The William Riley of Leamington and Birmingham was built in 1909 and in 1914 was involved in one of the RNLI's most dramatic rescues.

After almost a century in which she was sold as a cruiser, foundered and even auctioned on ebay, the ten-oar boat has been restored and will take part in a fundraising row to her base in Whitby, where the rescue took place.

Charity group Ales Angels hope to raise £50,000 in the four-day, 60-mile trip. But organisers are also appealing for anyone with information about the original William Riley, who paid for the boat in 1908.

Read the Whitby Gazette's story HERE

RNLI fundraising co-ordinator Sandra Smith said: "We know nothing about him. He was obviously a businessman in Leamington or Birmingham, which may mean he lived in Leamington and worked in Birmingham.

"As he was around at the beginning of the 20th century he may well have lived into the 1930s."

The boat originally cost £722.9s.1d. and was decommissioned in 1931 before spending years as a leisure boat. She was bought in 2005 and has been restored with the help of lottery money.

The trip was the idea of lifeboat press officer Pete Thompson who saw the Ales Angels pedalo the length of Loch Ness in the documentary Spoke on the Water.

The William Riley will leave Tynemouth on July 10 rowed by the six men, backed up by lifeboat crews from Tynemouth, Sunderland, Hartlepool and Staithes as she makes the four-day trip.

The crew will wear smocks, kapok lifejackets and red woolly hats like those worn by crews in the 1900s. James Bond actor Graham Hughes will beat a drum at the front of the boat.

The boat will arrive at Whitby on July 13 at 3pm, in time for a blessing of the boats ceremony.

Mrs Smith added: "If we could find any descendants of William Riley we would love them to come to Whitby to welcome her in.
"They would be honoured guests."


*The SS Rohilla rescue.
The William Riley was one of three lifeboats that saved 145 people from on the weekend of October 30, 1914.

The SS Rohilla ran aground on Saltwick Nab off Whitby in a terrible storm with 229 souls on board.

Initially, two lifeboats were launched, the John Fielden, and Robert and Mary Ellis. The John Fielden was damaged as she was dragged over the pier wall and the rock Scaur but still made two trips to the doomed Rohilla.

Meanwhile the William Riley was dragged over land from Upgang and lowered 200ft down an almost sheer cliff, but by the time she could be launched the sea was too rough.

In all, six boats were involved in the rescue, which lasted the entire weekend. Crew members received gold and silver medals and the RNLI lists the event as one of the most significant in its history.

Pictures courtesy of Colin Brittain, author of "Into The Maelstrom" – The Wreck of the Rohilla.