On the 7th August 1937, the “John and Charles Kennedy” was launched from Fraserburgh harbour for the first time. It replaced the old previous vessel, ‘The Lady Rothes’ which had been in station since 1919. ‘The Lady Rothes’ was gifted to the lifeboat association by the father of the real Lady Rothes as a token of thanks for his daughter being amongst the rescued at the sinking of the Titanic.
The official launch of the new lifeboat was met with much anticipation as illustrated with these news reports from the Press and Journal from February, March and June of 1937, published a few months before the naming ceremony in August. These reports document the movements of the new vessel as it made way up the east coast to arrive at Fraserburgh harbour for the first time.