Freddie Cooperarrived at Aldeburgh to mark the beginning of a new era - an era in which there are fast lifeboats at every one of the RNLI's stations.

It was also the...

A day which gave great pleasure, but one which was also tinged with sorrow; a nondescript, grey and chilly day, yet an auspicious one. Tuesday, 30 November at Aldeburgh was all of those for, as the Mersey class Freddie Cooper appeared out of the gloom heading for Aldeburgh beach, there was the tangible proof that a plan, seven hard years in the execution, had finally come to fruition -and that the last 'traditional lifeboat would soon be leaving RNll service.

With Freddie Cooper's arrival there was now a fast lifeboat at every one of the RNLI's 210 lifeboat stations, completing a modernisation programme the like of which the Institution had not tackled before. Faster lifeboats had been appearing around the coast since the 15-knot Waveneys of the 1960s, but it was not until 1986 that the benefits of the faster speed of response had become so obvious - and the design skills and materials available - that a commitment was made to put such boats at all stations.

That commitment was backed by a time-scale, just seven years.

At that time the fast carriage launched lifeboat was still in the design stage, so in those seven years not only did the design have to be proved but enough boats, carriages and tractors had to be built to cover the stations involved together with a relief fleet. It was indeed a major commitment.

For a variety of reasons Aldeburgh, on an exposed stretch of Suffolk coast, was the last station to receive its Mersey. Its Rother was relatively new, being the last built, and as its lifeboat had traditionally stood in the open at the top of the beach there were no facilities to house the new and sophisticated lifeboat. Building a new boathouse in such an environmentally sensitive position involved considerable effort on design and planning, and so it was not until the last day of November in the last year of the plan that Aldeburgh was able to receive its new boat. Even then the boathouse was not complete, although the building should be operational very early in 1994.

The crowd which had gathered, in much-less-than-hospitable weather, was proof enough that the town was eager to greet the new era. The assembled press corps - and Radio Suffolk broadcasting live from the beach for three hours - was evidence that the Institution's achievement was also recognised elsewhere.'I am confident that we will meet our target and the resulting modernised lifeboat fleet will be a fine tribute to our collective efforts' - The Duke of Alholl announcing the Institution's seven-year plan at the annual meetings, May1986 'This is a special day indeed in the RNLIs history. The arrival of the new Mersey represents the final piece of the jigsaw* - Lt Cdr Brian Miles, Director of the RNLI, November 1993A.

It was around 1000 when the shapes could first be distinguished down to the south, hovering on the edge of visibility - James Cable leading Freddie Cooper and escorted by the Suffolk Police launch.

As they grew more distinct and made a close pass along the steep-to shingle beach the Mersey was able to show just how great is the difference between 8 knots and 17 knots. The unmistakable rumble of two, turbocharged 285hp diesels grew louder and Freddie Cooper accelerated past her predecessor for a series of high-speed runs.

Picking her moment she began the approach for her first beaching, waiting for the right wave conditions to run her forefoot onto the shingle - and the sight of a 14-ton boat charging a beach through surf is still a spine-tingling sight no matter how often witnessed.

With Freddie Cooper safely ashore it was time for the RNLI's Director, Lt Cdr Brian Miles, to disembark and, as the RNLI's very last double-ended lifeboat in service steamed a way to the waves of the crowd, he made his way to the D class boathouse for the welcoming ceremony.

Admiral Sir Charles Mills, the president of the station branch, welcomed the new boat and all those assembled to greet her, saying how pleased they were to have the new fast lifeboat.

The Mayor of Aldeburgh, Clare Foss, then echoed the town's pleasure at the arrival of Freddie Cooper, shortening her address in deference to the biting easterly sweeping the beach and the shivering of the audience! The RNLI's Director then expressed the Institution's pleasure at being able to complete its fast lifeboat programme on time and that Aldeburgh would now be able to look forward to a faster, even more effective lifeboat service. To conclude the short ceremony Cdr Miles produced from his pocket the final piece of the jigsaw- a piece which fitted the vacant space around Aldeburgh on the map of RNLI stations alongside him.

With press, TV and visitors' cameras whirring the final piece of the jigsaw fitted exactly - and the RNLI's sevenyear quest was symbolically completed.Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station There has been a lifeboat station at Aldeburgh since 1851, when the RNLI took control of the lifeboats of the Suffolk Shipwreck Association and moved the lifeboat there from nearby Sizewell. The Suffolk Association's Sizewell lifeboat had gone on station in.1826, but had always been manned from Aldeburgh.

In 1859 the lifeboat capsized on service with the loss of three of her crew, and 40 years later, in 1899, another disaster struck the station when seven crew members lost their lives after the lifeboat was struck by a breaker and capsized.

Fortunately the station's history has been less eventful this century although four Medals for Gallantry have been won at the station since 1900 - including Coxswain James Cable's third Silver in 1900. The most recent medal was awarded to the helmsman of the station's inflatable D class lifeboat, John Majoram, the month after she arrived in 1977.

There were two lifeboats at the station from 1905 until 1959 and both served at Dunkirk in 1940.

Aldeburgh's all-weather lifeboat has been kept in the open at the top of the beach for many years and needed tractor assistance to launch and recover her. The tractor was also fitted with a bulldozer blade as it was sometimes necessary to re-grade the beach. The sophisticated Mersey replacement needs to be protected both from the elements and from any interference which could delay a launch so, after studying alternative sites, the RNLI was granted planning permission for a boathouse on the existing site. The new structure was designed by Woodbridge architects Mullins Dowse to meet the operational requirements and to give a good view of the lifeboat when she is housed. Although modern and unusual it has been designed to reflect and compliment the architecture of the area and should be completed early in 1994.

The new Mersey, Freddie Cooper, will be launched from a special carriage propelled by the latest design of purpose-built waterproof tractor and so the old slipway has now been removed.The Bother class The 37ft 6in Bother class, of which Aldeburgh's James Cable was the last in service, was introduced in 1973, although based on a design which first appeared in 1958.

The 1958 design, the 37ft Oakley, was the result of Naval Architect R.A.

Oakley's efforts to produce a lifeboat which would self-right if capsized, but which did not sacrifice stability when in normal service - a failing of earlier attempts.

He achieved this with a novel and effective, if rather complicated, system for automatically transferring water ballast to a wing tank at a critical moment as the lifeboat rolled over.

Powered by twin diesels, initially of around 40hp and later 50hp each, and driving propellers protected in deep tunnels boats of this class were capable of some 8 knots.

The boats were essentially open, with just a small shelter and engine casing amidships and could be launched by carriage or down a slipway Some 14 years later radar had become an almost indispensable aid, but could not be fitted to the virtually open Oakleys. There was neither the superstructure to which a scanner could be attached nor sufficient headroom in the shelter for the viewing end of the installation.

A review of the design came up with the Oakley Mk II - which was known as the Rother class.

Although virtually identical to the Mk1 structurally and in general hull form there were considerable differences above the waterline. A much larger cabin and an open-ended wheelshelter with a buoyant roof made the design inherently self-righting - so that the water ballast transfer system was no longer needed. One restriction had been the headroom in existing boathouses, and the new class had been designed to fit them without modification - the radar scanner being mounted on the wheelshelter roof and folding back underneath it to reduce overall height.

The two classes were numbered together, from 37-01 to 37-40 of which the last 14 were Bothers. They were all of wood construction, initially double-diagonal planked and later cold-moulded, and the last, James Cable, was built in 1982. The first Oakley was withdrawn in 1988 as the first Mersey entered service and the first Bother was withdrawn in 1990.James Cable James Cable, official number 1068, carries the operational number 37-40 and is the 40th, and appropriately the last, boat of the Bother class. She was built, of cold-moulded wood, by William Osborne at Littlehampton in 1982 as a 'Beach'yersion of the Pother, which among other small modifications includes a wider keel as there was no need for her to fit a carriage or conventional slipway. She has twin Ford Mermaid diesels each developing 52hp and giving a speed of 8 knots Beach lifeboats were launched from a short, simple slipway which did not extend fully into the water. As a result it was necessary for skids to be placed between the end of the slip and the water, momentum from the slipway section carrying the boat across the skids and into the water.

James Cable was funded by a special appeal launched in Aldeburgh. with other gifts and legacies, and she spent her entire working life at the station. She takes her name from a famous coxswain of the Aldeburgh lifeboat who served for 30 years from 1888 to 1917 and was awarded three silver medals.

When James Cable leaves Aldeburgh and is sold out of service she is likely to continue her lifesaving work. The Estonian Lifesaving Association has already expressed interest in her - to join a Bother and a Solent which are already in service there.The Mersey class When the Institution committed itself to having fast lifeboats at every station by the end of 1993 the carriage-launch Mersey class was the final type of lifeboat required to complete the plan. There were already fast boats capable of lying afloat or being launched from most slipway boathouses and the Mersey enabled the BNLI to start replacing the older, 8-knot. boats at carriage and beach launched stations.

The design was complicated by the need to build a boat light enough and compact enough to transport on a carriage yet which retained all of the traditional lifeboat qualities of strength, reliability and seakeeping.

Weight was the key. A light boat was not only easily transported on the carriage but also made it possible to obtain the speeds required.

However the required strength could not be obtained with the materials used for current lifeboats, leading to the building of the first 10 boats in aluminium (a first for the Institution) and the development of a sophisticated Fibre Beinforced Composite for the remaining 27.

Designing ahull form which was capable of the speeds required was complicated by the need for fully protected propellers and the ability to operate in the kind of conditions few other kinds of vessel experience.

Eventually these conflicting needs were overcome by the RNLI's designers and after extensive testing and trials the first of the new class was announced in 1987.

There are now 37 Merseys in the fleet, and the building programme was completed in 1993. Freddie Cooper, operational number 12-34, is the final Mersey to enter service, although she was not in fact the last to be built-that honourfell to Girvan's Silvia Burrell( 12-37) which beat Freddie Cooper into service by a matter of months.

Freddie Cooper was funded from the legacy of Mrs Winifred May Cooper..