THE LIFE-BOAT · 2017-01-05 · The Great Exhibitio of 1851n Th: Festivae olf Britai 195n 1 IN 185 a1 priz oef a hundred guineas for the mode olf a life-boa wat s offered by Rear

THE LIFE-BOATThe Journal of the Royal National Life-boat InstitutionVOL. XXXIII APRIL, 1952 No. 360

THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET153 Motor Life-boats

1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat

LIVES RESCUEDfrom the foundation of the Life-boat Service in

1824 to April 30th, 1952 77,697

The Great Exhibition of 1851: The Festival of Britain 1951IN 1851 a prize of a hundred guineasfor the model of a life-boat was offeredby Rear Admiral the Duke of North-umberland, who that year had becomePresident of the Institution. Thelife-boat must be capable of beingrowed in all weathers. That was thechief quality demanded. She mustalso be able to do—what no life-boatsince the Institution was foundedtwenty-five years before had beenable to do—to right herself if shewere capsized. No fewer than 280models were sent in, and the prizewas won by James Beeching of GreatYarmouth.

The boat which was built from hismodel was the first self-righting life-boat, and she determined the designof the Institution's fleet for the nextforty years. She was an open rowingboat, with 12 oars, and had two masts,carrying jib, fore, lug, and mizzen sails.She was 36-feet long, with a beam of9|-feet, and weighed, with her gear,just under three and a half tons.She cost £250.

Beeching's model and two othersentered for the competition—one madeby William Teasdel, of Great Yar-mouth, and the other by James andEdward Plenty, of Newbury, Berk-shire—-were shown in the Great Exhi-bition of the Industry of All Nationsin the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park in1851.

At the Festival of Britain, of 1951,

on the South Bank of the Thames,the Life-boat Service was representedby its latest life-boat, completedshortly before the Festival opened.She was a Watson cabin life-boat, 46-feet 9-inches by 12-feet 6-inches,weighing 221 tons and driven bytwo 40 h.p. diesel engines. She cost£24,000.

When this boat was chosen for theFestival it was at the same time decid-ed that she should be named after SirGodfrey Baring, Bt., who has been amember of the Committee of Manage-ment since 1911, the vice-chairmanfrom 1915 to 1923 and its chairmansince 1923.*

A Commanding PositionThe life-boat was in the Seaside

Section, and stood in the open closeto the Thames, near Waterloo Bridge,facing the pontoon at which visitorslanded from the steamers. It was acommanding position, and she couldbe clearly seen from the bridge, andfrom the river. She was mountedon concrete pillars with her bowsraised, pointing towards the river.Close against her port side was aplatform with a double flight ofstairs to it. It was flush with theboat's deck and ran the full lengthof it, so that visitors could get a clear

* Before tne festival it was intended tnat when it closedshe would go to the station on The Humber, but it waslater decided to station her at Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.

278 THE LIFE-BOAT [APRIL, 1952

view of the whole deck. They couldlook directly at the engine-room con-trols under their canopy, and throughtwo mirrors, fixed at the open end ofthe canopy, they could see the insideof the wireless chamber, and the insideof the deck cabin.

Floodlit by NightThe top of the engine-room casing

had been removed and replaced by acovering of perspex, through whichvisitors could look down into theengine-room. Through another pers-pex hatch they could look into one ofthe fuel compartments and see thetank for the diesel oil, and throughanother see the air cases under thedeck. The engine-room, the fuel com-partment and the air cases werelighted by day and night. By nightthe whole boat was lit up by a flood-light mounted nearby on her star-board side, by flood lights built intothe edge of the platform on her portside, and by the boat's own mastheadfloodlight. Her navigation lights werelit at night, and by day in bad weather.From the ground there was a clearview of the starboard side of the boat,and of her propellers in their tunnels,and the bows were high enough abovethe ground for people to walk underthem.

Coxswains and life-boatmen fromstations all round the coast took • itin turn to be on board to explain theboat and answer questions. By therules of the Festival no collectingboxes were permitted though manypeople asked where they were, norcould souvenirs be sold. Nor wasthe distribution of literature permitted,

but during the second half of theFestival a special leaflet describingthe boat was given away.

In only very exceptional cases werevisitors allowed on board. Of thoseexceptions the most memorable wasa party of four women and two men,nearly, or totally, blind. The boatwas carefully explained to them, andthe two men (who were totally blind)went over everything with their handsand said that they could see it all.

4,000,000 VisitorsOf over 8,000,000 visitors to the

Festival it was reckoned that abouthalf climbed the platform to see thelife-boat. It was reckoned also thatabout one visitor in twenty askedquestions and that each asked on anaverage five questions, so that abouta million questions were asked andanswered.

Here is a letter from one visitor:"I am writing to you for three

reasons:Firstly to congratulate you on your

exhibit of one of your life-boatsexactly as equipped for rescue work.I have been twice to the South BankExhibition and each time I have feltthat this boat is the best part of it.If visitors to England want to seesomething 'British made' then letthem admire your life-boat.

Secondly to thank the anonymousengineer who showed such enthusiasmand patience in answering our in-numerable questions. I am sure hehas been a very good ambassador inyour cause.

Thirdly to send the enclosedcheque."

The Travelling FestivalBESIDES the exhibition on the SouthBank of the Thames there were twotravelling exhibitions. One by seaand the other by land. The exhibitionby sea was mounted in the aircraftcarrier H.M.S. Campania, which sailedfrom Southampton early in May,visited Dundee, Newcastle, Hull, Ply-mouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Belfast, Bir-kenhead, spending from ten days tofour weeks at each port, and ended itsjourney at Glasgow in September.

The Life-boat Service was repre-

sented in this exhibition, on theCampania's flight-deck, by a life-boatof the light Liverpool type, justcompleted for Minehead, Somerset,a boat 35-feet 6-inches, by 10-feet8-inches, weighing 8| tons, and drivenby two 18 h.p. petrol engines.

While the Campania was at Tyne-mouth an industrial exhibition washeld in the town at which life-boatmodels and equipment were shown andthe life-boat films "Boats that SaveLife "and "Shipshape".

APRIL, 1952] THE LIFE-BOAT 279

His Majesty King George VIBY the death on the 6th of February, of His Majesty King George VI,the Life-boat Service lost not only a beloved Sovereign but its own Patron.He had carried on the tradition of over a century and a quarter that thereigning sovereign should be the head of the Life-boat Service, and wasthe seventh sovereign to give it his patronage. He first knew the Life-boat Service in 1911, when, as Prince Albert, he was a cadet at Dartmouth,visited the Newquay station, with his brother, the Prince of Wales,and saw a launch of the life-boat. In 1926, as Duke of York, he tookpart in the ceremony at the Montrose station when the new life-boat wasnamed by the Duchess of York, and in 1929, when the illness of KingGeorge V prevented him, and Queen Mary, from attending the life-boatmatinee at the Lyceum Theatre, at which Mr. Louis N. Parker's life-boatplay Their Business in Great Waters, was first performed, with a verydistinguished cast, the Duke of York came in their place. In 1939 thenew life-boat at The Lizard, presented to the Institution by King George'sFund for Sailors, was named after him, Duke of York. In 1936 he becamePresident of the Institution, on the accession to the throne of King EdwardVIII, and on his own accession to the throne, before the end of the year,he became Patron.

On the death of the King a telegram of sympathy was sent to theQueen, signed by the chairman, Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., from the Insti-tution "its committee, officers, staff, crews, and honorary workers," towhich Her Majesty replied:

"I am sincerely grateful for your message. Please assure all thosefor whom you speak that I deeply value their kindness and sympathy.Elizabeth R."

At the first meeting of the Committee of Management after HisMajesty's death it was proposed by the deputy chairman, Commodorethe Earl Howe, seconded by Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Oliver, andunanimously carried, that the following humble and loyal messages bepresented to Her Majesty the Queen and Her Majesty the Queen Mother:

"The Committee of Management and the officers and staff of theRoyal National Life-boat Institution, the honorary officials of its branchesand of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild throughout the British Isles, and thecoxswains and crews of its life-boats round their coasts, desire to expressto Your Majesty their profound grief at the death of His Most GraciousMajesty King George VI, the Institution's Patron, to offer to YourMajesty their loyal and deep sympathy and to assure you of the devotionof the Service to vour Person and Crown."

"The Committee of Management and the officers and staff of the RoyalNational Life-boat Institution, the honorary officials of its branches andof the Ladies' Life-boat Guild throughout the British Isles, and thecoxswains and crews of its life-boats round their coasts, desire to expressto Your Majesty their profound grief at the death of His Most GraciousMajesty King George VI, to offer to Your Majesty their loyal and deepsympathy and to place on record the gratitude of the Life-boat Service ofGreat Britain and Ireland to his late'Majesty for his personal associationwith its work during the fifteen years of his reign."

The Institution sent to the funeral a wreath in the colours of theLife-boat Service, red tulips and carnations, blue iris, and white carnations.On the wreath were the words: "In loyal and grateful memory from theLife-boat Service to its Patron."


A French Yacht Rescued on the Coast of JerseyTHE night of the 27th of September,1951, was very dark and overcast atSt. Helier, in Jersey. A fresh windwas blowing from the south-south-west; there was a swell rising from sixto eight feet; and heavy storms of rainmade visibility very poor. At tenminutes to nine a light was seen to theeastward of the harbour flashingSOS, and at 9.17 the life-boatElizabeth Rippon put out. The light

quarters of a mile from where theship lay—shone his headlights.

The coxswain cast round the rocksin the darkness looking for the ship'slights, and at midnight found theFrench yacht Santa Maria, of Cartaret,with three men on board. She was ina small sheltered gutter between twohigh ridges of rock, at anchor andwith two ropes round a pinnacle ofrock. She was close to where the

SEZVICS 5Y St rj£L!£g LIFE.BOATTO YACHT 'SANTA MAKtV Osl 27^ SEf^t I9SI

The Service to the Yacht Santo MariaThe life-boat's course among the rocks is shown by the dotted line

appeared to be among the rocks east-ward of the Demie de Pas beacon, alittle over a mile from the harbour,where just two years before CoxswainThomas King won the Institution'sgold medal for outstanding gallantry,and all his crew bronze medals,for rescuing the St. Helier yachtMaurice Georges and the four men onboard.

Coxswain Edward Larbalestier firstsearched to the south-west of theisland called La Ronde. He foundnothing and realised that the ship indistress must be on the other side ofthe high ridge of rocks east of Tas dePois. Meanwhile the harbour-master,Mr. W. G. Furzer, had gone round inhis car, and from the shore—three

Maurice Georges had been found twoyears before.

The Search Described by RadioSome idea of the problems and dan-

gers of that search on a dark night, insqualls of rain, with a six-feet swell,and a strong tide running across theswell, is given by the chart of thatarchipelago of rocks. Some idea ofthem also is given by the wirelessmessages passing between the life-boatand the radio station on shore. Hereis an hour and three-quarters of thesearch as the radio telephone recordedit, from 9.20 until 11.6.21.20. Radio Station to Life-boat.—

Point searchlight into air so thatwe can plot your position.


21.21. Life-boat to Radio Station.—Can you see our searchlight?Answer. No. Alter to verticalposition.

21.25. Radio Station to Life-boat.—Yes. See searchlight now.Judge you are one mile to westof gutter.

21.26. Life-boat to Radio Station.—Coxswain requests light to beshown from Green Island forbetter bearing.

21.28. Radio Station to Life-boat.—Harbour master at Green Islandto give you a bearing light.

21,46. Radio Station to Life-boat.—You appear to be still one milewest of gutter.

21.58. Radio Station to Life-boat.—You are now east of casualtyand harbour master at Le MareSlip using headlights.

22.08.—Radio Station to Life-boat.—Casualty lights north of yourposition inside Humets.

22.26. Radio Station to Life-boat.—Car switching lights on and offten second intervals.

22.29. Life-boat to Radio Station.—Can see lights now bearingnorth-east by north.

22.42. Life-boat to Radio Station.—Are we nearing the light?

22.42. Radio Station to Life-boat.—You appear to be getting muchnearer.

22.48. Radio Station to Life-boat.—You are approaching casualty.

22.48. Life-boat to Radio Station.—Can see casualty, but other sideof rocks. Will try to get through.

23.00. Life-boat to Radio Station.—We are now fifty yards offcasualty. Closing in.

23.06. Life-boat to Radio Station.—Going alongside. Appears threemen on deck.

The dangers, however, are mostclearly described by the district inspec-tor who was taken at low water on afine day, to the place where the yachtwas found:

"There was first the great rise andfall of the swell. There were rocksfifteen feet high, reefs of rocks awash,

pinnacles sticking out of the water, andsubmerged rocks everywhere. Whilemaking every allowance for the localknowledge of the coxswain, and all hiscrew, who, as he searched, warnedhim of the breaking water whichshowed the rocks, I do not know howhe dared to take the life-boat wherehe did on such a night and in suchweather, with that swell, and thelateral tide. It required great resolu-tion to go into that narrow gutterwhere the yacht lay between the twohigh ridges of rock."

The Life-boat Strikes a RockAs it was, at one place, the life-boat

came down in the trough of the swellright on a rock, striking it hard withher keel, but fortunately withoutdamage. It was low water when thecoxswain found the yacht, and hedecided to wait an hour for the waterto flow before he went into the gutter.There he took the yacht in tow. Hadthe life-boat not come, or had she comelater when the tide had risen, there isno doubt that the yacht would havebeen destroyed. As the tide rose shewould have lost the shelter of therocks and been broken on them.

With the yacht in tow the life-boatmoved out of the other end of thegutter, and at once she had again tocontend with the full force of thewind and the heavy swell. Again thecoxswain felt his perilous way in thedarkness among the rocks, and broughtthe yacht into St. Helier Harbour atten minutes to two in the morning.The life-boat had then been out forfour and a half hours.

The rescue was carried out withgreat skill, determination and courage,and the Institution made the followingawards:

To COXSWAIN EDWAED C. LARBAL-ESTIER, the silver medal for gallantry,with a copy of the vote on vellum;

To each of the eight members of thecrew, the thanks of the Institution onvellum;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew a special reward of £4 inaddition to the reward on the ordinaryscale of 27«. Ordinary rewards to thecrew and shore attendant, £11 5s. Qd.;additional rewards, £36; total rewards,£47 5s. Qd.


Four Yachtsmen Rescued at MargateSHORTLY after midnight on the 2nd ofSeptember, 1951, the coastguard atMargate called up the life-boat stationto say that he could see distress signalsbeing flashed by a torch from asmall yacht just outside the harbour.Quarter of an hour later the life-boatNorth Foreland, Civil Service No. XIwas launched. The night was verydark; a strong north-west wind wasblowing against the flood tide; therewas a backwash from the harbour wall;and wind, tide and backwash made avery rough, confused sea.

About a hundred yards north of theharbour-wall the life-boat found theGirlanda, of Chichester. She had twoanchors down, and was rolling andpitching violently. Two men were onboard, but they seemed unable tomove out of the cockpit, either tojump into the life-boat or to seize aline from her. The coxswain broughtthe life-boat alongside and told one ofhis crew, Alfred Wilson, to go aboardthe yacht. It was not easy, but hedid it. The life-boat then anchoredto windward and dropped down againon her cable to the yacht.

A Very Perilous TaskWilson was lying on the small fore-

castle in the darkness, with the seascontinually breaking over him. Hehad one hand to hold on with, as theyacht rolled and pitched, and the otherfor his work. After several attemptsthe life-boat threw a line to him. Hehauled it on board and then a 4|-inchcable attached to it. This he madefast round the mast and forestay.Then he attacked the much moredifficult task of freeing the yacht fromher two anchors. The chain and ropeof their cables were in a tangle roundthe yacht's bollards. Still lying onthe forecastle, Wilson worked at thetangle with one hand, while he held

on with the other. Twice he wasalmost rolled overboard, but hauledhimself back again. At last the tanglewas unravelled; he cast off the cables;and the life-boat towed the yachtinto the harbour. It was then quarterpast two.

Out Again at OnceMeanwhile the coastguard had seen

signals flashing near the NaylandRocks about quarter of a mile west ofthe harbour, and at 2.25 the life-boatput out again. She found the sailingyacht Sir Gobbo, of Rochester, atanchor. There were two men onboard, and as the life-boat camewithin hailing distance, they asked tobe taken off. The life-boat wentbetween the yacht and the rocks andthe men jumped on board. Theywere given rum, and wrapped inblankets, and when the life-boatarrived in harbour again at 3.30 weretaken to hospital in an ambulance.Next morning, when the weather hadcleared and the sea was calm, thelife-boat took them back to theiryacht, and they made for Ramsgate.

To ALFRED R. WILSON, in recogni-tion of his great skill and bravery, theInstitution awarded its bronze medal,a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum,and £3 in addition to the award of 15s.on the ordinary scale.

He was also awarded the "MissSmith's reward for courage, in memoryof John, Seventh Earl of Hardwicke"for the bravest act of life-saving by alife-boatman in 1950.

To the coxswain and other membersof the crew 15,?. each; scale rewards tocrew and launchers, £8 1*.; additionalreward, £3; total rewards, £11 Is.

These were the rewards for theservice to the Girlanda. For theservice to the Sir Gobbo the rewardswere £12 7s.

Portrait on the CoverTHE portrait on the cover is of Cox-swain Matthew Lethbridge, of St.Mary's, in the Scilly Isles. He hasbeen an officer of the life-boat for 32years. He served as second coxswain

from 1920 to 1925, and since 1925 hehas been the coxswain. In October,1927, he won the Institution's silvermedal for gallantry for rescuing fourlives from the Italian steamer Isabo.


Dutch Yacht Saved at DoverAT twenty minutes past eleven on thenight of the 27th of September, 1951—a very dark night with heavy rainsqualls—the coxswain of the Doverlife-boat, when on his way along theEastern Harbour Arm, on private busi-ness to the signal station at the end ofit, saw a small yacht, the Akeco, ofAmsterdam, anchored just outside theharbour arm. A strong southerlywind was blowing dead on shore; theyacht was anchored less than half amile from the shore; and her anchorwas dragging. The coxswain calledout to the yacht "Hang on," and theanswer came, several times repeated,"Yes, please." As he hurried backalong the arm to call out the life-boathe could see that the yacht had alreadybeen carried half the short distance tothe shore.

At quarter to twelve the life-boatSouthern Africa put out without wait-ing for the last two men of her crew.The wind was blowing against theebbing tide, and wind and tide, andthe rebound of the water from thecliffs and the harbour arm, had raiseda very confused, violent and dangeroussea. The life-boat kept close to theharbour arm to avoid the worst of it.When she reached the yacht, a minuteafter midnight, she found her littlemore than a hundred yards from thecliffs and nearly among the large

boulders at their foot. Her cable hadparted. She was broadside on to windand sea. In a very little time shewould be broken to pieces among theboulders.

By the light of his searchlight thecoxswain turned the life-boat along-side her. There was only one man onboard. He showed no inclination tojump, but signalled that he expected aline. This the bowman laid acrosshim by a neat throw. With the life-boat stopped, and the two boats rollingever closer to the shore, a tow ropewas secured to the line and the manhauled it aboard and made it fastround the mast. The life-boat wentahead, gradually towed the yachtround, and then slowly drew her awayfrom the shore. At half-past twelvethey entered the harbour.

COXSWAIN JOHN WALKER had actedwith great promptness from themoment when he saw the yacht andher danger, and had carried out therescue with great speed and skill. TheInstitution awarded him its bronzemedal for gallantry, with a copy of thevote inscribed on vellum.

It also gave him and each of the sixmembers of his crew a reward of 25s. inaddition to the reward on the ordinaryscale of 15*. Scale rewards, £4;additional rewards, £7 10s.; totalrewards, £11 10s.

Three False AlarmsA Whale, a Bather, and a Meteorological Balloon

ON the evening of the 2nd of Septem-ber, the coastguard at St. Anthonytelephoned that he could see a smallsailing yacht which appeared to havecapsized and have a man clinging toit. There was a heavy sea running.It was dark when the Falmouth life-boat reached the position given, butby the light of her searchlight shefound the "capsized yacht and theclinging man." They were a deadwhale. Rewards of £10 17s. weregiven to the crew.

In the afternoon of the 17th of

September the coastguard at Clacton-on-Sea reported a man in difficultiesin a canoe, a mile off the pier. Thesea was calm. The life-boat went outand found the canoe and the man, butthe man was bathing. Rewards of£8 10s. 9d. were given to the crew.

On the 26th of November the GreatYarmouth and Gorleston life-boatwent out in answer to a message that aparachute had been seen coming down.But it turned out to be a meteoro-logical balloon. Rewards of £10 weregiven to the crew.


Spanish Steamer Wrecked at CoverackON the night of the 3rd of November,1951, a south-west gale was blowing onthe south coast of Cornwall, with heavyrain. The night was very dark. Asmall Spanish steamer the MinaCantiquin, of Gijon, with a crew ofseventeen, was steaming before thegale up the coast to shelter in FalmouthRoads. Just after two o'clock nextmorning she struck on Black RockHead. She pounded on the reef forsome minutes. Then she was washedoff and blown north-eastwards, burn-ing flares and sounding her siren.She had been badly holed forward andwas starting to fill. It was low water,but the tide was still running to thesouth-west, against the wind, andmaking a very rough sea. The coast-guard on Black Rock saw and heardher signals. He rang up the coast-guard at Porthoustock, and at tenminutes past two he in turn rang upthe Coverack life-boat station.

Full Speed to the RescueNine and a half minutes later the

life-boat Three Sisters was launched,and her coxswain made full speedagainst the gale. There was everyneed of speed, for a mile south ofCoverack was Chynhals Point. Thatpoint was only three quarters of a milenorth of Black Rock, where the MinaCantiquin had struck. The gale wasdriving her northwards to ChynhalsPoint, and the coxswain knew that shewould almost certainly strike on it.As the life-boat rounded the point,twenty minutes after she was launched,the coxswain saw the steamer. Herbow was pointing towards the shoreand she was only fifty yards off therocks where the seas were breakingheavily. The coxswain was certainthat in a few minutes, she would be onthem. He must act at once. He tookthe life-boat as close inshore as hedared go to the breaking seas, andturning came out again towards theMina Cantiquin to run along her leeside. The waves were breaking rightover her. Her forecastle was awash.She was almost hidden in the seas. Thecoxswain called on the crew to jump.They hesitated for a minute or two.Then one jumped, and in a few seconds

the other sixteen had followed him.The life-boat made at once for Cover-ack and landed the rescued men thereat 3.20.

Attempt to Save the SteamerMeanwhile the Mina Cantiquin had

not struck on Chynhals Point. Aneddy in the ebb tide had caught herand she had missed the rocks by a fewfeet. She continued to drift north-wards across Coverack Cove towardsLowland Point. When she was half-way across the life-boat came outagain, and attempted to take her intow. But in that sea it was impos-sible to put a man aboard her; a grapnelwas thrown, but the line parted atonce. The life-boat had to leave herto her fate, and she went ashore.

The life-boat herself, and her crew,passed a most uncomfortable night.They were in the inner harbour atCoverack where the sea was so roughthat several mooring ropes parted.In the end the life-boat was taken forshelter to Falmouth Roads, 10 milesaway, and it was two days before shecould return to Coverack and be put inher house.

In recognition of the smartness ofthe launch and the skill and prompt-ness of the rescue, the Institutionawarded its thanks on vellum toCOXSWAIN WILLIAM A. ROWE.

To him and each of the six men ofhis crew it awarded £2 in additionto the reward on the ordinary scale of£4 14s. a man for the rescue, thepassage to Falmouth and the rehousingof the life-boat. Scale rewards, tocrew and helpers, £42 2s.; extrarewards, £14; total rewards, £56 2s.

The Gratitude of the SpaniardsThe Spanish Ambassador in London

wrote to the Duchess of Kent, Presi-dent of the Institution, to thank heron behalf of the crew of the MinaCantiquin. He also sent her fromthem a gift of flowers. To the secre-tary of the Institution he wrote send-ing his "heartfelt" gratitude and agift of fifty guineas. The Spanish Life-boat Society awarded its silver prizemedal to Coxswain Rowe, anddiplomas to him and each of the sixmembers of crew.


An All-Night Service at Selsey

ON the afternoon of the 17th ofNovember, 1951, a south-westerly galewas blowing at Selsey and the seas werevery rough, particularly in the shallowwater near the Owers Banks. At fiveminutes past four the Selsey coast-guard reported to the Selsey life-boatstation that a ship, twelve milessouth-east-by-south from the life-boathouse, was having trouble with herengine and had asked for a tug. Shewas the M.V. Swift, of Costa Rica, of163 tons, bound with a cargo of onionsfrom Brittany to Boston in Lincoln-shire. She had a crew of six. At5.48 the coastguard reported that theSwedish ship Aspen had taken her intow, and that a naval tug had beensent from Portsmouth at 4.23. At6.20 the Aspen sent a message thatthe tow had parted. They were thenfive miles south-west-by-south of thelife-boat house. At 6.59 the Aspensent another message. The Swift wasdrifting towards the rocks and therewas no sign of the tug. The honorarysecretary replied that the life-boat wouldgo, and at seven minutes past seven theCanadian Pacific was launched.

A Minesweeper's Attempt FailsShe found the Swift, about 8.45,

anchored to seaward of the PullarBank. At the same time H.M. Mine-sweeper Marvel arrived. The mine-sweeper attempted to fire a line to theSwift by Coston gun, but failed. Shethen lay off to windward. At 9.15the tug Alligator arrived. She wassuccessful in passing a line to the Swiftwhich was still at anchor, and then atowing hawser, but she went tooclose to the Swift, fouled her cable andwrapped it round her own propeller.The cable parted and the tug slippedthe tow, drifted across the Middle BankGrounds, and anchored. There shestayed helpless, until, some days later,she was towed away with the cablestill round her propeller. The cablehaving parted, the Swift was no longerat anchor, but she still had her endof the towing hawser, which the tughad slipped, and this hawser, lying onthe seabed, acted as an anchor.

Standing by All NightThe minesweeper was still hove to,

but at 2.30 next morning she left onthe ebb tide. The life-boat remainedall night. In that November gale itwas an arduous watch; and in theheavy seas, in shoal water, it neededvery good seamanship from the cox-swain to keep her position near theSwift. Twice during the night, whenseas filled the cockpit, the coxswainwas carried off his feet, and but for hisfirm hold on the wheel he would havebeen washed overboard. When daybroke it could be seen that the Swifthad dragged a mile northwards andwas now on top of the Pullar Banks.The seas were very bad indeed, and inthe first light the captain signalledthat he wished to abandon ship. Thelife-boat at once went alongside, thecoxswain shouting for two men tojump. Both boats were pitchingviolently, but the two men landedsafely in the life-boat. Again thelife-boat went alongside and two moremen jumped. For the third time shewent alongside and the remaining twojumped. None was injured; the life-boat was undamaged.

The Coxswain Almost BlindAt ten minutes past eight in the

morning of the 18th the life-boatarrived back at her station. It wasthen thirteen hours since she had goneout. She had stood by through sevenand a half hours of that night in thegale and heavy shoal seas. The crewreturned exhausted and for two daysthe coxswain was nearly blind fromthe spray.

To COXSWAIN LESLIE C. PENNYCORDthe Institution awarded its bronzemedal for gallantry; with a copy ofthe vote inscribed on vellum.

To him, and each of the sevenmembers of his crew, it gave a rewardof £5, in addition to the reward onthe ordinary scale of £4 each; scalerewards to crew and launchers, £39 6s.;additional rewards, £40; total rewards£79 65.


Killed on ServiceDeath of the Scarborough Bowman

AT 11.14 on the morning of the 9th ofDecember, 1951, the news came to theScarborough life-boat station that aship was sinking twenty-six and a halfmiles east by north of Scarborough.She was a Dutch motor vessel of 499tons, the Westkust, bound from Bo'nessto Hamburg, with a.cargo of coal-dust.Her cargo had shifted and she was list-ing 35 degrees. She was making water,and her bilge pumps were choked withcoal-dust. One of her two life-boatshad been lost. The other was dam-aged. She had anchored.

Such was her plight when at 11.30 theScarborough .life-boat E.C.J.E. waslaunched. A gale was then blowingfrom the west, but later it veered tothe north-west. The sea was rough;the tide setting south-west; the weatherwas very cold, with squalls of snow.

A New Position GivenJust after half past two in the after-

noon, the Westkust sent out a wirelessmessage, giving her position. It wastwenty-one miles east by south ofFlamborough, which was twenty milessouth of the position as first given. Noships, the message said, were in sight.The new position was sent by radio-telephone to the Scarborough life-boat.It was received aLo at Flamborough,and the life-boat was launched at 2.30.It was received at Bridlington, and anumber of keelboats set out. At fouro'clock the Bridlington life-boat fol-lowed for fear that thev would get intotrouble in that heavy sea.

Just after five o'clock the Britishsteamer Ayton reached the Westkust,and an hour later the Grimsby trawlerOttlie. Guided by rockets sent up bythe Ai/ton, the Scarborough life-boatarrived about seven o'clock, and atthe request of the Westkust's captain,she put two men on board her. Theywere the bowman, Frank Dalton,aged 57, and the assistant motormechanic, Thomas J. Mainprize. Withtheir help, and with the life-boat escort-ing him, the captain hoped to bring hisship into harbour, but soon after theycame on board he decided to abandon

ship, The coxswain thereupon tookthe life-boat alongside—no easy taskin that gale, with the heavv sea run-ning—and the ten men of the Westkustjumped into her. The Flamboroughlife-boat, which had arrived just before,stood by. The Scarborough life-boatcame round again to take off her owntwo men. Mainprize jumped andlanded safely, but at that moment asea separated the two vessels, and Daltonwas left hanging full length from theWeslkusfs rail. With the weight ofhis oilskins and his sea-boots he couldnot haul himself up. He remainedhanging1 while the coxswain brought thelife-boat round for the third time, butat the critical moment a sea flung heragainst the Westkust and Dalton wascrushed between the two. He fell onto the life-boat, with his pelvis frac-tured. The life-boat made at once forBridlington, but before she arrived, at1.30 next morning, Dalton was dead.

The life-boat had been out for four-teen hours and her crew and the rescuedcrew were suffering from their longexposure.

Three Medals AwardedFrank Dalton and Thomas Main-

prize had shown great courage in board-ing the Westkust and the coxswain hadhandled his life-boat very skilfully inrescuing the Westkust's crew in thatbitterly cold gale and rough sea. TheInstitution made the following awards:

To FRANK DALTON, the bowman,posthumously, the bronze medal forgallantry, and a certificate recording hisgallantry to his widow;

To Coxswain JOHN N. SHEADER, thebronze medal for gallantry and a copyof the vote inscribed on vellum;

To THOMAS J. MAINPRIZE, the assist-ant motor mechanic, the bronze medalfor gallantry, and a copy of the voteinscribed on vellum;

To HOLDEN SHEADER, the motormechanic, the thanks of the Institutioninscribed on vellum.

To each of these four men and toeach of the other three members of thecrew, a reward of £5 in addition to the


reward on the ordinary scale of £4 10s.,making a reward of £9 10s. to eachman.

Scale rewards, £53 Os. 6d.; addi-tional rewards, £35; total rewards,£88 Os. Qd.

The Flamborough life-boat made forBridlington after the Scarborough life-boat had completed the rescue, arriving

there at two o'clock next morning.—Rewards: £57 5s.

The Bridlington life-boat was re-called and arrived at her station at1.30 next morning. There she helpedto moor the Scarborough life-boat, andtowed in the Flamborough life-boat,which ran short of fuel a mile off shore.—Rewards, £30 55.

The Navy Entertains Life-boatmenWHEN the Yarmouth, Isle of Wightlife-boat went to the help of theschooner Lamorna, on the 4th ofNovember, 1951, and rescued her crewof fourteen (as described on page 308),H.M.S. Redpole, which had had theLamorna in tow, was standing by.Two months later the following para-graph appeared in the Isle of WightPress in its Yarmouth news:

"The gallant rescue of the crew of14 from the ill-fated treasure shipLamorna off the Needles on November4th, was recalled on Tuesday, when thecrew of the life-boat were entertained

at dinner on board the PortsmouthFlotilla's navigation instructional shipH.M.S. Redpole, which anchored in theRoads. Although co-operating closelyin the rescue work the crews of thetwo vessels had previously seen oneanother only in the glare of search-lights, and their only communicationhad been by radio-telephone. Theparty included the coxswain (Mr.Stanley Smith), who was unable totake part in the rescue owing to aninjured arm, and the second coxswain(Mr. Harold Hayles), who was in chargeof the life-boat on November 4th."

River SpectacleAs part of the Festival of Britain theDaily Mirror arranged a river spectacleon the Chelsea Reach of the Thames,alongside the Fun Fair in BatterseaPark on the afternoon of the 18th ofAugust, 1951. It included races formotor boats, and a parade of all theboats.

The Southend - on - Sea life - boat

Greater London took part in theparade, and also cruised round allafternoon, ready to go to the rescuein case of any accident.

The Daily Mirror sent a donationto the Institution and wrote: "Thesuperbly smart life-boat with itsdistinguished crew was the admirationof every spectator."

In the New Year's Honours ListIN the new year's honours list appearedthree lifeboat names. CommanderPhilip Vaux, D.S.C., R.N., the latechief inspector of life-boats, was madean Officer of the Order of the BritishEmpire. Mr. John S. Duncan, thehonorary secretary of the Wick life-boat station, was made a Memberof the Order in recognition of his

work for the Life-boat Service for 30years.

Commander J. M. Upton, R.D.,R.N.R., the superintendent of the de-pot, was made a Member of the Order,not for services to the Institution butfor his honorary work as chairmanof the Barnett and District Disable-ment Advisory Committee.


Twelve Hours at Night on the Goodwins

By L. H. Shelvey, Honorary Secretary of the Walmer Station

ON the night of the 24th of November,1951, a gale from the west-south-westwas blowing across the GoodwinSands. The seas were very heavy,and the night very dark, with both mistand rain squalls. At 6.48 the coast-guard rang up the Walmer life-boatstation. A ship near the South Good-win Lightvessel was reported as man-oeuvring strangely. Eight minuteslater another message came, this timefrom the North Foreland Radio. Theship was calling for a tug from Dover.She was the steamer Captain Andrew,of 1,300 tons, on her way fromHamburg to Swansea with a cargoof scrap iron.

The coxswain of the life-boat knewthat the steamer must be in con-siderable danger and at seven o'clockthe maroons were fired. Most of thecrew were already standing by. Thetide was high, a very heavy sea wasbreaking, and the launchers, thighdeep in the water, had to struggle tolay the launching skids in position.With the tide high the life-boat hadall too short a run into the water.She was in danger of being knockedround by the seas and thrown off theskids on to the beach, but as shehesitated the coxswain gave a quickorder to the mechanic; the engineswere started up; and with the screwsscattering shingle and spume, thelife-boat was afloat. It was then tenminutes past seven.

" Not Under Control "At full speed the life-boat headed for

the South Goodwins Lightvessel fourand a half miles away. On her wirelessshe heard the North Foreland Radiosending out a general warning toshipping and repeating the call ofthe Captain Andrew for a tug. Sheherself called up the lightvessel forthe steamer's position. The answercame "Some distance astern of uswith 'not under control' lights up."There the life-boat found her, on theedge of the sands. She had two

anchors down, with 150 fathoms ofchain, and to ease the strain on themshe was steaming hard ahead. She had.however, some defect in her boiler andcould not raise a full head of steam.She had, too, something wrong withher steering gear. The seas werebreaking over her bows, and sweeping-her decks. Even at her best availablespeed she could only just keep her posi-tion. Had her engine failed the anchorcables would have snapped and shewould have been swept at once on tothe sands and disaster.

Difficulties of CommunicationThe Dover harbour tug arrived at

the same time as the life-boat, butin those seas it was impossible for herto go alongside. It was impossibleeven for her to communicate withthe steamer. She could not get nearenough to communicate by loud hailerabove the noise of the gale, and neithersteamer nor tug, continually buriedin the seas, could see the otherlong enough to signal by lamp. Thesteamer was fitted with wireless bywhich she could signal in morse. Thetug and life-boat had radio telephones.They could speak to one another, butall communication with the steamerhad to be through the North ForelandRadio Station.

The tug tried hard to get a line onboard the steamer, but faiJed. Attimes those on the life-boat could seeno more than the tip of the tug's mast.Repeatedly she rolled and pitched soviolently that they could see her bottomplates. Once she completely disap-peared and they thought that she hadgone.

Attempt to Tow FailsAs her own efforts had failed, the

tug sent a message to the steamerthrough North Foreland Radio, askingher to try to pass a rope to the life-boat, so that she in turn couid pass it tothe tug. With the rest of the crewholding on to his legs, for fear he should


be flung overboard, the motor mech- *anic stood up with the Schermuly pistoland fired a rocket to the steamer. Therocket and its line travelled true. Thesteamer fastened a heavy rope tothe line, and the life-boat hauled itaboard. She then signalled by lampto the tug, which came as close as shedared. Another rocket was fired fromthe life-boat and fell between the tug'smasts, but the line broke. The tugnext made a circuit and came in for asecond attempt. This time the line fellacross her upper deck and her crewseized it, but it slipped through theirfingers. The life-boat men hauled it in,made it fast to the remains of the firstline, and. as the tug made another circleand again came within range, a thirdrocket was fired. Again it travelledtrue, the line was seized, and thesteamer's rope was hauled from thelife-boat to the tug. On the tug therope was made fast to a wire, buttheir first attempt to get the wire overto the steamer failed. The tug thensteamed by, close to the steamer'sstern, and managed to get a heavingline aboard her but, because of thestill heavy seas and wind, she had tokeep so much way on that she con-tinued to steam ahead, and the steamerlost the line before her crew couldsecure it. The tug steamed on, dis-appeared, and did not return.

Two Life-boatmen Go On BoardIt was now one in the morning, and

the steamer's captain asked if thelife-boat would put a man on board.He would not abandon ship. He wascarrying out repairs. He still hopedto be able to bring the steamer intothe shelter of the Downs even withouthis steering gear working; but he wasdoubtful what room he had in whichto manoeuvre. He wanted advice;and a man from the life-boat wouldreassure his crew. The coxswain a-greed. If he had continued to standby until the cables parted—as one didlater—and the ship were carried on tothe sands, he had little hope of savingany of her crew; and the steamerwas taking such heavy punishmentthat he feared that, even if her cablesheld, she might founder at anymoment. He kept the life-boat mov-ing round, as he waited for his oppor-

tunity. It came at two o'clock whenthe wind veered to the north-west,and gave him "a bit of a lee to get themen aboard." With the life-boatfestooned with fenders he broughther alongside on top of a sea whichlifted her high above the steamer'sdeck, and as she stood on thecrest of the sea the second-coxswainand the bowman jumped. Thelife-boat moved out again, un-damaged, but with her fenders tornaway.

Nearly a CollisionThen came another time of waiting,

while the life-boat lay off. At 3.40the steamer at last got under way. Atonce things began to go wrong. Shewould not answer her helm, and hercaptain went full speed astern. Thenshouts were heard from the light-vessel. Her master had all his crewlined up on deck, and was burningflares as he watched the steamer,with little power, with no control ofher rudder, and in no place where shecould drop anchor, being carried bythe tide closer and closer to the light-vessel. As she was swept by, thelife-boat going ahead of her, she wasonly half her own length from 'thelightvessel.

Once past this danger, though stillscarcely under control, the steamerreached the comparative safety of theDowns. The tug was lying there andthe life-boat called her to come and takeher in tow. This she did. Wind andsea were going down; and at 5.52 theNorth Foreland Radio cancelled itswarning to all shipping. At the sametime the tug brought the steamer toa safe anchorage.

At 6.45 the life-boat was back ather station, and it was found that shehad a line wrapped round the shaft ofone of her screws. She had been outfor nearly twelve hours, and hercoxswain said that it was one ofthe most unpleasant and formidablenights that he had had on the Good-wins.

As the owners of the CaptainAndrew paid salvage to the life-boat'screw, the Institution gave no rewards,but sent a letter of appreciation to thecoxswain and crew.


Services of the Life-boats in September, October andNovember, 1951

65 Lives Rescued

DURING September life-boats went outon service 68 times and rescued 25lives.

TWICE AGROUNDAldeburgh, Suffolk.—At 5.50 in the

evening of the 1st of September,1951, the coastguard reported that theyacht Alethea II, of Harwich, wasaground at the mouth of the RiverAide. Her crew of three were able towalk ashore. Later she refloated, butat 7.35 the following morning thecoastguard telephoned that she hadgrounded again and was high and dryon the main beach. The owner thenasked for the life-boat, and at teno'clock the No. 1 life-boat, Abdy Beau-clerk, was launched with the secondcoxswain in command. There was amoderate swell, with a light west-north-west breeze blowing. The life-boat pulled the yacht clear, towed herto Waldringfield and arrived back ather station at 4.0 that afternoon.—Property Salvage Case.

AN EXHAUSTED COUPLESouthend - on - Sea, Essex. — About

10.25 on the night of the 1st of Sep-tember, 1951, the coastguard reportedthat flares and a rocket had been seenoff Shell Ness Point, and at 10.46 thelife-boat Greater London, Civil ServiceNo. 3, was launched. The sea wasvery rough, with a north - westerlygale blowing. The life-boat foundthe motor yacht Joles II, of London,on fire, damaged and making water.The sea swamped the blaze and thelife-boat went alongside and hauledaboard the owner and his wife. Theywere both exhausted. The life-boatlanded them at 3.15 next morning.They were taken to the coxswain'shouse and given food and dry clothes.The owner expressed his thanks.—•Rewards, £13 135.

MEDAL SERVICE AT MARGATEOn the 2nd of September, 1951, the

Margate life-boat towed in a yacht

and her crew of two and rescued twomore from another yacht. For a fullaccount of these services, and therewards, see page 282.

A YACHT ON FIREWalmer, Kent.—At 7.34 in the morn-

ing of the 4th of September, 1951,the East Goodwin Lightvessel wire-lessed that the crew of three of themotor yacht Buccaboo, one of theminjured, had made fast to the light-vessel in the yacht's dinghy and hadasked for the life-boat. There was avery rough sea, with a moderatesouth-west gale blowing. At 7.45 thelife-boat Charles Dibdin, Civil ServiceNo. 2 was launched with a doctor onboard. Meanwhile, the lightvessel hadtaken the three men on board. Theinjured man remained there, but theother two returned to their yacht inthe dinghy. They started the engine,but the yacht caught fire and theyjumped overboard, got into the dinghyand returned to the lightvessel. Alittle later the life-boat arrived, andwhen the doctor had attended to theinjured man, she took him and thethree men ashore, reaching her stationagain at 1.15 that afternoon. Theyacht sank.—Rewards, £28 9s.

FISHING BOAT BROKEN DOWNHoylake, Cheshire.—At 5.30 in the

evening of the 4th of September, 1951,the life-boat bowman reported that aship had been seen in a dangerousposition about one mile north-west ofthe Rock Channel's outer buoys. Astrong south-westerly breeze was blow-ing, and the sea was rough. Watchwas kept on her. She was seen to beanchored and rolling heavilv, and thenwas identified as the local motorfishing boat Lanie. At 7.35 the life-boat Oldham was launched and foundthe Lanie three quarters of a milenorth-west of R.I Buoy with herengine broken down and one man onboard. She towed her to Hoylake


and reached her station again atmidnight.—Rewards, £17 11s.

ON THE ROCKSDouglas, and Port St. Mary, Isle of

Man.—At eight o'clock in the morn-ing of the 5th of September, 1951, theDouglas police reported to the Douglaslife-boat station that the local fishingcoble Silver Night was on the rocks atPort Grenaugh. One man had gotashore, but another man was still onboard. There was a heavy swell anddense fog. At 8.20 the Douglas life-boat Millie Walton was launched. At8.1 the Castletown coastguard hadreported the stranding to the Port St.Mary station and the life-boatK.T.J.S., on temporary duty at thestation, was launched at 8.30. TheDouglas life-boat put a life-boatmanon board the coble to help the one manthere, and escorted her to Douglas,arriving back at her station at ten inthe morning. The Port St. Mary life-boat was recalled and reached herstation at 9.5.—Rewards, Douglas, £8;Port St. Mary, £5 175. 6d.

CABIN CRUISER IN DISTRESSDouglas, Isle of Man.—At 5.40 in

the evening of the 7th of September,1951, the S.S. Lady of Man reportedto the Ramsey coastguard that shehad seen a cabin cruiser in distressabout thirteen miles south-east ofDouglas and that the cruiser had askedfor help. At 6.10 the life-boat MillieWalton was launched in a smoothsea, found the cabin cruiser, theCarron, of Port St. Mary, with a crewof three, eleven miles east-south-eastof Douglas Head, with her enginebroken down, and towed her toDouglas, arriving back at her stationagain at 9.40 that night.—Rewards,£11 6s.

JAMMED ANCHOR CABLEFowey, Cornwall.—At 10.55 on the

night of the 8th of September, 1951,the Polruan coastguard reported redflares one and a half miles south ofFowey Harbour, and at 11.15 thelife-boat C.D.E.C. was launched. Amoderate sea was running with asouth-east breeze blowing. The life-boat found the yacht Englyn I, ofSouthampton. She had anchored near

Cannis Rock and was in danger ofdragging ashore on Gibben Head. Thelife-boat tried to tow her, but failed,for the yacht's anchor cable hadjammed and it was impossible eitherto get the anchor up or slip it. So thelife-boat took off the crew of four andlanded them at Fowey at 12.46 thenext morning. The rescued men sentletters and contributions in gratitudefor their rescue.—Rewards, £5 5s.

IN DISTRESS OFF BRIGHTON PIERNewhaven, Sussex.—At 11.0 on the

night of the 8th of September, 1951,the coastguard telephoned that thesailing dinghy Kittiwake had put outon a fishing trip that afternoon, buthad not returned. At 11.15 the life-boat Jane Holland, on temporary dutyat the station, was launched. Therewas a heavy swell, with a strong north-easterly breeze blowing. A yachtreported that she had seen whiteflares between two and three mileswest of the harbour and guided thelife-boat until, with her searchlight,she found the Kittiwake between twoand three miles south-east of BrightonPalace Pier. Her sails were damagedand her crew of two were burningpieces of oilskin and boxes to attractattention. The life-boat rescued themand towed the dinghy to Newhaven,reaching her station again at 2.50.—Rewards, £10 19s.

SAILS TORN: ENGINE FAILEDFalmouth, Cornwall. — At 9.15 on

the night of the 9th of September,1951, the St. Anthony coastguardtelephoned that a yacht three milessouth-east-by-south of St. AnthonyPoint was flying a flag and using onlyone of her sails. At 9.30 the life-boatCrawford and Constance Conybeare waslaunched. The sea was heavy withan easterly wind blowing. The life-boat found the yawl Sorata, with acrew of three, bound for Shoreham,her sails torn and her engine brokendown. She towed her to Falmouthharbour and reached her station againat 11.30.—Rewards, £5 5s.

AGROUND IN THE SCILLIESSt. Mary's, Isles of Scilly.—On the

10th of September, 1951, the S.S.Scillonian was bound from Penzance

292 THE LtFE-BOAT [APKIL, 1952

for St. Mary's with eighty-three people.The sea was smooth, but there was avery thick fog and the life-boat'smotor mechanic kept in contact withher by wireless. About 1.0 in theafternoon she informed him that shewas near St. Agnes, having missed theentrance to St. Mary's Sound, and at2.0 she reported she had gone agroundon Wingletang Ledge. At 2.16 thelife-boat Cunard was launched, withthe honorary secretary, Mr. TrevellickMoyle, on board. She found thelaunch Kittern, belonging to the ownerof the steamer, off Dropnose Point.The Kittern had taken on boardseventy passengers from the steamerand asked the life-boat to take overhalf of them. The Cunard took thirtyand, with the Kittern, made for St.Mary's, but on the way the Kitternbumped on some rocks and lost herrudder. The life-boat towed her clearand took her to the pier. There theboats landed the seventy passengersand the life-boat made for the Soil-Ionian again. She found her lyingwith her bows between two rocks, andstood by her until 11.10 that night.She then took a rope from her sternand started towing, and the Scillonianworking her engines at the same timerefloated. Guided by the life-boat'ssearchlight, she reached St. Mary'sand berthed at the pier at one o'clocknext morning. The owners thankedthe Institution and made gifts to thelife-boatmen.—Rewards, £26 Is.

TWENTY PEOPLE IN DISTRESSMargate, Kent. — At 3.24 in the

afternoon of the 10th of September,1951, the coastguard telephoned thata ship had anchored three hundredyards off Reculver near the BlackRock, but that she had not made anydistress signals. A motor boat wasthen seen to leave her and make forthe shore, but it turned back. It wasthought that she needed help, and at4.10 the life-boat North Foreland,Civil Service No. XI, was launched,with the honorary secretary, Mr. A. C.Robinson, on board. The sea wassmooth, with a light breeze and fog.The life-boat found the motor launchCleevely, of London. She had hadtwenty people on board, but the ownersaid that two of them had made for

the shore at Herne Bay in the motorboat, and had been missing for overan hour. The life-boat searched forthe boat, found her a mile away andescorted her back to the Cleevely.Then she gave the Cleevely bearingsand a course for London, and returnedto her station, arriving at 6.45.—Rewards, £11 4s.

ENGINE FAILED IN A GALEFalmouth, Cornwall.—At 8.15 in the

morning of the 13th of September,1951, the St. Anthony coastguardtelephoned that a ship seemed to bein difficulties off Swanpool beach inFalmouth Bay, and at 9.0 the life-boatCrawford and Constance Conybeare waslaunched. The sea was rough, with asoutherly gale blowing. The life-boatfound the motor vessel Carpo, ofRotterdam, anchored, with her enginesbroken down, but the anchors weredragging. She repaired her engines.The life-boat's second coxswain thenboarded her and piloted her toFalmouth harbour. The life-boatreached her station again at 11.0.—-Rewards, £5 14s.

YACHT TOWED INWalton and Frinton, Essex. —• At

7.44 in the evening of the 13th ofSeptember, 1951, the Walton-on-the-Naze coastguard telephoned a wire-less message from the S.S. Gaslightthat she had taken in tow the yachtLas.iiette, of Burnham - on - Crouch,which had been in difficulties, andwould like the life-boat to meet herat the Cork Lightvessel. At 8.12 thelife-boat E.M.E.D. was launched in amoderate sea, with a moderate south-westerly breeze blowing, and met thetwo ships quarter of a mile south ofthe lightvessel. There she took overthe yacht and towed her to HarwichHarbour, arriving at 11.0 that night.She stayed there until next morning,and then returned to her station,arriving at 6.30. The owner made agift to the life-boatmen.—Rewards,£30 13s.

ANOTHER ENGINE FAILEDBlyth, Northumberland.—At 5.36 in

the evening of the 15th of September,1951, the coastguard telephoned thata small boat seemed to be in trouble inCambois Bay, and at 5.50 the life-boat


LJy courtesy of]SERVICE ON LAND

The Aberdeen life-boat going into action at a flooded camp(See page 312}

[Graphic Photo Union

By courtesy of]LANDING THE RESCUED

Seventy passengers from the Scillonian which went aground in a fog(See page 291)

\_Fox Photos


AT THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851

Beeching's model of the first self-righting life-boat

AT THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851

Teasdel's model on its launching carriage


AT THE FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN: 1951

The Sir Godfrey Baring, a 46-feet 9-inches Watson motor life-boat with two 40 h.p. engines

and a deck cabin

(See page 277)


By courtesy of] [P.A •—'

A TREASURE SHIP IN ALL HER PRIDE

The schooner Lamorna ready to sail for the South China Seas in search of Captain Kidd's treasure

THE LIFE-BOAT

courtesy of] [P.A.—Reuta

AFTER THE GALE

The Lamorna ashore at Christchurch. Her crew of fourteen had been rescued near The Needles by

the Yarmouth, Isle of Wight life-boat

(See page 308)


By courtesy nf]

SCARBOROUGH NAMING CEREMONY

(See page 314}

* courtesy of~\ [XcwcasHe Chronicle an 1 Journal Limited

NEWBIGGIN NAMING CEREMONY

(See page 315)


By courtesy of] [Photo fen-ices. Hrlyhaul

HOLYHEAD NAMING CEREMONY

(See page 314)

Z?y courtesy o/] [Evening Dispatch, Edinburgh

ANSTRUTHER NAMING CEREMONY

(See page 316)


By courtesy of} [Festival of Britain

GOING ON BOARD THE FESTIVAL SHIP

The 8i-ton Minehead life-boat being lifted into the Campania

(See page 278)


Winston Churchill, Civil Service No. 8was launched. The sea was moderatewith a strong westerly breeze blowing.The life-boat found the motor boatMono. Lisa, of Cambois, with a crewof four. Her engine had broken downand she was drifting seawards. Thelife-boat took off the four men andtowed the boat to Blyth harbour,arriving back at her station again at7.10.—Rewards, £6 17*.

ANOTHER YACHT IN DISTRESSDungeness, Kent.—At 5.30 in the

evening of the 16th of September, 1951,a yacht was seen flying distress signalsone mile east of the life-boat station,and the life-boat coxswain and threeother men put out at once in a fishingboat. A strong south-westerly breezewas blowing, but the sea was smooth.They found the yacht Memory, ofNewhaven, with a crew of four, brokendown. The skipper asked for a towto Dover. The fishing boat was notpowerful enough for this, but she tookthe yacht to smooth water andanchored her there. She then returnedto Dungeness, and at 9.30 the life-boat Charles Cooper Henderson waslaunched. She took the yacht in towand made for Dover, but two and ahalf miles south-west of Folkestoneshe came up with the Dover life-boat,on passage to Dover. The Doverlife-boat took over the tow and theDungeness life-boat returned to herstation, arriving at 1.15 the nextmorning.—Rewards, £25 11s.

FISHING BOAT TOWED INRedcar, Yorkshire.—At 4.20 in the

afternoon of the 17th of September,1951, the Salt burn coastguard tele-phoned that a fishing boat hadanchored in a dangerous position inPennyhole, and at 4.47 the life-boatCity of Leeds was launched. The seawas moderate with a north-westerlybreeze blowing. The life-boat found thefishing boat lolanthe, of Saltburn, witha crew of two, and towed her to Redcar.She got back to her station again at 6.0that evening.—Rewards, £10.

A MOTOR TORPEDO BOAT INDISTRESS

Selsey, Sussex. — At 9.12 in themorning of the 19th of September,

1951, returning fishermen reportedthat a converted motor torpedo boatwas moored to the Ledge Buoy threemiles south of Bracklesham, with herengines broken down, and had burnta distress flare. At 9.27 the life-boatCanadian Pacific was launched. Thesea was moderate with a light west-north-west breeze blowing. The life-boat found the M.T.B. No 102 with acrew of two and towed her to Ports-mouth; but because of shallow waterat the harbour mouth she took her onto Birdham Pool. Then she returnedto her station, arriving at 3.0 thatafternoon.—Rewards, £18 2s.

CAUGHT ON THE CLIFFSWick, Caithness-shire.—At 8.30 in the

evening of the 22nd of September,1951, a man telephoned from Helms-dale that he had taken three men outin a coble to shoot sea birds andlanded them on a cliff west of Berrie-dale Head. A fresh southerly breezewas blowing, the sea was rough, andhe had been unable to take them off.One of the marooned men succeededin climbing to the top of the cliff andthe coastguard's shore life - savingcompany went to rescue the other two.They were unable to do it, and at11.15 the life-boat, City of Edinburghwas launched. A shore boat also putout from Helmsdale. There was athick fog, and in that, and the dark-ness, the two boats could not find themen. They waited until daylight andthen the shore boat rescued one and thelife-boat the other. She landed himat Helmsdale and arrived back at herstation at 12.30 in the afternoon ofthe 23rd.—Rewards, £27 3*.

A SWAMPED ENGINEDover, Kent.—About 10.15 in the

morning of the 24th of September,1951, Lloyds signal station on theEastern Harbour Arm reported that ayacht was driving towards the Arm,and at 10.25 the life-boat SouthernAfrica was launched. A moderatesouth-south-west gale was blowingwith a rough sea. The life-boat foundthe yacht Elsa, with one man in her.Seas breaking right over her hadswamped her engine. The life-boattowed her to the harbour and reachedher station again at noon.—Rewards,£5 10s.


BURNT MEN LANDEDClovelly, Devon. — At 9.20 in the

morning of the 25th of September,1951, the S.S. Rocquaine, of Guernsey;bound from Newport for Guernsey,signalled that three of her crew hadbeen badly burnt by an explosion inher hold, and asked for the life-boat.At 9.50 the life-boat William CantrellAshley was launched, in a rough seawith a strong west-south-west breezeblowing. She met the Rocquaineapproaching Clovelly Bay and guidedher to Clovelly Roads. There shetook off the injured men and landedthem at Clovelly where a doctor andambulance were waiting. She reachedher station again at 12.35 that after-noon.—Rewards, £13 15s. 6d.

YACHT TRAPPED ON THE SANDSClacton - on - Sea, Essex.—At 11.6 in

the morning of the 25th of Septem-ber, 1951, the coastguard telephonedthat a yacht was reported ashore onthe Barrow Sands, flying a distresssignal, and at 11.30 the life-boatEdward Z. Dresden was launched withthe honorary secretary, Mr. E. C.Shergold, on board. There was amoderate swell with a moderate south-westerly breeze blowing. The life-boat found the yacht Ayesha, ofBrightlingsea, between No. 9 and No.11 Barrow Buoys. She had anchoredon the sands and when she refloated onthe rising tide her anchor chain hadparted. Then a heavy sea drove heraground again. With difficulty thelife-boat passed a rope to her, but therope parted. After two more attemptsshe made a rope fast to her and towedher to Brightlingsea. The life-boatstayed there for the night and returnedto her station next morning, arrivingat 9.0. The owner thanked the life-boatmen.—Rewards, £30 18s. 6d.

A BARGE ON MARGATE SANDSMargate, Kent. — At 2.35 in the

afternoon of the 26th of September,1951, the coastguard telephoned thata barge was ashore on the outer edge ofthe Margate Sands and at threeo'clock the life-boat North Foreland,Civil Service No. XI was launched.A fresh south-westerly breeze wasblowing, with a heavy swell. Thelife-boat found the motor barge

Thallata, of Harwich, fast ashore. Shewas laden with wheat, bound fromLondon to Ramsgate, and carried acrew of three. In her efforts to getoff, the barge had disabled her engineand her master asked for help. Thelife-boat stood by until the tide flowed.She then got a tow rope aboard, pulledthe barge clear of the sands at 6.45,towed her to Ramsgate and mooredher in the harbour. She reached herstation again before midnight.—Property Salvage Case.

MEDAL SERVICE AT ST. HELIEROn the 27th of September, 1951,

the St. Helier life-boat towed in aFrench yacht and her crew of three.For a full account of this service, andthe rewards, see page 280.

SICK STEWARD LANDEDWick, Caithness-shire.—At 8.55 on

the night of the 27th of September,1951, a wireless message was receivedthrough the harbour master, from thecaptain of the Norwegian motor vesselSkagerak that he needed a doctor fora very sick man. As no other suitableboat was available the life-boat Cityof Edinburgh put out at 9.15, accom-panied by the medical officer. Thesea was moderate with a light south-westerly breeze blowing. Twentyminutes later the life-boat reached thevessel, off Wick. The doctor decidedto land the man, a steward, and thelife-boat brought him ashore at \0.35.An ambulance took him to hospital.—•Rewards, £3 15,y.

MEDAL SERVICE AT DOVER

On the 27th of September, 1951, theDover life-boat rescued one man froma Dutch yacht. For a full account ofthis service, and the rewards, see page283.

A CONCERT PARTY IN A LEAKINGLAUNCH

Ramsgate, Kent. — At 5.50 in themorning of the 28th of September,1951, the coastguard telephoned thata ship between North Foreland andBroadstairs, making for Ramsgate,had signalled by lamp that water wasentering her engine room and that sheneeded help. At 6.4 the life-boat

A.PRIL, 1952] THE LIFE-BOAT 303

Prudential left her moorings in a slightsea, with a light south-westerly breezeblowing. She found the motor launchKaragola, of Plymouth, leaking badly.The owner, a erew of three, and sevenmembers of a concert party were onboard, bound for Bognor. Two life-boatmen boarded her and the life-boatthen escorted her to Ramsgate. berthedher and got back to her station at 7.15.—Property Salvage Case; Rewards,13s.

FOUNDERED AFTER COLLISIONWhitby, Yorkshire. — About 8.45

on the night of the 28th of September,1951, news was picked up by wirelessthat two fishing boats had been incollision eight miles off Whitby to theeast. They needed help; and at nineo'clock the No. 1 life-boat Mary AnnHepu-orth was launched in a calm seawith a light southerly breeze blowing.When she got to the spot she foundthat the motor fishing vessel ElizabethTaylor, of Hull, had foundered afterbeing in collision with the motorfishing vessel Incentive, of Fraserburgh,and that the Incentive had rescued hercrew. The life-boatmen gave one ofthem first aid, and all of them rum, andtransferred them to another ship, theDainty Lady, which took them toScarborough. A life - boatman wasthen put aboard the Incentive, and thelife-boat escorted her to Whitby,arriving at 12.34 next morning.—Rewards, £10 8s.

ASHORE IN THE THAMESSouthend-on-Sea, Essex. — At 8.35

on the night of the 30th of September,1951, the coastguard reported that aforty-feet yacht was ashore about amile off Scrapsgate, Isle of Sheppey,and at 8.45 the life-boat, GreaterLondon, Civil Service No. 3, waslaunched. A rough sea was runningwith a strong easterly wind. The life-boat found the motor yacht Snafelle,of London, with a crew of two. Theyhad no food aboard so were given bis-cuits from the life-boat's stores. TheSnafelle had refloated unaided, but herowner asked to be escorted to Sheer-ness Harbour. This the life-boat didand, after leaving the yacht at a safeanchorage, returned to Southend,arriving at 11.35.—Rewards £8 14s.

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

Torbay, Devon.—September 1st.—Rewards, £7 14s.

Whitby, Yorkshire.—September 1st.—Rewards, £10 13.9.

Falmouth, Cornwall.—September2nd.—Rewards, £10 17s.

FIVE BOYS DROWNEDBarmouth, Merionethshire.—Shortly

after two o'clock in the afternoonof the 3rd of September, 1951, thesailing boat Dorothy was seen to cap-size one and a half miles off Cric-cieth. She belonged to the MorfaBychan Public Schools Camp, and wasmanned by an officer and eight boys.The Pwllheli life-boat station was thenearest, but owing to the low tide thelife-boat was unable to launch, andthe Barmouth life-boat, The Chieftain,was called out. She left at 3.40 in arough sea with a strong south-south-westerly breeze blowing, and reachedthe scene of the capsize at 5.25. She

'searched for hours, but found no oneand returned to her station again at10.30 that night. Four of the boyshad been rescued by other boats, butthe officer and the other four boyswere drowned.—Rewards, £14 2s. Qd.

Donaghadee, Co. Down. — Septem-ber 5th.—Rewards, £6 13s.

Portrush, Co. Antrim. — September6th.—Rewards, £6 9s.

Salcombe, Devon. — September 6th.—Rewards, £5 12s.

Weymouth, Dorset. — September 8th.—Rewards, £5 5s.

Fowey, Cornwall. — September 9th.—Rewards, £11 8s.

Cromer, Norfolk. — September 9th.—Rewards, £19 3s.

Redcar, Yorkshire. — September 9th.—Rewards, £11 5s.

SEARCH FOR AN AMERICANAEROPLANE

Ramsgate, Walmer, and Dover, Kent.—At 10.8 in the morning of the 13thof September, 1951, the Ramsgatecoastguard telephoned to the Rams-gate life-boat station that an aeroplane,an American Thunderjet fighter, had


crashed on the Goodwin Sands. Latera report came that the pilot had beenseen in the sea between ten and twelvemiles south of Manston. At 10.12 theRamsgate life-boat Prudential put out.The Ramsgate coastguard, meanwhile,had passed the news to the coastguardat Deal and Sandgate, and at 10.20 theWalmer life-boat, Charles Dibdin, CivilService No. 2 was launched followed bythe Dover life-boat, Southern Africa at10.40. The sea was very rough, witha fresh south-west breeze blowing, andthe three life-boats searched all day.The Ramsgate life-boat picked up apiece of the aeroplane, but there wasno trace of the pilot, and in the even-ing the life-boats returned to theirstations, Walmer arriving at 5.45,Ramsgate at 6.15 and Dover at 6.30.On her way back the Ramsgate life-boat warned a French steamer thatit was heading for the Sands.—Rewards, Ramsgate, £20 11s. 6d.;Walmer, £31 6s.; Dover, £14 7s.

Ramsgate, Kent.—September, 13th.—Rewards, £20 11s. 6d.

Walmer, Kent. — September, 13th.—Rewards, £31 6s.

Dover, Kent. -— September 13th.—•Rewards, £14 7s.

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. — Septem-ber 13th.—Rewards, £7 Is. 6d.

Selsey, Sussex. — September 13th.—Rewards, £16 9s. 6d.

Newcastle, Co. Down. — September13th.—Rewards, £13 18s.

Port Erin, Isle of Man. — September13th.—Rewards, £17 3s.

St. Helier, Jersey. — September 14th.—Rewards, £7 Is. 6d.

Humber, Yorkshi re — September14th.—Paid permanent crew.

Clacton- on- Sea, Essex. — September,17th.—Rewards, £8 10s. Qd.

Hartlepool, Durham.—September17th.—Rewards, £5 11s.

Shoreham Harbour, Sussex. — Sep-tember 18th.—Rewards, £8 10s. 6d.

Torbay, Devon. — September 20th.—Rewards, £4 13s.

Caister, Norfolk. — September 20th.—Rewards, £12 17s. 6d.

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston,Norfolk.—September 20th.—Rewards£8 12s. 6d.

Dover, Kent. — September 21st.—Rewards, £6.

Dungeness, Kent — September 21st.—Rewards. £20 4s.

St. David's Pembrokeshire. — Sep-tember 21st.—-Rewards, £21 4s.

Fowey, Cornwall. — September 21st.—Rewards, £6 13s.

Stromness, Orkneys.—September22nd.—Rewards, £6 18s.

Tynemouth Northumberland. — Sep-tember 24th.—Rewards, £18 8s.

The Mumbles, Glamorganshire.—Sep-tember 25th.—Rewards, £10 10s.

Sunderland, Durham. —• September26th.—Rewards, £6 19s. 6d.

Wells, Norfolk. — September 27th.—Rewards, £14 6s.

A NINETEEN HOURS' SEARCH IN AGALE

Valentia, Co. Kerry.—At 8.5 in themorning of the 29th of September,1951, Valentia Radio reported that aman was adrift in a ship's boat off theBull Rock Lighthouse, and the life-boat A.E.D. was launched at 8.20. Asouth-easterly gale was blowing witha very rough sea. The life-boatreached the position given at eleveno'clock and searched until dusk, butall that she found was some wreckage.She arrived back at her station at8.38 that night. Next morning atseven o'clock she put out again, butagain found nothing and returned toher station at 2.30 in the afternoon.It was learnt that the Spanish trawlerMaria Natividad, of Pasajes, hadstruck a submerged rock and hadsunk. Six of her crew of thirteenwere lost but the other seven had beenrescued by another trawler. TheSpanish government sent its specialthanks to the Institution.—Rewards,£36 18s. 6d.

OCTOBERDURING October, life-boats went outon service 29 times, but no lives wererescued.

ASHORE IN THE MOUTH OF THETHAMES

Southend-on-Sea, Essex.—At 8.15 inthe morning of the 3rd of October,1951, the Southend coastguard tele-phoned that a ship was ashore close tothe Shoeburyness Boom, but had notreplied to signals made to her. At


9.45 the life-boat Greater London, CivilService No. 3, was launched, in a slightsea with a light easterly breeze blow-ing. She found the S.S. Yewcroft, ofGlasgow, in ballast, in a dangerousposition. Her captain thought hewould be all right, but the life-boatstood by until the steamer refloatedjust before high water. Then shemade for her station, getting thereat 2.40 in the afternoon. — Rewards,£17 105.

LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER ILLNewcastle, Co. Down.—At 11.40 on

the night of the 3rd of October, 1951,the head keeper of Haulbowline Light-house telephoned that one of thekeepers was very ill. No other suit-able boat was available, and at mid-night the life-boat William and Laurawas launched, in calm weather. Shereached the lighthouse at 2.40 and tookthe sick man aboard. In the mean-time arrangements had been made fora doctor and an ambulance to bewaiting. The life-boat landed theman on Greencastle pier at 3.10 andreached her station again at 6.30.—Rewards, £22 5s. 6d. No expense tothe Institution.

TWO AEROPLANES CRASH ON THECLIFFS

Flamborough, Yorkshire.—About 1.0in the afternoon of the 5th ofOctober, 1951, the Flamborough Headcoastguard telephoned that two Meteorjet aeroplanes had crashed into thecliffs at Bempton in a mist. Later, hesaid it was between the North Landingand Flamborough Head. At 1.10 thelife-boat Howard D. was launched, ina smooth sea with a light northerlybreeze blowing. An air sea rescuelaunch also put out. They saw amark where an aeroplane had struckon the cliff three miles from the Land-ing and about three hundred yardsnorth of this point the life-boat pickedup a body. She transferred it to therescue launch and went back to herstation for news. She was asked tolook for the other aeroplane so sheput out again and after a wide searchfound where the second crash hadtaken place, three hundred yards southof the first. She saw pieces of metalsticking in the cliff face and found oil

at the foot of the cliff. The rescuelaunch came up and transferred severalR.A.F. officers to the life-boat, whichtook them close inshore to show themthe position and then returned withthem to her station, arriving at 6.0that evening.—Rewards, £29 15s.

ACROSS THE GOODWINSRamsgate, Kent. — At 4.57 in the

afternoon of the 9th of October, 1951,the coastguard telephoned that theNorth Goodwin Lightvessel hadwarned off a steamer which was in adangerous place, and at 5.17 he tele-phoned again that she had groundedtwo and a half miles south-west-by-south of the lightvessel. At 5.28 thelife-boat Prudential left her mooringsin a moderate sea with a light east-south-east breeze blowing, and foundthe S.S. Kardesler, of Istanbul, boundfor Cannes from Amsterdam. Thesteamer refloated on the rising tideand made her way over the Sandsaccompanied by the life-boat. Shetouched bottom several times, butshe reached deep water. The master•then asked for two life-boatmen togo on board to guide her to a navigablechannel. The life-boat led her tothe Downs, where the two life-boat-men rejoined her, and the steamerwent on her way. The life-boatreturned to her station at 9.0 thatnight.—Rewards, £12 14s.

SICK MAN LANDEDGreat Yarmouth and Gorleston,Norfolk.—At 4.55 in the afternoon ofthe 9th of October, 1951, Lloyd'sagent reported that the S.S. Matching,of London, due off Gorleston at 6.0that evening, had a sick man on boardand had asked for a doctor. At 6.4 thelife-boat Louise Stephens was launchedwith a doctor, in a moderate swellwith a moderate south - south - eastbreeze. She met the steamer quarterof a mile off the harbour, took thepatient on board and landed him ather station, where an ambulance waswaiting, at 6.59.—Rewards, £11 5s. 6d.

A YACHT AGROUNDRams gate, Kent.—At one o'clock in

the afternoon of the 10th of October,1951, the life-boat shore attendant onthe East Pier reported a yacht aground


in Pegwell Bay. He said that someof her crew were in the water trying tomove her. Quarter of an hour later hesaid that the yacht was still aground,so at 1.20 the life-boat Prudential lefther moorings with her boarding boatin tow. The sea was moderate, witha light south-easterly breeze blowing.She found the motor cruiser Yamilly,of Brightlingsea, with a crew of four,on Sandwich Flats. She was listingbadly. Using the boarding boat, thelife-boatmen attached a long rope toher and when the tide had risenenough the life-boat pulled her clear.The Yamilly then went on her wayand the life-boat got back to herstation again at 5.37 that evening.—Property Salvage Case. — Rewards,14s. 6d."

NORWEGIAN STEAMER ON THEGOODWINS

Ramsgate, Kent.—At 5.50 in theevening of the 12th of October, 1951,the North Goodwin Lightvessel wire-lessed that she had warned off a vesselin a dangerous position one and a halfmiles south by west of the GoodwinLightvessel, and at 6.16 the life-boatPrudential left her moorings. The seawas very rough, with a fresh south-easterly breeze blowing. The life-boatfound the S.S. Mathilda, of Bergen,aground about two miles south bywest of the lightvessel. She wentalongside, passed a rope to her andput two life-boatmen on board. Theymade preparations for laying a kedgeanchor and wires, but the steamerrefloated. The life-boat guided herthrough the sandbanks to deeper watertook the two life-boatmen on boardagain, gave the Mathilda a course tosteer, and returned to her station,arriving at 10.45 that night.—PropertySalvage Case.—Rewards, 14s. 6d.

A WOMAN'S BODY BROUGHTASHORE

Shoreham Harbour, Sussex. — At11.23 in the morning of the 14th ofOctober, 1951, pilots reported thata yacht with a body in tow was offShoreham, and needed help. At 11.28the life-boat Rosa Woodd and PhyllisLunn was launched in calm weather.She found the yacht Eve, which hadpicked up the body of a woman about

three miles south-south-east of Shore-ham Harbour, took the body on boardand signalled for an ambulance tomeet her at the lock gates. Thereshe landed the body and got backto her station at 11.52. — Rewards,£6 15s.

UNABLE TO MAKE HARBOURPortrush, Co. Antrim.—At 7.17 on

the night of the 17th of October, 1951,the coastguard telephoned that aBallycastle fishing boat, with a crewof four, could not enter BallycastleHarbour because of a heavy swell andwas making for a port to the westward.At 8.13 he reported that the boat wassheltering off Ken bane Head andneeded help, and at 8.26 the life-boatLady Scott, Civil Service No. 4, waslaunched in a light south-south-westbreeze. She found the fishing boatoff the Head, towed her to Portrush,and reached her station again at2.55 the next morning. •— Rewards,£19 11s. 6d.

FISHING NET FOULS PROPELLERLonghope, Orkneys.—At 8.26 in the

morning of the 19th of October, 1951,the Kirkwall coastguard telephonedthat a motor fishing vessel had anchor-ed half a mile off shore in RackwickBay and was blowing her siren. At8.50 the life-boat Thomas McCunn waslaunched. The sea was heavy, with alight west-south-west breeze blowing.The life-boat found the Blenheim, ofWick, quarter of a mile off shore witha crew of four. Her net had fouledher propeller. The life-boat towed herto Stromness and returned to herstation, arriving at 4.45 that evening.—Property Salvage Case.

STOLEN DINGHY IN DISTRESSRamsgate, Kent.— At 5.37 in the

morning of the 20th of October, 1951,the North Goodwin Lightvessel wire-lessed that she had launched a boatto pick up a boy in a dinghy whichhad drifted past the lightvessel, butthat both boats were now out of sight.The life-boat Prudential left her moor-ings at 5.50 in a moderate sea, with amoderate westerly breeze blowing, andfound the boat with the dinghy in towone and a half miles east-north-east ofthe lightvessel. She towed both boats


to the lightvessel, took the dinghy onboard and brought the boy ashore at7.38. There he was met by the police.He had run away from an institutionand had stolen the dinghy fromMargate.—Rewards, £8 13s.

CABIN CRUISER'S BROKEN RUDDERClacton-on-Sea, Essex.—At 5.27 in

the evening of the 20th of October,1951, the Mid-Barrow Lightvesselreported that the cabin cruiser Wid-geon, of Ramsgate, which had brokenher rudder, was tied up astern of thelightvessel and in need of help. At5.50 the life-boat Edward Z. Dresdenwith the second coxswain in chargewas launched. The sea was rough,with a south-westerly breeze blowing.The life-boat found two men aboardthe Widgeon. They were bound fromWest Mersea to Ramsgate and askedthe life-boat to give them a tow. Thisshe did, making for Bright lingsea,where she arrived at half past two inthe morning. At daylight she left forher station arriving at 7.30—Rewards,£31 4s. 6d.

SIX LIVES LOSTTessmouth, Whitby, and Runswick,

Yorkshire. — In the morning of the22nd of October, 1951, the S.S.Pandora,of Beaumaris, foundered in a gale anda very heavy sea one and a half milesoff Runswick, with the loss of her crewof six. The Runswick and Whitbylife-boats were unable to get out, andthe Teesmouth life-boat arrived tofind the steamer sunk and her crewdrowned. The s.s. Gripfaxt, of New-castle, attempted to help the Pandora,but herself got into difficulties. Atug went out to her, but in the after-noon she signalled for help. Theweather had then moderated. TheWhitby No. 1 life-boat Mary AnnHepvcorth and the Runswick life-boatRobert Pattern—The Always Readywent out, and the Whit by life-boatstood by until tugs had towed her intodeep water.—Rewards.—Teesmouth,£29 18s.; Whitby, £17 18s.; Runswick,£32 11s. Gd.

A full account of this service, of theinquiry which was held after it, andthe events which followed the inquiry,will appear in a later issue of TheLife-boat.

MOTOR YACHT IN A GALE IN THEMERSEY

New Brighton, Cheshire. — At 7.40in the morning of the 22nd of October,1951, the Formby coastguard tele-phoned that a motor yacht was in adangerous place inside the revetmenton the south side of the Queen'sChannel near the Formby BoatBeacon. At 8.15 a second messagesaid that she had not moved, and at8.40 the life-boat K.T.J.S., on tem-porary duty at the station, left hermoorings. The sea was rough, witha moderate north-north-east gale blow-ing. The life-boat found the motorlaunch Vanadia, of Ayr, off the BarLightvessel, with a crew of four. Shewas steering badly so the life-boatescorted her up the river channel toEgg Buoy, and reached her stationagain at 2.0 that afternoon.—-Rewards,£14 10s.

PATIENT DIES IN THE LIFE-BOATLerwick, Shetlands.—At 1.22 in the

afternoon of the 30th of October, 1951,the Zetland medical officer for healthasked if the life-boat would take adoctor to Fair Isle to treat a sick man,as the regular mail boat was under-going repairs. At 1.58 the life-boatLady Jane and Martha Ryland lefther moorings, embarked a doctor atBroonies Taing and made for Fair Islein a heavy swell with a light northerlybreeze blowing. She arrived justbefore eight o'clock that night andthe doctor went ashore in a small boat.About half an hour later-the patientand doctor were taken on board thelife-boat which set out for Lerwick.She wirelessed for an ambulance to beready, but the man died before shereached Lerwick. The life-boat landedhis body at her station at 2.30.—Re-wards, £28 5s. No expense to theInstitution.

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

Penlee, Cornwall. — October 4th. —Rewards, £18 5s.

Runswick, Yorkshire.—October 5th.—Rewards, £22 16s.

Stromness, Orkneys. — October 8th.—Rewards, £10 7s.


Clovelly, Devon. — October 12th. —Rewards, £27 7s.

Padstow, Cornwall. — October 12th.—Rewards, £8. Partly Paid Perman-ent Crew.

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston,Norfolk. -— October 17th. — Rewards,£11.

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston,Norfolk. — October 18th. — PropertySalvage Case.

New Brighton, Cheshire. — October20th.—Rewards, £9 4,s.

SAVED BY THE LIFE-BOAT'SMAROONS

Dover, Kent.—At 4.30 in the morn-ing of the 21st of October, 1951, theEastern Arm Signal Station telephonedthat a yacht was dragging her anchorin the harbour and driving ashore, andat 4.45 the life-boat Southern Africaleft her moorings. A moderate south-westerly gale was blowing with arough sea. Fortunately the maroonsfired to call out the life-boat's crewwaked the two men who were asleepin the yacht—the auxiliary yacht Ceta-—and they were able to move her to asafe anchorage. The life-boat arrivedto find that she was not needed, andreturned to her station at 5.30.—Rewards, £7 5s.

Ramsgate, Kent. — October 27th.—Rewards, £8 13.9.

Ramsgate, Kent.—October, 28th.—Rewards, £8 13s.

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. — October29th.—Rewards, £9 3s. 6d.

NOVEMBERDURING November, life-boats went outon service 48 times, and rescued 40lives.

TWO COBLES CAUGHT BY BADWEATHER

Flamborough, Yorkshire. — On theafternoon of the 2nd of November,1951, two local fishing cobles were atsea in bad weather and the life-boatcoxswain felt anxious for their safety.The weather got worse, and one of thecobles reached the shore, making veryheavy weather. The coxswain thendecided to launch to the help of theother, and at 3.30 the life-boat Howard

D. put out. The sea was rough witha fresh northerly breeze blowing. Thelife-boat found the coble, the Imperial-ist, with a crew of three, one milenorth-east of the life-boat station.She had cut away from her fishing gear.The life-boat escorted her to the shore,reaching her station again at 4.10.—Rewards, £14 7s. 6d.

VELLUM SERVICE AT COVERACKOn the 4th of November, 1951, the

Coverack life-boat rescued the crew ofseventeen of a Spanish steamer. Fora full account of this service, and therewards, see page 284.

WRECKED ON A TREASURE HUNTSwanage, Dorset, and Yarmouth, Isle

of Wight.—At 11.25 in the morningof the 4th of November, 1951, theNiton Radio Station reported a wire-less message from a steamer that aschooner was in distress sixteen anda half miles south-south-east of Durl-ston Head, and at 11.40 the Swanagelife-boat R.L.P. was launched. Asoutherly gale was blowing, with aheavy sea. At 2.45 in the afternoonthe life-boat found H.M.S. Redpole tow-ing the schooner Lamorna, of South-ampton. The schooner had a crewof fourteen, and was bound for theSouth China Sea to search for CaptainKidd's treasure. The warship askedthe life-boat to stand by,' which shedid, but at 4.20 the Redpole said thelife-boat was no longer needed andshe made for Poole, as in that weathershe could not have been put into herhouse at Swanage. When she wasabout half a mile east of Poole harbourshe received a wireless request fromthe Redpole, now four and a half milessouth of the Needles, asking her toreturn and stand by again, but shereplied that the Yarmouth life-boatcould reach the position more quickly.Accordingly at 6.10 a message was sentto the Yarmouth life-boat stationthrough the Niton Radio Station andthe Ventnor coastguard, and at 6.24the life-boat S.G.E. left her moorings,with the second coxswain in command.She found that the Lamorna hadbroken away from the Redpole, hadlost her masts and had damaged herrudder. The life-boat spread oil onthe water to help calm the heavy,


breaking seas, and with great difficulty,owing to floating spars and ropes wentalongside. She was slightly damaged,but she rescued the fourteen men andreturned to her station, arriving at8.50. The Swanage life-boat mean-while had reached Poole at seveno'clock. The Lamorna eventuallydrifted ashore five miles east ofBournemouth. The owners and cap-tain of the Lamorna gave 75 guineasto the Institution and 25 guineas tothe Yarmouth crew in gratitude forthe rescue. — Rewards, Swanage,£83 3s. 6d.; Yarmouth, Isle of Wight,£9 3s. 6d.

TO THE HELP OF A DUTCH SHIPWhltby, Yorkshire.—At 12.50 in the

afternoon of the 4th of November,1951, the coastguard reported thatthe motor ship Geziena, of Rotterdam,was lying off Whitby in need of apilot. As the weather was too badfor a shore-boat to put out, the No. 1life-boat Mary Ann Hepworth em-barked a pilot and was launched at1.15. A strong east-south-east galewas blowing, with a rough sea. As thelife-boat was launching a messagecame from the coastguard that a motorfishing boat was in distress five milesnorth-east of Robin Hood's Bay. Thelife-boat put the pilot aboard theGeziena then made for the fishingboat, and found the Courage, of Scar-borough, with a crew of five, makingvery heavy weather. She gave firstaid to one of the men, who had beeninjured, handed out biscuits and rumto them all, and escorted the Courageto Whitby. She then returned to theGeziena, escorted her into harbour andreached her station again at 4.45.—Rewards, £12 17s.

A YACHT WITH AN EXHAUSTEDCREW

Bembridge, Isle of Wight.—At twoin the afternoon of the 4th of Novem-ber, 1951, the Foreland coastguardtelephoned that a small sailing boatmaking for Bembridge was in distressoff Seaview and at 2.15 the life-boatJesse Lumb was launched. A south-south-east gale was blowing, with avery rough sea. The life-boat foundthe yacht Quickstep, of Hayling Island,

to the east of Seaview Pier. Her crewof two were exhausted. The life-boatmen gave them rum and towedthe Quickstep to Bembridge Harbour,arriving about three o'clock. Theweather was too bad for the life-boatto be rehoused, so she went to Cowesand was finally taken back to herstation on the 7th.—Rewards, £27 17s.

AN ITALIAN STEAMER CALLS FORHELP

Sunderland, Durham.—At 5.47 onthe night of the 4th of November, 1951,the coastguard telephoned that a shipwas close to the rocks to the eastwardand signalling for tugs. A fresh south-easterly gale was blowing, with a roughsea. At 6.20 the life-boat Edward andIsabella Irwin was launched and foundthe S.S. Arcobaleno, of Italy, laden withiron ore. She got clear of the rocksand the life-boat stood by her until shereached the harbour. The life-boatthen returned to her station, arrivingat 7.30.—Rewards, £8 4s.

FORTY IN PERILFalmouth, Cornwall.—About 9.45 on

the night of the 4th of November, 1951,the St. Anthony coastguard telephonedthat the motor ship Trewidden, ofLondon, with about forty on board,had wirelessed that she had brokendown and had anchored in FalmouthBay, but that she was dragging to-wards Black Rock. A south-westerlygale was blowing and the sea wasvery rough. At ten o'clock the life-boat Crawford and Constance Cony-beare was launched and found thetug Turmoil trying to take the steamerin tow. The tow-rope parted severaltimes, and at the request of the masterthe life-boat stood by. She remaineduntil the tow-rope was made fast tothe vessel and the tug had got underway. She then returned to her stationarriving at 3.30 the next morning.—Rewards, £14 15s.

THE DUTCH SHIP IN PERIL AGAINWhitby, Yorkshire.—About 8.30 on

the night of the 5th of November, 1951,the coastguard telephoned that themotor ship Geziena, of Rotterdam,which the life-boat had escorted to theharbour the previous afternoon, had


parted her moorings in the harbourand was in danger of being sweptseawards. An easterly gale was blow-ing and the sea was rough. At 8.44the No. 1 life-boat Mary Ann Hepworthwas launched, and went alongside her.She passed several hawsers ashore,helped the vessel to remoor, andreached her station again at 10.19.At 6.45 the next morning she put outand stood by the Geziena while she wasbeing secured with new ropes, arrivingback at her station at nine o'clock.—Rewards, £19 95. 6d.

ANOTHER SICK MAN BROUGHTASHORE

Donaghadee, Co. Down.—At 2.10 inthe morning of the 6th of November,1951, the agents for the S.S. Caslon, ofLondon, telephoned that the steamerhad wirelessed that she had a sick manon board and asked for help. Hermaster would take her into BelfastLough. At 2.30 the life-bftat SirSamuel Kelly was launched. The seawas choppy, with a strong north-easterly breeze blowing. The life-boatcame up with the Caslon off Kilroot.The steamer was under way, but assoon as she had anchored the life-boatwent alongside and took the sick manaboard. She landed him at Bangor,where an ambulance was waiting, andreturned to her station, arriving at6.O.—Rewards, £10 105.

FISHING BOATS TOWED INHelvick Head, Co. Waterford. About

eight o'clock in the morning of the 7thof November, 1951, with a rough searunning and a south-easterly breezeblowing, the life-boat motor mechanicwas on the lookout on Helvick Headand saw the motor fishing boat LydiaAnn, of Waterford, trying to sail toHelvick. She reached the mouth ofDungarvan Harbour, but anchoredthere as she found that she could notget in under sail. She was in a dan-gerous place near the Gaynor Rocks,and the life-boat H. F. Bailey waslaunched at 8.30. She found that theengine of the Lydia Ann, which had acrew of five, had broken down. Shetowed her to Helvick Pier arriving ather station again at 9.30.—Rewards,£6 195.

Lowestoft, Suffolk. — On the night ofthe llth of November, 1951, the coast-guard reported that a man had seenred flares from a boat about a milesouth of the harbour and three hundredyards from the shore, and at 8.30 thelife-boat Michael Stephens left hermoorings. The sea was moderate,with a moderate south-easterly breezeblowing. The life-boat found thelocal motor fishing boat Wavell, witha crew of two, broken down anddrifting towards the shore. She towedher into the harbour and reached herstation again at 9.30.—Rewards,£7 15s.

PILOTING A STEAMER WITH A LISTCromarty. — In the afternoon of the

llth of November, 1951, the S.S.Trinity, of Panama, wirelessed thatshe had been damaged and needed apilot. She would be off Cromarty thatnight, and asked for a boat to meet herat eight o'clock next morning. Afresh south-easterly gale was blowing,with a very heavy swell. At 6.30 inthe morning of the 12th the life-boatJames Macfee was launched and metthe Trinity, which was listing heavily,six miles east by north of WhistleBuoy. The coxswain boarded her andpiloted her to a safe anchorage. Thelife-boat returned to her station at10.30.—Rewards, £10 105.

ANOTHER SICK MAN BROUGHTASHORE

Barrow, Lancashire. — At threeo'clock in the afternoon of the 15th ofNovember, 1951, the agents of thetanker Merrimac, of New York, re-ported that she had wirelessed that shehad a sick man on board in need of adoctor. She would be off Barrowabout nine o'clock that night. At7.30 the life-boat Herbert Leigh em-barked a doctor and was launched onservice for the first time. The honor-ary secretary, Mr. T. Downing, wason board. The sea was moderate,with a moderate south - south - westbreeze blowing. The life-boat met theMerrimac three miles west of LightningKnoll Buoy, and put the doctor onboard. She then embarked the sickman and landed him in the harbour,where an ambulance was waiting, at11.10.—Rewards, £12 10s.

APRIL, 1952J THE LIFE-BOAT 311

MEDAL SERVICE AT SELSEYOn the 17th-18th of November,

1951, the Selsey life-boat rescued thecrew of six of a motor vessel of CostaRica. For a full account of thisservice and the rewards, see page285.

ANOTHER PROPELLER FOULEDArklow, Co. Wicklow. — At 6.50 on

the night of the 19th of November,1951, the motor mechanic reportedflares north of the harbour and atseven o'clock the life-boat Inbhear Morwas launched with the second cox-swain in charge. The sea was moder-ate with a fresh south-westerly breezeblowing. The life-boat found the localfishing boat Edith, with a crew of four,one and a half miles north of ArklowPier. She was anchored, with herpropeller fouled. The life-boat towedher to the harbour and reached herstation again at 7.35.—Rewards,£9 2s. 6d.

ANOTHER FISHING BOAT BROKENDOWN

Whitehllls, Banff shire. — At 9.30 inthe morning of the 21st of November,1951, a fishing boat wirelessed thatanother fishing boat, the Speedwell, ofMacduff, was in difficulties twentymiles north-north-west of Whitehillsand at 10.5 the life-boat ThomasMarkby was launched. The trawlerBuchans II, of Aberdeen, also put out.The sea was rough, with a strongnorth-westerly breeze' blowing. Thelife-boat found the Speedwell, with acrew of six, broken down, and stoodby her until the trawler arrived. Thelife-boat then helped the trawler totake her in tow and escorted them toFraserburgh, arriving at seven o'clockthat night. The life-boat made for herstation a little later, but as the weatherwas too bad for her to enter White-hills Harbour she went to MacDuffwhich she reached at 1.30 the nextmorning. She was taken back to herstation that afternoon. — Rewards,£46 6s.

OVER THE GIRVAN BAR IN A GALEGirvan, Ayrshire. About one o'clock

in the afternoon of the 21st of Novem-ber, 1951, when a gale was blowing, amessage was heard on a fishing boat's

wireless set in the harbour at Girvanthat several fishing boats had leftWhiting Bay for Girvan. They wereasking what the weather conditionswere. The coxswain wirelessed thatthere was a heavy sea running on theharbour bar and that the life-boatwould stand by outside. At 2.15 thelife-boat Lily Glen — Glasgow waslaunched, and half an hour later thelocal fishing boat Girl Anne came intosight. The life-boat escorted her tothe harbour and stood by the bar again.At four o'clock the local fishing boatMaureen approached the bar, and shetoo was escorted to her moorings bythe life-boat which then returned toher station arriving at 5.0.—Rewards,£7 18s. 6d.

COBLE'S PROPELLER LOSTTeesmouth, Yorkshire. At 5.30 in

the evening of the 23rd of November,1951, the keeper of the South GareLighthouse reported a signal from afishing coble that she had lost her pro-peller, and needed help, and at 6.6that night the life-boat John and LucyCordingley was launched. There wasa slight sea with a light south-westerlybreeze blowing. The life-boat foundthe Mildred with one man aboard twoand a half miles north of the lighthouseand towed her to Paddy's Hole. Shearrived back at her station at 7.55.—Rewards, £9 3s.

SIX WHITBY FISHING BOATSESCORTED INTO HARBOUR

Whitby, Yorkshire.—On the morn-ing of the 26th of November, 1951,a strong north-west wind was blow-ing and the sea was rough. At11.30 fishermen reported that theharbour entrance was dangerous. Sixlocal fishing vessels were known to beat sea, so at 11.48 the No. 1 life-boatMary Ann Hepworth was launched.On her way out of the harbour sheescorted to sea the Fraserburgh fishingboat Girl Nan. The local fishingvessel Galilee then came into sight.The life-boat escorted her into har-bour and put to sea again. A littlelater the Success, Provider A. andProgress arrived. The life-boat escor-ted them in and waited for the othertwo, the Venus and Pilot Me. TheVenus was seen making for the harbour


at 3.10 in the afternoon and the life-boat escorted her in. She then madefor the Whitby Rock Buoy where shefound the Pilot Me. She escorted herin and returned to her station arrivingat 4.10.—Rewards, £14 13s. 6d.

TWELVE HOURS ON THE GOODWINSIn very heavy weather on the night

of the 24th-25th of November, 1951,the Walmer life-boat gave help to asteamer on the Goodwin Sands. Afull account of this service appears onpage 288.

NEW LIFEBOAT'S FIRST SERVICEAberystwyth, Cardiganshire.—At 2.45

in the afternoon of the 26th ofNovember, 1951, the honorary secre-tary was on the sea front and saw alocal motor fishing boat two miles tothe west of the life-boat station drift-ing rapidly. She had two men onboard. One of the men was trying toship her rudder. He could not andinstead used an oar to steer her. Thesea was choppy, with a fresh westerlybreeze blowing; the harbour bardangerous. So at 3.4 the life-boatAguila Wren was launched on servicefor the first time, with the secondcoxswain in charge. She came upwith the fishing boat which had nowanchored one mile north-west of thestation, towed her into the harbourand arrived back at her station at 4.5.—Rewards, £21 125.

ANOTHER YACHT BROKEN DOWN

Weymouth, Dorset.—-At 4.40 in theafternoon of the 30th of November,1951, the Wyke Regis coastguardtelephoned that a fifteen ton auxiliaryyacht was flashing S O S signals threemiles west of Portland Bill. The seawas rough, with a fresh westerly breezeblowing. At 4.50 the life-boat Williamand Clara Ryland left her mooringsand found the yacht two and a halfmiles west of the Bill. The yacht wasthe Penguin, with four on board. Herengine had broken down. The life-boat towed her to Weymouth Quay,and reached her station again at 9.20that night.—Property Salvage Case.

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

Rams gate, Kent. — November 2nd.Rewards, £8 13s.

Dover, Kent. — November 4th. —Rewards, £2 10s.

Troon, Ayrshire.—November 4th.—Rewards, £15.

Fishguard, Pembrokeshire.—Novem-ber 5th.—Rewards, £8.

Wicklow — November 6th. — Re-wards, £8 18s.

TO THE HELP OF A FLOODED CAMPAberdeen.—At 12.20 in the morning

of the 6th of November, 1951, the citypolice telephoned for help in rescuingpeople who were trapped by floodwater at a caravan camp on the banksof the River Dee at Milltimber. Asouth-easterly gale was blowing, withvery heavy rain, and the water hadreached a height of eight feet. TheNo. 2 life-boat, George and ElizabethGow, left her house at 1.15, by road,and was launched into the flood waternear the Mill Inn at Milltimber, butfloating hay and bushes fouled herpropeller, and she had to be beachedagain. The water had now stoppedrising and the life-boatmen waited fordaybreak. By then the floods hadstarted to fall and a salmon coble wassent from Aberdeen. It arrived atMillport at nine o'clock and the life-boatmen and launchers went out inher. By 1.0 in the afternoon they hadhelped thirty-one people to safety.It was now possible to wade and themen carried the four remaining peoplefrom a farmhouse to a lorry. Thelife-boat was then taken back toAberdeen and was re-housed at seveno'clock that night.—Rewards, £4912s. 6d.

Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.—Novem-ber 6th.—Rewards, £12 11s.

Calster, Norfolk.—November 7th.—Rewards, £15 Os. 6d.

Montrose, Angus.—November 10th.—Rewards, £13 15s. 6d.

Penlee, Cornwall.—November 12th.—Rewards, £8 4s.

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. — Novem-ber 14th.—Rewards, £7.

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. — Novem-ber 16th.—Rewards, £14 15s.

Margate, Kent. — November 19th.—Rewards, £13 13s.

New Brighton, Cheshire. — Novem-ber 20th.—Rewards, £10 16s.


Bridlington, Yorkshire. — November21st.—Rewards. £16 Hs.

Hartlepool, Durham.—November22nd.—Rewards, £11 17s.

Teesmouth, Yorkshire. — November22nd.—Rewards, £12 16s.

Salcombe, Devon.-—November 23rd.—Rewards, £10 17s.

Portrush, Co. Antrim. — November23rd.—Rewards, £11 17s.

Dover, Kent. —• November 25th.—•Rewards, £5.

Humber, Yorkshire — November25th.—Paid Permanent Crew.

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston,Norfolk.—November 26th.—Rewards,£10.

FIFTEEN HOURS AT SEATynemouth, Northumberland. — At

8.25 in the morning of the 28th ofNovember, 1951, the coastguard tele-phoned that a message had beenreceived from the trawler Loch Fleet, ofAberdeen, through the Cullercoatsradio station. She was making waterand needed help ninety-two miles eastby north of Tyne Pier. At 9.1 shewirelessed that she had nearly stoppedand was still leaking, and at 9.2 thecoastguard reported that the trawlerKingston Pearl had wirelessed that shewas forty miles south of her and going

to her help. Nothing more was heardfrom the Kingston Pearl, so at 9.27the life-boat Tynesider was launched.The sea was very rough with a strongnortherly gale blowing. About 10.30the life-boat received a wireless mes-sage from the Loch Fleet, which had acrew of nineteen, that her mate hadbeen injured. At 1.55 in the after-noon another message came from theKingston Pearl. She was then onlyfour miles south of the Loch Fleet.Her next message said that she hadnow reached the Loch Fleet, andfound her in no immediate danger ofsinking. The skipper of the KingstonPearl advised the life-boat, which wasnow twenty miles away, to return toTynemoutft, but asked her to waitthere for the Loch Fleet and be readyto land the mate. The life-boatarrived at her station at 9.45 thatnight, and after her crew had hadsome soup she put out again to meetthe trawlers, then about two miles offthe harbour, but they made for TheHumber, so she was recalled to herstation, arriving at 12.45 the nextmorning.—Rewards, £41 15s.

Portrush, Co. Antrim. — November28th.—Rewards, £13 13s. Qd.

Margate, Kent.—November 30th.—Rewards, £13 13s.

The City of Leeds Life-boatIN 1949 the Leeds branch of theInstitution launched a special appealfor £10,000 to provide a life-boat to benamed The City of Leeds. The appealwas under the patronage of the lateEarl of Harewood, who contributedgenerously to it, and was signed bythe Mayor of Leeds and CouncillorA. R. Bretherick, chairman of the Leedsbranch. This appeal raised £9,948 6s.9d., and out of it the new life-boat forRedcar has been built. She is a 35-feet6-inches self-righting life-boat and isthe seventh to be stationed at Redcar.

The naming ceremony was held onthe 18th August, 1951, and H.R.H.the Princess Royal (Mary, Countessof Harewood) and the Archbishop ofYork (the Right Hon. and Most Rev.C. F. Garbett, P.C., D.D.), took partin it. The Mayor of Redcar (AldermanT. A. Dougall, J.P.) presided, and

Commander T. G. Michelmore, R.D.,R.N.R., chief inspector of life-boats,described the boat. The Lord Mayorof Leeds (Lieut-Colonel F. Eric Tetley,D.S.O., T.D.) presented her to theInstitution on behalf of the City ofLeeds, and Commodore the Earl Howe,C.B.E., V.R.D., P.C., R.N.V.R.,deputy chairman of the Institution,received her and handed her over toRedcar, on whose behalf she wasaccepted by Mr. E. Graham Tyerman,chairman of the Redcar branch. TheArchbishop of York dedicated the life-boat. H.R.H. the Princess Royalthen named her The City of Leeds. Avote of thanks to the Princess Royalwas proposed by Councillor A. R.Bretherick, chairman of the Leedsbranch, and seconded by Colonel A. D.Burnett Brown, M.C., T.D., M.A.,secretary of the Institution.


Naming CeremoniesTEN new motor life-boats were namedduring 1951. Seven were on the Eng-lish coast, at New Brighton (Liverpool),Margate, Scarborough, Lytham, Culler-coats, Newbiggin and Redcar; two onthe Scottish coast, at Arbroath andAnstruther; and one on the Welshcoast, at Holyhead. The namingceremonies at New Brighton andMargate were reported in the 1951summer number of The Life-boat.

SCARBOROUGHThe new boat was built out of legacies

from Mr. R. Munday of Asjhton-underLyne, Mrs. A. E. Wildish of SouthNorwood, Mr. L. A. Crichton ofLondon and Mrs. F. E. Wood ofDoncaster. She is a 35-feet 6-inchesself-righting boat and is the twelfthlife-boat to be stationed at Scar-borough. The naming ceremony tookplace on the 15th June. The Mayorof Scarborough presided, and Com-mander H. L. Wheeler, R-N., thedistrict inspector of life-boats, describedthe boat. Mr. D. S. Edwards, onbehalf of the donors, presented her tothe Institution and Commodore theEarl Howe, C.B.E., V.R.D., P.C.,R.N.V.R., deputy chairman of theInstitution, received her and handedher over to Scarborough, on whosebehalf she was received by LieutenantL. N. Sanderson, R.N.V.R., chairmanand honorary secretary of the branch.

The Vicar of Scarborough, the Rev.F. E. Ford, M.A., dedicated the life-boat, assisted by the Rev. W. E.Cowling of St. Thomas' Church andthe Rev. R. C. Ferriday of the FreeChurch Council. The singing waslead by the Falsgrave Modern CountySchool Choir.

The Marchioness of Carisbrooke,G.B.E., named the life-boat E.C.J.R.She also presented the Institution'svellum, recording 150 years service ofScarborough's life-boats, to Mrs. F. K.Dockray, honorary secretary of theScarborough Ladies' Life-boat Guild.A vote of thanks was proposed byCaptain H. Ramsbotham, R.N. (retd.),and seconded by Captain W. L. Mason,members of the committee of the branch.The life-boat was then launched.

HOLYHEADThe new boat is a gift to the Insti-

tution from the Civil Service Life-boatFund, which has also endowed it, andwill maintain it. She is a 52-feetBarnett (Stromness) cabin boat, and isthe twelfth life-boat to be stationedat Holyhead. The naming ceremonytook place on the 16th June. Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. Oliver Stanley,D.S.O., D.L., J.P., chairman of thebranch, presided, and Commander E.W. Middleton, V.R.D., R.N.V.R., thedistrict inspector of life-boats, des-cribed the boat. The Right Hon. SirRichard V. N. Hopkins, G.C.B., chair-man of the Civil Service Life-boatFund, presented her to the Institution,and Commander H. F. P. Grenfell,D.S.C., R.N., a member of the Com-mittee of .Management, accepted herand handed her over to Holyhead, onwhose behalf she was received byLord Stanley of Alderley, president ofthe branch.

The Bishop of Bangor (The RightRev. J. C. Jones, D.D.) assisted by theRev. D. L. Morris, B.A., Vicar of Holy-head and the Rev. R. Gwilym Hughes,M.A., B.D., dedicated the life-boat,and the singing was led by the St.Cybi, St. Seiriol and St. Elbod Churchchoirs. Lady Hopkins then named thelife-boat St. Cybi (Civil Service No. 9).

A vote of thanks was proposed byCouncillor Llewellyn Lewis, chairmanof the Holyhead Urban District Coun-cil and seconded by Lady KathleenStanley, president of the HolyheadLadies' Life-beat Guild.

LYTHAMThe boat was built out of a legacy

from the late Miss K. I. Porritt. Sheis a 46-feet 9-inches Watson cabin boatand is the eighth to be stationed atLytham. The naming ceremony tookplace on the 23rd of June. The Mayorof Lytham St. Annes, president of thebranch, presided, and Commander E.W. Middleton, V.R.D., R.N.V.R., thedistrict inspector of life-boats, describedthe boat. Miss Kathleen Porritt, arelative of the donor, presented theboat to the Institution, and Mr. AinetRobinson, a member of the Committee


of Management, received her andhanded her over to Lytham, on whosebehalf she was accepted by Sir KnowlesEdge, Bt.

The Bishop of Stockport (the RightRev. D. H. Saunders-Davies, M.A.),assisted by Canon A. L. J. Shields, theRev. A. R. Allen, M.A., and the Rev.Rolla Spencer, president of the FreeChurch Council, dedicated the life-boatand the singing was led by the St.John's Church choir. The Countessof Derby then named the life-boatSarah Toivnsend Porritt.

A vote of thanks was proposed bythe Mayoress of Lytham St. Annes andseconded by Mrs. Peter Jackson, J.P.

ARBROATH

The boat is a gift to the Institutionfrom the trustees of the late Mr.Robert Lindsay, of Mains of Kinble-thmont, by Arbroath and Carnoustie.She is a 35-feet 6-inches Liverpool boatand is the seventh to be stationed atArbroath. The naming ceremonytook place on the 23rd of June. Ex-

.Provost John Lamb, J.P., presidedand Lieut.-Commander S. C. DickinsonR.N.V.R., district inspector of life-boats, described the boat. The Pro-vost of Arbroath, Mr. John Webster,welcomed the guests, and the Dukeof Montrose, K.T., C.V.O., V.R.D.,R.N.V.R., chairman of the ScottishLife-boat Council and treasurer of theInstitution, presented the life-boat tothe Institution on behalf of the donors,and handed her over to Arbroath, onwhose behalf she was accepted byEx-Provost John Lamb, J.P.

The Rev. William E. Gladstone-Millar, M.C., B.D., minister of St.Margaret's Parish Church, dedicatedthe life-boat and the singing was ledby the Arbroath Fisherwomen's Choir.The Dowager Countess of Dalhousiethen named the life-boat RobertLindsay. A vote of thanks was pro-posed by Mr. Harry Corsar and secondedby Mr. George Frances, members of thecommittee of the branch. A guard ofhonour was formed by. the ArbroathSea Cadet Corps, and music wasplayed by the Arbroath InstrumentalBand.

CULLERCOATSThe boat was built out of a legacy

from the late Miss M. Bolton of Boo tie

and a gift from the Lord Lieutenant ofNorthumberland's War Distress ReliefFund. She is a 35-feet 6-inches self-righting boat and is the eighth to bestationed at Cullercoats. The namingceremony took place on the 28th ofJune. The Duke of Northumberlandpresided and Commander H. L.Wheeler, R.N., the district inspectorof life-boats, described the boat. Mr.A. G. Everett, J.P., a member of theCommittee of Management of the Insti-tution, thanked the donors and handedthe life-boat over to Cullercoats, onwhose behalf she was accepted by Mr.B. H. Brown, chairman of the branch.The Rev. J. M. Nicholson, M.A., vicarof St. George's, Cullercoats, dedicatedthe life-boat and the singing was ledby the choir of the Cnllercoats JuniorSchool. The Viscountess Allendalethen named the life-boat Isaac andMary Bolton. A vote of thanks wasproposed by the Mayoress of Tyne-mouth and the life-boat was launched.

NEWBIGGINThe boat was built out of the legacy

from the late Mr. C. C. Ashley, one ofthe most generous benefactors of theInstitution. The new Newbiggin life-boat is the tenth to come from him.She is a 35-feet 6-inches Liverpool boatand is the eighth to be stationed atNewbiggin. The naming ceremonytook place on the 30th of June.Major the Viscount Ridley, C.B.E.,J.P., D.L., presided, and CommanderS. C. Dickinson, R.N.V.R., inspector oflife-boats, described the boat. TheLord Saltoun, M.C., a member of theCommittee of Management, presentedher to the Institution on behalf of thedonor and handed her over to New-biggen, on whose behalf she wasreceived by Mr. J. F. Gibson, honorarysecretary of the Newbiggin branch.

The Bishop of Newcastle (the RightRev. Noel Baring Hudson, D.S.O., M.C.,D.D.), assisted by Canon W. Maddison,M. A., and the Rev. B. J. Wiltshire, B. A.,dedicated the life-boat and the singingwas lead by the choir of St. Bartho-lomew's, Newbiggin, accompanied bythe Newbiggin Salvation Army Band.Helen, Duchess of Northumberlandthen named the life-boat Richard Ashley,and the life-boat was launched.

During the ceremony a vellum


recording that the Newbiggin stationhas completed a hundred years ofservice was presented. Mr. S. Brownchairman of the branch, accepted thevellum and Mr. B. Jarrett, honorarytreasurer, proposed a vote of thanks tothe Duchess. Before and after theceremony music was played by theNewbiggin Colliery Band.

ANSTRUTHERThe new boat was built out of a

legacy from the late Mr. James Jacksonof Falkland. She is a 35-feet 6-inchesLiverpool boat and is the fifth to bestationed at Anstruther. The namingceremony took place on the 18th ofJuly. Colonel the Earl of Elgin andKincardine, K.T., C.M.G., T.D., LL.D.,Lord Lieutenant of the County of Fife,presided, and Commander S. C. Dickin-son, R.N.V.R., district inspector oflife-boats, described the boat. Cap-tain the Hon. Sir Archibald Cochrane,

G.C.M.G., D.S.O., R.N., a vice-chair-man of the Scottish Life-boat Counciland a member of the committee ofmanagement, thanked the donor onbehalf of the Institution and handedthe boat over to Anstruther, on whosebehalf she was received by Provost W.W. Carstairs, O.B.E., J.P., chairmanof the branch.

The Rev. J. A. Paterson, B.D.,Senior Minister of the United Burgh,dedicated the life-boat. Miss MyrtleLumsden, a sister of the late Mrs.Jackson, then named her James andRuby Jackson. Votes of thanks wereproposed by Lady CunninghameGraham, presidentof the Rosy th Ladies'Life-boat Guild, and Mr. J. HendersonStewart, M.P. for East Fife. TheAnstruther Company of Girl Guidesformed a guard of honour, andmusic was played by the Kirkcaldy-Sinclairtown Salvation Army YoungPeople's Band.

The 100th life-boatWHEN Messrs. J. Samuel White,the famous shipbuilders of Cowes,delivered the Aberdeen life-boat inJune, 1951, they had completed theirhundredth life-boat for the Institution.Their life-boat work goes back over ahundred vears, to the forties of last

century when they themselves designedthe Lamb and White life-boat. It wasused in the first place as a ship's boat andwas largely adopted by the Admiralty,but three were built—the first in 1898—for the coast, and were stationed atCardigan, Broadstairs and Margate.

NoticeAll contributions for the Institution should be sent either to the honorary secretary

of the local branch or guild, or to Colonel A. D. Burnett Brown, 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 lieaddressed to the Secretary.

The next number O/THE LIFE-BOAT will be published in July, 1952.

THE LIFE-BOAT · 2017-01-05 · The Great Exhibitio of 1851n Th: Festivae olf Britai 195n 1 IN 185 a1 priz oef a hundred guineas for the mode olf a life-boa wat s offered by Rear

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