the lifeboat. · 2017. 1. 5. · the lifeboat. the journa of thl royae l national life-boat...

THE LIFEBOAT.The Journal of the Royal National Life-boat Institution.

VOL. XXVII.—No. 295.] SEPTEMBER, 1928. [PRICE Sd.

Second International Life-boat Conference.By George F. Shee, M.A., Secretary of the Institution.

IN February, 1823, Colonel Sir WilliamHillary, soldier, author, philanthropistand greatest of Life-boat men, issuedhis appeal to the nation, advocating theformation of an organization for thepreservation of life from shipwreck onthe coasts of the United Kingdom.

On 4th March, 1824, at the " City ofLondon Tavern," the Archbishop ofCanterbury presided at the meeting atwhich it was unanimously resolved toform " a National Institution for thepreservation of life from shipwreck onthe coasts of the United Kingdom . . .for conferring rewards on those whopreserve their fellow-creatures fromdestruction and for granting relief to thedestitute families of any who mayunfortunately perish in their attemptsto save the lives of others." Amongthose present at this meeting were theArchbishop of York; the Bishops ofLondon, Durham, Bath and Wells andBristol; Lord John Kussell; WilliamWilberforce, M.P., the advocate of theabolition of slavery, and Sir WilliamHillary himself.

On 4th March, 1924, the Institutioncelebrated its Centenary. Among themeasures taken in this connexion it wasdecided to invite those countries whichpossessed a Life-boat Service—whetherunder the Government or under volun-tary auspices—to send representativesto a Life-boat Conference to be held inLondon. Thus, for the first time in thehistory of civilization, an opportunitywas afforded of bringing together for thediscussion of the vital problems affectingthe Life-boat Service all those who wereengaged in the organization and promo-tion of that Service.

At that time some doubts wereexpressed as to whether the interest inthe Life-boat Service—so remote fromthe ken of the average individual—was

sufficiently widespread to induce theGovernments and the Societies con-cerned to send their representatives toLondon. In any case, it was thoughtwell at the outset to limit the invitationsto those countries which were known topossess an organized Life-boat Service.Unfortunately, we were at that time notclosely in touch with the BelgianGovernment Service; nor could theTurkish Service, although based on theadvice and assistance of the Institution,be regarded as fully organized. Henceinvitations were not sent to these twocountries.

The First International Conference.

Even under these limited conditions,however, events proved the wisdom ofthe step then taken. Although financialconsiderations prevented Germany andPortugal * from sending delegates, theinvitation of the Institution was ac-cepted by eight nations, including theUnited States of America and Japan ;and five were prompted to send Life-boats, which lay for several days nearthe Houses of Parliament—a peacefulargosy, symbolic of the Cause whichbrought them together. It is interestingto recall the fact that the Conferencewas held under the auspices of the Cityof Westminster; the delegates wereentertained by the Government at adinner presided over by the Right Hon.Sidney Webb, then President of theBoard of Trade, and were received byH.R.H. the Prince of Wales, thePresident of the Institution, who pre-sided at the Centenary Dinner, attendedby over 500 persons.

Four years later, in 1928, the second

* It is greatly to be regretted that thePortuguese Society, which was established in1892. was not represented at the Paris Con-ference.

98 THE LIFEBOAT. [SEPTEMBER, 1928.

International Conference met in Parison 26th and 27th June, at the Ministryof Public Works, having been calledtogether by our sister Society, theSociete Centrale de Sauvetage des Nau-frages. Those who had the privilege ofbeing present at both Conferences—andI was fortunate enough to be one ofthem—must have felt the .greatestsatisfaction in seeing the immensestrides which have been made since 1924.

It will be remembered that one of thej resolutions adopted in that year was

that proposed by Count Yoshii, thePresident of the Imperial JapaneseSociety, who urged the desirability ofestablishing some Life-boat organizationin all the maritime countries of the

! world. This resolution was sent, throughtheir Ambassadors or Ministers in GreatBritain, to the Governments of allmaritime countries, to the Under Secre-

j tary of State for Foreign Affairs, with arequest that it might be broughtofficially to the League of NationsCouncil by the British Government, tothe League of Nations Union at Geneva,and to the Headquarters of the Leagueof Nations Societies at Brussels. Subse-quently, in November, 1925, at therequest of the Committee of Manage-ment, I attended a Sub-committee of theLeague of Nations on Ports and Naviga-tion, at which the resolution referred towas discussed, and it was resolved thatthe desirability of establishing a Life-boat Service should be urged upon allnations with a seaboard. It was alsoresolved that the Secretariat to theLeague of Nations should place itself atthe disposal of the Life-boat Services inany way which might be found ofadvantage to those Services.

Trie publicity thus given to the idea ofthe Life-boat Service as a great practicalmeans to the service of humanity spreadwith remarkable rapidity. Hence, ourFrench colleagues were prompted toinvite to the second Conference notmerely all the countries which possess aLife-boat Service, but all those whichhave an important seaboard and are,therefore, directly interested in theService, either from the point of viewof the rescue of their own nationals or ofthe provision of suitable means with

which to succour the mariners of theworld who may be wrecked on theirshores.

Consequently, at the Conference heldin Paris, eighteen nations were repre-sented, either personally or by paperscontributed, and seventeen nationsactually participated in the meetings,these being, in the alphabetical order oftheir names in French :—

GERMANY.The German Life-boat Society.

Herr Johannes Rosing, General Secre-tary.

Herr Benno Mentz, Inspector.BELGIUM.

The Ministry of Railways, Marine,Posts and Telegraphs.

Baron de Gerlache, Inspector-General.

DENMARK.The Royal Danish Government.

Captain Topsoe-Jensen, DepartmentalHead of the Naval Department of theMinistry of Marine.

Mr. C. V. Fabricius, Director of theLife-saving Service for North Jutland.

SPAIN.The Spanish Society for Saving

the Shipwrecked.Captain Manuel Gutierrez Corcuera.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.The United States Government.

Vice-Admiral Frederick C. Billard, Com-mander of the United States CoastGuard.

Mr. Oliver M. Maxam, Chief, Division ofOperations.

District Commander Martin W. Ras-mussen.

FINLAND.The Finnish Government.

Mr. Mauno Nordberg, Consul-General ofFinland.

FRANCE.The Central Society for Saving

the Shipwrecked.Captain le Verger, General Secretary of

the Society.Lieutenant Cogniet, Chief Inspector.Captain Chollet, Inspector.Captain Huoa de Kermadec. Inspector.

SEPTEMBER, 1928.] THE LIFEBOAT. 99

Captain Richard, Inspector.Lieutenant Joneaux, Inspector.

GREAT BRITAIN.The Royal National Life-boat

Institution.Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Chairman o:

the Committee of Management.The Hon. George Colville, Deputy

Chairman.Mr. George F. Shee, M.A., Secretary.Captain H. F. J. Rowley, C.B.E., R.N.,

Chief Inspector.Mr. J. R. Barnett, O.B.E., M.I.N.A.,

Consulting Naval Architect.GREECE.

The Greek Government.Mr. Spiro Marchetti, First Secretary of

the Legation.Captain Mezeviris.

ITALY.Italian Society for Saving the

Shipwrecked.Captain Inigo Campioni, Naval Attache

to the Italian Embassy.

JAPAN.The Imperial Japanese Life-boat

Institution.Captain M. Koga, Naval Attache to the

Japanese Embassy.

LATVIA.The Latvian Society for Saving

the Shipwrecked.M. Woldemar Meslin, Vice-President,

HOLLAND.The North and South Holland

Life-saving Society.Mr. P. E. Tegelberg, President.Mr. G. L. de Vries Feyens, Member of

Committee.Mr. H. de Booy, Secretary.

The South Holland Society forSaving the Shipwrecked.

Baron A. A. Sweerts de Landas Wy-borgh, President.

Mr. J. Rypperda Wierdsma, Vice-President.

POLAND.The Polish Government.

Mr. Otto Weclawowicz, CommercialCouncillor to the Polish Embassy.

SWEDEN.The Swedish Society for Saving

the Shipwrecked.Mr. Edvard Lithander, Member of

Parliament and President of theSociety.

Mr. Albert Isakson, Civil Engineer, andMember of the Committee.

Captain Sten Isberg, Secretary.

TURKEY.The Government of the Turkish

Republic.Djevdet Bey, Secretary of the Embassy.

UNION or THE SOCIALIST SOVIETREPUBLICS.

Society for the Succour of theShipwrecked of the U.S.S.R.

Mr. Gloustchenko, Controller of theMercantile Marine of the U.S.S.R. forthe Baltic Sea.

The delegates were presented to thePresident of the Republic on the 27th,and were entertained to dinner by theSociete Centrale de Sauvetage desNaufrages on the same evening.

On the 28th the delegates of the chiefcountries were taken to Vileine-sur-Seine, where experiments were carriedout by General Reibel with his Line-Throwing Apparatus for use from theshore or from ships, and the delegateshad an opportunity of seeing one of thenew French Motor Life-boats.

Latvia and Poland.

Let us take a look round the Conference;able, and we shall note some interesting:acts. Among the nations represented•here are five only that provide aLife-boat Service maintained solely

the State, namely, Belgium, Den-mark, the United States, Turkey, and;he Soviet Republic of Russia. Finlandand Greece do not at present possess a

ife-boat Service at all, although, ofcourse, they have a very importantcoast. It is very interesting, too, tonote the presence of Mr. WoldemarVleslin, the representative of Latvia, anew State which includes a part of the^oast which was originally incorporatedn the Russian Empire, and where theife-boats were formerly provided by


the Imperial Russian Life-boat Society.It was the privilege of the Institution tobe able to supply the nucleus of aresuscitated Life-boat Service on thiscoast by transferring to Latvia threePulling and Sailing Life-boats at a costfar below that which had been incurredin building them. Interesting, too, tonote the presence of Poland (representedby M. Otto Weclawowicz, CommercialAttache of the. Polish Embassy), whichhas acquired a Life-boat Service onlyby the transfer to its flag of a number ofLife-boat Stations which formerly be-longed to the German Life-boat Society.

The Turkish Service.Turkey was represented by Djevdet

Bey, the Secretary of the Embassy.The nucleus of the Life-boat Service ofthe Turkish Republic was establishedmany years ago under the advice of theInstitution, and in 1913 we sent toTurkey plans and specifications of ourLife-boats. As a result, the Institutionconsented, at the request of the TurkishGovernifient, to two Self-righting Life-boats being built for the Black Seaentrance to the Bosphorous by Messrs.S. E. Saunders, Ltd., from the specifica-tions and under the supervision of theInstitution. After the War Turkeyre-organized her Service, and not longago invited Mr. de Booy, the Secretaryof the North and South Holland Life-boat Society, to visit its shores. Theinvitation was gladly accepted, andthe Reddingboot, of June, 1928, theorgan of the North and South HollandSociety,* contains an extremely inter-esting account of Mr. de Booy's visit,which shows that the Turkish authori-ties have attained a high standardof efficiency in the provision and theuse of the Rocket Apparatus and inthe limited number of Life-boats whichthey have in the Service, while thecrews are of an excellent type—strongand sturdy, with the courage of theTurkish peasant.

* It should be explained that their are twoLife-boat Societies in Holland, the North andSouth Society, and the South Holland Society.Both were founded in 1824, a few monthsafter the Institution, and they divide the coastof the Netherlands between them.

Russia and Italy.Finally, to deal with the exceptional

features of the Conference first, therepresentative of the Soviet, Mr. Gloust-chenko, the Director of the MercantileMarine of the Union of Socialist SovietRepublics, read a paper, giving a de-scription of the organization originallyprovided by the Imperial Russian Life-boat Service and that which now existsunder the Soviet regime, with figures asto the number of Life-boats, RocketApparatuses, lives saved, " Voluntary "Committees, etc. This paper, as was thecase with the Turkish contribution, hadnot been circulated previously, and,therefore, nothing more can be saidabout it at present except that it gavejust a glimpse of the Life-boat Service *after the Revolution and the efforts ofthe Soviet authorities to revive it insome shape or form.

It was interesting to see present theNaval Attache of the Italian Embassyin Paris, who represented the ItalianSociety for the Rescue of the Ship-wrecked. Unfortunately, I had noopportunity of talking to him, and I am,therefore, unaware of the position andthe activities of the Italian Society, theexistence of which was hitherto un-known to the Institution. I missed therepresentative of Norway, whom wewelcomed at the Conference in 1924,and who on this occasion sent in aninteresting paper on the Line-throwingGun.

Subjects Discussed.Turning to the discussion itself,

important papers had been contributedand circulated beforehand by the follow-ing countries —

Great Britain.—" The Launch ofMotor Life-boats from Slipways andOpen Beaches," by Captain HowardF. J. Rowley, C.B.E., R.N., ChiefInspector of Life-boats; and " TheIntroduction of Twin-screws in Motor

* We used to receive the Russian Life-boatJournal till 1917. While I was able to wrestlewith some success with the Life-boat Reportsof the other countries, the Russian, togetherwith the Japanese, left me defeated. I haveto thank the courtesy of the Japanese Embassyfor translating some of the recent issues of theJournal of the Imperial Japanese Life-boatSociety.

SEPTEMBER, 1928.] THE LIFEBOAT. 101Life-boats," by Mr. J. R. Barnett,O.B.E., M.I.N.A., of Messrs. G. L.Watson & Co., the Consulting NavalArchitect of the Institution.

France.—" The Development of MotorLife-boats," a description of the impor-tant Station at Goury La-Hague, wherethere is a double slipway, with a turn-table in the Boathouse, and a trolleywhich carries the Life-boat over oneslipway at low water and another athigh water ; a very valuable paper on" The Dangers to which Life-boats aresubject when crossing the Bar," especi-ally on their return to the shore, by M.Barrillon, the Chief Engineer of theFrench Navy, and Director of theExperimental Testing Tanks ; and apaper on " The Line-throwing Appara-tus," as used in the French Service, byGeneral Reibel, the inventor.

Germany.—A paper on " Motor Life-boats on the German Coast," and par-ticularly on the new Motor Life-boats,with a heavy-oil Diesel engine, by HerrJ. Rosing, the Secretary of the GermanSociety.

Sweden.—" The Patrol Service on theWest Coast of Sweden in Bad Weather."

The Netherlands.—A paper on thenew Dutch self-righting Motor Life-boatInsulinde, by Mr. de Booy, the Secretaryof the North and South Holland Society.

Denmark.—A paper on the Life-boatService on the Danish coast.

Norway.—" The Line-throwing Gun,"a paper contributed by Captain OttarVogt, Secretary of the Norwegian Life-boat Society, and

The United States of America.—Agroup of papers which were, unfortu-nately, not distributed to the delegatesuntil just before the second day, andwhich dealt with the needs of the coastsof the United States, the materialequipment of the Services, Life-boatsand Surf Boats, and visual signals inlife-saving operations.

The only papers that were actuallyread were those of the Turkish delegate,Djevdet Bey, and the Soviet delegate, asindicated above. All the other papers,including General Reibel's valuabledescription of his Apparatus, withexcellent illustrations, had been circu-lated before the Conference, so that all

the delegates had had time to studythem and prepare their remarks.

The President of the French Society.

Vice-Admiral Touchard, the Presidentof the Societe Centrale, presided throughout the Conference, which sat morningand afternoon on the 26th and 27th, andboth in his address of welcome and inconducting the deliberations of a gather-ing representing so many nations heshowed a tact and charm of mannerwhich were obviously as much a partof his character as they had been agraceful equipment in his distinguisheddiplomatic career. (He was for sometime French Ambassador in St. Peters-burg, to call it by the name by whichit was familiar to him.) It was, indeed,delightful to see the ease with which thegallant admiral, in his eighty-first year,conducted the prolonged and intricatediscussions of a Conference a good dealof which was necessarily carried on inEnglish, and then to find him still able topreside at the Dinner given by theSociete Centrale on the 27th and to dothe honours of the delightful soireemusicale which wound up the formalproceedings. It is only right to addthat his task was considerably lightenedby the ease and ability with whichLieutenant Cogniet, the Chief Inspectorof the Society, translated the moreimportant part of the discussions fromEnglish into French, as did also my oldfriend Mr. de Booy, of Holland.

Presentation of Delegates to the Presidentof the Republic.

At the end of the morning session onthe 27th the delegates were taken to theElysee and formally presented to thePresident of the Republic, M. Dou-mergue, who welcomed them in a briefspeech which paid a tribute to the vitalimportance of the subject of the Con-ference and to the splendid men who inall the countries represented carried outthe work of life-saving in the service ofhumanity. A still more eloquent homageto the Life-boat Service and to its Crewswas paid by M. Leygues, the Minister ofMarine, when replying to the toastproposed by Admiral Touchard at thedinner on the same evening. Indeed, I


have seldom heard a nobler appreciationof the activities of the Life-boat Crewsand of the significance of the Life-boatService for the progress of mankind, asubject most earnestly dealt with alsoby Sir Godfrey Baring, the Chairman ofthe Committee of Management, in hisspeech, from which I shall venture toquote presently.

Demonstration of the French Line-throwingApparatus.

On the 28th our friends of the SocieteCentrale arranged a most delightful andinstructive trip to Vilaine-sur-Seine, acharming spot on the river abouttwenty-five miles from Paris. Here, ona quiet reach of water which remindedone vividly of the Thames just belowHenley, we found one of the latestFrench twin-screw Life-boats, andGeneral Reibel gave an extremely inter-esting demonstration of the use of hisLine-throwing Apparatus, both from theboat and the shore. There followed analfresco lunch under a pergola facing theriver, and no one who was present islikely to forget the charm of that mealat which the perfect weather, the lovelysurroundings and the hospitality of ourhosts combined with the atmosphere ofcordial co-operation in a great humaneservice to leave an ineffaceable impres-sion. Unfortunately, Admiral Touchardwas unable to be present, and Com-mandant le Verger, the Secretary of theSociete Centrale, presided, having hispredecessor, M. de Lepiney, facing himin the position of " Mr. Vice." SirGodfrey Baring and Mr. Barnett hadalso been obliged to leave Paris in themorning, but Mr. Colville was presentas well as Captain Rowley, and in ahappy speech expressed the gratitudeof all the delegates for the hospitality ofthe Societe Centrale, while I took theopportunity of paying a special tributeof our admiration of the gallant oldAdmiral, to whom'we sent a telegramsigned by all those present.

It is, of course, impossible to deal herein any detail with the technical discus-sions which occupied the attentions ofthe Conference throughout two days.I shall probably be able to revert tosome of the most important papers

when the Report of the discussions isreceived; but readers gi The Lifeboatare entitled to ask : ^ What was theoutcome of the Conference ?

The Value of the Conference.

Was it merely a pleasant way ofmeeting one another, or did it reallyfurther the cause of the Life-boat Crewsscattered along the shores of GreatBritain, on the varied 10,000 miles ofthe coasts of the United States, on thesand dunes of Holland or Denmark, onthe North Sea littoral of Germany, orthe steeper declivities of the Balticstrand ? Will the hardy men who carryout the rescue work in Norway andSweden, Spain and Portugal, Russia andJapan find their task made easier, or atleast their inevitable risks somewhatlessened ? In a word, will the marinersof the world as they approach their land-fall find a prompter response andimproved machinery in the beneficentwork of rescue, wThich means to them sooften the difference between life anddeath ? The answer to these questionsis an emphatic affirmative. Indeed, inthe words of Sir Godfrey Baring,Chairman of the Committee of Manage-ment, speaking at the dinner given tothe delegates on 27th June, " It wouldbe impossible adequately to estimatehow much these discussions will benefitthe progress of the great common taskin which we are engaged."

What is certain is that the Conferenceproved once more the immense advan-tage which accrues from the closediscussion of a common purpose by thoseearnestly engaged in its pursuit, especi-ally if their labours are normally carriedout in different countries thousands ofmiles apart, yet all concerned with thesame great end—the service of humanity.

Pooling Knowledge.

Each of the countries represented—even those which as yet have no form ofLife-boat Service—is confronted bydifferent problems; coast formation,the type, size and weight of life-boats,the adoption of petrol or heavy-oilengines, the sparsity of a maritimepopulation, the difficulties of launchingand transport, the use of the rocketapparatus, the means of communication


THE INTERNATIONAL LIFE-BOAT CONFERENCE ON THE SEINE.

By permission of] [Poictll't, Siranft'je.

AMERICAN DELEGATES ON BOARD THE SWANAGE MOTOR LIFE-BOAT.Back row, left to right: Major E. J. Burt, President of the Swanage Branch, Commander Rasmuss«n, Mr. Maxam

and Vice-Admiral Billard. In front of Major Burt is Captain Rowley.


along the coast. And each of theseproblems was discussed by those whowere handling them from day to day intheir respective countries, so that thecontributions of each were pooled forthe benefit of all. More than that, ashas often been the case in the discoveriesof astronomy, it was seen that in severalinstances much valuable time wouldhave been saved, and the cause of life-saving accelerated, if it had been possiblefor those working on the same problemsto be aware of the way in which thoseproblems were being attacked by theirco-workers. \

Twin-Screw or Single Screw?

Several instances will show howbeneficial the discussions were. TheInstitution has been steadily developingits Motor Life-boats and, what isextremely important, its own engines,and has been particularly studying thehighly technical question as to whetherthe adoption of twin-screws as well astwin-engines involved any risk that theLife-boat might be overturned by theextra " push " which it was thought afollowing sea might exert on the doubletunnel. Work in this direction waspursued with the greatest interest andanxiety, and the Institution thought itwell to build two Life-boats of the sametype, one with twin-engines and a singlescrew, and the other with twin-enginesand twin-screws. These boats weretested side by side in the worst possibleconditions, with the gratifying resultthat the twin-screw boat showed at nodisadvantage whatever, in a followingsea, as compared with a single-screwboat, and that both were thoroughlysatisfactory.

Meanwhile, the French Life-boatSociety had referred a somewhat similarproblem to the distinguished experts ofthe Department of Naval Engineering,and one of the papers submitted to theConference was that which dealt exhaus-tively with the history of these experi-ments. I do not propose to enter intodetails here. Suffice it to say that underthe direction of M. Barillon, the ChiefEngineer of the French Navy and theDirector of the Testing Tanks, a series of3,100 experiments were made under

conditions which portrayed an exactreproduction in miniature of the varioustypes of breaker striking the stern of aLife-boat of various types at variouspoints of the wave-length and atdifferent angles. The results wereeminently satisfactory, in that theyshowed that the tunnel which theInstitution has uniformly adoptedfor the protection of the propelleragainst damage or entanglement inwreckage is the best possible protectionagainst a Motor Life-boat being over-turned .

The experiments also gave the mostoverwhelming proof of the immenseimportance of the drogue, or sea anchor,in preventing capsizing by a followingsea.

Here, then, we have a most extra-ordinary confirmation from two totallydifferent directions, both of conjecturaltheory and of actual experience withregard to an integral part of the ma-chinery of the Life-boat Service.

Petrol and Heavy-Oil Engines.

The same thing was observed in thediscussions on the provision of motorboats of light weight. There is, perhaps,no direction in which the developmentof the motor boat for life-saving pur-poses has been, and is, making moreimportant strides than in the applicationof power to comparatively small boatsof light draft which can be launched offthe beach ; and, as our readers are aware,the Institution has in hand a large pro-gramme of construction of boats of thistype which are only awaiting thecompletion of experiments with a verylight engine adapted for marine pur-poses.

The United States Coast GuardService, in which the Life-boat Serviceis included, has for many years pastmade extensive use of the small petrol-driven Motor Life-boat. Indeed, theUnited States has provided an enginein a far smaller type of boat than anywith which the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION has yet made theexperiment. The United States Servicehas no less than 165 of these self-bailingmotor surf-boats, 26 feet in length, witha beam of 5 feet and a draft of 2 feet,


and they date the adoption of this typeof boat from 1899. Its larger MotorLife-boats are only 36 feet by 9 feet6 inches, with a draft of 3 feet 6 inches,their 44 h.p. engine giving a speed ofabout eight knots, while a smaller type,with a 20 h.p. engine, attains a speed ofabout seven knots. In no case, how-ever, has the United States so faradopted the heavy-oil engine.

Meanwhile, the North and SouthHolland Life-boat Society has a numberof Motor Life-boats, several of which areof a powerful type, and all provided withheavy-oil engines. They have not,however, so far attempted to use theseengines in a small type of Life-boat. Inother words, all their Motor Life-boatsare of a type and size which allow of theuse of the heavy-oil engine.

German Experiments withDiesel Engine.

the

The German Life-boat Society—avoluntary one like our own—has par-ticularly pursued investigations withregard to a smaller type of Diesel enginefor boats of light draft. Indeed, onemay say that all those who are closelyconcerned in the development of motor-power in Life-boats are profoundlyinterested in the experiments which arebeing, and have been, made by theGermans in this matter. For the Dieselengine has long been recognized as amarvellously efficient means of marinepropulsion ; its weight alone has provedthe chief obstacle to its much wideradoption for light draft boats. If thisdifficulty were removed, there is nodoubt that the greater simplicity of theDiesel engine and the elimination ofmuch of the danger incidental to the useof petrol engines would bring about amuch wider utilization of the Dieselengine, and with it the more generaladoption of heavy oil instead of petrolas fuel.

Sweden and Norway and Holland areall engaged on a similar problem, and itis certain that the discussions and theexchange of experience between thosewho are dealing with it from day today in the different countries haveproved of the utmost value to allconcerned.

Methods of Launching.

So, again, the means of launchingLife-boats off shingle, by tractor, byslipway or by man-power—all thesequestions received adequate discussion.And here Captain Rowley was able toadd a first-hand account of the latestexperiments which the Institution hasbeen making with the new, very power-ful caterpillar tractor which will enableus to launch six-ton Motor Life-boatsoff a carriage from any kind of beach.For these experiments had taken placeat New Romney only three days beforethe British delegates left for Paris.Thus the very informative description ofthe means of transporting and launchingLife-boats off an open beach which wasgiven in his original paper was confirmedand brought up to date for the benefit ofall the delegates, and photographs of thetractor in action were handed round.

A Unified System of Signals.

Again, the desirability of simplifyingand unifying the system of signals ofdistress between ships and the shorereceived the close attention of the Con-ference. Those engaged in the Life-boatServices are only too well aware of thevagueness and confusion in the use ofsignals of distress, which so oftenmilitate against efficient means ofrescue, and might, in some cases, leadto disaster. Recognizing this fact, theConference adopted the following resolu-tion, which will be forwarded to theMinister of Foreign Affairs in France,and through him no doubt circulated tothe Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all themaritime countries :—

" That this Conference, representing18 maritime nations which possessorganized Life-boat Services, or areinterested in the further developmentof such Services, wishes to place onrecord the great importance which itattaches to the early establishment ofa unified and simplified internationalsystem of signals between ships indistress and the shore, relative to thedemand for assistance and the stepswhich are being, or are to be, takento give such assistance by means ofLife-boats; and, pending such unifica-


tion and simplification, the Conferenceurges the elimination of all signalswhich are liable to be confused withrecognized signals of distress."

Line-throwing Guns and Pistols.

Finally, to touch only upon themore important items which occupiedthe attention of the delegates, GeneralReibel's demonstration of the use of hisLine-throwing Apparatus proved of thegreatest interest, especially to thosecountries—and they are the majority—where the Eocket Apparatus is con-trolled by the same authority as theLife-boats. The Norwegian Society andAdmiral Billard, of the United StatesGovernment Service, as well as GeneralReibel, had dealt with this subject intheir respective papers. But it wasanother thing to see General Reibel'sinvention tested both from the Life-boatand the shore. There can be no doubtof its great value as a simple andpowerful means of throwing a line froma ship or from the land, but in its presentform it is too heavy for use from aLife-boat, and our technical advisersprefer our own Line-throwing Gun forthat purpose. But the discussion on thesubject of developing the best, handiest,safest and lightest means of throwing aline about 100 yards from a Life-boat toa vessel in distress elicited the fact thatthe German Society has produced apistol, weighing apparently only 2| lb.,which is stated to be capable of throw-ing a line as far as our own B.S.A.gun.

This brief survey will give some ideaof the importance of the second Inter-national Life-boat Conference, and it isgratifying to be able to state without, 1hope, overstepping the limits of modesty,that the contributions, both written andverbal, of the Institution's technicadelegates, Captain Rowley and MrBarnett, were amongst the most impor-tant and illuminating which the Con-ference received.

American Delegates' Visit to England.

The bond of union of the Life-boalService was happily emphasized in avery significant manner only a weekor so after the Conference on the

occasion of the visit of the AdmiralBillard and his fellow-delegates toEngland en route to the United States.We did our best to enable our American'riends to see something of the work of;he Institution during their short stay.They saw the final trials of the newLaunching Tractor, Princess Victoria,at Hoylake. They visited the Storeyardat Poplar, where they saw the ReserveFleet and Workshops ; the yards ofMessrs. J. Samuel White & Co. andMessrs. S. E. Saunders at Cowes, wherethey saw some eighteen Life-boats underconstruction, the Second Reserve Fleet,and the timber storage ; the new MotorLife-boat and Slipway at Swanage ; the60-feet Barnett Boat at New Brighton ;and the Station at Douglas, Isle of Man,the birthplace of the Institution, wherethousands witnessed the launch of theLife-boat which was carried out forthem. Here they desired to pay atribute of honour and admiration tothe great Englishman whose appealto the nation resulted in the establish-ment of the Institution, and afterthe launch they laid a wreath on hisgrave.

Thus, in the course of a brief visit,they were given as comprehensive a viewas possible of the Institution's Life-boats, methods and organization.

The Larger Issues.

To any one taking a wider view thanthat concerned with actual practicealone, the Conference was an event fullof promise in the larger sphere ofinternational relationships. This pointwas strongly emphasized by Sir GodfreyBaring in the speech, to which I havealready referred, in reply to the toastof the foreign delegates proposed byAdmiral Touchard. Speaking in French,he said :—

" I would dwell upon the internationalvalue of the fact itself, that we have beenattending the second InternationalConference on Life-boat Affairs. Surely,sir, that is an historic fact of very greatimportance. Think of it. A little morethan a hundred years ago the courage,the eloquence, the foresight and theactive humanity of Colonel Sir WilliamHillary led to the establishment in


Britain of the first organized Life-boatService.

" As his Excellency the FrenchAmbassador in Britain stated at ourannual meeting, held in March last, thefirst Conference marked the publicrecognition of the international characterof the Life-boat movement. Thatcharacter was further emphasized by thedespatch to all countries with a sea-board of the resolution in favour of theestablishment of a Life-boat Service inall countries, which was proposed byCount Yoshil, of the Imperial JapaneseLife-boat Society. Then, in November,1925, the question of the Life-boatService was considered by a sub-committee of the League of Nations,at which the Secretary of the Institu-tion attended as our representative.At that committee it was resolvedto place the services of the Secre-tariat to the League of Nations atthe disposal of the International Life-boat movement.

Towards a Better Understanding.

" We see, then, that by a centripetalmovement, common to all the greataspirations of humanity, the Life-boatServices of the world are converging,even though unconsciously, towards thesame central idea of a better under-standing between nations, and of amutual helpfulness which shall tend toeliminate the causes of friction, and sothe ruinous loss and devastation whichwar involves.

" Truly we may agree with the FrenchAmbassador when he expressed theopinion that Sir William Hillary would,indeed, have been pleased to see thedevelopment of the movement whichhe initiated, and of which he declaredthat ' people and vessels of everynation, whether in peace or in war,were equally to be the objects.'

" That tendency is promoted by themere organization in all countries whichhave a seaboard of a great Service at thedisposal of the mariners of the world—those in peril on the sea—irrespective ofwhat nation, colour, or religion they maybe. But in practice the result is muchmore definite. For what can link peopletogether more closely than acts of

heroism, humanity and devotion per-formed by men of one nation towardsthose of another country who areentire strangers to them, and who haveno claim upon them except the factthat they are in danger and distress ?

Heroic Achievements.

" But there is yet another aspect inwhich our common task may claim tobe regarded as a valuable contributiontowards the progress of civilization.Courage, endurance, and humanity arequalities which we need in every land.The Life-boat Service embodies thesequalities in the highest degree, not, asthe Prince of Wales said a few weeksago, as expressed exceptionally in onesupreme effort, as in war, but as a con-stant, year to year, day and night,expression of the character of the menof our maritime populations. Probablyeach of the countries represented inParis to-day can show examples of endur-ance in the Life-boat Service which arethe subject of pride to the nations con-cerned. Last year it so happened thatthere was a group of services on theEnglish coast which produced recordsof endurance of Life-boat Crews lastingthirteen, seventeen, twenty-one, twenty-seven and thirty hours, in which theCrews were exposed to the fury of thegale, frozen to the marrow, without foodor shelter, and yet hanging on grimly,with teeth clenched in the indomitableresolution to carry through their self-appointed task. Of such stuff are themen of the Life-boat Service. Suchmen we shall find among the simplefisher-folk who form the backbone ofthe service in your beautiful France, inBritain, and the United States ofAmerica, in Germany, and Japan, inBelgium, and Holland, Denmark andNorway and Sweden, and Spain, andPortugal.

" May we not claim, sir, that a Servicewhich produces such men, a Servicewhich is illumined by the achievementsof such men, forms a notable contribu-tion to the forces which are making forpeace and unity between the nations ?May we not, indeed, see in the Life-boatService the promise of a splendid para-dox, transforming what has hitherto


been an obstacle to international inter-course into a means of facilitating it ?

A Bridge of Boats.

" Throughout the ages since, withstout heart of oak, man first set out inhis frail bark to seek his bread or hisadventure on the waters, the ocean hasbeen the great barrier which has separa-ted peoples and made it difficult forthem to know one another, even forpurposes of exchanging the fruits oftheir soil and the products of theirindustry.

" May I venture to suggest that theLife-boat Service and its internationaldevelopment, of which we are to-daywitnessing the second important forwardstep, may provide a bridge of boats,

across which the nations may moveinto closer friendship and understanding,to the lasting benefit of mankind."

I think our readers will find them-selves in agreement with these views.

When the American delegates laidtheir wreath on the tomb of Sir WilliamHillary, they symbolized not merely theadmiration of one great branch of theAnglo-Saxon people for the benefitsconferred on humanity by a greatEnglishman. They also marked theassociation of all civilized people with aseaboard in the great work of life-savingin which they are all concerned, and inwhich it has been the privilege of Britainto take the lead in the foundation anddevelopment of the ROYAL NATIONALLIFEBOAT INSTITUTION.

The Life-boat Service and the Fishing Fleets.The Prince of Wales's Tribute and Appeal.

WHEN the Prince of Wales visitedGrimsby on 19th July for the purpose ofvisiting the decks and opening a newbridge he made a reference to the closeconnexion between the Life-boat Serviceand the fishing industry, which was botha tribute to the fishermen who form themajority of our crews, and an appeal tothe owners of the fishing fleets torecognize the value to them of anefficient Life-boat Service. Speaking asPresident of the Institution and asMaster of the Fishing Fleet, the Princeof Wales said : "It is your fisherfolkwho have given to Great Britain thecrews* of our Life-boats, and have thus

formed the great service which has beenprovided and organized by the ROYALNATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION forover a century. I am President of theInstitution, and very proud to fill theoffice, and I mention it here, because itseems to me to form another linkbetween myself and Grimsby, whosepeople know better, perhaps, than thepeople of any other town in England theincalculable value, in time of need, ofan efficient Life-boat Service. It is aService which is indissolubly bound upwith the fishing trade, and I know thatthe two will always continue to supportand^to rely each on the other."

Centenaries of Life-boat Stations.

AT their Meeting last May the Committeeof Management passed the followingresolution:—'' That Life-boat Stations bepresented with a Vellum on completion ofa hundred years, this Vellum to be hungin the Town Hall or other public build-ing, that a special Ceremony of Presen-

tation be arranged in each case, andthat this Resolution be retrospective."

Nearly twenty such presentations ofVellums have taken place during thepast summer, and it is hoped to publishaccounts of them in the next issue ofThe Lifeboat.


Rescue by a Grimsby Trawler.THE Institution has presented its Thanksinscribed on Vellum to be hung on boardthe steam trawler Cuirass, of Grimsby,an inscribed Binocular Glass to theskipper, Mr. W. Brewster, and amonetary reward to each member of hiscrew for their gallant efforts to help thesteam trawler Briarlyn, of Fleetwood,on 15th February last.

The Briarlyn had gone ashore, inhazy weather, on St. Kilda in the OuterHebrides, and been badly holed. Asher position was very dangerous, herdinghy was launched with four membersof the crew on board, but the oars werelost in launching, and when an attemptwas made to work the boat round fromone side of the trawler to the other, thepainter was let go and the boat driftedhelplessly away. These four men werefound and rescued by the Cuirass.There were still eight men on board thewreck, and their cries could be heard inthe darkness. It was impossible for theCuirass—although her skipper took herdangerously near—to get near enoughto the Briarlyn among the rocks, so theskipper manned the Briarlyn's dinghywith men of his own crew, and they madea gallant, but unsuccessful, attempt,

lasting three-quarters of an hour, toreach the wreck.

Captain Brewster then recalled thedinghy, and, manning one of his ownboats, made another attempt. Thisalso failed, owing to the strength anddirection of the wind and the heavy surf,and the boat had considerable difficultyin getting back to the Cuirass. CaptainBrewster then stood by until daybreak,when only the mast of the wreck couldbe seen, and searched for the remainderof the crew, but none could be found.

He then arranged for the islanders ofSt. Kilda to carry out a search, andstood by until 3.30 in the afternoon,when the wind changed to a gale fromthe N.W. and compelled him to seekshelter.

Next morning he returned again tothe wreck and continued the search,but without success, and all hope wasgiven up of finding any of the eight menstill alive.

In these repeated efforts the skipperof the Cuirass ran grave risk of losinghis own vessel, and the men of his crewwho manned the small boats werein great danger of losing their ownlives.

Gallant Scottish Fishermen.Bronze Medal Awarded.

THE Institution has awarded its BronzeMedal to Mr. Hugh MacKay, Senr., ofHilton, on the north-east coast of Ross-shire on the Moray Firth, and itsThanks inscribed on Vellum to fourother men for their gallantry in attempt-ing to save a fishing boat on 20th Marchlast.

This boat, the Pearl, was attemptingto enter Balintore harbour in the after-noon in a whole gale, with a heavy searunning, when her engine failed. Shewas driven down on to the salmon stake-nets, and to these her crew succeededin securing her, but she was in thegreatest danger.

Mr. MacKay called for volunteers,manned his own motor yawl Thrive, andwent out to the rescue. The flood tide

was making, which always renders itmost dangerous to attempt to leave thisharbour. In spite of this the Thrivenot only went out in the gathering dark-ness, but succeeded in getting the Pearlin tow and brought her safely as far asthe harbour entrance. Then the towrope parted and the Pearl capsized, theThrive with difficulty getting into theharbour. One of the two men on boardthe Pearl was injured in the capsizingand was drowned. The other succeededin reaching the shore, 15 yards away,and owed his life to the gallantry of thefive men on board the Thrive. TheMedal and Vellums were presented beforea large audience by Sir Hector Munro,Bt., Lord Lieutenant of the County, ata meeting held on 3rd September.


Two Brave Boys.Award of Vellums at Worthing.

THE Institution's Thanks inscribed onVellum have been presented to two boysof Worthing, Eric Mundell and StanleyA. Darkin, both aged fifteen, forrescuing two lives from shipwreck atgreat risk to themselves. On the morn-ing of 2nd June last a man and hisnine-year-old son were out sailing. Amoderate breeze was blowing and thesea was rough. When 500 yards awayfrom the East Pier the boat got intodifficulties, lost her rudder and capsized.Father and son were thrown into thewater. Mundell and Darkin at oncelaunched their 10-foot dinghy and wentto the rescue. They reached the spotwith difficulty, and succeeded in getting

the man and the little boy, who werecompletely exhausted, safely on boardtheir dinghy, an operation which wouldcertainly have capsized the dinghy ifthey had not handled her very skil-fully.

The presentation of the two Vellumswas publicly made on 21st July, theday on which Life-boat Day was held,by the Mayor of Worthing (AldermanW. T. Frost, J.P.). Among thosepresent were the Mayoress, the DeputyMayor, Lieut.-Col. A. F. Randolph,C.M.G., D.S.O., Chairman of the Branch,Mr. J. R. Aldridge, the Honorary Secre-tary, and the District Organising Secre-tary.

Ilfracombe Visitors' Book.IT should be of interest to Life-boatworkers, particularly those connectedwith Stations at seaside resorts, to readthe following summary of the visitors'book kept at the Ilfracombe Boat-housein the summer of last year. During thefour summer months, June to September,1,840 names were written in it. Themajority were visitors from London, thesouth of England and South Wales.Many were from the Midlands, and somefrom the North of England. A fewcame from the East Coast, three camefrom Ireland, and two from Scotland.

There were also a number of visitorsfrom overseas, the majority of thesebeing from Australia. Among theplaces from which they came wereDunedin, Auckland, Melbourne, Sydneyin New South Wales (as well as Sydney,Gloucestershire), Egypt, West Australia,Tasmania, Durban, Rhodesia, Bombay,New York, West Falkland Islands, Paris,Shanghai and Oreya, in Peru. It willthus be seen that the Ilfracombe Life-boat House last summer has visitorsfrom China and Peru.

The Life-boat Service 100 Years Ago.Fourth Annual Report.

IT is now four years since the establish-ment of this Institution ; and the Com-mittee, in making their Fourth AnnualReport, beg leave to state, that theyhave continued to pursue the measureswhich they have deemed best calculatedto effect the objects of the Institution,and have continued to grant honoraryand pecuniary rewards to parties whohave exerted themselves in saving Livesfrom Shipwreck, apportioning the sameto the best of their judgment, to theservices rendered, and the risk incurred.

The number of Lives saved fromShipwreck during the last year, throughthe means provided by the Institution,is One Hundred and Sixty-three, andthe total number saved from the periodof its Establishment, is Six Hundredand Eighty.

The honorary and pecuniary rewardsgranted last year for saving lives,were:

ONE GOLD MEDALLION,FOURTEEN SILVER MEDALS,£273 9s. IN CASH.

SEPTEMBER, 1928.] THE LIFEBOAT. in

Life-boat Calendar for 1929.Reproduction of a painting by Mr. W. L. Wyllie, R.A.

THE Institution is again issuing a Life-boat Calendar for the forthcomingyear. It feels that there is no betterway of keeping the work of the Life-boat Service continually before thepublic from the first day of the year tothe last, and it hopes that many readersof The Lifeboat will buy this calendarnot only for themselves but to send totheir friends. We are calling attentionto it now because each year Christmaspreparations seem to begin earlier.

The calendar will have a reproductionin colours of a picture painted by thefamous i marine , artist, Mr. W. L.Wyllie, R.A., which he generouslypresented to the Institution.

The calendars will be 11J inches longby 9 inches wide, and they can beobtained from the Institution in anyquantity, post free, Is. each, or 10s. adozen, this price including an envelopewith each calendar. It will weigh, inthe envelope, just under 4 ounces, so

THE LIFE-BOAT CALENDER, 1929.

The Padstow Life-boat.

From the painting by Mr. W. L. Wyllie. R.A., presented by the artist to the institution.

Those who wish to order calendars cando so at once, and they will receivethem at the end • of November orbeginning of December.

Calendars are becoming each year amore popular form of gift, and thosewho use the Life-boat Calendar mayfeel that they are making it do a doubleservice. They will be sending theirfriends a charming gift and they will behelping the Institution.

that it can be sent through the post,with the envelope open, for Id.

Those who wish to order calendarsshould apply to the Secretary, RoyalNational Life-boat Institution, Life-boat House, 22, Charing Cross Road,London, W.C. 2, and should enclosewith their order a postal order orstamps. Only such orders can be dealtwith, and it will help materially if ordersare sent at once.


The New Stromness Motor Life-boat.By Captain Howard F. J. Rowley, C.B.E., R.N., Chief Inspector of Life-boats.

ONE of the first Life-boat Stations to beprovided with, a Motor Life-boat wasStromness, in the Orkneys. It was in1903 that a Pulling and Sailing Life-boat was first converted to motor-power.This Boat was followed by two otherconverted Life-boats. Then, in 1908,the first three Life-boats designed formotor-power were built, and one ofthese was sent to Stromness. ThisLife-boat, John A. Hay, has remainedthere ever since. She has been launchedon service 31 times. She has rescued90 lives, and she has carried out anumber of long-distance services whichhave shown the splendid capacity ofboth the Life-boat and her Crew.

Now, after twenty years of distin-guished service, the John A. Hay hasbeen replaced by a new, larger andmuch more powerful Motor Life-boat.The difference between the two boatsis an indication of the advance whichhas been made in Life-boat constructionduring the past twenty years. TheJohn A. Hay is a self-righting Life-boat,42 feet long, with a 30-h.p. engine. Thenew Boat is of the Barnett type, thelatest and most powerful in the Institu-tion's fleet, of which there are at presentthree on the coast—at New Brighton onthe Mersey, Aberdeen and Plymouth.Although of this type, the new Strom-ness Boat has been built to a modifieddesign so that, instead of lying at moor-ings, like the other three, she may behoused, and launched down a slipway.Her dimensions are 51 feet by 13 feet6 inches instead of 60 feet by 15 feet, andher weight 26| instead of 44 tons. Shehas two engines of 60 h.p. instead of twoof 80 h.p., orie cabin instead of two, andthe petrol which she can carry givesher a radius of action of 75, as comparedwith 150 miles for the larger type ofBarnett Boat. Her maximum speed ontrials was nearly 8f knots.

The new Boat left the building yardat Cowes on 15th February in charge ofCommander E. D. Drury, O.B.E.,R.N.R., Northern District Inspector,with Mr. William Small, District In-spector of Machinery for the Northern

District, the Stromness Coxswain, Mr.William Johnston, and three men ofthe Stromness Crew and the MotorMechanic.

She reached Stromness on 3rd March,so that she had taken 18 days for thejourney of 1,007 miles. Five of thesedays, however, were spent at Guernsey,and the Life-boat was actually at sea125 hours, so that her average speed was8f knots, practically the same as hermaximum speed on trials run on theriver at Cowes in smooth water.

The Life-boat went first to Guernsey,to give the people of the island, wherea Pulling and Sailing Life-boat isstationed at St. Peter Port, an oppor-tunity of seeing a modern Motor Life-boat. For this part of her journey shehad on board, as well as those alreadymentioned, the Inspector of Life-boatsand the Assistant Inspector of Machineryfor the South of England, and a deputa-tion from Guernsey, which consisted ofMr. H. H. Randall, who has since becomeChairman of the Branch, Mr. W.Frampton, the Honorary Secretary, andthe Coxswain.

A Rough Journey.

This first part of the journey was madein the worst of weather. The Boatmet a dead-ahead south-westerly galewith a heavy sea, and by the way inwhich she met this test alone convincedher crew from Stromness that she wasa Boat which they could trust in theworst of weather, even in the notoriouslystormy waters round the Orkneys.

Cowes was left at five in the evening,and St. Peter Port was reached justbefore noon on the following day. Thiswas the longest run of the whole journey,and the distance was 120 miles, givingan average speed of nearly 6J knots, ortwo knots below the maximum on trials,so that this run illustrates once againthat quality at which we chiefly aim inthe construction of Life-boat engines—not a high speed, but a great reserveof power, enabling the Boat to main-tain her speed even in the heaviestweather.


THE NEW STROMNESS LEE-BOAT AT GUERNSEY.Left to right: Commander Hairier, Mr. Randell (at the wheel). Commander Drury, the Lieuten nt-Governor. the

Bailiff of Guernsey, and Mr. Frampton. In front: Mr. Small.

By permission of] [W. Houston.THE NEW STROMNESS LIFE-BOAT ARRIVES.

By permission of] [W. Houston.

THE OLD STROMNESS LIFE-BOAT LEAVES FOR IRELAND.

D 3


It deserves to be put on record thatfor the greater part of this run Mr.Eandall, who is an experienced yachts-man, was at the wheel.

From Guernsey, the Life-boat crossedto Penzance, and then up the west coast,calling at Fishguard and Holyhead.From Holyhead she crossed to Dona-ghadee, in Northern Ireland. Then toCampbeltown, Troon, Ardrishaig, Oban,Tobermory, Portree, Stornoway andThurso, finally reaching Stromness earlyin the afternoon of 3rd March, whereshe was given a great reception. Theships in the harbour were dressed, flagswere flying, maroons were fired, andthere was a large crowd to welcome herafter her journey of 1,000 miles.

It was not long before the new Life-boat's services were needed. On 18thMarch a steam trawler from Hull, LordDevonport, homeward bound from theIceland fishing ran ashore on St. John'sHead, Hoy, five miles from Stromness,and was completely wrecked. She wentashore on the 18th, but it was not until

10 o'clock on the morning of the 19ththat the news reached Stromness.Within 10 minutes the Life-boat waslaunched, and she reached the wreck inthree-quarters of an hour, but by then,unfortunately, eight men of the trawler'screw were drowned or had died of ex-posure. The remaining six were quicklyrescued. Communication was made bymeans of the line-throwing gun, andthe men were hauled through the surf.It was a short service, but it was enoughto confirm her Crow in the confidencewhich the journey from Cowes had giventhem in their new Boat.

The old Stromness Life-boat, althoughshe has given way to a larger and morepowerful Boat, is not at the end of herservice. On 12th March she left Strom-ness in charge of Commander Drury forBelfast, which she reached on 24thMarch, having done the 332 miles in66 hours, an average speed of 5 knots.At Belfast she was reconditioned, andthen went to her new Station at Fenit,Tralee Bay.

Inaugural Ceremonies of Motor Life-boats.Stromness, Longhope, Piel (Barrow), Swanage and Porlrush.

Lieutenant H.R.H. Prince George,E.G., G.C.V.O., R.N., named the twoMotor Life-boats at Stromness andLonghope in the Orkneys on the6th June.

These are the two most northerlyLife-boat Stations in the British Isles.Stromness, which, was established in1867, has a record of 119 lives rescued.It was one of the first Stations to beprovided with a Motor Life-boat, andsome account of the work of that Boatand the description of the new MotorLife-boat appear elsewhere in thisissue in an article by the Chief Inspec-tor.* The Longhope Station was estab-lished in 1874, and has a record of90 lives rescued. The old Life-boatwas a Pulling and Sailing Boat of theWatson type, built in 1905, which, onthe arrival of the Motor Life-boat, wassent to Howth, Dublin. The MotorLife-boat, which reached her Station inSeptember, 1926, is of the Watson

* See page-112.

Cabin Type, 45 feet 6 inches by 12 feet6 inches, with an 80 h.p. engine. She hasa radius of action of 62 miles, and aspeed of 8 knots. On her journey fromCowes, a distance of 663 miles, she wasat sea 85 hours, so that the wholejourney was carried out at an averagespeed of 7J knots, only half a knotbelow her maximum.

The Stromness Life-boat has beenbuilt out of legacies received fromthe late Miss J. Moody, of Derby ; thelate Mr. J. P. Traill, of London, thelate Mr. W. M. Aitken, of Edinburgh,the late Mrs. E. J. Hanson, of Belper,Derbyshire and the late Mr. WilliamNetting, of Bush Hill Park, Middlesex.The Longhope Life-boat has been builtout of legacies received from the lateMrs. S. H. Sandford, of Sandford,Salop, the late Mr. J. Turnbull, ofLondon, the late Mr. M. G. Jessett, ofEnfield, Middlesex, and the late Mr.William King, of Liverpool. In thecase of each boat the names chosen by


the donors have been inscribed insidethe Boat, and her name has beenformed of the initials. In addition tothe four legacies for the Longhope Life-boat, a gift from Mrs. E. E. Bade, ofHull, and a gift in memory of the lateMr. John Ashworth, of Lytham, havebeen devoted to this Boat.

The ceremony at Stromness tookplace in the morning, the Prince, accom-panied by Admiral H. H. Campbell,C.B., C.V.O., arriving in the Admiral'sbarge from the Atlantic Fleet, which wasstationed in the Flow. He was receivedby a guard of honour, consisting of 100men with colours, from the AtlanticFleet, and ex-service men, while therewas also a parade of the Boys' Brigade,the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides, who,with the school children, lined the streets.

Among those taking part in theceremony were the Hon. George Col-ville, the Deputy-Chairman of theCommittee of Management, ProvostCorrigall of Stromness, supported bythe magistrates and councillors, Flag-Captain F. M. Austin, representingAdmiral J. M. Casement, C.B., com-manding the Second Battle Squadron,who was prevented by illness from beingpresent, Sir Robert Hamilton, M.P. forthe Orkneys, Mr. J. Mackay, J.P.,Chairman of the Stromness Branch,Mr. G. L. Thomson, J.P., HonorarySecretary, Commander Kilgour, R.N.,representing the Board of Trade, andCommander McKenzie, R.N., the King'sHarbour Master. The singing of thehymns was led by a choir, accompaniedby the Stromness Town Band.

The ceremony opened with a hymnand a prayer by the Rev. B. J. Thomp-son, of St. Mary's Scottish EpiscopalChurch, and Mr. Colville then presentedthe new Life-boat to the Branch. Indoing so, he thanked Prince George forhaving travelled 750 miles to name theLife-boat, and expressed the gratitudeof the Institution to the five donors.He spoke, too, of the splendid record ofthe Stromness Station, referring, in par-ticular, to the services of the old MotorLife-boat, John A. Hay, and paid atribute to the valour and seamanship ofCoxswain Johnston, and to the con-spicuous success with which, for many

years, the Station had been administeredby Mr. G. L. Thomson, who had not onlyshown himself a most capable HonorarySecretary, but had, on more than oneoccasion, gone out in the Boat onservice.

The Boat was accepted, on behalf ofthe Branch, by Mr. Mackay, and wasdedicated by the Rev. James Christie,M.A., minister of the North United FreeChurch. Commander E. D. Drury,O.B.E., R.D., R.N.R., Inspector ofLife-boats for the Northern District,then gave a description of the newBoat, after which Provost Corrigallinvited Prince George to name her.Prince George then named her" J.J.K.S.W.," and wished her and hercrew Godspeed.

PRESENTATION OF THE ESSAY SHIELD.The ceremony was followed by the

presentation to Miss Hellen F. F. Scott,a pupil of Burness School, Sanday, ofthe Scottish Challenge Shield, which shehad won for her school in the Life-boatEssay Competition this year by sendingin the best essay for the whole of Scot-land. In presenting the Shield to herPrince George said :—

" I am very glad that my visit toOrkney to name the new Life-boats atStromness and Longhope should comein the year in which an Orkney schoolhas won the Challenge Shield for Scot-land in the Life-boat Essay Competition.That is a very high honour, and this isthe first time that it has been won by anOrkney school.

" The subject was ' Describe the kindof man that a good Life-boatmanshould be.' Well, who should knowthat better than the boys and girls ofOrkney ? I congratulate the BurnessPublic School of Sanday on its success.I am sure it is very proud of HellenScott, whose essay has won the Shield.Her other prizes will be presented toher another time, but the Shield itselfI have very great pleasure in presentingto her now.

" I understand that if a school winsthe Shield three times running, it keepsit for ever ; I understand also that,though a school has won it two years,no school has yet won it three. Now is


your opportunity. The Burness PublicSchool has won it this year. I hopethat it will win it in the next two years,and so have the honour of being thefirst school in Great Britain and Irelandnot only to win but to keep a Chal-lenge Shield." (Cheers.)

A vote of thanks to His Eoyal High-ness was proposed by Sir RobertHamilton, and seconded by Mr. G. L.Thomson. Prince George then con-cluded the ceremony by breaking abottle of wine on the rudder of the Life-boat, and she was launched.

THE PBINCE'S SPEECH.After the ceremony the Prince was

entertained to lunch by the Provost,and in reply to the drinking of hishealth, he said :—

" It is a very great pleasure to me tobe here to-day, and to take part in thenaming ceremonies of those two splendidnew Life-boats which the Royal NationalLife-boat Institution has sent to Orkney.The pleasure is enhanced by the factthat it has fallen to my lot to be thefirst member of my family for manyyears who has performed a publicfunction in these remote islands, whichhave played so important a part in thenaval history of our Empire. (Cheers.)

" As you know, all the other membersof my family, following the example ofHis Majesty the King, have associatedthemselves personally with the greatnational undertaking which is carriedon by the Royal National Life-boatInstitution, and I am delighted to takethis, my first opportunity, of sharing ina Life-boat ceremony. (Cheers.)

" To any one serving, as I am, in HisMajesty's Navy, these two ceremoniesmust have a special interest andsolemnity, for these Life-boats willprotect the waters from which, throughthe four years of war, the Grand Fleetkept watch over the seas and theshipping of Great Britain. That waris over, but your war with the stormsis never finished. The Life-boatmen ofStromness and Longhope must alwaysbe ready for active service in these, thestormiest waters round our coasts.(Cheers.)

" The Institution has built for Strom-

ness one of the finest and most powerfulMotor Life-boats in its fleet. You havewell earned it. Stromness was one ofthe first stations to be provided with aMotor Life-boat. That was twentyyears ago. In those twenty years youhave given magnificent proof of what aMotor Life-boat can do to save life inthe hands of a skilful Coxswain and aresolute crew. With this much largerand more powerful Boat I am sure thatyou will add new honours to thosewhich the Station won when your oldLife-boat went out to the rescue of theHessonite, the Comet of Aberdeen andthe Freesia. (Cheers.)

" A few years ago the Navy had thehonour of taking part in a rescue withthe Longhope Life-boat, when a Swedishsteamer lost her propeller. The Navysaw then the stuff of which the Life-boatmen of Orkney are made, and itwas very prompt in showing its apprecia-tion. That was only one of many fineservices which the men of Longhopehave performed in their Pulling andSailing Life-boat. I know that theyalso will add new honours to the recordof their Station, now that they too areequipped with a powerful Motor Life-boat. (Cheers.)

" None know better than the officersand men of the Navy what the men ofthe sister service of the Life-boats haveto face. The Navy, and the Army too,recognise the courage of this Service,which is always on active service.

" I thank you for the very heartywelcome which you have given me. Ishall always remember with pleasuremy visit to these, the most northernLife-boat Stations of our islands. Iwish good luck and Godspeed to theLife-boatmen of Orkney." (Loudcheers.)

Longhope.After the luncheon Prince George pro-

ceeded in the Stromness Motor Life-boat to Longhope. As soon as he steppedon board the Boat the Royal Standardwas broken at the mast-head and re-mained flying until Longhope wasreached. This is the first time thatthe Royal Standard has been flown ina Life-boat. On landing, Prince Georgewas received by Mr. William Marwick,


PRINCE GEORGE ON BOARD THE STROMNESS MOTOR LIFE-BOAT.At the wheel is Coxswain William Johnston.

By permission of] [Pelman, Aberdeen.

PRINCE GEORGE GREETING THE LONGHOPE CREW.

With Prince George is Commander Drury.


President of the Longhope Branch, anda guard of honour, consisting of ex-service men from Kirkwall, the KirkwallCity Pipe Band and the Kirkwall TownBand. A party of 50 men was landedfrom the Second Battle Squadron totake part in the ceremony.

The ceremony opened with a hymn,the singing being accompanied bythe Flagship's Band and the KirkwallTown Band. The hymn was followedby a prayer by the Rev. W. Ferguson, ofNorth Walls, and Mr. Colville thenpresented the new Life-boat to theBranch. In doing so he said that notonly did Longhope provide the crewfor the Life-boat, but its populationof 150 had last year contributed £40 tothe funds of the Institution. Thatworked out at over 5s. per head. Howwell Longhope was supporting theservice could be judged from the factthat if the whole population of thecountry gave only 1|<2. per head thatwould provide the whole sum neededannually by the Service.

The Rev. J. D. Anderson, of Hoy, thendedicated the Life-boat, and CommanderDrury gave a description of her. Mr.Marwick received the Boat on behalf ofthe Branch, and in doing so spoke ofLonghope's pride in their Life-boatcrew and their gratitude to PrinceGeorge.

The Prince was then introduced bySir Robert Hamilton, and named theBoat K.T.J.S., after which he pre-sented certificates for long service,which had been awarded by the Institu-tion, to Mr. Andrew Chalmers, Mr.James Nicolson, Mr. Alexander S.Johnston and Mr. E. Johnston, fourmembers of the Crew who had justretired. The Prince then boardedthe Longhope Life-boat and made atrip in her, the Royal Standard beingflown while he was on board. He thenreturned by launch to H.M.S. Nelson,the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet.

At the next meeting of the Committeeof Management a special Vote of Thanksto H.R.H. Prince George was passed,and a Vote of Thanks to Vice-Admiralthe Hon Sir Hubert Brand, Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, for thevery great help given by the Navy.

Pie! (Barrow).THEKE has been a Life-boat Station atPiel (Barrow) since 1864, and it is thefirst Station on the Lancashire coast tobe provided with a Motor Life-boat.The new Boat is of the Watson Cabintype, with two 40 h.p. engines, and sheis able to take on board enough petrol jto carry out a service anywhere withinsixty-two miles of her Station. She hasbeen built out of a legacy from the lateMrs. M. C. Myers, and a gift from thetrustees of the estate of the late Mr.Stephen H. Thompson, of Birmingham.The names chosen by the two donors,Eliza Norman and M. C. Thompson, areinscribed inside the Life-boat, and shehas been named N.T.

The Naming Ceremony took place atBuccleuch Dock on Sunday, July 8th,the Mayor of Barrow (Alderman C. G. B.Ellison, J.P.) presiding, supported bymembers of the Town Council, andthe Institution was represented by SirWilliam Milligan, M.D., J.P., one of itsVice-Presidents and Chairman of theManchester, Salford and District Branch.

The Boat was formally presented tothe Institution by Mr. H. S. Thompson,a nephew of Mr. Stephen H. Thompson,and was named by the Mayoress, whilethe dedication service was conducted bythe Bishop Suffragan of Barrow (theRight Rev. H. S. Pelham, M.A.). Therewas a very large audience present andthe singing was led by the massed choirsfrom St. James' Church, St.. Matthew'sChurch, St. Michael's Church, St. Mark'sChurch, Abbey Road Wesleyan Metho-dist Church, Abbey Road BaptistChurch, Abbey Road Christ ChurchU.M., Emmanuel Congregational Church, jGreengate Wesleyan Methodist Church,Hindpool Road Wesleyan Church, Vic-kerstown Wesleyan Methodist Church, Ithe King's Hall and the Barrow Madrigal ;Society. Mrs. Bourne conducted thechoirs, and the singing was accompaniedby the Barrow Shipyard Silver Band,conducted by Mr. W. Smithers, a selec- jtion of music being played by the band |before the ceremony began. The wholeceremony was broadcast by the B.B.C.in the North of England, and imme-diately after it an appeal on behalf ofthe Institution by Sir William Milligan


THE NEW LIFE-BOAT, BOAT-HOUSE AND SLIPWAY, PEL (BARROW).

By permission of\ [Powell's, Swanage.

THE LAUNCH OF THE SWANAGE MOTOR LIFE-BOAT.


was also broadcast, this being the" week's good cause."

The ceremony opened with a shortreligious service, in which the Rev.W. F. Welbon, M.C. (Mayor's Chaplainand Superintendent Wesleyan Minister),the Rev. W. Walker (Baptist), and theRev. D. Caplan (Rabbi) took part.

Mr. H. S. Thompson, on behalf of thedonors, then presented the Boat to theInstitution. He referred to the legacyof £5,000 from Mrs. Myers, and saidthat the gift of £5,000 from the estateof Mr. Stephen H. Thompson was partof a sum of £16,000 which had been leftto the executors to distribute to chari-ties, while the name which they hadchosen to associate with it was that ofone of his own sons who had died onservice in the War, after a life of un-selfish devotion, in which the one greatinterest had been the Boy ScoutsMovement.

Sir William Milligan, in accepting theBoat on behalf of the Institution, ex-pressed its gratitude to the donors andhis hope that their generous examplewould be followed by others. He en-trusted it to Mr. J. M. Mawson, J.P.,the Honorary Secretary of the Branch,who said that they now had one of thefinest Life-boats in Lancashire, and shewould be manned by one of the finestcrews. They had, too, in the new Boat-house and Slipway, launching facilitiesas near perfection as human ingenuitycould make them, but if these shouldever fail they could still count on thewomen of Piel to do as they had donebefore, and go out into the sea to launchthe boat.

Captain H. G. Innes, R.N., DistrictInspector of Life-boats, gave a descrip-tion of the Life-boat, and CommanderC. W. Craven, O.B.E., R.N., proposed,and Lieut.-Commander J. H. Ferguson,R.N., seconded, a vote of thanks to theMayoress ; this being followed by avote of thanks to the Mayor, proposedby Mr. Edgar H. Johnson, F.C.I.S., theDistrict Organising Secretary.

The Life-boat was then dedicated bythe Bishop of Barrow, and the Mayoress,breaking a bottle of wine on her bows,named the Lifeboat N.T., and said shehoped that the calls upon her would be

few and her errands of mercy alwayssuccessful.

Swanage.

The Swanage Station was establishedin 1875, being one of four now main-tained on the coast of Dorset, and is thesecond Dorset Station to be providedwith a Motor'Life-boat, the other Stationbeing Weymouth. The Swanage MotorLife-boat is of the self-righting type,40 feet by 10 feet 6 inches, and is drivenby a 40 h.p. engine, giving her a speedof 1\ knots. *She can take on boardsufficient petrol to be able to carry outa service anywhere within fifty-sevenmiles of her Station. The Boat has beenbuilt out of a legacy received from thelate Mrs. Thomas Markby, of London.

The Naming Ceremony took place on7th July in the presence of nearly 6,000people. The Motor Life-boat from Yar-mouth, Isle of Wight, and the Pullingand Sailing Life-boat from Poole andBournemouth were present. MajorEdwin John Burt, T.D., President andChairman of the Swanage Branch, pre-sided at the ceremony. The Institutionwas represented by the Hon. GeorgeColville, Deputy-Chairman of the Com-mittee of Management, and the Boatwas formally presented to the Institu-tion by Captain Keith Freeling Markby,son of the donor, and named by MissEdith Grant. Among those present wereCouncillor W. Masters, J.P., Chairmanof the Swanage Urban District Council,the Mayors and Mayoresses of Wey-mouth, Poole and Lymington, and theHonorary Secretaries and other Life-boat workers from neighbouring Stationsand inland Branches. Music was pro-vided by the band of the Music Societyand the Town Band.

Before the ceremony Major Burtentertained to luncheon a party of 200 ofthe principal guests, including twenty-one past and present members of thePoole and Bournemouth Crew, sixteenof the Swanage Crew and eight of theYarmouth Crew. The toast of the Insti-tution was proposed by Sir ArthurAdams, K.B.E., who spoke of it as thegrandest of all the charitable institutionsin Great Britain, one whose deeds werewritten large in our national history.


He ended an eloquent speech with anappeal for increased contributions fromthe people of Swanage.

Mr. Colville replied, and spoke of thegreat duty which the Institution had tocarry out entirely through voluntaryeffort.

The toast of the guests was proposedby Mr. G. T. Atkinson, who spoke ofthe heroism of the men of Dorset, andresponded to by Captain Markby, whospoke of the pride he felt in knowingthat a Life-boat would bear his father'sname.

The Mayor of Poole proposed the toastof the President, Committee and Honor-ary Secretaries, and paid a warm tributeto Mijor Burt and his fellow-workers.In replying, Major Burt said he was proudto be President of the Swanage Branchand proud to be the third generation ofhis family to take an active interest inthe work of the Institution.

Of the ceremony itself the DorsetCounty Chronicle said that it hadbrought together a larger gathering thanhad ever been known in Swanage before.It opened with a religious service con-ducted by the Rector, the Rev. W. R.Parr, M.A., who was supported by Con-gregational, Wesleyan and BaptistMinisters and a Captain of the SalvationArmy.

Major Burt welcomed the guests, andsaid that they were there to do honourto the memory of Mrs. Thomas Markby,to whose generosity and kindnessSwanage owed this splendid Boat,which in its design and equipment wasthe fruit of many years of thought, careand industry devoted to perfecting themeans of succouring those in peril atsea.

Captain Markby then presented theBoat to the Institution as a gift from hismother in memory of his father. TheBoat was accepted by Mr. Colville, whohanded her to Major Burt. In acceptingher on behalf of the Branch, Major Burtpointed out that the cost of fitting out aStation like Swanage with a Motor Life-boat was about £20,000, and invited allwho were able to become annual sub-scribers.

Councillor Masters then accepted theboat on behalf of the town; the Rev. W.

R. Parr recited the prayer of dedication;and Miss Edith Grant, an old friend ofMrs. Markby, named the boat ThomasMarkby. The boat was then launchedamid loud cheers, and a display was givenof life-saving with the line-throwing gun,Major Burt's yacht being the " wreck."

A vote of thanks to Miss Grant andCaptain Markby was proposed by CaptainWatson, R.N., Vice-President of theBranch, and seconded by Mr. WilliamPowell, the Honorary Secretary. At thefirst meeting of the Committee of Man-agement after the ceremony it wasdecided to send Major Burt a specialletter of thanks for the admirable wayin which the ceremony had beenorganised and for his own generoushospitality.

Portrush.There has been a Life-boat Station at

Portrush since 1860, and its Life-boatshave rescued nearly 100 lives. It is themost important Station on the coast ofNorthern Ireland, and with the Station atDonaghadee and those at Campbeltownand Port Patrick in Scotland, it guardsthe estuary of the Clyde and the northernentrance to the Irish Sea. Each of theseStations now has a Motor Life-boat. ThePortrush Motor Life-boat went to theStation in 1924, and has been out onservice several times, but the NamingCeremony was postponed until the newBoathouse and Slipway were ready.The Boat herself is of the Watson Cabintype, 45 feet by 12 feet 6 inches, is drivenby an 80 h.p. engine, and has a radius ofaction of 62 miles. She has been built outof legacies received from the late Mrs.Margaret P. Thornton, of Putney, thelate Mr. Thomas Bartlett, of Liverpool,the late Miss Isabella L. Boustred, ofBlackheath, and the late Miss AnnarellaHooper, of Leamington. The names ofthe donors are inscribed inside the Boatand their initials, T.B.B.H., form hername.

The Boat was named and the newBoathouse formally opened on llthAugust by the Duchess of Abercorn,wife of the Governor-General of Nor-thern Ireland and Patron of theNorthern Irish Ladies' Life-boat Guilds,in the presence of a large audience. TheHon. Sir Francis A. Macnaghten, Bt.,


President of the Branch, presided, andthe Institution was represented by Cap-tain the Viscount Curzon, C.B.E., V.D.,A.D.C., R.N.V.R., M.P., a member ofthe Committee of Management. Amongthose who took part in the ceremonywere the Earl of Antrim, the Right Hon.

representative of one of the four donors,and was accepted by Lord Curzon, whospoke of the Institution's gratitude tothe four donors and of its glorious recordof private endeavour and voluntaryeffort, backed up by the magnificentgenerosity of the British people. In

By permission of] (The Northern Wfiiff (infl llelfast Post.

LAUNCH OF THE PORTRUSH MOTOR LIFE-BOAT.

William Moore, Lord Chief Justice ofNorthern Ireland, the Right Hon. HughO'Neill, M.P., Speaker of the House ofCommons of Northern Ireland, and theHon. Sir Malcolm Macnaghten, K.B.E.,K.C., M.P.

After the Life-boat had been describedby Lieut.-Commander P. E. Vaux,D.S.C., R.N., District Inspector of Life-boats, she was formally presented to theInstitution by Mr. W. H. Beale, the

presenting the Life-boat to the Station,Lord Curzon congratulated Portrush onthe record of its Life-boats and paid atribute to the work of the HonorarySecretary, Mr. J. G. McMorris, and theCoxswain and Crew.

The President of the Branch acceptedthe Boat, and the Duchess of Abercorn,having been presented by Mr. McMorriswith a silver key, opened the Boat-house.The Earl of Antrim proposed and Mr.


Hugh O'Neill seconded a vote of thanksto the Duchess, and the Lord Chief Jus-tice proposed and Sir Malcolm Mac-naghten seconded a vote of thanks tothe Officers and Committee at Port-rush for their services to the Institution.

The Rev. H. Skeffington, P.P., thendedicated the Life-boat and the Duchess

named her. In doing so she paid atribute to the women workers of the In-stitution, and said that when the stormscame she was sure that the PortrushCrew, with their new and splendid Life-boat, would uphold the honour of theLife-boat Service and of their country-men. The Boat was then launched.

Staithes Station Reopened.SINCE 1875 the Institution has main-tained a Life-boat Station at Staithes,in Yorkshire, and its Life-boats haverescued 56 lives from shipwreck. In1922, however, the Institution wascompelled to close it, as there was con-siderable difficulty in launching theLife-boat, and difficulty also in findinga Crew, owing to the decline in fishingand the consequent shortage of men.Since then the Ministry of Agricultureand Fisheries has built breakwaters andmade a harbour. As a result of this thefishing industry has been revived, theyounger men are taking it up again, andthe Institution has now been able tore-open its Station.

The reopening ceremony took placeon Easter Monday, April 9th. Betweenfour and five thousand people were pre-sent, the village was decked with flags,and everything was done to showStaithes's pleasure at again having aLife-boat.

A short service of dedication wasconducted by the Rev. the Marquess of

Normanby, M.A., D.L., J.P., supportedby the Rector of Hinderwell and theRector of Easington.

Mr. Alfred Hutchinson, of Saltburn,President of the Staithes Committee,presided, and the Institution was repre-sented by Captain E. S. Carver, R.D.,R.N.R., District Inspector of Life-boats.Mr. Hutchinson moved, and Mr. ArthurAskew, Chairman of the Runswick andStaithes Branch, seconded, a vote ofthanks to the Marquess of Normanby,and at the end of the ceremony the Life-boat was launched.

This was followed by tea and a dance,organized with great enthusiasm andsuccess by Mrs. W. James, the wife ofthe Honorary Secretary, and the ladiesof Staithes. Earlier in the day the Crewparaded the streets, accompanied by theBand of the Whitby Branch of theBritish Legion, and made a collection.By this collection, the sale of Life-boatemblems, the tea and the dance, over£57 were contributed to the Branchfunds.

The Life-boat Service in Ireland.SINCE 1924 Mr. Timothy Healy, theGovernor-General of the Irish FreeState, has been the Patron of the IrishFree State District of the Institution,and when he accepted the Patronshiphe issued an earnest appeal to the peopleof the Free State to increase their sup-port of the Service. Mr. Healy, whocame to the end of his term of office ashort time ago, has been succeeded byMr. J. McNeil], the High Commissionerin London, and Mr. McNeill has acceptedthe Institution's invitation to become

Patron of the Irish Free State District.At the time of the Institution's Cen-

tenary, Mr. McNeill sent the Institutiona very cordial message—published in theCentenary number of The Lifeboat, withmessages from the High Commissionersof the Dominions—in which he said," We in Ireland have reaped amplebenefits from your work. . . . I knowthat in the last quarter of a century theLife-boats saved 548 lives, while appa-rently less than one-fourth of the totalcost of maintenance was locally sub-

124 THE LIFEBOAT. [SEPTEMBER,, 1928.

By permission of] [A, S. Graham, Redcar.RE-OPENING THE STAITHES STATION.

AN AUSTRALIAN LIFE-BOAT.This self-righting Life-boat, 38 feet by J O feet, with a 45 h.p. Tylor engine, has been built by the South Australian

Harbours Board, from plans supplied by the Institution.Sbe is stationed at Victor Harbour and is named " Arthur Searcy," after the President of the Marine Board of

South Australia and Superintendent of its Life-saving Service.


scribed." In accepting the Pationship,Mr. McNeill has followed his prede-cessor's example, and made an urgentappeal to the people of the Free Stateto contribute more generously to theService. He writes :—

" I am glad to accept your invitationto become Patron of the Free StateDistrict of the Royal National Life-boatInstitution, and thereby express mykeen appreciation of the heroic work ofthe Life-boat Service carried on by ourbrave Irish Crews round the coasts ofthe Irish Free State.

" I sincerely hope that the responseto the appeal which is being issued willbe sufficiently generous to ensure thatthe total cost of maintaining the Fleetof Motor and Sailing Life-boats roundthe Irish coasts, which amounts to£8,000 a year, will be entirely contri-buted in Ireland. The capital cost ofthose boats, their Houses and Slipways,provided by the Institution, is over

£125,000, and it is right that the Irishpeople should make every effort to pro-vide at least the cost of maintenance.

" It should only be necessary to pointout to the people of the Free State thatthe amount required each year to main-tain the Irish Stations and compensatethe Irish Crews for their services isnearly £4,000 more than the amountcontributed by Ireland, for the Irishpeople at once to make up this deficiency.I wish your work every success."

At the beginning of 1925, the Governorof Northern Ireland, the Duke ofAbercorn, became Patron of the Nor-thern Ireland District, and issued anappeal on behalf of the Institution.Last November, the Duchess of Aber-corn accepted the Institution's invita-tion to become Patron of all the Ladies'Life-boat Guilds in the North ofIreland, where an effort is now beingmade to form a Guild in every townand village.

The French Life-boat Service.A Survey and a Tribute.

By George F. Shee, M.A., Secretary of the Institution.

I HAVE received a copy of a pamphletgiving a brief historical survey of thework of our sister society in France,from the pen of Commandant Granjonde Lepiney, Officier de la Legiond'Honneur, the late Secretary of thesociety, who, on his retirement, hasjoined the Committee. M. de Lepineycontributed an important article on theFrench Life-boat Service which waspublished in the November, 1922, issueof The Lifeboat, and the present reviewnecessarily travels over a great deal ofthe same ground, especially in dealingwith the earlier history of the Society.But M. de Lepiney's great experience asan administrator, coupled with histechnical equipment as a sailor, hasenabled him to present an account ofthe present position of the SocieteCentrale which is characterized by thatgrip of the essentials of the subject, andthat netlete—to use the appropriateFrench word—which so often distin-guishes French reports. The brochure

was published at a moment when theSociety had invited representatives ofthe other Life-boat Societies and Life-boat Organizations to a second Inter-national Conference in Paris, and ittherefore presents an up-to-date surveyof its activities.*

For the benefit of those who cannotrefer to The Lifeboat of November, 1922,I may say that the Society was foundedin 1865 as a result of Governmentinitiative. In 1861 an inquiry had beenset on foot by a committee representativeof the Navy, Commerce, the Treasuryand Public Works, to consider theorganization of a general system of life-saving. It was presided over by theInspector of Roads and Bridges—theMinister of Transport of those days—acurious coincidence, for that was theoffice held by M. de Bernieres, who, in1765, invented what must be regarded

* I have dealt with the proceedings at thisConference in another article.


as the first Life-boat. This boat wasthoroughly tested on the Seine in 1775,and apparently satisfied every require-ment, but, in the words of Sir JohnLamb, the late Deputy-Chairman of theInstitution, it was never " put topractical use," probably owing to thelack of interest in maritime affairswhich at that time prevailed in France.The investigation led to the decisionthat central control was essential tosuccess, and it is curious to note thatour experience with regard to the ten-dency of local organization to fall intodecay was repeated in the case ofFrance. For in 1865, the year of thefoundation of the Societe Centrale, therewere on the 1,500 miles of the Frenchcoast a number of mortars and sevenLife-boats belonging to different socie-ties, some of which had fallen into decayowing to the lack of inspection and theabsence of an authority which wouldinspire and control the organization of anational effort.*

Government Grant without GovernmentControl.

From the first, the principle of organi-zation has been that while the formationand control of the general service oflife-saving should be entrusted to aprivate Society, the Government shouldaccord not only the patronage of thethree chief departments concerned,namely, Marine, Finance, and PublicWorks, but a subsidy towards themaintenance of the respective Stations ;and our French friends appear to havefound the solution of the problem, whichhas always been regarded as insolublein Britain, as to how a Governmentgrant can be given without Governmentcontrol. For, while the Ministers ofMarine, Finance, Commerce, and PublicWorks are all Vice-Presidents of theSociety, one cannot trace that there isany Government control, as the wholeof the administration is in the hands of acommittee elected by the subscribers.This committee includes the chairmen

* The first issue of The Lifeboat, March,1852, records the melancholy fact that " Thefour Life-boats established here [Isle of Man]by the exertions of the late Sir William Hillary. . . have been allowed to fall into decay, andhardly a vestige of them remains."

of the three most important shippingcompanies, namely, the CompagnieGenerale Transatlanticrae, the Com-pagnie des Messageries Maritimes, and theCompagnie des Chargeurs Reunis, whichstrongly support the work of the Society.

The history of the Society falls natur-ally into two periods, that of Pulling andSailing Life-boats, and that in whichMotor Life-boats were adopted. Whilethe ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTI-TUTION began its experiments withMotor Life-boats in 1904, and now hassixty-eight on the coast and eighteenmore under construction, the FrenchSociety began its experiments withMotor Life-boats in 1910, and now hastwenty-nine boats on the coast. TheFrench Society provides, in additionto Life-boats, the whole of the rocketapparatus on the French coast,although this is manned by the per-sonnel of the Customs; and it hasgreatly increased the efficiency of thewhole organization by providing, at itsown cost, numerous lines of telephoniccommunication.

Like the Institution, the FrenchSociety has had to deal from time totime with exceptionally difficult prob-lems, such as the provision of life-savingon the coasts of the Camaigue, and inthe Estuary of the Gironde, where eitherbroad stretches of shallow slopingshores made it extremely difficult forany Life-boat to bring succour to thelight-draught fishing-boats which workin the neighbourhood, or where thesparsity of the population conspiredwith the danger of the coast to presentthe formidable problem of providingan adequate crew for the special kindof Life-boat needed for the locality.

The French Society has, however,successfully overcome these difficulties,and has also developed a very completearrangement for the control of the workof local Committees, who are, of course,assisted by the visits of Inspectors ofLife-boats.*

* I am informed that it has not been foundpossible to establish Branches inland or indeedanywhere but at Life-boat Stations. In thismatter, the fact that we are an island peoplehas helped us to bring home the claims of theLife-boat Service to men and women in everypart of the United Kingdom.


Pensions Scheme.

It is interesting to note that in 1917,the same year as the Institution, theFrench Society adopted a scheme ofpensions for the widows and orphansof those who might lose their lives in theService. At the same time, stringentrules were laid down to guard againstunfit men being included in the Crew, aprovision as necessary in the interestsof the men themselves and the Crew ofwhich they form a part, as of theLife-boat Service generally.

The French Society has faced financialdifficulties boldly, especially since theWar, and decided to place the whole ofits funds at the disposal of the construc-tion of boats, slipways, etc., beingconfident that this policy would secure,as it would deserve, the generoussupport of the public.

The loss of the Afrique in 1920 led tosome criticism of the Society, but, as isso often the case, the criticism was quiteunfounded, and Government inquirydefinitely established that the Society wasnot concerned with wrecks on the highseas, but was and is responsible only forwork near the coasts, for which it pro-vides Life-boats suited to this purpose.

In 1924 the Society extended itsoperations to the coasts of Morocco,where it provides two Motor Life-boatsand three Pulling and Sailing Life-boats.It now has 108 boats, of which, as wehave seen, twenty-nine are motor-driven, and it can point to over 27,000lives rescued from shipwreck.

The report shows that the FrenchLife-boat Service is full of vigorousactivity, keenly alive to the develop-ments which the progress of scienceafford and ever anxious to provide thebest machinery for the great Servicewhich it administers.

But our French friends would be thefirst to agree that the best organizationof a Life-boat Service would be of littleavail unless it could rely upon brave,vigorous and skilful crews. In the wordsof Sophocles :

ovSeV / OUTG TTupybs o&Tf vavs

which we may translate :" In vain your forts, in vain your ships,Without the men to man them."

A Magnificent Service.And so I give here, very briefly, the

epic story of the magnificent servicecarried out by the Coxswain and Crewof the Paul Tourreil Life-boat, of theHe d'Yeu, in 1917. On 26th Januarythat boat was called out to the rescueof a Norwegian steamer which hadbeen torpedoed. She succeeded inrescuing the shipwrecked crew of seven.But the return proved to be a task ofalmost insurmountable difficulty in theteeth of the gale and the strong currentrunning, and Devaud, the Coxswain,decided to anchor and to await theturn of the tide. While the boat was atanchor the wind increased to a violentgale, and at 9 P.M. the cable, chafedthrough by the rocks, broke, while afurious snowstorm added to the dangersof the situation. The Crew took to theiroars again, but were compelled byexhaustion to hoist sail in order to tryto reach Belle He. As the gale con-tinued to increase the sail had to betaken in, and the Life-boat was at themercy of the waves. Three men diedof exhaustion during that night. Thefollowing day it proved possible to makesail again, but the Crew were not ableto reach Belle He, and it was not tillmid-day on 28th January that theLife-boat succeeded in reaching landnear Concarnau. The Coxswain, De-vaud, had been at the tiller for forty-eight hours, with a temperature of10° below zero—18° of frost (Fahren-heit) in English measure—with thewaves constantly breaking over theLife-boat and adding to the sufferingsof the crew and the seven shipwreckedNorwegians. Six of the Life-boat Crewand six of the Norwegians succumbedto this tremendous ordeal.*

In his speech at the dinner given to thedelegates to the Life-boat Conference inParis on 27th June, Sir Godfrey Baring

* One is reminded of the terrible experienceof the Padstow crew of the Edmund Harveyon 14th and I5th December, 1901, when inthe service to a French steamer they were intow of the Helen Peele for forty-four hours,soaked to the skin, " their eyes almost blindedwith salt . . . and their hands, faces and feetswollen almost beyond recognition " in thebitter cold of a furious nor'-easterly gale.Fortunately none of the crew of fifteensuccumbed.


quoted this superb example of courageand devotion, and said, " All honour,M. le President [Vice-Admiral Touchard,Chairman of the Societe Centrale] toyour splendid Coxswain Devaud and tothe men who participated with him inthis superb effort of desperate courageand stark endurance. They showed, onceagain, of what the men of our coastal popu-lations are capable. In a word, theyproved themselves true Life-boatmen."

In offering to the Societe Centrale ourcongratulations and our cordial goodwishes for the further success of itsefforts, we find a source of heartfelt satis-faction in the reflection that as yearsgo on there is in the coastal populationof the civilized world a magnificentreserve of these qualities of hardihood,devotion, and manly self-sacrifice whichare embodied in the Life-boat service,the Chivalry of the Sea.

The Late Commander Stopford C. Douglas, R.N.IT is with very great regret that weannounce the death of CommanderStopford Cyril Douglas, R.N., who hadbeen Deputy Chief Inspector of Life-boats for the past eight years. He hadbeen ill for several months, had under-gone two operations, and died on 2ndSeptember in the Royal Isle of WightCounty Hospital, Ryde.

Commander Douglas was born in1883, and received his naval trainingin the Britannia. He served as a Mid-shipman during the South African Waron board the flagship of Admiral SirRobert Harris, and then with theChannel and Mediterranean Fleets, andafter attaining the rank of Lieutenanthe served on the China station duringthe Russo-Japanese War. Later he wasagain with the Channel Fleet and thenin the Mediterranean, and, after a yearat the Naval Barracks at Chatham, hewas appointed second in command ofH.M. Sloop Alert, then in the PersianGulf engaged in the suppression of thetraffic in arms. While in the Gulf hecarried out a three weeks' cruise in anopen cutter. His health suffered fromthe bad climate, and the seeds of theillness of which he died were sown inthe exposure and hardships of this termof service. He was invalided home, and,as he was found unfit for further servicein tropical climates, he was placed onthe retired list in August, 1912.

He returned to the active list on theoutbreak of war in August, 1914, andserved afloat for nearly three years.For part of that time he was in commandof H.M.S. Onyx and the First SubmarineFlotilla, and then, for nearly a year, hewas in command of a " Q " ship. In

April, 1917, he was appointed to thestaff of Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, whowas at Queenstown in command of thecombined British and American Fleetwhich was engaged in patrol and convoyduties. There he served in the opera-tions division with the rank of Acting-Commander, and at the end of the warwas promoted to Commander for hisservices. Of his work at Qneenstcwn,Sir Lewis Bayly wrote, after his death:" He came in close touch with the officersin both Services, and, owing to hisunfailing good temper, ability, andanxiety to help all who came in contactwith him, he created an affection and arespect for himself (a none too commoncombination), that have continued sincethe war on both sides of the Atlanticand which will cause our loss to be deeplydeplored."

In July, 1919, Commander Douglasentered the Life-boat Service as DistrictInspector for Ireland, and in the follow-ing year he was promoted to DeputyChief Inspector, a post which he helduntil the end.

His death is a very great loss to theLife-boat Service, for he had brought toit not only the versatile ability which hadalready distinguished him in the Navy,but a wide experience, gained in manyseas, which was invaluable in the workof the Institution. A man of very variedgifts, he was entertaining and humorousboth as a speaker and as a writer.Readers of The Lifeboat will rememberhis Life-boat Duologue, " S.O.S.," whichwas broadcast in September of last year,and his graphic story " Man Over-board "—a reminiscence of his servicein the Persian Gulf—which appeared in


the Centenary Number of the Journal.He was, besides, a very good amateursinger and actor. For his gifts as anactor he found expression in the grimtheatre of the " Q " ships, where theartistic thoroughness of his make-up

be more deeply missed, f&r no one hadmore, not only of the esteem, but of theaffection of his colleagues. This per-sonal loss which those feel who workedwith him day by day at the Head-quarters of the Institution, will be shared

THE LATE COMMANDER STOPFORD C. DOUGLAS, R.N.

earned a tribute in The Times review ofMr. Keble Chatterton's " ' Q ' Ships andTheir Story." Later he was a memberof that famous amateur company, theWindsor Strollers. He was, in all hedid, a man full of humour, kindlinessand good fellowship.

No one in the Life-boat Service will

by all who knew him in his old districtof Ireland and elsewhere on the coast.For wherever he went he made friends.

In accordance with Douglas's ownwish, he was buried at sea from a Life-boat on Tuesday, the 4th September.The coffin, covered by the Union Jack,and carrying his sword and cap, was

130 THE LIFEBOAT. [.SEPTEMBER, 1928.

taken to Ryde Parish. Church. EightLife-boatmen in jerseys and life-beltswere the pall-bearers, and the Coxswainof the Bembridge Life-boat carried hismedals on a cushion. After the firstpart of the funeral service had been readby the Vicar of Ryde, the coffin wastaken on board the Yarmouth MotorLife-boat, which, with the BembridgeMotor Life-boat in attendance, pro-ceeded, in perfectly cloudless weather,through Spithead. The battleshipsBenbow and Renown, and the Aircraftcarrier Argus, dipped their colours inhonour of the dead as the Life-boatspassed, and the crews stood to atten-tion. The Committal Service was readby one of Douglas's brothers, the Rev.L. C. Douglas, and the body was com-mitted to the deep about four milesS.E. by S. of Bembridge Point. Flowerswere strewn on the sea, and a greenflare, the Life-boat signal signifying" All safe, coming home," was burnt.The Institution's colours were then

mastheaded, dipped in final salute, andre-hoisted, and the Life-boats returnedto their stations.

The Committee of Management wererepresented at the funeral by Sir God-frey Baring, Bt., Chairman, the Hon.George Colville, Deputy Chairman, andCommander F. F. Tower, O.B.E., lateR.N.V.R. Other representatives of theInstitution were Captain H. F. J.Rowley, C.B.E., R.N., Chief Inspector,Lieut.-Colonel C. R. Satterthwaite,O.B.E., R.E., Deputy Secretary (in theabsence abroad of Mr. George F. Shee,M.A., the Secretary), Captain H. G.Innes, R.N., and Commander R. L.Hamer, R.N., District Inspectors.

We also regret to announce thatduring the past three months the Insti-tution has lost by death several othervalued friends and workers. It is hopedto publish short accounts of their ser-vices for the Life-boat cause in the nextissue of the Journal.

District Conferences.THE annual Conference of Branches inthe South-Eastern District was heldin London, at the Westminster CityHall, on 1st March last. The Deputy-Mayor welcomed the delegates, and SirGodfrey Baring, Bt., Chairman of- theCommittee of Management of the In-stitution, presided, supported by Mr.George F. Shee, M.A., Secretary of theInstitution, and the District OrganisingSecretary.

The delegates to the Conference were :Mr. Walter Riggs and Miss Riggs,Aldeburgh ; Mrs. Johnson - Smyth,Canterbury ; Mrs. Finch, Chelmsford :Brig.-General F. W. Towsey, C.M.G.,C.B.E., D.S.O., Mrs. Towsey, and Lieut.-Colonel D. A. L. Day, Colchester ; MissRowe, East Grinstead; Mrs. AstleyRoberts, Miss Lewes Pitt, Mr. E. Arm-strong, and Mr. A. Robertson, East-bourne ; Captain F. C. Guy St. Clair,R.N., Folkestone ; Mrs. Oliver, Blaiden-head; Miss Truman, Slough; MissArcher Smith, Southwick ; Miss Knightsand Mrs. Wheeler, St. Ives, Hunts;Mrs. Green and Mrs. Bald, Tonbridge ;

Mrs. Sutton, Tunbridge Wells; Mr.J. F. Graham, Walton-on-the-Naze ;Miss H. MacGregor, Walton-on-Thames ;Mr. E. H. Elliot, Wokingham; andMr. J. R. Aldridge, Worthing.

In his opening speech, the Chairmansaid that the two sources of revenueto which the Institution attached mostimportance were annual subscriptions,because they provided a permanent in-come, and Life-boat Days, because theywere the only means of obtaining thehelp of those from whom subscriptionsand donations could not be expected.He appealed to the delegates to do theirutmost to organize Life-boat Days, andspoke of the wonderful work which, onthese days, and in other ways, womenwere doing for the Institution.

Mr. Shee spoke of the help which, allover the country, the Institution was re-ceiving from Mayors and the MunicipalAuthorities. He also spoke of the valueof the District Conferences in enablingthe honorary workers to discuss theirdifficulties and to help one another bycomparing their methods of working.

SEPTEMBER,'1928.] THE LIFEBOAT. 131

The District Organizing Secretaryreported on progress in the District.About twenty new branches had re-cently been formed and a number ofnew Honorary Secretaries secured. MoreLife-boat Days had been granted thanlast year, and a large number of otherSpecial Efforts had been arranged.He acknowledged the help he had re-ceived from various Honorary Secre-taries, who had given him names ofpossible helpers in other areas. Helpwas still urgently needed in Luton,Watford, Dover, Dartford, Ashford,Ipswich, Rochester, Chatham, Maid-stone, Wokingham and Godalming.

The Honorary Secretaries then madereports on their work, and in the courseof the discussion which took place thefollowing points in connexion withpublicity and propaganda were empha-sised : the necessity of spreading aknowledge of the Institution's work ;the importance of using every oppor-tunity of getting information publishedin the local Press ; the help which theInstitution could give by supplyingarticles for the Press, and leaflets fordistribution, and by doing at Head-quarters all the printing required byBranches ; the value of small meetingsarranged at the houses of well-knownladies, as a means of increasing member-ship of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild;the value of making the Branch annualmeeting as important as possible, theInstitution being prepared to send downa speaker from Headquarters ; theimportance of making the most of thepresentation of prizes in the Life-boatEssay Competition by having it at apublic meeting, either the BranchAnnual Meeting or a meeting at theschool; the value of house-to-housecollecting, which is best done in theautumn, either as an alternative to theLife-boat Day, when permission forthis cannot be obtained, or as anadditional effort.

Mrs. Astley Roberts, the Presidentof the Eastbourne Ladies' Life-boatGuild, described the methods of theGuild. She had been connected withthe work for over twenty-five years, andwhereas about £30 was raised in thefirst year, the figure was now £725 and,

with the Entertainments added, £852.In one year recently pver £300 wasreceived in copper on Life-boat Day,which bore out the fact that by a FlagDay people were reached who could notafford to give subscriptions. There were260 Guild members at Eastbourne.This year the Guild was making a specialeffort to increase the membership byasking each existing member to getanother to join by 1st July. In this wayit was hoped to get a strong body ofnew members. They had thirty-eighttables in Eastbourne on Life-boat Day,and twenty-five in the outlying districts.It was only by constant personal workthat the outlying districts had beenbrought in. They had a Dance at theGrand Hotel, theatricals, and a jumblesale. As the schools are closed in thesummer, and the Branch consequentlyreceived nothing from them, they hadrecently been asked to arrange film orlantern lectures. From this source £25had been raised in the last fortnight.The results achieved at Eastbourne wereshared by a wonderful body of workers.They all pulled together, and it was be-cause of this that the Branch had doneso well.

The Midlands.

A Conference took place at Chelten-ham on 22nd May, attended by delegatesfrom nearly twenty Branches in theMidlands. The delegates were welcomedby the Mayor of Cheltenham (AldermanC. H. Margrett), President of theCheltenham Branch, and the chair wastaken by Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., theChairman of the Committee of Manage-ment of the Institution, supported byMrs. Richard Davies, Chairman of theCheltenham Branch, Mrs. Williams,Chairman of the Cheltenham Ladies'Life-boat Guild, Miss Wanklyn, Honor-ary Secretary of the Cheltenham Branch;Mr. George F. Shee, M.A., the Secretaryof the Institution, and the DistrictOrganising Secretary for the Mid-lands.

The delegates to the Conference were :Mrs. H. A. Hassall, Honorary Secretary,and Miss Hassall, Member of the Com-mittee, Ashby de la Zouch; Mrs.George Perry, Vice-Chairman of the


Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; Miss Edwardsand Mrs. Edwards, Members of theCommittee, and Captain D. W. A.Barton, Assistant Secretary, Birming-ham ; Mrs. C. Hartly-Hodder, HonorarySecretary, and Mrs. A. M. Hartly-Stotesbury, Member of the Committee,Bristol; Mrs. Morphew and Mrs. Kirton,Members of the Committee, Cleethorpes ;Mr. William Liggins, Honorary Secre-tary, and Mr. F. Mills, Member of theCommittee, Coventry; Miss P. M.Liggins, Asst. Honorary Secretary ofthe Ladies' Life-boat Guild, Coventry ;Mrs. H. B. Boothby, Honorary Secre-tary, Mrs. Rudolph McKane, President,Dr. McKane, Mrs. Wood, HonoraryTreasurer, and Mr. Wood, Grimsby;Miss D. Findon, Honorary Secretary,and Mrs. A. C. Parry, Member of theCommittee, Kidderminster; Mrs. Georgeand Mrs. Garratt, Members of the Com-mittee, Lichfield ; Mrs. B. A. Holding,Honorary Secretary, and Miss Hutchin-son, Member of the Committee, Leaming-ton ; Mrs. Garrard, Member of theCommittee, Malvern ; Mr. J. Haslam,Deputy Chairman, Nottingham ; Cap-tain A. D. Crookes, Honorary Secretary,and Mrs. A. D. Crookes, AssistantHonorary Secretary, Spilsby; Mrs.Collings-Jones, President and HonorarySecretary, Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Hol-land, Members of the Committee, Smeth-wick; Miss Tonks, President, Mrs. W. H.Egginton, Honorary Secretary, andMiss Dora Jones, Member of the Com-mittee, Sutton Coldfield ; and CaptainC. N. Hewett, R.I.M., President, Tewkes-bury.

There were also present a number ofthe members of the Cheltenham Ladies'Life-boat Guild.

In welcoming the delegates theMayor said, that, though Cheltenhamcould not claim to be one of the pioneersof the Life-boat movement, it couldremember with pride that some sixtyyears ago it presented a Life-boat tothe Institution.

Sir Godfrey Baring, in opening theConference, again referred, as he haddone in London, to the importance ofAnnual Subscriptions and the necessityof persevering with Life-boat Days,in spite of the competition of other

charities in this form of appeal. Healso referred to the Life-boat serviceswhich took place last autumn as showinghow unfounded was the idea that, withthe advance of science and the improve-ment in the construction of ships andthe methods of communication, theneed for a Life-boat Service was becom-ing less.

Mr. Shee also gave a short generaladdress on the work of the Institution,and the District Organising Secretaryspoke of the progress which was beingmade in the Midlands and the newBranches which had been formed.

These addresses were followed byreports from the Branches. This con-cluded the morning sitting.

In the afternoon discussion took placeon the details of Branch Organisation,and Mr. Shee impressed upon the dele-gates the importance of getting intotouch with their local press, with theidea of keeping the work of the Institu-tion continually before the public. Healso asked Honorary Secretaries to aimat raising Id. per head of the populationof their districts, and spoke of the valueof the work which was being done bythe Ladies' Life-boat Guild.

Everything was done by Mrs. Daviesand her Committee, who had arrangedthe programme for the Conference,to give the delegates an interesting time.On the evening before the Conferencemet the Mayoi held a reception at theTown Hall, at which music was providedby the Cheltenham Orchestral Society.This reception was followed by a dance.When the Conference ended the del-gates were taken in motor cars to visitBrockhampton Park, the residence ofColonel Fairfax Rhodes, and in theevening many of them attended aMunicipal Concert, while, for those whowere able to remain another day,arrangements were made for visits tothe Colleges, Gloucester Cathedral,Tewkesbury Abbey and other placesof interest in the neighbourhood ofCheltenham.

Before the Conference concludedvery cordial Votes of Thanks werepassed to the Mayor and Mayoress, andto all those who had taken part in theentertainment of the delegates.


Life-boat Broadcasting.Appeals in Ireland and Wales.

DURING the summer four Life-boatappeals have been broadcast in Irelandand Wales. On 30th May, just beforeLife-boat Day was held in Belfast, SirFrederick Moneypenny, C.V.O., C.B.E.,the City Chamberlain of Belfast andPrivate Secretary to the Lord Mayor,who, for thirty years has been an activeworker for the Life-boat cause, made anappeal from Belfast.

In the course of his address SirFrederick said, " No Irishman or Irish-woman likes to feel that the voluntarysubscribers of England, Scotland, andWales are not only paying for thebuilding of our Life-boats, but after-wards defray nearly half the expendi-ture incurred and spent in Ireland inmaintaining them. There is only oneway for us to remove this reproach, andthat is by raising a further £3,500 each

year, so that Ireland would then bepaying for the maintenance of the IrishStations." He also pointed out that lastyear Dublin raised the largest sum ofany Branch in Ireland, and appealed toBelfast to make an effort to take thefirst place. As a result of this appealSir Frederick Moneypenny received anumber of cheques.

On 25th June the District OrganisingSecretary gave a talk from Dublin onthe Irish Life-boats.

Two talks on the work of the WelshLife-boats were given by the DistrictOrganising Secretary, on 15th May atSwansea, and on llth August at Cardiff.At Cardiff the talk on the work of theWelsh Life-boats was preceeded by fiveminutes of extracts from the amusingthings written by school-children in theLife-boat Essay Competition.

Summary of the Meetings of the Committee ofManagement.

Thursday, 19th January, 1928.SIR GODFREY BAKING, Bt., in the Chair.Passed a Vote of Thanka to H.R.H. The

Prince of Wales, K.G., for attending a GalaPerformance of the Film " The Black Jour-ney," given at the Plaza Theatre on the 16thJanuary. 1928, for the benefit of the Institutionthrough the generosity of M. Andre Citroenand the Management of the Plaza.

Also passed a Vote of Thanks to M. Citroenand resolved that he be made an HonoraryLife Governor of the Institution.

Decided to re-open a Life-boat Station atStaithes (Yorkshire), and to close the Johns-haven (Kincardineshire) Station.

Reported the re-opening of the Easington(Yorkshire) Station.

Reported the receipt of the following specialcontributions :—

S. s. d.Mr. Philip G. Peabody (additional

donation) . . . . 147 10 0Miss E. Wagner (Special Gift to

produce an Annual Subscription) 102 0 0Cunard S.S. Co.—

Subscription . . . . 100 0 0Additional donation . . 100 0 0

White Star Steamers' CharityAccount (additional donation) . 50 0 0

Anonymous (additional donation) 50 0 0

£ s. d.Mr. Alfred Barrett, J.P. do. do. 26 5 0Mr. Julius Dennis (donation) . 26 5 0Mrs. Denise Baudry Dennis do. 26 5 0Mrs. C. A. Allen (additional dona-

tion) 25 0 0Mr. W. S. Bradstreet do. do . 25 0 0Mr. H. W. Kolle (donation) . 25 0 0Miss Ella Mocatta do. . 25 0 0" A Derbeian " (additional dona-

tion) 20 0 0Sir George Clerk (new subscription) 20 0 0Mr. R. Toller (for a Line-throwing

Gun) 15 0 0To be thanked.

Paid £14,827 Is 3d. for sundry charges inconnexion with the construction of Life-boats,Life-boat Houses and Slipways, and the main-tenance of the various Life-boat establish-ments.

Voted £592 2s. 6d. to pay the expenses of thefollowing Life-boat services :—

Life-boat.

Appledore(Motor)

Arbroath

Clacton-on-Sea(Motor)

Vessel. LivesRescued.

S.S. Jolly Bruce, of Lon-don. Rendered assist-ance.

The fishing fleet of Ar-broath. Stood by fleet.

S.S. Fernwood, of Lon-don. Stood by vessel.


LivesLife-boat. Vessel. Rescued.

Filey . . Six fishing cobles ofFiley. Stood by cobles.

Filey . . Motor fishing cobles ofFiley. Stood by cobles.

Filey . . Motor fishing boat .Fife'sOwn, of Scarborough.otood by boat.

Fishguard . Schooner Kate, of Bar-(Motor) row. Landed 3.

Flamborough . Three fishing cobles, ofNo. 1 Flamborough. Stood

by cobles.Great Yarmouth Barge Sussex Belle, of

and Gorleston London. Stood by(Motor) vessel.

Great Yarmouth S.S. Oscar, of Helsing-and Gorleston borg . . . 1 9l~\\ ' r\tr\r-\(IflOTjOr^

Great Yarmouth S.S. Dinorwic, of Car-and Gorleston narvon. Rendered(Motor) assistance.

Holy Island . Motor yawl Rejoice, ofNo. 1 (Motor) Spittal. Saved yawl

and rescued . . 3The Lizard . Ketch Lady Daphne, of

(Motor) . Rochester . . 2Lowestoft . Sailing smack Wide

(Motor) Awake, of Lowestoft.Stood by vessel.

Lowestoft . Fishing smack Golinda,(Motor) of Lowestoft . . 4

Montrose No. 1 The fishing fleet of Mont-(Motor) rose. Stood by fleet.

Newbiggin . Eleven fishing cobles, ofNewbiggin. Stood bycobles.

Porthdinllaen . S.S. Moyle, of London.(Motor) Stood by vessel.

Kamsgate . Steam drifter Para-(Motor) mount, of Ramsgate . 5

Rosslare Har- Ketch Mizpah, of Cowes.bour (Motor) Landed 3.

Rosslare Har- S.S. Lady Gertrude Coch-»-. bour (Motor) rant, of Glasgow.

Landed a sick man.Runswick . S.S. Pyrope, of Glasgow 9St. Mary's, . S.S. Gougou, of Vannes . 7

Scilly (Motor)Scarborough . Fishing coble Guide Me.

(Motor) of Whitby. Stood bycoble.

Skateraw . Motor fishing boat Way-side Flower, of Eye-mouth. Renderedassistance.

Whitby (Motor) Twelve fishing boats, ofWhitby. Escortedboats into harbour.

Whitby (Motor) Fishing boats Remem-brance, Irene, andFaith, of Whitby.Escorted boats intoharbour.

Yarmouth, Isle Steam Packet Boatof Wight Prince of Wales, of(Motor) Southampton. Stood

by vessel.

The Hauxley Life-boat rendered assistance tothe s.s. Hesperides, of Liverpool ; and the St.Mary's, Scilly (Motor) Life-boat renderedassistance to the ketch Lady Daphne, ofRochester.

Also voted £670 5s. 6d. to pay the expensesof the following Life-boat launches, assembliesof crews, etc., with a view to assisting personson vessels in distress : — Angle, Anstruther,Bembridge (Motor), Berwick-on-Tweed,Boulmer, Cadgwith, Caister, ClacU>n-on-Sea(Motor), Cloughey, Clogher Head, Courtmac-sherry, Cromer No. 1 (Motor), Cresswell,Dingle, Donaghadee (Motor), Dunbar, Fal-mouth, Great Yarmouth and Gorleston(Motor), Holyhead No. 1 (Steam), Hoylake,The Humber (Motor), The Lizard (Motor),Lowestoft (Motor), Margate (Motor), Moelfre,The Mumbles (Motor), Newbiggin, NorthSunderland, Ramsgate (Motor), Rye Harbour,Southend-on-Sea, Teesmouth (Motor), Torbay(Motor), WTalton-on-the-Naze (Motor), Wells,and Whitby.

Granted £53 8*. to persons for injury in theLife-boat Service at Broughty Ferry, Buck-haven, Cardigan, Kessingland, Moelfre, Tenby,Walmer, and Whitby.

Voted a, compassionate grant of £5 toWM. H. Sharp, Bowman of the Ramsey Life-boat, who, after 40 years' connexion with theLife-boat, resigned following a serious opera- ition.

Voted a compassionate grant of £5 to WM.MILGATE, Bowman of the Rye Harbour Life-boat, who retired on account of old age after50 years' service in the Life-boat Crew.

Directed that a Letter of Thanks be sent toCaptain H. SMITH, the Harbour Master atGreat Yarmouth, for his valuable co-operationon the occasion of a launch of the Great Yar-mouth and Gorleston Motor Life-boat on the29th December, and granted additional rewardsto the men who manned the Life-boat.

Voted monetary awards to Coxswain W. G.FLEMING and Motor Mechanic B. 3. DABBY, inrecognition of their very plucky conduct ingoing out on service in the Great Yarmouthand Gorleston Motor Life-boat four times onthe 21st December, although injured on thefirst service.

Granted an additional monetary reward tothe crew of the Cromer Motor Life-boat for avery arduous service launch on the 26thDecember.

Directed that a Letter of Appreciation beaddressed to the Lizard Motor Life-boat Crewand that they be granted additional rewards inrecognition of a difficult service on the 26thDecember, when two men were rescued fromthe ketch Lady Daphne.

Granted & special monetary award to thepermanent Crew of the Humber Motor Life-boat for an arduous service launch on the 29thDecember.

Granted additional rewards to the Crewsof the Margate and Ramsgate Motor Life-


boats for arduous service launches on the 26thand 27th December, respectively.

Directed that a Letter of Thanks be sent tothe Master of the Leith Pilot Boat No. 1 fortowing the Anstruther Life-boat, and that theLife-boat Crew be granted additional rewardsfor an arduous serivce on the 26th December.

Directed that a Letter of Appreciation besent to JOHN ROSE, Bowman of the LowestoftMotor Life-boat, who got up from a sick bedto take his place in the Life-boat for serviceon the 15th January.

Reported that a Letter had been receivedfrom the Board of Trade conveying the thanksof the owners of the s.s. Isabo, of Lussin-piccolo, to the inhabitants of the Scilly Islesfor saving the survivors of the crew of thisvessel on October 27th and 28th, 1927, andrendering them every assistance. (A fullaccount of this service appeared in The Life-boat for November.)

Decided that a Letter of Thanks, accom-panied by the sum of £3 be sent to each of fivemen for their good services in rescuing threeof the crew of five of the fishing boat Daydawn,of St.- Ives, which was wrecked on the 28thNovember, 1927. At about 7 P.M. the crew ofthe Daydawn were hauling in their nets nearthe Godrevy Lighthouse. The tide wasstronger than they had anticipated, the seawas rough with a breeze from the south, anda heavy sea swept the boat on to the rocksnear the Lighthouse. She foundered almostat once, leaving the men struggling in thewater. In response to their cries for help thecrew of the motor fishing boat Godrevy cuttheir nets and hastened to the rescue. Atsome risk, owing to the rocks, they succeededin picking up three men, but unfortunately,the other two were drowned. The rescuerslost the nets which they had cut adrift, butthese have been replaced by the generosity ofthe St. Ives Branch of the British Legion.

Voted £12 to six men for rescuing the twooccupants of a small motor boat which was indistress off Inishtrahull Lighthouse, nearMalin Head, on the 18th December, 1927. Theboat was proceeding from Fahan to Movillewhen her petrol ran out at about 8 P.M.With a moderate E. gale and a strong tiderunning in the same direction she was indanger of driving ashore. With paraffin andsome of the boat's fittings a flare was lighted,which was seen from Ballygorman. The sixmen put out, and by the time they reachedthe motor boat she was perilously near to therocks. The two men on board her were takenoff and the boat itself was salved the next day.The rescue was not without danger owing tothe darkness and the rocks.

Voted £4 to two members of the crew of themotor fishing boat Twilight, of Eyemouth,who swam ashore for help, when the vesselstranded at Chathill, near Boulmer in a densefog on the 1st September, 1927. As a resultof their action the help of Boulmer boats wasobtained, and by means of a kedge anchor theTwilight was refloated.

Voted £9 to six men for putting out fromBridlington in the motor fishing boat Claraand rescuing the eight occupants of the motorboat Ross Castle— a converted Life-boat—onthe 1st January, 1928. Also granted 4s. forpetrol and oil consumed. The Clara wasreturning from the fishing grounds when aflare was seen, and on entering the harbour shelearned that a motor boat with a fishing partyon board had broken down and was anchoredin a dangerous position near the pier. LittJerisk was incurred, but the prompt action of thesix men enabled them to reach the boat justas her cable parted and to bring her and heroccupants into safety.

Voted £4 10s. to three men for saving themotor coble Boy's Pride, of Seahouses, andrescuing her crew of three on the 6th January,1928. The coble's engine failed while she wasmaking for harbour in a whole gale from thenorth with a heavy sea, but the three rescuers,who were in another coble, took her in towand brought her into safety. It was ameritorious service in the weather conditionspreva

Voted £1 2s. 6d. to three men for puttingoff from Selsey in a boat and rescuing a boyon the 4th June, 1927. The boy was alone ina small boat and became sick and frightenedwhen the boat drifted away from the shore.

Thursday, 16th February, 1928.Sot GODFREY BAKING, Bt., in the Chair.Reported the death of Mr. H. F. LANCA-

SHIRE, who had been a member of the Commit-tee of Management since 1918.

Reported the receipt of the following specialcontribution :—

Miss M. Matthews-Hughes (for acompass) £15

To be thanked.

Paid £18,485 10s. 3d. for sundry charges iaconnexion with the construction of Life-boats,Life-boat Houses, and Slipways, and themaintenance of the various Life-boat estab-lishments.

Voted £400 Os. 3d. to pay the expenses of thefollowing Life-boat services :—•

Life-boat.Angle .

Boulmer .

Bridlington

Holyhead No. 1(Steam)

Johnshaven

Margate(Motor)

LivesVessel. Rescued.

Fishing smack Arrow-rale, of Milford . . 4

Motor fishing coble IsaacEdward, of Boulmer.Stood by coble.

Fishing coble, of Brid-lington. Stood bycoble.

Schooner Agnes Glover,of Castletown. . . 4

A motor fishing boat, ofMontrose. Stood byboat.

Barge Link Light, ofLondon. Lauded 3.


Life-boat.Maryport .

Montrose No. 1(Motor)

The Mumbles .(Motor)

North Deal .

Palling No. 1 .

Palling No. 2 .

Torbay . .(Motor)

Weymouth(Motor)

Whitby . .(Motor)

Whitehills .

Wicklow .(Motor)

LivesVessel. Rescue!.

S.S. Achille, of Belfast.Stood by vessel, ren-dered assistance, andlanded 3.

The fishing fleet ofMontrose. Stood byfleet.

Motor launch Bessie,of Swansea. Savedlaunch and rescued . 2

S.S. Ferento, of Genoa.Stood by vessel.

S.S. Cewea, of Hamburg.Stood by vessel.

Fishing boat Boy Bob,of Yarmouth . . . 1

Fishing boat Our Willie,of Brixham. Savedboat and rescued . . 2

Barge Emma, of Port-land. Stood by vessel.

Motor fishing boatsIrene, Faith, Dili-gence, Remembrance,Lady Kitchener, andPilot Me, of Whitby.Escorted boats intoharbour.

Motor fishing boat Dew-drop, of Whitehills.Stood by boat.

Motor fishing boat ofWicklow. Stood byboat.

The Cromer No. 1 (Motor) Life-boat assistedto save the ketch Harold, of London, andrescued from shipwreck her crew of three;the Dungeness No. 2 Life-boat saved the bargeLily, of Whitstable, and rescued from ship-wreck her crew of three; and the Ramsgate(Motor) Life-boat assisted to save the steamtrawler Cyclone, of Boulogne, and rescued hercrew, sixteen in number.

Also voted £426 Os. Id. to pay the expensesof the following Life-boat launches, assembliesof crews, etc., with a view to assisting personson vessels in distress.—Boulmer, Brightonand Hove, Caister, Olovelly, Holyhead, HolyIsland No. 1 (Motor), Howth, Longhope(Motor), Lowestoft (Motor), The Mumbles(Motor), New Brighton, Palling No. 2, Piel(Barrow) (Motor), Poole and Bournemouth,Port St. Mary, Scarborough (Motor), Strom-ness (Motor), and Whitby (Motor).

Granted £36 12s. to men for injury in theLife-boat Service at Blyth, Cromer, Lowestoft,and Winterton.

Directed that a Letter of Thanks be ad-dressed to Mr. W. T. MOOKB, Honorary Secre-tary at Maryport, for his valuable assistanceon 2nd February, when the Life-boat was outon service in bad weather, and granted anadditional reward to some members of theLife-boat Crew for their arduous services.

Directed that a Letter of Thanks be ad-dressed to Mr. C. H. GKAY, Mayor of Bridling-tou and Honorary Secretary of the Life.-boat,

for his active participation in the launch of theLife-boat for service on 10th February ; alsogranted additional rewards to the Crew andHelpers in view of the arduous nature of theservice.

Granted an additional reward to the Crewof the Longhope Life-boat for an arduousservice launch on 19th January.

Directed that a Letter of Thanks be ad-dressed to Mr. I. MOAR for his services inorganizing a land search party and takingcharge on 21st-22ud January, when theStromness and Longhope Motor Life-boatswere also out searching for the crew of atrawler reported to be wrecked. The searchwas made as the result of a message, found ina bottle which was picked up, to the effect thata trawler had been wrecked. The messageproved to be a hoax.

Reported that a letter had been receivedfrom the Carnegie Hero Fund Trustees statingthat the name of the late William Roberts, ofMoelfre, Anglesey, would be inscribed on theirRoll of Heroes and a Memorial Certificateawarded to his widow. Roberts died while onservice in the Moelfre Life-boat on 28th-29thOctober.

Voted £3 to the crews of the motor fishingboats Douglas and Reliance for rescuing thethree occupants of the motor fishing boat BoyWillie, of Craster, whose engines had failed,on 24th January. Also granted 2s, to each ofthe owners of the two rescuing boats for petrolconsumed.

Voted £4 to four men for rescuing the crew,four in number, of the motor fishing cobleSock of Ages, of Sea Houses, on 24th January.The coble was returning from the fishinggrounds in a strong S.W. gale with a heavycross sea when she was struck by several seasand damaged. Her crew were in considerabledanger and only managed to keep afloat byconstant baling. Their difficulties were seenby the four rescuers, who put out at once totheir help, and succeeded in bringing them andtheir boat into harbour.

Voted £1 10*. to three men for putting outfrom Craster in the motor coble Our Girls tosearch for the motor fishing coble Provider,of Craster, which was missing on 10th February.Also granted 2s. 6d. to the owner of the boatfor petrol consumed. A moderate S. gale wasblowing with a rough sea. The Life-boats fromBoulmer and Holy Island also launched.Wreckage of the missing boat was picked up,but, unfortunately, no trace of her threeoccupants could be found.

Voted £1 17s. 6d. to five men for putting offfrom Newbiggin in a motor coble on 6thJanuary to the help of the motor cobleElizabeth Scott, which had been overtaken by asudden heavy northerly gale while fishing offCresswell. Also granted 2s. Qd. to the ownerof the coble for petrol consumed. TheElizabeth Scott was met and accompanied intosafety by the other boat. Mr. JOHN GRANT,


owner of the coble which put out, returnedthe monetary award granted to him and theallowance for petrol. His son, who was oneof those who went with him, also returned hisaward.

Voted £2 os. to three men for saving thefishing yawl Oratavia and rescuing her crew oftwo, off Dunbar, on 27th January. Alsogranted 2s. to the owner of the rescuing boatfor petrol used. While the fishing fleet were atsea a strong S.E. wind sprang up suddenly.Most of the boats ran for shelter, but theOratavia shipped a lot of water and her crew,both of whom were old men, were in danger.The rescuers, who were fishing some distanceoff, went to their help, and finding themexhausted from baling, took the boat in towand brought her safely into harbour.

Voted £2 5s. to three men for rescuing threeyoung men, at Dunbar, on 1st February.Also granted 2s. to the owner of the boatfor petrol used. The young men had put tosea in a small rowing boat to fish, but a strongS. breeze sprang up, their boat became un-manageable, and they were being carried outto sea. Signals for help were made and thethree rescuers put out from the harbour in themotor fishing boat Brothers, overtook the boatand towed her safely back to the harbour.

Voted £2 5s. to the owners of three Whit byfishing boats to cover the cost of petrol andoil consumed by them in helping in the searchfor the coble Francis, which was missing on31st January. No service was rendered by theboats as the Francis, whose engine had failed,made Staithes under sail.

Awards to Coxswains and Life-boatmen.To DAVID Mum, on his retirement, after

serving 22 years as Coxswain, 7 years asSecond Coxswain and 5 years as Bowman ofthe Girvan Life-boat, a Certificate of Serviceand a Pension.

To JOHN WM. PARKINSON, on his retirement,after serving 10J years as Coxswain andpreviously 15 years as Second Coxswain ofthe Lytham Life-boat, a Certificate of Serviceand a Pension.

To JOHN TAYLOR, on his retirement, afterserving 9 years as Coxswain and 7 years asSecond Coxswain of the Brighton and HoveLife-boat, a Pension, commuted at his ownrequest into a lump sum.

To DAVID G. SOUTER, on his retirement on theclosing of the Johnshaven Station afterserving 4 years as Coxswain and previouslya year as Second Coxswain, a Gratuity.

To JOHN RITCHIE, on his retirement on theclosing of the Johnshaven Station, afterserving 4 years as Second Coxswain andpreviously 2 years as Bowman, a Gratuity.

To MATTHEW PARKHILL, on his retirement,after serving 20 years as Second Coxswain

and 5 years as Bowman of the Kirkcud-bright Life-boat, a Gratuity of £5.

To WILLIAM ROBERTS, on his retirement, afterserving 3 years as Second Coxswain andpreviously 1J years as Bowman of theMoelfre Life-boat, a Life-boatman's Certifi-cate of Service.

To DENIS CROWLEY, on his retirement on theclosing of the Station, after serving 2Jyears as Second Coxswain and previously23 years as a member of the Crew of theCourtmacsherry Life-boat, a Life-boatman'sCertificate of Service.

To THOMAS WALKER, on his retirement, afterserving 38 years as Signalman to the HolyIsland No. 1 Life-boat, a Pension, commutedat his own request into a lump sum.

Life-boatmen's Certificates of Service havebeen awarded to the following men who haveretired, the figure after their names beingtheir years of service :—•ANDREW CHALMEKS (44), Longhope.JAMES NICHOLSON (24), Longhope.ROBERT ROTTER (35), North Sunderland.JAMES SWAN (40), North Sunderland.WM. J. TEIPCONY (31), Porthoustock.

Awards to Honorary Workers.To Mr. THOMAS BRADLEY, in recognition of his

37 years' distinguished service as HonorarySecretary of the St. Annes-on-Sea Branch, aSilver Inkstand and the Thanks of theInstitution inscribed on Vellum.

To Mr. ROBERT STEWART, J.P., upon theclosing of the Johnshaven Life-boat Station,

after he had held the office of HonorarySecretary for 35 years, the Thanks of theInstitution inscribed on Vellum.

To Mr. RICHARD WHITE, upon his retirementafter 14 years as Honorary Secretary of theFolkestone Branch, the Thanks of theInstitution inscribed on Vellum.


To Captain OWEN EVANS, in recognition of longand valuable co-operation as Honorary Sec-retary of the Porthdinllaen Life-boat Sta-tion, a Binocular Glass.

To Mrs. A. FINCH, in recognition of hervaluable services as Honorary Secretary ofthe Chelmsford Branch, the Gold Broochand the Record of Thanks.

To Miss ANNIE SWALLOW, Honorary Secretaryof the Peterborough Branch for a period of25 years, a Framed Photograph of a Life-boat going out to a vessel in distress.

To Mrs. J. T. DICKINSON, in recognition of herhelp at Peterborough for 35 years, theRecord of Thanks.

In recognition of long and valuable co-opera-tion, Framed Photographs of a Life-boatgoing out to a vessel in distress have been

awarded to the following Honorary Secre-taries of Financial Branches :

Mrs. BAYLIFF (Lymington).Miss B. BOWEN (Bangor).Mr. A. S. CAHNOCHAN (Stranraer).Miss CBOSBIE (Barnet).Mrs. C. V. FRANCE (Gerrard's Cross).Mrs. LATHBUBY (Chipperfield).Mr. F. NOBLE (Ongar).Miss SCHOOLING (Bromley).Miss JOAN TAYLOK (Nottingham Ladies'

Life-boat Guild).Mrs. THEOCHARI (Barnes).Mr. H. TWEED (Horncastle).Mm. B. W. S. WILSON (Andover).To Miss MAY WILSON, in recognition of her

valuable help as a collector in connexionwith the Donna Nook Life-boat Station fora period of over 20 3'ears, a Framed Photo-graph of the Life-boat going out to a vesselin distress.

News from the Branches.April 1st to June 30th.

Greater London.

CARSHALTOX (SURREY).—Whist Drive.CRANFORD (MIDDLESEX). — Whist

Drive.ELSTREE (HERTFORDSHIRE). —• On

28th June a Garden Party given bySir Trevor and Lady Dawson atEdgwarebury House.

FULHAM (LONDON).—Collection at thefootball match between Fulham andOldham, by permission of the Fulhamdirectors.

GREENFORD (MIDDLESEX).—Dance.

HACKNEY (LONDON).—Whist Drive.Collection at the football match betweenClapton Orient and Notts Forest, bypermission of the Clapton Orientdirectors.

HAMPSTEAD. — On 13th June aGarden Party was given by Mrs.Hillier Holt, at her house at Regent'sPark, at which H.R.H. Princess Beatrice,Patron of the Isle of Wight Branch ofthe Institution, was present. Addresseswere given by Mr. H. A. Baker, amember of the Committee of Manage-ment of the Institution, and Mr.George F. Shee, M.A., Secretary of theInstitution, and among those presentwere the Mayor and Mayoress of St.Marylebone (Councillor R. S. Allen,

J.P., and Mrs. Allen), the Mayoress ofWestminister (Mrs. Abdy), and LadyFlorence Pery, Honorary Secretary ofthe Guild. Miss Wendy Toye gave anexhibition of dancing. A number ofnew members of the Ladies' Life-boatGuild were enrolled.

ILFORD (ESSEX).—Ladies' Life-boatGuild formed. President, the Mayoress.Address to Rotary Club by the DistrictOrganizing Secretary.

ST. ALBANS.—Annual Meeting on3rd April. Speakers: The Mayor,Chairman, Miss Silvester, HonorarySecretary, and the District OrganizingSecretary. Efforts for last year : Life-boat Day, Bridge Drive. Amountraised £189 as compared with £302 inthe previous year. The reason for thedecline was that the 1925 Life-boatDay was held in October 1925, and soincluded in the 1926 accounts.

This meeting was followed by theGuild Annual Meeting, Lady Peake,the Chairman of the Guild, presiding.

North of England.

Life-boat Days have been held atABRAM, ACCRIXGTOX and ADLINGTON(LANCASHIRE).

ALNWICK (NORTHUMBERLAND).—Annual Life-boat Ball.


Life-boat Days have been held atASHTON-UNDER-LYNE and BACUP (LAN-CASHIRE), BARNSLEY and BATLEY(YORKSHIRE).

BERWICK-ON-TWEED.—Ladies' Life-boat Guild Annual Meeting, 15th June,at Ord House, when the President,Lady Francis Osborne, was at home tothe members. Speaker : Lady FrancisOsborne. Amount raised £296, as com-pared with £209 in the previous year.

Life-boat Days have been held atBEVERLEY (YORKSHIRE), BILLIXGE,BLACKBURN and BOLTON (LANCASHIRE),and BRADFORD (YORKSHIRE).

BRIDLINGTON (YORKSHIRE).—WhistDrive, Tournament and Dance.

Life-boat Days have been held atBRIERCLIFFE and BRIERFIELD (LANCA-SHIRE).

BURNLEY (LANCASHIRE.) — GardenParty on 19th June, organised by theLadies' Life-boat Guild, at The Holme,Cliviger, by kind permission of Coloneland Mrs. Macnamara.

BURY (LANCASHIRE).—Annual Meet-ing on 16th April. Speakers: TheMayor and the District OrganisingSecretary. Special efforts for the pastyear: Life-boat Day, Appeal by theMayor, Special effort by Ladies' Life-boat Guild. Amount raised £171, ascompared with £182 in the previousyear.

Lifeboat Day.CARLISLE.—Annual Meeting 17th

May. Speakers: Major Ronald Carr,presiding, Mrs. Talbot Caddow, Presi-dent of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, andMr. Harold Carr. Special efforts forthe past year : Life-boat Day Collectionsin outlying villages, Works Collections,Whist Drive, Collections in Cinemas andTheatres and at a Football Match, Saleof Work. Amount raised £174 ascompared with £236 in the previousyear.

CARNFORTH (LANCASHIRE). — WhistDrive.

CHESTER.—Annual Meeting on 22ndMay. Speakers: The Mayor, Presi-dent, and Sir William Milligan, M.D.,J.P., a Vice-President of the Institution,

and Chairman of the Manchester,Salford and District Branch. Specialefforts for the past year : Life-boatDay. Amount raised £310, as coin paredwith £254 in the previous year.

Life-boat Day.CHORLEY (LANCASHIRE). — Life-boat

Day.CLAYTON (MANCHESTER). — Ladies'

Life-boat Guild Annual Meeting, 25thApril. Speakers : Mr. W. H. Flanagan,J.P., President, Mrs. S. Hall, Vice-Presi-dent, and Mr. S. Hall, Honorary Secre-tary. Amount raised £150, as comparedwith £104 in the previous year.

Life-boat Days have been held atCOPPULL, CREWE and CULCHETH-WLTH-KENYON (LANCASHIRE).

CUDWORTH (YORKSHIRE).—Branchformed. President, Councillor G. H.England. Life-boat Day.

Life-boat Days have been held atCOLNE, CROSTON and DARWEN (LANCA-SHIRE), DARLINGTON and DURHAM (DUR-HAM), and EARBY (LANCASHIRE).

GATESHEAD (Co. DURHAM). — AGarden Fete opened by the Mayor, atwhich Major H. E. Burton, R.E., one ofthe Institution's Gold Medallists, andlate Superindendent of the Tyne-mouth Motor Life-boat, made an appeal.

Life-boat Days have been held atGARSTANG (LANCASHIRE) and GO.LCAR(YORKSHIRE).

HARTLEPOOL (DURHAM). — Life-boatDay, Whist Drive and Dance.

Life-boat Days have been held atHASLINGDEN and HAYDOCK AND ASH-TON IN MAKERFIELD (LANCASHIRE).HEBDEN BRIDGE AND DISTRICT andHECKMONDWIKE (YORKSHIRE). HEY-WOOD (LANCASHIRE), and HOLLING-WORTH (CHESHIRE).

HULL.—Annual Meeting on 30thMarch. Speakers : Colonel Strachey-Clitherow, in the absence of the LordMayor, the Reverend R. T. Newcombe,Honorary Secretary, and the DistrictOrganising Secretary. Efforts for thepast year: Life-boat Day. Amountraised £734, as compared with £541 inthe previous year.

Life-boat Day.


HYDE (CHESHIRE).—Performance bythe Lyceum Players of '" Find theGirl."

INCE (LANCASHIRE).—Whist Drive.IELAM AND CADISHEAD (LANCA-

SHIRE).—Life-boat Day.KENDAL (WESTMORLAND). — Guild

Annual Meeting on 16th May. Speaker:Mrs. C. H. Whitaker, President.Special efforts for the past year : Life-boat Day, Whist Drive. Amount raised£106, as compared with £95 in the

j previous year.i Life-boat Day.j Life-boat Days have been held atj KEIGHLEY (YORKSHIRE), LEIGH, LITTLE-

BOROUGH, LITTLE HULTON, LITTLE! LEVER and LIVERPOOL (LANCASHIRE),

LYMM and MACCLESFIELD (CHESHIRE),MALTON (YORKSHIRE), MANCHESTER andMARSDEN (YORKSHIRE).

MARYPORT (CUMBERLAND).—WhistDrive and Concert.

Life-boat Days have been held atMELTHAM and MIDDLESBROUGH (YORK-SHIRE), MIDDLETON (LANCASHIRE),MIDDLEWICH (CHESHIRE), MORPETH(NORTHUMBERLAND), MOSSLEY andNELSON (LANCASHIRE).

NEW BRIGHTON (LANCASHIRE).—Wives of Life-boatmen entertained atRhyl for the day by Ladies' Life-boatGuild.

Life-boat Days have been held atNEWBIGGIN and NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE(NORTHUMBERLAND) and NEWTON-IN-MAKERFIELD (LANCASHIRE).

NORMANTON (YORKSHIRE). — WhistDrive.

Life-boat Days have been held atNORTHWICH (CHESHIRE), OLDHAM ANDDISTRICT (LANCASHIRE), OUTWOOD ANDSTANLEY (YORKSHIRE), PADIHAM andPRESTON (LANCASHIRE), RAWMARSHand REDCAR (YORKSHIRE), ROMILEY(CHESHIRE) and RISHTON (LANCASHIRE).

ROTHERHAM.—Annual Meeting on20th April. Speakers : Councillor J.Dickinson, J.P., Chairman, of theBranch, The Mayor and the DistrictOrganising Secretary. Special effortsfor the past year ; Appeal by Chairman,Life-boat Day. Amount raised £230,

as compared with £174 in the previousyear.

Life-boat Day.Life-boat Days have been held at

RUNSWICK AND STAITHES (YORKSHIRE),and RYTON-ON-TYNE (DURHAM).

SALTBURN-BY-THE-SEA (YORKSHIRE).—Terpsichorean Matinee given for theLadies' Life-boat Guild by the pupils ofMrs. Glendenen Robinson and MissSmith.

SANDBACH (CHESHIRE). — Life-boatDay.

SEAHAM (Co. DURHAM). — WhistDrive.

SEATON DELAVAL AND DISTRICT(NORTHUMBERLAND).—Life-boat Day.

SHEFFIELD.—Ladies' Life-boat GuildAnnual Meeting on 17th May. Speakers :Mrs. David Flather (the Mistress Cutler),and Mr. James Henderson, HonorarySecretary of the Sheffield Branch.Special efforts for the past year : Life-boat Day, Appeal by the MistressCutler. Amount raised £589, as com-pared with £553 in the previous year.

SLAITHWAITE (YORKSHIRE). — Life-boat Day.

SOUTHPORT (LANCASHIRE).—AnnualMeeting on 29th May. Speakers : TheMayor, Mr. George Cockshott, Alder-man Potts, Alderman Aveling, and theDistrict Organising Secretary. Specialefforts for last year: Life-boat Dayorganised by Ladies' Life-boat Guild.Amount raised £511, as compared -with£585 in the previous year.

Special meeting at which the ServiceRecord Boards of the Station, nowclosed, were handed to the Mayor to beretained among the civic records.

Life-boat Days have been held atSOUTH SHIELDS (DURHAM), SOWERBYBRIDGE, SPENBOROUGH and STAINLAND(YORKSHIRE), STOCKPORT (CHESHIRE),and STOCKTON AND THORNABY andSUNDERLAND AND DISTRICT (DURHAM).

TOTTINGTON (LANCASHIRE).—Ladies'Life-boat Guild formed. President,Mrs. H. Barnicot.

Life-boat Days have been held atTRAWDEN, TURTON AND DISTRICT andUPHOLLAND (LANCASHIRE).


WAKEFIELD (YORKSHIRE). — WhistDrive.

WALLASEY AND NEW BRIGHTON(LIVERPOOL BRANCH).—Ladies' Life-boat Guild Annual Meeting on 22ndJune. Speakers : Mrs. C. S. Parkinson,President, and Mr. S. 8. Jerrett, Chair-man of the New Brighton Committee.Amount raised £314, as compared with£184 in the previous year.

Life-boat Days have been held atWARRINGTON AND DISTRICT (LANCA-SHIRE), WEST HARTLEPOOL (DURHAM),WESTHOUGHTON and WIDNES (LANCA-SHIRE), and WITHERNSEA (YORKSHIRE).

WORKINGTON.—Ladies' Life - boatGuild Annual Meeting on 21st May.Amount raised £45, as compared with£55 in the previous year.

WORSTHORNE (LANCASHIRE).—FirstAnnual Meeting on 30th April. Speakers:The Reverend H. Stones, M.A., Presi-dent, and the District Organising Secre-tary. Amount raised £14.

Life-boat Day.

Midlands.BIRMINGHAM.—Annual Meeting on

20th June. Speaker : The Lord Mayor,President. Special efforts for the pastyear: Life-boat Day, Works Collec-tions, Annual Ball, Collections in Hotels,Theatres and Places of Worship.Amount raised £1,283, as comparedwith £1,342 in the previous year.

Address to Rotary Club by theDistrict Organising Secretary.

Life-boat Days have been held atBRISTOL (GLOUCESTERSHIRE), BRIGG(LINCOLNSHIRE), BURTON LATIMER(NORTHAMPTONSHIRE), and BUXTON(DERBYSHIRE).

CHELTENHAM (GLOUCESTERSHIRE).—•Annual Meeting on 22nd June.Speakers : Mrs. Richard Davies, Chair-man of the Branch, and Sir GodfreyBaring, Bt., Chairman of the Com-mittee of Management of the Institu-tion, Special efforts for the past year :Life-boat Day, Dance Tea. Amountraised £212, as compared with £59 inthe previous year.

Life-boat Day.Life-boat Days have been held at

COLESHILL (WARWICKSHIRE), CRADLEY

HEATH (STAFFORDSHIRE), DESBOROUGH(NORTHAMPTONSHIRE), GLOSSOP (DERBY-SHIRE), GRANTHAM (LINCOLNSHIRE),HENLEY-IN-ARDEN (WARWICKSHIRE) ,HOLBEACH (LINCOLNSHIRE). IRTHLING-BOROUGH and KETTERING (NORTHAMP-TONSHIRE), LANGWITH (DERBYSHIRE),LINCOLN (LINCOLNSHIRE), LONG EATON(NOTTINGHAMSHIRE), and MARKETDEEPING (LINCOLNSHIRE).

NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME (STAFFORD-SHIRE).—Special Meeting of the Ladies'Life-boat Guild to increase interest inthe work of the Institution. Speakers :Miss Harrison, M.B.E., Patron of theGuild, and Mr. B. C. Lawes. Miss B.D. Dandy was elected Honorary Secre-tary.

Life-boat Days have been held atRUGELEY (STAFFORDSHIRE) and RUGBY(WARWICKSHIRE).

SIR JOHN FRANKLIN (SPILSBY)BRANCH (LINCOLNSHIRE).—Performanceby the Horncastle Amateur DramaticSociety of " The Unfair Sex."

Life-boat Days have been held atSMETHWICK and STONE (STAFFORD-SHIRE), STOURBRIDGE (WORCESTER-SHIRE), and WALSALL (STAFFORDSHIRE).

WELLINGBOROUGH (NORTHAMPTON-SHIRE).—Special Meeting to stimulatethe work of the Branch, with the Rev.F. T, Williams presiding.

Life-boat Day.

WEST BROMWICH (STAFFORDSHIRE).—Address to Rotary Club by DistrictOrganising Secretary.

South-East of England.

BEDFORD.—House to house Collec-tion.

CANTERBURY.—Collection in licensedhouses.

CHELMSFORD (ESSEX). — SpecialMeeting with Alderman F. Spalding,J.P., Deputy-Mayor, presiding.Speakers: Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt.,Chairman of the Committee of Manage-ment of the Institution, Mr. Colling-wood Hope, C.B.E., K.C., Canon Lake,and Mrs. Finch, the Honorary Secre-tary.

Life-boat Day.


(ESSEX). — Life-boatCOLCHESTERDay.

FARNHAM.—Tennis Tournament.FOLKESTONE (KENT).—Special meet-

ing, with Mrs. Younghusband, a memberof the Branch Committee, presiding, toconsider other methods of raising fundsin view of the refusal of a Life-boatDay by the Town Council at this StationBranch. Ladies' Life-boat Guild formed;Chairman, Mrs. Younghusband ; Vice-Chairman, Miss Hopkins; HonoraryTreasurer, Mrs. Nieppe Edwards;Honorary Secretaries, Miss Ethel Hop-kins and Mrs. London. (The refusal ofthe Town Council was later withdrawnas another charity to whicii a day hadbeen allotted did not want it, and aLife-boat Day was held in August.)

Sir Philip Sassoon, Bt., G.B.E.,C.M.G., M.P., President of the Branch,opened his gardens at Port Lympne tothe public in aid of the Branch.

GRAVESEXD (KEXT).—Whist Driveand Dance.

GREAT YARMOUTH AXD GORLESTON.—Ladies' Life-boat Guild Annual Meet-ing on 18th June. Speakers: TheMayoress of Great Yarmouth, President,and Lady Vincent, Chairman. Amountraised £307, as compared with £441 inthe previous year.

GREENFORD (MIDDLESEX).—Dance.GBEENHITHE (KENT). — Life-boat

Day.HASTINGS AND ST. LEONARDS

(SUSSEX).—Annual Meeting on 5th JuneSpeakers : The Mayor, President, andCaptain G. C. Holloway, O.B.E., R.D.,R.N.R., a member of the Committee ofManagement of the Institution. Specialefforts for the past year: Life-boatDay. Collection at ceremony of Blessingthe Sea, Lantern Lectures by Mr. H.Samson, J.P., the Honorary Secretary,Entertainment by pupils of DunmoreSchool. Amount raised £230, as com-pared with £85 in the previous year.

Street Collection on Regatta Day.Life-boat Days have been held at

KING'S LYNN (NORFOLK), LEWES (Sus-SEX), MAIDENHEAD (BERKSHIRE), MARCH(CAMBRIDGESHIRE), SOUTHWICK (Sus-SEX), ToNBRIDGE and [TUNBRIDGE

WELLS (KENT), and WALTON-ON-THAMES (SURREY).

WALTON - ON - THE - NAZE (ESSEX).—•Annual Dinner of Life-boat workers,with Mr. J. F. Graham, HonorarySecretary of the Branch, presiding.

WATFORD (HERTFORDSHIRE). —Branch formed. Mr. L. A. Capel andMr. W. D. Clarke, Joint HonorarySecretaries.

WELWYN GARDEN CITY (HERTFORD-SHIRE).—Life-boat Day.

South-West of England.

Life-boat Days have been held atALDERSHOT (HAMPSHIRE), AXMINSTER(DEVONSHIRE), BANBURY (OXFORD-SHIRE), BATH (SOMERSET), BRADFORD-ON-AvoN and DEVIZES (WILTSHIRE),and DORCHESTER (DORSETSHIRE).

EXETER (DEVONSHIRE).—Life-boatDay, and Annual Jumble Sale.

Life-boat Days have been held atFARNBOROUGH, FAWLEY and PETERS-FIELD (HAMPSHIRE).

POOLE, BOURNEMOUTH, WIMBORNEAND CHRISTCHURCH.—Annual Meetingon llth May. Speakers : The Mayor,Vice-President, and Mr. George F.Shee, M.A., Secretary of the Institu-tion. Special efforts for the past year :Life-boat Day, House to House collec-tion, Special Appeal. Amount raised£1,011, as compared with £635 in theprevious year.

Wimborne Life-boat Day.

Life-boat Days have been held atREADING (BERKSHIRE), ROMSEY andSOUTHAMPTON (HAMPSHIRE), andTnAME(OXFORD).

TORBAY (BRIXHAM, DEVONSHIRE).—Special Meeting held at Brixham.Speakers : Mr. Harold Clayton, Chair-man of the Torbay Branch and memberof the Committee of Management of theInstitution, and Mr. George F. Shee,M.A., Secretary of the Institution, whopresented to the Coxswain and eachmember of the Crew a copy of a letterof thanks received from the ItalianAmbassador for the rescue of three menof the crew of the Italian steamerLiberia, in February, 1926.


Life-boat Days have been held atTROWBRIDGE (WILTSHIRE), TKURO(CORNWALL), WARM^-STER (WILTSHIRE),WELLS (SOMERSET).

Scotland.

ARBROATH (FORFARSHIRE).—Ladies'; Life-boat Guild Annual Meeting on

12th April. Speaker: Mrs. M'LarenRobertson, Vice-President. Amountraised £70, as compared with £69 in theprevious year.

Life-boat Days have been held at AYR,at BIGGAR and CARLUKE (LANARK),CUPAR (FIFE), DUNOON (ARGYLL), ELGIN(ELGIN), and EDINBURGH.

GLASGOW.—Annual Meeting on 1stJune. Speaker: Mr. Leonard Gow,J.P., President. Amount raised £3,512as compared with £2,391 in the previousyear.

Life-boat Day.

Life-boat Days have been held atGOUROCK (RENFREW), GRANGEMOUTH(STIRLING). GREENOCK AND PORT GLAS-GOW (RENFREW), HAWICK (ROXBURGH),HELENSBURGH (DUMBARTON), INVER-KEITHING (FlFE), KlLSYTH (STIRLING),KlLWINNING (AYR), KlRKINTILLOCH(DUMBARTON), LAMINGTON and LANABK(LANARK), and LONGFORGAN (PERTH-SHIRE).

PERTH AND DISTRICT.—Annual Meet-,ing on 6th June. Speakers: LadyFindlay, Honorary Secretary of theScottish Life-boat Council, Lord Pro-vost Dempster and the Rev. P. R.Landreth, Chairman, presiding. Specialefforts for the past year: Life-boatDay collection in 37 districts. Amountraised £408, as compared with £382 inthe previous year.

Life-boat Days.SELKIRK (SELKIRK).—Life-boat Day.

Ireland.

ARMAGH (Co. ARMAGH).—Branchformed. President. Mrs. Miller, J.P. ;Honorary Secretaries, Mrs. Belford andMrs. Noel Smith.

BANGOR (Co. DOWN).—Annual Meet-ing on 7th May. Speakers : TheMayor and the District OrganisingSecretary. Amount raised £127, as

compared with £103 in the previousyear.

BELFAST (LouGH).—Annual Meet-ing on 30th May. Speakers : TheLord Mayor, President, and Colonel theRight. Hon. Sharman Crawford, C.B.E.,D.L., P.C., a member of the BranchCommittee. Special efforts for thepast year: Life-boat Day, WorksCollections, Ball organised by Ladies'Life-boat Guild, Appeal by Lord Mayor.Amount raised £634, as compared with£644 in the previous year.

Life-boat Day.

DUBLIN AND DISTRICT.—Ladies' Life-boat Guild formed. President, HerExcellency Mrs. McNeill, wife of theGovernor-General.

Life-boat Day.

DROGHEDA (Co. LOUTH).—Life-boatDay.

GALWAY.—Annual Meeting, 27thApril. Mr. Philip O'Gorman, Presidentof the Chamber of Commerce, in thechair. Mr. C. J. McQuillan appointedHonorary Secretary, and Mr. J. O'Kelly-Lynch re-elected Honorary Treasurer.Amount raised £46, as compared with£109 in the previous year.

Life-boat Day.HOWTH (Co. DUBLIN).—Annual

Meeting on 27th April. Speaker:Commander Gaisford St. Lawrence,R.N. D.L., Chairman of the Branch.Amount raised £105, as compared with£107 in the previous year.

LARNE (Co. ANTRIM).—Annual Meet-ing on 7th May. Speakers : Brigadier-General T. K. E. Johnston, C.B., J.P.,and the District Organising Secretary.Special efforts for the past year : Life-boat Day. Amount raised £83 ascompared with £63 in the previous year.

LISBURN (Co. ANTRIM).—AnnualMeeting in May. Speakers : Mr. JosephAllen and the District Organising Secre-tary. Amount raised £141, as comparedwith £121 in the previous year.

Life-boat Day.

Life-boat Days have been held atLONDONDERRY, and at MILFORD (Co.DONEGAL).


NEWCASTLE (Co. DOWN).—AnnualMeeting on 28th June. Speaker : TheRev. 0. Woodward, Chairman of theBranch. Special efforts for the pastyear : Life-boat Day. Amount raised£74 as compared with £94 in the previousyear.

STRABANEDay.

(Co. TYRONE).—Life-boat

Wales(Including Herefordshire and Shropshire).

CAERNARVON (CAERNARVONSHIRE).—Life-boat Day.

CONWAY (CAERNARVONSHIRE)Drive.

-Whist

Life-boat Days have been held atDENBIGH (DENBIGH) and LEDBUEY(HEREFORDSHIRE).

LLANDUDNO (CAERNARVONSHIRE).—Crew entertained to supper by Mr. JackHolden.

LLANELLY (CARMARTHEN).—Life-boatDay.

MARKET DRAYTON (SHROPSHIRE).—Branch formed. President, Mrs. E. E.Davies.

NEWPORT (MONMOUTHSHIRE).—Ladies' Life-boat Guild Annual Meetingon 17th April. Speakers: Mrs. E.Eees, Chairman of the Guild, and theDistrict Organising Secretary. Amountraised £258, as compared with £141 inthe previous year.

Life-boat Day,Life-boat Days have been held at

PONTYPRIDD and SWANSEA (GLAMOR-GANSHIRE), WREXHAM AND DISTRICT(DENBIGH).

Notice.The next number of THE LIFEBOAT will be published in

NOVEMBER, 1928.

When you have read this number will you kindly pass it on to a friend,unless you are keeping a complete set of the Journal ?

the lifeboat. · 2017. 1. 5. · the lifeboat. the journa of thl royae l national life-boat...

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