During the evening of 10 January 1866 a severe storm blew up and at least 74 vessels sought refuge again in Torbay and in the harbours at Brixham and Torquay.

It proved difficult to find a site for a boathouse so the City of Exeter was at first kept at Bolton Cross and taken to the harbour on a carriage.

On the evening of 30 December 1935 he took the Lifeboat Gorge Shee through a gale to help the Satanicle, a French trawler that was 15 miles (24 km) east of Start Point.

On 23 January 1937 the SS English Trader ran aground on the Checkstone Ledge near the mouth of the River Dart.

After landing the rescued men at Dartmouth the lifeboat returned to Brixham, gaining its home mooring at 12:15, nearly 31 hours after casting off.

The George Shee put to sea in the afternoon of 9 December 1939 to the aid of the disabled Channel Pride, a fishing boat that was racing for home as a gale blew up.

Mogridge was subsequently awarded an RNLI silver medal for his tremendous courage and outstanding seamanship on this occasion.

[3][4] In total, Torbay Lifeboat Station crew have been awarded 26 RNLI medals for gallantry, one gold, six silver and 19 Bronze, the last in 2008.

On New Year's Day 1915 the Torbay Lifeboat's second coxswain, William Pillar, was out fishing in his Brixham Fishing Smack Provident BM291 when he and his crew (First Hand William Carter, Second Hand John Clarke, Apprentice Daniel Taylor, né Ferguson) went to the aid of HMS Formidable which had been torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-24, saving the lives of 71 men after a difficult rescue in darkness and high seas.

It was on the evening of 30 January 1952 that he took the lifeboat out into a severe gale to search for the source of a white flashing light in Torbay.

[11] Thomas received a silver medal for a rescue on 7 December 1959 when a 120-foot (37 m) long unpowered barge loaded with large steel pipes was cast adrift from its tug.

Also recognised for his work that night was Richard Harris who was awarded another bronze medal[12] The MV Northwind was dragging her anchor in Torbay in a severe gale and heavy seas on the morning of 22 December 1964.

[13] The 18 feet (5.5 m) wooden ILB put to sea on 5 October 1973 in response to a report of a woman in the water during a storm.

Gibbs received his own bronze medal for his tremendous courage and excellent seamanship during a rescue that he led in the all-weather lifeboat on 16 December that year.

On that occasion a sole crewman of the fishing boat Petit Michel was saved 38 miles (61 km) out at sea in a Force 9 storm.

On 23 August the lifeboat went to rescue 14 people and a dog who had been cast ashore when their speedboat was wrecked south of Dartmouth.

Then on 6 December the lifeboat was called to the aid of the MV Lyrma after its steering gear had failed in a Force 10 storm.

Two men were taken off and the pilot boat towed back towards Brixham, but a 35 feet (11 m) wave knocked the Edward Bridges right over so that her propellers and keel were out of the water.

The lifeboat's coxswain, John Dyer, flicked the tow line across to the man overboard and he caught it and was pulled back on board.

On 2 December Arthur Curnow, who had only been appointed coxswain three weeks earlier, took the lifeboat out in the early morning to the trawler Fairway which had broken down.

[6] The following are awards made at Torbay[18][19] The RNLI aims to reach any casualty up to 50 miles (80 km) from its stations, and within two hours in good weather.

To do this the Severn class lifeboat at Torbay has an operating range of 250 nautical miles (460 km) and a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h).