Simple but effective: the Coastguard rescue cart

Shown here is a horse drawn cart used by Coastguard Rescue Teams in the 19th and 20th centuries to carry life-saving Rocket Apparatus to the scene of a shipwreck.

From the early 19th century, Rocket Apparatus Stations were established around the coastline. An innovative rocket rescue system was invented by Cornishman Henry Trengrouse after he witnessed a tragic shipwreck along the coast in 1807. His invention allowed a safety line to be fired from the shore to a ship using a rocket. Shipwrecked persons on board could then be landed using a cradle that was pulled along the line. Located at each rocket station was a Coastguard rescue cart. The cart was designed to carry heavy rescue equipment to the scene of a shipwreck, and would have been taken to the closest point possible, usually in terrible weather conditions. Through use of the rocket apparatus, stranded crew members could be carried safely ashore. The carts were stored in specially constructed houses or sheds, and these, along with horses and rescue apparatus, were kept in constant readiness for use at any time.

By the 20th century, there were over 300 stations around Britain’s coastline. Most had rescue carts, and smaller stations had lifelines and lifebelt supplies for rescues. In 1925 an Act was passed formally defining Coastguard powers and responsibilities, which included lifesaving, wreck, salvage and the administration of the UK foreshore.

Coastguard rescue carts were usually drawn by two strong horses, though in later years a crew of ten men pulled the wagon. On occasions when the apparatus was required for rescue at an area unreachable by the cart, it was pulled to the closest point possible, and the apparatus carried down by the rescuers on a wooden hand cart. A reward of £1, called a Life Prize, was given for each life that was saved. Generally, a rescue team consisted of 25 men. Each member wore a numbered armband, indicating their responsibilities within the team. If less than 15 men were available to accompany the cart, assistants would be called upon to help. However, volunteers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute could not be asked to take part because in most cases the rocket apparatus and the lifeboat were in use at the same time.

Attached to the back of the cart was a framed list of stores, which detailed the items that should be found there, and their locations within the cart. This helped assistants who were less familiar with the vehicle to find objects quickly and more easily. The key equipment carried in the cart was a rocket, ground anchor and breeches buoy; this particular cart carried a Kisbie lifebuoy with a pair of canvas breeches attached that could be pulled along a ship to shore line. The person being rescued would put his legs through the breeches, and rest his arms on the buoy to be pulled to the safety of the shore. The rocket apparatus worked by a rescue rocket being fired, up to a distance of 200 yards, with a line attached. On the other end of the line was a whip and whip block, which could be fastened to the ship’s mast. This had a small wooden tally board of instructions secured to it. These instructions were printed in English, French, German and Norwegian, as usually the most difficult part of the procedure was effective communication to get the crew to quickly secure the line properly. An anchor was embedded in the ground behind an iron tripod to secure the line from the rocket.

The carts also carried ladders for descending cliffs, made from rope and held in position by iron stakes driven into the ground, and a cane helmet, for protecting Coastguards from falling rocks during cliff work. A cork lifebelt would have been carried, which consisted of two rows of cork strips stitched to canvas. Also carried in the cart was a heaving cane; a piece of cane measuring 19 inches long, with a heavy lead knob at one end weighing 13-14lbs, which was attached to a rope. This could be thrown to vessels close by, instead of using the rocket apparatus. Exercise drills were carried out regularly to ensure rescues were as smooth and successful as possible, and prizes of money were awarded to those who could throw the heaving or throwing cane the farthest.

By the end of the 19th century, almost 14,000 lives were recorded as saved by the Coastguard, showing just how crucially important these closely positioned stations were. The breeches buoy was used in rescue procedures until the late 20th century, when it was replaced by the Sea King helicopter.

This particular cart was built by the British Carriage Company, who built many for this purpose between 1870 and the late 1900s. Originally located on the Irish coastline, it was later relocated to the Scottish islands, where treacherous weather conditions led to many shipwrecks requiring its use in rescue missions. It is part of the Museum’s Search & Rescue exhibition and will be on display in the foyer until December 2012.

This month’s Curator’s Choice has been guest curated by Charlotte Hanton, a student of Exeter University (at the Tremough Campus).