Winterton Lifeboat Station was located in Winterton-on-Sea, a village approximately due north of Great Yarmouth, on the north-east coast of Norfolk.
A lifeboat was first stationed at Winterton-on-Sea by the Norfolk Association for Saving the Lives of Shipwrecked Mariners (NASLSM), sometimes known as the Norfolk Shipwreck Association or (NSA), in 1823. Management of the station was transferred to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1857.
After operating for 101 years, Winterton Lifeboat Station closed in 1925.
A lifeboat was sent to be stationed at Winterton in 1823, by the newly formed Norfolk Association for Saving the Lives of Shipwrecked Mariners. Built in 1822, she was a 32-foot 12-oared non-self-righting lifeboat. Launched to the aid of the vessel Mariners in 1829, the lifeboat was badly damaged, and the lifeboat crew had to take refuge aboard the casualty boat, until all could be rescued by other local boats.
Following a meeting of the NASLSM on 21 Nov 1857, it was agreed to request that the RNLI take over responsibility for all their lifeboat stations, including Winterton. This was formally agreed at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on 3 December 1857.
A new 30-foot 10-oared self-righting lifeboat was ordered for Winterton from Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing ã185-3s-5d, arriving in 1858. The new boat was sailed up from Great Yarmouth, having been towed there from London by steamer. This unnamed boat would only serve at Winterton for two years. She was disliked by the crew, and was subsequently transferred to .
The Winterton lifeboat crew requested a wide beam boat, a Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboat, as used at Gt. Yarmouth, and similar to their own fishing boats. An order was placed with Beeching for a 32-foot lifeboat, and was delivered on 5 January 1861. However, the lifeboat crew were still not entirely happy with this new boat, as it still wasn't long enough for all their requirements. Their further request for another replacement lifeboat was declined by the RNLI.
At the annual meeting of the Institution in February 1867, a gift of ã420 was handed to Mr Lewis, Honorary Secretary of Winterton Lifeboat, by Capt. Harris of Roehampton, who wished the lifeboat to be named the Ann Maria. The Ann Maria would be renamed again in 1875, Edward Birkbeck, after the RNLI Vice President.
In 1868, and still not happy with the Ann Maria, the crew, known as the Winterton Boatmen, acquired their own 42-foot Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboat Rescuer, from the Gorleston Rangers lifeboat company, purchased by William Burnley Hume of Hill House, Winterton, and was operated for the next 11 years.
At a meeting with the RNLI in 1879, the Winterton crew explained that for certain calls, they preferred a longer boat than the Ann Maria (Edward Birkbeck), but also that they could no longer afford to maintain Rescuer. The RNLI then took over management of the No.2 lifeboat, but although they provided a replacement Norfolk and Suffolk-class lifeboat, Husband (ON 16), transferred from the recently closed station at , it was still only 36-feet long. Two years later, a double boathouse was constructed, to house both lifeboats.
It would be 11 years later, in 1890, when the RNLI provided Margaret (ON 270), a 44-foot lifeboat, to the station.
In 1896, the station received a new No.1 lifeboat, also to be named Edward Birkbeck (ON 397). The No.2 lifeboat Margaret (ON 270) was sent for an overhaul, with Reserve No.1 (ON 233) on relief duty. Reserve No.1 seemed to find favour with the Winterton crew, who requested that it become their permanent No.2 lifeboat. In 1899, Margaret (ON 270) was transferred to becoming Reserve Lifeboat No.1 (ON 270), and Reserve No.1 (ON 233) becoming Margaret (ON 233).
The activity at Winterton Lifeboat Station came to rather an abrupt end. In October 1924, the No.1 lifeboat station was closed when the Edward Birkbeck (ON 397), was withdrawn. A month later, the No.2 lifeboat, Eleanor Brown (ON 589), was also withdrawn, and a replacement No.2 lifeboat, a 38-foot Liverpool-class (P&S) lifeboat Reserve No.9 (ON 516) was placed at the station. Unfamiliar with this type of lifeboat, and being considered completely unsuitable for the locality, the crew absolutely refused to use the boat. On 18 December 1924, after just over 100 years of service, the RNLI decided to close the station completely, with the removal of the lifeboat completing the closure on 5 January 1925.
On 26 November 1830, Lt. Thomas Leigh, RN, Chief Officer of H.M. Coastguard Winterton, was in charge of the lifeboat, rescuing seven people from the Annabella. Only a month later, Lt. Leigh and his crew rescued another four from the Henry. On 19 March 1833, Leigh and his crew went to the aid of the Crawford Davison, rescuing 16 passengers and crew, and on 30 April 1835, in a severe gale, Leigh and the crew rescued three survivors from the Blackbird.
In a five-year period, Lt. Thomas Leigh, RN, was awarded the RNIPLS Gold Medal, a Second-Service RNIPLS Gold Boat, the RNIPLS Silver Medal, and the Silver Medal of the Royal Humane Society.
The following are awards made at Winterton