The Friends of LV50 was formed on 24th November 2014 from a group of Yacht Club members and interested local people who wished to promote the heritage and preservation of the lightship LV50, presently the club ship of the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club.
Built in 1879 as Light Vessel 50 for Trinity House, LV 50 served in many treacherous locations around the UK coast before being purchased by RNYC in 1952.
The primary roles of the Friends of LV50 are:
- To promote and encourage an understanding and interest of the public at large in the history and preservation of LV50.
- To educate a wide audience including school children about the heritage of LV50 and the role of light vessels in ensuring safety at sea.
- Promote access by way of open days and dissemination of information relating to the preservation and national historical significance of LV50.
- Discover and record the unknown history of LV50.
Since established:
- We have undertaken extensive archive research as well as on board “archaeological” surveys which has informed our understanding of: yard of origin, specifications of lights and fog horn as well as carronade, details of service life including service in both world wars, changes and modification to the vessel and detailed insights into life aboard.
- This work has led to an ever-expanding appreciation and documentation of the many facets of the life and times of LV 50 as well as of South Harbour Blyth. This has informed a range of communication aids including an extensive website, several publications, a series of information boards positioned strategically around South Harbour as well as around the premises of RNYC, the fabrication of a replica stove, a replica carronade and a replica foghorn with participation in the project to install a replica lantern. Most recently these insights have allowed commission and briefing of naval illustrator Roger Hutchins to create a detailed cutaway portrait of LV 50 as she would have been on her first station Seven Stones Reef.
- This understanding, supporting information and aids has underpinned a programme of public visiting which include prearranged tours with interested groups, open days as part of Heritage and other Open Day programmes (International light house weekend) as well as our own summer once a month events. Additionally, over the year we have undertaken a large number of illustrated lectures to interested groups (local history societies, special interest groups, and Women’s Institute)
- We have welcomed aboard a large numbers of school children with their teachers and guardians, often as part of harbour wide tours. Lessons aboard based on experience of the lightvessel has been particularly memorable.
As of Feb 2022, we have hosted 1350 adult visitors aboard LV 50 for tours. 400 school children have visited for tours and lessons aboard. 17 illustrated talks to Local history societies, men’s breakfast groups and WI groups have been delivered with an audience of 604 individuals.
As a consequence of the Covid pandemic and in order to reconnect with interested visitors we have developed a “virtual tour” of LV 50 in her setting within the historic South Harbour.
This has been the most complex initiative The Friends have ever undertaken and has required:
- raising funds to undertake this extensive programme from the Joicey Trust, Community Foundation and EDF Offshore fund
- identifying Immersive Media as a suitable contractor to record a self-propelled 360-degree tour
- utilizing the high quality cut away diagram of LV 50 to progress through the tour
- liaising with the Port of Blyth and surrounding industries to ensure adequate coverage of port function in the tour
- developing a series of informative vignettes that punctuate the tour, explaining features and functions
- most important, capitalising on our establish rapport with the Blyth Partnership of Schools, developed over several years, to allow a progressive engagement with lead teachers from the Blyth partnership to develop a series of learning resources in support of the Tour.
The extensive resource represents a huge repository of information available not just to local people but anyone anywhere with internet access.
The work of The Friends has received local and National Recognition:
- In 2018 at an award ceremony a Trinity House London the Friends were awarded a National Historic Ship and Marsh award. We were nominated for this award by Harbour Master Captain Martin Willis on behalf of Blyth Harbour Commission. The citation reads; “Your contribution to the LV 50, particularly the work you have done to uncover its history and share it with the public, are exemplary, and have been recognized by the judging panel as outstanding.”
- In July 2019 Blyth Town Council recognised LV 50 as an historic asset to the town and the Port of Blyth and awarded Blue Plaque status to LV 50 and the RNYC so as to signpost the vessel as being of local and national importance. The Council approved the wording and production of two plaques. There is a “blue plaque” online guide/walk, which includes LV50.
- In 2021 the “virtual tour” tour and associated learning resources were recognised by National Historic Ships and we were awarded Virtual Flagship of the year 2021 “in recognition of your creativity and resilience in promoting continued online engagement with the vessel during the Covid-19 lockdown”. The awards ceremony took place as an on-line awards ceremony on 23 Nov 2021.
The Friends are actively recruiting new members.
For details on how to join the Friends of LV50 please contact Paul Gibson at friendsoflv50@gmail.com The annual subscription is only £5. While the RNYC support the work of the Friends and collaborate with them, the Friends of LV50 are an autonomous group benefiting from Affiliate membership of RNYC.
The Website for the Friends of LV 50 can be found at https://friendsoflv50.org.uk/
The “virtual tour” with all its embedded material can be viewed at https://friendsoflv50.org.uk/tour.htm
The primary school learning resources can be viewed at https://friendsoflv50.org.uk/learning-resources/