Wrecked battleship ashtrays return to Cornwall after 70 years

Ashtrays salvaged from a battleship that went down in Cornwall more than 70 years ago will go on display at Penlee Lifeboat Station.

On April 23, 1947, eight men jumped for their lives when the 31,000-ton ex-battleship HMS Warspite ran aground on the cliffs of Cornwall in stormy conditions.

At the helm of the Penlee lifeboat ‘W and S’ for the first time, skipper Edwin (Eddie) Madron handled his craft skillfully, meaning they were all able to make the perilous jump without injury.
Coxswain Madron received the RNLI Silver Medal and Engineer Johnny Drew received the Bronze Medal.

The two bronze ashtrays were salvaged from HMS Warspite, which went down in Cornwall more than 70 years ago. (Image: Penlee Lifeboat Station)

The remaining crew, Abraham Madron, Joe Madron, Ben Jeffery, Clarry Williams, Jack Worth, Luther Oliver, Jack Wallis and Charlie Edmonds, received thanks from the RNLI on vellum (a certificate recognizing RNLI crew members).

This week Charlotte Lilley kindly donated two bronze ashtrays from HMS Warspite to Andy Bramwell, RNLI Community Manager for the Cornwall display at Penlee Lifeboat Station visitor centre.

Charlotte’s grandfather rescued the ashtrays from a scrap yard in Wolverhampton and the family kept them as an heirloom. Despite growing up far from the sea, Charlotte’s family have always been big supporters of the RNLI.

Charlotte Lilley donated two bronze ashtrays from HMS Warspite (Image: Penlee Lifeboat Station)

Charlotte’s husband David started working in the RNLI’s Face to Face fundraising team a few years ago and came along for a training day at Penlee Lifeboat Station. He noticed the HMS Warspite rescue story in the visitor center and remembered Charlotte’s two ashtrays, inherited from her grandmother.

Charlotte decided to donate the ashtrays to the RNLI to be displayed in the visitor center to help tell the story of the rescue and complete the journey of the ashtray from Cornwall to Wolverhampton and back to Cornwall.