The class takes its name from the River Thames which flows through London and into the North Sea.

In the 1960s the RNLI's fleet consisted of motor lifeboats of limited speed due to the shape of their hull.

Its most meritorious service in this time was on 28 November 1977 when Coxswain Arthur West was awarded an RNLI Bronze Medal for his outstanding seamanship and tremendous courage in saving six men from a storm-lashed 110 by 70 feet (34,000 by 21,000 mm) barge.

The Lowestoft-based charity teaches young and disadvantaged individuals seamanship skills to give them the confidence to take jobs in the maritime sector.

It was shipped to New Zealand where it was renamed P&O Nedlloyd Rescue and put into service with Sumner Lifeboat Institution Inc.

It was sold to Lyttelton Port Company Ltd when replaced in 2010 by a new locally built Sumner-class lifeboat.