notes and news. · addressed and t sigo n the letters . sand pictures. i giv oen another pag a...

THE LIFE-BOAT.The Journal of the Royal National Life-Boat Institution.

VOL. XXIV.-No. 271.] NOVEMBER, 1920. [PRICE 6d.

Notes and News.By GEORGE F. SHEE, M.A., Secretary of the Institution.

THERE are many matters, both in con- Inexion with the work of the Stations and \of the Financial Branches, which I should '•be glad to discuss with Life-boat workers,and which they, no doubt, would like to 'discuss among themselves if only therewere the opportunity. There are also \many praiseworthy things done by ourcrews in the course of their Life-boatservice which go unrecorded until the \Annual Report appears, because in The '•Life-Boat we have only space to reportfully those services of unusual danger andgallantry for which special awards aremade. I have, therefore, decided to startthis more personal column in The Life {Boat for comment and discussion on \general matters of Life-boat interest, !for the record of such good services as igo unreporled elsewhere, and for any jother items of news which I think will be jof interest.

The article on " The Life-boat Service jand the Shipping Companies," whichappeared in the August number of The 'Life-Boat has, I am glad to say, been jquoted in a good many papers, whileSyren and Shipping, one of the leadingshipping papers, not only devoted a longarticle to the discussion of the points \which we had raised, but gave its whole-1hearted support to our appeal. j

* * * * jSyren and Shipping writes : " The j

Committee describe as ' extraordinary ' jand ' well-nigh incredible' the fact thatmany companies make no contributionat all. We cannot but share their!astonishment that such should be the ;case. The explanation of a situation solittle creditable to the industry is surelythat with the many preoccupations ofbusiness, the claims of the Life-boat >Service to generous support have been ,overlooked. If that is—and we areconvinced it must be—the correct con-

clusion to draw, then it is only necessaryto remind owners of the beneficent workperformed by the Institution in savingvaluable property and even more valu-able lives. That the efficient mainten-ance of the Life-boat Service is a matterin which they have a vital interest isundeniable. Were the Institution com-pelled through lack of funds to relinquishits work—an unthinkable eventuality—and the Government had to step intothe breach, we may be sure that theshipping industry would be called uponto pay a considerable share of the costsof administration. As it has alreadybeen shown, they pay in the aggregatea negligible amount for what is, afterall, an important form of insurance."

» * * *The article then discusses our proposal

that shipping firms should contributeto the Institution on the basis of one-tenth of one per cent, of their annualprofits. " Even if this proposal be notregarded with favour, we have no doubtthat the Committee would be verygrateful if every owner contributed onthe guinea per ship basis, which, leavingfishing vessels and other craft of under100 tons out of account, would furnishthe Institution with an annual incomeof some £9,000. Obviously, when onebears in mind the annual expenditure011 the Life-boat Service, the guinea-a-ship levy would leave a very large sumof money to be secured from othersources, so that the basis in questioncould naturally be regarded only as aminimum."

# -* « #This admirable article concludes:

" Four years hence the Institution willcelebrate its centenary, and we trustthat between now and then there willbe no possible ground for criticism ofany section of the community interested

94 THE LIFE-BOAT. [NOVEMBER, 1920.

during 1919.

in. the Mercantile Marine, and thegallant men who gain their livelihoodunder the Red Ensign, on the scoreof its indifference to the life-savingwork performed under the auspicesof the Institution."

* » « *In one point, by a clerical error, our

article did more than justice to theshipping community. It was said " thetotal amount received in subscriptionsfrom the shipping community of Britainin 1919 was under £1,300—less than10 per cent, of the sum required tocarry on the life-saving work of theInstitution." As the total ordinaryexpenditure for 1919 was £138,221,this should of course have been, not" less than 10 per cent.," but " less than1 per cent." !

*- * *The following Shipping Companies

should be added to the list, given inThe Life-Boat for August, of thosewhich subscribed to the Institution

Number Annual Sulis.of and Dons.

Vessels. £. g. d.Aitken, Lilburn & Co - 3 3Dublin Steam Trawling Co 6 3 3 -John Itmes, B. Henderson & Co. 8 5 5 -Murphy, Michael, Ltd.. 3 2 2 -Palgrave, Murphy & Co 2 2 2 -

I am also very glad to be able torecord that some Shipping Firms havegiven larger subscriptions in 1920 thanin 1919. In the above list, for example,Messrs. Michael Murphy, Ltd., haveincreased their subscription to fiveguineas, while Messrs. P. Henderson. >& Co. have given altogether twentyguineas. Of those in the list publishedin August the Anchor Line (Henderson, jBros.) has increased its subscriptionfrom two guineas to ten guineas, whileMessrs. Cayzer, Irvine & Co. (the ClanLine), who subscribed fifteen guineas in1919, have just given a special donationof £75 for 1920, and another £75 for1921. These facts encourage us tohope that, as Syren and Shipping said," It is only necessary to remind ownersof the beneficent work performed bythe Institution in saving valuable pro-perty and even more valuable lives."

Life-boat Days.As our readers know, the Institution

was the pioneer in organising the sale

of flags and other emblems ia the streetsin aid of its funds. Its example wasSOOTV followed by other charities, andthen, during the war every charity,large and small, adopted it, until FlagDays, in London and the large towns,and Flower Days followed one anotherin almost unbroken succession. The

i inevitable result of this has been greatlyto increase our difficulties in organisingthese Special Efforts. We have foundthis in particular during the past year.Local authorities, in some cases, arereluctant to give permission, ladies areless ready to come forward as sellers,and from many places it has been

: reported that " the public is tired ofFlag Days." These difficulties, in varyingdegrees, have been found in most places.

j It is then all the more gratifying to! record that this year not only have Life-boat Days been held in a number of placeswhere they have never been held before,but a large number of towns have raisedrecord sums. Of the towns which havemade a considerable increase on theirresults of the year before, and in severalcases record collections, I might mentionOxford, Dublin, Preston, Perth, Burton-on-Trent, Paignton, Lowestoft, Mother-well, Margate, Dewsbury, Weyroouth,and Exeter. These are only a selection;many others have done as well, and itwill be noticed that all parts of theBritish Isles are represented.

Those who have organised or helpedwith Days, undeterred by the obviousdifficulties, who have not given up inspite of a scarcity of workers, and haverefused to be rebuffed by the apparentindifference of the public, will, I know,be glad and proud to know these facts,while I hope that those who werebeginning to feel that this form ofappeal was wearing out will take heartagain. My own experience, in visitinga number of places on their Days, wasthat, as a result of the surfeit of FlagDays, the public was inclined to pass bysellers with an automatic refusal, butthat once they understood that theappeal was for the Life-boats they gavevery willingly and generously. It is alsointeresting to know that in more than oneplace, where a number of charities made

NOVEMBER, 1920.] THE LIFE-BOAT.street appeals during the year, the largestsum was raised on Life-boat Day.

* * * *I hope that every one will feel

encouraged by these facts to makeanother and special effort with theLife-boat Days next year. Not onlydoes the Institution draw a considerablepart of its income from street collections,but through them it reaches thousands ofpeople who would not otherwise con-tribute, and who do, in fact, depend onthese appeals as their one opportunity,each year, of showing their appreciationof the work of the Life-boat crews.There is no doubt that the number ofstreet collections permitted will soonbe drastically reduced, but the Institu-tion is one of the two or three greatcharities which may fairly claim theright to continue to appeal in this wayto the public, since there is no citizenin any town or village anywhere in theBritish Isles who does not benefit,directly or indirectly, by its services. Iam glad to say that in all those placeswhere the local authorities have alreadydecided to limit the number of streetcollections the Institution is still to beallowed its Life-boat Days.

There is one point in connexion withthe arrangements for Life-boat Dayswhich I wish to bring particularly tothe notice of their Organisers. I havefound in one or two cases that theyhave undertaken a great deal of corre-spondence which they could have sparedthemselves by applying to headquarters.I should like it to be clearly understoodthat I am anxious to reduce their workin this way to a minimum, and that Iam able to arrange at headquarters forthe writing and typing of all appealletters, whether addressed to individualsor to the press, so that it ought not tobe necessary for any Organiser to haveto do more than get her envelopesaddressed and to sign the letters.

Sand Pictures.I give on another page a photograph

of a charming sand model of a Life-boatrescue and a lighthouse which wasmade at Rhyl, during the summer, bytwo boys of Royton, in Lancashire, andthree Birmingham girls. By means

of it they collected £3 11s. for theInstitution. This is not the first caseof a sand model being used to help theInstitution. Each year for the pastfour years Dr. Carroll has given asubstantial sum—in 1919 it was over£14—to the Port Patrick Branch, asthe result of collections made at thebuilding of a model sand lighthouse.This is an idea which might well bedeveloped, and I hope that all ourhelpers, particularly those with children,will remember it when they are nextat the seaside. I am sure that theHonorary Secretaries of the seasidebranches will be glad to help with thecollections, and I shall be very glad tohear from any of them who think thatthey might add to their funds byorganising regular Sand Model Com-petitions during the holiday months.

Progress of the Motor Life-boatProgramme.

In spite of very great difficulties, weare pushing on with the constructionof Motor Life-boats. At the end of1918, when we laid down our peace-building programme of 50 Motor Life-boats, there were 19 on the coast, whilea number more had long been await-ing completion. Five move were sentto the coast during 1919, and a newMotor Life-boat for the Lizard has justbeen completed, and gone by sea fromCowes to her Station under her ownpower. She is a Self-Kighting Boat,38 ft. by 9 ft. 9 in., fitted with a Tylorengine, and is named the FrederickH. Pilley, in recognition of the gen-erosity of Mr. Frederick H. Pilley, ofUpper Norwood, who has given a largepart of her cost. On her final harbourtrials she developed a speed of over sevenknots an hour, and, as showing the per-fection to which the construction of en-gines for Motor Life-boats has been raised,it may be mentioned that her engine ranfor six hours with hatches closed down,and without requiring the least attention.Another 17 Motor Life-boats are nowunder construction, another 10 will belaid down very shortly, and yet another10 will be Jaid down later on.

The Caterpillar Tractor.In the May number of The Life-Boat,

Captain Bowley, the Chief Inspector,

E 2


described the trials which we held atHunstanton last March with an agricul-tural caterpillar tractor to see if it couldbe used, in place of horses, to launchLife-boats on flat sandy beaches. Thosetrials proved so successful that theCommittee of Management decided atonce to adopt the tractor, and twentyare now being purchased and adapted.The first will be sent to Hunstanton, andshould be in use there before the end ofthe year. Others will follow the firsttwenty, and we anticipate that their usewill add greatly to the promptness oflaunching, besides proving to be muchmere economical than the hire of horses.

Life-boat Services.

A very useful service was performed bythe Appledore Life-boat on the 2 6th J uly,when the steamer Mayah, of Swansea,went aground on Bideford Bar in awhole gale. When the Life-boat reachedher it -was found that there -was notsufficient water to get alongside, butthe Second Coxswain and one of thecrew went overboard and waded to thevessel. With the help of a ladder theygot the crew of ten safely away, some ofthem being so exhausted as to need medi-cal help when they reached the shore.

A very prompt and efficient servicewas performed by the Sunderland MotorLife-boat on the 18th August. Early inthe forenoon a fishing-coble was seen tobe showing signals of distress off Seaham.As the Seaham Life-boat was under itsannual survey, the Sunderland Life-boatwas summoned. A moderate gale wasblowing, with a very heavy sea, but insixty-five minutes from the firing of thesignal the Sunderland boat bad reachedSeaham Harbour, seveu miles from herown Station. She arrived, however, tofind that her services were not required,as the crew of the coble had run herashore. They themselves were safe, butshe had become a wreck. Had thecoble remained at sea, she, as well asher crew, would probably have beensaved. Mr. W. J. Oliver, the HonorarySecretary of the Sunderland Stationwent out with the Life-boat, and withthe Coxswain, took charge of her.

! On the 14th September the Porthdinl-j laen Life-boat put out to the rescue of aj fishing-boat in distress. A gale hadsprung up while several fishing-boats

! were out, but all returned safely exceptI one, which had its sails blown away,j and was being carried rapidly out tosea. When, the fisherman, on board wasrescued he was found to be the SecondCoxswain of the Life-boat.

Life-boat as Ambulance.

Sometimes very unexpected calls comefor the services of Life-boats. On the6th November a telegram arrived atthe Institution from the St. Mary'sStation in the Isles of Scilly. Somedays before, the steamer which pliesbetween the Isles and Penzance hadbroken her tail shaft in the middle ofthe crossing, and there was no regularcommunication, except by a smallschooner. On this day, however, witha strong head-wind blowing the schoonercould not put to sea, and one of theislanders was lying seriously ill and inneed of an immediate operation whichcould only be performed at Penzance.The telegram came to ask for permissionto use the Motor Life-boat, the Elsie—which, it will be remembered, waslaunched at the beginning of this year—as an ambulance boat. Permission was,of course, given, and, manned by avolunteer crew, the Elsie made the fortymiles passage in under five hours. Shealso brought with her at the same timethe mails of the Islands. This is notthe first occasion on which the Elsie hasacted as an ambulance boat. In Marchlast she was summoned to Bishop'sRock to take off a lighthouseman whohad fallen ill; and it may also be ofinterest to mention that in December,1919, the Campbeltown Motor Life-boatwas used to take a doctor to the SandaIsland Lighthouse, the weather beingtoo rough for any other boat to put out.

The Late Mr. R. W. Perry Circuitt.

The Institution has lost a generoushelper by the death of the Rev. R. W.Perry Circuitt, the Honorary Secretaryof the Brixham Branch. A shortaccount of his work for the Life-boatService will be found elsewhere, butI should like to quote here a letter

NOVEMBER, 1920.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 97

from a Life-boat worker in the Northof England, who knew him well in thedays before he went to Brixham.

" Mr. Circuitt's first association withLife-boat work was, I believe, in theyear 1896, when he acted as Chairmanof a ' Life-boat Saturday Fund' demon-stration in Heywood, Lancashire. Ihave reason to remember that demon-stration because of a little personalepisode. Those were the days whencyclists in fancy costume were en-couraged to take part, and I went overfrom Manchester wearing oil-skins anda sou'-wester. The day was a very hotone, and on arrival in Heywood I foundthe greatest difficulty in separating my-self from the saddle, to the intenseamusement of our late friend. Mr.Circuitt was blessed with a bright,cheery personality, and might well bedescribed as a broad churchman. Hedelighted to attend the Manchesterdemonstrations, particularly enjoyingany little social board following. Heentertained the most cordial feelings forthe Institution, and, in his passing, theInstitution has lost a warm friend anda whole-hearted advocate."

Special Donations.Among special donations which have

been recently received I should like tomention that a well-known Admiral,who is already a supporter of theInstitution, has sent a special gift of£5 out of his prize money ; that oneclass in a London school has collected£1 2s., without any appeal being madeto it, and has sent it to the Institutionwith letters from every member of theclass; and that in a recent works collectionat a gas company ninety per cent, of theemployees and staff contributed.

Present and Future Articles inThe Life-Boat.

Following on the article in the Maynumber by Captain Rowley, the ChiefInspector of Life-boats, on the use of •caterpillar tractors for launching Life-boats, I am printing in this number an ;article on the special launching platformin use at Sunderland, by Mr. A. W.Lewis, the Institution's Consulting Engi-neer. Many readers of The Life-Boatwill remember a very graphic accountfrom his pen of the torpedoing ofthe Leinster, which appeared in TheLife-Boat for November, 1918.

* * * *I hope to follow this article with

other signed articles, not only on thework and developments of the Life-boatService itself but of the other serviceswith which it works, such as the CoastGuard, the Board of Trade Life-SavingApparatus and Trinity House.

* * * *In the February number there will

appear an illustrated article giving ashort history of the Dutch Life-boatService which its Secretary, Mr. H. deBooy, has very kindly written. TheDutch Service was founded in thesame year as our own Institution, andis just nine months the younger ofthe two. I hope to follow this articlewith others describing the Life-boatServices in other countries, so that, bythe year 1924, when we celebrate ourCentenary, readers of The Life-Boatwill have had something in the natureof a general survey of the work ofrescue from shipwreck throughout theworld, and of the important develop-ments which are now being made in it.

Increased Retaining Fees for Coxswainsand Others.

IN the August issue of The Life-Boatit was announced that the Committeeof Management had decided, as fromApril, 1920, to give a further increaseof 25 per cent, in the rewards paidto Coxswains and crews for goingafloat to save life. This, together

with the increase already given inJune, 1919, made the scale of rewards50 per cent, higher than it was beforethe war.

Continuing this policy, the Committeeof Management have now decided sub-stantially to increase the retaining fees


which are paid to Coxswains, SecondCoxswains, Bowmen, Signalmen, andothers with special duties to perform.

The retaining fee for all Coxswainsbefore the war was £8 a year, whileSecond Coxswains received £2, and theothers in proportion. In October, 1917,it was decided that the retaining feesshould vary according to the size of theLife-boats, and this new principle madea considerable increase in the fees paidto many Coxswains. The Committee ofManagement have now decided, as fromOctober, 1920, to increase the fees byapproximately another 25 per cent.,except in the case of the smallest Life-boats, where this increase had alreadybeen given a year ago. The fees toSecond Coxswains, Bowmen, Signal-men, and the rest have been increasedin proportion.

Under the new scale adopted in 1917,extra fees were also given where theBoats were kept on slipways or on theopen beach all the winter, or were keptafloat at moorings ; and in 1919 it wasdecided that an extra fee should also begiven to the Coxswains of Motor Life-boats. Thus, while in 1914 the fee paidto all Coxswains was £8, the smallest feenow paid—for Pulling Life-boats withno sails—is £10, while a Coxswain of alarge Motor Life-boat receives £20, andif she is kept at moorings £24. Increaseson a still larger scale have been madewith regard to other payments. Thefee of 10s. a tank, which was paid tothe Coxswains of Boats fitted withwater ballast, is now £1 ; while theallowances to Coxwains for paintingthe Boats have been increased, on anaverage, by 85 per cent.

The Duke of Connaught's Appeal tothe Army.

Ix common with Their Majesties theKing and Queen, and other membersof the Royal Family, H.R.H. the Dukeof Connaught has always been a warmsympathiser with the work of theInstitution, and, in the midst of manynational duties, he has found time to giveit a personal and active support forwhich the Committee of Managementare deeply grateful.

It will be remembered that His RoyalHighness took the chair at the AnnualMeeting of the Institution in 1917,and at the end of a speech, in which hespoke of the Life-boats as " essentiallya fighting service," and described theirsplendid achievements during the firstthree years of the war, he said: " Ionly hope that, in however small a way,I may be able to help forward theinterest in and support for this grandnational Institution. I shall be amplyrepaid by knowing that I have been ableto interest the people of this country ina Service which is probably amongstthe finest from one end of the kingdomto the other."

That this was no mere verbal expres-sion of good-will His Royal Highnesshas again most generously shown by

making a personal appeal to all thosecorps of which he is either Colonelor Colonel-in-Chief. He is Colonelof the Grenadier Guards, and theR.A.S.C., and Colonel-in-chief of theInniskilling Dragoons, the HighlandLight Infantry, the Royal DublinFusiliers, the Rifle Brigade, and theR.A.M.C.

The following is the letter which HisRoyal Highness sent out:—

Clarence House,St. James's, S.W.

As your Colouel-in-Chief, I would like toappeal to the officers, n.c.o's and men tosupport the Life-boat Service, which isprovided by THE BOYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION. The Institution wasfounded nearly a hundred years ago by agallant soldier, Colonel Sir William Hillary,Bt., himself one oJ the noblest ci Liie-boatheroes, and it has a double claim on us, assoldiers and as citizens. It provides andmaintains the Life-boats round all the coastsof the United Kingdom, rewards all who savelife from shipwreck, compensates those whoare disabled, and pensions the widows andchildren of those who may lose their lives inits service. It rescued 5,322 lives during thewar, and has granted rewards for the savingof over 57,000 lives since 1824. The Institu-tion does all this without any help from theState, being maintained entirely by the freegiits ot the public.


The officers and men of the Navy are verygenerous subscribers to the Life-boat Cause.I think that we soldiers, whose duties con-tinually take us overseas, and who, therefore,know something of what the perils of the seaare, scarcely realise all that we owe to thegallant crews of the Life-boats, and I feel thatwe ought not to be behind the sailors in ourgenerous support of one of the noblest formsof national activity, and one so typical of thecourage, endurance and humanity of ourmaritime people.

I enclose a leaflet giving a brief survey ofthe Institution's work, and I think you willagree with me that the Wreck Chart forms initself the most eloquent appeal.

If the officers and men of the Battaliondecide to support the Institution's work,would you kindly send subscriptions anddonations direct to the Secretary of the In-stitution, at 22, Charing Cross Boad, W.G. 2.

Believe me, Yours sincerely,(Signed) ARTHUR,

F.M., Colonel-in-Chief.

As a result of this appeal therehas already been a very generousresponse. Over a hundred unitsfrom all over the world—at home,on the Rhine, in Constantinople, Gib-raltar, Malta, Egypt, India, Ceylonand China—have sent subscriptions,and the total, so far received, isclose on £600.

So splendidly are those corps re-sponding to which the Duke ofConnaught has appealed, that we hopein time to extend the appeal, throughthe help of other Colonels andColonels-in-Chief, to the whole Army,and to see it take its place withthe Navy as one of the permanentand most generous supporters of theLife-boat Service.

The Sunderland Life-boat Platform.By A. W. LEWIS, The Consulting Engineer of the Institution.

, THERE are more ways than one oflaunching a Life-boat. Perhaps themost elementary way now in use isthat of pushing her into the water overskids thrown down on the foreshore.The quickest, and therefore the mostsatisfactory way at present devised, is toplace the Boat at the top of a steepslipway, down which, when released, sheruns by her own weight into the water—a matter of a few seconds only. Atmany Stations the Boat is conveyed fromthe boat-house to the sea on a carriagedrawn by men or horses; and at anumber of these which have flat sandybeaches it is now proposed to replacehorses with motor caterpillar tractors.At a few Stations the Boat is mountedon a trolley running on rails laidfrom the boat-house over the fore-shore into the sea. In all these casesit should be noted, however, that theBoat takes the water bow first, andit is only at two Stations at presentthat this principle is departed from.At Port Patrick the Boat is loweredinto the harbour by means of acrane, and at Sunderland she islowered into the river on a plat-form or " lift."

Before describing in more detail the

I arrangements at Sunder land, the reasonsI for adopting them will be first explained.It was decided in 1912 to place aMotor Life-boat at Sunderland, but thequestions of where to house the Boatand how to launch her presented somedifficulties. No site for a slipway couldbe found on the south side of the river,and the north side was too far from thecrew's homes. At spring tides atSunderland the difference in level be-tween low water and high water is

I about 14Jrft.,and allowing for launchingthe Boat at the lowest tide and forhauling her up out of the reach of the

1 highest tide, a slipway about 200 ffc.| in length would be required. A! site of this length could not bei found alongside the busy quays onj the south side of the river, andi where space was available in the outerj Harbour the site was too exposed inheavy weather.

! In order to meet these difficulties itI was at first proposed to place the Boati on a floating pontoon moored within" dolphins " or piles alongside the PerryLanding Jetty. Here, where the boat-

i house now stands, there was room[ enough for a pontoon 50 ft. long, thougha slipway was out of the question. The


proposal, however, was abandoned,because at low water the pontoonwould have been aground unless thesite had been dredged, and this wouldkave entailed future difficulties andgreat expense in maintaining the extradepth of water.

It was then proposed to place theBoat on a platform which could belowered into and lifted out of thewater vertically. The difficulty aboutavailable space was met equally wellby this device as by a pontoon. Asimilar scheme had been adopted atMarseilles, but there, the tidal risebeing about 3 ft. compared with 14| ft.at Sunderland, much less work is re-quired in lifting and lowering the Boat.On the score of cost, it was decided, atfirst, to work the lowering and liftingmachinery by hand power, and this isnow being done; but it has since beendecided to have a petrol engine todo the work, and this will shortly beinstalled.

The writer hopes that readers ofThe Life-Boat will be able to pictureto themselves, by the aid of the diagram,the whole arrangement—the tall pilesin the river carrying the boat-house ;the well, open to the river at its frontend and with "deck platforms along eachside and at the back of it: the movingplatform for the Boat suspended byfour steel wire ropes ; the drums roundwhich these ropes are wound; the twomain shafts of solid steel carrying thedrums; and, lastly, the winch and gearingby which these shafts are turned. Thediagram is a perspective view lookinginto the house at low water, showingthe Boat and platform partly loweredso that the ropes and winding machinerycan be seen. The house itself is notshown.

When the platform reaches the bottomof its travel it is so held that, as theropes continue to be wound out itgradually tilts forward and the boatis inclined ready to slip into thewater as soon as she is released.While the Boat is being loweredand tipped she is secured by a slipchain to a mooring bar at the rearof the well, the bar being loweredsynchronously with the platform by

the same winding machinery. Thisdetail is omitted from the diagram inorder to avoid confusion.

As soon as the Boat is fully tiltedfor a launch her slip chain is released.As the Boat is mounted on rollers, sheslips off the platform by her own weightand runs over some steel rail skids intothe river channel. Such is a launch atlow water of spring tides, but if thetide should be higher the boat is onlylowered into the water until afloat,when her propeller is started and she

i is away.When the Boat returns she is steered

I into the well, placed correctly over theplatform, and secured to it by preventerropes on each side fore and aft. Boatand platform are then slowly woundup out of the water, when the slipchain is again attached, and the wor.kof winding them up into the boat-houseis completed.

! The lifting and lowering machineryis more difficult to describe withoutrecourse to technical terms, but it maybe realised by the following train ofmovements. First, there are men turn-ing four handles; these handles turntoothed wheels, which turn other toothedwheels. These latter turn a shaftrunning across the boat-house at theback of the well. At each end of thisshaft are what are termed " worms "—just screws with the threads far apart.These worms turn a pair of big-toothedwheels, indicated in the diagram, andthese big wheels turn the main shaftsrunning along each side of the well.Fixed to these shafts are the drumsround which are wound the wire ropesattached to the boat platform andmooring bar.

When the boat is being loweredtwo men are sufficient for turningthe handles. Moreover, an arrange-ment is provided so that the Boatis lowered more quickly than sheis lifted. For lifting, eight men arerequired to turn the handles, andit is hard work for them all. Soon,however, a neat little petrol enginewill be doing the work. But for thewar, and the necessity of curtailingexpenditure, it would have been pro-vided sooner.

BoflT «^o LIFTI IHG G L A R

— PERSPECTIVE.

JUST IN TIME.(Fnm a painting by Mr. W. R. E, Stott.')

A SAND PICTURE OF A LIFE-BOAT RESCUE.(See page 95.)


Glamorgan's Gift of Two Life-boats to the Prince of Wales.A SCHEME is on foot to commemorate Wales to her own Prince, in a form sothe safe return of the Prince of Wales intimately connected with the greatfrom his voyage of 35,000 miles by shipping industry of South Wales, willa presentation from the County of be sure to meet everywhere with theGlamorgan which will at the same time widest and most generous response,signalise the fact that he is the Pre- i The Earl Waldegrave, the Chairman ofsident of TUB ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE- the Institution, was able to announceBOAT INSTITUTION. to the meeting that the Prince of Wales

One of the most representative Com- had graciously consented to allow onemittees ever formed in the County, has , of the Life-boats to be named Edward,been got together, consisting of the Prince of Wales, and the CommitteeLord Lieutenant, the Earl of Plymouth, unanimously decided to ask His Royalthe Earl of Dunraven, the Lord Mayor Highness, as President of the Institu-of Cardiff, the Mayors of Swansea and tion, personally to accept the gift of thethe other principal Boroughs in the two Life-boats, and to launch the oneCounty, the majority of the Glamorgan bearing his name, as soon as they haveMembers of Parliament, the Chairmen been sent to their Stations on theof the Urban District Councils, the Glamorgan coast.President of the Cardiff and Swansea The Prime Minister has given hisChambers of Commerce, and the leading ' personal support to the appeal, and hasSouth Wales shipowners. The Com- sent the following very cordial messagemitteeheld its first meeting on the llth to Lord Plymouth—November, and decided that Glamorgan's c" * am indeed glad *« karn that the Countymi i r\n* • f ^ 1 c 4. c of Glamorgan, which stands forward so prom-Thank Offering for the safe return of inentiy in Its energy and enterprise m all thatthe Prince shall take the form of two relates to shipping, has had the happy idea ofMotor Life-boats which it is proposed commemorating the safe return from histo place at the Mumbles and Barry Overseas Tour of His Boyal^ Highness the-,,. , ,, „, 4- T4- Prince of Wales, by presenting to the In-I>ock on the Glamorgan coast, It was stitution, of which the Prince is the President,also decided to make an immediate two Motor Life-boats, one of which will bearappeal in every city, town and village the name of Wales' own Prince. There couldin the County for the £'20,000 which ^ E° m°re appropriate gift and no part of

... , . -i . i .1 i ,1 i i j the kingdom has a better right to a Life-boatwill be required to build the two boats, which £m beal. the name°Edward> Prince

the Committee feeling that a gift from of Wales."

A Fisherman's Tribute to the Life-boats.Ox the 30th September the Teosmouth Cardwcll was quickly on the Move. TheyMotor Life-boat went to the help of a Manned the Boat Beautifull They went. ... , , . , i - i through the surf to the off side. They Couldtug_ with two hoppers in tow, which, not Suoceed so They Grappled they way overduring a heavy fog, had run on the the Rocks to the Inside off the Ships, androcks. Two days later the Institution Waiting Patiently for the Opportunaty suc-received the following letter from a ' ceede<J in Setting 6 men From the Firstreceived me loilowing letcer irom a , H _ The Nest was still more Diflcult

fisherman. It is a fine tribute to the ; has they Could not get Plenty off Water atwork of the Life-boat, and, at the same the Inside so Bound They Came Throughtime, a graphic description of the tne Breakers to were they was Plenty off

• Boom to work in, so they Manourvered the' , Boat under her Stern and got the 2 sailors

g" b,^cet' T, , and very Pleased I was to see the NewCoatham, itedcar- Life-Boat going Merringly up the Biver, to

DEAII GKKTLEMEv-Just a line to you Middlesbrough to the Homes off the Shipon Thursday I was Fishing at the south Gare Wrecked Sailors, about 6 oclock in theBreakwater m a Dense Fog About Dinner- Evening x had Finished my Fishing. I sotime, All at once it cleared, and they to my the Life Boat tti made £ast to her

Surprise was a Tug Boat, and 2 hoppers Moorings, Finishing her Sucessfull Voyage,labouring heavily on the North Gare Rockswith the Seas Breaking Clean over them. Ftom yours sincerely,The Tees Motor Life-Boat the Ethel Day F. COOKE.

____ ___ . _„ _ _

102 THE LIFE-BOAT [NOVKMBKB, 1920.

Life-boat Day Results.WE print below a list of the results ofthe Life-boat Days which have beenheld since the last list was published inthe August number of The Life-Boat. Yeovil

Comments on the results of this year's

Special Efforts will be found in " Notesand News."

Wells (Somerset)Wareham

£.30

20

75

London. ^ (] d

Hampstead 142 - -

Lewisham 15 - -

Winchmore Hill 100 - -

South-West of England.

Basingstoke 31 - -Bournemouth 450 - -Brixham 82 - -

Chard 24 - -Glevedon 35 -

Devizes 24 - -

Eastleigh 27 - -Exmouth and Budleigh Saltarton 91 - -

Falmouth 51 - -Fareham 20 - -

Gosport 44 - -

Ilfraoombe 30 - -Isle of Wight (additional)—

Newport G8 - -Ventnot 36 - -

Lymington 18 - -

Minehead 30 - - ;

Newbury 30 - -Newton Abbot 34 -

Oxford 212 -

Paignton . . . . . . . . 1 7 0Penzauce 131Port Isaac 42Portsmouth 346

St. Ives (Cornwall) TOSalisbury 116Scilly Isles 40Seaton 48

Sidmouth 35

Teignraouth 12:i

Watchett 50

South-East of England.Ashford

Brancaster

ChelmsfordCromer

Diss

Felixstowe

GorlestonGreat Yarmouth and CaisterGuildford

30

12

6554

30

58

37131

62

Leiston 28 - -

\ Margate 219 - -

; Norwich 80 - -

i Rochford and District . . . . 43 - -Rye 27 - -

St. Ives (Hunts.) 27 - -I Selsey and Bognor 141 - -

i Sheringham 75 - -! Soufrheud and Leigh . . . . 126 - -

Sudbury 19 - -

Tuubridge Wells 33 -. -

Walton-on-Naze 200 - -

Wells 9 - -

Westgate-on-Sea 10 - -

[ Wisbech 80 - -

Midlands.

Bishop's Castle 12 -' -Boston 35 - -

Cheltenham 78 - -Cleobury Mortimer 10 - -

Grimsby 229 - -

Hereford

Kettering.

Kidderminster

Lampeter.

Leicester .

Ludlow

Mablethoi'iio

38 - -

50 - -

130 - -

1 - -

290 - -

23 - -

NOVEMBER, 1920.]

Northampton . . . .

Oldbury

Uugby

SkegnessSleafordSpaldingStone

WalsallWeedonWest Bromwich . . . .Whitchurch

Ireland.Bray and Greystones .

Howth

Kingstown

Skerries

Yougkall

Wale..

Abcrdovey . .Abergavenny . . . .

CarnarvonColwyn Bay

LlanddulasLlanwrtyd WellsLlandrindod Wells .Llandebie

New Quay

South Carnarvon

Tonby

THE£.

. . 300

. . 40

. . 78

. . 250. . 22. .. 40. . 24

. . 70

. . 1040

, 73

. . 55

. . 17

. . 72

. . 23

. . 20

. . 44

. . 09

. . 14

. . 259

. . 95

. . 27

. . 100. . 9

. . 20

. . GO

. . 50

North of England.BatleyBeaumarisBlackpool

Cresswell

Darlington

FileyFlamborough . . . .Fleetwood

Gateshead

HarrogateHaslingdenHauxley

. . 123

. . 37

. . 546

. . 178

. . 01

. . 54

. . 12. . 140

. . 60

100. . 68

99

LIFE-BOAT.f. ('

HornseaHuddersfield . . . .Hull

Isle of Man : —Castletowu . . . .DouglasPeelPort Erin

- - Port St. Mary . . .- - Ramsey

KeighleyKendal

Morecambe

- ~ Eobin Hood's Bay .RotherhamBuiaswick Bay

St. Annes-on-the-Sea .SaltburnScarborough

Whitby

- York- -

Scotland.

_ _ AberdeenAbercethyAyr

_ Blairgowrie and Rattray .Brechin

_ Castle DouglasGoatbridgeCouper Angus

DumbartonDumfries and District .DunformlineDunoon and District

Hamilton

- - Kilmarnock

MeigleMontrose

- - Renfrew- - Rothesay

- - Scone_ Stanley

Stonehaven

- - Wishaw

103 1

£. *. (/ '•

. 41. 716 - -. 300 - i

. 39 - -500 - -

. 110 - -

. 127 -34 - -

. 151 - -

223 - -. 52 - -

55 - -

. 34 - -

. 299 - -41 - -

. 52 - -45 - -

. 290 - -

. 88 - -

138 - -

. 271 -3 - -

. 130 - -

. 28 - -. 45 - -

. 15 - -05 - -10 - -

. 105 - -232 - -

. 134 - -

. 67 - -

. 00 - -

. 78 - -

15 - -. 01 - - I

23 - -. 82 - -

7 - -4 - -

35 - -

35 - -


Miners and the Life-boat Service.ON the 18th September a very successfulprocession took place at Ashington, andas a result of it and of a ball whichfollowed, a sum of over £174 was raisedfor the Institution. Ashington is a min-ing village, and the Day was organisedby Mr. H. S. Hunter, the HonorarySecretary of the Cresswell Branch,with the active support and help ofthe Workmen's Social Clubs and thelocal Trade Unions and Co-operativeSocieties. The procession was headedby the Cresswell Life-boat, of whosecrew nearly all have, at some time,

worked in the Ashington mines. TheCrew gave their services for the day,while the six horses which drew theLife-boat had been lent by the Ashing-ton Coal Company. After the Life-boat came the Newbiggin Sea Scouts,and they were followed by a TradesDisplay. The Day was a very greatsuccess, and is another of the manyproofs which the Institution has receivedof the readiness and generosity withwhich the men and •women of theworking classes support the Life-boatService.

Bronze Medal for a Brave Irish Boy.As our readers know, the Institutionmakes awards for all rescues orattempted rescues of those in peril fromshipwreck round the coasts of theUnited Kingdom, whether the rescuesare performed by the Life-boat crewsthemselves or by private individuals.At the same time there are many othergallant deeds performed round ourcoasts which it has never been con-sidered the duty of the Institution torecognise. We confine ourselves to therecognition of those deeds of gallantrydirectly arising out of shipwreck.Exceptional cases, however, from timeto time occur where the Committee ofManagement feel that it would be wiseto go beyond the strict rule governingthe Institution's awards, and sucha case did occur on the 12th Junelast at Fenit, on the west coast ofIreland.

Two boys, John F. O'Mahony, theson of the Chief of Customs at Fenit,and his friend Bernard Kelly, werebathing together at Lighthouse Point.They were both twelve years of age,and neither could swim more thana few strokes. It was a cold day, witha moderate gale blowing off shore, andthe sea was rough. As O'Mahonycame out of the water he turned and isaw that Kelly was struggling. Hewent back at once to his help, butwas not able to reach him. He came

ashore a second time, and, with thehelp of some little girls, succeeded inlaunching a canvas canoe which wastied down in a field by the shore. Inthis canoe O'Mahony put out onceagain to the rescue, but the tide wasebbing, and with the strong off-shorewind, swept the canoe right past thedrowning boy. In the wind and therough sea, O'Mahony found that hecould not manage it, so, instead of

I struggling uselessly, he had the presenceof mind to ship his oars and lie down

' flat in the bottom, and the canoe wascarried out to sea.

In the meantime a coastguard hadbeen told of what had happened, andseeing the canoe already far out he

' signalled to a small war craft, H.M.S.Heather, which was lying at anchor offthe lighthouse. The Heather put tosea as quickly as possible, but she hadto go eight miles out before she over-

i hauled the drifting canoe and could' rescue O'Mahony, who all this time hadbeen lying naked and wet in the bottomof the canoe.

Bernard Kelly was drowned, andhis body recovered the same night, butO'Mahony had made a most gallantattempt to save him, and had done itat great risk to his own life. Althoughit was, strictly, not an attempt atrescue from shipwreck, the Committeeof Management felt it to be a case of


so exceptional a character as to justify decided to award O'Mahony the Bronzethem in giving a generous interpreta- ', Service Medal, and, at the same.time,tion to the rule governing the bestowal to present him with two War Savingsof the Institution's medals, and they Certificates.

The Problem ofSHIPS' BOATS : THEIR QUALITIES, CON-

STRUCTION, EQUIPMENT AND LAUNCH-ING APPLIANCES. By Ernest W.Blocksidge, M.I.N.A. (Longmans,Green & Co. 25.?. net.)

Reviewed by FELIX RUBIE, M.I.N.A.,Surveyor of Life-boats.

Tins book should be of use to allwho are interested in the details of theconstruction and equipment of ships'boats. It is orthodox in that it con-forms to the practice of ancient bookson Naval Architecture and that it isdedicated, has a preface, and, in addition,a quotation from Ruskin of some length,though it may be doubted if Ruskinhad in mind a ship's boat when hewrote, in " Harbours of England,"" There is, first, an infinite strangenessin the perfection of the thing, as workof human hands. I know nothing elsethat man does, which is perfect, but that."

The book mentally raises again thewhole question, not of what ships' boatsshould be, but whether ships shouldhave boats at all for life-saving. Onecan hardly read it without feeling thatshipowners, and those connected withships, doubt their utility. Anyonefamiliar with ship-yards, their managers,marine superintendents and others whowork there, knows the language habitu-ally used over boat-lowering gear anddavits. It is not language fit for thisor any other journal, but it seems to meto point to some doubt, in the minds ofthose who use it, of the value of theship's life-boat and all its belongings.

It is, in fact, an unsatisfactory craft.It takes up a lot of room, and, as onecan see at a glance from Mr. Block-sidge's admirable illustration of theboat-deck of the Aquitania, might bevery difficult to launch. It must alwaysbe remembered that a ship's life-boatnecessarily is something entirely differentfrom the Life-boats of the Institution,which are, of course, far too large andheavy to be carried in davits, and thatit simply could not live in really- bad

Ships' Life-boats.weather. Apart also from construc-tion—and much remains to be knownabout the stability and constructionof ships' life-boats, and of the possibilityof launching them under all conditions—there remains the question of " hand-ling," and I think it still is the mostimportant of all. The small boathandler is not the product of a passengersteamer. He is round the coast, usedto small boats from an infant onwards.Such men are the coxswains at so manyLife-boat Stations. Were it possible tocalculate the crews' lives saved by theskill of the coxswains in handling theboats successfully in very difficult cir-cumstances, it would be a large andinteresting total.

The main problem, then, is whetherwe should not be wiser to rely on the shiprather than on her boats, and to devotethe energy and money, which is now

| divided between the two, on making the• ship herself safer. Much might be done| towards making ships practically unsink-i able. Much, in fact, has been done.! Our later types of Dreadnought arej able to float when struck by at least one! torpedo. The Marlborouyli was struck inthe boiler-room in.the action at Jutland,was able to remain in the line, and was

i afterwards safely docked on the Tyne.This was the only case of a modern

; battleship being struck by a torpedoduring the whole war, but it is enough toshow what can be done by proper design.

If the boats were eliminated, it wouldalso be possible for the whole of theupper-deck to be arranged as rafts,which would float away with thepassengers on them if the vessel sank,until they were rescued by some passing-vessel. The deck on top of the raftswould, of course, form a continuousdeck for passengers to walk about onin the ordinary way. • r.

To return to Mr. Blocksidge's book.It will be found to contain considerabledetail about the construction of ships'boats j and the lowering gear, davits,


and other fittings are well describedand _ illustrated. Its illustrations anddetail sketches are its best features.I am doubtful if the inclusion of achapter on stability adds much to itsvalue, for the same can be found in theordinary text-books, and it does notgo far enough. Dynamical conditionsshould have been dealt with. Anyordinary person, with no other know-ledge than that which he derivedfrom reading this book, would decidethat an ordinary bicycle was an im-practical device with no transversestability. This roughly illustrates what1 mean. The importance of transversestability seems exaggerated, whilstlongitudinal stability and intermediateinclinations between the two are over-looked.

Enough also is known about wavesto have made it worth while to includean outline of the subject. The particlesof an ordinary wave, as it passes, have

an orbital motion. If you take, say, acubic foot of water at the crest of awave, and a cubic foot from the hollowor trough, the -virtual weight of thecubic foot at the crest is much less thanat the hollow. This can be roughlyillustrated by attaching a stone to theend of a piece of string and swinging itround, or swinging round a bucket fullof water. Some years ago, when longvessels were first running on the Atlantic,it was found by calculation that toomuch strain was put on the top strakeof side plating, and that it should haveshown signs of straining, which, in fact,did not occur. In these calculations noallowance was made for the differencebetween the virtual weight of the waterat the wave crest and the hollow. It isquite a simple matter to make thecalculations if the size of the wavesare known; but in practice the worstpossible wave conditions are assumed,and the calculations made accordingly.

The Harvest Festival of Two Life-boats.Two Life-boats, the Martha, of Cresswell,and the Edward and Eliza, of HolyIsland, celebrated Harvest Festivalby answering the call of vessels indistress. In both cases the crews wereactually in church, and the HarvestFestival service was in progress when

I the alarm was given.Just after seven in the evening of

the 21st October, during a heavy fog,flares were reported burning two milesnorth of the Cresswell Station. Thecrew were summoned from the church,which is close by the Boat-house, and,within ten minutes of the flares beingseen, the Boat was launched. Whenshe reached the wreck she found thatit was a steam trawler—the C.S.D., ofNorth Shields, which had stranded ona sand bank 200 yards from the shore.A very heavy swell was running, andthe waves were breaking right over thetrawler, so that the Coxswain felt itwould be too dangerous to go rightalongside the wreck. He lay to lee-ward, a line'was passed to the trawler,and all her crew of eight were drawnsafely to the Life-boat. Two hoursafter the launch she reached shore again,and the crew of the trawler, who were

much exhausted, were divided among thehouses of the Life-boat crew for the night.

The Committee of Management con- \sidering it to be a skilful service, incircumstances requiring care and very !good judgment, gave increased rewards,and sent a special Letter of Appreciationto the Station.

The Harvest Festival had been cele-brated at Holy Island a week be'fore.On the 15th October, shortly aftereight in the evening, when all the |people of the Island were in church,the Coast-guard came with the newsthat he had seen lights on the GoswickSands, and thought a vessel had goneashore. It was decided at once tolaunch the No. 2 Life-boat, and thecrew were summoned from the church.The congregation had just finished thespecial Harvest Festival hymn, each,verse ending with the refrain—

" Thou mayest not join the reapersUpon the harvest plain,

But he who helps a brother,Binds sheaves of richest grain,"

and the preacher had announced histext, " There go the ships," when thealarm was given. The exact positionof the vessel in. distress was unknown,


and in thick drizzling rain the Life-boatwas drawn by the horses on a widedetour of the sands for over two miles.The scene of the wreck was reachedat 10 o'clock, and it was then foundthat two vessels had stranded, but thattheir crews had got ashore in their own

boats. The two vessels were steamdrifters of Stornoway, the Sure and theResult,, and they both became totalwrecks. They lie on the treacherousGoswick Sands beside the remains oftwo other vessels, wrecked on the same

; spot.

Awards to Coxswains.DUIUNI; September and October thefollowing awards were made to Cox-swains :— ;To THOMAS LANGLANDS, on Ms retirement

after serving continuously as Coxswain for43 years—22 years as Coxswain of theUpgang Life-boat, and 21 years as Coxswainof the \Vhitby Life-boats—-a Framed Certi-ficate of Service and a Pension. CoxswainLanglands chose to have his pension com-muted to a lump sum, and in view of hislong and valuable services as Coxswain, theCommittee of Management decided to givehim in addition a special grant, making£184 in all. In 1906 he had been awardedthe Silver Service Medal; in 1909 theThanks of the Committee of Managementinscribed on Vellum; and in 1914 the GoldMedal for his service to the hospital shipRohilla.

To RICHABD \V. BISHOP, on his retirement,after serving 14 years as Coxswain of theMablethorpe Life-boat, and, previous to that,

(J. year as Second Coxswain, a FramedCertificate of Service and a Pension.

To THOMAS BOWKX, on his retirement, af terserving 19 years as Coxswain of the CardiganLife-boat, and, previously, 3 months asSecond Coxswain and 6 years as Bowman,a Framed Certificate of Service and aPension. In 1919 Coxswain Bowen wasawarded the Bronze Medal for the serviceto the s.s. Conservator, of London.

To OSBERT HICKS, on his retirement, afterserving 8 years as Coxswain of the St. AgnesStation, and, previous to that, 1 year asSecond Coxswain and 10 years as Bowman,a Pension.

To THOMAS H. NICHOLAS, on his retirement,after serving 9 years as Coxswain of theSennen Cove Life-boat, and, previous tothat, 18 years as Second Coxswain, aPension. In 1919 Coxswain Nicholas wasawarded the Silver Medal for the service toH.M. Motor Launch No. 378, which waswrecked on the Lorjgships Reef, off Land'sEnd.

To WILLIAM STORM, on his retirement, after12 years' service as Coxswain of the RobinHood's Bay Life-boat, and, previously,19 years as Second Coxswain, a FramedCertificate of Service and a Pension.

Awards to Honorary Workers.DURING September and October thefollowing awards were made to HonorarySecretaries of Branches, and to otherhonorary workers, in recognition oftheir services in the cause of the Insti-tution : —•To THOMAS E. PURDY, Esq., Honorary Secre-

tary of the Colwyn Bay Branch, the Eecord

of Thanks and the Gold Pendant lor hisvaiuable co-operation.

To the Rev. J. RAYMOND, Honorary Secre-tary of the Llandndno Branch, the Eecordof Thanks and the Gold Pendant for hisvaluable co-operation.

To JOHN ANDBB8ON,Esq. ,on his retirement after21 years as Honorary Secretary of the Kirk-cudbright Branch, the Thanks of the Com-mittee of Management inscribed on Vellum.

Obituary.WE regret to record the death, at theend of last September, of the Rev. R.W. PEKIIY CIRCUITT, Vicar of Brixhamsince 1900, and Honorary Secretaryof the Brixham and Paignton Branchof the Institution for the past fifteenyears. Mr. Perry Circuitt was a manof catholic sympathies, great energy,and many interests, and he worked forthe Life-boat Service with characteristicenthusiasm. His association with itswork dated from 1896, when he was\7iear of Heywood in Lancashire. In

that year he was Chairman of a " Life-boat Saturday Fund" demonstration,and later was appointed a delegate fromthe Heywood Fund to the then " Northof England District," and from that tothe Central Committee in London.In 1915 Mr. Perry Circuitt was pre-sented by the Institution with anAneroid Barometer mounted on a shield,in recognition of all that he had donefor the Brixham Branch. By his deaththe Life-boat Service loses one of themost valued of its Honorary Secretaries.


Summary of the Meetings of the Committee ofManagement.

Friday, 21st May, 1920.Sir GODFBEY BASING, Bt., in the Chair.Reported the death of Major-General Sir

COLERIDGE GKOVE, K.C.B., who had been amember of the Committee of Management ofthe Institution since 1916. Passed a vote ofregret and condolence.

Reported the receipt of the following specialcontributions:— ^ s^ ^_The Viscount BUBNHAM . . . 100 - -Proprietors of Daily Telegraph . 100 - -—To be thanked.

Suitably recognised the services of MissCOSTEKEB for valuable help in connexion

j with the Ladies' Auxiliary at Lyfcham formany years past.

Appointed Lieut. F. W. HAYES, R.N.R.,Inspector of Life-boats for the Irish District.

Paid £25,385 15s. fid. for sundry charges inconnexion with the construction of Life-boats,Life-boat Houses and Slipways, audthe main-tenance of the various Life-boat establish-ments.

Voted £185 8s. to pay the expenses of thefollowing Life-boat services :— Lives

Life-boat. Vessel. saved.Broughty Ferry Pilot cutter Day

(Motor) Dream, of Dundee . 6Cullercoats . . Pour cobles of Culler-

coats. Stood bycobles.

Mumbles . . Schooner Mayonnaise,o f Bcnic . . . . 5

Schooner Harbinger, ofFecamp. Renderedassistance.

Newquay, Corn. French ketch Philo-mene 5

Ncwbiggin . . Seven fishing-cobles ofNewbiggin. Stoodby cobles.

Spurn (Motor) . Steam trawler Ilonso,of Grimsby. Stoodby vessel.

Scaham (Motor) . Tug Solongc, of Havre 14Lighter Vivarais, of

Havre. Stood byvessel.

Tenby . . . Ketch Toney, of Tre-guier 4

Torquay . . . Trawler Renown, ofBrixham. Stood byvessel.

YVhitby No. 2 . Danish schooner Ma-thilda 1

Six fishing-boats ofWhitby. Escortedboats to harbour.

The Mumbles Life-boat stood by theschooner Fleur dc France, of Fecamp, andrendered assistance; and the ScarboroughLife-boat saved the barque Cito, of Kopeivik,and her crew of ten.

Also voted £280 Os. <M. to pay the expensesof the following Life-boat launches, assembliesof crews, etc., with a view to assisting personson vessels in distress :—Arbroath, AldeburghNos. 1 and 2, Barry Dock, Brixham, Balti-more (Motor), Grail, Cromer, Dover (Steam),Kessingland, Llaududno, Littlehampton,Lowestoft, North Deal, Palling No. 2, Pad-stow No. 2 and Tug, Tenby, Walton-on-the-Naze (Motor), and Whitby No. 2.

Granted £30 to a man for injury in theLife-boat service at Llaiiduduo.

Awarded the Bronze Medal of the Institu-tion to CHABLES GALL, Coxswain of theBroughty Ferry Motor Life-boat, and grantedan additional monetary reward to him and toeach member of the crew for their fineservices in saving six pilots from the pilotcutter Day Dream, of Dundee, which wastotally wrecked during a strong j). gale and avery heavy sea, on the llth April.

Reported that the Dundee Harbour Trusteeshad written expressing their high apprecia-tion of the very valuable services rendered onthis occasion.

Reported that a letter had been receivedfrom the Newquay, Corn., Council, conveyingtheir congratulations to the Life-boat crow fortheir excellent work on the 20th April, whenfive men were saved {torn, the French ketch.Philomene.

Sent a Letter of Thanks to Mr. F. LEBOULANGBR, Honorary Secretary of theMumbles Branch, who went out in the Life-boat on service on the 2nd April.

Also sent a Letter of Thanks to Mr. OLIVEUTons, a member of the Torquay Local Com-mittee, who ably took charge of the Life-boaton service, on the 15th April, 1920.

Voted £8 to the ero^ oi the fishing-uoattieneader, for saving the fishing-boat Ellen,which, with her crew of four, was unable tomake the harbour at Arklow, on the iiighi ofthe 23rd November, 1919.

Voted £7 10s. to ten men for putting offfrom Arbroath, in the surf-boat, and savingthe crew of three of the ketch Bella Duncan,of Fraserburgh, which was totally wreckedoutside the harbour, on the 2nd May. Theketch, owing to engine trouble and a leak,"became practically helpless, while makingfcr the harbour. Groat risk was run by thesalvors, who carried out the rescue in a strongB. gale with a very heavy sea.

Also voted £1 16s. to twelve men whoassisted at the launching and hauling up of

, the boat.Granted 7s. to a man who gave first informa-

tion of a vessel in distress at Cahirciveen, Co.Kerry, 011 the 30th January, 1920.


Friday, 18th June, 1920.The Rt. Hon. the EABL WALDEGRAVE, P.O.,

in the Chair.Suitably recognised the services of the fol-

lowing ladies and gentlemen for valuablehelp:—

Mrs. Bedell, President Ladies' Auxiliary,Wilmslow.

Mrs. R. J. Bailey, Treasurer, Stockport.MissN. Piokford, Hon. Secretary, Stockport.Mrs. Henry Greenall, Hon. Secretary, War-

rington.Mrs. Ralph Johnson, Asst. Hon. Secretary,

Warrington.Mr. S. S. Jerrett, Chairman, New Brighton.Mr. B. J. Kirkham, Hon. Secretary, New

Brighton.Mrs. B. J. Kirkham, New Brighton.Decided to close the Mablethorpe Life-boat

Station.Paid £11,159 13s. 5d. for sundry charges in

connexion with the construction of Life-boats,Life-boat Houses and Slipways, and the main-tenance of the various Life-boat establish-ments.

'. to pay the expenses of theservices:— Lives

Vessel. saved.A mussel-boat of Tay-

port. Saved boatand 1

Steam trawler JamesChristopher, of Lon-don. Stood by vessel.

S.S. Kurmark, ofLondon. Landed 9.

A yacht, of Birken-head. Landed 4.

S.S. Graciana, of WestHartlepool. Stoodby vessel.

S.S. Turmoil, of Lon-don. S t o o d byvessel.

S.S. Lurcher, of Glas-gow. Landed 36.

S.S. Thorn Fredrilcke,ofPorsgrund. Stoodby vessel.

Ketch Wellington, ofL o n d o n . Savedvessel a n d . . . 3

Two small boats.Saved boats and . 4

S.S. Teeswood, o fM i d d l e s b r o u g h .Stood by vessel.

Motor boat SisterJane, of Cromer.Saved boat and . . 2

The Ramsgate Life-boat assisted to save thesteam trawler Perseverant, of Boulogne.

Also voted £384 3s. 2d. to pay the expensesof the following Life-boat launches, assembliesof crews, etc., with a view to assisting personson vessels in distress:—Aldeburgh Nos. 1and 2, Berwick-on-Tweed, Baltimore (Motor),Brixham,Broughty Ferry (Motor),Barry Dock,

Voted £267 5s. 3d,following Life-boat

Life-boat.Broughty Ferry

(Motor)

Baltimore (Motor)

New Brighton(Steam)

New Brighton(Boarding-boat)

North Sunderland

N o r t h D e a l ,(Reserve)

Port Patrick .

Rye Harbour.

Spurn (Motor)

Swanage .

Staitlies . . .

Southwoid

Clovelly, Cullercoats, Cromer, Dunbar, Dover(Steam), Gorleston No. 2, Hayling Island,Hoylake, Margate No. 2, Mumbles, NorthDeal, Palling No. 2, Penlee, Ramsgate, RobinHoods Bay, St. Mary's (Motor), Skateraw,Seaham (Motor), Spurn (Motor), Scarborough,Sennen Cove, Torquay, Tenby, Walton-on-the-Naze (Motor), Whitby No. 2, Worthing, andWeymouth.

Granted £3 15s. to a man for injury in theLife-boat service at Blakeney.

Reported that the President of the UnitedStates had forwarded a Gold Watch and Chainfor Coxswain WM. ADAMS, and Gold Medalsfor the other members of the crew of theNorth Deal Life-boat, in appreciation of theirservices in saving twenty-nine of the crew ofthe American steamer Piave, of New Jersey,which was wrecked on the Goodwin Sandsduring severe weather on the night of the29th January, 1919.

Decided to send a Letter of Commendationto the Motor Mechanic of the Broughty FerryLife-boat, in recognition of the efficient mannerin which he worked the motor on the occasionof the rescue of the crew of the pilot cutterDay Dream, on the llth April last.

Reported that a Letter of Thanks had beensent to Mr. NELSON ALLEN, who acted asCoxswain of the North Sunderland Life-boatwhen she was launched on service on the 27thMay.

Also reported that a Letter of Sympathy hadbeen sent to the Coxswain at St. Mary's, wholost two sons in an accident to their fishing-boat on the llth May.

Voted £20 to four pilots for putting off fromWick and saving the crew, twelve in number,of the s.s. Dzmleith, of Aberdeen, whicb ranashore during a dense fog on the 27th May.The casualty was not visible from the shore,but the pilots went out in response to rocketsignals. On reaching the vessel they foundthat her two boats had been launched, but,owing to the heavy seas, were in danger ofbeing swamped, and that the men could notland owing to the rocks. At great risk, owingto the heavy seas and the dangerous positionof the steamer, the pilots anchored, droppeddown to the wreck and rescued the crew.

Voted £6 to four men for putting off fromDunbar in a motor boat and saving the fishing-yawl Cousins, and her crew of two, during astrong W. gale, on the 14th May.

Also granted 10s. to the owner of the boatfor the petrol consumed.

Voted £2 10s. to five men for putting offfrom North Berwick in a motor fishing-boatand successfully searching for a small boat,with one occupant, which had been fog-bound,on the night of the 26th May.

Also voted 18s. to three men for landingtwo men, a lady, and a boy from the BassRock, North Berwick, on the 27th May. Thefour, while on a journey in a motor boat fromRosyth to North Berwick, had lost their wayin the fog of the previous day.


Friday, 19th July, 1920.The Rt. Hon. The EABL WALDEGRAVE, P.C.,

in the Chair.Reported the receipt of the following special

contributions:—THE CIVIL SERVICE LIFE-BOAT s'

FUND (per W. FORTESCUEBABBATT, Esq.), balance ofexpenses for the Civil ServiceLife-boats for 1919 . . . . 1,176 3 11

F. A. RICHARDS, Esq. (subscription) 50 - -—To be thanked.

Suitably recognised the services of Mrs.MACKELLAB and Miss FEARNSIDE, HonorarySecretary and Honorary Treasurer respectivelyof the Dewsbury Branch, for valuable help formany years.

Decided to close the Greenore (Co. Louth)Life-boat Station.

Paid £18,374 4s. Id. for sundry charges inconnexion with the construction of Life-boats,Life-boat Houses and Slipways, and the main-tenance of the various Life-boat establish-ments.

Voted £132 16s. 3d. to pay the expenses ofthe following Life-boat services :— Lives

Life-boat. Vessel. saved.Blyth . . . Motor ketch Arldey, of

Liverpool, landed 6.Criccieth . . Yacht Magnolia, of

Southampton . . 3Hayling Island . S.S. Plumleaf, of

Lon. Stood by.vessel.Spurn (Boarding- Tug Robert Forest, of

boat) Grimsby . . . . 2Also voted £244 3s. 8d. to pay the expenses

of the following Life-boat launches, assembliesoi crews, etc., with a view to assisting personson vessels in distress :—Bembridge, Bridling-ton, Cambois, Clacton-on-Sea (Motor), Cromer,Holy Island No. 1, Newquay (Corn.), NorthDeal (Reserve), Rye Harbour, Ramsgate,Stromness (Motor), and Swanage.

Granted £100 17s. to men for injury in theLife-boat service at Blackpool, Eyemouth,Llandudno, and St. Anne's.

Granted an additional monetary reward tothe crew and helpers for a very difficultlaunch of the Holy Island No. 1 Life-boat onthe 29th June. Also decided that a Letterexpressing appreciation of their efforts underdifficult conditions be addressed to theHonorary Secretary.

Decided to send a Letter to Criccieth ex-pressing appreciation of the good look-outkept by the Coxswain, and of the promptlaunching and satisfactory service of theLife-boat on the 20th-21st June, when thecrew of three of the yacht Magnolia were saved.

Decided to send Letters of Thanks to Dr.DUNCAN and Mr. G. L. THOMSON, HonorarySecretary, for going out in the btromnessLife-boat on service, on the 19th June.

Decided to send a Letter of Thanks to Mr.C. H. GBAY, Honorary Secretary at Bridlington,for his services on the occasion of the capsizingof a dredger, on the 4th July.

Granted a monetary reward and sent a Letterof Appreciation to Coxswain ROBERT CROSS,

and to six other Spurn Life-boat men, who putoff in the boarding boat and saved two menfrom the tug Robert forest, on the 12th June.

Voted £9 to the nine members of the crewof the a.s. Dun Aengus, for standing by thes.s. Clew Bay, which ran ashore on MuttonIsland, Galway, on the 17th May.

Voted £5 to the ore-w oi five of a motor boatfor putting off from Holy Island with a viewto assisting the s.s. Graciana, which strandedone mile S.E. from the Longstone, on the27th May. Also paid £1 3s., the cost of thepetrol consumed. The steamer had runashore during a thick fog, and the NorthSunderland Life-boat had been launched toher aid. In the meantime the motor boatwent out, but did not reach the vessel untiljust after the Life-boat.

Presented a Framed Photograph to Mr.S. GUPPY, Secretary, at Greenore, andgranted £2 to four other men, for their en-deavours to save the crew of the boat Nora,which capsized in Caclingford Lough on the18th June, during a strong E.S.E. breeze,with a rough sea. Before they could reachthe boat her crew had been rescued by amotor boat from Greencastle.

Voted £3 15s. to Coxswain WM. CROSS andfour other men for attempting to save twomen, whose boat capsized off New Brighton,on the 18th June. Also 5s. to the man whobrought the information. On hearing of theaccident, the salvors put off in the Coxswain'sboat, but, on reaching the spot, found that themen had been rescued by a police-boat.

Voted £6 to four men for saving one of thecrew of three of a fishing-boat, which capsizedoff Port Logan, on the 22nd June. Threebrothers named Galloway, one of whom,James, was Coxswain of the local Life-boat,had put off to lift their lobster-pots, but wereovertaken by a strong wind with a rough sea,and their boat capsized. James and William,after holding on for some time, becameexhausted, let go, and were drowned, but thethird brother, Adam, succeeded in holding onuntil the rescuers arrived.

Voted £3 to two men for rescuing theoccupant of the yacht Eileen, which was indifficulties, off Hoylake, on the 20th June.During a strong W.S.W. breeze with a veryconfused sea, the yacht missed stays and wascarried against the. promenade. Seeing herdangerous position, the two salvors put off ina punt, and, at some risk, and with considerabledifficulty, rescued the owner, and eventuallylaid out an anchor and hauled the yacht off.

Friday, 17th September, 1920.Mr. HENRY R. FAKGUS in the Chair.

Reported the receipt of the following specialcontribution:—EXECUTORS OF THE LATE SAMUEL s' c '

ERSKINE, Esq. (on account) . 35 15 -EXECUTORS OF THE LATE JOHN

ROYLE, Esq. (additional tolegacy of £200) 100 - -

—To be thanked.

XOVEWBEE, 1920.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 111

Suitably recognised the services of theRev. JOHN RAYMOND and Mr. THOMAS E.PURDY, Honorary Secretaries of the Llandudnoand Colwyn Bay Branches respectively, forvaluable help for many years.

Paid £18,982 12s. 4d. for sundry charges inconnexion with the construction of Life-boats,Life-boat Houses and Slipways, and the main-tenance of the various Life-boat establish-ments.

Voted £174 16s. 8d. to pay the expenses ofthe following Life-boat services :— Lives

Life-boats. Vessels. saved.Appledore . . Ketch A mason, of Barn-

staple. Landed 8.Appledore . . S.S. Mayals, of Swan-

sea 10Caister No. 1 . S.S. George Fislier, of

London . . . . 7Ferryside . . S.S. Gadir, of Bilbao.

Assisted and stood byvessel.

Lowestoft . . Trawler Sidney andEthel, of Lowestoft . 2

New Brighton Padd le s t e a m e r La(Steam) Marguerite, of Liver-

pool. Stood by vessel.Wexford . . S.S.- Thorn and, of

Milford. Stood byvessel.

Whitby (Motor) Motor boat EdwardHenry, of Bolton.Saved boat and . . 4

Worthing . . Motor boat Shamrock II. 2The Ciomer Life-boat rendered help to

the s.s. Bavaria, of Cologne, and the New-haven (Motor) Life-boat helped to save thes.s. Dimitrios and her erew of ten, alsohelped to save the schooner Nada Jelena andher crew of seven.

Also voted £127 17s. 8d. to pay the expensesof the following Life-boat launches, assembliesof crews, etc., with a view to helping personson vessels in distress :—Berwiek-on-Iweed,Hoylake, Holy Island No. 2, Mumbles, NorthDeal (Reserve), Port Patrick, Spurn (Board-ing-boat), Sunderland (Motor), Totland Bay,and Wells.

Granted £92 to men for injury in the Life-boat service at Ilfracombe and Llandudno.

Voted a further sum of £50 for the benefitof the men of the Ramsgate Life-boat who tookpart in the rescue of the Indian Chief in 1881.

Decided that a Letter be sent expressingsatisfaction at the service of the WorthingLife-boat, on the 23rd July, when she savedtwo men from the motor boat Shamrock II,during a strong S.S.W. gale with a very heavysea ; also expressing satisfaction at the resultof the collection made amongst the spectators.

Voted an additional monetary reward to twoof the crew of the Appledore Life-boat whowaded into the water to rescue the crew often from the s.s. Mayals, of Swansea, whichstranded during a whole N. gale, with a veryheavy sea, on the 26th July. Also decided tosend a Letter expressing appreciation of thissatisfactory service.

Produced the finding of the Board of TradeInquiry into the loss of the s.s. Treveal, onthe 9-10th January last.

Awarded the Bronze Medal of the Institu-tion, together with two War Savings Certifi-cates, to JOHN P. O'MAHONY, aged 14, for hisattempt to rescue a companion from drown-ing, on the 12th June, at Fenit, Co. Kerry.(Described elsewhere.)

Voted the Thanks of the Institution in-scribed on Vellum and £1 to ALBERT PERKIKS,and £1 each to two lighthouse keepers, forputting out in a motor boat and saving fourladies, whose boat had capsized off St. Tudwal'sIsland, on the 28th August, 1920.

Also decided to send a Letter of Appreciationto the Rev. C. L. RosrasON, owner of themotor boat, for his services after the accident.A strong off-shore breeze was blowing atthe time, with a moderate sea, and the motor-boat was skilfully handled by Perkins, whoincurred some risk to himself on account ofhis state of health. Subsequently the light-house keepers stated that they did not wishto receive any monetary reward, and werethanked for their services.

Decided to send a Letter of Appreciation totwo men for saving the crew, five in number,of the motor fishing-boat Borneo and Juliet,off Redcar, on the 3rd August. The twomen were rewarded by the owners of theboat.

Voted £12 to four men for saving, at con-siderable risk to themselves, three hands of aboat which struck a submerged rock andfoundered off the island of Torgay, Hebrides,during a strong N.W. gale, with a heavy seaand snow squalls, on the 15th March.

Voted £12 to eight men for saving fivepersons, the occupants of a small open motorboat, which was drifting out to sea in a dis-abled condition, off Campbeltown, during astrong W. breeze, on the 31st July. A smallfishing-boat, manned by two men, attemptedto tow the boat to safety, but was unsuccessfulowing to the wind and tide, and in the mean-time a motor boat put off and took both boatsin tow. Had it not been for the perseveranceof the men in the fishing-boat and the promptaid of the motor boat, the probability is thatthere would have been serious loss of life.

Voted £2 to two men for helping two boats,occupied by four men, which were beingcarried out to sea, off Lowestoft, on the16th August, 1920.

Voted £2 to two men for saving five persons,whose boat capsized off Port Logan, on the7th August. When the boat was about three-quarters of a mile from the shore the jibhalliards parted, and one of the men on boardtried to climb the mast to reeve them again."Unfortunately, he capsized the boat. Thesalvors, who were on their way to the fishing-ground, went at once to the rescue and savedthe party, two of whom were in an exhaustedcondition.

Voted £1 10s. to three men for rescuing thethree occupants of a rowing-skiff which was


being carried out to sea, off Pwllheli, on the1st September.

Voted £3 10s. to seven men, the crews oftwo motor boats, for saving two men, whoseboat was capsized by a sudden squall offGreencastle, on the 10th June. Also granted j10s. for petrol and oil consumed. j

Voted £3 10s. to five men for saving a small |boat and her two occupants, outside Montrose ;Harbour, during rough weather, on the •30th July. Also granted 10s. for petrol and 'oil consumed. The boat was trying to enter !the harbour, but her sail was blown away,and the W.S.W. gale and strong ebb tide weretaking her out to sea.

Voted £1 to two men for saving another •.man who was carried over the bar at Teign-mouth by the ebb tide, in a small boat, onthe 29th August. Also granted 10s. for theuse of the motor boat which effected therescue, and 9s. 3d. for petrol and oilconsumed. I

Voted £3 to three men for rescuing threepersons from the old breakwater, PortlandHarbour, on to which they had scrambledwhen their motor yacht Zeerob was wrecked,on the night of the 30th August. The yachtcame to grief when attempting to enter theharbour during the night, and, being unableto attract attention, her crew had to spendthe night on the rocks, but were rescued atdaybreak. The yacht became a total loss.

Friday, 15th October, 1920.The Eight Hon. the EARL WALDEGRAVE,

P.O., in the Chair. ;Eeported the receipt of the following \

special contribution:—NORTHUMBERLAND LORD LlEU- i

TENANT'S WAR DISTRESS BE-LIEF FUND, towards cost of jproviding Motor Life-boats forNorthumberland coast (to the 1Newcastle-on-Tyne Branch) . £500 - -Paid £26,929 18s. 2d. for sundry charges in j

connexion with the construction of Life-boats, !Life-boat Houses and Slipways, and the main- 'tenance of the various Life-boat establish- ;

ments.Voted £233 Is. Bd. to pay the expenses of

the following Life-boat services:— Lives '•Life-boat. Vessel. saved.

Clacton-on-Sea . Rowing-boat Ellen, ofClacton. Saved boatand 3

Motor launch Dot. . 2Motor launch The

Dyak, of Little-hampton . . . . 2

S.S. Warita, of Chester.Stood by vessel.

A coble of Newbiggin.Saved coble and . . 3

Barquentine Yvonne,of Marseilles .

Fishing-boat Carry Me.Safe, of Porth-dinllaen . . . .

(Motor)

Cromer .Eastbourne No.2

Fleetwood .

Newbiggin .

Plymouth .

Porthdinllaen17

LivesLife-boat. Vessel. saved.

Palling No. 1 . Steam drifter BienVenu, of Lowestoft . 10

Senuen Cove . Motor fishing-boat OurBoys, of Porthleveu 5

Teesmouth . . Tug J. P. Rennoldson,(Motor) and two t u g s . . . 8

The Aldeburgh No. 1 Life-boat assisted tosave the ketch Garson, of Yarmouth, and herthree hands; Caister No. 1 Life-boat savedthe s.s. Admiral Keyes, of London, and hercrew of seven; Cromer Life-boat assisted tosave the motor schooner Danefolk, of Copen-hagen, and her crew of twenty-three; alsosalved some gear from the steam drifter BienVenu, of Lowestoft; Lowestoft Life-boatrendered assistance to the s.s. Albano, ofHull; and Palling No. 2 Life-boat assistedto save the motor schooner Danefolk, ofCopenhagen.

Voted £269 19s. 8d. to pay the expenses ofthe following Life-boat launches, assemblieso! crews, etc., with a view to assisting personson vessels in distress :—Caister No. 1, Clacton-on-Sea (Motor), Clovelly, Cromer, Douglas,Hauxley, Lowestoft, Montrose No. 1, NewBrighton (Steam), North Suuderland, PadstowNo. 1, Ramsgate,Weymouth, and Yealm River.

Granted £14 19s. to men for injury andillness in the Life-boat service at North Dealand St. Anne's.

Voted an additional monetary award to thecrew of the Teesmouth Motor Life-boat for ameritorious service carried out in roughweather when the boat was returning fromexercise, on the 30th September. Also decidedto send a Letter of Appreciation to the assistantmotor mechanic v?b.o had charge of the engmeon this service.

Decided to send a Letter of Appreciation tothe Plymouth Life-boat crew, and to grantthem an additional monetary award for theirmeritorious service during severe weather, onthe 3rd October. Also decided to send aLetter of Appreciation to the Yealm RiverLife-boat crew for their persevering efforts onthe same occasion.

Voted £5 to five men for saving the crew offour hands of the motor barge Young Dan, ofDublin, off Clogher Head, on the 30th Sep-tember. The barge left Port Oriel, and whenshe cleared the harbour encountered veryheavy seas; her motor failed, and she driftedtowards the rocks. The salvors manned ayawl, and, at considerable risk to themselves,carried out the rescue.

Voted £11 5s. to five men for searching allnight for a small boat which was missing offHoylake, on the 12th September. A smallhome-made boat, containing a young man andhis mother, was reported to be missing, andthe men decided to put off and search for herin a motor boat. They searched withoutsuccess from 9 in the evening until 10.15 nextmorning, when they returned. Later in themorning information was received from NewBrighton that the small boat had landedthere with the occupants in an exhaustedcondition. Also paid £4 12s. 3d. for the hireof the boat, petrol consumed, etc.


News from the Branches.Eastbourne.

AFTEE the very successful Life-boatDay held at Eastbourne on the 31stJuly, by which the sum of over £550was raised, the following letter appearedin the Eastbourne papers from Mrs.Astley Roberts, the generous and enthu-siastic President of the Ladies' Auxil-iary and the Organiser, as in previousyears, of the effort:—

SIB,—I feel sure the residents and visitorsin Eastbourne will be glad to hear thatthrough their generosity in giving so liberallyto the Royal National Life-Boat Institutionon Saturday, the 31st July, so far the amountcollected has reached the sum of about £550.

I should like to tender my very best thanksto all those ladies who presided at the tablesboth in Eastbourne and the outlying districts,and to their friends who worked so inde-fatigably during the day; also to Mr. Wood,the chauffeur who gave up a great deal of histime in collecting the boxes; to the SalvationArmy band who gave their services to playthe Life-boat procession through the town;to all those gentlemen who assisted with theaccounts; and to the Directors of Messrs.Farncombe, Ltd., for the loan of their roomsat the Chronicle Office, and especially to Mr.Gasson, Mr. and Miss Terson, and Mr. andMrs. Kasner, who were goodness itself inhelping in every way both before and on theday itself—working with us all until late thatnight. I feel that Mr. Infield, the honorarysecretary, and I owe a deep debt of gratitudeto Mr. Mark Hookham, the assistant secretary,for the immense amount of trouble and timehe gave to carrying out and helping so wellwith the arrangements here and in thecountry districts,'and my special thanks aredue to him; also to Miss Lewis Pitt fora sale of postcards at the schools, whichbrought me in £7 16s. lljrf., and to anotherfriend who collected £5 Os. lid.

Through the generosity of Miss EleanorRatclifie, who gave a dance at the Lodge, Ihave already had over £40 sent to me. I hopeboth Miss Ratcliffe and her staff, and MissJackman and Captain Street will accept mysincerest thanks for all the trouble and timethey gave in order to help our men at sea.

I understand that all the money is not yetin from some of the outlying districts, butas soon as possible the total sum will bepublished.

Thanking you for your kindness in insertingthis, Believe me,

Very gratefully yours,(Signed) EDITH ASTLEY ROBERTS.

Badlesmere, •6th August, 1920.

Deal.William Stanton, the Coxswain of

the Reserve Life-boat, died at Deal onthe 19th September last, in his seventieth

year. He developed cancer in thethroat and tongue a year ago, and it

I will be remembered that he was awardedI the Bronze Medal of the Institution for) his gallantry in taking out the Life-boat during the terrible storms at thebeginning of November last year,although he not only knew that he was

[ seriously ill, but was actually in bed atthe time waiting to go to a London

' hospital for an operation in the courseof a day or two. The operation wasperformed, and Stanton was able to bepresent at the Annual General Meetinglast April to receive his Bronze Medal,but the disease was only checked, and,

j although able occasionally to go afloat,he was never the same man again. His

, work as a Life-boat man goes back for' fifty years, and during that time heshared in the rescue of hundreds of

I lives. The Reserve Life - boat wasstationed at Deal in 1915, and Stantonwas its first Coxswain, receiving theSilver Medal of the Institution for

j a splendid attempt to succour theAmerican steamship Sibiria which wentaground on the Goodwins in November1916. This was one of the special casesin which the Committee of Mauage-

I ment considered that the courage, skilland endurance shown by the crewjustified a special award, although theNorth Deal Boat did not succeed intaking off any of the Siberia's crew,who were rescued later by the Kings-downe Life-boat. No man knew theGoodwins better than Stanton, and hehad a great reputation as a fisher ofconger eels. It is evidence of the genuineadmiration which the public have forthe achievements of the Life-boat crewsthat the news of Stanton's death and therecord of his services were published inthe press all over the British Isles,appearing in papers even in the farnorth of Scotland.

Bury.A Meeting in connexion with the

Branch was held on the 20th September,which was specially attended by SirGodfrey Baring, Bt., the Deputy-Chairman of the Institution, for thepurpose of presenting Mr. H. T. Bull,the retiring Honorary Secretary of the


Branch, with the Gold Pendant and theRecord of Thanks awarded to him bythe Committee of Management. TheMayor of Bury (Alderman Rothwell)presided, and said that he felt that theInstitution deserved all the support thatthey could give it. In making thepresentation Sir Godfrey Baring saidthat by the retirement of Mr. Bull theInstitution was losing a helper who hadrendered valuable services to the Life-boat Cause, and who, for many years,had been an admirable Secretary to theBury Branch. In his reply, Mr. Bullrecalled the fact that Bury's first efforton behalf of the Institution had beenmade in 1892, and pointed out thatthe expenses of the Branch hadnever exceeded eight per cent. Mr. 1ST.Crompton was formally elected HonorarySecretary in succession to Mr. Bull.

Derby.On. the 5th October a meeting of the

Ladies' Auxiliary was held at whichMr. Solomon, the District OrganisingSecretary for the Midlands, on behalfof the Committee of Management, pre-sented to Lady Ann, J.P., the Presidentof the Ladies' Auxiliary, the SilverInkstand and the Framed Certificatewhich had been awarded to her by theCommittee as some slight recognition ofher long and valuable services to theLife-boat Cause. In making the pre-sentation, Mr. Solomon said that fortwenty-two years Lady Ann had beenthe mainstay of the Ladies' Auxiliary,and had never failed to fill others withher enthusiasm for the work of theLife-boat Service. In her reply, LadyAnn said she greatly appreciated thehonour conferred upon her, but couldnot accept the gift without saying howmuch she was indebted to the loyalsupport of the ladies who made itpossible for Derby to hold such a goodposition in the list of contributingtowns. It gave her real pleasureto assist the Life - boat Institution,because in her earlier days she lived onthe coast and knew what rough weatherat sea meant to a disabled ship, and jnever couJd she forget the night that !nine brave Life-boat men—each knownto her from childhood—lost their livesin a gallant attempt to save the crew

of a vessel which sank after strikingthe rocks. As long as she lived shewould treasure the gift, and, as in the

1 past, would always do what her strengthpermitted in furthering the interest ofthis heroic work of life-saving fromshipwreck.

Tynemouth.On the 6th October a Public Meeting

was held for the purpose of presentingto Coxswain Robert Smith the FramedCertificate of Service which was awardedto him by the Committee of Manage-ment on his retirement after ten yearsas Coxswain of the Tynemouth Life-boat,

; during which time he had been awardedthe Gold Medal of the Institution for

i his service to the hospital ship RoMlla,I the Silver Medal and Silver Secondi Service Clasp, and the Thanks of the; Committee inscribed on Vellum. Hisconnexion with Life-boat work goesback over fifty years, and he took partwith Major Burton in experimenting

i with the first Motor Life-boat.In addition to the Certificate of

Service, Coxswain Smith was awardeda pension and a special gratuity of tenguineas in recognition of his special andvaluable services, while the people of

j Tynemouth have shown their apprecia-tion of his achievements by presentinghim with a pair of binoculars and acheque for £77.

Major H. E. Burton, R.E., Chairmanof the Tynemouth Branch and HonorarySuperintendent of the Motor Life-boat,presided. Major Burton, it will be

I remembered, was also awarded the Gold; Medal for the RoMlla service. Thepresentation was made by the Dukeof Northumberland, President of theBranch and a member of the Com-mittee of Management, and many pro-minent people and representatives ofTynemouth bodies were present. Among1

those supporting Major Burton'on theplatform were the Mayor (AldermanWilliam Hutchinson), Rear - AdmiralSlayter, C.B., R.N., Admiral Superin-tendent of Ihe Tyne District, Mr.William Dodds, Vice-Chairman of theBranch, and Mr. Ernest W. Swan, theHonorary Secretary. M. S. Malcolm,President of the Tyne Life-boat Society,and representatives of the TynemouthVolunteer Life Brigade were also


present. The Duke of Northumberland,in the course of his speech, referred tothe increasing cost of maintaining theLife-boat Service, and appealed to thegreat shipping community of the TyneDistrict to do its duty by the Institu-tion and to show in a practical way itsgratitude to the Service.

In returning thanks for the presenta-tions, Coxswain Smith said that he hadnever had a wrong word with anymember of his crew. They were asplendid lot of fellows, and had alwaysobeyed orders.

Anstruther.The Annual Meeting of the Branch

was held on the 16th October last, andthe Chairman referred with great regretto the death, four days previously, ofMrs. A. M. Watson, an Honorary Vice-President of the Institution, and oneof its very generous benefactors, whopresented to it the money out of whichthe Anstruther Life-boat, the James andMary Walker, was built in 1904, andevery year since its launching has givena subscription of £10 to the Branch.She never ceased to show a continuousand sympathetic interest in the workof the Station and the achievementsof its crew. The Meeting decided torecord in the Minutes its regret at herdeath, and its gratitude for all that shehad done for the Life-Boat Cause.

Manchester and Salford.A most successful matinee in aid of

the Institution was held on the 22ndOctober. It was organised by the LordMayor—the first Labour Lord Mayorwhom the City has had—and raisedthe splendid sum of over £816. Thematinee was held at the "Palace," thedirectors of which not only gave theuse of the theatre, but arranged the per-formance, while artistes from theatres inManchester, Salford, Eccles, Liverpooland Birkenhead gave their services.Thus there was not one penny of expenseincurred, and the whole of the proceedswill go to the benefit of the Life-boatService. The Lord Mayor himself was,unfortunately, not able to be present,but his box was occupied by the LadyMayoress and the Mayor and Mayoressof Blackpool. Both the north-westand the north-east coasts were repre-

sented, the former by the Life-boat| Silver Band of Blackpool, and the: latter by Coxswain Robert Smith ofTynemouth, one of the heroes of theBohilla service, both of whom con-tributed greatly to the success of theperformance, and were enthusiasticallyreceived.

Blackpool's Life-boat Band.

In the August issue attention wasdrawn to the " Land Services " cheerfullygiven by the Crew of the CresswellLife-boat in connexion with the Ashing-ton procession. It is a pleasure to record

i the indebtedness of the Institution tothe Blackpool Life-boat Crew which hasgiven to Blackpool the distinction ofbeing the only Branch of the Institutionwith a Life-boat Band. It was onlylast December that the Band was playingin the streets of the town when the

! signal was fired, and the Band, forsakingits instruments, hurried off to play asterner part, by going out on a servicewhich lasted eight hours. In connexionwith Manchester's most successful Life-boat Matinee, the Blackpool Band per-formed a most useful " Land Service."

i It went over to Manchester, playedselections in St. Ann's Square, and after-wards delighted a crowded house withits rendering of " Maritana." It ispleasant also to record that the Bandwas taken from Blackpool to Man-chester and back by a generous chara-banc proprietor without charge, andthat it was entertained to luncheonby the Lord Mayor, and to tea by theManchester Limited Restaurant.

Ramsgate.

This year, for the firsi time sincebefore the war, the triennial dinner toLife-boat men was held, provided out ofthe legacies for that purpose left byAdmiral Sir George Back and Mrs.Susanna Stephens. Mr. George F. Shee,the Secretary of the Institution, presided,and was supported by the Mayor (Coun-cillor R. W. Philpott), the Rev. E. L. A.Hertslet (the Vicar of Ramsgate), theRev. J. H. Askwith, and Captain F. S.Symons (the Harbour Master and theHon. Secretary of the Ramsgate Branch).Altogether about eighty sat down tothe dinner, among them five of the


survivors of the famous Ramsgate crewwhich went to the rescue of the IndianChief in 1881. It was announced atthe dinner that the sixth survivor,Harry Meader, had died that day.

In proposing the toast of the Institu-tion, Mr. Hertslet recalled the fact thatin 1851 the prize offered by the Dukeof Northumberland for the best Life-boat design had been won, amongnearly three hundred sent in, by Mr. iHenry Beeching, of Yarmouth, and thathis boat, the first genuine self-rightingLife-boat ever built, had been purchasedby the Harbour Trustees of Ramsgate,and did splendid service for many years.

In replying to the toast, Mr. Sheespoke of the magnificent courage andseamanship of the Life-boat crews,mentioning in particular the names ofthe Ramsgate Coxswains, Hogbiii,Jarman, Fish, William Cooper, thepresent Coxswain, who has held the postfor nearly thirty years, and Captain Eastof the tug Aid. Were he a Ramsgate '

man there was nothing of which he wouldi be prouder than the fact that no Life-boat Station on the coast had a moresplendid record.

In the absence of Coxswain Cooper,the Second Coxswain, T. Reed, replied,and expressed the regret which Life-boatmen felt that their work did not

< receive more recognition from theI residents of Ramsgate itself. The Mayoralso spoke, and said that, during hisyear of office, he was eager to help theLife-boat Cause. He was sure that thepeople of Ramsgate would show theirappreciation of the work of their Station,and that the Ramsgate press would notbe behind the papers of other to svns inmaking public the achievements andclaims of the Service.

i It is pleasant to be able to reportthat Darne Janet Stancomb Wills,O.B.E , one of the leading residents ofRamsgate, is issuing a special and

! personal appeal to the town oa behalfof the Institution.

Centenary of the Institution, 1924.Appeal to Honorary Secretaries.

THE Secretary of the Institution pro-poses, if possible, to compile its historyfor publication in 1924, and he will bemost grateful to all Honorary Secre-taries, especially of Station Branches,for every assistance which they may begood enough to afford in connexion withthe history of then- respective Branches(Stations), and for photographs dealingwith such history, e.g., photographsof past coxswains, previous Life-boatHouses, past Life - boats, and othervaluable records. All such documentsshould be marked " Centenary Records,"and should have an accurate descrip-tion, with names, dates, etc. It ishoped that they can be placed per-manently at the disposal of the Insti-tution, but, where it is particularlydesired, every effort would be made to

return them eventually. In the case ofphotographs, it should also be statedon each photograph if it is necessaryto obtain permission to reproduce itand, if so, to whom such applicationshould be made.

It is also proposed to form a Life-boat Exhibition, which is to be madeone of the prominent features of theCentenary Celebrations. For thisExhibition the Secretary will be veryglad to receive any relics which can beprocured from vessels which have becometotal wrecks. Such relics, if large,should be sent direct to the Store-yard,marked " Centenary " on the outside,and with a strong linen label attached,inside, containing full particulars.

This notice will appear in every futureissue of The Life-Boat until 1923.

NOTICE.The next number of THE LIFE-BOAT will be published in February, 1921.

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