Captain William Swarbrick was a harbour pilot for Fleetwood, Glasson and Preston in the mid 19th Century. He was also Captain of the steam tug ‘Wyre’ of Fleetwood that was used to bring vessels into and out of port and also put pilots on-board vessels.
As Captain of tug ‘Wyre’ he undertook two notable rescues. The first from the Norwegian barque ‘Pudyona’ and earned him the Silver medal from the R.N.L.I. in 1862. Four years later he rescued the crew from barque ‘Inga’ and for this rescue he was presented with a pastel depiction of the rescue, commissioned by the grateful Norwegian owners of the vessel, for saving the 13 crew members.
For the rescue of the crew from barque ‘Pudyona’ Captain Swarbrick was awarded the R.N.L.I. Silver medal and also presented with an inscribed telescope.
In December 1866 Captain Swarbrick in the steam-tug ‘Wyre’ rescued the crew of the barque ‘Inga’ of Norway. The grateful owners commissioned a pastel painting depicting the scene and presented it to Captain Swarbrick.
This painting hung in the Fleetwood lifeboat stations since the 1920’s.
Captain William Swarbrick was the Great-great-great Grandfather of former Deputy Coxswain Stephen Musgrave.
Fleetwood Lifeboats Past 