THE LIFEBOAT....She is the gif ot f the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, which i,t sinc wa estabes -...

THE LIFEBOAT.

The Journal of the Royal National Life-boat Institution.

VOL. XXVII.-No. 299.] SEPTEMBER, 1929. [PRICE 6d.

Inaugural Ceremonies of Motor Life-boats.Southend-on-Sea, Essex and The Humber, Yorkshire.

LIEUTENANT H.R.H. PRINCE GEORGE,E.G., G.C.V.O., R.N., named the MotorLife-boat which was sent last autumnto Southend-on-Sea, on 8th July last,the name given to the boat being GreaterLondon. It will be remembered thatjust a year before, Prince George wentspecially to the Orkneys to name thenew Stromness and Longhope MotorLife-boats.

There has been a Life-boat Station atSouthend since 1879, and it has therecord of 160 lives rescued from ship-wreck. The present boat is the sixth tobe built for the Station. She is of theEamsgate type, specially designed in1926 for those Stations where the Life-boats may have to travel considerabledistances and to work over sands, andis a combination of the Watson, acruising type, and the Norfolk andSuffolk, a shallow-draft type. She is48 feet 6 inches x 13 feet, with twinscrews and two 40-h.p. engines. She hasa speed of 8£ knots and a radius ofaction of over 70 miles.

She is the gift of the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, which, since it was estab-lished in 1866, has contributed over£78,000 to the Institution, and is theeighth Life-boat to be provided andendowed out of the Fund. Of the eight,five are Motor Life-boats, and arestationed at Margate, North Deal,Maryport, Dun Laoghaire (Kingstown),and Southend-on-Sea. During the sixty-two years of the Fund, 1,266 lives havebeen rescued from shipwreck, and 54boats and vessels saved, by Civil ServiceLife-boats.

Prince George, who travelled down byroad from London, was received at theborough boundary by the Lord-Lieu-

tenant of Essex (Brigadier-General R. B.Colvin, C.B., T.D., J.P.), and the Mayorof Southend (Mr. R. H. Thurlow Baker).The Mayor presided at the Ceremony,and among those taking part in it werethe Right Hon. Lord Southborough,P.C., G.C.B., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O.,K.C.S.I. (Chairman of the Civil ServiceLife-boat Fund), the Countess of Iveagh,C.B.E., M.P. for Southend, the Earl ofIveagh, C.B., C.M.G., D.L., the Bishopof Chelmsford (the Right Rev. H. A.Wilson, D.D.), the Hon. George Colville(Deputy-Chairman of the Committee ofManagement), Alderman Sir JohnFrancis, J.P. (Chairman of the SouthendBranch), Mr. George F. Shee, M.A.(Secretary of the Institution), andCaptain Howard F. J. Rowley, C.B.E.,R.N. (Chief Inspector of Life-boats).The singing was led by the Choir fromPrittlewen Church and the Pier Band.

When the Prince arrived at the pier anumber of presentations were made tohim, including the Coxswain, Mr. GeorgeMurrell. The Prince then presented toAlderman F. Britain (Honorary Sec-retary of the Branch), the inscribedBinocular Glass which had been awardedto him by the Institution.

The Ceremony opened with the hymn" Eternal Father, Strong to Save,"and Lord Southborough, on behalf ofthe Civil Service Life-boat Fund, pre-sented the Life-boat to the Institution.In doing so he spoke of the late Mr. W.Fortescue Barratt, the Honorary Sec-retary of the Fund, who, even after heretired, continued to work whole-heartedly for the Life-boat Service.This new Life-boat, the first to be pre-sented to the Institution by the Fundsince Mr. Barratt's death, would carry

306 THE LIFEBOAT. [SEPTEMBER, 1929.

an inscription plate, recording the ser-vices of their friend and colleague to theLife-boat Cause. He then presented theboat to the Institution on behalf of theCivil Servants of the country, in fullconfidence that she would carry on thegreat traditions of the Life-boat Service.

In accepting the boat Mr. Colville ex-pressed the deep gratitude of the Insti-tution to the Civil Service. He thenformally entrusted her to AldermanFrancis (Chairman of the Branch), andafter Captain Rowley (Chief Inspectorof Life-boats) had described the boat,the Bishop of Chelmsford dedicated herto the glory of God and the service ofmankind.

THE PRINCE'S SPEECHPrince George then named the boat,

breaking a bottle of wine on her bows.In doing so he said :—

" There has always been a close andfriendly link between the Royal Familyand the Life-boat Service, ever since theRoyal National Life-boat Institutionwas established in 1824, when KingGeorge IV. became the first Patron.These ties have been strengthenedthroughout the century, as the Institu-tion has developed the great nationalservice entrusted to it, and the Life-boatCrews have shown, by the constantexample of their heroism and human-ity, their readiness at all times to launchtheir boats to the assistance of those inperil on the sea.

" At the present moment, His Majestythe King is the Supreme Patron of theInstitution, and the Prince of Wales, thePresident, has always taken the keenestinterest in the Institution and the wel-fare of the Service. (Cheers.)

" This would be quite a sufficientreason why I should be pleased to bepresent to-day at the inauguration ofthis splendid Life-boat which bears thename Greater London. But, as a matterof fact, there are three reasons whichadd very definitely to my pleasure.

"As a naval officer, I have beenbrought into close touch with the tradi-tions of the Senior Service. I know howdeeply the Royal Navy sympathisewith the spirit that animates the Life-boat Crews and how much they admire

not merely the heroism of these men, butthe seamanship and the skill with whichthey carry out their arduous duties.

" Secondly, it fell to me last year, atthe special request of His Majesty, togo from London to the Orkneys in orderto name two Life-boats in those distantislands, at Stromness and Longhope—two splendid Motor Life-boats, one ofthem of the very latest type. In thisway, I might say I was initiated into theLife-boat Service and it was, I think, ahappy arrangement that I stayed in theFlagship of the Atlantic Fleet in orderto carry out my pleasant duty.

" These are, I am sure you will agree,very good reasons why I should welcomethe invitation to name this fine boatto-day. But there is a third which maynot have occurred to you, but which isvery interesting to me. I have recentlybeen appointed to the Civil Service andit is my privilege—and one which Ivalue very highly—to be a member ofthe staff of the Foreign Office. Myacquaintance with the duties of theCivil Service and my brief contact withsome of its members have already con-firmed the reputation which this greatbody of men holds in the mind of thenation for their devotion to duty andtheir high integrity of character. Inthis way I feel that I have some claim,however slender, to be here to-day asone of the great body of men and women,who, by their generosity and in thespirit of public service, have presentedthis magnificent boat to the RoyalNational Life-boat Institution. As Isaid on a previous occasion, I think fewthings are more highly creditable to theCivil Service than that they should havedecided many years ago that there wasone great national object, characteristicof the best qualities of our race andyet carried out on a purely voluntarybasis, which deserved their steadysupport, namely, the Life-boat Service.(Cheers.)

" As a result of that decision, theyhave, in the course of years, presented tothe Institution and maintained, a littlefleet of Life-boats, always the best oftheir respective kind and type, andalways maintained by them at thehighest standard of efficiency. This is

SEPTEMBER, 1929.] THE LIFEBOAT. 307

By courtesy of I \Central

H.R.H. PRINCE GEORGE NAMING THE "GREATER LONDON."

By courtesy of]'CITY OF BRADFORD H."

[The Yorkshire Observer.

Sir William Priestley at the helm. On his left, Mrs. Moss Howson ; on his* right, the Lord Mayor ofBradford and the Lady Mayoress ; behind him, Mr. G. G. Stephenson. Lord Deramore is on the left of thepicture, and Coxswain Cross on the right. In the background (wearing his chain of office) the Mayor of

Bridlington.

308 THE LIFEBOAT. [SEPTEMBER,

the eighth Life-boat which the CivilService has presented, and, like itsimmediate predecessors, it is a MotorLife-boat of the latest type. In thisboat, which bears a great name, theGreater London, the Civil Service has aboat worthy of tLe Life-boat Service,worthy of the Crew which is called uponto man her and worthy of the great bodyof men and women—the Civil Serviceof Great Britain and Ireland—whosegenerosity she represents. She hasalready been launched on service sixtimes and has saved four lives.

'' I have now great pleasure in namingher the Greater London, and I wish herand her gallant Crew Godspeed on theservice to mankind to which she isdedicated." (Loud cheers.)

THE PRINCE'S SPEECH AT THE LUNCHEON.At the conclusion of the Ceremony,

the Prince opened the new arm of thepier, and he and the principal guestswere then entertained to luncheon bythe Mayor. In replying to the toast ofhis health proposed by the Mayor, thePrince said :—

" I much appreciate the kind way inwhich you have proposed my health andthank you all for the cordial way inwhich you have honoured the toast.This is the first time that I have visitedSouthend and I hope that my visit hereto-day will be taken as another proof ofthe keen interest that all the membersof my family take in the Life-boats pro-vided by the Institution and in thesplendid Crews that man them. I alsohope that the naming of this boat,which has been formally pledged to theservice of humanity with the blessingand the sanction of a religious ceremony,will lead to a great increase of interestin, and support for, the Life-boatStation at Southend.

" Indeed, I venture to go a littlefurther and to hope that my visit maylead to the boys and girls of the South-end schools entering with fresh zest intothe essay competition which is heldevery year throughout Great Britainand Ireland, and in connexion withwhich six challenge shields are pre-sented. I am encouraged in this hopeby what has followed on mv visit to the

Orkneys last summer. In that year thechallenge shield for Scotland was wonby a girl in the Orkneys, and two boysfrom Orkney schools won certificates,only thirty-five of which are given in eachof the six districts. (Applause.) Thisyear, I hear, the Challenge Shield forScotland has been won by a boy in theShetlands, and the Orkney schools havewon no fewer than seven of the thirty-five certificates awarded. I am very gladto hear that my visit to the Orkneys hasaroused so much interest and healthyambition among the boys and girls,not only in the Orkneys, but in theShetlands. For such an interest is notonly very welcome to the Institution,but I am sure you will all agree with methat there are few better examples thatwe can put before British boys and girlsas the model of everything that a goodcitizen should be than the men whoman our Life-boats. (Applause.) Andif this is the case with the children ofthe hardy islanders of the far Orkneysand Shetlands, it is probably even moretrue in the case of the boys and girls ofa crowded and prosperous town likeSouthend.

" It was this that the Institution had jin mind when it set the subject for the jcompetition this year. The subject was' What are the qualities of the Life-boatman which make him an example ofgood citizenship ? ' I wonder how manyof us here would like to have suddenlyto write an essay on that subject. Idoubt if I should. But it had no terrorsfor the boys and girls and, even withoutbeing a patron of letters, one can enjoythe amusing and clever and even wisethings which some of them wrote. Oneof the \\ riters sums it up in a way whichwill appeal to the Mayor and town coun-cillors of Southend. ' He is a man,'writes this essayist, ' who gives hisservices to the public the same asborough councillors do.' (Laughter andApplause.) Speaking in the presence ofso distinguished a number of boroughcouncillor?, I feel that praise can hardlygo further than this, and, although thereis, perhaps, some difference betwesn theLife-boatman and the borough coun-cillor, I thiiik we can all say we admirethem both. (Laughter and Applause.)


Before resuming my seat, I must thankyou, Mr. Mayor, for your kind hospi-tality, which I much appreciate."(Loud applause.)

The toast of the Eoyal National Life-boat Institution was proposed byCouncillor H. W. Richardson (Chairmanof the Pier Committee). In responding,Mr. Colville described the developmentsbeing made by motor power in the Life-boat Service, and the consequent greatincrease in the cost of maintaining it.He congratulated Southend on carryingout an excellent Life-boat Day, but saidthat it had not a very good list of annualsubscribers, and he appealed to more ofits population of over 100,000 to con-tribute 5*. a year. Mr. Colville thenproposed the toast of the Mayor.

Before returning to London, PrinceGeorge visited Shoeburyness, where heopened the Children's ConvalescentSunshine Home.

The Humber (Yorkshire).As a special Centenary gift to the

Institution in 1924 the City of Bradfordraised £10,000, in addition to its annualcontributions to the general funds, andthis gift was used to provide a 45-feetWatson Motor Life-boat for the Stationat Spurn Point, on the Humber. ThisBoat was built in 1923, and was namedCity of Bradford. It has since beendecided that the Humber should beprovided with a boat of the improvedand more powerful Watson Cabin type.This new boat was completed and wentto the Station this year, while the otherboat is the first Motor Life-boat to beput in the Institution's Reserve Fleet.

The new Humber boat has been builtout of another special gift from Bradfordamounting to £4,800, combined with alegacy of £5,000 received from the lateMr. Moss Howson, of Harrogate. She isnamed City of Bradford II, while theboat in the Reserve Fleet will now becalled City of Bradford I.

As Spurn Point is very remote, theInaugural Ceremony was held at Brid-lington on 6th July. The Lord Dera-more, T.D., J.P. (Lord-Lieutenant forthe East Riding of Yorkshire), presided,and among those taking part in theceremony were the Lord Mayor of Brad-

ford (Alderman H. Thornton Pullan),who was accompanied by the LadyMayoress, Sir William Priestley, J.P.(a Vice-President of the Institution andChairman of the Bradford Branch), SirHenry Sutcliffe-Smith (Honorary Secre-tary of the Bradford Branch), theMayor of Bridlington (Alderman C. H.Gray, J.P., Joint Honorary Secretaryof the Bridlington Branch), the RuralDean of Bridlington (the Rev. J. Top-ham), the Rev. G. V. Britton (Presidentof the Free Church Council of Bradford),Mrs. Moss Howson, Mr. H. Royal Daw-son (Joint Honorary Secretary of the IBridlington Branch)," Mr. G. G. Stephen-son (Honorary Secretary of the Harro-gate Branch), and about 150 membersof the Bradford Branch and Ladies'Life-boat Guild. The singing was ledby the Excelsior Prize Silver Band.

The Ceremony opened with a hymn,followed by prayer by the Rev. G. V.Britton. The Lord Mayor of Bradfordthen presented the Life-boat to theInstitution in the name of the twodonors, Mr. Moss Howson and the Cityof Bradford. In doing so he said thatthey were all proud of what Bradfordhad done for the Life-boat Service.The trade of their city was largely aforeign trade, dependent on ships andthe brave men who manned them.Remembering that, they were glad todo all that they could to support thosewho were ever ready to help theircomrades in peril on the sea.

In accepting the Life-boat on behalfof the Institution, Sir William Priestleysaid that besides making this special giftthe Bradford Branch was fifth in thelist of Branches in its contributions tothe general funds of the Institution. Solong as Bradford existed it would doeverything possible to support the Life-boat Service.

The Rural Dean of Bridlington dedi-cated the Life-boat, and after the singingof a hymn Lieut.-Commander P. E.Vaux, D.S.C., R.N., District Inspectorof Life-boats, described her.

Mrs. Moss Howson then named theLife-boat City of Bradford II.

A vote of thanks to Mrs. Moss Howsonwas proposed by the Lord Mayor ofBradford and seconded by Sir Henry


Sutcliffe Smith. Mr. G. G. Stephenson(Honorary Secretary of the HarrogateBranch) replied on Mrs. Moss Howson'sbehalf. He recalled that though Brad-ford claimed Mr. Moss Howson as aBradford man, he had lived at Harro-gate for thirty-five years, so that Harro-gate claimed him also. He had been oneof the earliest subscribers to the Harro-gate Branch, and it was many years agothat he had first discussed leaving theInstitution a legacy to provide a Life-boat.

A vote of thanks to the chairman wasproposed by Canon William Barker andseconded by Councillor Victor Waddi-love. In replying, Lord Deramore

spoke of the splendid record of theYorkshire coast in life-saving. It hadfifteen stations, and six of them—Red-car, Scarborough, Whitby, Filey, Brid-lington and Spurn—had been in exist-ence for over a century. Since completerecords of lives rescued had begun to bekept in 1850, Yorkshire Life-boats hadrescued 2,300 lives.

A vote of thanks to the Mayor ofBridlington was proposed by Mr. J. G.Hutchinson and seconded by Miss NoraGrainger (Assistant Secretary of theBradford Branch). The Life-boat thenwent for a short cruise with a number ofthe visitors on board, and they werethen entertained to tea by the Mayor.

The End of Steam.Record of the Six Steam Life-boats and the "Helen Peele" of Padstow.

LAST spring, when the Motor Life-boatPrincess Mary was sent to Padstow, thelarger of the two Pulling and SailingLife-boats at that station, and theSteam Tug, Helen Peele, were with-drawn from service, while the smallerLife-boat will, later on, be replaced by alight Motor Life-boat. With the HelenPeele, the last of the steam-driven boatsin the Institution's Fleet has gone.For nearly forty years steam has playedan important, though restricted, partin the Life-boat Service, and now thatit has given way entirely to petrol, itshould receive its valedictory notice inthe Institution's Journal.

The first Steam Life-boat, the Dukeof Northumberland, was completed in1890, being stationed first at Harwich,

then at Holyhead, and then at NewBrighton, returning later to Holyhead.Altogether six Steam Life-boats werebuilt, although there were never morethan four in service at the same time,for the size and weight of these boatsnecessarily confined their use to thoseStations where they could be safelykept at moorings.

The last of these Life-boats was theJames Stevens No. 3, built in 1898.She remained on service at Holy-headuntil the autumn of last year, when shewas withdrawn to make way for aMotor Life-boat. Thus for thirty-eightyears there were Steam Life-boats inthe Institution's Fleet. They went outon service 468 times. They rescued673 lives. These figures show the

Xame.

Duke of Northumber-land.

City of GlasgowQueenJames Stevens So. 3

City of Glasgow Xo. 2James Steren-s Xo. 4

Period ofService. Stations.

1890-1923 Harwich, Holyhead, NewBrighton.

1894-1901 Harwich, Corleston1897-1924 New Brighton1898-1928 Grimsby, Gorlcston, Angle,

Totland Bay, Dover, Holy-head . . . .

1901-1917 Harwich .1899-1900 Padstow . . . .(wrecked)

Launches.

175

2681

83994

468

LivesRescued.

295

32196

54


value of their work, restricted though itwas, in the years before the coming ofthe internal-combustion engine gavethe Life-boat Service mechanical powerin a form which could be adapted to itsgeneral needs. The table on page 310shows their individual record.

The Steam Tug, Helen Peele, remainedin the Service some months longer thanthe last of the Steam Life-boats, leavingit at the end of last April. She wasbuilt in 1901, specially for the conditionsof Life-boat work at Padstow. Theyear before, the new Steam Life-boatat Padstow had capsized on service,with the loss of eight of her crew, andit had been decided not to replace herwith another Steam Life-boat. At thesame time some special provision hadto be made for the dangerous, rock-bound coast between Land's End andthe Bristol Channel. There are fewplaces on it where Life-boats can bestationed, and it was essential that theLife-boats at Padstow should be able tocover a big stretch of coast. This,with the help of the Helen Peele, theyhave been able to do. Padstow hashad two Pulling and Sailing Life-boats,both of the self-righting type, and theTug has worked with the larger of thetwo, the Edmund Harvey. During theirtwenty-eight years of joint service theyhave rescued 78 lives, while working byherself the Helen Peele has rescued 10lives. From December, 1917, to January,1919, she was on war-service as a rescue-tug with the Grand Fleet, and duringthat time rescued another 11 lives—99 lives in all.

A Medal Service.

She ended her long Life-boat careerwith one of the finest services in herrecord. In the early morning of 27thNovember, 1928, when a gale was blow-ing with a very heavy sea, it was reportedthat a Port Isaac motor fishing boatwas at sea. The Helen Peele went outin search of her. With the help ofher searchlight she found Our Girlieanchored close to the shore near PortQuin, and in great danger, for if hercable had parted the heavy seas wouldhave flung her at once on the rocks.The Master of the Tug ordered the

oil to be turned on, and this smoothedthe seas considerably. He thenstood boldly in to within 200 yardsof the rocks, in only two or threefathoms of water, and by manoeuvringthe Tug skilfully rescued the crew. Inthe darkness and shallow water, withthe heavy sea running, it was an opera-tion of great difficulty and danger, forhad the tug touched the rocks, it wouldhave been fatal. The rescue was icompleted only just in time. Immedi- ;ately afterwards the cable of the fishing jboat parted, she was carried on to the jrocks, and became a complete wreck. [For this gallant service the Master of !the Tug, Mr. J. Atkinson, was awarded |the Institution's Bronze Medal, which jwas presented to him at the Annual :Meeting held in London last spring.

The 'Helen Peele is classed 100 Al atLloyds, and has probably many yearsof useful service before her. She hasnow become a tender to the big yachtson the Clyde, but her Life-boat workwill not be forgotten, nor has it entirelycome to an end, for she carries a brassplate with the record on it of her Life-boat work, and also, by the kindness ofher present owner, a Life-boat collectingbox. By going to Scotland after nearlythirty years' service on the English coast,she is returning home. For she wasdesigned by the late Mr. G. L. Watson,of the Glasgow firm of yacht-designers,who was the Institution's ConsultingNaval Architect, and she was built atLeith. Her bell remains at Padstow,where it will hang in the Institute.

The Helen Peele left Padstow for theClyde on 2nd May last, and theHonorary Secretary of the Stationwrote : " I, with a large number ofother people, gave her a good send-off,and as she proceeded down the river itwas to many a very sad occasion, likelosing an old friend. All the trawlershad their whistles going as well as theHelen Peele, and we watched theprocession of the six trawlers, headedby the Helen Peele, out to sea, until shewas only a speck on the horizon."

As the Helen Peele put to sea fromPadstow for the last time, with herescort of six trawlers, steam passed outof the Institution's Fleet.


A Life-boatman's Generosity.Mr. Richard Cowling, late Signalman of Scarborough.

IT is not only on the seas that Life-boat-men show the fine stuff of which theyare made, and we feel sure that thefollowing story will be read with asmuch pleasure and pride as any storyof gallantry and devotion in the actualwork of rescue.

Mr. Richard Cowling, of Scarborough,retired at the end of 1928, after servingfor thirty-four years as a member of theScarborough Life-boat Crew, and thenfor fourteen years as Signalman. Hewas awarded a Life-boatman's certrficateof service, and also a pension, on the usualscale, in recognition of 1m services asSignalman. These pensions, as workersfor the Institution know, are given toCoxswains, Second Coxswains, Bowmenand Signalmen, that is. to those who havecertain regular duties to perform in con-nexion with the Station, and for theseduties receive a retaining fee, in additionto the rewards which they, and therest of the Crew, receive for every serviceor exercise launch in which they takepart. The signalman's scale of pensionis 3s. for each year of service, so thatMr. Cowling's pension amounts to£2 0,s. 6


The Rye Life-boat Disaster.The Mayor of Rye's Fund; Mcmcrials to the Seventeen Life-boatmen.

ON 22nd June a meeting was heldbetween the Attorney-General (SirWilliam* Jowitt, E.G.) and the Trusteesof the Fund which the Mayor of Ryeraised for the dependents of the 17 Life-boatmen of Rye Harbour who lost theirlives when the Life-boat capsized onservice on 15th November last. At thismeeting the Attorney-General put be-fore the Trustees the following schemefor the distribution of the Fund, whichamounted to about £34,500.

" (1) Capital grant to be made forth-with as follows : £1,000 to each of thefive widows ; £250 to the parent orparents of each unmarried son lost inthe disaster. This would involve acapital expenditure of £8,000, being£5,000 to widows, and £3,000 toparents.

" (2) The balance of the Fund, whichwill then amount to about £25,000, is tobe handed over to the Public Trusteefor administration by him. He will beassisted by a local committee, consistingof seven persons whose names have beenpreviously agreed.

" (3) The Public Trustee, acting onthe advice of this committee, will ad-minister the Fund so as to secure themaximum benefits to the dependents,and to i ee that there is on the one handno premature exhaustion of the Fund,and on the other hand no undue accu-mulation which would result in a tontinefor the ultimate survivors, or any un-disposed of surplus.

" (4) A trust deed will be prepareddefining the powers of the Public Trusteeas to administration, involving thepower to make further capital grantsand to settle the question of who aredependents. The details of the trustdeed will be settled by the Trustees inconsultation with the Public Trusteeand Mr. Idle [the solicitor representingsome of the dependents of the Life-boatmen] with power to consult theAttorney-General should any difficultiesarise."

This scheme was fully approved bythe Trustees and was accepted by thedependents of the 17 Life-boatmen.

Two Memorials.

A memorial tablet made of Manx stonehas been presented to Rye HarbourChurch by the people of the Isle ofMan. It was unveiled on 24th Juneby Sir Claude Hill, K.C.S.I., C.I.E.,Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Man,and was consecrated by the Bishop ofChichester (the Very Rev. G. K. A.Bell, D.D.). A special form of servicewas conducted by the Vicar of RyeHarbour (Rev. H. Newton) assisted bythe Vicar of Peasmarsh (Rev. E. T.Clarke, M.A., R.D.), and Lady MaudWarrender sang " 0 Rest in theLord." Among those present was theMayor of Rye (Counciller L. A. Vidler,J.P.), and the church was filled withmembers of the families of the seventeenmen.

In unveiling the tablet Sir ClaudeHill said that it was a message of loveand sympathy to the people of RyeHarbour from that small island, set inthe midst of the storms of the Irish Sea,which was the home of Sir WilliamHillary, and the birthplace of the RoyalNational Life-boat Institution whichhe had founded.

Besides this tablet at Rye Harbour,a memorial stained-glass window hasbeen placed in Winchelsea Church.The window is the work of Mr. DouglasStrachan, who executed the stained-glass windows which were Great Britain'sgift to the Palace of Peace at The Hague.It depicts a Life-boat putting out to aship in distress, while figures on theshore watch it as it goes. The windowwas unveiled on 6th July by theRight Rev. R. S. Fyffe, D.D., lateBishop of Rangoon, and the ceremonywas attended by the Mayors and Cor-porations of Rye and Winchelsea, andmany relatives of the seventeen Life-boatmen.

H 2

314 THE LIFEBOAT. [SEPTEMBER, 1929

Life-boat Emergency Committees.A Suggestion to Stations.

WE should like to call the attention ofStation Branches to an arrangementwhich has recently been made at Blyth,Northumberland. There are twoHonorary Secretaries at this Station,but in order that their duties may beefficiently carried on if they should bothbe absent, and that the Coxswain orMotor Mechanic may always have some-one in authority to go to for adviceand help, the Committee of the Branchhas set up an Emergency Committee,

consisting of three of its members. ThisCommittee will act in the absence orillness of the Honorary Secretaries, andis composed of three practical seamen,the Harbour Master, a Pilot and a TowingCompany Manager. We hope thatwherever practicable other stations willfollow Blyth's example. Such anarrangement should be of great help tothe Honorary Secretary, and relieve himof all difficulty in delegating his dutieswhen he is away from the Station.

The Last of the "Malvoisin.'IN the last issue of The Lifeboat we

gave an account of the Life-boat ser-vices to the British ketch, Malvoisin,which, built in 1883, was wrecked lastMay off Calais and broke up on the rocks.To the three services to this vesselmentioned in that account a fourthshould be added. On 14th March, 1914,the Malvoisin had her sails blown awayoff Harwich, in a moderate gale with arough sea. The Harwich Steam Life-boat went out to her help and found herlabouring heavily and unmanageable.The Life-boat succeeded in establishingcommunication between the ketch anda tug, and accompanied her while thetug towed her into Harwich. By thesemeans the ketch and her crew of fivewere saved.

The full record of services to thisvessel is as follows :—

January, 1905.—The Margate Life-boat rescued her crew of four at themouth of the Thames when she had lost

her rudder, and had had her sails blownaway in a gale. The ketch herself wasbrought in by a tug two days later.

March, 1914.—The Harwich SteamLife-boat helped to save the ketch andher crew of five when her sails had beenblown away in a gale.

November, 1925.—The Deal Life-boatrescued her crew of four when she hadanchored in the Downs in a gale withvery heavy seas. The ketch rode outthe gale and later on was brought intosafety.

March, 1926.—One of the AldeburghLife-boats stood by her all night, whenall her sails had been blown away, until,on the following morning she was takenin tow by the Fishery Protection Gun-boat and brought into Harwich.

It should be added that it was areader of The Lifeboat living in Cali-fornia who drew our attention to thefact that we had overlooked the servicein 1914.

The "Suevic.'The White Star liner Suevic has been

sold to a Norwegian firm, and is to beconverted into a floating whale-oilfactory. It was from this 12,000-tonliner that Life-boats rescued 456 livestwenty-two years ago. On the night of17th March, 1907, the Suevic, on herway home from Australia with 524persons on board, ran ashore on theMaenheere Reef off the Lizard. Therewas a dense fog, and a strong S.W. windwas blowing, with a heavy sea. TheLife-boats from Cadgwith, The Lizard,

Coverack and Porthleven were alllaunched. The work of rescue went onall night, in spite of the intense darkness,and by noon the next day 456 personshad been brought ashore. One hundredand sixty were women and children, andno fewer than sixty of these childrenwere under three years old, but all werelanded without accident. The remain-ing sixty-eight were taken in the ships'boats to tugs. Sir Silver Medals wereawarded by the Institution to those whotook part in the service.


Centenaries of Life-boat Stations.Presentation of Vellums signed by the Prince of Wales.

LAST year the Institution presentedVellums to seventeen Life-boat Stationswhich had been in existence for a cen-tury and over. Up to the end of Julythis year seven more Stations receivedthe same honour,* and since then Vellumshave been presented to several more, andaccounts of these presentations willappear in the next issue of The Lifeboat.

Each Vellum is signed by the Princeof Wales and bears a record, expressingthe Institution's appreciation of thevoluntary work of the Officers andCommittee and of the devotion andcourage of the Life-boat Crew.

The number of lives rescued and ofmedals awarded (as given in the follow-ing reports) is up to the date of theceremony, but it is not in every casepossible to give the total of lives fromthe date of the establishment of theStation, as the early records are notalways complete. The medals are ineach case all medals awarded to Life-boatmen and others from the foundationof the Institution in 1824.

Newcastle, Co. Down.One of the two places in Ireland at

which the Institution decided, imme-diately after it was founded, to placeLife-boats, was Dundrum Bay,] theother place being Courtmacsherry. Thefirst Dundrum Bay Life-boat wasstationed at Rossglass in 1825, and in1830 it was transferred to Newcastle.Altogether Newcastle has had sevenLife-boats. They have been out onservice 49 times, and have rescued99 lives, while two Gold Medals andeighteen Silver Medals have beenawarded to Life-boatmen and others forgallantry. In addition to these Medalsawarded by the Institution, the FrenchGovernment in 1905 presented a GoldMedal to Coxswain Foland for the rescueof the crew of a French barque.

The presentation ceremony took place

* The report of the presentation at Aber-deen in January appeared in the last issue ofThe Lifeboat.

on 13th May, the Rev. Otway Wood-ward (Chairman of the Branch) pre-siding. The presentation was made byMr. George F. Shee, M.A. (Secretary ofthe Institution), who paid a tribute tothe fine work done by the Station andto the gallantry of Irish Life-boatmen.The Vellum was received by Mr. Wood-ward, who then presented it to theChairman of the District Council forsafe keeping in the records of Newcastle.

Montrose, Forfarshire.Montrose was one of the earliest places

on the Scottish coast to have a Life-boatStation, being one of five places in Scot-land for which boats were provided atthe beginning of the nineteenth century,built by Henry Greathead, the builderof the first Life-boat, in 1789. Theother four are Aberdeen, Arbroath, St.Andrews and Ayr.

The first Montrose boat went to herStation in 1800, and since 1869 two Life-boats have been maintained at Mont-rose. Altogether Montrose has hadthirteen Life-boats, including the presentMotor Life-boat, built in 1926, andnamed by the Duchess of York. Theyhave been launched on service 259times, and have rescued 475 lives.Fourteen Silver Medals have beenawarded to Life-boatmen and others,nine of which were given for one Servicein 1832. In addition to these Medals,the Norwegian Government awardedMedals and Diplomas for a service toa Norwegian vessel in 1916.

The name which constantly appearsin the Life-boat records of Montrose isthat of Mearns. A Mearns was one ofthree captains with whom Greatheadhad consultations in 1807, when hebuilt a second boat for the Station. AMearns was among the nine men whoreceived Silver Medals for the Service in1832. The Coxswains of the two Life-boats in 1873 were each awarded theMedal for the rescue of the crew of thebrig Henriette, of Memel. They wereWilliam Mearns and William Mearns,junior, and the latest Medal to be


awarded in 1913, was won by DavidMearns, Master of the trawler Southesk.There are men of the same name in thepresent Life-boat Crew.

The presentation of the Vellum tookplace on 12th July on board the Pullingand Sailing Life-boat in the presence ofbetween 200 and 300 people. In theunavoidable absence of Major-GeneralSir Eobert Hutchison, K.C.M.G., C.B.,D.S.O., Member of Parliament for Mont-rose District, Provost W. D. Johnston,O.B.E. (Chairman of the Branch), pre-sided, and the presentation was made byMr. George F. Shee, M.A., Secretary ofthe Institution, in the absence of SirGodfrey Baring, Bart., Chairman of theCommittee of Management, and theDuke of Montrose, Chairman of theScottish Life-boat Council. In pre-senting the Vellum, Mr. Shee gave ashort history of the Station, and con-gratulated it on its splendid record. Inaccepting the Vellum on behalf of theTown Council, Provost Johnston saidthat it was a testimonial to the townwhich would be jealously guarded by theCouncil on behalf of the citizens ofMontrose.

St. Andrews, Fifeshire.

The St. Andrews Life-boat Station,like that at Montrose, was establishedin 1800, and including the first Life-boat, built by Greathead, the Stationhad had six Life-boats in all. They havebeen out on Service on 72 occasions, andhave rescued 140 lives. One Gold andeight Silver Medals have been awardedby the Institution to Life-boatmen andothers. In addition, ex-Coxswain Chis-holm, who won the Silver Medal in 1912for the rescue of the crew of nine of theSwedish barque Princess Wilhdmina,was awarded a medal by the SwedishGovernment.

The ceremony of presentation tookplace on 13th July, in the presence of anaudience of several hundred people,after the Life-boat had been drawn inparade through the town. Brigadier-General W. A. Oswald (Chairman of theBranch) presided, and the presentationwas made by Mr. George If. Shee, M.A.,Secretary of the Institution. Mr. Sheegave a brief history of the Station, paid

a tribute to the fine work of its Crews,and mentioned ex-Coxswain Chisholm,who was loudly cheered. The Vellumwas accepted by Provost Boase, whosaid that the town was proud to placeit among its archives.

Arbroath, Forfarshire.The Arbroath Station was established

in. 1802, being equipped, like Montroseand St. Andrews, with one of Great-head's Life-boats. Since then it has hadfour Life-boats, including the presentboat. The first of these four boats wasbuilt out of a fund raised by the DundeePeople's Journal. She was called People'sJournal No. 2, and served from 1865 to1888. People's Journal No. 1, built outof the same fund, went to Peterhead.The other three Arbroath boats havebeen built out of private gifts or legaciesto the Institution: Arbroath's Life-boats have a record of 90 launches and43 lives rescued. Two Gold Medals havebeen awarded, botb in Maieb. 1S2T, aadto the same man, a Coast-guard Officer.In 1905 the Coxswain, Second Coxswainand Bowman were presented with SilverWatches by the German Emperor, forthe rescue of five lives from the Germanschooner Gesine.

The presentation ceremony took placeon 13th July, on board the Life-boat, inthe presence of about 300 people. Ex-Provost A. M. Eobertson (Chairman ofthe Branch) presided, and the pre-sentation was made by Mr. George F.Shee, M.A., Secretary of the Institution,who paid a tribute to the Life-boatmenof Arbroath. In the absence of ProvostChapel, on account of illness, the Vellumwas accepted by Bailie Sherrifis onbehalf of the town, who spoke of thegallantry of the fishermen of Arbroath,from whom their Life-boat Crews weredrawn.

Cromer, Norfolk.Cromer was first provided with a Life-

boat in 1829, but of this boat's servicethe Institution has no particulars . Asecond boat was sent there in 1858, andsince 1923 Cromer has had a Motor Life-boat, at the same time retaining its lastPulling and Sailing Life-boat as anemergency boat. Its Life-boats havebeen launched on Service 165 times and


have rescued 366 lives. Two Gold,one Silver and twenty-four BronzeMedals have been awarded to Life-boat-men of Cromer, all these awards beingmade for two Services in recent years,which rank among the most arduousand gallant in the history of the Institu-tion. These were the service in 1917 tothe Swedish steamer Fernebo, which hadbeen blown in half by a mine, and theservice in 1927 to the Dutch steamerGeorgia, which had broken in half onthe Haisborough Sands. In addition tothese twenty-seven Medals to Coxswainand Crew, the Silver Medal was awardedto a soldier who played a very gallantpart in the service to the Fernebo. Cox-swain Henry Blogg, who received theGold Medal for each service, is the firstLife-boatman since 1848 to be twiceawarded this, the V.C. of the Life-boatService, for conspicuous gallantry.

In addition to these Medals, CoxswainBlogg was awarded an inscribed GoldWatch, and each Member of the Crewan inscribed Silver Watch by theGovernment of the Netherlands for theService to the Georgia.

The presentation ceremony took placeon 19th July, in the Parish Hall, whichwas packed with people. Alderman D.Davison, J.P., Chairman of the UrbanDistrict Council and Chairman of theBranch Committee, presided, supportedby Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Chairman ofthe Committee of Management of theInstitution, the Dowager Lady Suffield,the High Sheriff of Norfolk (Mr. StanleyChristopherson), the Vice-Consul for theNetherlands at Great Yarmouth, andMr. F. H. Barclay, J.P., HonorarySecretary of the Branch.

In opening the meeting, AldermanDavison read a message from LordSuffield, expressing his regret that hecould not be present, and referred to thefact that Lord Suffield had succeeded hisfather and grandfather as President ofthe Branch. He gave a brief history ofthe Station, and spoke of Cromer's pridenot only in its Life-boatmen, but in thewives and mothers of the men. Theircourage also deserved the gratitude ofall who had at heart the welfare of theLife-boat Service.

In presenting the"Vellum, Sir Godfrey

Baring paid a warm tribute to the mag-nificent record of the Cromer Life-boatCrews, and in particular to CoxswainHenry Blogg, whom they might justlyclaim to be not only a national, but aninternational celebrity. He asked thatthe Vellum which he presented shouldbe placed in the Town Hall as a lastingmemorial of the heroism of Cromer men,and a small mark of the gratitude of theInstitution to all who had been and wereconnected with the work of the Life-boatStation.

After Alderman Davison had acceptedthe Vellum, the Vice-Consul for theNetherlands at Great Yarmouth pre-sented the Watches on behalf of theNetherlands Government. He pre-sented them, he said, as a mark of thegratitude of the Queen of Holland andthe Dutch people and with the heartfeltthanks of the captain and crew of theGeorgia.

Alderman Davison then presented aMedal which had been awarded to acorporal of the Cromer Division of theSt. John's Ambulance Brigade forfifteen years' service. In doing so, hesaid that two members of the Life-boatCrew were qualified ambulance men, andhe would like to see the whole Crewmembers of the Brigade.

Teignmouth, Devon.

Teignmouth is mentioned in the firstreport of the Institution, issued inMarch, 1825, as one of those places onthe coast where Life-boats had beenplaced by individuals or associationsother than the Institution. Includingthe boat stationed there some time before1825, Teignmouth. has had altogetherfive Life-boats. Of these, the second,which served from 1862 to 1880, wasbuilt out of a fund raised in Hong Kongand Shanghai, and was called The China.Teignmouth Life-boats have been outon service 60 times and have rescued128 lives. Four Silver Medals have beenawarded for gallantry. Two of thesewere awarded in 1907, one to CoxswainGeorge Rice, who died in March of thepresent year, and the other to the presentHonorary Secretary of the Station, Mr.W. J. Burden, for an arduous andgallant service in 1907, when the crew


of a Finnish schooner were rescued.The Russian Government made apresent to the Crew in gratitude for thisservice.

The presentation ceremony took placeat a meeting of the Urban DistrictCouncil on 30th July, at which Mr. G. S.Young presided. Mr. W. J. Burden, theHonorary Secretary, presented the

Vellum to the Council, and in. doing so,gave the record of the Station. Mr.Young, in accepting the Vellum,thanked the Institution for the wayin which it had recognised the servicesof Teignmouth to the Life-boat cause,and paid a warm tribute to the workwhich Mr. Burden had done for theStation.

Life-boat Calendar for 1930.Reproduction of a Painting by Mr. Charles Dixon, R.I.

As in previous years, the Institution isissuing this autumn a Life-boat Calen-dar for next year. We feel that thereis no better way of keeping the workof the Life-boat Service before thepublic every day of the year, and wehope that readers of The Lifeboatwill buy this calendar not only forthemselves, but to send to theirfriends.

The 1930 calendar will have on ita reproduction in colours of one of aseries of five paintings which Mr.Charles Dixon, R.I., has very kindlydone for the Institution called " Shipsthe Life-boats Serve," and it shows aMotor Life-boat which has just rescuedthe crew of a small steamer.

The calendars will be 11̂ inches long

by 9 inches wide, and they can beobtained from the Institution in anyquantity, post free, Is. each, or 10s. adozen, this price including an envelopewith each calendar. It will weigh, inthe envelope, just under 4 ounces, sothat it can be sent through the post,with the envelope open, for \d.

Those who wish to order calendars cando so at once, and they will receivethem at the end of November orbeginning of December. They shouldapply to the Secretary, Koyal NationalLife-boat Institution, Life-boat House,22, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C. 2,and should enclose with their order apostal order or stamps. Only Such orderscan be dealt with, and it will helpmaterially if orders are sent at once.

False Alarms.Two more false alarms have to be

added to those which were mentionedin an article in The Lifeboat in November1926. On the evening of 1st August,an aeroplane passed over Selsey, and aparachute was seen to drop from it andfall into the sea about a mile and a halffrom the shore. The Motor Life-boatwas launched and cruised about fornearly an hour, but found no trace eitherof a man or the parachute. She returned

to shore to find that the parachutehad been sent down with a dummyattached.

A similar incident occurred off theIsle of Wight on 12th August. TheYarmouth Motor Life-boat was warned,but before it put out enquiries weremade by telephone to the seaplanestation at_Calshot and it was found thatairmen were practising dropping para-chutes with dummies.

How Can I Help the Institution?The continuation of the article " How

can I help the Institution ? A Notefor keen Honorary Secretaries andWorkers," by Mr. George F. Shee,

Secretary of the Institution, will appearin the November issue of The Lifeboat.The first part of this article appearedin the June issue.


THE LIFE-BOAT CREW AT ST. MARY'S, ISLES OF SCILLY.(Photograph taken by Mr. George F. Shee, Secretary of the Institution.)

THE LIFE-BOAT CALENDAR, 1930.ALL SAVED!

From the painting by Mr. Charles Dixon, R.I., presented by tfce artist to the Institution.


The Founding of the Institution.The Report of the first Meeting.

THE Institution was founded at a meet-ing held in the City of London Tavernon 4th March, 1824, with the Arch-bishop of Canterbury (Dr. MannersSutton), in the chair. The twelve resolu-tions which called the Institution intobeing and laid down the broad lines onwhich it should work, are recorded inthe Institution's first Annual Report.So, too, are another nine resolutions, ofthanks to the King, the Royal Family,the Archbishop, the Prime Minister, SirWilliam Hillary, as the Institution'sfounder, Mr. Thomas Wilson, M.P.,who became its first Chairman, andothers who had given their help. Ashort report of the meeting appearedin The Times for 5th March, 1824, andthis was quoted in The Lifeboat forJune, 1924, and again in the issue forlast November, in Major Evan Fyers'article " Some Unpublished Letters ofSir William Hillary, Bt."

So far, however, no report hasappeared in any publication of theInstitution of the speeches which theArchbishop, Mr. Wilberforce, and othersmade at the meeting. We have nowobtained a copy of the Morning Chroniclefor 5th March, 1824, in which a muchfuller report appears than in The Times,and this report we give below as beingthe fullest report which, so far as weknow, exists of the historic meeting atwhich the Institution was founded.

We have reproduced the report as itappears in the Morning Chronicle, butit should be pointed out that thoughthe resolutions in this report give thesubstance correctly, their wording isin only one case the same as the wordingin the Institution's official report. Insome cases the names have not beencorrectly caught by the reporter, andthe necessary correction is made in afootnote in each case.

Extract from " The Morning Chronicle,"London, Friday, March 5th, 1824.

National Institution for the Relief of Personssuffering by Shipwreck.

Yesterday, a Meeting of Noblemenand Gentlemen took place at the City

of London Tavern, at one o'clock, forthe purpose of establishing a NationalInstitution for the preservation of livesin cases of Shipwreck, affording suchrelief as the necessities of the personsmay require, and bestowing reward onthose who may exert themselves insaving the lives of their fellow-creatures.His Grace the Archbishop of Canterburytook the Chair at a quarter past oneo'clock, and was attended by severalNoblemen and Gentlemen of distinction,among whom we noticed the Bishop ofChester, the Bishop of London, Mr.Wilberforce, M.P., Mr. Warre, M.P.,Mr. Gooch, M.P., Mr. Manning, M.P.,Mr. Thomas Wilson, M.P., Sir CharlesFlower, Bart., Mr. Alderman Thompson,Mr. Alderman Bridges, the Rev. Dr.Blomfield, and several other distin-guished persons ; but the assembly wasnot very numerous.

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.On his Grace taking the Chair, the

Secretary, Mr. Thomas Wilson, readthe advertisement for calling the Meet-ing, and the Most Rev. Chairman thenrising, adverted in the first place, to thehonour conferred on the Society by hisMajesty having consented to becomethe Patron. His Grace then went on tosay that the Meeting had heard theadvertisement read, and the substanceof the Resolutions which would be read,would put them fully in possession ofthe object for which they were assem-bled, he should therefore say only avery few words. They were to form aRoyal Institution worthy of a greatnation, and a nation which was the firstmaritime power of the world; this mightbe partly owing to our insular position,but it was chiefly occasioned by thespirit of the people, the source of ournational wealth and national power.Though we might be proud, and justlyboast of our maritime pre-eminence, itcarried with it, like every pre-eminence,corresponding duties. If it were true,that in consequence of this pre-emi-nence we visited every part of thetempestuous ocean, leaving no corner

SEPTEMBER, 1929.] THE LIFEBOAT.

THE BUILDING WHERE THE INSTITUTION WAS FOUNDEDLondon Tavern, 123, Bishopsgate Street Wi th in .

This famous Tavern was built in 1765, and finally closed in 1876, when it was sold to the Royal Bank ofScotland. I t is t h u s described by Wheatley in his " London Past and Present";—

" An excellently managed es tabl i shment , famous for its dinners , wines and turtle. As many as 355 coulddine wi th comfort in the large room on the upper floor. The large room was greatly in request for publicsales, political and public meetings, and the meetings and elections of religious and benevolent societies."


unexplored which could afford newobjects for science, or new sources ofwealth, inviting all people, and men ofall languages to communicate with us,and to take part in all our transactions ;if this were true, it must be our duty toprovide the best means in our power tosecure them against the dangers andsufferings of shipwreck. Not only ourown countrymen, but the people ofevery other nation came on our coastfor the purposes of commerce, or someother laudable purpose. We were alsobound, under the influence of honour-able and charitable feelings, to holdout assistance (in cases of shipwreck)to our bitterest enemies as well as to ourbest friends. This was the ground onwhich the Institution was to be estab-lished, the details (his Grace said) hewould leave to the Secretary to makeknown to the Meeting. In one word,the purposes of this Institution wouldbe as free and unbounded as charityitself. He moved the first Resolution,namely, " That a National Institutionbe formed, for the preservation of thelives of those persons who suffer ship-wreck on the coast of the UnitedKingdom."

Captain BOWLES, R.N., seconded theResolution, which was carried unani-mously.

ME. WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, M.P.Mr. WILBERFORCE accounted it a

great honour to be called on by hisGrace the Most Reverend Chairman tosubmit a motion to the meeting—a callfrom him which he (Mr. Wilberforce)was ever ready to answer, as such callswere never made but for the best pur-poses of Christian charity. The appealof his Grace had been so powerful, clearand urgent, as to leave him very littleto add. Although, from circumstancesnot difficult to understand, this projecthad been only slowly brought forward,and the meeting now was not sonumerous as many other meetings hehad attended on similar occasions;yet he trusted, as the society was onlynow in its infancy, it was the infancyof a Hercules, and would grow large andpowerful to a degree corresponding tothe greatness of the design and the

affluence of the country. The motivesstated by the Most Reverend Chairmanwere such as men, as Britons, and asChristians, must all approve of ; andhe should be unworthy of the regard ofmankind, lost to all proper feeling,forgetful of the character of his country,if he could be deaf to a voice, raised tocall for aid on an occasion like this tosuffering humanity.

The object of an Institution like thisseemed so natural to this country—sonecessary, indeed, to its welfare, thathe was astonished it had not long beforethis period been established—that itwas left to this day, and to his Grace ofCanterbury, to establish it, and publiclyto recognise it, as justly claiming ourwarm and undivided support. It wasour duty, also, to do away the reproacheswhich had for many years ^>een castupon us. He would not go back to veryancient times, and had no occasion toremind the Right Reverend Bishopsnear him, of the time when the Britonswere described as the enemies of everyman. It was not long since, whtt^shipswere wrecked on our coast, that thecrews were more liable to be plunderedthan to be relieved. In establishing thisInstitution, we were in some measurepaying a debt, and atoning for thecrimes of those who had gone before us.

It would tend to diffuse bene-volence through the country; andinducing the more affluent districts tocontribute to the assistance of thosewhose misfortunes were more frequent,and the means of relieving it less, wouldconnect the whole country in one bondof benevolence, and was deserving ofuniversal encouragement and support;when it was considered what claims thecountry had to respect for its benevo-lence, and how much we were indebtedto Providence for the manifold blessingswe enjoyed, it could scarcely be-thoughtthat the country would be deserving ofits reputation, or we of the continuanceof those blessings, if we failed to doeverything in our power in a cause likethis. As was truly and properly saidby his Grace, we had a duty to performto others, and to ourselves, and we werenot at liberty to choose whether wecould perform it or not; we were


urgently bound, both by duty andjustice, to give the Institution the bestsupport in our power. It was a partof this duty to encourage others in the.performance of acts of courage andbenevolence and to give them motivesfor braving dangers.

With this view the Resolution hadbeen drawn up which he held in hishands, and which was " That medal-lions or pecuniary rewards be given tothose who shall rescue the lives of othersin cases of shipwreck." To us it mightseem t^ft no stimulus was wanting toengage in so laudable a work, but letus place ourselves in the situation ofthose persons who have to expose theirlives to peril and hardship, and who mayat a moment of danger, though neverthinking of themselves, be somewhatslow in risking their lives, if they areto leave behind them their familiesunprovided for, and who would cheer-fully hasten to brave storms and moun-tain waves when called by the voice ofdistress, and when conscious that theirwives, though widowed, would not beforsaken — and that their children,though fatherless, would not be forsakenorphans. For such it was their duty, theduty of the opulent, to provide ; for theywho discharged public duty were publicofficers, and deserved public rewards.

There was no service more full ofdangers, or more deserving of marksof honour, such as medallions, than this.They were bestowed on all great anddeserving occasions, and had, perhaps,contributed to that greatness ofcharacter, and that splendour of exer-tions which distinguished our country.It was great by its naval, its military,and its civil glories. If we had ourNelson and our Wellington, we had,also, men equally great in the dischargeof important civil duties. There wasone at the present day, who had stoodat the head of the administration ofjustice, for upwards of twenty years,and who had been so impartial in hisdecisions, so equitable in his high office,that his conduct had extorted the respectof the country, and, though he mighthave enemies, not one of them couldcast a stain on his name.* When it

* Lord Eldon, the Lord Chancellor.

was recollected that the services forwhich these medallions were to bebestowed, were performed amidst dan-gers and darkness, with every thing toappal and nothing to encourage, but asense of duty to God, and a desire tobenefit suffering man, it was surelyright to encourage them in the per-formance of those services, by thehonours and rewards of a gratefulcountry.

The Honourable Gentleman thentook occasion to compliment CaptainManby, who was in the room, as theindividual who had first directed theattention of the public to the subject.From his efforts this new Institutionhad grown up. It was the blessed effectof benevolence to increase its powers inits progress, till it diffused its blessings,like the sun in its glory and strength,over all the world.

Mr. Wilberforce concluded by com-plimenting his Grace of Canterbury forcoming forward on this as on all otheroccasions, and trusted that under hisauspices, and the auspices of their moreaugust Patrons, the Institution wouldrapidly extend, and diffuse its benefitsover the whole country. He sat downby moving the Resolution.

Captain DUNDAS j- seconded theMotion, and it was unanimously carried.

THE BISHOP OF LONDON.The Bishop of LONDON felt himself

honoured by being called on to movea Resolution ; and after the appeal andaddress they had heard, he had veryfew words to say. He had, however,great satisfaction in lifting up his voicein favour of ail Institution which wasto save the lives of some, and givecomfort to the families of others. Itwas worthy of the country in which itoriginated, and confers honour on theproposer ; it gives protection to thathardy and adventurous class of menwhose occupations are on the greatdeep, and who are exposed to the perilsof the tempest. Such persons wereexposed to numerous disasters, and ifthey were not assisted they must fre-quently perish. To remedy that was

t Captain Deaus-Dundas, R.N., in theInstitution's report.


the great object of the Institution, andmore particularly of the Resolution whichhe had to propose, namely, " That suchimmediate assistance be afforded topersons rescued from shipwreck, astheir case may require." This assistancewould be indiscriminately administered.The benefits of such an Institutionwould be felt on all the coasts of thecountry—habits of rendering assistance,would render foreigners neighbours andfriends. He would not trespass longer ontheir attention. His Lordship sat downby moving the Resolution he had read.

Alderman BRIDGES seconded it in afew words. He was surprised that aninstitution of this nature had not beforebeen established, and trusted that bene-volent hearts and powerful arms wouldalways be found to give effect to theirhumane project. The motion was putand carried unanimously.

THE BISHOP OF CHESTER.The Bishop of CHESTER had great

pleasure in acceding to a request to pro-pose for the adoption of the Meeting, aResolution which had for its object toprovide for the families of those whoperished in endeavouring to save others.It was this—" That relief be suppliedto the widows and families of personswho may perish in their attempts tosave the lives of others." Though ourmariners, continued the Right Rev.Prelate, were brave and humane, andhad no fears on their own accounts, theymust feel for their families ; but if theyknew that they were to be provided for,they would go forth undaunted at thecalls of humanity, or the calls of theircountry. They would know, that what-ever might befal them, their widowswould not be left destitute, and theirchildren would not have to beg theirbread. The utility of this Resolutioncould not be doubted ; he himself indeedhad seen occasions when it would havebeen most valuable. It was his practice,his Lordship said, to spend some part ofevery summer on the coast of Cheshire,not far from Liverpool, and opposite adangerous sand bank; he had seenvessels sunk on it, and the crew takerefuge in the shrouds, where every wavethreatened to wash them away. Their

feelings in such a situation would havebeen indescribable, if they had knownthat a boat, properly prepared, wasready to come to their rescue.

At present, on the whole coast be-tween Liverpool and Whitehaven, therewere no means of saving shipwreckedpersons established, and no man couldhesitate, under such circumstances, insaying that the present Institution wasnecessary, and would be useful if estab-lished. It was dictated not only bypolicy but gratitude to the British navy.The valour and enterprise of Britishseamen had placed Great Britain in herpresent commanding situation, andthey surely required and deserved everyprotection and every kindness from therest of their countrymen. If the Institu-tion should only save the crew of onevessel, they might all rejoice in theirexertions ; but how much more mightthey then both as men and as Christiansbe grateful for the power of saving manycrews. He had great pleasure, the RigM;Rev. Prelate concluded by saying, inmoving the Resolution.

MR. WILLIAM MAXXIXC, M.P.Mr. MAXXIXG seconded the Resolu-

tion, and after complimenting his Gracethe Reverend Chairman, said, themeeting he was sure might, if their ownfunds should not be sufficient, confi-dently look to the Government forsupport. Within a short time thatGovernment had sent 58 sets of mortarsto various parts of the coast, at anexpence of 6000L He was quite sure,however, the Institution would nourishunder the Presidency of his Grace. Hewas happy also to see in the room manyof those naval officers, wTho, after havingbravely defended their country by theirvalour in war, were always ready topromote its honour and happiness, bytheir benevolence in peace. They werethe main stay of that other Institution,the Seamen's Hospital Society, of whichhe was a Member. Nine-tenths of allshipwrecks were of merchant vessels,and he was quite sure an appeal wouldnot be made in vain to the mercantileclasses of this country. It was an act ofbenevolence, in which other countrieswould partake. That our country,


LIEUT-COLONEL SIR WILLIAM HILLARY, BT,, FOUNDER OF THE INSTITUTION.From a photograph of a cast of an alabaster medallion of Hillary by Wyon, engraver of the Kings Seals, whoalso designed the Institution's Medals. After Hillary's death in 1847, his grand-daughters presented themedallion to Mr. J. H. F. Spencer, of the Isle of Man. It is now in the possession of Mr. Spencer's grand-

daughter, Mrs. Sugden, who has k ind ly had the photograph taken for the Institution.


amongst its numerous claims to appro-bation, was not forgetful of foreigners,was proved by the fact, that at the verymoment he was speaking there was aCommittee sitting in another room ofthe same Tavern, to dispose of annuitiesin favour of foreigners in distress. Hebegged leave to second the Resolution,which was unanimously carried.

CAPTAIN JOHN FOULERTON.Captain PULLER * moved ths next

Resolution. The skill of British seamen,he said, surpassing that of other nations,they were not so liable to be ship-wrecked as those of other nations,and, therefore, the Resolution which heshould have the honour to propose wouldmake the benefits of the Institution bemore felt by foreigners than by our ownsailors. He then moved, " That theSubjects of all Nations be equally theobjects of this Institution, as well inWar as in Peace : that the same rewardsbe given for their rescue as for the rescueof British subjects; that Foreignerssaved from Shipwreck, and being in astate of destitution, be placed under thecare of their respective Consuls, orforwarded to their own country."

Alderman VENABLES seconded theResolution, in a few words, and it wascarried unanimously.

Mr. JOSHUA WALKER f moved the nextResolution, which was " That medallionsbe conferred on the authors of suchinventions to save lives in case of ship-wreck, as were best adapted to thatpurpose."

Mr. BUCKLE seconded this Resolu-tion, and it was carried unanimously.

Mr. ATWOOD t moved that the affairsof this Institution be placed under themanagement of a President, Vice-President, forty Committee-men, aTreasurer, three Auditors, etc., etc.

Mr. WILKINSON seconded the Resolu-tion, which was unanimously carried.

Mr. BLADES moved the eighth Resolu-tion, that the following Gentlemen,whose names were read, be the Membersof the Committee for the next two years ;and that afterwards six be elected at

* Captain John Foulerton in the Institu-tion's report.

f A Member of Parliament.

every Annual Meeting, in the room of jthose six who shall have attended thesmallest number of times.

Mr. MARSHALL seconded this Resolu-tion, and it was carried unanimously.

Mr. PULLEY moved the next Resolu-tion, " That Donations and AnnualSubscriptions be now entered into andsolicited, for carrying the object ofthis Institution into effect." It wasseconded by Mr. Atkins, and carriedunanimously. A List of the donationsand subscriptions already received wasthen read.

Captain MAX BY was introduced tothe notice of the Meeting by the MostReverend Chairman, and moved, " Thatthe maritime counties and districts, theprincipal sea ports and inland towns,and the British islands, be earnestlyinvited to form District Associations, asbranches of the Institution, and topromote donations and subscriptionsto carry its general object into effect."

Mr. GOOCH, M.P., seconded themotion, and recommended that copiesof their Resolutions should be sent tothe Admiralty, to the Trinity House,and Lloyd's, and inserted in severalprovincial papers.

A Resolution, purporting that it berecommended to such district associa-tions to have the same form of govern-ment as the principal Institution, and tocommunicate with it, was moved byCaptain SOMERS,| seconded by Mr.RICHARDSON, and carried unanimously.

Alderman BRIDGES § moved a Resolu-tion, empowering the Committee todraw up rules for the regulation andmanagement of the society.

It was seconded by Mr. CARRUTHERS,a member of Lloyd's, who took occasionto praise the exertions of that body inbehalf of shipwrecked seamen.

Mr. URQUHART explained that Lloyd'swould do more if their funds werelargerjj

A GENTLEMAN then presented somePapers to the Most Reverend Chairman,

I Captain Richard Saumarez, R.N., in theInstitution's report.

§ A Member of Parliament.jj When the Institution was founded there

were thirty-nine Life-boats on the coast. Tothis work Lloyd's had largely contributed, inMay, 1802, by setting aside 2,000 guineas


which we understood to say containeddocuments to prove that there was atLloyd's a very large surplus revenue,one half of which he had proposedshould be devoted to decayed Membersof that body, the other half to ship-wrecked seamen. His Grace declinedreceiving them, as foreign to the businesson which the Meeting had been calledtogether.

Mr. HERRIES * moved that a Copy ofthe Kesolutions be transmitted to theAmbassadors, Consuls, and other Repre-sentatives of Foreign States residing inthis Country.

Mr. CASENOVE seconded the motion,and, like all the others, it met no opposi-tion.

Sir CHARLES FLOWER, Baronet, movedthat his Grace the Archbishop of Canter-bury be requested to convey to hisMajesty the deep and grateful sensewhich the Meeting entertain of thedistinguished honour conferred on themby his Majesty becoming the Patron ofthe Institution.

Seconded by Mr. WALCOT, and carriedunanimously.

The Thanks of the Meeting were thenmoved and voted to the Dukes of York,Sussex, and Gloucester.f for the honourthey had conferred on the meeting bybecoming the Vice-Patrons of theInstitution. The Thanks of the Meetingwere also voted to the Earl of Liverpool,!for taking on himself the office of Presi-dent of the Institution. The Thanks ofthe Meeting were then cordially be-stowed on his Grace the Archbishop of

for the construction of Life-boats. Duringthe first few years of the Institution's work

I Lloyd's contributed £200 a year. This wasincreased later to £400, and then to over£700 annually. In 1868, however, Lloyd'sceased to contribute. They started to con-tribute again in 1910, through the CityBranch, and have continued to do so everyyear since then. Until 1923 the contributionvaried between £100 and £280, but in 1924, theInstitution's Centenary Year, it was greatly

I increased, and since then has averaged over£1,500 a year. Two years before this increase

I was made, the Chairman of Lloyd's hadaccepted an invitation to the position of ex-officio Membership of the Committee of Manage-ment of the Institution.

* Mr. Harris in the Institution's report.f Brothers of the King.J The Prime Minister.

Canterbury, and the other Noble Lordswho have patronised the Institution.

His GRACE returned thanks for thehonour.

Sir WM. HILLARY was then thankedas the Father of the Institution. Onthis occasion Mr. GOOCH observed, thathowever great might be Sir W. Hillary'smerits, the formation of such a societyas the present had been recommendedlong ago by Captain Manby.§

The Archbishop of CANTERBURY ob-served, that this was a very honourablecompetition, and he had no doubt thethanks of the Meeting would be given toboth.i;

The Thanks of the Meeting were alsovery cordially voted to Mr. T. Wilson,^fM.P., for his exertions, as Secretary, whosaid, in returning thanks, he had onlydone a small part of his duty, as theRepresentative of the first commercialcity of the world. He was the servantof the public, and felt himself bound,from the first moment his friend, Mr. G.Hibbert, had mentioned this subject tohim, to devote his time and attentionto the Institution. His Grace havingleft the Chair, the Thanks of the Meetingwere voted to him for his able conductas Chairman ; and at half-past threeo'clock the Meeting broke up.

§ Captain Manby was the inventor of a life-saving apparatus for firing a line from theshore to the wreck. On 10th March, 1825, hereceived the fifth Gold Medallion awarded bythe Institution. It was awarded as " a publictestimony of the great utility of his life-savingapparatus." The other four had been awardedto the King, the Duke of York, the Archbishopof Canterbury and Sir William Hillary, so thatCaptain Manby was the second to receive itfor actual services towards the rescue of theshipwrecked.

|| The resolution proposed by Mr. GeorgeLyall, and seconded by Mr. Thomas Wilson,M.P., was "That the best thanks of thismeeting are due to Sir William Hillary, Bart.,for his patriotic efforts in bringing thissubject before the public, and for his zealousendeavours to promote the establishment ofthe Institution." The Gold Medallion whichhe received the following year was awardedhim " as the Founder, and for his subsequentco-operation and assistance."

T[ Mr. Thomas Wilson, Member of Parlia-ment for the City of London, was the co-fonnder with Sir William Hillary of theInstitution. He became its first Chairman,holding that post for over 28 years until hisdeath in 1852 in his eighty-fifth year.


Life-boat Conferences.

South-East of England.

A CONFERENCE of Life-boat workerswas held at . Folkestone on 2nd May.The delegates were welcomed by theMayor of Folkestone and Major SirPhilip Sassoon, Bt., G.B.E., C.M.G.,M.P., Under-Secretary of State for Air,and President of the FolkestoneBranch. In the absence of Sir GodfreyBaring, Bt., Chairman of the Committeeof Management of the Institution, thechair was taken by Mr. George F. Shee,M.A., Secretary of the Institution.

Delegates were present from thefollowing Branches: Aldeburgh, Ash-ford, Aylsham, Bishops Stortford, Brigh-ton and Hove, Brill, Cambridge, Canter-bury, Chelmsfoid, Colchester, Dorking,Dover, Eastbourne, Egham, Folkestone,Felixstowe, Goodwin Sands and Downs,Hastings, Hythe, Lewes, Littlehampton,Margate, New Romney, Ramsgate,Walton-on-Thames and Windier .

The Secretary gave a sun ey of thework of the Institution during the year,and dealt in particular with the changesto be made in the Life-boat Stations onthe coast of the District. The DistrictOrganising Secretary then gave a reportof the work of the District, pointing outtl at the cost of the Life-boat Servicewas ' l j r f . per head of the population,and that if the District was to contributeat that rate, it would have to increase itscontribution from £11,000 to £23,000.A satisfactory feature of the work wasthe increase in the number of Life-boatDays. There were 43 in 1927, and 51in 1928. In 1929 he hoped that therewould be 70.

Delegates then gave reports on thework of their Branches.

At the afternoon session addresseswere given by a number of Honoraryworkers.

Mrs. Astley Roberts, President of theEastbourne Ladies' Life-boat Guild,spoke on the organisation of Life-boatDays.

Mr. Capel, of Watford, through the

Organising Secretary, described thesuccess that he had had by getting thethree cinemas in the town to showLife-boat films for a week before Life-boat Day, and to allow collecting. Thecollectors wore oilskins, and a con-siderable sum was raised.

Colonel Skey, Chairman of the Mar-gate Branch, emphasised the importanceof propaganda in the schools, throughthe Essay Competition v\iu\ the organi-sation of visits of children to Life-boatHouses.

Mrs. Johnson-Smyth, B.A., HonorarySecretary at Canterbury, gave an addresson " The Art of Cadging," and empha-sised the need for personal work andthe personal following up of all lettersof appeal.

Miss Hopkins, the Honorary Secretaryof the Folkestone Women's Auxiliary,said that most of the help obtained wasfroin women who had to work for theirliving. She was anxious to know howto get the help of women of leisure, whowere not giving the support they should.

Mr. T. W. Gomm, Honorary Secre-tary at Margate, described the methodsby which £440 had been collected inthe Margate Boat-house last year. Hereagain it was personal work which wasessential. Mrs. Gomm had devotedherself throughout the summer tointeresting visitors, of whom 50,000 hadcome to the Boathouse.

After the Conference the FolkestoneLife-boat was launched, and some ofthe delegates went afloat in her.

Forthcoming Conferences.

A CONFERENCE of London workers willbe held at the Westminster City Hall on9th October, a Conference of North-Eastern workers at Harrogate on 24than.I 25th. October, and Conferences ofSouth-Western workers at Taunton on29th October, and at Truro on 31stOctober.


A Swedish Life-boatwoman.

All Life-boat workers, and particu-larly those women who help in theactual launching of Life-boats, will beinterested to know that there is nowin Sweden a woman who is a regular

swain had a daughter who had, from the 'very earliest age, when it was possible tdtake her along in a boat at all, accom-panied her father in all weathers bothin hunting and fishing, and under his

THE SWEDISH LIFE-BOATWOMAN.Miss Naemi Sioberg; of Enskar.

member of a Life-boat Crew—MissNaemi Sjoberg, of Enskar. How shehas become a member of the Crew isdescribed in the 1928 Annual Report ofthe Swedish Life-boat Society :—

" Immediately after the Station cameinto operation, one of the Life-boatmenleft the place, and no other suitable manwas obtainable. The gap was, however,filled easily enough, because the Cox-

experienced guidance received a boattraining which many fishermen and sea-men might envy. To Miss NaemiSjoberg, our new Life-boat comrade, weextend our welcome. Her entry intoactive Life-boat service has further in-creased the debt of gratitude which theLife-boat Society owes to women, whonot only carry on a big work in the' Lifebuoy ' [the Swedish Ladies' Life-


boat Guild] and similar associations,but also take an active part in the workof rescue."

We are sure that all the women

launchers on our own coasts and themembers of the Ladies' Life-boat Guildwill send their good wishes to Miss NaemiSjoberg, Life-boatwoman.

New President of the Swedish Life-boat Society.Mr. Edvard Lithander, President of

the Swedish Society for Saving theShipwrecked, who was one of theSwedish delegates at the InternationalLife-boat Conference in London in 1924,has been compelled through pressure ofbusiness and parliamentary duties toresign the Presidency. His resignationis a great loss not only to the SwedishLife-boat Service, but to the Inter-national Life-boat Cause,for in Londonin 1924, and again at the Paris Confer-ence last year, he took a prominent andvaluable part in the discussions.

Mr. Lithander was succeeded at the

beginning of the year by Captain WilliamGibson. Captain Gibson belongs to afamily which emigrated from Scotland toSweden about 150 years ago. He servedin the Navy and retired with the rankof Captain to join his father's business,of which he is now Chairman of Directors.He became a member of the Committeeof the Swedish Life-boat Society in 1913,and was elected Vice-President a fewyears ago.

We cordially welcome as the Presi-dent of the Swedish Life-boat Servicea Naval officer with such Britishnames.

The Bedford Rotary Club's Pageant.£386 Contributed to the Institution.

ONE of the most original and suc-cessful efforts on behalf of the funds ofthe Institution was carried out at Bed-ford on 27th June. It was an historicalpageant organised by the Bedford RotaryClub, and was followed by a militarytattoo. The proceeds of the pageant

j were devoted to the Bedford Branch,! and those of the tattoo, in the evening,

to the Bedford County Hospital.In arranging and carrying out the

pageant the Rotary Club had the helpof the Mayor and Corporation, officersand men from the 2nd and 5th Bat-talions and the Depot of the Bedford-shire and Hertfordshire Regiment, theO.T.C.'s of Bedford School and BedfordModern School, the Bedford RugbyUnion Club, Athletic Football Club,Swimming Club and Amateur OperaticSociety and the Bedford Fire Brigade.Thus the whole town gave its help.

Bedford has a very old history. Itwas a frontier town between Saxon andDane when the latter held all the easternand northern part of England, and itwas incidents in the warfare between

Saxon and Dane which the pageantdepicted. It showed Edward the Elder,son of Alfred the Great, and his sisterEthelfleda, wife of the Ealdorman ofMercia, meeting at Bedford to discusstheir military operations against theDanes, and welcomed with games and ajoust. This pageant of pleasure wasfollowed by a Danish attack on Bed-ford, the Danes coming up the Ousefrom Huntingdon in their boats.

It was a pageant partly on water andpartly on land. It depicted incidentsin that long warfare, between two ofthe peoples from whom the English aredescended, in which the sea-spirit of theEnglish was first shown. As such it wasvery appropriate that the pageant shouldhave been in aid of the Life-boats;and the past and present of this ancientsea-spirit met on the Ouse, for on thatsame afternoon the Danish galleyscame up to attack Bedford, and amodern Life-boat, after taking part ina procession through the town, waslaunched in the river.

It is not all towns that have so old a


1,000 YEARS OF THE SPIRIT OF THE SEA.

THE BEDFORD HISTORICAL PAGEANT.

courtesy of]TENTH CENTURY.

Sinking of a Danish Galley.

[G. A. Gearey, Bedford.

By courtesy of]TWENTIETH CENTURY.

A Life-boat collecting in the streets.

[G. A. Gearty, Bedford.


history as Bedford, nor all whose historycould be so appropriately staged to helpthe Life-boats, but we hope that othersmay follow the fine and generous exampleof the Bedford Rotary Club, and holdsimilar pageants in honour of their pastand in aid of the Life-boat .Service.

The exact sum received by the Bed-ford Branch was £386 18s". 5rf., andwe take this opportunity of publiclyrecording the hearty thanks whichhave been conveyed to the RotaryClub.

Belfast's Life-boat Fete.FOLLOWING the two balls which wereorganised by the Belfast Ladies' Life-boat Guild in the winter and spring, aFete, lasting a fortnight, was held inJune in the Bellevue Gardens, Belfast,which had been kindly lent to theInstitution by the Corporation. It hadbeen intended at first that the Feteshould last a week, but as there washeavy rain for five days it was kept openfor another week. During the secondweek it was a little, though only a little,more fortunate, for three days were wet.The net receipts amounted to £463 3s. 6


73/y courtesy of\BELFAST LIFE-BOAT FETE.

The Life-boat and Steamer used in the Rescue Scene.

[II'. and C. ISuinl, Helfiist.

SEA SCOUTS HELP ON NOTTINGHAM LIFE-BOAT DAY.


The Selsey Life-boat on the Thames.

THE new Life-boat for Selsey—of theWatson Cabin type—which during lastwinter was on temporary service atCromer, made a trip up the Thames inJuly, after undergoing overhaul at theStoreyard, before she went to herstation. She was manned by CoxswainBarnes and the Selsey Crew, and theSelsey Honorary Secretary, Mr. Arnell,was also on board.

The suggestion for the trip came fromMr. A. Forman, of Twickenham, whovery kindly made all the arrangementson the river, while the Rotary Club atTwickenham made the arrangementsfor the visit to Twickenham, printingpo ters and tickets and doing everythingto give the boat a big public welcome.

This is the first time that a Life-boathas been up the Thames beyondLondon since the present TeesnaouthLife-boat, also a Watson Cabin boat,went as far as Oxford in 1924.

On the afternoon of 26th July theSelsey boat went up the river tothe Houses of Parliament, where shewas moored at the Speaker's Steps, and

was inspected by Mr. Charles Ammon(Parliamentary Secretary to the Boardof Admiralty, and a member of theCommittee of Management), and byother members of Parliament.

With the Mayor and Mayoress ofTwickenham on board, she then wentup to Richmond. Here she remainedduring the following morning, and wasformally welcomed by the Mayor (Mr.Sydney Glad well). In the afternoon shewent on to Twickenham. Here too shewas welcomed by the Mayor (CouncillorCarus-Wilson), and the Life-boat layat the steps of the Newborough Clubuntil nine o'clock in the evening. Shethen went on to Kingston, and lay along-side the Queen's Parade the whole ofthe following day, returning in theevening to Richmond, and so down theThames, and by sea to her Station, Atall three places many people wentaboard her, and both the Mayor of Rich-mond and the Mayor of Twickenham, intheir speeches of welcome, made specialappeals to their fellow-citizens to sup-port the Institution.

The Help of Mayors and Mayoresses. A Record?The Example of South port.

THE Institution is fortunate in havingin a large number of its Branches,particularly in the North of England,the support, and very often the activepersonal help as well, of the Mayors andProvosts and their wives. It happensalso in some cases that after vacatingoffice the Mayor and Mayoress con-tinue to give their help. This has beennotably so in the case of Southport,Lancashire. Here the Mayor, duringhis term of office, serves as a memberof the Branch Committee, while theMayoress is President of the Ladies'Life-boat Guild. It is theii invariablepractice to continue to take a practicalinterest in the Branch when their year

of office is over, and at Life-boat Dayheld on 22nd June last, the Branch notonly had the active help of the presentMayor and Mayoress, but had nofewer than five ex-Mayors and fiveex-Mayoresses engaged either in collect-ing in the streets or counting money inthe Town Hall.

This is a splendid example of theway in which work for the Life-boatCause can become one of the naturalcivic duties of a town. We think it mustbe a record, but if any other Branch canbeat it, or equal it, or, in fact, showanything like the same measure of civichelp, we shall be very glad to publishits record in The Lifeboat.


IN A HEAVY SEA OFF THE LONGSHIPS.The " Mona " of Antwerp, on October 27th, 1928. Her cargo of coal had shifted and she had

heavy list. The Peniee Motor Life-boat stood by until she got into Mount's Bay.

THE MAYOR OF RICHMOND AND THE SELSEY COXSWAIN.


Dundee Life-boat Day.The Help of the Dundee, Perth, and London Shipping Co.

THE Dundee Life-boat Day this sum-mer was an outstanding event. TheHonorary Secretary, Mr. Lindsay, andhis Life-boat Day Sub-Committee had

j the very generous help of Mr. Kalph(.'. Cowper, the General Manager of theDundee, Perth and London ShippingCo., who spared nothing to make theDay a, success, and, for some weeksbefore had a large part of his staffengaged in making arrangements forthe appeal. The day before the Daythe Shipping Company gave a luncheonparty on board one of its vessels atwhich seventy guests were present, in-cluding the Lord Provost (Sir WilliamHigh) and Commander the Hon. A. D.Cochrane, D.S.O., Vice-Chairman ofthe Scottish Council, who gave a shortaddress. At this luncheon £100 wassubscribed.

On the Day itself, through the influ-ence of Mr. Cowper. the offices of theshipping companies were specially deco-rated, as were also the steamers of theDundee, Perth and London ShippingCompany in the harbour, while anumber of shops had Life-boat picturesand models in their windows. The

Montrose and Broughty Ferry MotorLife-boats gave a demonstration off theesplanade. This was followed by aprocession through the town in whichthe Arbroath Life-boat (brought over atthe expense of the Dundee, Perth andLondon Shipping Company) took part,and afterwards the Tay Boat Clubs helda regatta in. King William Docks.

In short, the whole city took part inthe Day, and that no one might miss theopportunity of contributing, a specialappeal had been made in the Press bythe President of the Branch, asking allwho might be absent on the Day, tocontribute in advance.

The Day was easily a record. Itraised over £700, while last year thetotal collection of the Branch and theGuild for the whole year was £385.

It only remains to say that the Dun-dee, Perth & London Shipping Com-pany, to whose g

THE LIFEBOAT....She is the gif ot f the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, which i,t sinc wa estabes -...

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