THE LIFE-BOATThe Journal of the Royal National Life-boat Institution

VOL. XXXIII SPRING, 1953 No. 364

THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET154 Motor Life-boats

1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat

LIVES RESCUEDfrom the foundation of the Life-boat Service in

1824 to May 31st, 1953 - 78,220

Disaster at Fraserburgh

MONDAY the 9th of February, 1953,was a fine sunny day at Fraserburgh,on the coast of Aberdeenshire. Alight easterly breeze was blowing,but there was a very heavy swell.Fraserburgh harbour faces a littlesouth of east. The swell was from thenorth-east and was breaking acrossthe harbour mouth.

A number of fishing boats werereturning to harbour at midday. Inthat swell the entrance might bedangerous, and it was decided to sendout the life-boat to escort them in.The maroon was fired at 12.48. Afew minutes later the boat waslaunched and the coxswain, who hadjust returned in his own boat fromfishing, took her out into the bay.

Coxswain Andrew Ritchie, a fisher-man, had served in the life-boat fortwenty years and for seven years hadbeen coxswain. The motor mechanic,G. F. Duthie, had served as the motormechanic of life-boats at Fraserburgh.for thirty years. The other fivemembers of the crew were experiencedfishermen. The life-boat herself, theJohn and Charles Kennedy, was a46-feet Watson cabin boat with two40 h.p. diesel engines, built in 1937.

Two Fishing Boats Escorted InThough the swell was very heavy

there was a considerable intervalbetween the waves, and several smallfishing boats, by waiting for the"smooths" in the swell, were able toenter harbour without difficulty. Thelife-boat escorted in the Evangeline.She went out again and escorted in theGood Way. It was then reported tothe coxswain that the Harvest Reaperwas waiting off Kinnaird Head, alittle way up the coast. He wentout for the third time to find that theHarvest Reaper had decided to makefor Macduff and was steaming away.He put about, and when he reached thenorth pier, standing out eastwards intothe sea, he made a half circle to comeround the end of it. The life-boatnow had the heavy swell right astern.What happened next was told by aman watching from the pier-head andby Second-coxswain C. G. Tait, theonly man, of the seven on board, whocame ashore alive.

The life-boat was travelling at fullspeed just off the end of the northpier, and two to three boat's lengthsaway from it, when a very heavy swelllifted her stern, and as it passed under

470 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

the life-boat it broke alongside heramidships. She ran on this swell fortwo or three boat's lengths. The cox-swain was at the wheel; the assistantmotor mechanic was under the canopyat the engine controls; the second-coxswain had just gone under thecanopy; the other four men were stand-ing in the cockpit with the coxswain.

A Big Swell Rears UpThe life-boat had now passed the

end of the north pier and it is probablethat the coxswain was just turningher to starboard to enter the harbourwhen a second, and even bigger, swell;reared up astern. It broke rightaboard her, not over the stern butover the starboard quarter. It filledthe cockpit. It flung all the menexcept the coxswain, who was holdingthe wheel, right under the canopyand against the engine-controls. Itfilled the canopy. It flung the life-boat's stern round, so that she wasnow broadside to the swell, andturned her right over.

The coxswain was thrown clear ofthe boat. He could be seen swimmingstrongly towards the harbour. Thena piece of wreckage struck him on thehead, and he could swim no more.

Trapped Under the CanopyThe other six men were trapped

under the canopy with the life-boaton top of them. Only the second-coxswain escaped. He managed toforce himself down in the water suffi-ciently to get out from under thelife-boat and the guard-rails, and roseto the surface. He was then tenyards to seaward of the boat. Hetried to swim to the harbour-entrancebut could not make it. The swellcarried him southwards across it. Arope was flung to him from the south

Eier. He caught it, but could notold it. He was carried on south-

wards and was washed up alive onthe rocks to the south of the harbour.

The capsized boat was also carriedsouthwards, and from twenty tothirty minutes after she capsized shewent ashore on the rocks, about ahundred yards south of the south pier.

As soon as the disaster was knownthe fishing boat Golden Harvest put

out, but in the shallow water, close tothe rocks, where the capsized life-boathad drifted, she could do nothing.

Rescuers WaitingAs soon as the life-boat grounded,

the bodies of the five men floated outfrom under the canopy on a recedingsea. Men were waiting on the rocks.They went into the sea and broughtfour bodies ashore. Two doctors werewaiting on the rocks. Ambulanceswere waiting. From the time whenthe bodies were recovered until theyreached hospital a few minutes later,and again at the hospital, every effortwas made to revive them, but theywere dead.

These four men were wearing theirlife-belts. The fifth man, John Craw-ford, was washed out with the others,but his life-belt was seen to float offhis body, and he was not recoveredfor two days. The belt too wasrecovered, undamaged, but with thewaist-belt unbuckled. It is possiblethat he had tried to free himself of itin his desperate attempt to escapefrom under the canopy when the life-boat was on top of him.

The News Reaches the InstitutionIt was about 2.30 in the afternoon

that the news of the disaster reachedthe Institution, and at onoe thedistrict inspector (general), Comman-der E. W. Middleton, V.R.D., R.N. V.R.,was sent from London to carry outan inquiry, and Mr. S. E. Bartholomew,of the Operations Department, withmoney to supply any immediate needsof the families. The northern districtinspector, Lieutenant E. D. Stogdon,R.N.V.R., the northern district engin-eer and the northern assistant surveyorof life-boats were told to go at onceto Fraserburgh. All arrived that nightor early next morning. Mr. R. A.Oakley, the surveyor of life-boats, leftnext day to take charge of the workof salving the boat.

Salving the Life-boatFor the next three days an on-shore

gale made any work impossible.Through those days the boat lay onthe rocks battered by the seas. Onthe 13th of February the gale moder-

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 471

ated and it was possible to examineher. The seas and rocks betweenthem had by then torn away ordamaged beyond repair all her super-structure and upper deck. On thesame day the difficult work was begunof getting the boat off the rocks. Shewas jacked up; launching ways laid;the tops of rocks split off; and on themorning of Sunday the 15th she wasrefloated on the rising tide. Still bot-tom up she was towed into harbour.There she was turned right way up,and the fire brigade pumped the waterout of her.

She was carefully examined. Theengine-controls were set at full-speedahead. There was nothing to show anyfailure of the engines themselves. Norwas there sign of any other failure ofmaterial in the boat. To have re-paired her would have cost over£10,000. The engines, propellers,propeller-shafts, engine-coolers andradio telephone were taken out. Whatwas left was handed over to a localshipbreaker who undertook to breakit up within a week.

In her sixteen years the John andCharles Kennedy went out on service98 times and rescued 199 lives.

An Earlier DisasterThirty-four years ago, on the 28th

of April, 1919, the first motor life-boatto be stationed at Fraserburgh, theLady Rothe.s, left the harbour in a fullgale from the north-north-east. In themiddle of the bay a heavy sea struckher on her port bow, followed byanother, which threw her on her beamends. All but three of her crew werewashed out of her. The life-boat wasa self-righter, and righted herself atonce. Four of the men climbedaboard again, two hung on to the life-lines. The boat and the nine men werethrown up on the beach. Neither thecoxswain nor second coxswain hadbeen able to regain the boat. Theytoo were thrown up on the beach.They were still alive, but so injuredand exhausted that they died at once.

The Six Men and Their FamiliesThe six men who lost their lives on

the 9th of February were:COXSWAIN ANDREW NOBLE RITCHIE

(39), who left a wife and four children.

GEORGE FLETT DUTHIE (55), themotor mechanic, who left a wife andsix children.

CHARLES TAIT, senior (61), thebowman, who left a wife and threechildren, one of them Charles Tait,junior, the second-coxswain, the onlyman to come ashore alive.

JAMES NOBLE (32), the assistantmotor mechanic, who left a wife andtwo children.

JOHN CRAWFORD (52), who left awife and three children.

JOHN RALPH BUCHAN (23), who lefta wife and two sons, one born sevenweeks after his death.

The Pensions

The Institution pensioned the sixwidows, as if the men had beensailors, soldiers or airmen, killed inaction, with allowance for six childrenunder the age of sixteen. It gave£500 to the Provost of Fraserburgh'sfund for the dependents, made anallowance to Second-coxswain CharlesTait for as long as he was incapacitatedby his injuries, and paid all funeralexpenses.

The Institution also sent a letter ofthanks to the skipper and crew ofthe Golden Harvest.

Messages of SympathyThe Duchess of Kent telegraphed to

Fraserburgh:"Deeply distressed to learn of

tragic disaster. Please convey torelatives of those who lost their livesmy profound sympathy. Marina,President, R.N.L.I."

Among the many others who sentmessages of sympathy were the RoyalNorth and South Holland Life-savingSociety, the French Society for Rescu-ing the Shipwrecked, the Danish Life-boat Institution and a number of theInstitution's life-boat stations andbranches. The crew of the Port Erinstation, which had assembled to launchten days before, sent to the Provost'sfund the rewards which they hadreceived from the Institution, and Mrs.Helen Brunton, of Inveresk gave£1,000 of shares in Bruntons (Mussel-burgh) Ltd. The gift will be used forthe life-boats in Scotland.

472 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRIXG, 1953

The FuneralsThe funeral service of five of the

six men was held on the 12th ofFebruary in the Old Parish Church.The church, which holds a thousandpeople, was full. Thousands morestood outside. When the coffins, eachcovered with the Institution's house-flag, were taken from the church to thecemetery, each for separate burial,the procession which followed wasover a mile long. The whole town wasin mourning. Lord Aberdeen, theLord Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, andthe Provost and full council of Fraser-burgh and the Provost and councillorsof Peterhead attended the funeral.The Institution was represented byCommodore the Right Hon the EarlHowe, C.B.E., V.R.D., R.N.V.R., thedeputy chairman of the Institution,Lord Saltoun, M.C., a member ofthe Committee of Management and avice-chairman of the Scottish Life-boat Council, Commander S. W. F.Bennetts, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N., de-puty chief inspector of life-boats, Com-mander E. W. Middleton, V.R.D.,R.N.V.R., inspector (general) of life-boats, Lieutenant E. D. Stogdon,R.N.V.R., northern inspector of life-boats, and Mrs. Jan Paton, organisingsecretary for Scotland. The sixthman, John Crawford, was buried nextday by the Salvation Army, of whichhe was a member. The Institution'swreath for each of the six coffins borethe words "in proud and gratefulmemory from the Committee ofManagement, officers and staff."

The New Crew and the New Life-boat

By the 21st of February, twelvedays after the disaster, a new crewhad been enrolled. It included Secondcoxswain Charles Tait, the only sur-vivor of the old crew. He will serveagain as second-coxswain- Hisyounger brother joined the crew. Thenew coxswain is the brother of the old.

On the 25th a reserve life-boat—ofthe same type as the last boat—arrived at the station. She will bethere until a new life-boat can be builtand sent to Fraserburgh.

A Public Inquiry

On the 30th of March a publicinquiry into the deaths of the six menwas held, under the Fatal AccidentInquiry Act, in the Sheriff's Court atAberdeen. The Sheriff said that itwas clear that there had been nomechanical fault. Neither had therebeen any negligence. It was one ofthose unfortunate risks which mencalled upon to serve in life-boats hadto undergo. He paid a tribute tothe experience and self-sacrifice of themen who were lost, and of the oneman who had been saved. "He has."the sheriff said, ''joined up again, inspite of all that has taken place. Suchdevotion to the call of the sea is some-thing to be proud of."

The jury brought in a formal verdictthat the cause of death was asphyxiaby drowning.

Chief Organising Secretary

MR. JOHN TERRY, the district organ-ising secretary for London, has beenappointed chief organising secretaryof the Institution and personal assis-tant to the secretary, a new post whichreplaces the post of deputy-secretary.

Mr. Terry, who was educated at theEdinburgh Academy and MagdalenCollege, Oxford, was from 1931 to1937 a member of the Kensington

Borough Council. He joined theInstitution in 1935 as joint organisingsecretary for London, and in 1939became organising secretary of theOuter London District. During thesix years of the war he served in theForeign Office, and returned to theInstitution in 1945. In 19t6 hebecame organising- secretary for thewhole of London.

SPUING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 473

The Problem of Designing Life-boats

Self-righting Life-boats or Life-boats which cannot self-right

By Commander T. G. Michelmore, R.D., R.N.R.

Chief Inspector of Life-boats

WHENEVER a life-boat of the typewhich cannot right herself is capsizedthe same questions are asked. "Whycannot all life-boats right themselves?Is it not time now that the Life-boatInstitution had a fleet of nothing butself-righters?"

Each time those questions are asked,and have to be answered. They wereasked at once when the Fraserburghlife-boat capsized on the 10th ofFebruary, 1953. Here are theanswers.

Every type of ship is designed forsome special purpose. She has somequality essential for that purpose.For that reason she is a compromise.In order to give her the special qualityneeded something has to be sacrificed,the price has to be paid. That is thegreat problem of all ship designing.What is true of all ships is speciallytrue of the life-boat.

The Two Kinds of Life-boatThere are two main types of life-

boat, the self-righting life-boat, andthe life-boat which cannot self-right,but which is much more stable. Theself-righting life-boat, if she capsizes,will turn right way up in a fewseconds. To enable her to do this sheis given higher end boxes at bow andstern than the other type of life-boat.That is to say, she has the disadvan-tage of exposing a greater surface towind and seas. She has to benarrower, and for that reason she ismore likely to capsize. That is theprice which has to be paid for the self-righting quality.

The other type, being broader andhaving low end boxes, is easier tohandle, She is more stable. She isless likely to capsize. But once shehas capsized she remains bottom up.In her again, as in the self-rightinglife-boat, the price has to be paid forthe qualities which are given to her.

From Non-Self-Tighter to Self-righter—and Back Again

For the first thirty years in thehistory of the Life-boat Service therewere no self-righting life-boats. In1851 the first self-righting life-boat wasbuilt and it was believed then that theproblem of the life-boat had beensolved. For the next forty yearsnearly all the life-boats were self-righters, except that at some stationson the east coast the men refused them.They preferred a more stable boat.They trusted to their own seamanshipto keep her from capsizing.

In 1886, the disaster at Southport,when a self-righting life-boat capsizedand did not right herself, led to there-examination of the whole question.It was then decided that the self-righting principle should be retainedin the lighter boats working close inshore, and that for the larger types,which would have to go well out tosea, it would be better to sacrifice theself-righting principle and have morestable boats. That is the principleon which, ever since, the fleet of theInstitution has been built. TheWatson type designed then was thebeginning of the modern life-boatfleet.

The experiences of the sixty-fiveyears since that first Watson boat wasbuilt fully justify the decision whichthe Institution then took. In thoseyears there have been something like170 boats of this type in the fleet.They have taken part in hundreds ofservices. Thev have rescued thou-sands of lives. And the Fraserburghlife-boat is only the second of thetype to capsize in all those years. Thefirst was the life-boat at The Mumbleswhich was lost in April, 1947.

The Figures of CapsizesHere are the figures of capsizes since

1852 when the first of the self-righting

474 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

life-boats came on service. Duringthat century 92 self-righting life-boatscapsized and only 13 life-boats of thetypes which cannot self-right.

Today there are, in the fleet of 154motor life-boats, 75 of the Watsonboats, 18 Barnett boats, which are adevelopment of the Watson type, and54 others of different types whichcannot self-right. There are only sevenself-righting life-boats.

The self-righting principle is usedonly in the light types of life-boat, butwhile there are only seven self-rightersthere are 43 light life-boats, of thesame length and weight, which cannotself-right. These are the Liverpoolboats. At all stations where a lightlife-boat is placed, the crew have theirown choice between the two types.There are only seven self-rightersbecause the life-boatmen themselvesnearly always prefer the more stableboats.

In August, 1952, the self-rightinglife-boat at Bridlington capsized. Sherighted herself at once, but her crewhave asked that they might now havea boat of the more stable type whichcannot self-right. This has been givento them.

The Risk is Always ThereAt the same time the Institution is

steadily improving the self-rightingtype. It is getting rid of those pointsin its design which make it a less sea-worthy boat than the type whichcannot self-right. We have, little bylittle, been able to increase the beamof the boat by a foot. We have,

little by little, been able to reduce theheight of the end-boxes. We havedone this and still been able to keepthe power to self-right. There is nofinality in the design of life-boats.We are always working on the problemof improving the stability of the boats.But the risk of capsizing is alwaysthere. It cannot be said of any boatnor, in fact, of any ship, not even theQueen Elizabeth, that she is so con-structed that it would be impossibleto capsize her. All that we can do,and it is being done, is to get such abalance of qualities in our boats aswill make that risk as small as possible.

A Great Coxswain's OpinionThe problem cannot be summed up

better than by quoting what CoxswainHenry Blogg of Cromer said someyears ago. No man in the wholehistory of the Life-boat Service hasso splendid a record. He has wonthe George Cross and the BritishEmpire Medal. He has won theInstitution's Gold Medal for outstand-ing gallantry three times. He haswon the Silver Medal four times.No man has ever had greater exper-ience of life saving. He said:

"I have been a seaman all my lifeand forty-five years of it have beenspent as a life-boatman. From thatexperience it is impossible to guaranteeany boat against disaster. It doesnot matter what type of boat it is, youcannot ensure against accidents. Alldepends upon the force of the stormand the judgement of the crew."*

*A full account of the capsize at Fraserburgh appearson page 469, and of the Bridlington capsize below.

Bridlington BowmanAT 5.8 on the afternoon of the 19th ofAugust, 1952, the coastguard at Brid-lington telephoned the life-boat stationthat two girl bathers were beingwashed seawards in Thornwick Bay,and at 5.35 the life-boat Tillie Morri-son, Sheffield was launched. A verystrong north-north-east wind wasblowing, and the sea was extremelyrough. After rounding FlamboroughHead, the life-boat, which was in radiocommunication with the Flamboroughlife-boat, learned that a body wasfloating off North Landing and that

Killed on Servicethe coastguard had a line across.

On reaching the entrance to NorthLanding, the life-boat met the R.A.F.rescue boat 357, which had on boardthe body of one of the girls and wasmaking for Bridlington. The life-boatreceived a semaphore message fromcoastguards on top of the cliffs northof North Landing asking her to searchin that area.

The search was continued along thecliffs into Big Thornwick Bay, and thelife-boat then continued westwards andsearched Little Thornwick Bay. She

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 475

found nothing and altered course againto repeat the search to the eastward.As she entered Big Thornwick Bayfrom the westward a big swell andsea, caused by the ebbing tide, thewind and the backwash from the cliffs,was seen coming down on her. Thecoxswain shouted: "Hang on; watercoming." Then the sea struck thelife-boat and rolled her right over.

Five Thrown into Sea

Of the seven men on board, fivewere thrown into the sea. The tworemaining were the coxswain and theassistant motor mechanic. The cox-swain held on to the wheel as the boatwent over, but the force with whichshe righted herself threw him out.The assistant motor mechanic, DerekNightingale, was wedged under theafter canopy. He heard shouts andfound one of the crew, Herbert Smith,hanging to the guard chain. Helifted one of his legs into the boat andthen Raw the coxswain and bowmanin the water. He tried to reach them,but the swell washed them away, sohe returned to Smith and hauled himaboard. He then saw that some of thecrew had already reached the shore.

When the life-boat capsized theanchor had fallen out of the boat andthe men found that she had anchoredherself. Between them they got herunder control. Smith, though his armwas hurt, took the wheel. .Nightin-gale cut the cable, started the engineand pulled in all loose ropes. Smiththen steered the boat clear of thebroken water. Nightingale stoppedthe engines and they looked round forany men still in the water. They sawnone, and set course for Bridlington,but when they were off North Landingthey found that the boat was leakingand decided to put back to ThornwickBay. Soon afterwards one of theengines stopped. They then streamedthe drogue and the swell carried themon to the beach. There the crowdwas waiting and helped to haul the

boat up. It was now about eighto'clock in the evening.

The five life-boatmen who had swumfor the shore all reached it, but thebowman, Robert P. Redhead, had beeninjured, and shortly afterwards he died.

Both the girls to whom the life-boathad put out lost their lives.

Rewards

The Institution made the followingawards:

To HERBERT SMITH, life-boatman,for his skill and resource, the thanks ofthe Institution inscribed on vellum.

To DEREK NIGHTINGALE, the assist-ant motor mechanic, for his skill andresource, its thanks inscribed on vellum.

To each of these two men, to thecoxswain, and to each of the otherfour members of the crew, a specialaward of £10, in addition to the rewardon the ordinary scale of 19s. each.

To COXSWAIN RICHARD B. COWLING,of Flamborough, who organised andtook charge of the shore party whichhauled the life-boat up the beach andlater relaunched her, a letter of appre-ciation and £10.

To LIEUTENANT E. TAYLOR, theassistant honorary secretary of thestation, and to MR. H. A. MARTIN, thedistrict officer of coastguard, Filey,letters of thanks.

The Institution has pensioned thewidow of the bowman, Robert Red-head, as if he had been a leadingrating in the Navy killed in action.It also paid all funeral expenses.

Rewards on the ordinary scale tothe Bridlington crew and helpers,£11 3*. 6d.; special rewards to Brid-lington crew and Flamborough cox-swain, £80; compensation for loss ofclothing and wages to Bridlingtoncrew, £65 Os. 9d.; expenses in haulingup and rehousing the boat and bring-ing a reserve boat from Whitby,£109 3s. Id. Total rewards andexpenses (apart from pension andfuneral expenses), £265 7s. 4d.

Portrait on the CoverTHE portrait on the cover of H.R.H.the Duchess of Kent, President of theInstitution, is from a photograph by

Mr. Cecil Beaton, of Kensington, andis reproduced by his very kind per-mission.

476 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

The Worst Floods in Living MemoryON the night of the 31st January-1st February the sea invaded largeareas of land in many parts of theeast coast, when exceptionally hightides were driven higher by violentnortherly winds often reaching galeforce. The floods which resulted wereworse than anything known in thiscountry within living memory, and307 people lost their lives. In makingan appeal for funds to relieve the dis-tress the Lord Mayor of London, SirRupert De la Bere, M.P., declared:"I doubt if in the past century somuch devastation and misery has everfallen on our country in forty-eighthours in peace time as that which hastaken place during the past week-end."

The work of rescue and relief beganat once, voluntary organisations co-operating with detachments of thearmed forces and civil defence workers.As the Prime Minister stated in hisfirst report to the House of Commonson the disaster, "Organisations of allkinds, national and local, military andcivil, reacted immediately to the callupon them."

Thirty-Six Hours at SeaA number of calls were made for

the services of the life-boats, andbetween nine o'clock on the morning ofthe 31st of January and four o'clockon the afternoon of the 2nd of Februarythe Southend life-boat, Greater London,Civil Service No. 3, was called outseven times and was at sea for atotal of twenty-six hours thirty-fiveminutes.

The first call came at 8.53 on themorning of the 31st of January. Thecoastguard rang up to say that a bargetwo miles south-south-east of the pierwas making distress signals and thatthe pilot boat had put out. A westerlygale was blowing, with a rough sea,and at 9.23 the Southend life-boatwas launched. However, the pilotboat took the crew of two off themotor barge Adriatic, of London, andthe life-boat was not needed.

She reached her station again at9.45, and at 2.3 in the afternoon thecoastguard telephoned that a Cornishketch Wanderlust was drifting sea-

wards a quarter of a mile north-westof the pier. At 2.29 the life-boat waslaunched again. The westerly galewas still blowing, and the sea remainedrough. The life-boat found that amotor boat had put a man aboardthe ketch and taken her in tow, butthe ketch had broken loose. A life-boatman was therefore put aboardthe ketch, and the life-boat towed herto Southend pier, where she wasmade fast at three o'clock.

Ten minutes later, at 3.10, an emptyfishing boat was seen rolling heavilyand drifting in the fairway threequarters of a mile south of the pier.The gale was still blowing. The life-boat was launched at once and puttwo men aboard the drifting boat,which was the Patience, of London.She then towed the boat to the pier,arriving at 4.5.

The next call came at 10.18 thatnight. The coastguard rang up to saythat the tanker Kosmos F, of Sande-fjord, had gone aground on ShoeburySands two and a half miles east ofSouthend pier. The life-boat waslaunched at 10.45. The gale wasthen blowing from the west-north-west, and the sea remained veryrough. The life-boat stood by thetanker until she refloated after abouthalf an hour. The tanker wirelessedher thanks to the life-boat and thenanchored, and the life-boat returned toher station, which she reached fiveminutes after midnight.

Help to Canvey IslandShe then made for Canvey Island,

where it was thought that her helpmight be needed because of the fast-flowing and extremely high tide, but at1.5 she received a wireless messagethat her help was needed at the sewageworks at Leigh Marshes. She there-fore immediately altered course andmade for the marshes, but she foundthat the men who had been workingat the sewage works had already gotaway, and she returned to her station,where she was moored at 2.10 earlythat morning.

At 3.30 in the morning the coast-guard told the coxswain that the Essex

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 477

County Police had asked for all avail-able boats to help in the evacuationof Canvey Island. At 3.40 the life-boat left her moorings once again ina west-north-west gale with a veryrough sea, taking her boarding boatwith her. However, she learned thattwo people who had been in danger onCanvey Island were now safe, andshe returned to her station, arrivingat 5.55.

At 8.15 that evening a message wasreceived from the Town Clerk ofSouthend asking if the life-boat wouldhelp to take people off FoulnessIsland. At 9.3 the life-boat waslaunched once more, taking two smallboats with her. She made for Foul-ness in a strong north-westerly windand a rough sea. Life-boatmen tookthe two small boats through a gap inthe sea wall near a farm on FoulnessIsland, but the inhabitants of the farmwould not leave. The life-boatmenthen took the boats further along thesea wall, and the men rowed themamongst a group of houses. Againnone of the occupants wanted to leaveuntil daylight, and the life-boatmenasked as many people as possible tobe ready to be taken off in the morning.

A Hundred People MaroonedWhen daylight came the two small

boats took 22 people to the sea wall,and from there they were transferredto the life-boat. The life-boat tookthem to Burnham. It was low tidenow, and the life-boatmen who wereleft on the island used the small boatsto transport about 100 maroonedpeople to lorries and jeeps. The life-boat returned to Foulness, took threemore people to Burnham, and thenmade for a different part of the island.When the police stated that everyonehad been evacuated, the life-boatreturned to her station, which shefinally reached at four o'clock on theafternoon of the 2nd of February.

Two of the cases, those of the ketchWanderlust and the fishing boatPatience, were property salvage cases.For other services rewards totalling£99 3s. 6d. were paid. The Institutionsent a letter of appreciation to thecoxswain and crew of the Southendlife-boat.

The Clacton-on-Sea life-boat SirGodfrey Baring was also out on serviceat the time of the floods. At 1.35 onthe afternoon of the 1st of February amessage was received from Jaywickthat a number of people were maroonedon the roof of a bungalow. At 1.45the Sir Godfrey Baring was launchedand took a dinghy with her. Amoderate west-north-west gale wasblowing with a rough sea. The cox-swain took the life-boat as near tothe bungalow as he could. Then,using the dinghy, the life-boatmenrescued five men, a woman, twochildren, two dogs and a cat. Therescued people were given hot soupand biscuits, and the life-boat tookthem to Clacton pier. She reachedher station again at 4.30. Rewardsof £14 19*. 3d. were paid.

Award to 73-year-old ManSix men not connected with the

Royal National Life-boat Institutionreceived the thanks of the Institutioninscribed on vellum for gallantry insaving, or attempting to save, lifeduring the floods. Three of them werefrom \Vells, Norfolk: Mr. Frank Smith,harbour master, and Mr. Fred Ellenderand Mr. George Jay, employees of theWells Council. Two were from South-wold, Suffolk: Mr. Frederick Mayhew,a 73-year-old long-shore fisherman,and Mr. Ernest Stannard, a 41-year-old disabled master mariner. Thesixth was Mr. W. V. Burrell, a fisher-man of Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

On the night of the 31st January ina northerly wind of gale force Mr.Smith, Mr. Ellender and Mr. Jaylaunched a fourteen-feet flat-bottomedrowing boat, passed through gaps inthe sea defences, and rescued theStation Officer of Coastguard, who wasmarooned on Wells beach. The opera-tion lasted four hours. Mr. Smith hadearlier been awarded the BritishEmpire Medal.

Mr. Mayhew and Mr. Stannard res-cued three American women and ababy, who were clinging to the roofof a floating house on the same night,landed them from a rowing boat, andthen returned to the house and rescuedthree United States servicemen. Mr.Mayhew had also been awarded theBritish Empire Medal.

478 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

Mr. Burrell received his award forservices during attempts to repair thedamage done by the floods. On the17th February seven men were repair-ing breaches in the banks of the RiverAide, when the two boats in whichthey were working were swept througha gap into the river. Mr. Burrell andanother man immediately launched aboat and succeeded in rescuing fourmen who were clinging to an upturnedrowing boat. Two of the other menmanaged to reach an island and werelater rescued by a Naval helicopter,but the seventh man drifted away.Mr. Burrell set off in a dinghy tosearch for him but failed to find him.

Many Life-boat Stations Damaged

The total damage to property causedby the floods amounted to many mil-lions of pounds, and among the ownersof property who suffered severe losseswas the Institution itself. Repairwork, of a greater or lesser kind, hadto be carried out at fourteen Englishand two Scottish stations to put rightthe damage. At Sunderland, Durham,the main boathouse doors were dam-aged, and there was heavy siltationon the slipway. At Seaham, Durham,there was damage to the boathousesubstructure. At Runswick, York-shire, the main doors of the boathousewere badly damaged, and there wassome damage to the decking of theslipway. At Whitby No. 1 station,Yorkshire, the main doors were jam-med and severely damaged. At Scar-borough, Yorkshire, the boathouseelectrical plant was damaged, andthere was severe damage to the boat-house doors. At Humber, Yorkshire,many cottages were damaged and forsome time Spurn Point, at the end ofwhich the life-boat station stands,was completely cut off by floods, con-tact with the outside world beingmaintained by radio link with theCromer coastguard radio-telephonystation.

At Wells, Norfolk, the boathousedoors were washed away and thecauseway leading to the boathousewas also breached in several places.For some time the boathouse couldbe approached only by boat from Wellsvillage, and at low tide not even this

was possible. At Sheringham, Nor-folk, the boathouse doors were washedaway. At Cromer, Norfolk, the portside of the boathouse was severelydamaged and the main doors werewashed away. The decking of thepier was also washed away, and atemporary cat-walk had to be builtdown the pier. The boat herself waslifted four feet out of her keelway. AtGreat Yarmouth and Gorleston, Nor-folk, the electric winch and otherelectric fittings in the boathouse weredamaged. At Lowestoft, Suffolk, thestorehouse was washed away and allgear was lost. At Margate, Kent, theboathouse was badly damaged and theconcrete floor was broken up. Thedecking of the pier was washed away.The life-boat was transferred to Rams-gate harbour. At both Walmer andDungeness, Kent, large banks ofshingle ahead of the boats had to becleared away by detachments of thearmed forces.

The two Scottish stations whichsuffered were Buckie, Banffshire, andEyemouth, Berwickshire. At Buckiethe launching doors and at Eyemouththe main boathouse doors weredamaged.

Institution Bears Whole Cost

In spite of this extensive damage allboats, except Cromer No. 1, were readyfor service by the evening of 2ndFebruary. Cromer No. 1 was readyfor service by noon next day, andCromer No. 2, which is launched fromthe beach, was available for servicethroughout.

The cost of repairing the damage hasbeen between £10,000 and £15,000.The Committee of Management decid-ed at a meeting held in April that theInstitution itself should bear thewhole of this cost. No appeal is beingmade either to the Government or tothe Lord Mayor's Relief Fund.

The loss of life and damage sufferedin the Netherlands as a result of thefloods were even greater than thosesuffered in this country. A letter ofcondolence was sent by the Secretaryof the Institution to the Royal Northand South Holland Life-boat Society.A similar letter of condolence wasreceived by the Institution.

SPRING, 195,'i| THE LIFE-BOAT 479

Rescue from a Trawler About to SinkAT 5.30 on the morning of the 15th ofJanuary, 1953, the coastguard told thehonorary secretary of the Thurso life-boat station that the steam trawlerSunlight was reported ashore onHolborn Head and in need of immed-iate help.

The life-boat H.C.J. was launchedat 5.50 and searched along the coastto Holborn Head and beyond to SpearHead without sighting anything. FromSpear Head the coxswain could see thewhole coastline to Brims Ness, andas no flares were visible he decided thatthe trawler must be to the east-ward.

When the life-boat was again offHolborn Head the trawler Loch Parkreported by radio telephony that shewas close to the Sunlight. She gavethe life-boat a course, and somefifteen minutes later the coxswainfound the Sunlight on the Spur ofMurkle in Thurso Bay.

A moderate westerly gale was blow-ing, the sea was rough, and therewas a strong flood tide.

The Sunlight had run aground 200yards from the shore. Rocks on theSpur of Murkle consist of long ledgesrunning out to sea, covered with largeboulders. The Sunlight was agroundon one of these ledges in about seven

feet of water. Her port rail was awash,and she was pounding with the swell.

The coxswain, Angus S. Macintosh,D.S.M., thought he would have to takethe crew off by breeches buoy. Buthe soon realised that the trawler wason the edge of a ledge and might atany moment slip off and capsize. Hetherefore decided to go alongside atonce. This he did by putting his bowto the lee quarter of the Sunlight andgetting a line aboard. With its helphe came alongside, head to sea.The crew of the trawler quicklyscrambled aboard the life-boat by wayof the trawler's gallows, and they wereall clear by 7.10. The operation tookonly five minutes. The trawler be-came a total loss.

In recognition of his services incarrying out this quick and efficientrescue in difficult and dangerous con-ditions, without damage to the life-boat, the Institution awarded itsThanks on Vellum to Coxswain AngusS. Macintosh.

To him and each of the other sevenmembers of the crew it awarded £2 inaddition to the rewards on the ordinaryscale of £l 10s. per man. Scalerewards, £13 19*.; extra rewards, £16.Total rewards, £29 19*.

The Life-boat Service in 1952FOR the third year, in the seven yearssince the war ended, the Life-boatService set up a new record. In 1952its boats went out to the rescue 657times. That is more than ever beforein time of peace, and though the figureis considerably below the busiest yearsof the war, yet it is well above the yearlyaverage of launches—617—duringthose six years of the war. In thecourse of these launches life-boatsrescued 346 lives.

In addition the Institution gaverewards for the rescue of 103 lives byshore-boats. In nearly half the casesthe boats were manned by life-boat-men, often with the help of other men,but in rather more than half they weremanned by people who were not

members of life-boat crews, and who putout on their own initiative in whateverboats were at hand. In all these casesthe Institution rewarded the rescuers.

The grand total of lives rescued bylife-boats and shore-boats was 449.Life-boats also saved from destruction65 boats, and helped in various ways320 more.

From its foundation on the 4th ofMarch, 1824, to the end of 1952, theInstitution has given rewards for therescue by life-boats and shore-boatsof 78,051 lives.

1932 and 1952; A ComparisonAn analysis of the figures for 1952

and the figures for 1932 shows thechief reason for the great, and increas-

480 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

ing, work of the Service. In 1932 thetotal of launches was 337. That is tosay, the launches in 1952 were nearlydouble what they were twenty yearsago. But during the six months ofgales, January, February and March,October, November and December,they were only a little more than athird as many; and during the twospring months of April and May, theywere not quite twice as many. It isduring the four summer months thatthe chief increase has come. In thosemonths there were three times as manylaunches in 1952 as in 1932—297 ascompared with 99. Over 30 per centof the total launches were to holidaymakers and small craft in difficulties.

The second cause of increase hasbeen the number of calls reportingaeroplanes in distress. In 1932 thenumber of launches to aeroplanes wassix. In 1952 it was 87. The greatmajority were to service, not passen-ger, aeroplanes. In 79 of the 87launches either the calls had beenfalse alarms, or the life-boats couldfind nothing, or their help was notneeded.

Loss of LifeOne life-boatman was lost at sea,

the bowman of the Bridlington life-boat which capsized in a very roughsea. She righted herself, and hercrew either got aboard again or swamashore, but the bowman had beeninjured, and though he swam ashore hedied almost at once. The Institutionpensioned his widow—his only depen-dent relative—as if he had been a lead-ing rating in the Navy, killed in action.*

Services to Foreign VesselsLife-boats went out to the help of

61 ships and six aeroplanes belongingto 18 different foreign countries andrescued from them 106 lives. Fifteenof the ships were from Holland; sixfrom France; six from Sweden; sixfrom Norway; five from Germany;four from Denmark; three from theUnited States; three from Panama;three from Greece; two from Finland;one each from Belgium, Spain, Iceland,Turkey, Argentine, Liberia, andEstonia, and one was Swiss. The six* A full account will be found on page 474.

aeroplanes were aeroplanes of the AirForce of the United States with head-quarters in Great Britain. Besidesthe lives rescued, life-boats saved threeof the ships.

Medals for Gallantry

Two silver and four bronze medalswere won by life-boatmen for gallan-try. Coxswain Frederick Upton, ofWalmer and Coxswain Denis R. Price,of Margate, won silver medals, andCoxswain Henry O. Thomas, of Torbay,Coxswain Douglas Kirkaldie, of Rams-gate, Coxswain Malcolm Macdonald,of Stornoway, and C. Percy Cavell,motor mechanic at Walmer, wonbronze medals. Coxswain Upton andPercy Cavell had previously won,respectively, the silver and bronzemedal. A bronze medal was also wonby a fifteen-year-old boy of Sidcup,Tony Metcalfe, for a shore-boat rescue.Thus, of the seven medals, five werewon by men of Kent.

New Life-boatsTen new life-boats went to the coast.

Expenditure and Income

The total expenditure was £744,226,an increase of over £26,000 on theprevious year, but nearly £70,000 lessthan in 1950.

The total income was £739,708, anincrease of over £83,000 on 1951, andonly £2,154 less than the recordincome of 1950.

The increase in expenditure was dueto the large sum spent on the construc-tion and repair of life-boats, whichwas over £91,000 more than in theprevious year. The total cost ofadministration during the past tenyears has been only 3.76 per cent of thetotal cost of providing and maintain-ing the Service.

Second largest item in the expendi-ture was the payments to coxswains,crews and launchers, and their families—to those engaged in the actual workof rescue. It was £114,708, a slightincrease on the previous year.

The full statement of accounts willbe published in the next number ofThe Life-boat.

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 481

Her Majesty Queen MaryBY the death of Her Majesty QueenMary on the 24th of March, 1953, theLife-boat Service lost one of its threeRoyal Patrons. Queen Mary was thethird of the five queens—Queen Vic-toria, Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary,Queen Elizabeth (now the QueenMother), and Queen Elizabeth II—who have given the Service theirpatronage, and she was associated withits work for 57 of her 85 years, onlysix years fewer than Queen Victoria.

As Duchess of Cornwall and Yorkshe became President of the Ladies'Auxiliary of the Life-boat SaturdayFund in 1895, and in 1902, as Princessof Wales, she became a vice-patron ofthe Institution. King George V, onhis accession to the throne in 1910,became the Institution's Patron. Ayear later Queen Mary also becamea Patron, and for the first time theInstitution had two Patrons.

During those years Her Majestyshowed her personal interest in theService in a variety of ways. AsPrincess of Wales, in 1903, she receivedpurses for it at Marlborough Housefrom 125 ladies from all parts of thecountry. As Queen she was presentwith the King, the Prince of Walesand the Princess Louise, Duchess ofArgyll, at the life-boat variety matineeat the London Hippodrome in 1930.

On Queen Mary's death the chair-man of the Committee of Management,Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., sent telegrams

of sympathy to the Queen and to theDuchess of Kent, President of theInstitution. The Queen telegraphed:

"I am sincerely grateful for yourmessage. Please assure all those forwhom you speak that I deeply valuetheir sympathy."

The Duchess of Kent telegraphedher "heartfelt thanks" to the com-mittee, officers, crews and voluntaryworkers of the Institution.

At their meeting on the 9th of Aprilthe committee of management sentthe following "humble and loyalmessage" to the Queen.

"The Committe of Management andthe officers and staff of the RoyalNational Life-boat Institution, thehonorary officials of its branches andof the Ladies' Life-boat Guild through-out the British Isles, and the cox-swains and crews of its life-boats roundtheir coasts, desire to express to YourMajesty their deep grief at the deathof Her Most Gracious Majesty QueenMary, to offer to Your Majesty theirloyal and deep sympathy, to assureyou of the devotion of the Service toyour Person and Crown, and to placeon record the gratitude of the Life-boat Service of Great Britain andIreland to Her Late Majesty for herassociation with its work as Vice-Patron and as Patron during 57 yearsand for the personal help which, onmany occasions, she gave to theService."

The Bravest Deeds of 1952THE Maud Smith reward in memoryof John, Seventh Earl of Hardwicke,for the bravest act of life-saving ofthe year by a life-boatman wasawarded to Coxswain Douglas Kirk-aldie, of Ramsgate, for his courage onthe 20th of August, 1952, in takingthe life-boat alongside the stern halfof the American steamer WesternFarmer, which had broken in two,after a collision, to rescue five men,knowing that it might, at any moment,turn over on top of the life-boat.For this service the Institution had

already awarded him its bronze medal.The reward given by Mrs. Porter,

of Felixstowe, for the bravest deed ofthe year by a life-boatman wasawarded to Robert Leng, the assistantmotor mechanic at Flamborough, whoswam ashore from the life-boat on thenight of the 27th of July, 1952, andlanded on the rocks in the darknessto find and succour a young man whohad fallen down the cliffs. For thisservice the Institution had alreadyawarded him its thanks inscribed onvellum.

482 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

On the SandsA Yachtsman's Story of His Rescue

[The Yachting Monthly of March 1952 published an account by Mr.D. K. Rae of a trip in his W-feet auxiliary yacht Sirius. It started fromthe Crouch, but the Sirius grounded on the Buxey Sand off Clacton. Thecrew laid out a hedge anchor astern and hauled on it for half an hour butthe yacht remained fast. They then got out a bower anchor to keep the yachtin position, and stern on to the seas. The rest of the story is told in extractsfrom Mr. Rae's article, reproduced by very kind permission of him and theYachting Monthly.]

EVENING would soon be approachingso before darkness fell we decided toobtain assistance. With a signal atthe masthead we also flashed morseto our north, the coastline being dis-tinguishable in the distance.

After an hour or so a vessel wassighted pointing in our direction, andthrough the glasses could be madeout as a life-boat. She entered theSpitway and came south abeam of ourposition, and continued on throughuntil she rounded up and stood offsome two cables in the surf.

A voice could be heard on theirloudhailer requesting we row out tothem due to the shallow water, so thegirls climbed into the dinghy whileM. pulled in their direction. The shipwas now taking a list to starboard.M. arrived back. The coxswain hadtold him he would return on the floodand tow us off.

A Walk on the SandsNight was now upon us and the sea

much calmer; stars were visible andthe sky was black, emphasizing theirbrilliance. We jumped on to theBuxey Sand and walked for about ahundred yards. One would neverhave believed we were eight miles offshore, it was truly amazing—very stilland quiet, apart from the clanging ofthe bell of the Spitway Buoy. . . .

With these sounds, we walked backto Sirius trying to define the maze oflights surrounding us, the buoysflashing every five seconds, andfarther to the north, the lights ofClacton. We imagined the girls nowsnugly bedded down somewhereamong this mass of lights. All thiswas alive around us, yet we were inthe stillness. Lying at an angle ofthirty degrees and looking extremelydejected, our boat seemed to say" What am I doing here ? I should be

berthed in some nice anchorage, up-right, proudly displaying my mast,gently snubbing at my cable." Butinstead of that we boarded our sorry-looking craft and for once, instead ofgetting up the hook and preparingher for sea, we went below and pre-pared coffee and biscuits. . . .

We turned on the radio, found somedance music and sat sipping oursteaming coffee and munching choco-late biscuits, talking of the afternoonevents and planning the method oftowing when the life-boat arrived.Presently we went up on deck andsecured a two-inch grass [hawser] tothe foot of the mast. The flood hadbegun and pools of frothy water weremaking on the sandbank about us; thekedge was taken inboard, andI paddled out to the bower andbrought it about ten yards nearer tous. . . .

Almost back to the vertical. Lightsappeared over in the Spitway, possiblythe life-boat. We signalled in theirdirection, and received back theirintentions. They were to come along-side. Taking the lead I let it fallto the bottom. Four feet deep Iflashed back. We should still haveto wait some time, as we drew five feet,and during the bumping the keel hadmade a fairly d«ep basin, which wewere now lying in. As the life-boatcame closer they swung round tocome abeam to us, cut their way, andshe stood pitching in the swell. "Notafloat yet," I shouted, through cuppedhands.

A Night Picture of Life-boat and CrewEvery one of the eight crew wore

yellow oilskins, and in the green glowfrom their starboard light, it seemedas if it might be a ghost ship. Exceptfor this light and one at the masthead,illuminating the whole of the deck,

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 483

everything looked dark; it made themstand out against the inky. blacknessof the night sky. As they cametowards us, the coxswain was heardgiving orders to the crew. "Come abit to sou'ard, Albert." He wasspeaking to the hand at the wheel:her screw hummed in response, andgradually they came closer. Eachhad his station to attend to and theyworked as one man and although thespace on the deck of a life-boat islimited, never once did a man stumbleon a cleat or fumble, getting inanother's path. All were big men andlooked giants in their oilskins and life-belts. The rich Essex accents couldbe heard in every detail now, "Tonor'ard a little. Easy now."

They were now alongside of us andtheir fenders pressed against our hullwith a hiss, as the water was expelledfrom them. While M. made fastforward, I passed a line from the life-boat round the foot of the mizen, thenwent forward to give a hand to bringthe bower inboard. Meanwhile thelife-boat went ahead to assist weighingthe anchor. Once free our stern ropewas cast off, and we dropped asternof the life-boat, following a smallwhite light visible on her deck. Allother lights had been extinguished.The second coxswain had come aboardand stood by the mast looking ahead,while the three of us sat in the cock-pit, M. at the helm.

A Chat with the Second-CoxswainThere was quite a sea running and

the wind much colder, so I went belowfor a time, and pulled on anothersweater. When I returned the second-coxswain had come down into thecockpit and they all sat smoking. . . .

Presently T. went below and crasheddown on a bunk. M. followed him toget some warmer clothing, and I tookthe tiller. Chatting to the secondcoxswain I discovered tomorrow wasa great day. They had arranged totake part in the regatta. I agreedthey would be feeling pretty tired bythe time this was over and arrivedback. Approaching the flashingKnoll Buoy, we altered course intothe Blackwater, and on through thedarkness, rounded the Bar Buoy andentered the reach. We then stoodout for the flashing red light of Colne

Point, as there would not be sufficientwater in Brightlingsea Creek, and asit was too dark to select a suitableberth we brought up just inside St.Osyth Point lying alongside the life-boat to await high water. It wasthen 04.00 and we should have onehour's sleep.

A Grand CrewThe coxswain came aboard and we

all went below to make out a report....The report completed the coxswainwent back to the life-boat to returnwith a bottle of rum. M. and Igratefully accepted the tot offered eachto us, and I felt my body glow as itreached my stomach. They were agrand crew I thought as I crawledunder my blankets. . . .

The second coxswain was slidingback the hatch and stuck his head in.I glanced at my watch. Our hourwas up and it seemed as if I had onlyjust touched my head to the pillow. . . .It was very grey and overcast, the sealooked a cold jade green in the morn-ing light, and the crew were busy andimpatient to be away. They seemedanxious to be on time for the regattaas they had to get back to the boat-house and clean up ship. We slippedour mooring and she took us into thecreek, still alongside. . . .

We thanked the coxswain and crewand promised to come and see themwhen next on the pier. They releasedus, and turned about to head out tosea. The weather seemed to be bright-ening up but the wind was still fresh

Before he left the coxswain had toldme the girls would be at the RoyalHotel, Clacton, so T. rowed ashore togo over on the bus to pick them up. . . .

Awake before he returned, we sawhim with M. and J. over on the jettywaiting to come off. They found oneof the shore boats to row them out,and stepped aboard. The girls bothwore dresses and looked ratherpretty. . . .

They made the rest of us roar whiletelling how once aboard the life-boatthey went below and were givensurvivors' kit to change into, greatsweaters, and men's trousers of out-rageous dimensions. It once againgoes to illustrate how thorough werethe life-boat crew's methods, whendealing with an emergency.

484 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

Services of the Life-boats in November and December, 1952

and January and February, 1953

112 Lives Rescued

NOVEMBER

DURING November life-boats werelaunched 60 times and rescued 31 lives.

FISHING - BOAT BROKEN DOWNNEAR ORKNEYS

Stromness, Orkneys.—At 9.30 on thenight of the 1st of November, 1952, thecoastguard telephoned that the motorfishing boat Seaflovoer, which had leftFlotta for Houton with a crew of threewas overdue, and at 9.45 the life-boatJ.J.K.S.W. was launched. The seawas choppy with a moderate north-westerly breeze blowing. The life-boat found the Sea/lower broken downhalf-way between the Barrel of Butterand Houton. She towed her to Hou-ton Pier and then returned to herstation, arriving at 1.35.—Rewards,£10 7s.

SAND BAR STRUCK IN ROUGH SEA

Newhaven, Sussex—At 6.15 on theevening of the 2nd of November,1952, the coastguard telephoned thata vessel half a mile south of East Pierwas making S O S signals on a lampand siren. At 6.40 the life-boat Ceciland Lilian Philpott was launched and,in a strong south-westerly breeze andrough sea, found the motor vessel AlfEverard, of London, loaded withcement, driving ashore east of EastPier. She had struck the east sandbar, which had stopped her, and thesea and wind had swept her round thepier. With difficulty the coxswainmanoeuvred the life-boat alongside,and the seven men jumped into her.With the rescued men on board, thelife-boat returned to her station,arriving at 7.40.—Rewards, £15 12s.

CANOE FOUND DRIFTING EMPTY

Eastbourne, Sussex.—At 11.5 on themorning of the 3rd of November, 1952,the coastguard telephoned that a canoewas drifting two and a half miles southof the pier, and at 11.20 the life-boat

Beryl Tollemache was launched in arough sea, with a strong north-wes-terly breeze blowing. She found anempty canoe three miles south of thepier, picked it up and returned to herstation, arriving at 12.3.—Rewards,£20 6,s.

THREE MEN RESCUED FROMROWING BOAT

Wicklow.—At 4.30 on the morning ofthe 4th of November, 1952, three menput out in the rowing boat Miriam tofish, but a strong south-westerly galesprang up. Anxiety was felt for theirsafety, and at 10.15 the life-boat LadyKylsant was launched. There was arough sea and heavy rain. The life-boat found the Miriam six milesnorth-east of the harbour making noheadway. She rescued the three menand towed their boat to Wicklow,which was reached at 12.15.—Rewards.£8 18*.

DRIFTING TRAWLER BROUGHT TOROSSLARE HARBOUR

Rosslare Harbour, Co. Wexford.—At8.10 on the morning of the 4th of Nov-ember, 1952, the Department of In-dustry and Commerce in Dublin rang upto report a wireless message received byTuskar Rock from the Holyhead coast-guard. The trawler Windrise, themessage said, had wirelessed that shehad lost or damaged her rudder andwas drifting northwards a mile southof Blackwater Head. The life-boatDouglas Hyde left her moorings at8.30 in a very rough sea with a moder-ate southerly gale blowing, and cameup with the trawler half a mile offshore and a mile north of BlackwaterHead. Two fishing boats were tryingto hold her head to the sea, but theycould not stop her drifting. The life-boat took her in tow with difficulty,and made for Rosslare Harbour. Shemade very slow progress in the badweather, but reached the harbour

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 485

and made the trawler secure there at2.15.—Property Salvage Case.

DOCTOR TAKEN TO NETHERLANDSSTEAMER

Eastbourne, and Hastings, Sussex.—At12.5 on the afternoon of the 4th of Nov-ember, 1952, the Eastbourne coastguardtelephoned the Eastbourne life-boatstation that the S.S. St. Walburg, ofGroningen, which was about one milesouth of Bexhill, had wirelessed thatshe had an injured man on board andasked for a doctor and a boat to landhim. At 12.20 the life-boat BerylTollemache was launched with a doctoron board, and made for the steamerin a rough sea and strong south-westerly breeze. At 12.31 the Fairlightcoastguard informed the Hastingslife-boat station, and at 12.50 theHastings life-boat M.T.C. was alsolaunched with a doctor on board.She made for the position, but thecoxswain saw the Eastbourne life-boatgo alongside the steamer and take theman off, and he took the M.T.C. backto her station, arriving at 2.50. TheEastbourne life-boat landed the injuredman at Eastbourne at 2.30.—Rewards.—Eastbourne, £26 12s.; Hastings,£20 7,?. 6d.

FIVE MEN MAROONED ON ISLANDIslay, Inner Hebrides.—At 3.10 on the

afternoon of the 6th of November,1952, a man on the Island of Jurareported that five men he employedhad gone to Brosdale Island to collectsome sheep, but were marooned therein bad weather. There was no shelteron the island. At 3.30 the life-boatCharlotte Elizabeth left her moorings ina very rough sea with a full galeblowing, took the men off the island,and landed them at Port Askaig at i6.30.—Rewards, £11 12s.

FISHING VESSEL TOWED TOHARWICH

Walton and Frinton, Essex.—At 7.27on the evening of the 6th of November,1952, the coastguard telephoned thata light or flare had been seen to thesouth-west of Walton pier, and at7.55 a vessel was seen to burn flares.At 8.10 the life-boat E.M.E.D. left hermoorings in a rough sea with a moder-ate west-north-west gale blowing, and

found the fishing vessel Binny Stewart,of Aberdeen, with two brothers onboard, about two miles south-west-by-south of the pier. She was bound forBrightlingsea from Stonehaven, buthad broken down and her anchor wasunreliable. The two men asked thelife-boat to take their vessel in tow,and she towed the Binny Stewart toHarwich inner harbour, arriving at10.55. The life-boat left for herstation again at 11.57. The two men,who had just bought the vessel,expressed their thanks.—Rewards, £18.

STEAMER ESCORTED IN GALE TOHOLY ISLE

Troon, Ayrshire.—At 11.40 on thenight of the 6th of November, 1952, thePortpatrick coastguard telephonedthat the S.S. Obsidian, of Glasgow, hadwirelessed distress signals, giving herposition as four miles west-by-northof Ayr. At 12.5 the life-boat SirDavid Richmond of Glasgow left hermoorings. A north-north-west galewas blowing with a rough sea. Thelife-boat found the steamer, with acrew of twelve, six miles south ofPladda. She had anchored, but wasdragging and her windlass could notlift the anchors. She slipped themand, at the request of the master, thelife-boat escorted her to the lee ofHoly Isle and then returned to herstation, arriving at 4.50 on the morningof the 7th.—Rewards, £12 19*.

SECOND SERVICE ON NOVEMBERNIGHT

Walton and Frinton, Essex.—At 11.57on the night of the 6th of November,1952, the life-boat E.M.E.D. left Har-wich for her station, after towing inthe motor fishing vessel Binny Stewart.But shortly afterwards, at 12.22, theWalton-on-the-Naze coastguard tele-phoned the honorary secretary that avessel had been seen to burn flaresabout three miles south-south-west ofWalton pier. This information waswirelessed to the life-boat, whichimmediately made for the position ina very rough sea and north-westerlygale. She found the motor bargeSway, of London, with a crew of three,bound in ballast from Blackwall toFingringhoe. The barge had enginetrouble and was unmanageable. The

486 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRIXG, 1953

skipper said he had tried to makeHarwich, but had been blown off hiscourse towards the Gunfleet Sands.He asked to be towed to safety, andwith difficulty, the life-boatmen passeda tow rope across and towed the Stfiayto Harwich, arriving at 4.15.—Pro-perty Salvage Case.

LIFE-BOAT STANDS BY SAILINGBARGE IN GALE

Southend-on-Sea, Essex.—At 2.20early on the morning of the 7th ofNovember, 1952, the coastguard tele-phoned that a rocket had been seen inthe direction of Shellness Point, and at2.55 the life-boat Greater London, CivilService No. 3, was launched. The seawas very rough with a strong north-westerly gale. The life-boat foundthe sailing barge Savoy, of Dover,with a crew of two, three-quarters ofa mile south-east of Columbine Spit.She was making heavy weather, andthe life-boat stood by her until day-light. The skipper then said that hedid not need the life-boat any more,and she returned to her station, arriv-ing at 10.20. The Savoy went on toWhitstable.—Rewards, £25 17s.

TWO EMPTY MOTOR CRUISERSTOWED IN

Walton and Frinton, Essex.—At 7.30on the morning of the 7th of November,1952, the life-boat E.M.E.D. leftHarwich for her station, after towingin the motor barge Sway. At thesame time the Walton-on-the-Naze jcoastguard telephoned the honorarysecretary that the Cork Lightvessel hadreported a motor cruiser broken downand drifting one mile south-east of thelightvessel. This news was wirelessedto the life-boat, which made for theposition in a very rough sea and north-westerly gale. She found the emptymotor cruiser Lady Betty and towed herto Walton River, and then put outagain in response to another wirelessmessage that a second motor cruiserwas adrift. She found the Celeriter,also with nobody on board, two milessouth of Medusa buoy, towed her toWalton River, and then made for herstation, arriving at four o'clock.—Property Salvage Case.

LIFE-BOAT SERVES IN PLACE OFAIR AMBULANCE

Barra Island, Outer Hebrides.—At 4.30on the afternoon of the 10th of Novem-ber, 1952, a doctor asked if the life-boatwould take a patient, who was serious-ly ill, to Lochboisdale. Conditionswere not good enough for an aircraftto make the journey, and at 5.50 thelife-boat Lloyd's left her moorings ina rough sea with a moderate north-easterly gale blowing. She took thepatient to Lochboisdale, some twentvmiles from Benbecula, from whichpoint the patient was taken by airambulance to Renfrew. The life-boatthen returned to her station, arrivingat 1.30 early the next morning.—Rewards, £19 2*.

MOTOR VESSEL RUNS AGROUND

Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland.•—At 7.59 on the evening of the 10thof November, 1952, the coastguardtelephoned that H.M. M.F.V. No. 1106had run aground off Spittal Point, andat 8.20 the life-boat J. and W. waslaunched. The sea was moderate,with a fresh north-westerly breezeblowing. The life-boat found themotor vessel, with a crew of eleven,in a dangerous position south ofBerwick harbour entrance. The life-boat landed two officers and fiveratings and, as her services were thenno longer needed, she returned to herstation, arriving at 8.55. Her crewstood by on shore until 11.30 in casethey might be needed again. Thevessel refloated three davs later.—Rewards, £13 7s.

THREE WHITBY FISHING BOATSESCORTED

Whitby, Yorkshire.—Three local fish-ing boats were at sea on the morningof the llth of November, 1952, indeteriorating weather, and at 11.25 theNo. 1 life-boat Mary Ann Hepworthwas launched in a heavy sea with anortherly gale blowing. She stood bythe harbour bar and then escorted inthe Pilot Me II, Provider A, and LeadUs arid arrived back at her station at4.50.—Rewards, £17 5s.

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 487

FISHING VESSEL IN TOW ESCORTEDTO BURNMOUTH

Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland.—At 11.38 on the morning of the llthof November, 1952, the coastguardtelephoned that a landing craft hadreported a fishing vessel in need ofhelp four miles to the southward, andat 11.45 the life-boat J. and W. waslaunched. The sea was moderate witha moderate north-westerly breeze.The life-boat found the motor fishingvessel Misty Isle, of Burnmouth, whichhad broken down, in tow of anotherBurnmouth fishing vessel, the BrawLads. She escorted them both toBurnmouth and then returned to herstation, arriving at 4.50.—Rewards,£15 8s. 6d.

LIFE-BOAT MAKES TWO JOURNEYSTO STEAMER

Workington, Cumberland.—On themorning of the 12th of November,1952, the S.S. Baron Elcho, of Ardros-san, wirelessed that she was short ofprovisions. At 10.30 the life-boatN.T. was launched in a calm sea witha light easterly breeze blowing. Shecame up with the steamer off theharbour entrance, put the provisionson board, and reached her stationagain at 12.15. She was then askedto take out the master's wife. Thisshe did and returned again to herstation at four o'clock.—Rewards,£10 10s.

SICK WOMAN TAKEN FROM ISLAND

Pwllheli, Caernarvonshire.—At 1.45on the afternoon of the 14th of Novem-ber, 1952, the Holyhead coastguardtelephoned that a message had beenreceived from a doctor on BardseyIsland asking for the life-boat to takea seriously sick woman to the main-land. No other suitable boat wasavailable, and at 2.30 the life-boatManchester and Salford XXIX left hermoorings in a smooth sea and a lightsouth-easterly breeze. She reachedBardsey at five o'clock, embarked thewoman, and took her to Pwllheli,where an ambulance was waiting.The life-boat reached her stationagain at 9.40.—Rewards, £20.

DOCTOR TAKEN TO ISLAND OFRHUM

Mallaig, Inverness-shire.—At 7.0 onthe evening of the 14th of November,1952, a doctor asked if the life-boatwould take him to the Island of Rhumto attend a sick person. The weatherwas too bad for the usual boat to putout, and at 7.30 the life-boat SirArthur Rose left her moorings in astrong north-westerly wind and roughsea. She took the doctor to Rhum,arriving at 9.30, embarked him againat 10.15, and then returned to herstation, arriving at 12.30 early thenext morning.—Rewards, £12 5s.

DOCTOR BROUGHT TO SWISSSTEAMER

Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland.—At seven o'clock on the evening ofthe 16th of November, 1952, the coast-guard telephoned that a vessel east-by-north of the pier had signalled for adoctor as her master felt ill. At 7.23the life-boat J. and W. was launchedwith a doctor on board in a moderatesea with a fresh north-north-eastbreeze blowing. She found the Swisssteamer Lugano one and a half milesto the north-east. The doctor boardedher, could find nothing wrong with themaster, and returned to Berwick inthe life-boat, arriving at 8.53.—Re-wards, £9 4s.

ENGINEER TAKEN OFF TANKERLowestoft, Suffolk.—About 1.30 early

on the morning of the 17th of Novem-ber, 1952, the tanker Rudderman, ofLondon, wirelessed that her chiefengineer had a badly poisoned arm andasked for a boat to land him. Theweather was too bad for a shore boatto put out, and when the Ruddermanapproached Lowestoft at 4.15 thelife-boat Michael Stephens left hermoorings in a choppy sea and freshbreeze. She came up with the tankerhalf a mile off-shore, took the chiefengineer on board, and at five o'clocklanded him in the harbour, where anambulance was waiting to take him tohospital.—Rewards, £8 15s.

COBLE ESCORTED TO FLAM-BOROUGH IN BAD WEATHER

Flamborough, Yorkshire.—On theafternoon of the 18th of November,

488 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

1952, a local fishing coble was knownto be at sea in bad weather, but noth-ing could be seen of her. At 2.45 thelife-boat Howard D was launched. Thesea was rough with a moderate easterlybreeze. The life-boat found the cobleabout three miles north-east of Flam-borough Head making for home. Sheescorted her to Flamborough andreached her station again at fouro'clock.—Rewards, £13 18s. 6d.

WIRELESS OPERATOR TAKEN TOSTEAMER

Workington, Cumberland.—When theS.S. Baron Yarborough, of Ardrossan,was ready for sailing on the 19th ofNovember, 1952, her wireless operatorwas missing. The steamer put out,but anchored off the port. When theoperator arrived the life-boat N. T. waslaunched at 2.30 in the afternoon ina smooth sea, with a light north-easterly wind blowing, and conveyedhim to his ship. The life-boat reachedher station again at 2.35.—Rewards, £5.

SIGNAL TO DUTCH VESSEL NOTUNDERSTOOD

Teesmouth, Yorkshire.—At ten o'clockon the night of the 19th of November,1952, the Redcar coastguard tele-phoned that he had fired a rocket towarn a vessel that she was heading forSalt Scar Rocks. The vessel did notseem to understand the signal, for shedid not alter course, and at 11.25 thelife-boat John and Lucy Cordingleywas launched in a rough sea with amoderate north-easterly gale blowing.She came up with the motor vesselAnna Henny, of Groningen, near theslag reef in Coatham Bay, escorted herto the river Tees, where a pilot boardedher, and arrived back at her stationat 1.40 early the next morning.—Rewards, £12 16,?.

FISHING VESSEL'S ENGINES FAILLowestoft, Suffolk.—At one o'clock on

the afternoon of the 20th of November,1952, the coastguard reported a mes-sage from the motor fishing vesselMontbretia, of Hull, asking for help asher engines had failed whilst on passagefrom Yarmouth to Brightlingsea. Shewas three miles east of Benacreness,and was drifting towards the New-combe Sands after breaking away froma cargo boat which had had her in

tow. The life-boat Michael Stephensput out at 1.40 in a choppy sea with afresh south-easterly wind blowing.At the request of the skipper the life-boat took the Montbretia in tow, gother clear of the sands and brought herto the harbour, where a tug tookcharge. The life-boat arrived back ather station at 4.5.—Property SalvageCase.

AMERICAN AIRMEN RESCUEDAFTER CRASH

Margate, Kent.—At 3.26 on the after-noon of the 20th of November, 1952,the coastguard telephoned that twolocal fishermen reported seeing anAmerican Shooting Star trainer air-craft crash about three miles north-east of Margate pier. At 3.45 thelife-boat North Foreland, Civil ServiceNo. XI, was launched and made forthe position in a moderate sea with amoderate south-east breeze blowing.The Dutch motor vessel Mercuriushailed the life-boat and told her thatshe had picked up the aircraft's crewof two, and that one was badly injured.The life-boat wirelessed for a doctorand an ambulance to be ready, andthe second coxswain went aboard theMercurius to pilot her to Margate.The Mercurius anchored off the har-bour and an American doctor arrived,took charge of the men, and using thelife-boat's stretcher, took them ashorein the pilot boat. The life-boat wasthen no longer needed and returnedto her station, arriving at 6.10.—Rewards, £11 14s. Qd.

BROTHERS RESCUED FROM SAIL-ING BOAT

Barra Island, Outer Hebrides.—Atseven o'clock on the evening of the 20thof November, 1952, the parents of twomen who had left on a fishing trip ina small sailing boat that morningreported that their sons had not re-turned. At 8.10 the life-boat Lloyd'sleft her moorings in a rough sea with amoderate north-easterly gale blowing.She found the sailing boat at anchornear Sandray, making water. Themen had broken an oar and were suffer-ing severely from exposure. The life-boat rescued them and towed theirboat to the shore, reaching her stationagain at 3.50 the next morning.—•Rewards. £19 2*.

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 489

LIFE-BOAT STANDS BY STEAMERALL NIGHT

Cromer, Norfolk.—At 7.14 on theevening of the 23rd of November, 1952,the coastguard said he had learntfrom a wireless signal that distressrockets had been seen four miles east-by-north of Cromer. The life-boatHenry Blogg was launched at 7.27in a heavy sea with a strong and bitter-ly cold north-north-west wind blowing.She found the vessel which neededhelp to be the S.S. Grove Hill, ofMiddlesbrough. Her engines andwireless were broken down, she had alist to port, and she was dragging heranchors. At the request of the masterthe life-boat sent messages by wirelessinforming the owners and asking fora tug. The life-boat stood by until atug arrived. The tug began towingat four o'clock the following morning.The life-boat accompanied the vesselsto Yarmouth, arriving at 11.15. Owingto bad weather the life-boat remainedat Yarmouth before returning to herstation on the 29th of November—Property Salvage Case.

SERVICES TO FISHING BOATS INHEAVY SEAS

Whitby, Yorkshire.—At 11.30 on themorning of the 24th of November,1952, the coastguard reported that thelocal fishing boat Success II was mak-ing for Whitby in a heavy sea with astrong north-north-west wind. TheNo. 1 life-boat Mary Ann Hepworthwas launched at once. She stood bythe outer harbour bar until the fishingboat entered the harbour, and atone o'clock another fishing boat, theFaith Star, arrived. The life-boatescorted her in and later escorted inthe fishing boats Pilot Me II, ProviderA and Lead Us, reaching her stationagain at three o'clock.—Rewards,£13 10*.

FRENCH FISHING BOAT IN DIFFI-CULTIES OFF RYE

Hastings, Sussex.—At 4.2 on theafternoon of the 25th of November,1952, a coastguardsman at Pett tele-phoned that a fishing boat was in diffi-culties near the shore off Rye. Laterthe Fairlight coastguard stated that shehad apparently broken down, and thatshe had flown a flag at half-mast.

She sailed to a position two miles offWinchelsea, but got into difficultiesagain west of Rye Harbour, and at5.32 the life-boat M.T.C. was launched.There was a light easterly breeze,with a rough sea. The life-boat foundthe French fishing boat Jeune Louis,with a crew of seven, four miles southof Winchelsea. She had a rope roundher propeller. The life-boat towedher to Hastings, beached her at theharbour arm and made her fast at8.40. The fishing boat's propellerwas cleared, and a policeman and amember of the Hastings Life-SavingAuxiliary kept watch on her that night.Early the next morning the ropesecuring her parted, but the life-savingauxiliary made her fast again. Sheremained there all day waiting for aspare part for her engine. A wirelessmessage had been sent to the skipper'stwo brothers, who had boats, and theseboats arrived at Newhaven that night.However, on the morning of the 27tha heavy swell made it dangerous forthe Jeune Louis to stay where she was,and at 8.15 the Hastings life-boat waslaunched again. She towed the fishingboat clear of the harbour wall,anchored her, and took the skipperashore. The life-boat remained withher until the two boats arrived fromNewhaven to take her in tow, andthen returned to her station, arrivingat 2.38. The skipper expressed histhanks.—Rewards: 1st service £25 95.6d.; 2nd service, £33 2s. 6d.

CREW TAKEN TO R.A.F. LAUNCH INGALE

Tenby, Pembrokeshire.—At eleveno'clock on the morning of the 26th ofNovember, 1952, it was learnt that anair sea rescue launch in North Bay hadparted one mooring, and that the otherwas badly frayed. She had no crewaboard, and the R.A.F. asked for thelife-boat to take the crew to thelaunch. The life-boat John R. Webbwas launched at 11.30 in a rough seawith a south-easterly wind of galeforce blowing, put the crew aboardthe launch, and stood by. After atime the launch slipped her mooringsand came into harbour escorted bythe life-boat, arriving at 12.35. Thelife-boat then went into the harbour,

490 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPUING, 1953

and was rehoused later after theweather had moderated.-—Rewards,£20 18*.

MOTOR VESSEL AGROUND IN TEES

Teesmouth, Yorkshire.-—At eleven•o'clock on the night of the 26th ofNovember, 1952, the South Gare light-house keeper telephoned that a vesselhad gone aground on the training wallin the River Tees, and that tugswhich had been trying to refloat herhad left her. She was fast by herbows and would be in a dangerousposition at low tide. At 2.40 earlythe next morning the life-boat Johnand Lucy Cordingley was launched.There was a moderate north-easterlybreeze with a slight sea. The life-boatfound the motor vessel Moray Firth,of Newcastle, laden with slag. TheMoray Firth settled by the stern asthe tide ebbed, and the life-boat stoodby her. When the tide flowed sherode with it, and as her crew said thather hull was not damaged, the life-boatreturned to her station, arriving ateight o'clock. Tugs refloated themotor vessel that morning.—Rewards,£18 15s.

FRENCH YACHT TOWED INTO

HARBOUR

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.—At 3.30 onthe morning of the 28th of November,1952, a vessel was heard to be makingdistress signals, and at 3.44 the life-boat S.G.E. was launched in a roughsea with a fresh east-north-easterlygale blowing. The life-boat found ayacht, the forty-ton auxiliary ketchAlgue, of St. Malo, about fifty yardseast of Yarmouth Pier. She wasbound from Guernsey to Hamble, butwas disabled by an engine breakdownand dragging her anchors. Her crewof three declined to leave, but askedto be towed to safety. The life-boatwaited for the tide to rise, but as shetook the yacht in tow, a rope fouledthe life-boat's propellers and theyacht was blown against the pier.After the propellers had been clearedthe yacht was towed into harbour at9;30 and moored in a safe berth.—Property Salvage Case.

AMERICAN JET PILOT LANDED

Dover, Kent.—At three o'clock on theafternoon of the 30th of November,1952, the Sandgate coastguard tele-phoned that an American jet aircrafthad crashed off Kingsdown, about oneand a half miles east-north-east ofDover, and that the pilot had baledout off Leathercoat Point, St. Mar-garet's Bay. At 3.15 the life-boatSouthern Africa left her moorings in astrong north-easterly breeze, with arough sea. A Norwegian tanker hadalready picked up the airman, and adoctor flew to the ship by helicopterfrom Manston. A life-boatman gavehis overcoat to keep the airman warm,and the life-boat took him and thedoctor on board. She then wirelessedfor an ambulance to meet her andlanded the airman and the doctor atDover eastern harbour arm at fiveo'clock. The Walmer life-boat wasalso launched, but was not needed.—Rewards, £9.

The following life-boats went outon service but could find no ships indistress, were not needed, or could donothing:

Barra Island, Outer Hebrides.—November 3rd.—Rewards, £9 6s.

Walton and Frinton, Essex.—Novem-ber 4th.—Rewards, £9 10*. 6d.

Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. — November6th.—Rewards, £16 7*. 9d.

Southend- on- Sea, Essex. —November7th.—Rewards, £11 6*.

St. Peter Port, Guernsey.—November8th.—Rewards, £9 7s.

Cullercoats, Northumberland. — No-vember 8th.—Rewards, £15 6s.

Courtmacsherry Harbour, Co. Cork.—November 8th.—Rewards, £7 16s.

Newhaven, Sussex.—November 9th.—Rewards, £11 9s. 6d.

Ramsgate, Kent.—November 10th.—Rewards, £8 12s. 6d.

Walmer, Kent.—November 10th.—Rewards, £16 14s.

New Brighton, Cheshire.—November12th.—Rewards, £9 4s.

Weymouth, Dorset.—November 13th.—Rewards, £7.

Sunderland, Durham. — November17th.—Rewards, £17 10s.

Scarborough, Yorkshire.—November19th.—Rewards, £11 6s.

Beaumaris, Anglesey. — November,19th.—Rewards, £14 7s.

SPHIXG, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 491

Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.—No-vember 20th.—Rewards, £9 I5s.

Barry Dock, Glamorganshire.—No-vember 20th.—Rewards, £10 13s.

Ramsey, Isle of Man. — November20th.—Rewards, £19 7s.

Whitby, Yorkshire.—November 22nd.—Rewards, £14 7s. Qd.

Whitby, Yorkshire.—November 25th.—Rewards , £14 15*.

Salcombe, Devon.—November 25th.—Rewards, £7 16s.

Sunderland, Durham. — November26th.—Rewards, £7 16s.

Walmer, Kent.—November 30th—Rewards, £21 15s.

DECEMBER

DURING December life-boats werelaunched 48 times and rescued 13lives.

DANISH AMBASSADOR EXPRESSESGOVERNMENT'S THANKS

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, andCaister, Norfolk.—On the morning of the3rd of December, 1952, the fast patrolboat Havoernen, of the Royal DanishNavy, with a crew of twenty-four,which was taking part in exerciseswith British coastal forces, ran hardaground on the Scroby Sand aboutthree miles north-east of Great Yar-mouth in a fog. At 7.10 the Gorlestoncoastguard telephoned the Great Yar-mouth and Gorleston life-boat station,and at 7.30 the life-boat LouiseStephens was launched in a northerlygale with a very rough sea. Shefound the Havoernen high and dry,but could not get within three hundredyards of her. At 7.35 the GreatYarmouth coastguard informed theCaister life-boat station, and the life-boat crew assembled. The coxswainpassed a message to the men in thepatrol boat through the coastguard,asking if they wished to be takenashore. They replied that they did,but would leave two men on boardwho could be taken off later by heli-copter. At 1.55 the life-boat JoseNeville was launched. She reachedthe Havoernen at 2.30, took a rope toher from the Louise Stephens, andrescued nine of her crew. The JoseNeville was then towed clear by theLouise Stephens.

About this time a Royal Naval heli-copter arrived from Gosport andrescued another four men by loweringa line. The Great Yarmouth andGorleston life-boat then returned toher station, arriving at 5.5, and theJose Neville put the nine men she hadrescued aboard a British motor torpedoboat, which took them to Lowestoft.As the weather was too bad to allowher to be rehoused at Caister, theJose Neville made for Great Yarmouthharbour, which she reached at 5.40.She returned to Caister the next day.

The men remaining in the patrolboat kept in touch with the Caisterlife-boat by wireless in case theyshould need her. The naval author-ities at Lowestoft later asked if shewould help to connect a salvage vesselto the Havoernen, and at eight o'clockon the morning of the 5th the JoseNeville was again launched in a calmsea, with a light north-westerly breezeblowing, and fog. She found thesalvage vessel anchored to the east-ward of the Havoernen and piloted herto the sands. She passed wires acrossand connected her to the patrol boatand then returned to her station,arriving at 2.50. At 12.40 early onthe morning of the 6th the navalauthorities telephoned that the salvagevessel had parted the wires, and askedif the life-boat would connect themagain at six o'clock that morning.At 5.20 the Jose Neville was launchedagain in calm weather and passed thewires across, completing the operationby 8.30. The life-boat afterwardstook a salvage officer to the casualty,then to a Danish tug, which had justarrived, and then back to the salvagevessel, where a hot meal wras givento the life-boatmen. She then re-turned to her station, arriving at10.45. The Royal Danish Navyexpressed its thanks, and the DanishAmbassador in London, Count Revent-low, wrote a letter to the GreatYarmouth and Gorleston branch ex-pressing the thanks of the DanishGovernment.—Rewards: Great Yar-mouth and Gorleston, £31 5s.; Caister,1st service, £31 9s.; 2nd and 3rdservices, Property Salvage Cases.DUTCH SHIP LOSES WAY IN FOG

Clogher Head, Co. Louth.—At 9.10 onthe night of the 6th of December, 1952,

492 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

the harbour master reported that hehad seen flares about four miles eastof Clogher Head pier, and at 9.50 thelife-boat George and Caroline Ermenwas launched. There was a south-easterly breeze, with a moderate swelland fog. The life-boat came up withthe motor vessel Friso, of Rotterdam,bound for Drogheda with coal, fourmiles south-south-east of the pier.The skipper said he had lost his way,and the coxswain gave him his bear-ings. The life-boat then escorted theFriso to a position where the Droghedapilots could meet her. Leaving herat anchor, the life-boat returned to herstation, arriving at 12.45 early on themorning of the 7th. The skipperexpressed his thanks.—Rewards,£15 16s.

FISHING VESSEL FOUND OFFCHESHIRE COAST

Hoylake, Cheshire.—At two o'clock onthe afternoon of the 7th of December,1952, the life-boat coxswain askedlocal people to keep a look-out for thefishing vessel Greylass, of Hoylake,which was overdue with a crew ofthree. Nothing was heard of her thatafternoon or evening, and the familiesof the missing men were anxious. At9.45 in the evening the life-boatOldham IV was launched in a calmsea with a light south-easterly breezeblowing. She found the Greylass nearthe North Bank Buoy. Her enginehad broken down, and the life-boattowed her to Hoylake, reaching herstation again at 2.30 in the morning.—Rewards, £18 4s.

TRAWLER AGROUND ON SANDBANK

Lowestoft, Suffolk.—During thick fogon the afternoon of the 9th of Decem-ber, 1952, a vessel about two milessouth-east of the harbour was heardblowing her siren, and at 5.15 thecoastguard telephoned that flares hadbeen seen. At 5.22 the life-boatMichael Stephens was launched in amoderate sea with a moderate south-erly breeze blowing. She found thetrawler Mollia, of Lowestoft, with acrew of eight. The Mollia had beenaground three times, and the skipperhad lost his bearings on the sandbank.He asked the life-boat to guide himclear, and the trawler followed the

life-boat to the harbour, arriving at6.50.—Rewards, £7 16s.

OIL RAGS BURNT BY FISHINGVESSEL

Dunbar, East Lothian.—At 4.25 on theafternoon of the llth of December,1952, a message was received from thecoastguard that a motor fishing boathad broken down off Torness and wasburning oil rags as a signal for help.The life-boat George and Sarah Strachanput out at 4.35 in a choppy sea with amoderate westerly wind blowing. Shefound the fishing boat Young Robert,of Dunbar, with a crew of four, dis-abled by an engine breakdown. Thelife-boat took her in tow and reachedher station about seven o'clock.—Rewards, £8 15s.

NORWEGIAN SHIP'S BOATS PICKEDUP

The Mumbles, Glamorganshire.—At10.12 on the morning of the 12th of De-cember, 1952, the coastguard passed ona message from Burnham Radio thattwo ship's boats were being driventowards Sker Point in Swansea Bay.The life-boat William Gammon—Man-chester and District XXX was launchedat 10.30 in a heavy ground swell witha moderate westerly breeze blowing.She found fifteen men in the two boats.The boats belonged to the OlavRingdal Jr. of Oslo, to which the menwere trying to return. The life-boatpicked up both boats, brought themto their ship, and reached her stationagain at 12.40.—Rewards, £11 Is.

ISLE OF MAN LIFE-BOAT OUT ALLNIGHT

Ramsey, Isle of Man.—At 4.40 on theafternoon of the 12th of December,1952, the coastguard reported that thesteam trawler Patricia Hague, ofFleetwood, was in distress two and ahalf miles north-west-by-west of Pointof Ayre, and at 5.15 the life-boatThomas Corbett was launched. Therewas a light breeze with a swell andsnow showers. The life-boat foundthe trawler, which had boiler trouble,three and a half miles north-east of thePoint. The life-boat stood by heruntil another trawler arrived and tookher in tow. As there had been a galewarning, the life-boat escorted the

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 493

two trawlers to Douglas and thenreturned to her station, arriving atseven o'clock on the morning of the13th.—Rewards, £41 8s.

TUGMASTER PUT ABOARD FINNISHSHIP

Troon, Ayrshire.—At 3.30 on themorning of the 17th ofDecember, 1952,the Portpatrick coastguard telephonedthat the S.S. Solbritt, of Vasa, Finland,had gone ashore half a mile south ofLamlash pier, and at 4.12 the life-boatSir David Richmond of Glasgow waslaunched. A north-north-west galewas blowing with a very rough sea.The life-boat stood by the steameruntil a tug arrived. She then put thetugmaster aboard the Solbritt, tookhim back to his tug, and passed a ropeacross. The tug towed the steamerclear, the steamer anchored, and thelife-boat returned to her station,arriving at three o'clock in the after-noon.—Rewards, £22.

STORNOWAY LIFE-BOAT PUTS OUTIN HURRICANE

Stornoway, Outer Hebrides.—At sixo'clock on the morning of the 17th ofDecember, 1952, the coastguard tele-phoned that a message had beenreceived from the trawler William Cole,of London, that her trawl gear hadfouled her propeller. She was thenabout four miles north-west-by-northof Stornoway Light, and the coast-guard said the trawler Red Lancer hadgone to her help. The weather wasvery bad, and at seven o'clock thelife-boat William and Harriot left hermoorings in a northerly wind ofhurricane force and a heavy sea. Shefound the two trawlers about sevenmiles north-west of Rudh Re Light andstood by while the Red Lancer triedto take the William Cale in tow. At2.15 the coastguard reported that theStornoway motor fishing boat Delightwas drifting ashore in Gruinard Baynear Laid between Loch Broom andLoch Ewe, and this message was passedto the life-boat. The life-boat cox-swain decided to leave the trawlers andmade for Gruinard Bay, but theDelight went ashore and her crew oftwo landed. The life-boat was notneeded, and she went to Gairloch torefuel in case she had to return to the

trawlers. By this time, however, theRed Lancer had taken the WilliamCale in tow, and the life-boat returnedto her station, arriving at 5.30 thenext morning.—Rewards, £48 5s.

MAN OVERBOARD IN ROUGH SEA

New Brighton, Cheshire.—At 9.5 onthe morning of the 17th of December,1952, the Formby coastguard tele-phoned that a man had fallen over-board from the tanker Rinda, of Oslo,off Rock Ferry, and at 9.30 the life-boatNorman B. Corlett left her moorings.She searched widely in a rough sea,with a strong north-westerly gale, butfound nothing. The tanker hadlowered a pulling-boat to search forthe man, and a sand barge towed thisback to Bromborough dock. At therequest of the tanker's master thelife-boat towed the ship's boat back tothe Rinda and then resumed the search,without success, arriving back at herstation at two o'clock.—Rewards,£12 8s.

SIX WHITBY BOATS ESCORTED TOHARBOUR

Whitby, Yorkshire.—At 11.45 on themorning of the 17th ofDecember, 1952,the coastguard reported that badweather had made conditions danger-ous on the outer harbour bar. Asfishing boats were still at sea, the No. 1life-boat Mary Ann Hepworth waslaunched at twelve noon in a heavy seawith a fresh northerly gale blowing.She escorted in the Faith Star and theProgress and, as the weather was get-ting worse, remained at the bar.During the afternoon the Successarrived, followed by the Galilee, Pro-vider A, Lead Us and Pilot Me II.The life-boat escorted all of them tothe harbour and then returned to herstation, arriving at 4.15.—Rewards,£14 13s. 6d.

EXHAUSTED MEN TAKEN OFFBARGE

Southend-on-Sea, Essex.—At 9.44 onthe night of the 17th of December,1952, the coastguard telephoned thata vessel had been seen to burn flaresone mile off Minster, Isle of Sheppey.At 10.15 the life-boat Greater London.Civil Service No. 3, was launched in a

494 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRIXG, 1953

very rough sea, with a fresh west-north-west gale blowing. She foundthe motor barge Nellie, of Faversham,driven among piles and blocks ofconcrete one and a quarter miles offMinster. Seas had swamped herengine. Her crew of two were cling-ing to her wheelhouse, which was beingwashed by heavy seas, and they jump-ed into the life-boat wet and exhausted.The life-boat then made for her station,arriving at 1.5 early on the morningof the 18th. The life-boatmen gavethe two men dry clothes, hot drinksand biscuits. Donations to the fundsof the Institution were received.—Rewards, £12 10s.

INJURED STEWARD TAKEN OFFSWEDISH SHIP

Barrow, Lancashire.—At 12.30 on theafternoon of the 18th of December,1952, a local shipping agency asked ifthe life-boat would land an injuredman from the S.S. Araton, of Stock-holm, which was lying two milessouth-west of the Lightning Knollbuoy. At one o'clock the life-boatHerbert Leigh was launched in amoderate swell with a light north-westerly breeze blowing. She cameup with the Araton at 1.50. Thechief steward had severely injuredthree fingers in a steel door, and thelife-boat landed him in the harbour.A car took him to hospital, and thelife-boat reached her station again at3.15.—Rewards, £9 7s. 6d.

MESSAGE FROM EX-LIFE-BOATCOXSWAIN

Dungeness, Kent.—At 5.30 on theafternoon of the 18th of December,1952, an ex-life-boat coxswain tele-phoned that a vessel had gone ashoreon Newcombe Sands. The tide wasvery low, and at 7.45, when it had risensufficiently, the life-boat CharlesCooper Henderson was launched in aheavy ground swell with a light north-westerly breeze blowing. She foundthe motor vessel Purbeck, of London,one and a half miles north-north-eastof the life-boat station with nine peopleon board. The life-boat helped torefloat her, landed one of her crew,and reached her station again at 9.15.—Property Salvage Case.

DOCTOR TAKEN TO ISLAND ATNIGHT

Campbeltown, Argyllshire.—At 10.15on the night of the 18th of December,1952, the Southend coastguard tele-phoned that a white rocket had beenfired from Sanda Island. It was pre-sumed that medical help was needed,and at 11.7 the life-boat City of Glasgowwas launched, with a doctor on board,in a heavy swell with a moderate south-south-east breeze blowing. The life-boat reached Sanda at 12.45 early onthe 19th and learned that a light-keeper's wife needed medical attention.The doctor, who was put ashore,treated her and re-embarked in thelife-boat, which then returned to herstation, arriving at 4.30.—Rewards,£13 7s. Gd.

LIFE-BOAT STANDS BY TILL TUGARRIVES

Hastings, Sussex.—At 4.33 on theafternoon of the 19th of December,1952, the life-boat honorary secretarysaw a fishing boat about five miles tothe south-east burn flares. At 4.36the life-boat M.T.C. was launched ina slight sea with a light west-north-west breeze blowing, and found thefishing boat Old Bob Leach, of New-haven, five miles south of Hastings.She had broken down and lost heranchor, and the skipper asked thelife-boat to stand by and ask New-haven to send a tug. The life-boatremained until a trawler arrived fromNewhaven at 9.48 to take the OldBob Leach in tow, and then returnedto her station, arriving at eleveno'clock.—Rewards, £35 13s. Gd.

CUT OFF BY TIDE AT NIGHTDover, Kent.—At 11.9 on the morn-

ing of the 20th of December, 1952, theSandgate coastguard telephoned thata man was cut off by the tide near St.Margaret's Bay, and" at 11.30 the life-boat Southern Africa, in the charge ofthe second coxswain, left her moorings,taking a dinghy with her. There wasa fresh breeze with a heavy swell.The life-boat found the man on therocks at the foot of the cliffs in St.Margaret's Bay. Two life-boatmenmanned the dinghy, and after twoattempts they came near enough for

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 495

the man to wade to the dinghy. Hewas up to his arm-pits in the sea, butthe two men hauled him on board andtransferred him to the life-boat. Thelife-boat landed him at her station atone o'clock, after which the policetook care of him.—Rewards, £5 5s.

PILOT TAKEN TO COASTER INDISTRESS

Barrow, Lancashire.—-At 7.5 on theevening of the 20th of December, 1952,the Walney Island coastguard tele-phoned that the coaster Bankville, ofLiverpool, was in distress with ashifted cargo ten miles west of Walneylighthouse. At 7.30 the life-boatHerbert Leigh was launched in a roughsea with a strong west-north-westbreeze blowing. She found the coaster,with a crew of nine and a cargo of steelrails, off the Wyre Light. The life-boat stood by her for some time andthen fetched a pilot from Fleet wood.She put the pilot on board, escortedthe Bankville to Fleetwood, and thenreturned to her station, arriving at1.40 the next morning.—Rewards,£18 12s. 6d.

LIFE-BOATS PUT OUT SEVENTIMES ON ONE SERVICE

Girvan, Ayrshire, and Campbeltown,Argyllshire.—About five o'clock on themorning of the 22nd of December,1952, the Portpatrick coastguard tele-phoned the Girvan life-boat stationthat the S.S. Margareta, of Lovisa,Finland, had run ashore on the southside of Ailsa Craig and was asking forhelp. A later message stated that shewas off the south-west side of AilsaCraig, and at 5.20 the life-boat Frankand William Oates was launched. Astrong southerly wind was blowingwith a very rough sea and rain squalls.The life-boat found the steamer hardaground with thirty persons on board.She was a vessel of 2,915 tons boundfor Glasgow laden with iron ore. As iher master said the crew did not wish 1to abandon her, the life-boat stoodby her in heavy weather. At 11.30the life-boat wirelessed that she wasrunning short of fuel, and at 1.30 theCampbeltown life-boat City of Glasgowwas launched. She reached the posi-tion at four o'clock, and by this timetwo tugs had arrived.

The Girvan life-boat then left forher station, which she reached at 5.30,and refuelled. The Campbeltown life-boat took eleven men and a woman offthe steamer and landed them at herstation at 7.30. The Girvan life-boat,with the coastguard shore life-savingcompany from Ballantrae on board,made for Ailsa Craig, where shelanded the company about nine o'clock.She then stood by the steamer again,and at 11.4 the Campbeltown life-boat,which had put out again, arrived.The Girvan life-boat returned to herstation to refuel for the second time,arriving at one o'clock on the 23rd.

Meanwhile the Campbeltown life-boat stood by the Margareta, while thetugs tried unsuccessfully to tow herclear. The Girvan life-boat left herstation once again at five o'clock andreached the position at 6.30. She tookover from the Campbeltown life-boat,which then made for Girvan for fueland food and to fetch the Ayr coast-guard shore life-saving company torelieve the Ballantrae men. TheCampbeltown life-boat reached Girvanabout 11.30, and left with the Ayrmen at four o'clock. The Girvanlife-boat then returned to her stationfor more fuel and took the Ballantraemen with her, reaching Girvan atseven. The Campbeltown life-boatremained with the Margareta at therequest of the master.

A gale sprang up during the night,and about 9.45 the life-boat took offthe remaining eighteen men and four-teen salvage men. The salvage mencould not be put aboard their tugowing to the weather, and theyremained in the life-boat, which tookthem all to Campbeltown, arriving at1.20 early on the morning of the 24th.At midnight the Girvan life-boat hadbeen told that the men had beentaken off the steamer. She wastherefore launched again at 10.30, tofetch the Ayr life-saving company fromAilsa Craig and finally reached herstation again at 2.30 that afternoon.—•Rewards: Girvan, £77 6s. 6d.; Camp-beltown, £95 14s.

PATIENT TAKEN FROM FAIR ISLEFOR OPERATION

Lerwick, Shetlands.—At 11.28 on themorning of the 22nd of December,

496 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

1952, the Medical Officer of Health forthe Shetlands asked if the life-boatwould go to Fair Isle and bring back aman who had appendicitis. Theweather was too bad for a local boat tomake the journey, and at 11.55 thelife-boat Lady Jane and Martha Rylandleft her moorings. She embarked adoctor at Sandwick and made for FairIsle in a very rough sea with a strongsouth-south-east wind blowing. Shearrived there at 5.40, embarked thepatient, and took him to Lerwick,which she reached at 11.10. Thepatient was transferred to a waitingambulance and taken to hospital,where his life was saved.—Rewards,£26 5*.

LIFE-BOAT OUT TWICE TOPANAMANIAN STEAMER

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.—At 12.10early on the morning of the 24th of De-cember, 1952, the Needles coastguardtelephoned that the S.S. Virginia, ofPanama, had run ashore one mile westof Atherfield but had not made anydistress signals. The sea was rough,with a strong south-south-west breeze,and it was foggy, and at 12.30 thelife-boat S.G.E. was launched. TheVirginia wirelessed that she onlyneeded tugs, and the life-boat wasrecalled to her station, which shereached at 2.10. At 2.45 the coast-guard reported that the Virginia'sNo. 4 hold was full of water and thatshe had asked for a tug and the life-boat. So at 3.10 a.m. the life-boatwas launched again. She went along-side the steamer and remained therefor four hours. The master thendecided to abandon ship, and the life-boat took on board the crews' clothesand personal belongings, but themaster changed his mind, and he andhis crew of twenty-two stayed onboard. The life-boat landed a manand a stewardess, put the clothes andpersonal belongings back aboard thesteamer, and returned to her moor-ings, arriving at 12.45.—Rewards: 1stservice, £7 8*.; 2nd service, £24 17s. 6d.

CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE TOAMERICAN TANKER

The Mumbles, Glamorganshire.—At6.42 on the morning of the 25th of De-cember, 1952, the coastguard telephoned

that a message had been received fromthe tanker Fort Monltre, of New York,which was anchored in Swansea Bay,that she had a seriously injured manon board and asked for a boat to landhim. No other boat was available,and at 6.57 the life-boat WilliamGammon—Manchester and DistrictXXX was launched. There was amoderate sea with a moderate south-westerly wind, and the life-boat tookthe man to Swansea, where an ambu-lance was waiting, and reached herstation again at 9.40.—Rewards,£12 6,9.

LIFE-BOAT STANDS BY COLLIERTHROUGH NIGHT

Montrose, Angus.—At 10.10 on thenight of the 25th of December, 1952, theUsan coastguard telephoned that avessel five miles east-south-east ofMontrose had wirelessed a distresssignal, and at 10.35 the life-boat TheGood Hope was launched. There wasa strong south-south-east wind blow-ing with a rough sea. The life-boatfound the collier Moorlands, of Methil,with a crew of ten, five miles south-east-by-east of Scurdyness. She hadbroken down, but was in no immediatedanger, and the life-boat stood byuntil another collier arrived. Thelife-boat then passed a line to thesecond collier from the Moorlands, butit parted in the bad weather. Theskipper asked the coxswain to remainuntil a tug arrived, and one reachedthe position early the next morning.The tug took the Moorlands in tow,made for Aberdeen, and was escortedby the life-boat for an hour. As theskipper then said that he did not needthe life-boat any longer, she returnedto her station, arriving at 9.40 thenext morning. The skipper expressedhis thanks.—Rewards, £32 11s.

SICK MEN TAKEN FROM DANISHTUGS

Caister, Norfolk.—At 9.20 on themorning of the 26th of December, 1952,the commanding officer of the fast patrolboat Havoernen, of the Royal DanishNavy, which had been aground on theScroby Sands since the 3rd of Decem-ber, wirelessed that the Danish tugAegir, standing by the Havoernen, had

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 497

THE ROYAL FAMILY AND THE LIFE-BOAT SERVICE

A design by Miss Margaret L Hodgson for the Institution's Coronation Number

(See page 523)

498 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

CROMER LIFE-BOAT STATION

One of those most severely damaged by the floods

(See page 478)

SPRINT,, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 499

[Southend Standard

THE WORST FLOODS IN LIVING MEMORY

Southend life-boat brings off survivors from Foulness

(see page 476)

ST. ABBS BOATHOUSE

500 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

By courtesy of]THE FRASERBURGH DISASTER

Examining the life-boat

(See page 469)

r George A. Day

By courtesy of]THE FUNERAL PROCESSION

[Aberdeen Journals U<1,

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 501

TENBY LIFE-BOAT LAUNCHED IN A GALE

TO HELP R.A.F. LAUNCH

(See page 489)

502 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRINT,, 1953

COMMODORE THE DUKE OF MONTROSE,

K.T., C.B., C.V.O., V.R.D., LL.D., R.N.V.R.

(See pa(?e 516)

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 503

DEDICATION OF SERVICE BOARDS IN RYE CHURCH

On the r ight Sir John G. Gumming, K.C.I.E., C.S.I., and Mr. T. 0. Gray, J.P., vice-presidentsof the Ins t i tu t ion

(See page 517)

By courtesy of] [The Evening A'

INSTITUTION'S TREASURER WITH LIFE-BOATMEN

The Duke of Northumberland with Robert and James Brownlee, only surviving membersof the Whitby crew of 1914

504 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

Photograph by John Blaxlaml] [By kind permission of R. A. Leggett

NIGHT SERVICE BY SHOREHAM LIFE-BOAT

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 505

a man on board suffering from appen-dicitis. He asked for the life-boat,and at 9.30 the Jose Neville waslaunched in a smooth sea with a lightsoutherly breeze blowing. She tookthe man off the Aegir and then fetchedanother sick man from the Danishtug Garm, which was also standing by.The life-boat took them to Caister,where an ambulance was waiting, andarrived back at her station at 11.15.A donation was made to the funds ofthe Institution.—Rewards, £12 13,9.

FISHING BOAT ESCORTED TOSCRABSTER

Thurso, Caithness-shire.—At 1.45 onthe afternoon of the 27th of December,1952, a telephone message was receivedfrom a man in Melvich that a fishingboat was in distress six miles east-north-east of Port Skerra. At 2.10the life-boat H.C.J. was launched in arough sea with a fresh northerly breezeblowing. She found the motor fishingboat Undaunted, of Wick, with a crewof four, escorted her to Scrabster, andreached her station again at 4.30.—Rewards, £11 12*. 6d.

FOURTEEN MEN TAKEN OFFCOLLIER

St. Peter Port, Guernsey.—At 4.50 onthe afternoon of the 29th of December,1952, the master of the S.S. Fermain,of Guernsey, which had fourteenpersons on board, wirelessed that hisship had struck a rock and had beenbadly holed about three hundredyards north of the south breakwateroff St. Sampson's harbour. He askedfor the life-boat, and at 5.22 the QueenVictoria left her moorings in a moder-ate sea with a strong north-easterlybreeze blowing. She found the Fer-main, a collier of 1,086 tons. Thepilot boat from St. Sampson's hadrescued eight men from her and hadjust returned to the position torescue the other six. The life-boatsprayed oil on the sea, shone hersearchlight while the pilot boat tookthe men on board, and then escortedher to St. Sampson's, reaching herstation again at 6.17.—Rewards,£7 10*.

The following life-boats went out onservice, but could find no ships in dis-

tress, were not needed, or could donothing:

Redcar, Yorkshire.—December 1st.—Rewards, £9 17*.

Sunderland, Durham. — December2nd.—Rewards, £6 16*.

Hastings, Sussex.—December 5th.—Rewards, £20 7*. 6d.

Dungeness, Kent.—December 9th.—Rewards, £31 6*.

Tenby, Pembrokeshire.—December,10th.—Rewards, £11.

FIFTEEN-HOUR SEARCH FOR JETPILOTS

Whitby, Yorkshire.—At 11.20 on thenight of the llth of December, 1952,the coastguard reported that two jetaircraft had collided and crashed intothe sea at a position four miles north-west, thence twenty miles north-eastby north. The life-boat Mary AnnHepworth was launched at 11.30 andmade for the position, where shefound several vessels searching thearea. Keeping in touch with Culler-coats Radio the life-boat searched forhours until she was compelled toreturn for re-fuelling. She reachedher station again at 2.15 in the after-noon, having been at sea for nearlyfifteen hours. The Runswick life-boatalso put out, but later the search wasabandoned.—Rewards, £39 13*. 6d.

Runswick, Yorkshire. — December12th.—Rewards, £33 5*.

Dunbar, East Lothian.—December,12th.—Rewards, £7.

Holyhead, Anglesey.—December 17th.—Rewards, £12 17*.

THREE LIFE-BOATS SEARCH FORAIRMEN

Dungeness, and Dover, Kent; andHastings, Sussex.—About 9.25 on thenight of the 18th of December, 1952,the Dungeness life-boat Charles CooperHenderson had just returned from aservice launch to a steamer aground amile east of the life-boat station, whenshe heard a broadcast from the NorthForeland radio station that a Vampirejet aircraft was believed to havecrashed in the sea fifteen miles fromDungeness. The life-boat was launch-ed again at once in a moderate seawith a strong southerly breeze blowing,thick sleet and rain. North Foreland

506 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

radio station asked her to search fivemiles each side of Dungeness to aposition seven and a half miles to thesouth-east. At 9.22 the Fairlightcoastguard had informed the Hastingslife-boat station, and at 9.41 the life-boat i/.T.C. was launched. TheSandgate coastguard telephoned theDover life-boat station at 9.20, andat 9.55 the life-boat Southern Africaput out. The three life-boats searchedall night, but no trace of the aircraftor her crew of two was seen, and thelife-boats returned to their stationsthe next morning. Dungeness arrivedat 8.45, Hastings at 10.10, and Doverat 11.30. At 10.20 that night theLade coastguard telephoned the Dun-geness life-boat station that an air-craft had seen an object with a whitelight thirteen miles east-south-east ofDungeness, and the Charles CooperHenderson was launched again at10.35 in a choppy sea with a lightwesterly breeze blowing. She foundnothing and reached her station againat two o'clock on the morning of the20th.—Rewards: Dungeness, 1st ser-vice, £61 17s.; 2nd service, £31 6*.;Hastings, £52 8*. 6d.; Dover, £30 10s.

St. Peter Port, Guernsey.—December19th.—Rewards, £ll Ss.

Lerwick, Shetlands.—December 19th.—Rewards, £7.

Sheringham, Norfolk. — December19th.—Rewards, £35 18s. 6d.

Girvan, Ayrshire.—December 24th.—Rewards, £7 7*. 6d.

JANUARYDURING January life-boats werelaunched 54 times and rescued 53lives.

LIFE-BELTS PASSED TO FISHERMENWhitby, Yorkshire.—At 9.15 on the

morning of the 3rd of January, 1953,local fishermen reported that themotor fishing coble Enterprise II, ofWhitby, was at sea in deterioratingweather, and at 9.30 the No. 1 life-boatMary Ann Hepworth was launched.There was a strong north-easterlybreeze with a moderate sea, and thelife-boat waited at the harbour bar.The Enterprise II arrived at 11.30,and the life-boatmen gave her crewlife-belts and escorted them in. The

life-boat then stood by the bar again,escorted in the Galilee, Faith Star.Success II, Lead Us and Pilot Me II,and reached her station again at 2.5—Rewards, £17 7*. Qd.

VESSEL ON MAIDEN TRIPFiley, Yorkshire.—At 12.30 on the

afternoon of the 6th of January, 1953,the coastguard telephoned that thesea was heavy. Seven local fishingcobles were still at sea, and at 12.40the life-boat The Cuttle was launchedin a heavy sea with a fresh north-westerly breeze blowing. She escortedsix cobles to the shore and thensearched for the Venture, which was onher maiden trip. The Venture, how-ever, reached Filey under sail, havinghad her engine swamped. The life-boat was recalled to her station,arriving at 6.30. The Flamboroughlife-boat was also launched.—Rewards.£20 14s.

GUERNSEY LIFE-BOAT TOWSMOTOR VESSEL

St. Peter Port, Guernsey.—About 8.40on the morning of the 8th of January.1953, the motor vessel Braywick, ofLondon, which had a crew of nine,wirelessed that she had broken downand needed a tug three miles north-east of Hanois. Jersey harbour radiostation informed the life-boat station.and at 9.25 the life-boat Queen Victorialeft her moorings in a light northerlybreeze and calm sea. She found theship two miles west-north-west ofLihou Island with another vessel, theClara Monks, standing by. The life-boat went alongside her and took herin tow, and the Clara Monks went onher way. By this time the Guernseypilot boat had arrived, and she helpedthe life-boat tow the Brayiuick to St.Peter Port, which was reached at-4.30.—Property Salvage Case.

DUTCH SHIP AGROUNDCaister, and Great Yarmouth and

Gorleston, Norfolk.—At 4.15 on theafternoon of the 8th of January, 1953,the Great Yarmouth coastguard tele-phoned a message to the Caister life-boat station from Palling that a vesselhad gone ashore half a mile south ofPalling coastguard station. At 5.10the life-boat Jose Neville was launched

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 507

and, in a light north-westerly breezewith a calm sea and fog, found themotor vessel Maraat V, of Rotterdam,with a crew of five. She was hardaground. The life-boat stood by herfor two hours until the tide started torise, and then came close to her andasked if help was needed. The skippersaid it was, and the life-boat passed aline on board and pulled the ship'sstern towards the north to makeconditions easier for refloating on thenext tide. The Jose Neville, whichhad been slightly damaged by a pieceof floating wreckage, then returnedto Caister, arriving at 3.30 the nextmorning. At 6.45 the coastguard toldthe Great Yarmouth and Gorlestonlife-boat station that the Caisterlife-boat had been damaged, and at9.30 the Caister life-boat station toldthe Gorleston station that the MaraatV had asked for help. As the harbourtug was not available the Great Yar-mouth and Gorleston life-boat LouiseStephens was launched at eleveno'clock. She took soundings roundthe Maraat V, put a rope on board andrefloated her. The Maraat V hadfouled her propeller, and the life-boattowed her to Great Yarmouth harbour,arriving back at her station at 5.10.—Rewards: Caister, £33 2s. 6d.; GreatYarmouth and Gorleston, PropertySalvage Case.COSTA RICAN AND FRENCH SHIPS

COLLIDEWalmer, Kent.—About five o'clock on

the afternoon of the 10th of January,1953, shipping agents in Dover tele-phoned that a steamer was asking forhelp five miles east of the East Good-win lightvessel. At 5.15 the life-boatCharles Dibdin, Civil Service No 2,was launched. There was a lightbreeze with a calm sea and dense fog.The life-boat found the Costa Ricantanker Aster. She had been badlyholed in a collision with the Frenchsteamer Fauzon, but did not requirehelp. Her skipper said that theFauzon, which was one and a half milesnorth of the Aster, needed help, andthe life-boat made for her and stoodby until a tug arrived from Flushing.The tug took her in tow, and the life-boat returned to her station, arriving atfour o'clock the next morning.—Rewards, £40 17*. 6rf.

SPANISH STEAMER TOWED OFFSANDS

Walton and Frinton, Essex.—Aboutten o'clock on the morning of the llthof January, 1953, the Walton-on-the-Naze coastguard telephoned that theCork lightvessel had reported seeing asteamer two miles south-by-west ofthe lightvessel. Fog concealed herduring the day, but at 8.45 it hadcleared, and the lightvessel stated thatthe steamer was displaying signalsmeaning she was aground. It wasbecoming foggy again, but at 9.40 thelife-boat E.M.E.D. left her moorings.There was a light south-westerlybreeze with a slight sea, and she foundthe S.S. Campo Grande, of Cadiz, fourand a half miles east-north-east of thecoastguard station, with forty personson board. She was hard and fast onthe Cork Sands. The life-boat triedto refloat her but failed, and at fiveo'clock the next morning a tug arrived.The life-boat then returned to herstation, arriving at 12.2. About fivein the afternoon the tug asked for thelife-boat, and at 5.40 the E.M.E.D.put out again. She helped in therefloating operations which, afterseveral attempts, were successful thenext morning. The life-boat thenreturned to her station, arriving at11.56 on the morning of the 13th.—Property Salvage Case.

ELEVEN RESCUED FROM LISTINGSHIP

On the 15th of January, 1953, theThurso life-boat rescued the crew ofeleven of the steam trawler Sunlight,of Aberdeen, which was listing heavilyat the time of the rescue. For a fullaccount of this service and of therewards given see page 479.

MOTOR BOAT TOWED TO WICKWick, Caithness-shire.—At 6.15 on the

evening of the 15th of January, 1953.it was reported that the local motorboat Pansy, with a crew of two, hadbroken down and was drifting off NossHead, and at 6.40 the life-boat City ofEdinburgh was launched. There wasa light westerly breeze with a slightsea. The life-boat came up with thePansy about four miles east-north-eastof the head. The two men had beenat sea since six that morning, and the

508 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPHIXG, 1953

life-boat took them on board andtowed their boat to Wick, reachingher station again at nine o'clock.—Rewards, £5.

MEN BROUGHT ASHORE FROMLIGHTVESSEL

Rosslare Harbour, Co. Wexford.—Onthe 23rd of January, 1953, the IrishLights Commissioners asked if the life-boat would land a man from the Black-water Lightvessel. His sister had diedin Wexford, and the Commissioners'own boat was under repair. At 1.55in the afternoon the life-boat DouglasHyde left her moorings. She broughtthe man ashore in a smooth sea, with alight southerly breeze blowing, andreached her station again at 6.10. Thenext day the Commissioners againasked for the life-boat to land anotherman, a relative of whom had also diedin Wexford. At 8.15 the life-boat putout a second time, in a moderate north-westerly breeze with a slight swell,took a relief man to the lightvessel,and landed the man whose relativehad died at 12.15 early on the morn-ing of the 25th.—Rewards: 1st service,£12 8s.; 2nd service, £10 13s. Re-funded to the Institution by theCommissioners of Irish Lights.

FISHING BOAT TOWED TO ARKLOWArklow, Co. Wlcklow.—At 7.15 on the

evening of the 27th of January, 1953,the life-boat motor mechanic reportedthat flares had been seen about threemiles east-by-north of Arklow harbour.At 7.47 the life-boat Inbhear A/or waslaunched in a rough sea with a freshwest-south-west breeze. She foundthe local fishing boat Sparkling Wave,with a crew of six, about one milenorth of Mizzen Head. Her enginehad broken down and she was drifting.The life-boat towed her to Arklow,reaching her station again at 10.10.The owner made a donation to thefunds of the Institution.—Rewards,£11 4s. Qd.

SEARCH IN GALE FOR ROWINGBOAT

Lerwick, Shetlands.—At 9.38 on themorning of the 31st of January, 1953,the coastguard telephoned to say aman at Skellister had reported thattwo men had left Gletness Nesting in a

ten-feet rowing boat at 7.30 to attendto their fishing lines, but had notreturned. The weather had worsenedsuddenly, and, at 10.15 the life-boatLady Jane and Martha Ryland lefther moorings and searched widely in awhole northerly gale with a veryrough sea. The motor fishing boatJohn West asked the life-boat to escorther to Malakoff pier, and the life-boatbroke off the search, escorted her inabout noon, and then put to sea again.However, visibility was now poor, andthe life-boat returned to Malakoff pierand her crew had some food. At 4.5in the afternoon the life-boat put outagain, searched the Isles of Gletness,but found no trace of the men or theirboat. She reached her station againat 6.10. The men lost their lives, andthe rowing boat was driven ashoreand smashed to pieces by the sea.—Rewards, £23 2s. Qd.

RESCUE FROM ROWING BOATLytham St. Annes, Lancashire.—At

10.15 on the morning of the 31st ofJanuary, 1953, the life-boat coxswainreported that two men were in diffi-culties in a rowing boat. They hadanchored two miles east of Lythampier and were flying a distress signalfrom an oar. The life-boat SarahTownsend Porritt was launched at10.50 in a heavy sea with a north-westerly wind of hurricane force blow-ing. She found the rowing boat twomiles east-by-south of the pier. Themen. who had been on a shootingexpedition, were exhausted. The life-boat rescued them, took their boat intow, and returned to her station,arriving at one o'clock in the after-noon.—Rewards, £13 13s.

WHITBY BOATS ESCORTED IN GALEWhitby, Yorkshire.—At 11.15 on the

31st of January, 1953, the coxswainof the No. 1 life-boat saw that badweather was making the conditionsat the harbour bar and harbourentrance dangerous, and at 11.25 thelife-boat Mary Ann Hepworth waslaunched. There was a fresh north-north-west gale with a rough sea. Thelife-boat escorted in the local fishingboats Success II and Faith Star. Theweather became worse, and at 1.15the Pilot Me and Provider A arrived.

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 509

The life-boat escorted them in tooand reached her station again at 11.45.—Rewards, £11 0*. Qd.

LOSS OF THE "PRINCESS VICTORIA"On the 31st of January, 1953, the

British Railways ferry PrincessVictoria sank in a gale in the Irish Sea.The Portpatrick, Donaghadee, Clou-ghey and Newcastle, Co. Down, life-boats were all launched on service.The Donaghadee life-boat rescuedthirty-one survivors and landed oneother. The Portpatrick life-boatrescued two survivors. A full accountof these services and the rewards givenwill be published in a future numberof The Life-boat.

THE GREAT FLOODSSouthend-on-Sea and Clacton-on-Sea,

Essex.—Beginning on the evening ofthe 31st of January, 1953, floods inun-dated areas in the east of England toan extent unknown in this country inliving memory. The Southend-on-Sea life-boat was called out on sevenoccasions, and a rescue was also carriedout by the Clacton-on-Sea life-boat.For a full account of these services andof the rewards given, and of thedamage done to life-boats and life-boat stations by the floods, see page476.

The following life-boats went outon service, but could find no ships indistress, were not needed, or coulddo nothing:

Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.—January3rd.—Rewards, £9 12s.

Flamborough, Yorkshire.—January6th.—Rewards, £13 14s. Qd.

Flamborough, Yorkshire.—January6th.—Rewards, £17 14s. Qd.

Baltimore, Co. Cork.—January 6th.—Rewards. £34 7s.

Fowey, Cornwall.—January 10th.—Rewards, £8 15s.

Valentia, Co. Kerry.—January 12th.—Rewards, £16 15s. Qd.

Cromer, Norfolk.—January 15th.—Rewards, £32 4s. Qd.

Portrush, Co. Antrim.—January 15th.—Rewards, £16.

Walmer, Kent.—January 16th.—Rewards, £19 13s.

The Mumbles, Glamorganshire. —January 16th.—Rewards, £11 8,9.

The Mumbles, Glamorganshire. —January 17th.—Rewards, £20 14s.

Stornoway, Outer Hebrides.—Jan-uary 17th.—Rewards, £10 10s.

Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. —•January 19th.—Rewards, £23 9s. Qd.

Holyhead, Anglesey.—January 19th.—Rewards, £20 2s.

Newbiggin, Northumberland. — Jan-uary 20th.—Rewards, £15 19s.

Portrush, Co. Antrim. — January20th.—Rewards, £8 10s.

Wick, Caithness-shire.—Januarv 21st.—Rewards, £13 14s. Qd.

New Brighton, Cheshire.—January21st.—Rewards, £31 6s.

New Quay, Cardiganshire.—January22nd.—Rewards, £17 17s.

Stornoway, Outer Hebrides.—January27th.—Rewards, £7.

Ramsgate, Kent.—January 30th.—Rewards, £8 12s. Qd.

Stornoway, Outer Hebrides.—January30th.—Rewards, £30 7s. Qd.

Barra Island, Outer Hebrides.—Jan-uary 31st.—Rewards, £21 3s.

Islay, Inner Hebrides.—{Two laun-ches.)—January 31st.—Rewards, £448s. Sd.

Barrow, Lancashire.—January 31st.—Rewards, £13 18s. Qd.

Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland.—January 31st.—Rewards, £13 4s.

Cromarty.—January 31st.—Rewards£36 15s.

Holy Island, Northumberland.—Jan-uary 31st.—Rewards, £27 10s.

Humber, Yorkshire.—January 31st.—Rewards, £13 6s.; Paid PermanentCrew.

TWO LIFE-BOATMEN DIE INENGINE-ROOM

On the 31st of January, 1953, twomembers of the crew of the Islay. InnerHebrides, life-boat collapsed in theengine-room and died while the life-boat was searching for the trawlerMichael Griffiths. This was the dayon which the Princess Victoria sankin the Irish Sea. In addition to theIslay boat the life-boats from BarraIsland, Outer Hebrides; Barrow. Lan-cashire; Berwick-on-Tweed, Northum-berland; Cromarty; Holy Island,Northumberland; and Humber, York-shire, were all launched on that day,but for various reasons were unableto render services. A full account of

510 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

the events of that day will be publishedin a future number of The Life-boat.

FEBRUARYDURING February life-boats werelaunched 53 times and rescued 15 lives.

SPANISH STEAMER TOWED TODOVER BEACH

Dover, Kent.—At 4.20 on the morn-ing of the 1st of February, 1953, asteamer which had been driven on tothe breakwater in a strong north-westerly gale with a rough sea, fireddistress rockets. At 4.45 the life-boatSouthern Africa left her moorings andfound the S.S. Castillo Tordesillas, ofMadrid, alongside the breakwater.Her engine-room was leaking. Thesecond coxswain went on board, andthe life-boat also put the harbourmaster aboard and asked for tugs.The tugs arrived and made fast to thesteamer, and two life-boatmen jumpedon to the breakwater and cast her off.The tugs then towed the steamer tothe beach in Dover harbour, and thelife-boat remained with her until shewas evenly aground, arriving back ather station at five in the afternoon.—Property Salvage Case.

RELIEF KEEPERS TAKEN TOLIGHTHOUSE

Valentia, Co. Kerry.—On the 3rd ofFebruary, 1953, the Commissioners ofIrish Lights asked if the life-boatwould take relief keepers and suppliesto the Skelligs Rocks lighthouse, asthe Commissioners' steamer was onduty elsewhere. At four o'clock inthe afternoon the life-boat A.E.D. waslaunched in a moderate sea with afresh south-easterly breeze blowing,and snow, and took the men andstores to the lighthouse. She thenembarked the keepers due to returnashore, landed them, and arrived backat her station at 9.15.—Rewards, £1815s.—refunded by the Commissionersof Irish Lights.

SHETLANDS BOAT IN DIFFICULTIESLerwick, Shetlands.—At 11.20 on the

morning of the 4th of February, 1953,the coastguard rang up to say theagents for the local fishing vesselsLaunch Out, Vesper and Guiding Star

had reported that they were at sea invery heavy weather and anxiety wasfelt for the safety of the twelve menaboard them. At 11.55 the life-boatLady Jane and Martha Ryland left hermoorings in a fresh north-north-eastgale, but at 12.30 the Launch Outwas reported to be making steadyprogress. At 12.44 the Vesper wasstated to be making safely for Lerwick,but the life-boat found the GuidingStar in Mousa Sound making very slowprogress. The life-boat escorted herto Lerwick and reached her station at3.50.—Rewards, £12 5*.

FISHING BO ATS ESCORTED IN GALE

Whitby, Yorkshire.—At 1.15 on theafternoon of the 4th of February, 1953.local fishermen reported that badweather was making conditions dan-gerous at the harbour bar, and at 1.20the No. 1 life-boat Mary Ann Hep-worth was launched. A moderatenortherly gale was blowing with arough sea. The life-boat came upwith the local fishing boats ProviderA, Pilot Me II, and Venus at the har-bour entrance. The coxswain told theskippers that the bar was dangerousand escorted them in. The life-boatthen put to sea again, escorted in theLead Us and Progress and arrived backat her station at 4.15.—Rewards.£11 0*. 6d.

FISHING BOAT TOWED TO HARTLE-POOL

Hartlepool, Durham.—At 2.47 earlyon the morning of the 9th of February,1953, the coastguard telephoned thata boat off the Palliser Works, north ofHartlepool, was burning flares, andat 3.15 the life-boat The Princess Royal,Civil Service No. 7, was launched.There was a light westerly breeze witha moderate sea. The life-boat foundthe motor fishing boat Jean Harsley,of Hartlepool, with a crew of seven,one mile north of Heugh. Her enginehad broken down, and the life-boattowed her to Hartlepool, reaching herstation again at 5.20.—Rewards,£11 Os. 6d.

THE FRASERBURGH DISASTER

On the 9th of February, 1953, six ofthe crew of seven of the Fraserburgh

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 511

life-boat lost their lives when the life-boat capsized near the harbourentrance in a heavy sea. For a fullaccount of this disaster see page 469.

DRIFTERS ESCORTED IN GALEBallycotton, Co. Cork.—At 8.15 on the

evening of the 9th of February, 1953,the coxswain learned from the skipperof the fishing boat Happy Home thatthe motor fishing drifter Florence, ofGlandore, was burning flares south-east of Ballycotton Light. A freshsouth-westerly gale was blowing, caus-ing a heavy sea. This had preventedthe Happy Home from helping thedrifter, but another motor drifter, theRoss Gill, was remaining by her. waitingfor the life-boat. At 8.30 the life-boatK.E.C.F., on temporary duty at thestation, was launched. She foundthe Florence about three miles south-east of the Ballycotton Light, with-out her rudder. The Florence wasthen in tow of the Ross Gill, and thelife-boat escorted both boats intoharbour, arriving at 10.30.—Rewards,£9 7*.

TOWLINE PARTS FOUR TIMESMontrose, Angus, and Anstruther,

Fifeshlre.—On the afternoon of the 9thof February, 1953, a wireless messagereached the Montrose life-boat stationfrom the fishing boat Angus Rose,which had a crew of two, that she hadlost her rudder, but that the fishingboat Mizpah, with a crew of three, washelping her. The boats were offMontrose. and at 3.30 the Montroselife-boat The Good Hope was launched.There was a south-easterly breeze witha very heavy sea. The life-boat foundthat the Mizpah had taken the AngusRose in tow. They could not enterMontrose harbour because of theweather, and they made for Johns-haven, accompanied by the life-boat.As the entrance to Johnshaven harbourwas also dangerous, the Mizpah decid-ed to make for the Firth of Forth, andthe life-boat remained with the boats.When they had reached a position offBell Rock the Mizpah's engine brokedown. The life-boat took both boatsin tow, and the life-boatmen gave thefive men of their crews food and rum.Meanwhile, at ten o'clock that eveningthe Anstruther coastguard reported to

i the Anstruther life-boat station that! the Montrose life-boat, with the fishing

boats in tow, was approaching fromthe vicinity of the North Carr, andneeded a pilot. A south-westerlybreeze was blowing with a heavy swell,and it was decided to send the life-boat James and Ruby Jackson, as theMontrose life-boat had two disabledboats to deal with. The Anstrutherlife-boat was launched at 10.30, withthe second coxswain in charge, andfound that the Mizpah had by thenbroken adrift. The towline used bythe Montrose life-boat did in fact partfour times, but the two life-boatssucceeded in bringing in the two fishingboats, Anstruther harbour beingreached at 1.35. Owing to weatherconditions the Anstruther life-boatcould not be re-housed and remainedin the harbour. The Montrose life-boat remained at Anstruther until10.5 on the morning of the 13th, whenthe weather moderated. She reachedher station again about 2.30 thatafternoon.—Rewards: Montrose, £63105. 6d.; Anstruther, £50 16*.

LIFE-BOAT'S SERVICE FORANOTHER STATION

Broughty Ferry, Angus.—At 5.7 on theevening of the 9th of February, 1953,the Carnoustie coastguard telephonedthat the Arbroath coastguard hadasked if the life-boat would escort fourArbroath fishing boats into harbour.The Arbroath life-boat was temporarilyout of service, and at 5.25 the BroughtyFerry life-boat Mona was launched ina heavy swell with a light breeze blow-ing. She reached Arbroath at 6.45,and by this time three of the fishingboats had entered the harbour. Thelife-boat remained until the fourthboat arrived, escorted her in andreturned to her station, arriving at10.20.—Rewards, £12 12s. 6d.

ADVICE TO SKIPPERS ON HARBOURAPPROACH

Aberdeen.—At 4.53 on the afternoonof the 9th of February, 1953, theGregness coastguard reported thattwo fishing vessels were making forAberdeen, as it was too dangerous to

512 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

enter Stonehaven Harbour. The No.1 life-boat Hilton Briggs was launchedat 5.5. A south-westerly breeze wasblowing with a very heavy breakingswell, and the two vessels, which werethe Mary Goieans and Trustful III,both of Aberdeen, seemed reluctant toenter owing to the state of the channeland fading daylight. Each boat wasapproached by the life-boat and theskippers advised as to the best methodof running into harbour. Both boatswere safely escorted in by 5.30.—Rewards, £6 7*. 6d.

SERVICE TO GERMAN STEAMERMoelfre, Anglesey.—At eight o'clock

on the morning of the 10th of February,1953, the Holy head coastguard tele-phoned that the S.S. Alice of Bremen,which had broken down and had beentowed to Moelfre Bay by a pilot boat,was dragging her anchors and beingdriven towards Moelfre Rocks. At8.25 the life-boat G.W. was launchedin a very rough sea with a strongnortherly gale blowing. She found theAlice about three quarters of a mileeast of Moelfre Island, with eightGermans and an English pilot aboard.She had four anchors down, which nowappeared to be holding, but the life-boat stood by her in case she draggedagain. She remained with her until4.30 and asked the pilot to wireless ifhe needed her again. The life-boatthen returned to her station, whichshe reached at 8.40.—Rewards, £29 Is.

FISHING BOAT ESCORTED INROUGH SEA

North Sunderland, Northumberland.—At 8.15 on the morning of the 10th ofFebruary, 1953, it was reported thatthe local fishing boat Good Fellowshipwas bound for North Sunderland fromBlyth, with a crew of four, and wasthen east of Newton. Conditions atthe harbour mouth were dangerous,and at 8.40 the life-boat W.R.A. waslaunched in a rough sea with a moder-ate easterly breeze blowing. Shewaited at the harbour entrance untilthe Good Fellowship arrived and thenescorted her in, reaching her stationagain at 9.20. The skipper expressedhis thanks.—Rewards, £25.

KEEL BOAT HELPED IN WHOLEGALE

Scarborough, Yorkshire.—At 9.20 onthe morning of the 10th of February,1953, the coastguard telephoned that afishing boat was off Hayburn Wyke inworsening weather. As a whole galewas blowing from the east-north-east,causing a very rough sea, the life-boatE.C.J.R. was launched at 10.50. Shefound the local keel boat Courage and,with difficulty, the life-boat passedlife-belts to her crew of five. Thelife-boat then escorted her to Scar-borough harbour and reached herstation again at 12.45.—Rewards,£12 14*.

FISHING BOAT WITHIN INCHES OFPIER

Whltby, Yorkshire.—At 12.20 on theafternoon of the 10th of February,1953, the conditions at the harbour barwere very bad and four local fishingvessels were still at sea. The No. 1life-boat Mary Ann Hepworth waslaunched at 12.38 in a very rough sea,with an east-to-north-easterly galeblowing, and snow. The Galilee wasescorted in, followed by the Provider,which then asked the other boats byradio to make port as quickly aspossible. The next one in was theSuccess, which had had a very roughpassage, and last to come was Lead Us.She was caught by a heavy sea andcarried to within inches of the eastpier, but the seamanship of herskipper saved her. After the fourboats were safely in, the life-boatreturned to her station at 3.30.—Rewards, £13 15*.

DOCTOR TAKEN TO INJUREDSEAMAN

Torbay, Devon.—At 8.45 on the even-ing of the 10th of February, 1953,local shipping agents telephoned thata man had fallen down the hold of theS.S. Henriette Schulte, of Emden,seriously injuring himself, and askedif the life-boat would take a doctorout. The weather was too bad forthe agents' boat to go, and at 9.25 thelife-boat George Shee left her moorings,with the second coxswain in charge.She embarked a doctor and ambulancemen at the inner pier, and then madefor the steamer in a strong northerly

SPRING, 3953] THE LIFE-BOAT 513

breeze and rough sea. She found herat anchor at the mouth of Torbay andput the medical team on board, butthe man had died. The doctor andthe ambulance men then re-embarkedin the life-boat, which returned toher station, arriving at 11.10.—Re-wards, £6 16s.

MONKS TAKEN TO CALDY ISLANDTenby, Pembrokeshire.—At twelve

noon on the 10th of February, 1953, theSuperintendent of Trinity House askedif the life-boat would take a mechanicto the Helwick lightvessel, as the lightneeded attention. At 9.35 on themorning of the llth the life-boat JohnR. Webb was launched, with themechanic and stores on board, in astrong northerly breeze with a roughsea. She reached the lightvessel at11.30, put the mechanic and storesaboard, and returned to her station,arriving at 1.50. At 5.30 the coast-guard said the lightvessel had askedif the life-boat would launch again totake spare parts for the mechanic, asno other boat was available. At 9.30on the morning of the 12th she embark-ed the spare parts and also took onboard two monks and a woman, aswell as mail and provisions for CaldyIsland, and was launched again. Sheput the spare parts aboard the light-vessel and then went to Caldv Island,where she landed the passengers, mailand provisions. She reached her sta-tion again at two o'clock in the after-noon.—Rewards: 1st service, £17 17s.;2nd service, £22 12*.—proportion re-funded by Trinity House.

STORES TAKEN TO TRAWLER INHEAVY SEA

Aberdeen.—At 12.45 on the afternoonof the 12th of February, 1953, theowners of the steam trawler GeneralBotha, of Aberdeen, informed the Jife-boat station that the vessel was inurgent need of food and water. Thetrawler was five days overdue, andher crew had been without food fortwo days and her fresh water supplywas also exhausted. A strong north-north-easterly breeze was blowing,with a heavy breaking sea, and owingto these conditions the port of Aber-deen was closed to shipping and likelyto remain so for another twenty-fourhours. The No. 1 life-boat Hilton

Briggs left her moorings at 12.55,and, after taking aboard food andwater, went out to the General Bothain Aberdeen Bay. With difficulty thestores were passed to the trawler, andthe life-boat reached her station againat two o'clock.—Rewards, £7 8s.

DOCTOR BROUGHT TO INJUREDENGINEER

Humber, Yorkshire.—At 8.35 on themorning of the 13th of February, 1953,the Spurn Point Coastguard reportedthat the S.S. Monkton Combe, ofBristol, had been in collision withanother vessel, and that the MonktonCombe was trying to beach herself onthe Sunk Sands. However, she ranon the Trinity Sands, and the life-boatwas not then needed. About 9.45 thecoastguard stated that the MonktonCombe had wirelessed that her secondengineer had head injuries and wasbleeding badly, and at 10.40 the life-boat City of Bradford II was launched,with a doctor on board. There wasa moderate north-easterly breeze, witha smooth sea, and she put him aboardthe steamer. The life-boat then re-embarked the doctor and the injuredman, and wirelessed for an ambulanceto meet her at Spurn Point, which shereached at 11.20. At 4.20 she tookthe man back to his ship and stoodby her at high water, which was atfive o'clock. The steamer did notneed help, and the life-boat returnedto her station, arriving at 6.10.—PaidPermanent Crew.

SECOND SERVICE ON ONE DAY

Humber, Yorkshire.—At. 12.10 on theafternoon of the 13th of February,1953, while the life-boat City of Brad-ford II was on service to the S.S.Monkton Combe, of Bristol, the SpurnPoint coastguard reported that theS.S. Sirius, of Stockholm, bound forHull, needed a doctor and wouldarrive off Spurn Point between eightand nine that evening. The life-boatreached her station again at 6.10 afterstanding by the Monkton Combe, andat 10.25 the coastguard stated thatthe Sirius was now in sight. At10.30, as no other boat was available,the life-boat was launched with adoctor on board, and, in a light north-easterly breeze with a moderate swell,

514 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

she put the doctor on board. At10.50 the doctor said he wouldremain in the steamer until shereached Hull, and the life-boat re-turned to her station, arriving at 11.35.—-Paid Permanent Crew.

TWO YOUTHS IN DRIFTING BOATWalton and Frinton, Essex.—At 7.15

on the morningofthe 18th of February,1953, the coastguard reported that theS.S. Arnhem, coming from Holland,had sighted an open motor boat nearBeach End buoy. The motor boatappeared to have broken down and tobe drifting eastwards without gear,but with people on board. The life-boat E.M.E.D. was launched at eighto'clock in a calm sea, with a lightnorth-westerly wind blowing, andbegan to search. At 9.20 she foundthe drifting boat two and a half mileseast-by-north of Beach End buoywith two youths aboard. They hadbeen absent without leave from anapproved school since the night beforeand had taken the boat. The youthswere given refreshments and taken toHarwich together with the boat.After the youths had been handed overthe life-boat returned to Walton,which was reached at 12.45.—Rewards£21.

FORTY-HOUR SERVICE IN BADWEATHER

Barra Island, Outer Hebrides.—At 6.50on the morning of the 20th of February,1953, the Stornoway coastguards re-ported that the trawler Richard Crofts,of Milford Haven, was ashore betweenColl and Tiree. A strong south-south-westerly gale was blowing, with a veryrough sea, and at 7.45 the life-boatLloyd's put out and made for theposition. A search of the area wasmade, but nothing was found until thelate afternoon, when six bodies wereseen floating off the north-east coastof Coll. They were taken aboard thelife-boat. The Richard Crofts hadbeen holed and had sunk, but foursurvivors of her crew of twelve hadlanded by raft at Cornaig Beach, Coll,and two bodies were recovered at thesame spot. On her arrival at Tober-mory to land the six bodies, the life-boat was directed to Oban. Afterspending the night on board, the life-

boat crew went to Oban, where thebodies were landed. They then re-turned to Barra Island, having beenabsent for about forty hours in verybad weather.—Rewards, £84 14s.

LEAKING STEAMER SAFELYBERTHED

Holyhead, Anglesey.—At 1.55 earlyon the morning of the 24th of February,1953, the coastguard reported that awireless message had been interceptedindicating that the S.S. Larchfield, ofLiverpool, was ashore near CarmelHead, in Holyhead Bay, and in need ofimmediate help. The life-boat St.Cybi, Civil Service No. 9, was launchedat 2.25 in a heavy ground swell witha south-south-westerly breeze blowing,and dense fog. At 3.5 the steamerwas found pounding heavily, but themaster refused to leave and asked fora final effort to be made to get theLarchfield off. The second coxswainwas placed on board, and the ship wasbrought off the rocks on the rising tide.Although leaking badly, the Larchfieldwas taken to Holyhead by the secondcoxswain, with the life-boat leading,and safely berthed. The life-boatreached her station at 7.20—PropertySalvage Case.

The following life-boats went out onservice, but could find no ships indistress, were not needed, or could donothing:

Barra Island, Outer Hebrides. —February 1st.—Rewards, £19 2*.

Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. — February1st.—Rewards, £20 10s. 6d.

Wick, Caithness-shire—February 1st.—Rewards, £10 Os. 6d.

North Sunderland, Northumberland.—February 1st.—Rewards, £26 Is.

Sheringham, Norfolk. — February2nd.—Rewards, £25 16s.

North Sunderland, Northumberland.—February 4th.—Rewards, £25 Is.

Southend-on-Sea, Essex. —February5th.—Rewards, £15 5s.

Ramsgate, Kent.—February 6th.—Rewards, £8 12s. 6d.

Ilfracombe, Devon.—February 9th.—Rewards, £20 8s.

Ramsgate, Kent.—February 10th.—Rewards, £8 13s.

Lowestoft, Suffolk.—February 10th.—Rewards, £9 3s. 6d.

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 515

St. Peter Port, Guernsey.—February14th.—Rewards, £8 15s.

Dover, Kent.—February 15th.—Re-wards, £9 5s.

Dover, Kent.—February 16th.—Re-wards, £10 15s.

Stornoway, Outer Hebrides. Feb-ruary 17th.—Rewards, £8 15,?.

St. David's, and Angle, Pembrokeshire.At. 10.15 on the morning of the 17thof February, 1953, the St. David'scoastguard asked if the St. David's life-boat would search for the pilot of aSea Hornet aircraft who, it wasthought, might have taken to a rubberdinghy after his machine had crashedthe previous afternoon off St. Ann'sHead. At 10.45 the life-boat CioilService No. 6 was launched and beganto search. The Tenby coastguardinformed the Angle life-boat station,and at 11.15 the life-boat ElizabethElson was also launched. Both life-

boats searched in a light westerlybreeze with a moderate sea, but notrace of the pilot was seen, and theyreturned to their stations, Angle arriv-ing at seven o'clock and St. David's at7.15. A donation to the funds of theInstitution was received from theowners of the aircraft.—Rewards:St. Davids, £22 2s.; Angle, £27 18s.

Dover, Kent.—February 17th.—Re-wards, £8 5s.

Dungeness, Kent.—February 21st.—Rewards, £27 4s.

Humber, Yorkshire.—February 23rd.—Rewards, £12.

Portrush, Co. Antrim.—February26th.—Rewards, £15 8s. 6d.

Weymouth, Dorset.—February 26th.—Rewards, £12 5s.

Cloughey, Go. Down.—Februarv 28th.—Rewards, £16 8s.

Salcombe, Devon.—February 28th.Rewards, £7 15s.

"The Brotherhood of Man:" A Tribute to the Life-boatService*

DUBIXG the war our life-boat menwere condemned by some peoplebecause they rescued those, who (inthe opinion of certain folk) shouldhave been left to perish. Some ofthese angry people wrote letters to thepapers to ask why the men who hadcome over to bomb us, should be savedfrom the sea. When this Life-boatService, of which we are all so proud,was founded about one hundred andthirty years ago, it pledged itself togo to the rescue of all in peril on thesea around the shores of Britain with-out distinction of race, and to do thisin peace and in war. The Life-boatService is at the command of anyhuman beings needing its aid. Hadthat pledge been broken, even underthe provocation of bombing, should wein this country have had for theService the respect we have? No,we should not.

It is not only the courage displayedthat we admire so much, but the fact

that the Life-boat Service stands foran ideal. In a dark, menacing worldit has never wavered in its carryingout of the Christian teaching of thebrotherhood of man. Vast numbersof us give lip service to that ideal, buttaking the world as a whole there isnot much sign that races, nations,religions or Churches, regard those ofother races, nations, religions andChurches as brothers. They may saythey do, but "actions speak louderthan words." The men of the Life-boat Service say little, but they actas though all men are their brothers.The Service is a moral lighthousesending out its radiance over stormyseas that threaten to overcome us all.This is one very important reason forour enormous respect for it, and it isa reason that is not mentioned asoften as it ought to be.

*From an article on the Life-boat Service in TheQnirer, reproduced by very kind permission of ite author,Mrs. Ruth Harrison, and the editor.

516 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

The Duke of MontroseTHE DUKE OF MONTROSE has been com-pelled by ill-health to give up thework which, for many years, he hasdone for the Life-boat Service, as amember of the Committee of Manage-ment of the Institution and itstreasurer, and as chairman of theScottish Life-boat Council.

As Marquis of Graham he was electeda member of the Committee of Manage-ment about 1907. He resigned in1910. In 1924 he was appointed avice-president of the Institution, andas such he again became a memberof the Committee of Management. In1927 his active work for the Servicebegan, and it has continued for overa quarter of a century. It was in thatyear, largely through him, that theInstitution held a conference in Scot-land, at which it was decided to forma Scottish Life-boat Council. TheDuke was elected its chairman. Hehas been its chairman ever since. Themeasure of the success of his work is intwo figures. In 1927 the year in which

the council was formed, Scotland contri-buted to the Life-boat Service £11,858.In 1952 she contributed £47,556.

The Duke was a very active chair-man of the Council, presiding at allits meetings, visiting the Scottishbranches, attending their meetings,and taking a personal part in manyof their other functions. He alsotook an active part in the work of theCommittee of Management, made abroadcast for the Service in the"Week's Good Cause" in 1946, attend-ed the Fifth International Life-boatConference held in Oslo in 1947, andfrom 1947, until he resigned in Decem-ber 1952, was the Institution's trea-surer. Though he has now been com-pelled to give up his active life-boatwork, he remains a vice-president ofthe Institution, and at the meetingof the Scottish Council in April, 1953,at which his resignation as its chair-man was very regretfully accepted,he was elected the Council's honorarypresident.

Life-boat Broadcasts in 1952THE first of the life-boat broadcastsin 1952 was in Children's Hour, onthe 25th of January. It was in aseries called " I'm Proud of My Father,'and the narrator was Miss May New-lands, daughter of Coxswain DuncanNewlands, of Campbeltown, who wonthe bronze medal for gallantry in1942 and again in 1946. The broad-cast was written by Mrs. AngusMac Vicar, in a series of "dramatisedepisodes" in which the coxswainhimself appeared, describing some ofthe exciting rescues carried out by theCampbeltown life-boat.

The second broadcast was on the19th of March, and again it was inthe Children's Hour. It was called"Down the Slipway." In it Mr.Barrie Edgar interviewed CoxswainDenis Price of Margate, who, eightmonths later, was to win the Institu-tion's silver medal for gallantry. Thebroadcast ended with the sound of the

maroons and the launch of the life-boat.

On the 16th of October the Life-boatService appeared as the third in aseries of broadcasts by Mr. StephenGrenfell, produced by Mr. R. D. Smith,called "Special Duty." The first wason the work of the railway breakdowngang, and the second on the treatmentof children who have been burntthrough carelessness with fires in theirown homes. The third, "Rescue byLife-boat," was a service by theWalmer life-boat to a steamer wreckedon the Goodwin Sands.

On Christmas Day the B.B.C. broad-cast in "Christmas Round Britain"the annual carol-singing by members ofthe Mousehole Fishermen's Choir, andMiss Margaret Drew, the daughter ofthe motor mechanic of the Penleelife-boat, over the life-boat's radiotelephone to the three keepers of theWolf Rock Lighthouse off Land's End.

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 517

The Service Boards of Rye HarbourOx Sunday the 27th of July. 1952, aservice was held in the Church of theHoly Spirit, at Rye Harbour, to cele-brate the centenary of the first record-ed rescue, in August 1852, by the RyeHarbour life-boat, known at first asthe Winchelsea life-boat, thoughmanned by men from live Harbour.

The station was closed after thedisaster on the loth of November,1928, when the life-boat capsized withthe loss of her whole crew of 17 men.It was closed because there were nolonger the men in that little villageto man the life-boat.

The service-boards of the stationwere then presented by the Institutionto the Mayor of Rye, and were placedat the Sailors' Home, but as they stoodin the open and suffered from the

weather, the Institution recently hadnew boards painted and offered themto the Church to be kept there as apermanent memorial of the station.They are entitled ''Lives rescued bylife-boats manned by the intrepid menof this village." At the service on the27th of July the boards were handedto the church by Air Vice-Marshal SirGeoffrey Bromet, K.B.E., D.S.O., nowa member of the Committee of Man-agement of the Institution, and at thattime Lieutenant Governor of the Isleof Man, the birth place of the Institu-tion. They were accepted by the Vicarand dedicated by the Bishop of Lewes.The Institution was represented atthe ceremony by two of its Vice-Presi-dents, Sir John G. Gumming, K.C.I.E.,C.S.I., and Mr. T. O. Gray, J.P.

150 Years OldIx 1950 the Committee of Managementof the Institution resolved that life-boat stations which had been pre-sented with a vellum to commemoratethe completion of a hundred yearswould be presented with another tomark the completion of a hundredand fifty years.

Three life-boat stations celebratedthe hundred and fiftieth anniversaryof the foundation in 1951: Lowestoft,Montrose and Scarborough; and six in1952: Aberdeen, Douglas, Holy Island,Ramsgate, Rcdcar and Whitby. Ex-cept at Aberdeen and Ramsgate, whereceremonies are still to take place, avellum was presented to each stationby the Institution, signed by theDuchess of Kent as its president,expressing the Institution's apprecia-tion of the voluntary work of theofficers and committee of the stationand the devotion and courage ofthe life-boat crews.

LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLKIn 1801 a life-boat built by Henry

Greathead, the builder of the Original,was stationed at Lowestoft. TheInstitution has no records of the workof this life-boat, which was replaced

in 1807 by the Francis Ann. TheFrancis Ann was built for the SuffolkHumane Society by Messrs. Sparham,of Lowestoft, und"er the superinten-dence of Lionel Lukin, the Londoncoach builder, and is second only inimportance to the Original, for shewas the first of the sailing life-boatsand is the direct ancestor of the laterNorfolk and Suffolk type of boat.The Francis Ann served at Lowestoftuntil 1850 and so far as can be ascer-tained rescued 300 lives. In 1855 theInstitution took over the station, andin 1869 a second station was estab-lished at Lowestoft. This station wasmaintained until 1913. The twostations have had twelve life-boats andhave rescued over 1,200 lives. Twogold, nineteen silver and ten bronzemedals have been awarded to Lowes-toft men for gallantry.

The vellum was presented to Lowes-toft by Lady Somerleyton, J.P., thebranch president, at a dinner held onthe 30th of January, 1952.

MONTROSE, ANGUSMontrose was one of the five places

in Scotland to have a life-boat builtbv Henrv Greathead, the other four

518 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

being Aberdeen, Arbroath. Ayr andSt. Andrews. The first Montrose boatwent to the station in 1800. This isthe oldest station in Great Britain andIreland. From 1869 to 1950 two life-boat stations were maintained there.They have had fifteen life-boats whichhave rescued 516 lives. Fourteensilver medals have been awarded toMontrose men for gallantry. Seven ofthem were awarded for rescues by menwho were not themselves life-boatmen. The Norwegian Governmentawarded medals and diplomas for aservice to a Norwegian vessel in 1916.

The vellum was presented by Com-modore the Duke of Montrose, K.T.,C.B., C.V.O., V.R.D., R.N.V.R., at awhist drive and dance held at Montroseon the 3rd of October, 1951.

SCARBOROUGH, YORKSHIRE

The first life-boat was stationed atScarborough in 1801, a year before theneighbouring station at Redcar wasestablished. The Scarborough stationwas taken over by the Institution in1861, and since then its life-boatshave rescued 409 lives. Twelve silverand three bronze medals have beenawarded to Scarborough men forgallantry. There have been thirteenlife-boats at Scarborough.

The vellum was presented by theMarchioness of Carisbrooke, G.B.E.,after she had named the E.C.J.R. life-boat at the South Bay, Scarborough,on the 15th of June, 1951.

ABERDEENThe first life-boat at Aberdeen was

built by Henry Greathead, builder ofthe Original, but of the work of thislife-boat the Institution has no records.In 1853 the Harbour Commissionersstationed a life-boat at Aberdeen.This was known as the "beach life-boat." In 1875 they stationed asecond life-boat which was known asthe "harbour life-boat." These twolife-boats remained in service until1925.

At the beginning of that year, at therequest of the Harbour Commissioners,the Institution took over the stations,the Commissioners agreeing to contri-bute £550 a year towards their main-tenance and handing over to the Insti-

tution a legacy received in 1894 toprovide a life-boat at Aberdeen, whichby 1925 amounted to £3,000. AtTorry and North Pier shore life-savingapparatus is maintained by the Insti-tution and manned by men in itsservice. They have rescued 41 lives.Since 1925 the Aberdeen life-boatshave rescued 131 lives. Three silvermedals and five bronze medals havebeen awarded to Aberdeen men.There are at present two life-boats atAberdeen.

DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MANAs soon as Sir William Hillary, of

Douglas, had seen his appeal for anational life-boat service answered bythe founding of the Institution in 1824,he set to work to organise a districtlife-boat association in the Isle ofMan. In 1824 a station was estab-lished at Douglas. This was followedby a station at Castletown, which wasclosed in 1922. The Peel Station wasestablished in 1828 and the Ramseystation in 1829, so that within sixyears of the founding of the Institu-tion, at a time when there were only45 life-boats on the entire coasts of theUnited Kingdom, there were fourstations in the Isle of Man. Aboutthe middle of the last century theywere allowed to fall into decay, butafter the Institution had been re-organised in 1851 there was a revivalof the Isle of Man stations.

Since 1850 the Douglas life-boatshave rescued 123 lives. Sir WilliamHillary won the Institution's goldmedal three times, and he was alsoawarded the gold medal as the Insti-tution's founder. His son, AugustusWilliam Hillary, won the silver medalfor gallantry. In addition, one goldmedal and eleven silver medals havebeen awarded to Douglas men fortheir services. There have been sevenlife-boats stationed at Douglas.

The vellum was presented on 15thFebruary, 1953, by H. E. the Lieuten-ant-Governor of the Isle of Man, SirAmbrose Dundas Flux Dundas,K.C.I.E., C.S.I., and received by thechairman of the Douglas branch, Mr.A. J. London. The ceremony tookplace at the annual meeting of theDouglas branch.

SPRIXG, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 519

HOLY ISLAND, NORTHUMBERLANDThe station was established in 1802,

its first life-boat being built by Great-head. Since 1867 there have been twostations at Holy Island and theyhave had altogether ten life-boats.Two of these life-boats were namedGrace Darling.

The Institution has no record ofthe work of the first life-boat, whichserved until 1829, but since then theHoly Island life-boats have rescued336 lives. One gold, eight silver andtwo bronze medals have been awardedby the Institution to Holy Island men.

The vellum was presented on 14th ofAugust, 1952, by Mrs. R. Crossley,vice-president of the Berwick Ladies'life-boat guild, and was received bythe coxswain, Mr. Henry Walker.The ceremony took place near theboathouse and attracted a large crowdof holiday-makers. In honour of theoccasion the life-boat from Berwickpaid a courtesy visit to Holy Island.

RAMSGATE, KENTThe Ramsgate station was estab-

lished in 1802, its first life-boat beingbuilt by Greathead. In 1863 the In-stitution stationed a life-boat at Rams-gate, and from then until 1922 thestation was maintained jointly by theInstitution and the Board of Trade,the Institution supplying and maintain-ing the life-boats, while the Board ofTrade bore the cost of maintainingthe station and rewarding the crew,and placed a tug at the disposal of thelife-boat for towing her out to vessels indistress.

In March, 1922, the Institutiontook over full financial responsibilityfor the station. The Ministry ofTransport, which at the same timerelieved the Board of Trade of itsduties in connection with the harbour,continued to supply a tug until 1925,when the Institution placed the presentlife-boat Prudential at Ramsgate.

Altogether Ramsgate has had eightlife-boats. Three of them, which wereat the station from 1877 to 1905, weregifts from the City of Bradford.Since 1865 the Ramsgate life-boatshave rescued 1,642 lives, the thirdlargest figure for the British Isles.

Two gold medals, thirty-six silvermedals, and one bronze medal havebeen awarded for gallantry. Inaddition Ramsgate has receivedawards from the President of theUnited States and the thanks of theGerman Government.

REDGAR, YORKSHIRE

The station at Redcar is the secondoldest of the stations maintained bythe Institution. It was established in1802. The first Redcar life-boat wasthe Zetland. She was built in 1800by Greathead and she was not replaceduntil 1867. She actually carried outa service in 1880 when no other life-boat was available, and her lengthof service is therefore unique. Therehave been seven life-boats stationed atRedcar, and since 1850 they haverescued 289 lives. A silver medalwas presented to a coxswain in 1857for long service.

The vellum was presented by Alder-man B. O. Davis on 2nd August, 1952,and was accepted by the Mayor ofRedcar, Councillor R. Cowie, J.P.,who handed it over to Mr. W. Stott,honorary secretary, who received it onbehalf of the Redcar branch. Theceremony took place in a thunder-storm, and the City of Leeds waslaunched and visited Saltburn andMarske in support of their life-boatdavs.

WHITBY, YORKSHIRE

According to a Whitby historian,Dr. Young, Whitby possessed a life-boat in 1798. Of this the Institutionhas no record, but in 1802 HenryGreathead. builder of the Original.built a life-boat for Whitby. Thestation was taken over by the Institu-tion in 1861. A second station wasestablished there in the same year,and a third station in 1919, which wasequipped with a motor life-boat. Inaddition to these three stations, therewas a station at Upgang, which wasclosed when the Whitby motor life-boat station was opened. These fourstations had altogether twenty-fourlife-boats. They have rescued 813lives. Six gold, thirteen silver and

520 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

nine bronze medals have been awardedto Whitby men for gallantry. Todaythere are two life-boats at Whitby.

The vellum was presented on 30thof October, 1952, by Miss C. Yeoman,honorary secretary of the ladies' life-boat guild, to Councillor J. C. Stoney,Chairman of Whitbv Urban District

Council, and received on behalf ofthe Literary and Philosophical Societyfor safe keeping in the Museum byMiss D. M. Walker, president of theladies' life-boat guild and one of theMuseum's honorary curators. Theceremony took place at the PannettArt Gallery.

Three Station SecretariesTHE Institution has recently lost threevery distinguished secretaries of life-boat stations, for whose long servicesit is very grateful.

Mr. Alexander Robertson, of EastbourneMr. Alexander Robertson, of East-

bourne, died on the 15th of November,1952, at the age of 83. He was honor-ary secretary of the station fromDecember 1923 to March 1949. Dur-ing those twenty-six years he devotedhimself with the greatest enthusiasmto the work of the station and took adeep personal interest in the welfareof the crew. It was said of him thathe was never happier than when hewas out with them in the life-boat onexercise. In 1925 he was awardedthe Institution's gold badge, for dis-tinguished honorary services, and in1926 its inscribed binoculars. In 1949,on his retirement, he was elected anhonorary life-governor, the highesthonour which can be given to an honor-ary worker. His funeral was attendedby the whole crew, and by past mem-bers of the crew, and his ashes werescattered at sea from the life-boat.

Mr. Claude Hart, of the LizardMr. Claude M. Hart of The Lizard,

who died on the 6th of November,1952, at the age of 83, had servedfor thirty-nine years as honorarysecretary of the station when heretired in 1948. During those thirty-nine years the life-boats at The Lizardrescued 269 lives. Mr. Hart wasappointed in 1909. In 1912 he re-ceived a special letter of thanks, in1919 he was presented with inscribedbinoculars, in 1931 he received thegold badge, awarded only for distin-guished honorary services, and in1933 a letter of appreciation for his

part in a dangerous launch of the life-boat in a very heavy sea with a wholegale blowing. In 1948 he was pre-sented with an inscribed barometer,and on his retirement he was electedan honorary life-governor of the Insti-tution, the highest honour which itcan give to an honorary worker. Mr.Hart was an artist who gave his wholelife to the sea, and some of his paint-ings have been reproduced in theInstitution's journal, and in its annual,The Story of the Life-boat. Amongthem was one of the White Star cargovessel the Bardic, aground off TheLizard, from which the life-boat res-cued the crew of ninety-three in 1929.

Mr. W. J. B. Moncas, of RosslareHarbour

Mr. W. J. B. Moncas, of RosslareHarbour, died on the 18th of October,1952. at the age of 65. He had beensecretary of the life-boat station fortwenty-four years, taking part regu-larly in the services of the life-boat.Four times he received awards orletters from the Institution for his partin rescues. In 1926 he was awardedinscribed binoculars for putting outin a small boat, with several others,in a rough sea, and rescuing the crewof seven men of a fishing boat. In1929 he won the bronze medal forhis share in a very dangerous service,the rescue by night in a whole galeof the crew of the schooner Mount-blairy, as she lay surrounded by rocks.In 1939 he received a letter of thanksfor his share in a rescue on a night ofJanuary, in a very rough sea, whenhe went out without waiting to dress.in pyjamas and an overcoat. Justa year later he received yet anotherletter of thanks for another nightservice in January when the life-boatwas out for ten hours in a whole gale.

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 521

Awards to Coxswains and Life-boatmenTo WILLIAM SWANKIE, B.E.M., on his

retirement after serving for 17f years ascoxswain and 8| years as second coxswainof the Arbroath life-boat, a coxswain'scertificate of service and an annuity.

To LESLIE C. PENNYCORD, on his retire-ment, after serving for 16 years as coxswainand 4 years as second coxswain of theSelsey life-boat, a coxswain's certificate ofservice and an annuity.

To STANLEY T. SMITH, on his retirement,after serving for 8 years as coxswain and11J years as second coxswain of theYarmouth,Isle of Wight, life-boat, a coxswain's certi-ficate of service and an annuity.

To CECIL G. IRWIN, on his retirement,after serving for 7J years as coxswain and13 years as second coxswain of the Ilfra-combe life-boat, a coxswain's certificate ofservice.

To WILFRED ELDER, on his retirement,after serving for 9 months as coxswain and5 months as second coxswain of tne \\ hitbyNo. 1 life-boat, and 6J years as coxswain,9 years as second cox wain and If years asbowman of the Whitby No. 2 life-boat, acoxswain's certificate of service.

To DOUGLAS S. KIRKALDIE, on his retire-ment, after serving for 6f years as coxswain,4 years as second coxswain and 5 years asbowman of the Ramsgate life-boat, a cox-swain's certificate of service and an annuity.

To DENIS DRISCOLL, on his retirement,after serving for 5J years as coxswain and18J years as bowman of the CourtmacsherryHarbour life-boat, a coxswain's certificate ofservice and an annuity.

To ROBERT W. RICHARDSON, on his retire-ment, after serving for over 5 years as cox-swain of the Whitby No. 1 life-boat and beingassociated with the Whitby life-boats for25 years, a life-boatman's certificate of serviceand a gratuity.

To WILLIAM MCCONNELL, on his retire-ment, after serving for 4J years as coxswainand 2 years as second coxswain of the Port-patrick life-boat, and 13 years as a memberof the crew of the Port Logan life-boat, alife-boatman's certificate of service.

To DENIS WHELTON, on his retirement,after serving for 24J years as second cox-swain of the Courtmacsherry Harbour life-boat, a life-boatman's certificate of serviceand an annuity.

To HAROLD J. BRAUND, on his retirement,after serving for 16 years as second coxswainand 15 years as a member of the crew of theClovelly life-boat, a life-boatman's certificateof service and an annuity.

To RICHARD H. CANN, on his retirement,after serving for 11 years as second coxswainand 8| years as bowman of the Appledorelife-boat, a life-boatman's certificate ofservice and an annuity.

To JAMES FINDLAY, on his retirement,after serving for 8 years as second coxswainand 10 years as a member of the crew of theMontrose life-boat, a life-boatman's certificateof service and a gratuity.

To SAMUEL ASHBROOK, on his retirement,after serving for 5| years as second coxswainand 8 years as a member of the crew of thePwellheli life-boat, a life-boatman's certificateof service.

To NORMAN MORRISON, on his retirement,after serving for 1£ years as second coxswain,3| years as bowman and 28 years as a memberof the crew of the Falmouth Jife-boat, alife-boatman's certificate of service and agratuity.

To JOHN CLAGUE, on his retirement, afterserving for 12J years as bowman and 24years as a member of the crew of the Douglaslife-boat, a life-boatman's certificate ofservice and an annuity.

To LAURENCE SIMPSON, on his retirement,after serving for 11 j years as bowman and1$ years as a member of the crew of the Ler-wick life-boat, a life-boatman's certificate ofservice and an annuity.

To FREDERICK C. TATEM, on his retirement,after serving for 10J years as bowman of theAppledore life-boat, a life-boatman's certi-ficate of service and an annuity.

To WILLIAM MILLER, on his retirement,after serving for 6J years as bowman and 11years as a member of the crew of the Wicklife-boat, a life-boatman's certificate ofservice and a gratuity.

To GEORGE DALLY, on his retirement, afterserving for 18J years as motor mechanic, 3years as second coxswain and 9 months asbowman of the Coverack life-boat, a life-boatman's certificate of service and anannuity.

To JOHN JONES, on his retirement, afterserving for 14J years as motor mechanic ofthe Holyhead life-boat, a life-boatman'scertificate of service, a gratuity and a retire-ment allowance.

To ALEXANDER FYVIE, on his retirement,after serving for 4f years as assistant motormechanic and 7 years as a member of thecrew of the Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, life-boat, a life-boatman's certificate of serviceand a gratuity.

THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

General Sir Reginald Wingate

BY the death of General Sir (Francis)Reginald Wingate, Bt., G.C.B.,G.C.V.O., G.B.E., K.C.M.G., D.S.O.,on the 28th of January, 1952, at theage of 91, the Committee of Manage-ment lost one of their most distin-guished members. He became a

member of ihs Committee in 1932,was elected a vice-president in 1945,and up to the end of his very longlife he continued his interest in theInstitution's work. He was also forvery many years a vice-president of theDunbar and Skateraw station branch.

Gift from Tasmania

THE Institution has received a giftof £100 from Tasmania for the benefitof the life-boat station at Southend-

on-Sea. The donor's aunt lived inSouthend for many years and was acontributor to the branch.

An Indian Applicant

THE Institution has had a letter froma consulting engineer in Travancore-Cochin, India, asking to be told howhe "can get selected as a life-boatmanin the Royal National Life-boat Insti-tution in England." He is, he says, a

student of Madras University, hasreceived his military training, is anefficient swimmer, knows how to rescuethe drowning, can drive boats andhas had considerable experience inworking a bulldozer.

A Mysterious Gift

ON the balustrade in front of theheadquarters of the Institution standsa half model of a life-boat which is

also a collecting-box. When the boxwas opened on the morning of the 18thof April 84 farthings were found in it.

Notice

All contributions for the Institution should be sent either to the honorary secretaryof the local branch or guild, or to Colonel A. D. Burnett Drown, M.C., T.D., M.A.,the Secretary, Royal National Life-boat Institution, 42 Grosvenor Gardens, London,S.W.I.

All enquiries about the work of the Institution or about this journal should beaddressed to the Secretary,

The next number O/THE LIFE-BOAT will be published in August, 1953.

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 523

Coronation SupplementThe Royal Family and the Life-boat Service*

WHEN the Life-boat Service wasfounded, at a meeting in the City ofLondon, in 1824, King George IVbecame its Patron, and five of the royaldukes its vice-patrons—York, Clarence,Sussex, Cambridge and Gloucester.

So the Service began at once tojustify the belief of its founder, SirWilliam Hillary, that it was "a causewhich extends from the palace to thecottage . . . and which addresses itselfwith equal force to all the best feelingsof every class in the state."

When the Duke of Clarence suc-ceeded George IV, in 1830, as WilliamIV, he, in turn, became the Institu-tion's Patron, but the head of GeorgeIV remained on its medals for gallantrythrough the seven years of his reignand through the first twenty-five yearsof Queen Victoria's. It was not until1862 that it was replaced by the headof the Queen.

Queen Victoria and the PrinceConsort

In the first report of the Institutionare the names only of men. Evenamong the subscribers are not morethan a dozen names of women. Menfounded the Institution. They set iton its way. Not until it was thirteenyears old does a woman's name appear,when, on her accession to the thronein 1837, Queen Victoria became Patron.The next year another famouswoman's name appears, the firstwoman to win the Institution's medalfor gallantry—Grace Darling.

The Queen was married in 1840.Ten years later her husband, thePrince Conscrt, became a Vice-Patron.That was in 1850, the year in which hewas preparing the Great Exhibition of1851. It was, too, the year beforeRear-Admiral the Duke of Northum-berland became President of theInstitution, and—in the word used atthe time—the Life-boat Service was"renovated". When the Prince Con-sort died, in 1861, the Institutionacknowledged its debt in that work of

renovation, and the help which hehad given it as "a liberal annualsubscriber."

In the early days of the Life-boatService not only our own Royal Familybut foreign royalties gave it theirnames and their help. Besides thefive royal dukes, who were the originalvice-patrons, there was a sixth, PrinceLeopold of Saxe-Coburg, Queen Vic-toria's uncle. As King Leopold of theBelgians he continued to be a vice-patron. Among the foreign sub-scribers to the Institution were theEmperor of Austria and the Emperorof the French. Among those whomade gifts to it were the King ofPrussia and the Queen of Rumania.

Queen Victoria herself gave twoboats. The estate of Samuel Fletcherof Manchester, who had died withoutmaking a will, came to the Queen inright of the Duchy of Lancaster. Partof it was given to the Institution tobuild a life-boat, the Samuel Fletcherof Manchester. She was stationed atBlackpool. A second Samuel Fletcherreplaced her in 1896, and betweenthem the two boats served at Black-pool for forty-four years.

Two years after the gift of theSamuel Fletcher, in the year of theQueen's Golden Jubilee, the Institu-tion, with the Queen's consent, decidedto build, and to maintain in perpetuity,a life-boat named after her. The firstQueen Victoria was stationed at Bern-bridge, and named by the Queen'sdaughter-in-law, the Duchess of Edin-burgh. The second was at Porthou-stock. The. third is stationed todayat Guernsey. The three boatsbetween them have rescued 227 lives.

When the Queen died in 1901, shehad been the Patron of the Service forthe sixty-three years of her reign.She had been "one of its largest annualsubscribers," and to the end of herreign the Institution's medals for* This account of all that the Royal Family has donefor the Life-boat Service appears also in the CoronationNumber of the Story of the Life-boat with 32 pages ofpictures.

524 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

gallantry had born the head of theQueen, which had first been struck forthem in 1862.

King Edward VII and QueenAlexandra

It was King Edward VII, as theyoung Prince of Wales, who began themore intimate and active association ofthe Royal Family with the Life-boatService, which has continued throughthree generations to the reign of Eliza-beth II. In 1863, at the age of twenty-two, he became vice-patron in succes-sion to his father. The original vice-patrons—the royal dukes and theKing of the Belgians—were now dead.The Queen was Patron, the Prince ofWales the only vice-patron. So it wasfor the next twenty years.

Seven years before he became vice-patron, one of the Padstow life-boatshad been named after him, AlbertEdward. Then, in 1864, the Berwick-on-Tweed life-boat was named AlbertVictor after his first child, the Dukeof Clarence, born in that year. Forseventy-three years there was anAlbert Edward in the fleet, and fivelife-boats bore the name. The firsttwo were at Padstow from 1856 to1883, the second being a gift from theCity of Bristol. Then, while thesecond was still in service, anotherAlbert Edward, a gift from the Free-masons of England, in gratitude forthe Prince's safe return from his Indiantour, was stationed at Clacton-on-Seain 1878. She was succeeded there bytwo more, and the third was not with-drawn from service until 1929. Inthose seventy-three years the five AlbertEdwards rescued exactly 700 lives.

Edward VII, as Prince of Wales, wasthe first member of the Royal Familyto preside at the Institution's annualmeeting. This was in 1867. He pre-sided again in 1884 and yet again in1893. At that last meeting, in replyto a vote of thanks to him, he said :

"Be assured I always have taken,and always shall take, the very live-liest interest in the success of this greatand most important Institution. I donot consider that in this world therecan be a finer service than this one inwhich men are called upon at all hoursof the day and night to give theirservices, frequently at imminent risk

to their lives, to save their fellow crea-tures from the frightful death ofdrowning. This is, to my mind, oneof the noblest and finest services towhich a human being can belong."

He rpoke a^ain, in 1899, at a dinneron bel.alf of the London Life-boatSaturday Fund, of which his son, theDuke of York (later George V) waspresident. At that dinner he madefour speeches, in proposing the healthof the Queen, in replying to the toastof other membsrs of the Royal Family,in proposing the toast of the Army andNavy, and then, in a long speech, inproposing the toast of the LondonLife-boat Saturday Fund.

The Princess of Wales became a vice-patron in 1883. In 1913 she became aPatron. She remained a Patron untilher death in 1925. She had then beenassociated with the Service for forty-two years. For an even longer time— for fifty-two years — life-boatsnamed Alexandra were on the coast.There were three of them, built out ofthe same gift from the Freemasons ofEngland, which had built the threeAlbert Edwards at Clacton-on-Sea.They were stationed at Hope Cove,Devon, from 1878 to 1930 and theyrescued sixty-four lives.

Both the Prince and the Princessshowed their interest in the Service invery personal ways. They receivedat Marlborough House Robert Egertonof Clacton-on-Sea, coxswain of thelife-boat Albert Edward, and RowlandHughes, coxswain at Moelfre, Anglesey,who was retiring that year, 1884, atthe age of eighty-two. The Princesspresented to them medals awarded bythe Institution. In 1892, when thefirst steam life-boat, the Duke ofNorthumberland, was at Cowes, on herway from Harwich to Holyhead, thePrince of Wales went for a trip in her.Next day the German Emperor,Wilhelm II, also went a trip in her.In 1899 the Prince became the firstroyal President of the Service, and twoyears later, on the death of QueenVictoria, he succeeded her as Patron.

As King and Patron, Edward VIIcontinued his personal interest in theService, and a year after his successionhe received at Sandringham JamesHaylett, of Caister. The new Princeof Wales (George V), who had just

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 525

become the Institution's President,and the new Princess of Wales (QueenMary) were also present. It was twomonths after the disaster at Caister,when the life-boat, bv night, wasdriven ashore and capsized in the surf,pinning her crew beneath her. Eightof them were drowned. Three wererescued by James Haylett, then agedseventy-eight, and one of his grand-sons, who went into the surf at therisk of their lives. The Institutionawarded James Haylett its gold medalfor gallantry, and the King presentedit. To the King's delight JamesHaylett "earnestly expressed the hopethat His Majesty would live to be ahundred years old and then die andgo to heaven."

Three months later came KingEdward's last recorded meeting withthe Life-boat Service. He was visit-ing the Isles of Scilly, and went outin a steam launch with Colonel T. A.Dorrien Smith, the president of theInstitution's Scillies branch, and fatherof Major A. A. Dorrien Smith, D.S.O.,who is now the president. ColonelDorrien Smith told him of a recentgood service by the life-boat. Justafterwards a boat passed them and hepointed it out as the boat of the cox-swain, Eustace Thomas, with theman himself on board. They couldnot stop and speak, but all that theKing could do he did. He raised hiscap and bowed to the coxswain.

When King Edward died in 1910 hehad been associated with the Servicefor forty-seven of his sixty-eight years.

Admiral of the Fleet theDuke of Edinburgh

Queen Victoria's second son, PrinceAlbert, the Duke of Edinburgh, whowent into the Navy and became anadmiral of the fleet before succeedingto the dukedom of Saxe-Coburg andGotha, also took a personal interestin the Service.

As a captain in the Navy, he pre-sided at the Institution's annual meet-ing of 1872, and from 1879 until 1882,as Admiral Superintendent of NavalReserves, he was an ex-officio memberof the committee of management. In1881 he presented at Ramsgate thegold medal awarded to CoxswainCharles Fish, and the silver medals

awarded to the eleven members of hiscrew, for the most famous life-boatservice of the nineteenth century, theservice to the barque Indian Chief.

In the same year the Duke andDuchess of Edinburgh became the onlytwo members of the Royal Family tobe rescued by a life-boat. They hadgone in H.M.S. Lively to Sidmouthand put off from her in a pinnace.There was an increasing swell; thepinnace nearly capsized; and the life-boat, which was waiting to be in-spected, went out and brought themashore.

Their interest in the Life-boatService had already been recognisedwhen they were married. The Duch-ess was the only daughter of theEmperor of Russia. She was Patron-ess of the Russian Association for theRescue of Shipwrecked Crews, andthe wedding gift of the British residentsin St. Petersburg was two life-boatsbuilt in England, and named Alfredand Marie, to be stationed on the coastof Russia.

The Duke became a vice-patron ofthe Institution in 1883, and as Dukeof Saxe-Coburg and Gotha spoke at ameeting in the City of London in 1894,which led to the founding of the Cityof London Branch of the Institution.

Other Children of Queen VictoriaThe Princess Louise, Duchess of

Argyll, was first associated with theService when she attended the namingceremony of the Atherfield, Isle ofWight, life-boat in 1891. Four yearslater she was in Manchester receivingpurses from the Manchester and Sal-ford ladies of the Life-boat SaturdayFund. In 1923 she became Patron ofthe newly-formed Ladies' Life-boatGuild, and speaking that year at aconference of life-boat workers shesaid: " It is a great pleasure and dis-tinction to be the Patron of the Ladies'Life-boat Guild. . . . No Institutioncan go nearer to the hearts of ourwomen with more penetrating interest,love and sympathy." In the sameyear, and the next year, she visitedflag day depots in Kensington, andin the year after was at the meetingin London of the general council ofthe guild where, with the Prince ofWales, she personally welcomed the

526 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

150 members. She was at the matineeat the Victoria Palace, London, withQueen Mary, in 1922, to see theCitroen film of the crossing of theSahara Desert; at the life-boat varietymatinee at the Hippodrome, London,in 1930, with the King, Queen andPrince of Wales, and at the annualmeeting of the Institution the follow-ing year. She remained the Patron ofthe Guild until her death in 1939.

Field-Marshal the Duke of Con-naught spoke at the annual meetingof the Institution in 1917, and madepersonal appeals for the Service to allthe corps, including the GrenadierGuards, of which he was colonel-in-chief.

The Princess Beatrice, Queen Vic-toria's youngest child, who had firstbeen associated with the Service whenshe opened a life-boat fete in York in1905, became Patron of the Isle ofWight branch in 1920, and remainedPatron until her death in 1944.

The Princess Marie Louise, daughterof Queen Victoria's daughter PrincessHelena and of Prince Christian ofSchleswig-Holstein, has for the pastfive years taken part in the workof the Central London branch, aspresident of its bridge party committee,and has spoken at the bridge partiesand the annual conference of the life-boat workers in Greater London.

George V and Queen MaryLike his uncle, the Duke of Edin-

burgh, George V was trained for andserved in the Navy. As LieutenantPrince George of Wales, R.N., hebecame a vice-patron of the Institu-tion in 1891, and three years later asCaptain the Duke of Cornwall andYork, R.N., he joined its committeeof management and served as amember until 1901. In 1895 hebecame president of the Life-boatSaturday Fund, and the next yearpresided at the annual meeting of theInstitution. Speaking in the name ofthe Navy and the merchant service,he said that the men of both had thegreatest admiration for the life-boatcrews.

In 1902, as Prince of Wales, hebecame the Institution's President.In the same year, when visiting York-shire, he met John Owston, the cox-

swain of the Scarborough life-boat,and gave him two silver-mounted briarpipes with the royal monogram onthem. In 1908 he received at Marl-borough House Coxswain John Owenof Holyhead, and presented to himthe Institution's gold medal forgallantry.

Queen Mary, as Duchess of Cornwalland York, became president of theLadies' Auxiliary of the Life-boatSaturday Fund in 1895. In 1902, asPrincess of Wales, she became a vicepatron of the Institution, and in 1903she received purses for the Life-boatService at Marlborough House from125 ladies from all parts of the country.

The Prince and Princess bothattended a life-boat matinee at theAlhambra in 1902, and in 1909, whenvisiting the Duchy of Cornwall, saw alaunch of the Newquay life-boat andwent aboard her.

As King and Queen they continuedto show their interest in the Service.The King became its Patron on hisaccession to the throne, and the Queena year later. For the first time theInstitution had two Patrons. In 1913the King went afloat at Cowcs in amotor life-boat just about to sail forBeaumaris. During the war of 1914-18 he sent two special messages to theService, in 1915 and 1917, thanking itsmen for their gallantry and for carry-ing on "the splendid tradition of anInstitution with which the King isproud to have been for so many yearsso closely identified."

WThen the Service ended its first 100years in 1924, he received at Bucking-ham Palace seven of the eight livingholders of the gold medal and presentedeach of them with the Empire Gallan-try Medal, and he sent a message tothe delegates at the first InternationalLife-boat Conference, then being heldin London, in which he said: "I rejoicethat the Prince of Wales succeededme in the position of President of asociety of which I am proud to bePatron."

The King and Queen showed theirinterest in other ways. In 1922 QueenMary attended a matinee in aid of theService at the Victoria Palace inLondon, to see the film of the Citroenexpedition of tracked motor vehicles,which had crossed the Sahara Desert,

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 527

and a programme of French artists;and in 1930, the King and Queen, aswell as the Prince of Wales andPrincess Louise, Duchess of Argyll,were at the life-boat variety matineeat the Hippodrome in London.

For forty-six of his seventy-oneyears, King George was personallyassociated with the work of the Service.Queen Mary was associated with itfor fifty-seven of her eighty-five years,only six years fewer than QueenVictoria.

Edward VIII, as Prince of WalesIt was at the same station of New-

quay, in the Royal Duchy of Cornwall,where King George and Queen Marysaw a launch of the life-boat (downthe steepest slipway on the coast)that their sons first met the Service.Prince Edward and Prince Albert(Edward VIII, now Duke of Windsor,and George VI) first met it in 1911,when they were cadets at the RoyalNaval College at Dartmouth, andPrince Henry (the Duke of Gloucester)and Prince George (the Duke of Kent)two years later.

Eight years after his first sight of alife-boat in action—as soon as the warof 1914 to 1918 had ended—PrinceEdward, who was now the Prince ofWales, became the Institution's Presi-dent. He lost no time in showing hisinterest in the Life-boat Service, andthat interest continued, and grew,during the next seventeen years.In 1921 he presided for the first timeat the annual meeting. There he metthe whole of the crew from Fishguard,in South Wales, and presented thegold medal won by Coxswain JohnHowells, and silver and bronze medalswon by the other members of the crew,for the rescue, in extreme danger, ofthe crew of the Dutch motor schoonerHermina. There, too, he announcedthat a Ladies' Life-boat Guild had beenformed to unite all women workingfor the Life-boat Service. The appealwhich he then made for the Servicewas taken up at once by the Press.The Times said: "To the public, tothe Army, to the great cities, to theshipping community and to the womenof the nation the Prince made a specialappeal for willing help. In the nameof 'the glory and tragedy' of the

Life-boat Service it cannot be thathe will appeal in vain."

That was the first of five annualmeetings at which he presided. Theother four were in 1924 (the centenaryyear), 1928, 1931 and 1934. He spokein other places, at a meeting of thegeneral council of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild in London in 1925, wherethe 150 members of the council werepresented to him, and at a ScottishLife-boat Assembly in Edinburgh, in1929, where he met the most distin-guished of the Scottish coxswains.

At the annual meeting in 1928 hesaid: "Since my recent appointmentto that high position as Master of theMerchant Navy and of the FishingFleets, I am even prouder than beforeto be in the chair, because this titlegives me yet another link with thisgreat Institution, and with its crews,which are the very pick of that splen-did body of men, our fishermen."

Then he went on to appeal to theshipping companies and suggestedthat "one or two" might give a life-boat. "What prouder thing," hesaid, "could a great Shipping Linehave than its name on one of ourlife-boats ?" WThen he spoke next yearat the Scottish Life-boat Assembly hewas able to say how promptly thatappeal had been answered, and tothank the Peninsular and OrientalGroup of Companies for the life-boatPrincess Mary, which last year cameto the end of her service at Padstow,the Oceanic Steam Navigation Com-pany for the life-boat White Star, nowserving at Fishguard, the CunardCompany for the life-boat Cunard,now serving in the Scillies, the Cana-dian Pacific Company for the life-boatCanadian Pacific, now serving atSelsey, and the Royal Mail and theUnion Castle Companies for the life-boat Lady Kylsant, now serving atWicklow. In the same speech atEdinburgh, the Prince appealed to thefishing companies "whose ships aremore frequently assisted by the life-boats than any other, and whosecrews are made up of the same finestamp of men as the life-boat crews."

In 1924, the centenary year of theInstitution, the Prince was particu-larly active. The year before it, thelast year of the first century of the

528 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

Service, he allowed all life-boat flagdays to be called Prince of Wales Day,and he made a tour of the depots whenthe day was held in London. He spokeat the meeting held in the MansionHouse on the Institution's 100thbirthday, March 4th, 1924, with theLord Mayor presiding. He presidedand spoke at the centenary dinner,where the other speakers were thePrime Minister (Mr. Ramsay Mac-donald), Mr. Winston Churchill, theSpanish Ambassador, the Minister forthe Netherlands and Major H. E.Burton, one of the Institution's goldmedallists. He issued a specialcentenary appeal to the country inwhich he said:

"There is not a country with a sea-board whose vessels and seafarers havenot, at some time during the pastcentury, been rescued from shipwreckby the British Life-boat Service. . . .There is nothing in our long andsplendid history as a seafaring raceof which we are more proud."

He contributed also an introductionto Britain's Life-boats, The Story of aCentury of Heroic Service, by MajorA. J. Dawson:

"It is the story of a great nationalduty, voluntarily undertaken by theBritish people themselves, and carriedout by them without financial assis-tance from the State. The first mari-time nation in the world has made ita point of honour that the Servicewhich embodies the Brotherhood ofthe Sea should be a Service suppliedand maintained by the people itself."

When the centenary year ended hesent an autographed letter of thanks tothe honorary workers, officers andstaff of the Service.

Not only the Prince of Wales butother members of the Royal Familytook part in those celebrations. TheKing, as already mentioned, decoratedthe Institution's gold medallists, andsent a message to the InternationalLife-boat Conference. The Duke andDuchess of York made a tour of thedepots on life-boat flag day inLondon, and the Princess Louise,Duchess of Argyll, of the depots inKensington. The Duke of Gloucesteropened the Life-boat Centenary Fairin Birmingham.

In 1928 the Prince of Wales againtoured the depots on London life-boatflag day, and in 1935, the year ofGeorge V's silver jubilee as King, heagain allowed the life-boat daysthroughout the country to be calledPrince of Wales Day.

He contributed an introduction to asecond life-boat book in 1932, Launch,by Major-General Lord Mottistone,coxswain of the life-boat at Brooke,Isle of Wight. There he said: "Irecommend this book to all. I recom-mend it specially to those who areinclined to lose confidence in ourfuture. It will put courage intothem."

In 1928 a second Citroen film, TheBlack Journey, was shown in London.This time it was of a journey thelength of Africa from Algiers to theCape. It was the Prince of Wales whosuggested that, like the first, it shouldbe shown for the Life-boat Service.He came to it himself, brought theDuke and Duchess of York, and PrinceArthur of Connaught, and went onthe stage with M. Citroen to speak.Six years later a third Citroen film,An Eastern Odyssey, showed the carstravelling 7,000 miles across Asia.Again it was given in aid of the Life-boat Service and again the Prince ofWales was present.

In 1929 the Prince had attended thelife-boat matinee in Bradford which,for many years, was given annuallyby Mr. Francis Laidler. In 1930 hewas the host for the Service to KingGeorge and Queen Mary when theyattended the life-boat matinee at theHippodrome. Two years later he wentto a life-boat ball at Liverpool.

He named life-boats at Yarmouth,Isle of Wight, Dover and Torbay. Hevisited the station at Eastbourne andmet the crew. He visited the stationat Hastings where he went aboard thelife-boat, and the fishermen made hima member of their Winkle Club andpresented him with a gold winkle.Two life-boats were named after him,the Prince David, stationed at BarryDock in 1922, and the Edward Princeof Wales, stationed at The Mumbles in1924.

He was always ready to meet menand women of the Service. After theannual meeting in 1928 he went from

SPRIXG, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 529

the hall to the Westminster Hospitalnext door to talk to a crippled woman,who, though bedridden, had for yearsworked for the Service and won itsgold badge. After the annual meetingin 1934 he met and talked to Mrs.Robert Patton of Runswick. She hadjust received from him the gold medalawarded to her husband who haddeliberately risked, and lost, his life,in rescuing a cripple as he hung help-less from a wreck.

The Prince's last life-boat speechwas at the annual meeting in 1934, theyear before he came to the throne.At the end of that speech he said:''As I pin the decorations on the coatsof these life-boatmen . . . we want themto know what we think of them, whichis that their service and self-sacrifice. . . are an example of all that isnoblest and best in the British race."

George VI and Queen ElizabethIn 1924. the centenary year of the

Institution. George VI and QueenElizabeth, as Duke and Duchess ofYork, toured the depots on life-boatday in London. Two years later theDuke and Duchess went to Montrosewhere the Duchess, in her own countyof Angus, named the life-boat. In1928 they went with the Prince ofWales to the film. The Black Journey,and in the same year—the year ofGeorge Y's serious illness—the Duketook the place of the King and Queenat a life-boat matinee of drama, operaand ballet at the Lyceum, where thefirst performance was given, with avery distinguished cast, of Louis X.Parker's life-boat play which he wrotefor, and gave to the Institution, TheirBusiness in Great Waters. In 1931the Duchess again made a tour ofdepots on the life-boat flag day inLondon, and the next year she namedthe new life-boat at another statioiiin the county of Angus, Arbroath.When Edward VIII succeeded to thethrone in 1936 the Duke became theInstitution's President, and when, inthe same year, he succeeded to thethrone himself, he and the Queenbecame Patrons. In 1934 the life-boat at the Lizard, the gift of KingGeorge's Fund for Sailors, was namedafter him, Duke of York.

The Princess Royal and the Dukeof Gloucester

The Princess Royal (Mary, Countessof Harewood), has, like her grand-father, Edward VII. and her brother,Edward VIII, had two life-boatsnamed after her, the Princess Mary,gift of the Peninsular and OrientalShipping Companies stationed at Pad-stow in 1929, and the Princess Royal,gift of the Civil Service Life-boatFund, stationed at Hartlepool in 1939.She herself has named four-life-boats,two on the Yorkshire coast, at Scar-borough and Bridlington, in 1931;then her own life-boat, the PrincessRoyal, at Hartlepool on the coast ofDurham in 1941; and a third York-shire life-boat at Redcar in 1951, theCity of Leeds. This boat had beenbuilt out of a special fund raised inLeeds, of which the Earl of Harewoodwas the patron.

The Duke of Gloucester opened thelife-boat centenary fancy fair in Bir-mingham in 1925. The next year,following the example of the Princeof Wales in 1923, and the Duke andDuchess of York in 1924, he took partin the life-boat flag day in London,and in 1930 he named the Padstowlife-boat Princess Manj. He said:

"It is a happy coincidence that thismonth my family are nearly all closelylinked with the Life-boat Service. Theother day my eldest brother named theDover life-boat after Sir WilliamHillary, the founder of the Institution.Today I am naming the Padstow boatafter my sister. On Friday next myyoungest brother is naming his fourthand fifth life-boats at Walton-on-the-Naze and Clacton-on-Sea."

The Duke of KentThe Duke of Kent became the Insti-

tution's fifth royal President whenGeorge VI ascended the throne. Thatwas in 1937. He had already takenan active part in the work of theService for the past nine years. In1928, as Prince George, he went to theOrkneys, "the first member of myfamily," as he said, "for many yearswho has performed a public functionin these remote islands." There henamed the new life-boats at Stromnessand Longhope, and presented the

530 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

Scottish challenge shield in the life-boat essay competition for elementaryschools which, that year, had beenwon by an Orkney school: and therehe made the first of his many life-boat speeches.

"As you know, all the other mem-bers of my family, following theexample of His Majesty the King,have associated themselves personallywith the great national undertakingwhich is carried out by the RoyalNational Life-boat Institution, and Iam delighted to take this, my firstopportunity, of sharing in a life-boatceremony."

Those were the first two of a suc-cession of naming ceremonies in whichhe took part on many parts of thecoast, at Southend-on-Sea, in 1929,Walton-on-the-Naze and Clacton-on-Sea in 1930, Newhaven in 1931, Aide-burgh in 1932, Shoreham Harbour in1933, Weston-super-Mare in 1935 andBlackpool in 1937.

At the annual meeting in 1936 hehad spoken and presented the awardsin place of the Prince of Wales, whohad just become King. As Presidenthe presided at the meetings in 1937,1938 and 1939. At those four meet-ings he presented medals for gallantryto eighty-four life-boatmen and then,when the meetings were over, met andtalked with them, and was photo-graphed with them. Not even hiselder brother, in his busy seventeenyears as President, had met so manyof the men, or visited so many life-boatstations.

The 1939 meeting was the Duke'slast. He had just been appointedGovernor General of Australia. Itwas a meeting, as he said in the firstsentence of his speech, held "underthe shadow of two disasters" at St.Ives, in Cornwall, and at Cullercoats,in Northumberland, where the boatshad capsized with heavy loss of life.The year before had been a year ofspecial gallantry. As the Duke said,"It is hard for us sitting in this hallto realise how much lies behind thatsimple statement '673 lives rescued.'But presently we shall see some of thelife-boatmen themselves. There areover forty with us this afternoon, thelargest number that has ever come tothis meeting. They have come from

all parts of our coast, from England,Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Theyare all men who have been givenspecial awards for outstanding services.There will be several among themwho have been here before, and Ishould specially like to welcome Cox-swain William Mogridge of Torbay.Twice already I have presented medalsto him, and he is here today to receiveyet a third award for gallantry."

At the end of his speech he saidgood-bye: "For four years I havepresided at these meetings. In afew months I shall be going to otherduties overseas . . . I shall take withme to Australia very happy memoriesof these meetings, and of the gallantmen that I have met in this hall. Ishall look forward to presiding hereagain when I return. Meanwhile, youmay all be sure that while I am away mywarm interest and best wishes will al-ways be with the Life-boat Service in itswork round the shores of this country."

Those were his last publicly spokenwords to the Service, spoken to anaudience of over 2,500 people. Thatwas at the end of April. Four monthslater, war was declared and hisjourney to Australia was cancelled.There was work for him at home.

He could not attend the annualmeetings in uie next three years, buthe sent messages to each of them, andhe found time in other ways still tohelp the Service. In November, 1941,he was in Northern Ireland and pre-sented a bronze medal and a bar wonby Coxswain Patrick Murphy, of New-castle, Co. Down. Coxswain Murphvhad won them both in twelve days.Within a year of winning the bar hehad won the gold medal for an act ofthe greatest daring.

Then, in July, 1942, the Duke pre-sented the bronze medal won by thecoxswain of the Plymouth life-boat forrescuing an Australian flying boat asit was being carried on to the rocks.This was his last public act for thelife-boats. Six weeks later he waskilled on active service when his aero-plarie crashed by night in the Scottishmountains on its way to Iceland.

The Duchess of KentJust three months after the Duke's

death, the Duchess of Kent accepted

SPRING, 1953] THE LIFE-BOAT 531

the Institution's invitation to succeedhim as President. She wanted, assoon as it could be arranged, to meetas many as possible of the men andwomen of the Service. It could notbe done at a public meeting. Nopublic meeting could be called to meether, since in the war the engagementsof the Royal Family were kept secret.Instead a private tea party was heldin London at which she met theCommittee of Management, theCentral London women's committee,the committee of the City of Londonbranch, honorary life-governors of theInstitution and the principal officials.There she made her first life-boatspeech: "I look forward after the warto meeting the crews of the boats frommany parts of the country, and tothanking them for their courageousdeeds of mercy in these critical years."

As soon as the war ended thatpromise was fulfilled, but before itended she attended a life-boat fete inBirmingham, and just after it endedshe visited Cromer, where she metCoxswain Henry Blogg and his crew,and Sheringham where she metCoxswain James Dumble and his crew,and saw the life-boat launched.

In October of the same year sheattended her first annual meeting. Itwas the first full meeting to be heldsince the Duke's last in 1939. Forthough a public meeting was held in1940, no life-boatmen could comefrom the coast to receive their medals,and during the next four years themeetings were held solely to receiveand pass the report and accounts.

At this memorable first meeting theDuchess presented the eight goldmedals awarded during the war forconspicuous gallantry, to Robert Cross,of the Humber, who had won it twice,Henry Blogg, of Cromer, WilliamBennison, of Hartlepool, John McLean,of Peterhead, William Gammon of TheMumbles, Patrick Murphy, of New-castle, Co. Down (who had received hisbronze medal and clasp from the Dukeof Kent three years before) and JohnBoyle, of Arranmore. When she hadpresented them she said:

"The dangers which the very gallantmen of our Service cheerfully acceptin peace time were increased a thou-sand times during the hardest years of

the war, and your record is unsur-passed in the 121 years since theInstitution was founded. Men of allages formed the boats' crews, and nopraise can be too high for those who,although they had reached the retiringage when war broke out, stayed onthrough the last six years and togetherwith the younger men showed not onlygreat courage, but extraordinaryphysical endurance. It is with realpride that I have just presented theGold Medals to the seven men of thelife-boat crews who, as you have heard,come from all parts of the British Isles,England, Scotland, Wales, NorthernIreland and Eire. They will, I feelsure, accept these medals as a tributenot only to themselves, but also totheir comrades who shared the dangerswith them. The Institution hasawarded 204 medals to life-boatmenduring the war and we honour eachone of them and the other members ofthe crews, and thank them for theirwonderful, self-sacrificing work forhumanity."

Two of the speakers who followedthe Duchess at this memorable meet-ing had carried on their life-boat workunder German occupation. One wasCommander H. T. de Booy, secretaryand chief inspector of the Royal Xorthand South Holland Life-boat Society.The other was Mr. L. P. Stevens,honorary secretary of the Institution'slife-boat station at St. Helier, Jersey,who was himself to win a medal forgallantry four years later.

In 1946 the Duchess visited thelife-boat station at Weston-super-Mare. In the same year she sent amessage to the annual meeting. Nextyear she was to have presented theawards at the meeting, among themcertificates to the widows of the menof The Mumbles who, in the April ofthat year had lost their lives when thelife-boat capsized in a hurricane.Illness prevented her, but her speechwas read. " With a heavy and under-standing heart, I pray that the familiesof these men may be comforted bythe world-wide tributes to them . . .We shall not forget them or theirrelatives." And next year, when shewas in Swansea for the Festival ofMusic, she met the widows.

532 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1953

In that same year, 1948, the Duchessnamed her first life-boats at Bridling-ton and Tynemouth; in 1951 the life-boats at New Brighton and Margate;and in 1952 the life-boats at Plymouthand Padstow. She paid other visitsto life-boat stations. In 1947 shesaw the Portrush life-boat and hercrew in Northern Ireland. She wentto Ramsgate in 1948, where she metpresent and past members of the crew,among them Coxswain Howard Prim-rose Knight, who had won the Distin-guished Service Medal when he tookthe Ramsgate life-boat to Dunkirk in1940 to help in bringing off the BritishArmy. She went to Penlee in 1950;to Walmer, Aberystwyth and Bar-mouth in 1951.

In 1949 and in 1951 she attended theannual life-boat dinner and danceorganised by the Central Londonwomen's committee, and in 1949 shevisited the Institution's depot atBoreham Wood. There she saw allthe departments at work, from therigging loft and machine shop to thedespatch department and canteen,and was presented with a bell ropemade in the rigging loft and a pair ofbrass candlesticks made in themachine shop.

In each year from 1948 Her RoyalHighness has attended the annualmeeting, and in her six meetings shehas met life-boatmen (some of themmore than once) from twenty-sevendifferent stations in England, Scotland,Wales, Northern Ireland, Eire, theOrkneys and the Channel Islands. Itis net surprising that at the meeting in1948, she said: "Only those who arefamiliar with the cheerfulness, increas-ing vigilance and undauntable courageof the life-boat crews can measure thedebt which we owe to every one ofthem. I am indeed proud to beassociated with a Service whose nameis rightly famous throughout theworld." Nor that she should havesaid, a year later: "The bravery of theService seems inexhaustible."

Queen Elizabeth II, and the SixthGeneration

When Queen Elizabeth II, as Prin-cess Elizabeth, was married in 1947,she gave the Institution £180. It wasthe balance of her wedding present

from Kimberley, and it came "withher good wishes and those of the peopleof Kimberley." It was a gift mostappropriately chosen, for during thewar the people of Southern Africa hadspontaneously raised £30,000 for theLife-boat Service to provide threelife-boats bearing Southern Africannames. Next year the Princess sentanother cheque, this time from theroyal wedding presents exhibitionfund. Two other gifts came fromthe money raised by the exhibition ofthe Princess's wedding dress. TheLord Provost of Edinburgh gave thewhole of the proceeds of the Edin-burgh exhibition, £5,511. The LordMayor of Cardiff gave £1,000 from theproceeds of the Cardiff exhibition.

In June, 1949, the Princess Eliza-beth visited the Channel Islands.There the crew of the life-boat at St.Hclier, Jersey, were presented to her.Three months later they carried outthe most gallant rescue since the warended in 1945. Coxswain ThomasKing won the gold medal; all his crewwon bronze medals.

On that visit to Jersey the PrincessElizabeth was the first of the sixthroval generation since George IVbecame Patron in 1824 to meet theLife-boat Service. When she suc-ceeded her father on the throne, shesucceeded him also as the Institution'sPatron. Last year, 1952, another ofthe sixth generation, the PrincessAlexandra of Kent, came to the Insti-tution's annual meeting and saw hermother present the medals for gallan-try. The Duchess had chosen it to beher first public meeting. In memoryof it the Institution presented her witha silver life-boat.

"It is a cause which extends fromthe palace to the cottage."

What the cottages, and the littlehomes, of England, Scotland, Irelandand W'ales have given, and are giving,to the Life-boat Service is written ineach year's records of the life-boatcrews themselves. It is written alsoin the annual accounts of the thou-sands of pounds given in the streetand at the house door, in answer tothe Institution's appeals.

This story is the brief record of whatthe royal palaces have given to theService through 129 years.