[2] On 10 October 1907 the lifeboat Alfred Staniforth was launched to aid the schooner Tehwija which had run aground near the mouth of the river with eight crewmen on board.

It took the lifeboat crew two attempts to row out over the bar at the mouth of the river into the heavy seas.

[2] The RNLI started to deploy motor lifeboats after World War I which allowed stations to cover larger areas.

Brixham Lifeboat Station received theirs in 1922 and Exmouth in 1933 but the 'pulling and sailing' boat at Teignmouth was retained until 6 November 1940.

The Henry Finlay (ON 618) was then left in the boathouse on standby through World War II but the station was closed permanently in July 1945.