Eliza Adams 125th Anniversary 29 October 2005

The tragic capsize of the Wells Lifeboat Eliza Adams in 1880 was marked 125 years on with a day of commemoration attended by current crew and station personnel and invited guests including families and descendents of the lifeboat's crew and the crews of the two vessels that the lifeboat launched to rescue, along with representatives from other lifeboat stations and members of the public.

At 15:30, after a reading and bagpipe lament, two maroons were fired and both Wells lifeboats launched to a short service at sea near the spot where the Eliza Adams capsized. The service was relayed by radio to guests and public at the boathouse and members of the current crew cast a rose for each of the eleven crewmen lost. After a flypast by an RAF search and rescue Sea King helicopter, the boats ran up to Wells quay and crew and guests attended a service at the recently restored memorial to the disaster.

In the evening, members of the Granary Players, joined by lifeboat crew and a local coastguard, re-enacted the inquest into the disaster, in a marquee on the Buttlands.

The loss of the Eliza Adams

Timetable for anniversary day

Commorative booklet

Descendents and families	Descendents and crew
Reading from the boat	Launching
Underway	At the site
Service at sea	Overflown
Roses cast	Flypast
Flypast 2	Return to the quay
Berthing	Tied up
Memorial service	Reading by Coxswain
Inquest Re-enactment	Restored memorial