About 11 am on the 23rd December 1960, the Coastguard phoned the Hon Sec of Port St Mary Lifeboat to inform him that fire had broken out on the Chickens Rock Lighthouse and that the keepers were in a dangerous situation. The maroons to summon the crew were fired and the boat was underway at 11.30 a.m. The wind was blowing SW force 5, the sea was rough and the passage to the Chickens, some 5 miles away took 45 minutes. On arrival it was found that the rock was awash on the rising tide and forced the keepers to take refuge on the bottom deck of the lighthouse.  It was impossible for the lifeboat to approach within a 100 yards of them and so an attempt to take them off using breeches buoy gear was made.

 

The first problem was there was no way of firing a light rocket line to land over a point that the keepers could reach so the keepers were hailed and informed to stream a line with a board on it down tide. The rocket line was directed over this and the keepers were able to recover the rocket line, then haul over the breeches buoy lines and pulley. The pulley was made fast to the iron ladder leading up to the entrance to the light.  The first man was then hauled off the rock back towards the lifeboat which  had to be constantly maneuvered into the tide to try an keep a steady position and maintain constant tension on the breeches buoy lines.  In the process of hauling the first casualty through the water a large wave hit him and turned him over. This caused the gear to foul and with great difficulty he was got on board the lifeboat suffering from shock, exposure and some burns.

 

Coxswain Gawne decided that no further risks should be taken with the breeches buoy as there was a 5/6 knot tide and a heavy sea sweeping over the rock. The other two keepers were relatively safe in the doorway to the lighthouse some 15 feet above the sea and the fire seemed to be confined to the top half of the lighthouse. The keeper which had been brought on board was in need of medical attention.  Coxswain Gawne requested that Port Erin lifeboat be launched to standby by the two keepers still on the rock whilst the Port St Mary lifeboat proceeded to Port Erin to transfer him to an ambulance and medical care.  The 'Colby Cubbin' then returned to the lighthouse and together with the Port Erin boat, stood by until 6.45 p.m when the tide had receded sufficiently and the weather had moderated enough for the Port St Mary boat to nose alongside and take the other two keepers off.  They were by then suffering greatly from exposure as well as minor burns and were landed to an ambulance at Port St Mary at 7.10 p.m. The crew of the 'Colby Cubbin' that day were J Gawne, cox., N Quillin, mech., J Hudson, W Cubbon, W Clugston, R Hudson, H Halsall, B Johnstone and W Kneen.

I have checked all Fire Service records of December 1960 to find out what involvement (if any) the Isle of Man Fire Service had to do with this incident and there are no records at all to be found.  However I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Brian Kelly of Port St Mary Lifeboat Station for the picture and an extract from the book Mr. Kelly is writing called "History of Port St Mary Lifeboat"