Services by the Life-boats of the Institution

and by Shore-boats during 1941

During the year life-boats were launched 747 times. Of these

launches 481 were to vessels and aeroplanes in distress through

attack by the enemy or from other causes due to the war.

V e s s e l s w h i c h Life-boats Saved or H e l p e d t o S a v e

L i v e s

Rescued b y

Life-boats

Number of

Life-boat Launches

1941

T h e R e c o r d M o n t h b y M o n t h

LivesRescued

byShore-boats

1

1 7

1

11

2

10

10

2

8

3

9

7

5

3

7

6

5

6

3

221

248

132

131

27

24

71

152

46

140

91

34

71

88

90

77

53

41

39

50

59

74

71

34

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Augus t

September

October

November

December

36

3

20

8

747 1317 Totals64 128

In August of this year the first of the auxiliary rescue-boat stations was openedat Killybegs in Eire, but no service was done by an auxiliary rescue-boatuntil 1942.

1

Thirty-seven Medals for Gallantry

WALTON AND FRINTON, ESSEX

On the 19th January, 1941, the Walton and Frinton life-boat rescued the crew ofthree of the sailing barge Martha, of Rochester.

COXSWAIN THOMAS H. BLOOM was awarded the bronze medal.MO T O R ME C H A N I C T H O M A S C . B R O O K E was awarded the b ronze

medal.

NEWCASTLE, CO. DOWN

On the 19th January, 1941, the Newcastle life-boat gave help to the motorvessel Hoperidge, of Newcastle-on-Tyne.

COXSWAIN PATRICK MURPHY was awarded the bronze medal.

THE MUMBLES, GLAMORGANSHIRE

On the 20th January, 1941, The Mumbles life-boat rescued the crew of ten ofthe S.S. Cornish Rose, of Liverpool.

COXSWAIN WILLIAM J. GAMMON was awarded the bronze medal.MO T O R ME C H A N I C R O B E R T T . W I L L I A M S was awarded the b ronze

medal.

BALLYCOTTON, CO. CORK

On the 30th January, 1941, the Ballycotton life-boat rescued the eight survivorsof the crew of the S.S. Primrose, of Liverpool.

COXSWAIN PATRICK SLINEY was awarded the bronze medal.

NEWCASTLE, CO. DOWN

On the 30th January, 1941, the Newcastle life-boat landed the crew of fourteenof the motor ship Sandhill, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

C O X S W A I N P A T R I C K MU R P H Y was awarded a c l a sp to h i s b ronzemedal.

MOTOR MECHANIC ROBERT AGNEW was awarded the bronze medal.

THE HUMBER, YORKSHIRE

On the 27th February, 1941, the Humber life-boat rescued the crew of eight ofthe balloon ship Thora.

C O X S W A I N R O B E R T C R O S S w a s a w a r d e d a c l a s p t o h i s b r o n z emedal.

2

SERVICES 1941 3

DUNMORE EAST, CO. WATERFORD

On the 28th February, 1941, the Dunmore East life-boat rescued the crew ofseven of the motor trawler Ibis.

SECOND COXSWAIN PATRICK POWER was awarded the bronze medal.

BOULMER, NORTHUMBERLAND

On the 27th March, 1941, the Boulmer life-boat rescued two men from thesalvage vessel Iron Axe, who were aboard the S.S. Somali when she blew up.

COXSWAIN JAMES CAMPBELL was awarded the bronze medal.

FLEETWOOD, LANCASHIRE

On the 5th August, 1941, the Fleetwood life-boat rescued the crew of eight ofthe motor vessel Stella Marie, of Thorshavn.

COXSWAIN JEFFREY WRIGHT was awarded the silver medal.MO T O R ME C H A N I C S Y D N E Y N O R M A N H I L L was awarded the s i lve r

medal.

CROMER, NORFOLK

On the 6th August, 1941, the Cromer life-boats rescued sixteen of the crew of theS.S. Oxshott, thirty-one of the crew of the S.S. Gallois, nineteen of the crew of theS.S. Deerwood, twenty-two of the crew of the S.S. Paddy Hendly, and eight of thecrew of the S.S. Taara.

C O X S W A I N HE N R Y G . B L O G G was awarded a second c lasp to h i sgold medal.

SECOND COXSWAIN JOHN J. DAVIES, sen. was awarded the silver medal.M O T O R M E C H A N I C H E N R Y W . D A V I E S w a s a w a r d e d a s e c o n d

clasp to his bronze medal.S E C O N D C O X S W A I N LE S L I E J . H A R R I S O N w a s a w a r d e d a s e c o n d

clasp to his bronze medal.MOTOR MECHANIC HAROLD V. LINDER was awarded the bronze medal.

GREAT YARMOUTH AND GORLESTON, NORFOLK

On the 6th August, 1941, the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston life-boat rescuedthe crew of twenty-three of the S.S. Aberhill, of Methil.

COXSWAIN CHARLES A. JOHNSON was awarded the silver medal.MOTOR MECHANIC GEORGE F. MOBBS was awarded the bronze medal.

CROMER, NORFOLK

On the 26th October, 1941, the Cromer life-boat rescued the forty-four survivorsof the crew of the S.S. English Trader, of London.

COXSWAIN HENRY G. BLOGG was awarded a third clasp to his silvermedal.

4 SERVICES 1941

S E C O N D C O X S W A I N J O H N J . D A V I E S , s e n . w a s a w a r d e d a t h i r dclasp to his bronze medal.

MOTOR MECHANIC HENRY W. DAVIES was awarded a third clasp tohis bronze medal.

AS S I S T A N T MO T O R ME C H A N I C J A M E S W. D A V I E S was awarded asecond clasp to his bronze medal.

B O W M A N W I L L I A M T . D A V I E S was awarded a c l a sp to h i s b ronzemedal.

LIFE-BOATMAN JOHN J. DAVIES, jun. was awarded a clasp to his bronzemedal.

LI F E - B O A T M A N S I D N E Y C . H A R R I S O N was awarded a c lasp to h i sbronze medal.

S IGNALMAN EDWARD W. ALLEN was posthumously awarded a secondclasp to his bronze medal.

SIGNALMAN HENRY T. DAVIES was awarded the bronze medal.LIFE-BOATMAN WILLIAM H. DAVIES, was awarded the bronze medal.LIFE-BOATMAN ROBERT C. DAVIES was awarded the bronze medal.LIFE-BOATMAN JAMES R. DAVIES was awarded the bronze medal.

GREAT YARMOUTH AND GORLESTON, NORFOLK

On the 26th October, 1941, determined efforts were made by the Great Yarmouthand Gorleston life-boat to give help to the crew of the S.S. English Trader, ofLondon.

COXSWAIN CHARLES A. JOHNSON was awarded a third clasp to hisbronze medal.

SHERINGHAM, NORFOLK

On the 30th October, 1941, the Sheringham life-boat rescued fifteen of the crewof the S.S. Eaglescliffe Hall, of Montreal.

COXSWAIN JAMES E. DUMBLE was awarded the bronze medal.

SHOREHAM HARBOUR, SUSSEX

On the 16th November, 1941, the Shoreham Harbour life-boat rescued the crewof twenty-one of H.M. Minesweeper President Briand, and also the life-boatcoxswain, who was on board as pilot.

S E C O N D C O X S W A I N J A M E S T . U P P E R T O N , ac t ing as coxswain , wasawarded the silver medal.

MOTOR MECHANIC HENRY PHILCOX was awarded the bronze medal.

RAMSEY, ISLE OF MAN

On the 20th November, 1941, the Ramsey life-boat rescued the crew of thirteenof the steam trawler Strathairlie, of Aberdeen.

COXSWAIN JOHN COMISH was awarded the bronze medal.

Accounts of Services by Life-boats

JANUARY

Launches 71. Lives rescued 221.J A N U A R Y 3 R D . - A R R A N M O R E , C O .

DONEGAL. A fishing boat was caught ina S .E . ga le wi th a very rough sea . Themotor life-boat K.T.J.S. was launched at10.20 A.M., found the boat five miles off, andescorted her to safety. She returned to herstation at 12.10 P.M. - Rewards, £8 8s.

J A N U A R Y 6 T H . - S C A R B O R O U G H ,YORKSHIRE. At 5 .15 P . M . in format ionwas received from an escort vessel, throughthe coastguard, that a fishing boat was indistress seven miles to the N.E. It was verycold , wi th a modera te wind and sea . At5.45 P.M. the motor life-boat Herbert Joy IIwas launched. She found the motor fishingboa t S c e p t r e , with a c rew of three . Herengine had broken down, and she was indanger from mines and sea traffic in thed a r k n e s s . T h e l i f e - b o a t t o w e d h e r i n ,arriving at 9 P.M. - Property salvage case.

JANUARY 10TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLE-SEY. At 2.8 A.M . the coastguard reporteda ship ashore in Cymeran Bay, near Rhos-neigr. A N.E. breeze was blowing, with asmooth sea. It was bitterly cold. The motorlife-boat A.E.D. was launched at 2.40 A.M.,and found the motor vessel De Ruyter, ofRot te rdam. The l i fe -boa t s tood by un t i l ,just before 7 A.M., the vessel refloated. Shethen guided her out to sea and, after receivingthe thanks of the master, returned to herstation at 9.30 A.M. - Rewards, £17 1s. 6d.

JANUARY 13TH. - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. At 2.26 P .M. the Admiralty salvageofficer at The Humber asked for the servicesof the life-boat to take him and his partyout to the wreck of a collier, the S.S. GreyFriar, of Newcastle, which had been bombedat Chapel St. Leonards. Survivors of hercrew had been rescued by a minesweeper,but two bodies were on board, and tugs weres t a n d i n g b y . A l i g h t N . N . W . w i n d w a sblowing, with a ground swell. The life-boatAnne Miles was launched at 3.30 P .M., putthe par ty on board , and re tu rned to herstation at 6.15 P.M. - Expenses paid by NavalAuthorities.

JANUARY 15TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.The coastguard reported a steamer ashorehalf a mile N.E. of Palling, and at 10.10 A.M.the No. 1 motor life-boat H. F. Bailey waslaunched. A strong easterly wind was blow-ing, with a moderate sea, and the weatherwas cold. The life-boat reached the vesselabout noon to find that she had got off andtha t a tug had her in tow. She was theS.S. Lieutenant Robert Mory, of Belfast,formerly of Boulogne, a vessel of over 3,000tons, in ballast from London for Sunderland,with a crew of twenty-seven. A second tug

1 4

arrived and joined in the tow. After towingnorthwards for a time the tugs altered coursefor Yarmouth Roads as it was feared thatthe steamer would not keep afloat long enoughto reach The Humber. The life-boat keptwith them and at 1.30 she took on boardeleven of the steamer’s crew. From themshe learnt that the Lieutenant Robert Morywas one of six vessels that had grounded onthe Haisborough Sands, and that all of themhad refloated on the rising tide. At about5 P.M. ten more of the crew were transferredto the life-boat, followed later by the captainand five officers. They reached YarmouthRoads at 10.15 P .M. where a salvage tug,which had been summoned by wireless, cameout to take charge of the steamer. The life-boat landed nineteen of her crew and putthe other eight on board again. She thenmade for Gorleston, as the weather was tooheavy for her to be taken up the slipway atCromer. - Property salvage case.

JANUARY 15TH . - WELLS, NORFOLK.At 11.49 A.M . the coastguard reported aship apparently aground about four mileseas t o f the look-out a t Wel l s . A s t rongE.N.E. wind was blowing, and the sea wasrough. The motor life-boat Royal Si lverJubilee 1910-1935 was launched at 12.15 P.M.and found the S.S. Faxfleet, of Goole, ashorenorth of Stiffkey. She had gone aground onthe Haisborough Sands, and had got off, butshe was leaking so badly that her masterhad beached her at Stiffkey to save her fromsinking. She had a crew of sixteen. Thelife-boat took off seven of them and landedthem at Wells life-boathouse. She returned atonce to the wreck and stood by until afterhigh water. The seas had then moderatedand the captain decided to remain with hisship. The life-boat returned to her stationat 9.45 P.M.. - Rewards, £35 8s.

JANUARY 15TH. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. Dur ing the a f te rnoon the Nava lControl informed the life-boat coxswain thata barge was burning flares close to the GrainSpit,. Half a gale was blowing from the N.E.,w i t h a r o u g h s e a . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tJ. B. Proudfoot, on temporary duty at thes ta t ion , was l aunched a t 4 .45 P . M . Shefound the barge Ferret, of London, with acrew of two, but she did not need help. Thelife-boat stood by until the Ferret was in asafe position, and returned to her station at6 P.M. - Rewards, £10 11s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 1 5 T H . - T H E H U M B E R ,YORKSHIRE. At about 10.5 P .M. the RoyalNaval Shore Signal Station reported a vesselsounding S.O.S. to the N.W. of the Gate Ship.A moderate N.W. breeze was blowing, with aslight sea. It was very cold. Accompaniedby the naval salvage officer, the motor life-boat City of Bradford II put out at 10.20 P.M.She spoke several vessels all of which had

SERVICES 1941 15

heard an explosion and the S.O.S., and at11.45 P .M . came up with the minesweeperLady Stanley, which had on board the crewof eleven men of the steam trawler Stalker,of Grimsby. The trawler had been damagedby a mine dropped by parachute f rom aGerman aeroplane. The life-boat took theeleven men off the Lady Stanley and landedthem at Grimsby. The trawler herself wastaken in tow by a tug and beached in asinking condition. The life-boat returned toher station at 7.10 A.M . - Paid permanentcrew : Rewards, 18s.

J A N U A R Y 1 8 T H . - L E R W I C K , S H E T -LANDS. At 10.25 A.M. the naval officer incharge at Lerwick asked for the services ofthe life-boat to bring three wounded Germanairmen from Fair Isle, where their Heinkelb o m b e r h a d b e e n s h o t d o w n . T h e d a ybefore an R.A.F. launch had gone to FairIsle, but had been unable to return owing tobad weather. A moderate E.S.E. gale wasblowing, with a heavy sea and snow showers.The motor life-boat Lady Jane and MarthaR y l a n d was l aunched a t 11 .10 A . M . andreached Fair Isle at 4.45 P.M., to find that thelaunch had made a second attempt to leave,had had to put back and had been wrecked.The life-boat took on board the three Germanairmen, a naval master-at-arms and guard,one army officer, one sick-bay petty officer,two sick-bay attendants and four bags ofmail. Leaving at 5.30 P .M. she reached herstation again at 11.20 P .M . When she wassouth-east of Noness Head she saw a floatingmine and reported it by wireless. - Rewards,£22 16s.

J A N U A R Y 1 8 T H . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,A B E R D E E N S H I R E . W h i l e t h e f i s h i n gfleet was at sea an E.S.E. gale had come up,with a heavy sea, and the harbour entrancewas dangerous. At 1.30 P .M. the motor life-boat John and Charles Kennedy was launched,escorted all the fleet into the harbour, andr e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 4 . 2 0 P . M . -Rewards, £8 1S. 6d.

south-easterly gale was blowing, withsqualls of rain and snow ; the nightwas very dark ; a heavy sea wasrunning dead on shore. The motorlife-boat E.M.E.D. put off from hermoorings at the end of the pier atfive minutes past two, and in a quarterof an hour she found the bargeMartha, of Rochester. The barge hadanchored, but her anchor had not held,and she had gone ashore stern first.There she lay in six feet of water, withthe seas breaking right over her. Hercrew of three men could be seen inthe fore rigging. Handling the life-boat very sk i l fu l ly the coxswainbrought her alongside the barge, andin spite of the high seas held her therelong enough for the three men to jumpaboard her from the barge’s rigging.Then he brought her safely out of thebreakers, undamaged, although in theshallow water her keel had struck thebottom three times. She was backat her station again just before threein the morning.

JANUARY 18TH. - PETERHEAD, ABER-DEENSHIRE. An easterly gale was blow-ing with a heavy sea, and at 2.20 P .M. thecoastguard reported that some small fishingboats were still at sea. The motor life-boatJulia Park Barry of Glasgow was launched at2.30 P.M. and came up with the motor fishingboat Castlebrae, two miles S.E. of Peterhead.She escorted her through the heavy sea atthe entrance to the bay, and going out againfound the motor fishing boat Kitty Mackayfour miles to the S.E., and escorted her intoh a r b o u r . S h e r e t u r n e d t o m o o r i n g s a t4.45 P.M. - Rewards, £6 14s. 6d.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT WALTON AND FRINTONJANUARY 19TH. - WALTON AND

FRINTON, ESSEX. In the ea r lymorning flares were seen burningabout half a mile north of the pierat Walton, close to the beach. A

It was a skilful and courageousrescue, and the Institution made thefollowing awards :

To COXSWAIN THOMAS H. BLOOM,the bronze medal for gallantry, witha copy of the vote inscribed on vellum;

To THOMAS CLAUDE BROOKE, themotor-mechanic, the bronze medal forgallantry, with a copy of the vote in-scribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew a special reward of £2, inaddition to the reward on the ordinaryscale of £2 17s. 6d. ; standard rewardsto crew and launchers, £19 12s. 6d. ;additional rewards to crew, £16 ; totalrewards, £35 12s. 6d.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT NEWCASTLE

J A N U A R Y 1 9 T H - 2 1 S T . - N E W -CASTLE, CO. DOWN. At 6.45 inthe morning the motor life-boat atNewcastle, Co. Down, L. P. and St.Helen, was launched in a blindingsnow-storm to the help of the motorvessel Hoperidge, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A gale was blowing from theeast, and the sea was very rough.With the help of her searchlight thelife-boat found the vessel, which was

Two days later she again went outto help in an attempt, which was un-successful, to refloat the Hoperidge.The gale was moderating, but therewas a heavy sea. The life-boat wasout for nearly six hours.

The first service was very skilfullycarried out in very severe weather, andthe Institution made the followingawards :

16 SERVICES 1941

ashore at Minerstown, in DundrumBay, between two reefs of rock. Bysignal lamps the Hoperidge asked thelife-boat to come alongside. She thensaid that she was in immediate needof a doctor, and passed to the life-boatan urgent message for the Admiralty.The life-boat anchored and droppeddown towards the land. The secondcoxswain then waded ashore, no easything to do in the snow-storm andheavy surf ; telephoned to an armycamp for a doctor ; and handed themessage for the Admiralty to thecoastguard. When the army doctorand an orderly arrived it was impos-sible to get out to the life-boat fromthe beach, but the second coxswainfound a spot partly protected fromthe gale, where the life-boat could berun on a flat shelving rock. He guidedher to i t . There the coxswain, bykeeping his engines running, was ableto hold the life-boat’s head on therock, but the assistant motor-mechanichad to jump over to help the second-coxswain before it was possible forthem to get the doctor and his orderlyaboard.

To COXSWAIN PATRICK MURPHY,he bronze medal for gallantry, witha copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ;

To SECOND-COXSWAIN W ILLIAMMURPHY, the thanks of the Institutioninscribed on vellum ;

To T H O M A S MC C L E L L A N D , theassistant motor-mechanic, a reward of£2 in addition to the ordinary scalereward of £3 6s. ;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew, except Thomas McClel-land, a reward of £1 in addition tothe ordinary scale reward of £3 6s.

S tandard rewards to c rew andlaunchers, £47 11s. 4d. ; additionalrewards to crew, £8; total rewards,£55 11s. 4d.

With great difficulty, and at greatrisk, the coxswain brought the life-boatalongside the stranded Hoperidge, forat one moment, as the seas rushed in,she was filled with water, and the next,as they washed back, she was almoststranded herself.

Standard rewards to crew and helpersfor the second service, £54 0S. 6d.

She put the doctor and his orderlyaboard, stood by, took them off again,and at 1.30 that afternoon landed themat Newcastle. She had then been outfor nearly six hours.

The crew had a hurried hot mealand at two o’clock in the afternoonput out again, taking the honorarysecretary of the life-boat station andanother doctor with her. On her wayshe met the S.S. Stanleigh enteringDundrum Bay and s tanding in todanger. The life-boat told her whereshe was, advised her to make for theIsle of Man for shelter, and gave herthe course. Then she returned to theHoperidge, put the honorary secretaryand doctor on board, and stood byuntil high water. It was then safe toleave the Hoperidge, and the life-boatreturned to Newcastle at 6.30 in theevening.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 T H . - DUN LAOGHAIRE,CO. DUBLIN. Whi le bound fo r Dubl inladen with coal the S.S. Saint Kenneth. ofDublin. sprang a l eak . bu t succeeded inreach ing Dun Laogha i re Harbour on thenight of the 19th January. While she wasbeing beached she nearly ran down the motorlife-boat Dunleary II at her moorings and thelife-boatmen had to move the Dunleary IIto a safer position. The steamer was madesecure, but at 5.15 A.M . next morning theharbour master asked for the life-boat’s helpto get the crew of eleven off the steamer asshe had partly refloated at high water, hadparted her ropes and was being carried nearerthe shore. A whole easterly gale was blowing,with a heavy sea and driving sleet, and itwas found to be too rough for the crew to goout to the life-boat at her moorings in theboarding boat. Instead they got a line tothe steamer from the shore, and rigged tackleby which they were able to haul her boat tothe shore and back again several times, untilthe whole of the steamer’s crew of eleven hadbeen rescued by 7.45 A.M. - Rewards, £16 18s.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT THE MUMBLES

JANUARY 20TH. - THE MUMBLES,GLAMORGANSHIRE. Just before

SERVICES 1941 17

seven o’clock in the morning signalsof distress in Swansea Bay could beseen from The Mumbles, and the motorlife-boat Edward Prince of Wales waslaunched. It was still pitch dark, andthe darkness was increased by mistand squalls of rain. A whole gale wasblowing from the south-east and therewas a heavy breaking sea.

All that the life-boat had to guideher was a feeble morse lamp on thevessel in distress, and she found her inthe nick of time. The vessel was thesteamer Cornish Rose, of Liverpool, of700 tons. She had two anchors down,but they were dragging, and her wind-lass was not working. She was verynear the shore and was rolling heavily.Her master had given up hope ofsaving her, and was just on the pointof abandoning her. She might strikeat any moment, and he feared thatshe would at once break up. She hadonly a fifteen-foot boat, and even hadher crew succeeded in reaching the shorein her, lives would almost certainlyhave been lost when they attemptedto land in the heavy seas.

The coxswain of the life-boat sawthat the only thing to be done was togo alongside without delay. This hedid with great skill and boldness, andat great risk. The life-boat was ship-ping so much water that her crew wasin danger of being washed out of her,and the ordinary perils of the sea weregreatly increased by the coast defences.

At this point these defences con-sisted of iron rails driven into the fore-shore and sticking out of i t . Theforeshore was thickly set with them.From the life-boat they could not beseen. Her crew knew that they werethere. They knew that had she struckone of them it would have ripped heropen.

In spite of these dangers the life-boat came safely alongside the CornishRose. One by one the ten men of thesteamer’s crew jumped into her, andtwenty minutes later she was makingfor Swansea again. She arrived justbefore nine o’clock in the morning.

It was a very bold and skilful rescue,and the Institution made the followingrewards :

To COXSWAIN WILLIAM JOHN GAM-MON, the bronze medal for gallantry,

with a copy of the vote inscribed onvellum ;

To ROBERT TREVOR WILLIAMS, themotor-mechanic, the bronze medal forgallantry, with a copy of the voteinscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew, a special reward of £1 inaddition to the ordinary scale rewardof £1 8s. 6d. Standard rewards tocrew and launchers, £17 9s. 11d. ;additional rewards to crew, £8 ; totalrewards, £25 9s. 11d.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 T H . - DUN LAOGHAIRE,CO. DUBLIN. At 10.15 A.M. red flares wereseen f rom the schooner Windermere , ofDublin, which was at anchor in Dun Laog-haire harbour. A whole easterly gale wasblowing, with a heavy sea and snow. Theschooner had a crew of four and was ladenwith malt for Dublin from New Ross. Shehad been storm-bound since the previousday and had dragged her anchor about fourhundred yards. The motor life-boat Dun-l e a r y I I l e f t he r moor ings a t 11 .5 A . M . ,rescued the four men, and was back againat 11.45 A.M. - Rewards, £8 10s.

JANUARY 20TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLE-SEY. A heavy easterly gale was blowing,with a rough sea and violent squalls of hailand snow, and the life-boat coxswain andmotor-mechanic had been on the alert forsome time when, at 1.2 P .M., the coastguardreported a ketch flying a distress signal closeto Trinity Perch Rocks. The motor life-boatA.E.D. was launched at 1.27 P .M. and foundthe motor ketch Florette, of Chester, yawingabout very dangerous ly , wi th one of heranchor chains parted. At the second attemptthe l i fe -boat got a longs ide and rescuedthe crew of three, after having been struckand s l igh t ly damaged by the ke tch . Shereturned to her station at 2.8 P.M. - Rewards,£3 16s.

J A N U A R Y 2 1 S T . - A B E R D E E N . A t10.25 A.M . Findon coastguard reported avessel two miles S. by E. flying a distresssignal, and the No. 1 motor life-boat EmmaConstance was launched at 10.45 A.M . Amoderate E.S.E. gale was blowing, with aheavy broken sea. The life-boat found themotor vessel Empire Daffodil, of Great Yar-m o u t h , b o u n d f o r L e i t h i n b a l l a s t . H e rengine had broken down and she wanted atug. The life-boat sent a message, by morse,to the coastguard and then returned to standby the Empire Daffodil. Her crew were ableto repair the engine, and, escorted by thelife-boat, the vessel reached Aberdeen andwas safely berthed at 3.30 P.M. - Rewards,£7 16s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 2 l S T . - P O R T A S K A I G ,ARGYLLSHIRE. At about 10.10 P .M . theKi lchoman coas tguard te lephoned tha t atrawler was ashore in the Sound of Islay. Thenight was dark, with an easterly gale and a

18 SERVICES 1941

rough sea. The motor life-boat Charlotte Eliza-beth was launched at 10.50 P.M., and at 11.30P.M. found the trawler Thomas Deas, of MilfordHaven. She was laden with fish, and had acrew of fourteen. Another trawler arrived,and the life-boat passed a tow line to her,but it parted. The weather was too severefor the second t rawler to make anotherattempt at a tow and she went on her way.The life-boat stood by until day-break, andthen helped the Thomas Deas to get out akedge anchor. With this she pulled herselfoff on the high tide. The life-boat returnedto he r s t a t ion a t 12 .5 P . M . on the 22ndJanuary. The Fleetwood Steam Trawlers’Mutual Insurance Association made a giftof £50 to the life-boat crew, who gave £4 ofit to the Institution. - Rewards, £21 17s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 2 2 N D . - T H E H U M B E R ,YORKSHIRE. At 11.15 A.M . several loudexplosions were heard, which proved to bedelayed action mines. At the same time theAdmiralty salvage tug St . Syrus struck amine when passing the Boom Gateway, andstarted to sink. A light S. wind was blowingand the sea was smooth. The motor life-boat City of Bradford II was launched at11.25 A.M., but the Gate Vessel had alreadysent her boat out to pick up survivors, ofwhom there were ten , and had put themon board the minesweeper Fitzgerald. Thelife-boat searched, but found only the deadbody of the commander of the St . Syrus.She then took on board the ten rescued menf r o m t h e m i n e s w e e p e r , l a n d e d t h e m a tGr imsby , and re tu rned to her s ta t ion a t1.50 P.M. - Paid permanent crew : Rewards,13s. 6d.

JANUARY 24TH. - MONTROSE, ANGUS.At about 1.30 P .M . the sea began to makewith the ebb tide, and soon it was breakingacross the bar. The weather was cold, anda fresh E.S.E. wind was blowing. As themotor fishing boat Rosa, of Montrose, wasstill at sea, the No. 1 motor life-boat TheGood Hope was launched at 1.45 P.M., as theRosa could only enter the harbour at greatrisk. She escorted her safely in and returnedt o h e r s t a t i o n a t 3 . 3 0 P . M . - R e w a r d s ,£9 12s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 2 5 T H . - A M B L E , N O R T H -U M B E R L A N D . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tF r e d e r i c k a n d E m m a w a s l a u n c h e d a t8.40 A.M. to the help of the coastal steamerSpey, of Newcastle, which had run ashore onthe rocks at the north side of Coquet Island.An E.S.E. gale was blowing, with a heavysea, and mines, which had been broken adriftby the rough seas, were floating about. Atthe third attempt the life-boat succeeded infiring a line over the Spey, and rescued hercrew of five with the breeches buoy. Oneof them had a narrow escape. He fell outof the buoy, but was hauled into the life-boat with the help of a boathook. The life-boa t r e tu rned a t 11 .30 A . M . - Rewards ,£11 6s.

JANUARY 25TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.In the early morning of the 22nd January,

the S.S. Meriones, of Liverpool, stranded onthe Haisborough Sands three-quarters of ami le eas t by nor th of the South MiddleHaisborough Buoy. She was a vesse l o f9,500 tons, and was bound for Hull to com-plete loading before sailing for Australia.She had 101 men on board, crew and steve-dores, many of them Chinese. She also hadtwo racehorses on board . The l i fe -boa tstation knew nothing of this until, at 9 atnight on the 24th January, a request camefor the coxswain to go to Great Yarmouthto discuss with the chief salvage officer thepossibility of salving the vessel. This he didnext morning, and with the salvage officerwent out in the salvage tug Richard LeeBarber to examine the steamer. With themwent the marine superintendent of the ChinaMutual Steam Navigation Co., the owners ofthe Meriones. The tug was taking out salvagepumps, as the steamer’s No. 6 hold was fullof water . A modera te E .N.E. wind wasblowing, with a moderate sea. The weatherwas overcast and misty, and it was very cold.

As the tug was approaching the sands, thesteamer was attacked by German aeroplanes,but they were driven off by other ships in thene ighbourhood, and the mar ine super in-tendent immediately sent a wireless call fromthe tug for the Cromer life-boat. This wasnot the first attack. One had been made at2 .15 in the a f te rnoon, when one of thesteamer’s gunners was wounded, and a thirdwas made at four o’clock, but although thebombs fell very near the steamer no damagewas done, and no one, besides the gunner, washurt. Altogether 23 bombs were dropped inthree attacks.

The message for he lp was rece ived a tCromer at 3.16 P.M., and at 3.34 the No. 1motor life-boat H. F. Bailey was launchedwith the second-coxswain in command. Shereached the M e r i o n e s abou t 6 .30 in theevening and at once took on board from thetug her own coxswain. She also took themarine superintendent off the tug and puthim on board the steamer. She then stoodby. Meanwhile the wind and sea had beenincreasing, and after some time the Merioneshailed her. It had been decided to abandonship, for by this time the crew had beenwashed out of their quarters and the twohorse-boxes had broken loose.

There was a rough, broken sea on the sandswhere the Meriones lay, and through this thelife-boat went in the darkness, and got underthe steamer’s lee. Ropes were thrown to herto make her fast alongside. They were 4-inchropes, and in the rise and fall of the seas theybroke so often that the life-boat had to waituntil two larger ropes were thrown to her,one 6-inch and the other 9-inch. With thesethe life-boat made fast, and the work of rescuebegan. Several oil-bags were lowered on thewater from the steamer to flatten out theseas, but it was not an unmixed help, foreach time a sea broke over the life-boat itcoated her decks with oil until it was almostimpossible to move about on them.

So, in the darkness, the work of rescuewent on until the life-boat had taken offabout half the steamer’s crew. She put themon board the naval tug St. Mullion, which

SERVICES 1941 19

had anchored outside the sands, returned tothe steamer and made fast again. She meantnow to take off the remainder of the crew,but when she had got 40 of them on boardthe 9-inch and 6-inch ropes parted, so shetook the men a l ready rescued to the tugRichard Lee Barber, which was anchoredinside the sands. Again she made fast along-side, and rescued eight officers who aloneremained of the 101 men. Before they leftthe steamer they shot the two horses. It wasthen one o’clock in the morning. The life-boat had now on board, besides her owncrew, the eight officers of the Meriones, thes h i p ’ s d o c t o r a n d a n i n j u r e d m a n o n astretcher. The coxswain set a course for theCockle Gat, but in the darkness, which wasnow increased by rain and sleet, the coxswainwas not certain of his position, and knowingthat a heavy sea was running, both on theshore and on the surrounding sandbanks hethought i t more p rudent to anchor un t i ldaylight. There the life-boat waited, in thebitter cold, for 5 1/2 hours. As the light camethe coxswain was able to fix his position astwo miles north of Winterton Steeple, andthe life-boat made for Yarmouth, where shearrived at 10.15. There the life-boat learnedthat, as soon as day came, the Meriones hadagain been attacked from the air and thistime had been set on fire, but that after-wards the aeroplane had been shot down byH.M.T. Galvani. After a meal the crew leftfor Cromer by motor bus, arriving home at2 . 1 5 i n t h e a f t e r n o o n o f t h e 2 6 t h . T h eeasterly swell, which made it impossible forthe life-boat to get on her slipway at Cromer,continued for several days, and it was notuntil the afternoon of January 30th that thelife-boat was back again at her station.

The f lag of f icer in command a t Grea tYarmouth expressed his appreciation of thelife-boat’s work. The rescued crew made ac o l l e c t i o n a m o n g t h e m s e l v e s a n d e a c hmember of the life-boat’s crew received agift of money. The Liverpool and LondonUnderwriters, through the owners, made agift to the Institution of £25 10s.

It was a long and very arduous service, inbad weather and bitter cold, and the Institu-tion made an increase in the usual moneyreward on the standard scale to each memberof the crew. Standard rewards to crew andhelpers, £61 6s. 6d. ; additional rewards tocrew, £28 ; total rewards, £89 6s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 2 6 T H . - R O S S L A R E H A R -B O U R , C O . W E X F O R D . A t 8 . 5 A . M .t h e c o a s t w a t c h i n g s t a t i o n a t G r e e n o r eP o i n t r e p o r t e d a v e s s e l i n d i s t r e s s t w oa n d a h a l f m i l e s N . E . o f G r e e n o r e . Amodera te S .E . wind was b lowing , wi th amoderate sea. The motor life-boat MabelMarion. Thompson was launched at 8.30 A.M.,and found the s team t rawler L o d d o n , ofLowestoft, with a crew of nine. She had beenholed by a submerged wreck, and the life-boat stood by until her skipper had safelybeached the trawler. The life-boat then tookoff the skipper and returned to her station at12.30 P.M. On the following day the weatherhad got worse and the life-boat put out againa t 2 . 5 P . M . , rescued the remain ing e ight

members of the crew, and landed them at3.45 P.M. - Property salvage case.

JANUARY 27TH. 29TH. and 30TH. FEBRUARY1ST and 14TH, and April 21ST and 28TH..-WALTON AND FRINTON, ESSEX. OnSunday the 20th January the S.S. Belgia, ofGothenburg, was bombed by German aero-planes and set on fire. Her crew abandonedher and eventually got ashore two miles S.W.of Wal ton P ie r . The Admira l ty sa lvageofficer then asked for the help of the life-boatin attempting to refloat the steamer, and onthe 27th the motor life-boat E.M.E.D. putoff with fire pumps, firemen and a salvageparty. The pumps were put in the boardingboat which was towed by the l i fe -boat .Next day the weather was too rough for anysalvage work to be done, but the life-boathelped again on the 29th and 30th of Januaryand the 1s t February . She was ou t f rom11.15 A.M. to 6.30 P.M. on the 27th ;11.15 A.M. to 3.30 P.M. on the 29th ; 12 noonto 3.30 P .M. on the 30th ; and 9.15 A.M. to4.30 P .M. on the 1st February. All attemptsto refloat the steamer on these days failed,but on the 14th February the weather wasbetter, and the help of the life-boat was againrequested. She left at 11.35 A.M. and stoodby until 1.30 P . M . , when the steamer wasrefloated. As she was to be towed to Harwichthe life-boat took off the salvage party andlanded them at Walton Pier at 3.30 P.M.

On the 21st April, the life-boat’s motorboarding boat took out the salvage officer, adiver and equipment, and they found theBelgia’s anchor and cable, which they buoyed.The boarding boat was out from 11 A.M .till 6 P .M. On the 28th April she was againcalled out, and she guided a drifter to thecable and anchor and the drifter took themon board . The board ing boa t re tu rned toher station at 5.30 P . M . - Expenses for alllaunches defrayed by Admiralty.

J A N U A R Y 2 8 T H . - H A R T L E P O O L ,DURHAM. At 8.20 A.M . information wasreceived from the coastguard that a vesselwas aground at Seaton Carew. A moderateE.S.E. gale was blowing, with a heavy sea,but the vessel did not appear to be in anyimmediate danger. As, however, she con-tinued to sound her whistle the motor life-boat The Princess Royal (Civil Service No. 7)was launched at 9.55 A.M. She found theS.S. Sandenburgh, of Rotterdam, on LongscarRocks, hut she could not go alongside, forthe steamer was high and dry, and the crewcould have walked ashore . The l i fe -boa treturned to harbour at 10.45 A.M., intendingto go out to the steamer again later. Thena request for her help came from the navalsalvage officer, who was sending out two tugs,and the life-boat put off at 2.15 P .M . Thetugs could not get near the Sandenburgh asthere was now a swell on the Longscar Rocks,and the life-boat cruised round until 3.15 P.M.She then took of f three Br i t i sh and f iveDutch members of the crew, but the remain-ing th i r teen Dutch members of the crewdecided to stand by the ship. The eight menwere landed at 4.10 P.M.. - Rewards, £10.

20 SERVICES 1941

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT NEWCASTLE

JANUARY 28TH, 30TH and 31ST.-N E W C A S T L E , C O . D O W N . A t12.30 in the afternoon of the 28th, themotor life-boat L. P. and St. Helenwas launched to the he lp of themotor vesse l Sandh i l l , of New-castle-on-Tyne, which had been badlydamaged the day before , of f theEngl i sh coas t , by a mine . I t hadexp loded near he r s t e rn and hadput everything out of action. Noneof the machinery was working ; themain engine had been lifted from itsbed ; and the oil fuel had over-runthe engine-room. A south-easterlygale was blowing, with a very roughsea, and it had carried the disabledship across the Irish Sea.

The seas were breaking right intot h e h a r b o u r , a n d i t w a s a h a r dbusiness for the life-boat to get out,but she succeeded, and found the Sand-hill at anchor four miles south ofNewcastle and a mile and a half offthe land. She was in a very dangerousposition, on a lee shore, but her anchorswere holding. The life-boat stood byher for an hour, and then returned toher station after arranging with thecaptain to put out again at once if hesent up a flare. She got back to herstation at 3.30 in the afternoon.

Next day in the evening it wasarranged by signal that, if the galedid not moderate, the life-boat shouldgo out again on the following day,the 30th. So far from moderating thegale increased, and at 9.30 in themorning the life-boat put out. Shefound the Sandhi l l sti l l with heranchors down, but they were draggingand she was now within a mile of therocks.

It was both difficult and dangerousto go alongside her in the very heavyseas, for she was sheering wildly androlling heavily. Added to this, shehad an eighteen-inch belting roundher, which would smash the life-boatunless she were very carefully handled.

In spite of these difficulties, the cox-swain brought the life-boat alongsideand took off the captain and three ofthe crew. She returned to harbour withthem, and then put out again at once,as a message had been received that

nine soldiers were adrift in a collap-sible boat in Dundrum Bay. Shesearched for them for two hours, butcould find nothing and returned toharbour. I t was now 2.45 in theafternoon and the gale had been in-creasing all day. The life-boat at onceput out again to go to the help of theten men still aboard the Sandhill,which had now drifted still closer tothe rocks. Again the life-boat wentalongside the sheering, rolling ship.Her fenders were almost cut to piecesby the ship’s belting, and the life-boatherself was damaged, but she suc-ceeded in rescuing the ten men. Forover a mile on her way home shewas plunging through very heavybreakers, and had to use her drogueall the way. She arrived at her stationat six in the evening.

The next day the gale was modera-ting, and though the Sandhill haddragged her anchors nearer to therocks she was still afloat. A tug hadarrived, and the Sandhi l l ’s crewdecided to return to her. The life-boat took them out again, put themaboard, and then helped the tug to getthe ship in tow. When she returned,she had been out for over fifteen hoursduring the three days of that gale.

It was a difficult service carried outvery skilfully in severe weather, and theInstitution made the following awards :

To COXSWAIN PATRICK MURPHY, aclasp to the bronze medal for gal-lantry, which he had won eleven daysbefore, with a copy of the vote inscribedon vellum ;

To ROBERT AGNEW , the motor-mechanic, the bronze medal for gal-l a n t r y , w i t h a c o p y o f t h e v o t einscribed on vellum ;

To each of the other five members ofthe crew, WILLIAM MURPHY, second-coxswain, WILLIAM J. LENAGHAN, bow-man, THOMAS MCCLELLAND, assistantmotor-mechanic, PATRICK MCCLEL-L A N D and P A T R I C K R O O N E Y , thethanks of the Institution inscribed onvellum ;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew a special reward of £1 inaddition to the rewards on the ordinaryscale of 19s. for the launch onthe 28th, £1 8s. 6d. for the launchon the 30th, when the crew were

SERVICES 1941 21

landed, and 19s. for the launch onthe 31st when the crew were putback on the Sandhill, making a totalreward to each man of £4 6s. 6d.S t a n d a r d r e w a r d s t o c r e w a n dlaunchers : fo r the f i r s t l aunch ,£23 6s. 6d. ; for the second, £32 12s. 8d. ;for the third launch, £21 9s. 9d. ;additional rewards to crew, £7 ; totalrewards, £84 8s. 11d.

JANUARY 29TH-31ST and FEBRUARY 1ST .- CLOUGHEY, AND DONAGHADEE, CO.DOWN. At 12.50 A.M. information came tothe Cloughey station from the coastguard atTara that the S.S. Alhena, of Rotterdam, of5,000 tons, laden with government stores andbound from Liverpool for Port Said, was indistress on North Rock, two miles insideSouth Rock Light-vessel. A S.E. wind ofalmost gale force was blowing, with a heavysea. The Cloughey motor life-boat HerbertJohn was launched at 1.40 A.M., some of thelaunchers going into the sea up to their necks,and the l i fe -boat found the A l h e n a i n adangerous position with 61 passengers andcrew on board. With difficulty the coxswaintook the life-boat alongside and rescued tenpassengers and a member of the crew whowas sick. She landed them on the beach inthe shelter of Slans Point, as she could notget back to her station, and returning to thesteamer took off and landed 18 members ofthe crew. Then she went out a third time.It was now between ten and eleven in themorning.

Meanwhile at 7.40 A.M . a message fromCloughey called out the Donaghadee motorlife-boat Civil Service No. 5, and she left herstation at eight o’clock. She reached theAlhena at 10 A.M., while the Cloughey life-boat was landing the men rescued on hersecond trip, and after standing by for a timeshe rescued 15 people. She landed them atDonaghadee at four in the afternoon, and hercrew stood by for another hour. They werethen to ld tha t the l i fe -boa t would not beneeded again.

Just after the Donaghadee life-boat leftt h e A l h e n a w i t h t h e 1 5 p e o p l e s h e h a drescued, the Cloughey boat arrived at thes teamer for the th i rd t ime and a r rangedwith her to stand by throughout the night,but this was found later not to be necessary,and she returned to her station at 5.55 P .M.

At 11.30 that night the naval authoritiesinformed both the stations that they wouldbe sending trawlers in the morning to takeoff mails and that they would be glad ofthe services of the life-boats. The Donagha-dee life-boat put out at 6.15 in the morningof the 30th, and transferred mails, and severalcases addressed to “ the King of Egypt “, tothe trawler. She then returned to her station,arriving at four in the afternoon.

The Cloughey life-boat put out at 8.15 inthe morning, and was employed in takingnaval officers, customs officials and others toand from the wreck. In addition she broughtashore an in jured sa i lor f rom one of the

t r a w l e r s . L a t e r i t w a s d e c i d e d t h a t t h eseventeen men remaining on board the Alhenashould be taken off. This the Cloughey life-boa t d id , pu t t ing them on board the twot rawlers . She a l so pu t a l i fe -boa tman oneach trawler to act as pilot, and returned toher station at five in the afternoon.

O n t h e n e x t d a y , J a n u a r y 3 1 s t , t h eCloughey life-boat was launched at 2.40 inthe afternoon, and was engaged until 6.30 P.M.in bringing off papers and luggage. Againon February 1st she was out from 9.30 inthe morn ing un t i l 5 .30 in the a f te rnoontaking customs officials to the wreck andbringing luggage ashore. - Rewards : Anincrease in the ordinary money reward onthe standard scale was made to each memberof the Cloughey crew for the serv ice on30th January and to the he lpers fo r theservice both of the 29th and 30th January.29th January, standard rewards to crew andhelpers, £37 0S. 9d. ; 30th January, standardrewards to crew and helpers, £12 0S. 6d. ;additional rewards to crew and helpers, £22 ;January 31s t and February l s t , p roper tysalvage cases. Total rewards to Cloughey,£71 1s. 3d.

Standard rewards to the Donaghadee crewand helpers for January 29th, £7 1s. 6d. ;addi t iona l rewards to c rew and he lpers ,£ 4 5 s . ; s t a n d a r d r e w a r d s t o c r e w a n dhelpers for January 30th, £10 4s. 6d. Totalrewards to Donaghadee, £21 11s.

Total rewards for the services, £92 12s. 3d.

J A N U A R Y 2 9 T H . - S U N D E R L A N D ,DURHAM. At about 6.10 A.M . the coast-guard reported a ship sinking about threemiles off Whitburn. A south-east wind wasblowing, with a moderate sea. The motorlife-boat Edward and Isabella Irwin wasl a u n c h e d a t 6 . 4 0 A . M . a n d f o u n d t h eS.S. Eibergen, of Rotterdam. She was ableto get into port under her own steam, andso the l i fe -boa t escor ted her , a r r iv ing a t9.55 A.M. - Rewards, £11 6s. 6d.

JANUARY 30TH. - DUNMORE EAST, CO.WATERFORD. Dur ing the morn ing thecoas twatchers a t Brownstown Head te le -phoned the civic guard that a raft had beenseen with three men on it. The informationwas passed to the life-boat station, and themotor life-boat Annie Blanche Smith waslaunched at 10.20 A.M. A strong S.E. breezewas blowing, with a very rough sea. Thelife-boat found the raft three hundred yardsfrom the shore on the west side of TramoreBay. The three men had been without foodor dr ink for four days , and were a lmos thelpless with exhaustion. At considerablerisk, D. Murphy, the bowman, jumped on tothe raft to help the men into the life-boat,and they were l anded a t 1 .30 P . M . Theywere survivors of the S.S. Beemsterdijk, ofRotterdam, a vessel of several thousand tons,which had been mined . The S t . David’s ,Pembrokeshire, life-boat had gone out to thehelp of the same steamer on 26th January.-Rewards, £9 14s. 6d.

(See “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,”St. Davids, page 24.)

22 SERVICES 1941

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT BALLYCOTTON

JANUARY 30TH. - BALLYCOTTON,CO. CORK. In the early morning ofthe 27th of January, 1941, many minescame ashore in Ballycotton Bay, on thesouth coast of Ireland, and four ofthem exploded, doing considerabledamage to the village of Ballycotton.All day long they were drifting inalong the coast, and the Ballycottoncoxswain and crew stood by. Thatday, however, they were not wanted.

T h r e e d a y s l a t e r , a t n o o n o nthe 30th, mines were again reportedto be in the bay, and most ofthe inhabitants of Ballycotton leftthe vil lage and went inland. Justa f te r th ree in the a f te rnoon thehonorary secretary of the life-boatstation received a message from thelook-out post on Flat Head, seventeenmiles away, that a ship’s boat wastwo miles south of Flat Head and thatits crew were trying to row off land.The life-boat crew were attending anAir Raid Precautions meeting. Theywere summoned at once and taken tothe life-boat house in motor cars. At3.15 in the afternoon the motor life-boat Mary Stanford was launched.

A strong wind was blowing from thesouth-south-east, with a heavy con-fused sea which was breaking threemiles off the land. There was a thickfog, and the crew knew that mineswere drifting in the bay. Fortunately,after a time, the fog lifted, but thesea got worse.

The life-boat passed the Daunt RockLightship, leaving it a mile on theport hand, and when she was twomiles west by south of it, steering forFlat Head, the coxswain saw smoketo the southward. He thought it mustbe a mine exploding. If a mine hadexploded, something had hit it. Healtered course and made for the smoke.He had been going a mile on the newcourse when he saw a boat on the topof a wave. The smoke had come froma flare which the men on board herhad lighted, for they had seen the life-boat before she saw them.

The boat belonged to the S.S. Prim-rose, of Liverpool. The steamer hadturned turtle at 9.30 in the morningwhen she was about four miles east-

south-east of Daunt Rock. The matehad been drowned in attempting tocut away a raft, but the other eightmen of the crew had got away in theship’s boat.

As the life-boat came near the boatthe life-boatmen could see that shewas waterlogged. Only six inches ofher gunwale were above the water.Three men at the oars were trying tokeep her head to the seas and fiveothers were lying exhausted acrossthe thwarts. The life-boat’s coxswaintold his crew to get grapnel irons andheaving lines ready. He intended torun up alongside and haul the menaboard.

When the life-boat was still fiftyyards away, the three men at the oarsturned their boat to row towards her,but at that moment a heavy sea brokeover her and filled her. She sank, andthe life-boat’s coxswain thought thatall her men had gone, but her aircases brought her to the surface again,and he took the life-boat right along-side her. He had to handle the life-boat very carefully, for if, in that sea,she had rolled over on the boat shewould have sunk her at once. Thegrapnel irons were thrown ; the boatwas hauled close to the life-boat ; andthe eight men were dragged on board.They were drenched, exhausted andsuffering from cramp, but still alive.It was then 5.15.

Brandy, biscuits and chocolate weregiven to them, and clothes which thelife-boatmen took off themselves.First aid was also given to two of themen, one with very severe cramp andthe other with a cut hand. Then thelife-boat made for Ballycotton. Shearrived at 7.10 in the evening, andthe rescued men were given into thecare of the Red Cross and the Ship-wrecked Mar iners ’ Soc ie ty . Thedoctor who examined them said that,in another two hours, they wouldhave been beyond his aid. Had thelife-boat not found them, they wouldnever have been able to reach the shoreby themselves. They did not think thatthey could have reached it, exhaustedas they were by their long strugglewith the heavy seas, and with onlythree men able to row; and had theycome near to it - a lee shore with

SERVICES 1941 23

the tide setting into it - their boatwould have been smashed to piecesin the breakers under the cliffs ofFlat Head.

It was a skilful and gallant rescue,and the life-boat, in the heavy seasand fog, ran great danger of beingblown up by a mine. The Institutionmade the following awards :

To COXSWAIN PATRICK SLINEY, thebronze medal for gallantry, with acopy of the vote inscribed on vellum;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew, a reward of £1 in additionto the ordinary scale reward of £2 7s.each. Standard rewards to crew andhelpers, £17 0S. 3d. ; additional re-wards to crew, £8 ; total rewards,£25 0s. 3d.

J A N U A R Y 3 l S T . - DOUGLAS, ISLE OFMAN. At 11 A . M . the Ramsey l i fe -boatstation reported that a vessel with a barrageb a l l o o n a t t a c h e d w a s d r i f t i n g t o w a r d sMaughold Head, but that owing to the stateof the tide the Ramsey life-boat could notlaunch. A north-easterly wind was blowing,with a moderate sea. The Douglas motorlife-boat Manchester and Salford was launchedat 11.25 A.M., and at 1.5 P.M. found the motorvessel S a t u r n u s , a lmos t aground a t Por tMoor . She had been on f i re . Her wheel -house and the hatches of the hold had beencomple te ly des t royed and her c rew hadabandoned her. Two naval officers had goneon board her, and they were there when thelife-boat arrived. The engine-room was stillsmouldering but the engines were running.The of f icers had s topped them, and thenfound that they could not start them again.The life-boat took the Saturnus in tow, andb r o u g h t h e r i n t o D o u g l a s a t 5 . 3 0 P . M .Tr ibu tes were pa id by the nava l and a i rforce officers to the excellent work of thelife-boat crew. - Property salvage case.

The following life-boats were launched,but no services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

JANUARY 2ND. - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing was found.-Rewards, £21 19s. 6d.

JANUARY 3RD. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A vessel had been mined, but hercrew were rescued by a tug . - Rewards ,£4 18s. 6d.

JANUARY 4TH . - HASTINGS, SUSSEX.A red flare had been reported and men andwomen launchers worked hard and well inthe darkness to get the life-boat down tothe water through ten inches of snow, butshe found nothing. - Rewards, £22 19s. 9d.

J A N U A R Y 4 T H . - B A R R A I S L A N D ,HEBRIDES. A s t range- looking sh ip had

been reported at anchor, but she was found tobe a motor trawler which did not need help.- Rewards, £14 7s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 7 T H . - BALLYCOTTON CO.C O R K . M a c h i n e - g u n f i r e f r o m a i r c r a f tthought to be attacking fishing vessels hadbeen heard, but no vessels in need of helpwere found. - Rewards, £6 17s. 6d.

JANUARY 8TH. - CLACTON - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A Trinity House vessel was blownup by a mine, but sixteen of her crew werelost and eighteen were picked up by a patroldr i f te r . A search of the wreckage by thel i fe -boa t was wi thout resu l t . - Rewards ,£7 14s. 6d.

JANUARY 9TH . - SELSEY, SUSSEX. Anaeroplane was reported to have crashed, butnothing except oil was found. - Rewards,£20 3s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 1 0 T H . - BARMOUTH, MER-I O N E T H S H I R E . A B r i t i s h a i r c r a f t h a dcrashed into the sea, but no survivors werefound and an attempt to tow the aeroplaneinto shallow water failed. - Rewards, £17 5s.

JANUARY 11TH . - TORBAY, DEVON. Anaval rating finding himself unable to rowback to h i s motor l aunch had boarded ay a c h t a n d s h o u t e d f o r h e l p , b u t a b o a tb e l o n g i n g t o t h e l a u n c h t o o k h i m o f f . -Rewards, £6 19s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 1 1 T H . - P E E L , A N D P O R TERIN, ISLE OF MAN. Amber-co louredrockets had been seen and the Peel life-boatwent out. Later a red flare was seen in thedirection of the life-boat and the Port Erinlife-boat put out, but nothing was found.-Rewards : Peel, £11 10s. ; Port Erin, £712s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 1 1 T H . - ARRANMORE, CO.D O N E G A L . A s t e a m e r h a d b e e n i ncollision, but she was taken in tow by adestroyer. - Rewards, £26 15s.

JANUARY 16TH. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A motor vessel had gone ashore,but her crew got off without help. - Rewards,£13 19s.

J A N U A R Y 1 6 T H . - H A R T L E P O O L ,DURHAM. A British aeroplane had crashedinto the sea in a mined area, but the life-boatwas recalled and naval vessels went out.-Rewards, £6 12s.

JANUARY 18TH . - WICK, CAITHNESS-S H I R E . F i s h i n g b o a t s w e r e m a k i n g f o rharbour in bad weather, but got in withouthelp.-Rewards, £6 13s.

J A N U A R Y 1 8 T H . - C A M P B E L T O W N ,ARGYLLSHIRE. The Dutch S.S. PrinsesJuliana, of Flushing, had been reported indifficulties near the shore, but she was foundn o t t o b e i n n e e d o f h e l p . - R e w a r d s ,£4 17s. 6d.

24 SERVICES 1941

J A N U A R Y 1 9 T H . - W H I T B Y , Y O R K -SHIRE. A trawler had stranded under thecliffs at Kettleness, but her crew were rescuedfrom the shore by the coastguard life-savingapparatus. - Rewards, £4 13s. 6d.

JANUARY 19TH. - WALTON AND FRIN-TON, ESSEX. An unknown s teamer hadbeen bombed by enemy aeroplanes and seton fire, but her crew were rescued by a navalvessel. - Rewards, £26 18s.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 T H . - R O S S L A R E H A R -B O U R , C O . W E X F O R D . O n t h e a f t e r -noon of the 20th January the Athlone Broad-casting Station asked listeners to inform thelife-boat authorities that a vessel was indistress. She was the Greek steamer Eleni,of Ithaca, in difficulties off Raven Point.Coxswain J. Wickham, who was ill in bed,got up and went out in the life-boat, butcollapsed. The life-boat found nothing, andthe steamer sent a message cancelling hercall as she had been helped by another vessel.- Par t ly permanent pa id c rew. Rewards ,£2 7s.

JANUARY 25TH . - MARGATE, KENT. Aboat with men aboard had been reported, andthe life-boat went out to investigate, but foundthat the “boat and men” were a damagedraft with pieces of wood sticking up from it.- Rewards £7 12s.

J A N U A R Y 2 6 T H . - B R I D L I N G T O N ,YORKSHIRE. A French motor l i fe -boa tbound for Bridlington for service as a rescueboat under the Admiralty had been disabledby her engine breaking down. The life-boatpassed quite close to her in the darkness,but her crew thought the sound of the life-boat’s engine was an enemy seaplane andthey would not signal. The life-boat did notfind her, and the boat went ashore withouti n j u r y t o h e r c r e w o f f o u r . - R e w a r d s ,£24 7s. 6d.

JANUARY 26T H . - ST. DAVID’S, PEM-B R O K E S H I R E . J a n u a r y 2 6 t h w a s aSunday, and Dr. Joseph Soar, Mus.Doc.,organist at St. David’s Cathedral and thehonorary secretary of the life-boat station,received a telephone message at the Cathedraldur ing the morning serv ice , th rough thepolice, which came from the Milford Havennaval base. The message asked for the life-boat to go out to a vessel, the Beemsterdijk,which had been reported as sinking afterstriking a mine, but naval vessels had alsogone out and had found the vessel, and thelife-boat was recalled. - Rewards, £19 13s.

(See “ Accounts of Services by Life-boats,”Dunmore East, 30th January, 1941, page 21.)

JANUARY 27TH. - HOWTH, CO. DUBLIN.An unknown aeroplane had been reportedby the Dubl in mi l i t a ry au thor i t i es to bedown in the sea, but nothing was found.-Rewards, £10 13s.

J A N U A R Y 2 8 T H . - S T O R N O W A Y ,I S L A N D O F L E W I S . F l a r e s h a d b e e nreported but no vessel in distress was found.- Rewards, £12 6s. 3d.

JANUARY 28TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.A steamer had been reported aground onthe Haisborough Sands, but could not befound and must have refloated and gone onher way. - Rewards, £38 3s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 2 9 T H . - BARROW, LANCA-SHIRE. A trawler had gone aground, buts h e r e f l o a t e d a n d d i d n o t n e e d h e l p . -Rewards, £4 19s. 6d.

JANUARY 30TH . - ALDEBURGH, SUF-F O L K . T h e c o a s t g u a r d h a d s e e n w h a tappeared to be a rubber boat with a manin it, but it was found to be a Carley float.-Rewards, £29 6s.

FEBRUARY

Launches 88. Lives rescued 248.

FEBRUARY 1ST. - ST. IVES, CORNWALL.At 4.6 P.M. the naval authorities at Penzancesent a message through the coastguard askingfor the life-boat to go out with a doctor andbring in from a steamer shipwrecked menwhom she had p icked up . A f resh N.E.breeze was blowing, with a slight sea. Witha doctor and ambulance men on board, themotor life-boat Caroline Oates Aver andWilliam Maine was launched at 4.30 P .M.,and in the bay found the S.S. Isleman withten men on board belonging to the S.S. Kia,of Gloucester, formerly of Estonia, whomshe had rescued from the ship’s boat. TheKia had been attacked and left sinking, andher crew had abandoned her. The life-boatl a n d e d t e n m e n a n d t h e n w e n t o u t a n dbrought in a ship’s boat with a dead seamanaboard, returning to her station at 6.15 P.M.- Rewards, £16 3s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 2ND . - SENNEN COVE, ANDPENLEE, CORNWALL. At 5.17 P .M . thecoastguard reported a vessel was in distress,and the motor life-boat The Newbons waslaunched at 6 P .M. A strong N.E. gale wasblowing, with a very rough sea. The life-boat found the S.S. Heire, of Oslo, three milesW.N.W. of The Brisons. She had lost herpropeller, was waiting for a tug, and did notneed the l i fe -boat ’s he lp . The l i fe -boatreturned to her station at eight in the eveningand stood by. At 11.4 P .M. a message camethat the steamer had fired a red rocket, andwas thought to be ashore on the Shark’sFin, near the Longships. The weather hadnow got worse. The Sennen Cove life-boatcould not be launched, and the Penlee life-boat s ta t ion was informed. Penlee a l soreceived the news through the coastguard,at about 11.30 P .M., and the motor life-boatW. and S. left at midnight. She found theHeire in a very dangerous position, stillwaiting for a tug, and stood by her until9 next morning when the tug arrived. Thelife-boat continued to stand by until the Heirewas safely in tow, and then returned to herstation, arriving at noon. She had been outover twelve hours. It was a long and arduousserv ice in b i t te r weather and the Penleecrew were thanked by the resident navalofficer at Penzance. A gift of £16 was made

SERVICES 1941 25

to them by the master and crew of the Heire.- Rewards, Sennen Cove, £20 15s. ; Penlee,£26 19s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 5 T H a n d 6 T H . - B A R R AISLAND, HEBRIDES. At 9 A.M . informa-tion was received through the coastguardtha t a vesse l was ashore sou th of Bar raIsland, and the motor life-boat Lloyd’s waslaunched at 10 A.M. Half a gale was blowingfrom the south-west, with a rough sea. Thelife-boat found the S.S. Politician, of Liver-pool, in Barra Sound on the east aide ofEr i skay . She was a 10 ,000- ton s t eamer ,bound laden to Jamaica f rom Liverpool .The life-boat rescued her crew of fifty andtook them to Castlebay, arriving at 8.0 inthe evening. At nine the following morningthe life-boat took the captain and crew outagain to see what hope there was of refloatingthe ship, but it was found that she was likelyto become a total wreck, and the life-boatreturned at 7.30 P . M . - Rewards, £21 5s.,and £24 1s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 6TH and 12TH, and MARCH 7TH.- A M B L E , N O R T H U M B E R L A N D . A t11.45 P .M . on the 5th February the coast-guard reported a vessel ashore at DruridgeBay, and the motor life-boat Frederick andE m m a was launched 35 minutes l a te r . Amoderate breeze was blowing, but the seawas rough. The l i fe -boa t found the S .S .Empire Breeze, of Sunderland, ashore onBondicar Rocks, south of Hauxley. She wasa vessel of 9,500 tons, with a crew of 42,laden with coke for America from Scotland,and on her maiden voyage. She was badlyholed and the life-boat rescued and broughtashore 34 men. Going off again, the life-boatrescued the remainder of the crew, exceptthe captain who still refused to abandon ship.A third trip was made at 11.30 A.M . andafter much persuasion the captain consentedto leave and was brought ashore at 4.25 P.M.The life-boat also brought with her some ofthe rescued crew’s belongings. Salvage opera-tions were started, and on the 12th February,when a S.E. gale was blowing, with a roughsea, the naval salvage officer asked the life-boat to go out and bring ashore the salvageparty on board the Empire Breeze. At 3.30P .M. the motor life-boat Elizabeth Newton,o n t e m p o r a r y d u t y a t t h e s t a t i o n , w a slaunched, but the salvage party refused toleave the steamer and the life-boat returnedat 4.50 P.M.

On the 7th March the steamer caught fire,and the life-boat went to her at 11 P.M., butthe salvage party on board had got the fireunder control, and the life-boat returned toher station at 12.45 A.M. - Rewards : firstlaunch, £22 12s. ; second launch, no expenseto the Institution ; third launch, £15.

(See “ Accounts of Services by Life-boats,”Cresswell, page 36.)

F E B R U A R Y 6 T H . - T O B E R M O R Y ,ARGYLLSHIRE. At 11.50 A.M . informa-tion was received from a resident of Ulva,

Baron Renfrew to Bunessan. Thelife-boat returned to her station at 9.30 P .M.- Rewards, £17 19s. 6d.

FE B R U A R Y 7 T H . - MARYPORT, CUM-BERLAND. Shortly after 9 in the eveninginformation was received through the coast-guard that a vessel had struck a mine offWorkington, and the motor life-boat JosephBraithwaite was launched at 9.40 P.M. Therewas a light breeze and the sea was choppy.The life-boat found the motor vessel ScottishC o - o p e r a t o r , of Le i th , a f loa t , bu t bad lydamaged by the mine. She was laden withammunition and was bound for Ireland. Adredger had had her in tow, but the hawserhad parted. The life-boat and an examina-tion vessel, which had also come to their help,now took her in tow, and she was safelydocked a t Workington . The l i fe -boa t re -turned to her station at 1.50 A.M. The navalofficer in charge at Workington congratulatedthe life-boat’s crew on their “ miraculousescape ” and thanked them. - Rewards ,£21 17s.

F E B R U A R Y 8 T H . - B A R R A I S L A N D ,H E B R I D E S . A t 5 A . M . a t e l e g r a m w a sreceived from the Stornoway coastguard thatS.S. Thala, of London, was ashore on the S.E.corner of the Island of South Uist. She wasa vessel of 4,399 tons, laden, and bound fromOban for Middlesbrough. She had a crewof 37. A strong westerly wind was blowing,with a rough sea. The motor life-boat Lloyd’swas launched at 6 A.M. and two hours latershe found the Thala. By then some of herc r e w h a d t a k e n t o t h e b o a t s , b u t t h e yreturned to their ship, and on the arrival ofa destroyer and a tug an effort was made torefloat her. It was unsuccessful, and the life-boat kept in touch with the Thala and thedestroyer throughout the day. About 5 inthe af te rnoon she took of f the crew andtransferred them to the destroyer, except fortwo officers who stayed on board the life-boat.She also picked up three of the steamer’sboats and handed them over to the destroyer.The life-boat then took the two officers toLochboisda le , on South Uis t , where shestayed the night. At mid-day on the follow-ing day the life-boat, with the two officers onboard, returned to the Thala, and found thatshe was l ike ly to become a to ta l wreck .After standing by for a time, she returned toCastlebay, Barra Island, at 7 P .M . on the9th February. - Rewards, £43 10s.

26 SERVICES 1941

F E B R U A R Y 8 T H . - P O R T A S K A I G ,ARGYLLSHIRE. At 4.35 A.M . the South-end coastguard informed the life-boat stationthat a vessel was in distress south of Colonsay.A strong southerly wind was blowing, and itwas dark and foggy. The motor life-boatCharlotte Elizabeth was launched at 6.40 A.M.,and with the help of her radio telephone foundthe vessel two miles west of Ardskenish Point.She was the S.S. G. MacLaren., of Cardiff, ofabout 7,000 tons, disabled by the loss of herrudder and propeller. She was at anchor.The life-boat stood by until a tug arrived,and took the steamer in tow, and she pilotedthem in to deep water , and the l i fe -boatreturned to her station, arriving at 8.15 P.M.- Rewards, £10 12s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 8 T H . - S C A R B O R O U G H ,YORKSHIRE. The fishing boat Thankful ,of Scarborough, with four men on board, didnot return during the afternoon, as expected,and another fishing boat went out to lookfor her, but failed to find her. At 6.30 P .M.the Burniston coastguard reported distressflares, and the motor life-boat Herbert Joy IIwent out at 7.50 P .M. A light S.S.W. windwas blowing, and the sea was smooth. Thelife-boat found the Thankful four miles N.E.of Scarborough. She was leaking badly andin danger of sinking. The life-boat took herin tow and reached harbour at 9.30 P .M .The crew of the Thankful had to keep balingand pumping all the way home. - Propertysalvage case.

FEBRUARY 9TH . - WICK, CAITHNESS-SHIRE. At 3 .50 P . M . the coas tguard re -ported a British aeroplane in difficulties, anda few minutes later the news came that theaeroplane was down in the sea. Her positionwas given at sixteen miles east of Wick.A S.W. breeze was blowing, with a choppysea. The motor life-boat City of Edinburghwas launched at 4.10 P .M . , and found anexhausted airman floating on a rubber dinghy.The life-boat took him on board and thenmade a thorough search for the two othermembers of the crew, but could not findthem. She a r r ived back a t he r s ta t ion a t8 P.M. - Rewards, £16 9s.

F E B R U A R Y 1 1 T H . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,A B E R D E E N S H I R E . A t 1 0 . 3 5 i n t h eevening the coastguard at Kinnaird Headreported that a vessel at sea was signallingby morse lamp, and a few minutes later thatthe signal was for a doctor. The life-boatJ o h n a n d C h a r l e s K e n n e d y p u t o u t a t1 1 . 1 2 P . M . , wi th a doc tor on board , andCaptain A. Stephen, the honorary secretaryof the station. A light southerly wind wasblowing, and the sea was calm. The life-boatfound the vessel about a mile east of Fraser-burgh. She was the S.S. Cantick Head, ofLei th . The doc tor and Capta in S tephenwent on board and found that the steamerhad been a t tacked by enemy aeroplaneswhen thirty miles north of Fraserburgh andthat her captain had been badly woundedby bullets. The steamer came into Fraser-burgh , and the l i fe -boa t re turned to herstation, arriving at 12.50 next morning.-Rewards, £14 9s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 12TH. - WICK, CAITHNESS-S H I R E . A t 5 . 4 5 A . M . i n f o r m a t i o n w a srece ived tha t a Br i t i sh aeroplane , sometwenty miles due east, was making for Wick.A few minutes later it was reported that shewas down in the sea two miles S.E. of SarcletHead. A fresh S.E. breeze was blowing, witha short swell. The motor life-boat City ofEdinburgh was launched at 6.20 A.M. andsearched without success until, about 11 A.M.,she found the body of an airman floating closeto the c l i f f s a t Whal igoe . The l i fe -boa treturned with the body at 1 P.M. - Rewards,£8 11s.

FE B R U A R Y 1 3 T H . - WHITBY, YORK-SHIRE. At 3.5 in the afternoon the coast-guard telephoned that German aeroplaneshad dropped bombs and later that a vesselwas reported to be firing red flares. At 3.50the No. 1 motor life-boat Mary Ann Hep-worth was launched. A light north-east windwas blowing, with a moderate sea. The life-boat found that the vessel which had beenfiring the red flares was the S.S. WestcliffeHall , of Montreal. Her steering gear hadbeen put out of order, and she had a largehole in her side and an unexploded bomb onboard. What she wanted was a tow, so thelife-boat fetched a patrol ship. A destroyeralso came up. The life-boat got a hawserfixed between the steamer and the patrols h i p a n d t h e n r e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n ,arriving at 6.45 in the evening. The patrolship later towed the Westclif fe Hall intoHartlepool. - Rewards, £10 11s. 3d.

FEBRUARY 14TH. - WICK, CAITHNESS-SHIRE. At l.6 P.M. the coastguard reportedthe S.S. Dromara, of Belfast, in difficulties offWick Bay, and the motor life-boat City ofEdinburgh was launched at 1.30 P.M., takinga pilot with her. A moderate S.E. gale wasblowing, with a very heavy swell. She foundthe Dromara listing heavily, and as it seemedimpossible for her to make harbour, the life-boat escorted her while she steamed south,hoping to reach more sheltered waters. Whenoff Hillman Head, however, she took a heavierlist, her engines stopped, and she began todrive ashore. Going alongside the life-boattook off two elderly members of the crew bybreeches buoy. Then she came under theship’s quarter, and rescued the remainingeleven members of the crew. She herself wasdamaged by being flung against the steamer.She a r r ived back a t Wick a t 3 .30 P . M . -Rewards, £7 14s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 1 4 T H . - A B E R D E E N . A t9.35 P.M. the naval authorities asked for theassembly of the life-boat crew, as H.M. tugAttenti f was reported three miles S.E. ofGirdleness, with her stokehold flooded. Astrong E.S.E. wind was blowing, with a veryheavy sea. The No. 1 motor life-boat EmmaConstance was launched at 10.5 P.M., but itwas not until 1.45 A.M. that she found thetug , which was then f ive mi les N.E. ofGirdleness. The Attentif asked the life-boatto return to Aberdeen with an urgent messagefor a tug. This she did, arriving at 2.40 A.M.,a n d l a t e r t h e A t t e n t i f w a s t o w e d i n . -Rewards, £14 11s. 6d.

SERVICES 1941 27

F E B R U A R Y 1 5 T H . - W H I T B Y , Y O R K -S H I R E . A t 6 . 4 5 A . M . t h e c o a s t g u a r dreported a vessel in distress at Robin Hood’sBay , and a t 7 .30 A . M . the No. 1 motorlife-boat Mary Ann Hepworth was launched.A l i g h t S . E . w i n d w a s b l o w i n g , w i t h am o d e r a t e s e a . T h e l i f e - b o a t f o u n d t h eS .S . Par i s , of London, hard aground of fStoupe Beck, with a cargo of coal for Londonand a crew of twenty-two. She had been incollision some hours earlier and had been runaground. She was damaged below the waterline and her fore deck was awash. The life-boat rescued seventeen of the crew, andlanded them at Whitby at 10 A.M. She putout again at 10.20 taking with her Lloyd’sagent. The captain eventually decided toabandon the Paris, and the life-boat rescuedhim and the remaining five members of hiscrew, landing them at Whitby at 3.45 P .M.- Rewards, £9 9s.

F E B R U A R Y 1 5 T H . - S K E G N E S S , L I N -COLNSHIRE. At 10.50 A.M . informationwas received from the Chapel St. Leonard’scoastguard that an aeroplane was down inthe sea two miles east of the look-out. Alight S.W. wind was blowing, and the sea wassmooth. The motor life-boat Anne Allen waslaunched at 11.20 A.M., and after a long searchwas guided by a British aeroplane to a spotwhere she found some articles of clothing,some wreckage, and some fragments of anairman. The life-boat returned at 3.35 P .M.,taking with her some of the clothing andwreckage, and handed them over to the RoyalAir Force to be identified. Later it was learntthat the aeroplane belonged to the AmericanEagle Squadron and that the pilot was theirfamous Ace. Both going and returning thelife-boat came under fire from troops whowere practising with an automatic gun andthe crew had to l ie down on the deck . -Rewards, £9 2s. 6d.

FE B R U A R Y 1 6 T H . - NORTH SUNDER-LAND, AND HOLY ISLAND, NORTH-U M B E R L A N D . A t 8 . 1 0 i n t h e m o r n i n gt h e c o a s t g u a r d r e p o r t e d t o t h e N o r t hSunderland life-boat station that a ship wasashore on the Farne Islands. She was theS.S. Coryton, of Cardiff, of nearly 3,000 tons,and she was loaded wi th gra in . She wasbound for Hull from New Brunswick, andcarried a crew of forty. The North Sunder-land life-boat W.R.A. was launched at 8.30.A light southerly wind was blowing, but thesea was heavy. The life-boat went to theLongstone lighthouse, on the Farne Islands,but did not find the steamer there. Then, atnine o’clock, a message came to the HolyIs land l i fe -boa t s ta t ion tha t a sh ip wasashore in Budle Bay on the mainland, andat 9.30 the motor life-boat Milburn put out.She found the Coryton, which came ashoreafter striking a rock. The Milburn broughther captain ashore so that he could com-municate with his owners, and when she tookhim out to the Coryton again found the NorthSunderland life-boat standing by. The twolife-boats then laid out an anchor, and as thesteamer’s crew did not wish to abandon her,and as the weather was moderate, both life-

FEBRUARY 17TH . - HARTLEPOOL, ANDSEAHAM, DURHAM, AND REDCAR, ANDW H I T B Y , Y O R K S H I R E . S h o r t l y a f t e rmidnight a message came to the Hartlepoolhonorary secretary’s house from the coast-guard that the life-boat was wanted. Thehonorary secre ta ry was on duty wi th theObserver Corps, and the coastguard at oncerepeated the message to him there. The cox-swain was on duty in an examination vesseland the second-coxswain and crew werecalled out. Ten minutes later the call wascancelled. At 5 A.M. the call was repeated,and the motor life-boat The Princess Royal{Civil Service No. 7) was launched at 6.35,but a wire snapped, the starboard engine lostpower, and it was found that the broken wirehad got round the propeller and boss. Aneasterly gale was blowing, with exceptionallyheavy seas on the bar, and it was thought notsafe for the life-boat to go out on one engine.Attempts to put the trouble right failed, andat daylight it was decided to put the boatb a c k o n h e r s l i p w a y . T h e e n g i n e w a sreversed, the wire cleared and at 10.40 shewas ready aga in for se rv ice . The nava lofficer in charge was informed, and he toldthe life-boat to stand by for instructions.At 11.55 she was asked to go out to the helpof a vessel ashore on the Hummersea Sands.She was the French steamer Casamance. Thelife-boat found her at 3.10 in the afternoon,under the cliffs at Redcliff, with heavy seasgoing over her. The life-boat hailed her andsounded her klaxon horn, but no reply camefrom the steamer. She had evidently beenabandoned, and the life-boat returned to herstation, arriving at 5.30 P.M.

boats left at 1.30 P .M . and put into HolyIsland. Before they left, however, the

captain asked them to take any orders whichmight have come for him from his ownersand, in any case, to come out again to thesteamer at five in the afternoon. The seawas making and he was afraid that he wouldhave to abandon ship. Both life-boats putout again at 4.45, and reached the Corytonhalf an hour later. By this time a heavy seawas running, and the life-boats took off herwhole crew, 27 being rescued by the HolyIsland boat and 12 by the North Sunderlandboat. The captain himself would not leavehis ship, although the Holy Island coxswainstrongly advised him to do so and told himhe was in a very dangerous position. As hecould not be persuaded the life-boats returnedto Holy Island without him, arriving at 6.30that evening. The next day the body of theCoryton’s captain was found on Ross Sands.He had evidently been washed overboard inthe night. Owing to the heavy weather theNorth Sunderland life-boat remained at HolyIsland for two days and then returned to herown station on February 18th. - Rewards :North Sunderland, £25 8s. 3d. ; Holy Island,£13 1s. 9d.

The news that the steamer was ashore wassent also to Whitby, Seaham, Redcar andRunswick and S ta i thes . At Whi tby , Sea-ham and Redcar the crews were assembled,but the life-boats did not launch. The life-boat at Runswick was off service, but it was

28 SERVICES 1941

known there that the Hartlepool life-boathad launched, but about eleven in the morn-ing nine fishermen of Staithes were taken to thepoint on the cliffs nearest to the wreck in a coalwaggon, and immediately they were seen thecrew of the Casamance launched one of theship’s life-boats. It had on board 37 mena n d t h e w i f e o f t h e m a t e . T h e r e w a s at r e m e n d o u s c u r r e n t s w e e p i n g p a s t t h esteamer, and it looked as if the men wouldbe unable to manage the i r boa t bu t , en-couraged by the shouts, and guided by thes ignals , of the f i shermen on shore , theysucceeded in bringing her safely to the beach,and everyone on board was rescued. Anothersmal l boa t was then launched f rom thesteamer, with the captain and the remainingeight members of the crew on board, but theboat capsized and all nine were drowned.

The officers and men of the Casamance hadleft their things on board, ready packed, andnext day they asked if these might be broughtashore. Confidential papers had also beenleft on board which the officers were anxiousto have. The sea was still rough and only al i fe -boa t could ge t to the s teamer . Thenaval authorities decided to ask the Redcarlife-boat to go out, and at three in the after-noon the motor life-boat Louisa Polden waslaunched . Al l the persona l baggage , theship’s papers, navigational instruments andcharts were collected and brought ashore, andt h e l i f e b o a t r e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t6.30 P.M. - Rewards : Hartlepool, £17 14s. ;Redcar, assembly on the 17th, £6 15s,, serviceon the l8th, £14 12s. 3d. ; Whitby, assembly,£3 ; Seaham, assembly, £1 4s. 6d. ; the ninefishermen of Staithes were rewarded by theMinistry of Shipping.

F E B R U A R Y 1 8 T H . - W A L T O N A N DFRINTON, ESSEX. During the afternoonthe naval authorities asked for the servicesof the life-boat to destroy a floating mine,a n d t h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a t E . M . E . D . w a slaunched at 3.35 P .M . A coastguard and anaval rating were on board with a gun. Thesea was moderate with a light S.S.E. breeze.After they had sunk the mine the life-boatreturned to her station at 5.20 P.M. - Expensespaid by the Admiralty.

F E B R U A R Y 1 9 T H . - T Y N E M O U T H ,NORTHUMBERLAND. At 11.30 A.M. thelife-boat station received a telephone callf rom the Por t War S igna l S ta t ion tha t avessel had been mined east of the North Pier,and the motor life-boat John Pyemont waslaunched a t 12 .10 P . M . A s t rong N.N.E.wind was blowing with a rough sea. Thelife-boat found the S.S. Fulham II, of London,a vessel of 2,000 tons, with a crew of twenty-one men. After striking the mine she haddrifted on to the Trow Rocks at Marsden.The life-boat went under her lee side, where aheavy sea flung her against the steamer andshe was damaged, but she got alongside andtook off twenty men. The twenty-first man,the chief engineer, had been killed by theexplosion of the mine. The lifeboat returnedt o T y n e m o u t h w i t h t h e r e s c u e d m e n a t2.30 P.M. - Rewards, £10 4s.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 T H . - T H E M U M B L E S ,GLAMORGANSHIRE. At 6 .57 A . M . thecoastguard telephoned that a vessel had beenm i n e d o n e a n d a q u a r t e r m i l e s S . E . o fMumbles Head. The motor life-boat EdwardPrince of Wales was launched at 7.15 A.M.A light northerly wind was blowing, with achoppy sea. The life-boat found that thevessel was the S.S. Fort Medine, of Swansea,formerly a French vessel, of over 5,000 tons.There was much wreckage about, but thelife-boat saw no survivors. Some, it wasknown, had been picked up by other boats.She found two empty ship’s boats of theFort Medine and towed them in, arriving ather station at 9.30 A.M. - Property salvagecase.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 T H . - T E N B Y P E M -BROKESHIRE. At about 8 P .M . informa-tion was received, through the coastguard,from the Naval Base at Milford Haven, thata soldier had fallen over the cliff at Cork Bay,near St. Govans Head. The motor life-boatJohn R. Webb was launched at 8.40 P . M . ,taking a small boat in tow. A light N.N.W.wind was b lowing, wi th a ground swel l .The life-boat found the man, badly injured,got him aboard, and brought him to Tenbyat 12.50 A.M. A donation was received fromthe 4th County of London Yeomanry to whichthe man belonged. - Rewards, £18 18s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 2 l S T . - P E T E R H E A D ,A B E R D E E N S H I R E . A t 1 0 . 4 0 A . M . t h ecoas tguard repor ted a l igh t E . by S . o fPeterhead, and later reported that it wasstill to be seen, drifting northward. A freshN.E. breeze was blowing with a moderate sea.The motor life-boat Julia Park Barry ofGlasgow was launched at 1.45 AM. and foundthe smack Merite. She was rolling in theswell about a mile off the coast, and hadl o s t h e r b e a r i n g s . T h e l i g h t w h i c h t h ecoastguard had seen was on deck and wasnot a signal for help. The life-boat gave theM e r i t e h e r p o s i t i o n , a n d s h e m a d e f o rAberdeen, while the life-boat returned to hers t a t ion , a r r iv ing a t 4 .30 A . M - Rewards ,£13 3s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 2 2 N D . - T H E M U M B L E S ,GLAMORGANSHIRE. At 11.18 A.M. informa-tion was received from the coastguard thatthe minesweeper Erimo had struck a mineabout one and a half miles off the Mumbles,and was flying distress signals. A fresh S.E.breeze was blowing and the sea was smooth.The motor life-boat Edward Prince of Waleswas launched at 11.35 A.M. and found thatthe Erimo’s engine had been disabled by theexplosion. At the master’s request the life-boat stood by, and then escorted her whenanother vessel towed her to Swansea. Thelife-boat returned to her station at 2.30 P.M.,and later made an unsuccessful search for aship’s boat reported adrift. - Rewards, £8 10s.

F E B R U A R Y 2 6 T H . - H O W T H , C O .DUBLIN. At 4 P.M. it was reported that theopen motor boat Little Flower, a local fishingboat , wi th th ree men on board , had notreturned from fishing, and at 4.30 P .M. the

SERVICES 1941 29

motor l i fe -boat R.P.L . was launched . Asoutherly gale was blowing, with a heavy sea.The life-boat searched the fishing grounds,from Lambay Island for twelve miles towardsthe Sker r ies , bu t could f ind no th ing andreturned to Lambay Island. There she sawthree lights on the shore, a signal that thethree men were safe on the island, so shereturned to her station, arriving at 9.30 P.M.The next day she went out again at noon,took the men off the island, and towed in theLi t t l e F lower , ar r iv ing a t he r s t a t ion a t2.30 P.M.. - Rewards, first service, £17 11s. 6d. ;second service, no expense to Institution.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT THE HUMBER

FEBRUARY 27TH. - THE HUMBER,YORKSHIRE. About three in themorning the Royal Naval Shore SignalStation on the Humber reported thata mine had exploded in the convoyanchorage north of one of the twogate vessels, which formed part of theboom defence at the mouth of theHumber. The signal station askedthe life-boat crew to stand by. Tenminutes later another message camethat a vessel had been sunk a quarterof a mile north of the gate vessel.The life-boat was launched at once.A full gale was blowing from the south-south-east, with a heavy sea. Thenigh t was very dark , and i t wassnowing.

The life-boat made for a steamerwhich had red lights in her rigging, andfound her to be the S.S. Venus, ofRotterdam, which had fouled the boomdefence. Her master asked for tugs,so the coxswain took the life-boat tothe gate vessel and asked it to tele-phone for tugs. He also asked for theposition of the vessel that had beenreported sunk. It was given as abouthalf a mile to the north. The life-boatwent there, but could find nothing,and as she was searching she sawrockets going up a little way off to thenorth-eastward.

The coxswain knew that many mineshad been dropped in this part of theriver by enemy aeroplanes only a dayor two before. He knew the risk hewas running, but he took the risk andmade at once for the rockets. Theyhad been fired by the air raid balloonship Thora, which had gone agroundon the edge of the Trinity Sands, justinside the mouth of the Humber off

the north bank. Like the life-boatshe had been looking for the vesselreported sunk, but her anchor cablehad got round her propeller , haddamaged her steering gear and hadalso fouled her balloon cable. Out ofcontrol, she had struck the sands andlay there with the seas breaking overher full length from astern. It wasnow about 4.45 in the morning.

The coxswain took the life-boatthrough the surf past the Thora’sweather side, round her bows, wherethe water was so shallow that the life-boat touched bottom, and under herlee side. A rope was thrown to theThora, and by means of this rope, andby working his engines, the coxswainwas able to hold the life-boat - withseas breaking over her - close to theThora long enough for the eightmen of her crew to jump aboard.The actual rescue took only a fewminutes. Then the life-boat made forGrimsby to land the men, asking byradio telephone for the pier lights to beshown to guide her in. She arrivedthere shortly before seven that morn-ing and returned to her station at9.30.

It was not only a skilful, but a verycourageous rescue, in circumstances ofgreat danger, and the Institution madethe following awards :

To COXSWAIN ROBERT CROSS, aclasp to his bronze medal for gallantrywith a copy of the vote inscribed onvellum ;

To the coxswain and each of theseven members of his crew a specialreward of £2. Permanent paid crew,rewards, 13s 6d. ; additional rewards,£16 ; total rewards, £16 13s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 27TH . - ALDEBURGH, SUF-FOLK. Shortly after 5 A.M. the coastguardreported a vessel making a distress signaltwo and a half miles S.S.W. of Orfordness,and the No. 2 motor life-boat Lucy Laverswas launched at 6.30 A.M., after a way hadbeen cleared through the barbed wire andother defences. A S.S.E. gale was blowing,with a heavy swell. The life-boat found thebarge Martinet, of Poole, laden with cementfor Norwich f rom London wi th the seaswashing over her, went alongside and rescuedthe crew of three. Not long afterwards theMartinet sank. - Rewards, £25 14s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 2 7 T H . - P E T E R H E A D ,ABERDEENSHIRE. At 7 .30 A . M . a mes-sage was rece ived f rom the Naval Base ,

30 SERVICES 1941

through the coastguard, that H.M.T. Monimiawas ashore in South Bay, Peterhead. A S. byE. gale was blowing, with a very heavy sea.As it was low water it was impossible for thelife-boat to get near the wreck, so the coast-guard rocket life-saving apparatus was sent toher help, and rescued five of the crew of twentymen. At 12.45 P.M., by which time it was halfflood, the motor life-boat Julia Park Barry ofGlasgow was launched and reached the Moni-mia ten minutes later. Very heavy seas werebreaking over the trawler. The life-boat an-chored and dropped down on her cable, but theanchor dragged and she nearly came intocollision with the wreck. The life-boat wasseverely buffeted in the broken water ; hercrew were flung about ; and two of themwere cut in the face and hands. The life-boatanchored again, and this time got a rope tothe trawler with her line-throwing gun andrigged a breeches buoy, but the officer incharge of the t rawler dec ided to remainaboard until low water. The life-boat stoodby for a time, and returned to her station at2.45 P.M. At low water the remainder of theMonimia’s crew were rescued by the life-saving apparatus. - Rewards, £6 14s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 27TH. - GREAT YARMOUTHA N D G O R L E S T O N , N O R F O L K . A t4.30 P.M. a message came from the Yarmouthcoastguard asking for the services of the life-boat to bring ashore an injured man fromH.M.T. Francolin, off Wellington Pier. Itwas low water, and as other vessels could notget out of harbour the motor life-boat LouiseStephens left her moorings at 4.45 P .M. Astrong S. by W. wind was blowing, with arough sea . The l i fe -boa t l anded the s ickman at the naval sick bay, and returned toher station at 6.15 P.M. - Rewards, £8 13s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 2 7 T H a n d 2 8 T H . - G R E A TYARMOUTH AND GORLESTON, NOR-FOLK. At 9.30 in the morning the Gorlestoncoastguard telephoned to the life-boat stationthat the S.S. Dynamo, of Hull, was agroundon North Bank. She was laden with coalsfor Yarmouth and had a crew of 15 on board.Another message came that a tug was goingto her help, and at 10 A.M. the motor life-boatLouise Stephens put out. A southerly galewas blowing, with a very rough sea. Thelife-boat found the steamer in a dangerousposition, with seas breaking over her. Sheanchored and veered down, but in the heavyseas it was impossible for her to get alongsidethe steamer, so she hauled out again andfired her line-throwing gun. By this meansshe got a wire rope from the steamer, but itwas no t long enough to take to the tug .The life-boat herself was driving ashore, andby this time the tide was falling. No furtherattempt could be made to get the steamer intow until the tide flowed again. The life-boatcontinued to stand by, while the tide fell.As the crew were then in no danger, shereturned to her station again at 12.30 P .M.

On the following morning the life-boat wasout aga in a t s ix , and go t l ines f rom theD y n a m o to two tugs . They succeeded inshifting her about one length on this tide,and then, when the tide began to fall and

further efforts had to be suspended, the life-boat remained with the Dynamo until lowwater , and went back to her s ta t ion a t12.30 P .M. At 6.30 in the evening she wasout aga in fo r the th i rd t ime , and aga ins h e g o t l i n e s f r o m t h e D y n a m o t o t h etugs. One of the tugs pulled the bollardsout of the Dynamo, but by this time thetugs’ efforts were successful and the Dynamocame afloat at 9.35 that night. When shehad made certain that no further help wasneeded, the life-boat returned to her station,arriving at eleven. - Rewards: first service,£4 17s . 6d ; second and th i rd se rv ices ,property salvage cases.

FEBRUARY 28TH . - NEWCASTLE, CO.DOWN. At 4.15 in the morning the coast-guard telephoned that a steamer was ashore,and the motor life-boat L. P. and St. Helenwas launched at five minutes past five. Asoutherly gale was blowing, with a very roughsea and snow showers. The life-boat foundthe S.S. Margaret Lockington, of Dundalk,bound for Newry with a cargo of coal and ac r e w o f n i n e . S h e h a d g o n e a s h o r e a t“ Wrek Port “. The tide was ebbing, andwhen the life-boat arrived it had gone downsufficiently for the coastguard life-savingrocket apparatus to rescue the crew from theshore. The life-boat stood by, however, untildaylight, as the seas were so heavy that itwas impossible to signal to the shore by lamp.When day came the life-boat learned that allthe men had been rescued, and returned toher station, arriving at ten that morning.-Rewards, £36 14s. 8d.

F E B R U A R Y 2 8 T H . - T H E M U M B L E S ,G L A M O R G A N S H I R E . A t 1 0 . 5 6 i n t h emorning the coastguard reported that themotor vessel Cubenda, of London, with acrew of twelve, had struck a mine about twoand a half miles east of Mumbles Head, andthe motor life-boat Edward Prince of Waleswas launched at 11.20 A.M. A very strongwesterly wind was blowing, with a heavy sea.T h e l i f e - b o a t f o u n d t h a t e l e v e n o f t h eCubenda’s crew had been picked up by H.M.minesweeper Perdant. The chief engineer hadbeen killed, and his body was recovered by apatrol boat. At the request of the master ofthe minesweeper, the life-boat went alongsideand took off the eleven men. Owing to theheavy seas it was not possible to land themat the slipway so they were taken to Swanseaand pu t a shore a t 1 P . M . The l i fe -boa tr e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a n h o u r l a t e r . -Rewards, £6 15s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 2 8 T H . - P O O L B E G , C O .DUBLIN. At 5.30 P .M. a resident of Rings-end reported that a small open boat wasadrift in the fairway of the River Liffey,east of Pigeon House Fort. A strong S.W.wind was blowing, with a rough sea and anebbing tide. The motor life-boat Helen Blakewas launched at 5.50 P .M. and found a boyin a s ix teen-foot rowing punt . Both boyand boat were brought in by the life-boat,which returned to her station at 7.45 P.M.-Rewards, £10 2s.

SERVICES 1941 31

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT DUNMORE EAST

FEBRUARY 28TH and MARCH 1ST.-DUNMORE EAST, CO. WATER-FORD. At 11.15 in the morning of the28th the motor life-boat C. & S., ofDunmore East, was launched to thehelp of the Belgian motor trawler Ibis.A gale from the south-south-west hadbeen blowing the night before, witha very heavy sea. When the life-boat put out, the gale had droppedto a strong breeze, but a heavy groundsea was running. There was a seamist.

The Ibis had been caught by thegale on a lee shore, and had droppedthree anchors, but they had dragged,and she had been carried upwards ofseven miles, with her anchors down.When the life-boat reached her at oneo’clock she was only two hundredyards from the rocky shore, and theseas were breaking right over her.Not only was she in a place of extremeperil for herself, but in a place whereit was most difficult for the life-boatto get near her.

She was close to Green Island, al a r g e r o c k s u r r o u n d e d b y m a n ysmaller rocks, and she was sheeringwildly on her cables. It was onlypossible for the life-boat to approachher from the weather side, and as hertrawl boards were hanging over herweather quarter, and one of her cableswas over her weather bows, the onlypart of her approachable was amidships.

Among those rocks, in those seas,and with the trawler sheering soviolently, the life-boat could notapproach her direct. The second-cox-swain, who was at the wheel, ran hertowards the beach, turned her andcame up to the trawler’s weather sidefrom astern of her. He brought thelife-boat alongside amidships, held herthere for so long as it took a man tojump, and then sheered off to save thelife-boat from being caught under thetrawler’s cable. Five times altogetherhe carried out this manoeuvre until allseven of the trawler’s crew had jumpedinto the life-boat. Then he broughther out again and reached DunmoreEast, with the rescued men, at 2.40 inthe afternoon.

The second-coxswain, who was at

the wheel the whole of the time,handled the life-boat with courage andfine seamanship, and the Institutionmade the following awards :

To SECOND-COXSWAIN PATRICKPOWER, the bronze medal for gal-l a n t r y , w i t h a c o p y o f t h e v o t einscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain, second-coxswainand each member o f the c rew, areward of £1 in add i t ion to theo r d i n a r y s c a l e r e w a r d o f 1 9 s .Standard rewards to crew, £6 17s. 6d. ;additional rewards to crew, £8 ; totalrewards, £14 17s. 6d.

After the rescued men had beenlanded the life-boat put out again inan attempt to save the vessel. At thesame time it had been arranged for aWaterford dredger to go to the Ibis,but the dredger did not arrive, and thelife-boat returned at 8.15 that evening.Next morning, the 1st of March, shele f t aga in a t 9 .15 , and wi th he rhelp a steam trawler took the Ibis intow after her anchor chains had beencut. The l ife-boat returned to herstation at 8.45 that evening, and atthe same time the trawler towed theIbis into Dunmore East harbour.-Property salvage case.

The following life-boats were launched,but no services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

FE B R U A R Y 1 S T . - PADSTOW, CORN-WALL. A government motor vessel’s enginehad broken down, but her crew were able torepair it and the vessel made harbour withouthelp. - Rewards, £8 1s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 1ST . - TROON, AYRSHIRE.The Norwegian s teamer J o h n B a k k e , ofHaugesund, had run aground, but when thelife-boat reached her, her fore part was highand dry and help was not needed. - Rewards,£6 17s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 3RD. - LYTHAM - ST. ANNES,LANCASHIRE. A Br i t i sh ae rop lane hadbeen reported down, but later it was foundthat no aircraft was missing and the life-boatw a s r e c a l l e d . A l e t t e r o f t h a n k s w a sreceived from the R.A.F. Station. - Rewards,£15 19s.

FEBRUARY 3RD . - RAMSGATE, KENT.An Admira l ty t rawler had been bombedduring an air raid, but she had sunk beforethe life-boat could reach her, and a navalvessel had picked up three survivors of hercrew and the body of her skipper. - Rewards,£4 19s. 6d.

32 SERVICES 1941

F E B R U A R Y 4 T H . - B U C K I E , B A N F F -SHIRE. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea off Lossiemouth, but nothingcould be found. - Rewards, £11 5s.

F E B R U A R Y 4 T H . - T H E H U M B E R ,YORKSHIRE. A steamer which had beenblown up by a mine was found sunk by thes te rn , bu t the surv ivors of her c rew hadal ready been p icked up by o ther vesse lswhich were in the neighbourhood. Through-out this service enemy aeroplanes could beseen and heard, and there was intense gunfire.- Paid permanent crew. Rewards, 9s.

FEBRUARY 5TH. - PORTPATRICK, WIG-TOWNSHIRE. A motor vessel’s engine hadbroken down, but the vessel got into theshelter of a headland and did not need help.- Rewards, £21 2s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 6TH . - SELSEY, SUSSEX. ABritish aeroplane had been reported down inthe sea, but boats which went out to searchwere la te r reca l led by order of the com-mander-in-chief at Portsmouth. - Rewards,£13 13s. 9d.

FEBRUARY 6TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.A steamer had stranded twenty-two mileseast from Cromer, but she refloated beforet h e l i f e - b o a t r e a c h e d h e r . - R e w a r d s ,£21 14s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 7 T H . - S U N D E R L A N D ,DURHAM. An aeroplane had been reportedin the sea, but she had landed safely and thelife-boat was recalled. - Rewards, £9 6S.

F E B R U A R Y 8 T H . - N E W H A V E N ,SUSSEX. Patrol vessels had been reportedmissing, but nothing was found and, later, allwere accounted for. - Rewards, £10.

FE B R U A R Y 8 T H . - CLACTON-ON-SEA,E S S E X . A B r i t i s h a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nreported down in the sea, but nothing wasfound. - Rewards, £13 8s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 9 T H . - T H U R S O , C A I T H -NESS-SHIRE. A small boat from a patrolship had been reported missing, but she waspicked up by another patrol ship and takento Scapa. - Rewards, £7 12s.

F E B R U A R Y 1 0 T H . - P O R T R U S H , C O .ANTRIM. A Br i t i sh ae rop lane had beenreported down at sea, but it had, in fact,managed to land in a f ie ld . - Rewards ,£5 8s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 10TH. - ST. DAVID’S, PEM-BROKESHIRE. Red f la res had been re -ported, but nothing was found and it wasthought that a flare on land might have beenmis taken for a f l a re a t sea . - Rewards ,£13 1s.

F E B R U A R Y 1 2 T H . - S C A R B O R O U G H ,Y O R K S H I R E . A B r i t i s h a e r o p l a n e h a dbeen reported down in the sea, but nothingcould be found. - Rewards, £25 15s. 3d.

FE B R U A R Y 1 2 T H . - SKEGNESS, LIN-C O L N S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nrepor ted down in the sea , bu t a f te r anunsuccessful search it was learned that thecrew had managed to get ashore near Boston.- Rewards, £26 12s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 1 2 T H . - A N S T R U T H E R ,FIFESHIRE. A steamer had stranded offCrail, but when the life-boat coxswain hailedher he was thanked and told that help was notneeded. - Rewards, £9.

F E B R U A R Y 1 2 T H . - F I L E Y , Y O R K -SHIRE. An aeroplane had been reporteddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £17 10s.

FE B R U A R Y 1 6 T H . - NEWQUAY, ANDPADSTOW, CORNWALL. A steamer hadbeen mined ten miles N.E. of Trevose Head,and the Padstow life-boat put out in theear ly morning to search . Other vesse lshe lped , bu t no th ing was found except abarrage balloon floating in the sea. Late atnight the Newquay life-boat was sent outto look for a sh ip’s boa t f rom the samesteamer, but did not find her. - Rewards :Newquay, £35 18s. 3d. ; Padstow, partlypermanent paid crew, £13 6s. 6d.

FE B R U A R Y 1 6 T H . - SKEGNESS, LIN-COLNSHIRE. During activity in the air inthe early morning red lights had been re-ported some miles out at sea, but nothingwas found. - Rewards, £29 11s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 1 6 T H . - P E T E R H E A D ,ABERDEENSHIRE. A naval trawler hadbeen mined off the Bullars o’ Buchan, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £13 3s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 1 7 T H . - F I L E Y , Y O R K -SHIRE. Flashing lights had been seen atirregular intervals, but no sign of any vesselin need of help was found, although the cox-swain took the life-boat in right under thecliffs, and among the sea defences, in heavyseas. - Rewards, £29 8s.

FEBRUARY 19TH. - HASTINGS, SUSSEX.Flashes as from an aeroplane down in thesea had been repor ted , bu t no th ing wasfound. - Rewards £41 14s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 19TH . - PWLLHELI, CAER-NARVONSHIRE. A British Whitley aero-p lane had c rashed in Abersoch Bay , bu tRoyal Air Force speedboats rescued five oft h e c r e w a n d p i c k e d u p t w o b o d i e s . -Rewards £5 14s.

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 T H . - S U N D E R L A N D ,DURHAM. A steamer had been mined eastof the Tyne Piers, but she was beached andt h e l i f e - b o a t w a s r e c a l l e d . - R e w a r d s ,£7 15s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 20TH. - TYNEMOUTH, ANDCULLERCOATS, NORTHUMBERLAND.At 8.13 in the morning the honorary secre-tary at Tynemouth had a telephone call fromthe Por t War S igna l S ta t ion tha t one of

SERVICES 1941 33

H.M. trawlers had struck a mine about halfa mile east of the north pier and neededimmediate help. She was the Marjory Hastie.A strong wind was blowing, the sea was roughand it was snowing heavily. The honorarysecre ta ry rep l ied to the message tha t hewould launch immediately, but when he triedto telephone to the coxswain he found it wasimpossible. The storm had brought downthe telephone wires. He was also told thatthe roads between Tynemouth and Culler-coats were impassable, blocked by ice andheavy snow. He passed on this informationto the Port War Signal Station and said hewould t ry to co l lec t a c rew f rom Nor thShie lds . There he got toge ther a sc ra tchcrew. The bowman took command of themotor l i fe -boat J o h n P y e m o n t , and thehonorary secretary, Mr. E. Selby Davidson,went with the boat. She was launched at9.5, went to the position given and searchedin the b l inding snow. She found noth ingand went down the coast. There she foundthe t rawler ashore and her c rew a l readyrescued by the coastguard life-saving appa-ratus. She returned to her station at 11 A.M.,and was moored, as it was impossible to gether back into the boathouse.

Meanwhile at 8.30 in the morning two armyofficers from the Tynemouth garrison hadarrived at the Cullercoats life-boat stationwith the same information which had beentelephoned to Tynemouth a quarter of anhour before, that a trawler had been minedhalf a mile east of Tynemouth piers. It hadalready been arranged with the Cullercoatsstation and the Tynemouth coastguard that,as the telephone service had been put out ofaction by the heavy snow fall, signals tolaunch would be sent by a motor despatchrider. The crew were assembled at once, anda t 8 . 4 5 t h e l i f e - b o a t W e s t m o r l a n d w a sl a u n c h e d . T h e t w o a r m y o f f i c e r s w h obrought the message se t a f ine example .They took part in the launch, which wasvery difficult, going out up to the waist inthe breaking seas , and one of them wasknocked over . L ike the Tynemouth l i fe -b o a t , t h e C u l l e r c o a t s b o a t w e n t t o t h eposition given, found nothing, searched downthe coast, and found the trawler ashore atMarsden. She was in a position where it wasimpossible for the life-boat to get alongside.The life-boat made for the Tyne, as it wasimpossible to return to Cullercoats, arrivinga t 1 1 . 1 5 A . M . - R e w a r d s : T y n e m o u t h ,£12 3s. ; Cullercoats, £18 11s. 6d.

FE B R U A R Y 2 2 N D . - SKEGNESS, LIN-COLNSHIRE. A British Wellington aero-p lane had come down in the Wash , bu tnothing was found in the course of a ninehours’ search. - Rewards, £29 11s. 6d.

FE B R U A R Y 2 2 N D . - ST . IVES, CORN-WALL. Morse s igna ls thought to be anS.O.S. had been reported, but no vessel inneed of he lp could be found. - Rewards ,£11 10s.

F E B R U A R Y 2 4 T H . - C R O M E R , N O R -FOLK. An aeroplane had been repor tedin difficulties fifteen miles east of Hais-

borough , bu t a l though the l i fe -boa t andaeroplanes made a search nothing was found.- Rewards, £18 10s.

F E B R U A R Y 2 5 T H . - A R K L O W , C O .WICKLOW. Red lights thought to be froman aeroplane had been reported, hut nothingcould be found. - Rewards, £21 16s.

FEBRUARY 26TH. - BALLYCOTTON, CO.C O R K . A n u n k n o w n t r a w l e r h a d b e e nreported apparently in difficulties S.E. ofCape1 Island, but nothing could be found.The l i fe -boat c rew were ca l led f rom theLenten service in Ballycotton church. Whilesearching they passed a floating mine only afew yards away. - Rewards, £13 11s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 2 6 T H . - T E N B Y , P E M -BROKESHIRE. A vessel had been reportedsinking after being attacked by a Germanaeroplane, but a passing merchant vesselpicked up the crew. - Rewards, £20 4s.

FEBRUARY 27TH. - ST. ABBS, BERWICK-SHIRE. A Whi t ley bomber had been re -ported down in the sea, but actually it hadcome down close to the shore north of FifeNess. - Rewards, £8 13s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 27TH . - KIRKCUDBRIGHT.The S.S. Eldey, of Iceland, had run ashoreon the Isle of Whithorn, but the crew wererescued from the shore by the coastguardrocket life-saving appliances. - Rewards,£25 12s.

FEBRUARY 27TH. - MONTROSE, ANGUS.A steamer was reported to have been attackedby enemy aeroplanes, but nothing could befound. - Rewards, £19 9s. 5d.

F E B R U A R Y 2 8 T H . - T H E H U M B E R ,Y O R K S H I R E . A b o m b e r a e r o p l a n e h a dbeen reported down in the sea, but anothermessage came that she “ had been accountedfor “, and the life-boat was recalled. - Paidpermanent crew.

FEBRUARY 28TH . - PWLLHELI, CAER-NARVONSHIRE. A ship had been reportedin distress off Penrhos, but no trace of anyvessel in need of help was found. - Rewards,£13 11s. 6d.

MARCH

Launches 90. Lives rescued 132.MARCH 2ND. - PLYMOUTH, DEVON. At

4.30 A.M. information was received from theKing’s Harbour Master that signals of distresswere being shewn in Jennycliffe Bay, and themotor life-boat Robert and Marcella Beck waslaunched at 5.10 A.M. A gale was blowing,with a rough sea. The life-boat found themotor vessel Houtman, formerly of Rotter-dam, with a crew of eight. She had draggedher anchors and gone ashore broadside on.The lifeboat fired a line to her and, helped bythe wind veering W.N.W., she was able toget the vessel off the rocks and to a safeanchorage. One member of the vessel’s crew

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h a d h i s h a n d c r u s h e d a n d t h e l i f e - b o a tbrought him ashore for treatment when shereturned to her station at 8.10 A.M. - Rewards,£9 19s. 6d.

MARCH 8TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK. Atabout 2.30 in the morning the Cromer coast-guard repor ted tha t an S .O.S . was be ingflashed one mile N. by W. from the Hais-borough coastguard lookout, and the CromerNo. 1 motor l i fe -boa t H. F . Ba i l ey waslaunched at 2.30. A moderate S.E. wind wasblowing, with a moderate sea. The life-boatfound a small boat, with thirteen men onboard, close to the breakers on Haisboroughb e a c h . T h e y b e l o n g e d t o t h e 3 , 6 0 0 - t o nsteamer Corduff, of Newcastle-on-Tyne ; shehad been sunk by an E-boat ; some of hercrew had been lost ; two of them had beentaken prisoner to Germany ; and two of thosein the small boat were injured. The life-boattook the thirteen men on board as quickly aspossible and made at once for Cromer, sothat the two injured men might be landedand given treatment without delay, but whenshe reached the slipway, it was impossible, inthe sea that was running, to put them ashoreat once. In the end they were put ashore at7.45. A letter of appreciation was receivedf rom the Bat te ry Commander a t Happis -burgh. - Rewards, £28 0s. 6d.

M A R C H 8 T H a n d 1 1 T H . - C R O M E R ,N O R F O L K . W h i l e t h e N o . 1 l i f e b o a tH. F. Bailey was still waiting to land themen she had rescued from the S.S. Corduff,news came through the coastguard that aship was ashore four miles S.E. of Cromer.As soon as she had landed the C o r d u f f ' smen a t 7 .45 A . M . the l i fe -boat re fue l ledand left again at 8.15 A.M. A moderate S.E.wind was blowing, with a ground swell. Thelife-boat found the S.S. Kenton of Newcastle,which had been attacked. There was no oneon board. The life-boat found two ship’sboats, both empty and with nothing to showt o w h a t v e s s e l t h e y h a d b e l o n g e d . S h etowed them to Cromer, arriving about 10 A.M.

Three days l a te r the nava l au thor i t i e swished to investigate the wreck of the Kenton,and the No. 2 motor life-boat Harriot Dixonpu t ou t a t 1 P . M . I t was found tha t thesteamer had broken her back. The life-boatbrought ashore two Lewis guns, rifles andammunition, and returned to her station at3.30 P.M. - Rewards : No. 1, £13 6s. 6d. ;No. 2, Expenses paid by the Admiralty.

M A R C H 8 T H . - P E N L E E , C O R N W A L L .At 2.28 P .M . the coastguard called for thelife-boat to go out to a steamer to bring offsome wounded men. A N.E. gale was blow-ing, with a rough sea. The motor life-boatW. and S. was launched at 2.45 P .M . , andmet the S.S. Margo, of Cardiff. When she hadanchored in Mounts Bay, the life-boat wentalongside, brought off three injured men ando n e b o d y , a n d t o o k t h e m t o P e n z a n c eHarbour, where an ambulance was waiting.A s e v e r e l y w o u n d e d m a n h a d b e e n l e f taboard the Margo, and the life-boat took outa doctor to him. She then brought ashoreto Newlyn Harbour the wounded man and

the captain of the Margo. A call for a doctorhad come from another steamer, the Falkvik,of Sweden. The life-boat took a doctor outto her and brought ashore a man with aninjured hand, landing him at 10 P .M . Shethen took the captain of the Margo back tohis ship. As the weather was too bad torehouse her, the life-boat put into Newlyn at11 P.M., and returned to her station two dayslater. - Rewards, £30 9s. 6d.

MARCH 9TH - 29TH. - HARTLEPOOL,DURHAM, AND TEESMOUTH, YORK-SHIRE. At 7.45 in the morning the coast-guard reported a vessel aground. She was theS.S. Flimston, of over 4,500 tons, laden withsteel and with a crew of 38. She had goneaground S.W. of the south side of the LongScar Rocks, about two and a half miles south ofHartlepool. The motor life-boat The PrincessRoyal (Civil Service No. 7) was launched at10.30 A.M. A strong wind was blowing. The life-boat found that the steamer’s crew did not wishto leave her, and returned to her station at12.15 P.M. Two and a half hours later themaster sent a message through the coast-guard saying that he wished to abandon shipbefore darkness set in, and the life-boat putout for the second time at 3.20 in the after-noon. A gale was now blowing f rom theE.N.E., and very heavy seas were poundingon the steamer. The tide was ebbing andshe was lying in the shallow broken water ona lee shore close to the rocks. It was noteasy to manoeuvre the l i fe -boa t th roughthe broken water and among the rocks, butthe oil spray was used with good effect, and thecoxswain succeeded in getting her under thesteamer’s lee. There she made fast, and arope ladder was let down. As the oppor-tunity came, the 38 men either came downthe rope ladder, or jumped into the life-boat.They brought the ship’s cat and kitten withthem. It took a quarter of an hour to rescuethe whole crew, and all that time heavy seaswere breaking over the wreck and falling intothe life-boat. While she was on her way backto the station a sea broke aboard, and one ofthe crew was nearly swept away. The masterof the Flimston sent a letter of thanks. Itwas a good service, very skilfully carried out,a n d t h e I n s t i t u t i o n m a d e t h e f o l l o w i n g

SERVICES 1941 35

The sa lvage opera t ions were s t i l l con-tinuing on March 22nd, and on that day, atthe reques t of the sa lvage of f icer of theAdmiralty, the life-boat was launched at mid-day to take men out to the steamer, returningat 1.30 in the afternoon. Next day she wasa g a i n o u t f o r t h e s a m e p u r p o s e f r o m11.45 A.M. to 2.30 P.M., and on the 28th shewent out at 3.55 P.M. to bring off the crewand salvage men, returning at 5.30 P.M. Oneach occasion the weather was such that noo t h e r b o a t c o u l d h a v e b e e n u s e d . T h elaunches from the 11th March to the 28thMarch were paid by the Admiralty.

During the service on the 28th the Hartle-pool life-boat’s engine had not been workingsatisfactorily and when, just after three inthe afternoon of the 29th, she was againasked to go ou t , the honorary secre ta rypassed on the call to the Teesmouth station.This time it was a call to rescue the six menstill on board the steamer. A strong N.E.wind was blowing, with a rough sea andsnow showers . At 5 P . M . the motor l i fe -boat J. W. Archer was launched and foundthat an attempt had been made to rescuethe six men from the shore by breeches buoybut only one man had been taken off in thisway and he was in a very bad state when hewas got ashore. The steamer had wires out inseveral directions and this made it very diffi-cult to get the life-boat alongside. The cox-swain succeeded and rescued the five men,but the life-boat’s stern was damaged. Therescued men were landed, and the life-boatr e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 6 . 5 5 P . M . -Rewards, £14 9s. 6d.

MARCH 13TH - 16TH . - CROMER, ANDGREAT YARMOUTH AND GORLESTON,NORFOLK. At about 2.35 P.M. informationcame to Cromer from the coastguard that avessel, which seemed to be sinking, was abouttwo and a half miles N.W. of Cromer, and wasbeing towed towards the beach. A moderateE.S.E. breeze was blowing, with a slightground swel l , and the weather was f ine .The No. 1 motor life-boat H. F. Bailey waslaunched at 2.50 P.M. and reached the vesseltwenty minutes later. By this time she hadbeen beached. She was the S.S. Essex Lance,of London, of 9,000 tons, laden with wheatand flour, and bound from Hull to London.The coxswain went on board the steamer,and found that she had been badly damagedby a near miss from an enemy bomber at8.30 in the evening of 12th March, and thather crew of forty-four had taken to the boatsand spent the night on H.M.T. Coventry City.Some of them had returned to her, and whenthe Cromer life-boat arrived there were nine-teen on board. Tugs, which had been sentout early in the morning to attempt to salvet h e v e s s e l , w e r e s t a n d i n g b y . A t a b o u t4.35 P .M. H.M.T. Strathranrock hailed thesteamer and told her master that the EssexLance was to be abandoned and that shewould take the crew to Yarmouth. The life-boat transferred the nineteen men and theirpersonal belongings from the steamer to thetrawler, and then returned to her station andwas re-housed at 5.45 P.M.

T h e t r a w l e r m a d e f o r Y a r m o u t h a n d

anchored in the roads, and at 6.20 P .M. thep o l i c e a s k e d t h e G r e a t Y a r m o u t h a n dGorleston life-boat to bring men ashore fromher. A moderate E. by S. wind was blowing,and the sea was rough. The motor life-boatLouise Stephens was launched at 6.45 P .M.,and brought ashore two stretcher cases at8.15 P.M.

On the following day the Admiralty salvageofficer asked for the co-operation of theCromer life-boat in attempting to salve theEssex Lance. She left at 11.45 A.M. with aparty to examine the steamer, and returnedat 2 P.M. Leaving again at 3.15 P.M., she puta n a r m e d m i l i t a r y g u a r d o n b o a r d t h esteamer, and returned again at 7 P.M., bringingwith her a salvage officer. Next day, the15th March, she put out at 12.35 P.M., withvarious officials, and returned at 5 P .M. At6.15 she went off again with a salvage officerand officers of the Essex Lance, and returnedat 8.30 P .M. She again took officials to thesteamer on the following morning, the 16th,putt ing out at 10.10 A.M . and returning at1 P . M . Fur ther t r ips were made be tween5 . 3 0 P . M . a n d 7 . 3 0 P . M . , a n d b e t w e e n1 0 . 1 5 P . M . and 12 .30 A . M . on the 17 th .Shortly after the last journey the Essex Lancewas towed away by tugs. - Rewards : Cromer,first service, 13th March, £19 18s. 6d. ; forservices, 14th-16th March, expenses met byt h e A d m i r a l t y ; G r e a t Y a r m o u t h a n dGorleston, £14 4s.

M A R C H 1 3 T H . - N E W B R I G H T O N ,CHESHIRE. At 8 .55 in the even ing theSeacombe Ferry Office sent a message thata vessel had struck a mine off SeacombeStage, and at 9.15 the No. 1 motor life-boatWill iam and Kate Johnston was launched.A moderate E.S.E. wind was blowing, andthe sea was choppy. A very heavy air attackwas being made on the Mersey, particularlyat Wallasey, where the life-boat station is,and over th ree-quar te rs o f the Wal laseyhouses were made uninhabitable. The life-boathouse itself escaped, but its telephonewas put out of action and the houses of boththe honorary secre ta ry and the ass i s tan ts e c r e t a r y w e r e b a d l y d a m a g e d b y h i g hexplosive bombs. There was the additionaldanger for the life-boat of mines coming upthe river on the flood tide, and because ofthem all other shipping had been forbiddento move. The life-boat reached the spot tofind that the vessel, the S.S. Ullapool, of WestHartlepool, of about 5,000 tons, had alreadysunk. Another steamer, the Waldinge, hadrescued five of the Ullapool’s crew, and toldthe life-boat that others had drifted up riverin a boat. The life-boat went in search ofthem as far as Eastham, but could not findthem and returned to the Waldinge, took offthe five men and brought them to PrincesStage, where she landed them. It was thenabout midnight. At 12.37 A.M . a messagec a m e a s k i n g f o r t h e l i f e - b o a t t o g o t oH.M.S.. Virginia which had nine men onboard. This the life-boat did, and landedthe men at Liverpool. She then returned toher moorings at 1.20, and her crew wereback in the boathouse at 1.50. It was thenfive hours since she had been called out. All

36 SERVICES 1941

the time bombs had been dropping in theriver. In view of the danger run, and thecourage shown by the crew, an increase inthe usua l money reward on the s tandardscale was made to each member of the crew.- Standard rewards to the crew, £14 11s. 3d. ;additional rewards to the crew, £8 ; totalrewards, £22 11s. 3d.

MA R C H 1 3 T H - 15 T H . - CRESSWELL,N O R T H U M B E R L A N D . O n t h e 5 t hFebruary the S.S. Empire Breeze had strandedon the Bondicar Rocks, and the Amble life-boa t had rescued her c rew. On the 13 thMarch the Empire Breeze was refloated andtaken in tow for Blyth by the tug Bullgerfor repairs. The weather was fair, with alight S.E. breeze and a moderate swell, butduring the evening the tug struck a mineand sank. Her crew lowered her boat andwent aboard the Empire Breeze, which thenanchored in the bay and signalled by morselamp to the coastguard. It was now about8.30 at night. The coxswain was then askedto launch the life-boat and go to the helpof the Empire Breeze, but he pointed outthat it was impossible owing to the coastdefences. A place had been made for thelife-boat to go through the barbed wire andconcrete blocks a quarter of a mile to thenorth, but not only had this place been filledin again, but it had been reinforced. This hadbeen done without the station being told.The coxswain suggested that the only thingwas to call out the life-boat from Newbigginfive miles down the coast. There was muchtelephoning, and the naval authorities in theend decided, owing to the minefields, it mustbe the Cresswell and not the Newbiggin life-boat which went out. They then arrangedwith the army authorities for a breach to bemade in the coast defences, and soldiers weresent to do the work.

In the end the pulling and sailing life-boatMartha was launched through this breach at11.20 P . M . , the soldiers helping. An air-ra id a le r t had sounded a t 8 .50 and the“raiders passed” signal at 4.35 next morning.The life-boat reached the Empire Breeze fiftyminutes later, and took off the crew of twelvemen of the tug. Four of them were scaldedor injured in other ways, and as soon as thelife-boat landed them at 1.15 in the morningthey were sent to hospital. At 3.10 in themorning the life-boat was asked to go out tostand by the Empire Breeze. In her damagedcondition after the stranding, her crew had tobe at the pumps all the time, and there was arisk that they might not be able to control thewater. The life-boat was to stand by her readyto rescue her crew, if necessary, until tugsarrived to take her in tow, and as she waslying in a minefield, they could not do thisuntil a way had been swept for them. Thelife-boat went out and stood by for aboutsixteen hours. It was not until 8.30 thatevening, the 14th, that she returned to herstation, and then she was kept on the beachin readiness to be launched again at once,The next day, the 15th, she was again needed,and she put out at 1.10 in the afternoon withsupplies of oil and petrol. A fog came downin the evening and made signals between the

M A R C H 1 8 T H . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. At 6.14 P .M . in-format ion was rece ived f rom the navalauthorities at Holyhead, through the coast-guard, that a vessel was on fire. A latermessage gave her position as 19 miles W.S.W.from Porthdinllaen Point, and at 6.55 P .M.the motor life-boat M.O.Y.E. was launched.A S.E. breeze was blowing and the sea wassmooth. The life-boat found that the vesselwas the S.S. Iris, of Amsterdam, bound ladenfrom Belfast for Newport, Mon. She hadbeen bombed and machine-gunned by aero-planes and one of the crew had been wounded.A life-boatman was put aboard to pilot herinto Porthdinllaen Bay. There the life-boatwent alongside again, took off the injuredm a n , a n d b r o u g h t h i m a s h o r e t o g o t oh o s p i t a l . T h e l i f e - b o a t r e t u r n e d t o h e rstation at 10.47 A.M. - Rewards, £13 6s.

ships and the shore impossible, so the life-boat was launched yet again at 10.15 P .M.to take out a message from the Admiraltyto a tug. The life-boat finally returned toh e r s t a t i o n a t m i d n i g h t o n t h e 1 5 t h -Rewards : launches on the 13th and 14th,£84 10s. ; launch on the 15th, paid by theAdmiralty.

(See Amble, ” Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 25.)

MARCH 16TH. - ROSSLARE HARBOUR,C O . W E X F O R D . A t 1 0 . 4 0 P . M . n e w swas received from the civic guard at Carnethat a vessel was in distress off Carne Pier.At 11.10 P .M. the motor life-boat B.A.S.P.,o n t e m p o r a r y d u t y a t t h e s t a t i o n , w a slaunched. The weather was calm, but foggy.The life-boat found the steam trawler ThomasBooth, of Milford. She had stranded on theWilkeen Rocks, and her crew of eleven hadabandoned her and had landed at Carne Pier.

The life-boat went close to the pier, andsome of the trawler’s crew came out to herin a small boat. She put them aboard thetrawler again, and then fetched the remainderfrom the shore. She stood by and then tookthem off again and landed them at RosslareHarbou r a t 3 . 55 A . M . - Par t ly pa id per -manent crew. - Rewards, £6 1s. 6d.

MA R C H 2 0 T H . - COVERACK, CORN-WALL. During the evening the honorarysecretary of the station and the coxswainhad under observation a steamer which wasapproaching from the east, as aeroplanescould be heard in the distance apparentlycoming from the French coast. Two Germanaeroplanes appeared, passed over the steamerand dropped five bombs on her. She wasthen three miles south-east of Dolor Point.As soon as it was seen that she was hit, them o t o r l i f e - b o a t T h e T h r e e S i s t e r s w a slaunched . I t was 7 .42 in the evening . Alight easterly wind was blowing and the seawas choppy. The vesse l was the Pol i shsteamer Cieszyn, of Gdynia, bound fromFalmouth to Swansea. She had a crew of25 and two Engl i sh a rmed guards . Theylef t the s teamer a t once and took to theship’s boat. The aeroplanes then machine-

SERVICES 1941 37

gunned them. The lifeboat reached the ship’sboa t jus t as the s teamer herse l f sank . I twas then 8.15. Some of the steamer’s crewwere taken on board the life-boat, and oneof the l i fe -boat ’s c rew was put in to thesteamer’s boat, and it was taken in tow.A good many of the 27 men rescued had beenin the sea, and when they were landed at8.42 were suffering from wet and cold. Someof them were also injured, two sufficientlyseriously to be taken by ambulance to HelstonCottage Hospital. The rest were suppliedw i t h d r y c l o t h i n g b y t h e S h i p w r e c k e dMariners Society and sent the same night toFalmouth. - Rewards, £15 8s. 6d.

MARCH 25TH. - BUCKIE, BANFFSHIRE.At 1.42 A.M . the coastguard informed thelife-boat station that an explosion, apparentlyfrom an aeroplane which had crashed intothe sea, had been heard at a coast-watchingpost at Garmouth, and the motor life-boatK.B.M. was l aunched a t 2 A . M . A s t rongN.N.W. breeze was blowing, and the sea wasrough. At 3.30 A.M . the life-boat found adead airman tied to a float. She brought thebody and the float ashore. At daybreak sheput out again, found the wreckage of theaeroplane and brought in parts for identifica-tion, returning to her station at 9.50 A.M .-Rewards, £11 19s. 6d.

MARCH 26TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK.At 12.15 A.M . , the Great Yarmouth NavalBase requested the services of a life-boat fora vessel ashore at Walcot Gap, and the No. 1motor life-boat H. F. Bailey was launchedat 12.35 A.M. A moderate E.S.E. breeze wasblowing, with a moderate sea, and it wasraining. The life-boat found the S.S. Kent-wood, of London, and stood by to await tugswhich were expec ted a t daybreak , bu t a t5.15 A.M. the steamer refloated on the risingtide. The life-boat put into Great Yarmouthand then re turned to Cromer , where shearrived at 1.45 P.M. - Rewards, £42 8s. 6d.

M A R C H 2 6 T H . - A P P L E D O R E , A N DILFRACOMBE, DEVON. At 11.15 in themorning Croyde coas tguard repor ted toAppledore that an aeroplane had crashedin to the sea . The same informat ion wasgiven to Ilfracombe by the resident navalo f f i c e r . T h e A p p l e d o r e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tViolet Armstrong launched at 11.25 A.M . ,followed at 12.20 P.M. by the Ilfracombe motorlife-boat Rosabella. There was a light S.W.w i n d , w i t h a m o d e r a t e s e a . A m i l e o f fBaggy and Morte Points the life-boats foundwreckage, but no survivors. Both life-boatsbrought back with them some of the wreck-age . Appledore a r r ived a t her s ta t ion a t3 P.M., and Ilfracombe at 6.15 P.M. - Rewards:Appledore, £7 17s. 9d. ; Ilfracombe, £17 13s.

MA R C H 2 6 T H . - ANGLE, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. At 8 .10 P . M . the S t . Anns Headcoastguard telephoned that the S.S. Faraday,of London, had been bombed and was onfire one and a half miles W. of St. Anns,and the motor life-boat Elizabeth Elson waslaunched a t 9 P . M . A W.S.W. wind wasblowing and the sea was rough. The life-

boa t found a Be lg ian t rawler which hadsome of the Faraday's crew on board andboats in tow. As the t rawler was unableto enter harbour in the darkness the life-boatescorted her into smooth water, and thentook off from her and landed fifty-six of theFaraday‘s crew. At the request of the navalauthorities she put out again and searchedfrom 1.30 A.M . until daylight for anothervessel, but she found nothing and returnedat 8 A.M. The flag officer in charge of thenaval base at Milford Haven thanked thelife-boat crew for their work. - Rewards,£24 8s. 6d.

M A R C H 2 7 T H . - A M B L E , N O R T H -UMBERLAND. At midnigh t on the 26 thMarch the coxswain was asked by the navalofficer commanding the Tyne area to take asealed message to Coquet Island, and themotor life-boat Elizabefh Newton, on tem-porary duty at the station, was launched at12.20 A.M. with a boarding boat in tow forlanding on the island. A strong southerlywind was blowing, with a rough sea and rain.The life-boat delivered the letter and re-turned at 2.30 A.M. - Expenses paid by theAdmiralty.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT BOULMER

M A R C H 2 7 T H . - B O U L M E R ,N O R T H S U N D E R L A N D , A N DHOLY ISLAND, NORTHUMBER-LAND. During the night of the 26th ofMarch a large steamer was seen to beon fire off the Northumbrian coast.Early the following morning threemotor life-boats went out to her help,the W.R.A., of North Sunderland, theMilburn, of Holy Island, and theClarissa Langdon, of Boulmer. NorthSunderland reached the steamer atfive o’clock and Holy Island and Boul-mer at 6.30. They found that shewas the S.S. Somali, of Glasgow.She had been burning since nine theprevious evening, and her crew hadalready been taken off by a patrolboat. She was seven miles south-eastof North Sunderland Point.

A naval tug had also come out, andat the request of her commander eachof the three life-boats put two menon board the Somali to help to makefast cables for towing her. This donethey took off their men, and the towbegan, with the Somali moving sternfirst. It was now about 9.30 in themorning. The Holy Island lift-boatreturned to her stat ion. The othertwo stood by to help. At the begin-ning the tug towed southward, but

7

38 SERVICES 1941

after a time she turned north to reachthe shelter of the Farne Islands. Thesalvage vessel Iron Axe, of Aberdeen,now arrivcd on the scene, and theBoulmer life-boat put an officer andtwo seamen from her on board theSomali. She then made fast to thestern of the Somali to help with thetow.

Until about mid-day the work oftowing went went on. Then the Boulmerlife-boat took the officer of the salvagevessel off the Somali and put himback on his vessel, leaving on theSomali the two seamen. A strongflood tide was now making, and wasslowing down the tug, so the captainof the salvage vessel decided to helpwith the tow and asked the Boulmerlife-boat to bring a wire rope to himwhich had been got ready on theSomali. The vessels were now offBeadnell, and about a mile and a halffrom the shore.

All this time the Somali had beenburning fiercely from the bridge for-ward. As the Boulmer life-boat swunground to go alongside her, the forepart blew up with a terrific explosion.The Boulmer life-boat was about 70yards away from her. The explosion,her crew said, lifted the life-boat cleanout of the water. It blew the men flat.It whirled away their caps, which werenot seen again, and it emptied thejacket pockets of several of them.Five miles away, at North Sunderlandvillage, windows were broken. Thenpieces of metal, the largest of them twofeet by one foot, rained down on theBoulmer life-boat, and also on theSunderland life-boat (which was 200yards away), damaging both boats,cutting open the head of the Boulmerbowman, and slightly injuring two ofthe North Sunderland men.

The stern of the Somali was stillafloat, with the two men from thesalvage vessel on board. Withouthesitation - though there might at anymoment have been a second explosion- the Boulmer coxswain went inthrough the smoke and fumes andtook the life-boat alongside. The twomen, one of them injured, had alreadyslid down a rope into the sea. Theywere hauled aboard the life-boat andshe made all speed to get clear before

another explosion should come, butwhen she had gone only a few yards,her propeller was fouled by somewreckage. The coxswain set sail, butthe North Sunderland life-boat cameat once to his help and took theBoulmer boat in tow.

As she was being towed her crewopened the propeller inspection hatchand cleared away the wreckage. TheBoulmer l ife-boat then continuedunder her own power to Scahouscs,where she arrived at 1.20 in the after-noon. An ambulance and first-aidparties were waiting, and the tworescued men were given into their care.

It was a rescue carried out withgreat courage and promptitude, andthe Institution made the followingawards :

To COXSWAIN JAMES CAMPBELL, ofBoulmer, the bronze medal for gal-antry, with a copy of the vote in-scribed on vellum ;

To him and to each member of hiscrew a special reward of £2 in additionto the ord inary sca le reward of£1 8s. 6d. ; standard rewards to crewand launchers, £15 6s. 3d. ; additionalrewards to crew, £14 ; total rewards,£29 6s. 3d. ;

To the coxswain and each memberof the North Sunderland crew a specialreward of £1 in addition to the ordinaryscale reward of £2 16s. 6d. ; standardrewards to c rew and l aunchers ,£26 11s. 6d. ; additional rewards tocrew, £7 ; total rewards, £33 11s. 6d. ;

Rewards on the ordinary scale tothe crew and launchers at Holy Island,£23 3s.

Total of rewards for the service,£86 0s. 9d.

MARCH 27TH . - BLACKPOOL, LANCA-S H I R E . A t 1 1 . 3 0 A . M . t h e c o x s w a i nr e c e i v e d a t e l e p h o n e m e s s a g e f r o m t h eR A F . t h a t a H u r r i c a n e a e r o p l a n e h a dcrashed in to the sea oppos i te the SouthPromenade, about five miles west, and them o t o r l i f e - b o a t S a r a h A n n A u s t i n w a slaunched at 11.50 A.M. A fresh S.W. windwas blowing, but the sea was smooth andit was raining. The life-boat reached thespot, guided by flares dropped by aeroplanes,and found a mass of wreckage. She pickedup some of the wreckage, and on her returnat 3.30 P .M. handed it over to the R.A.F.-Rewards, £7 14s.

MARCH 28TH . - NEWBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. At 5 .1 A . M . the Belhe lv iecoastguard reported that a vessel was ashore

SERVICES 1941 3 9

two or three miles north of Belhelvie, nearthe mouth of the Ythan. A strong E. galewas blowing, with a very heavy sea and snowshowers, and it was decided to launch thelife-boat in the river and go over the bar.The pulling and sailing life-boat John andRobert C. Mercer was launched at 6.20 A.M.,and after a stiff pull found the S.S. MelroseAbbey, of Hull, a vessel of over 1,900 tons,in ballast, with a crew of 49. She was goingnorth in a convoy when she stranded. Thelife-boat rescued sixteen, landed them, putoff again and rescued thirty-one more. Theremaining two men, the captain and firstofficer, were rescued from the shore by thecoas tguard l i fe - sav ing appara tus . As theboat was being brought back to her stationby a tractor, the tractor failed, and the crewwith very great difficulty brought the boatinto the river, where she was secured. Thecrew did not get home again until 10.30 P.M.A letter received from the Ministry of Ship-ping spoke of “ the excellent seamanshipdisplayed under very difficult conditions “.- Rewards, £54 2s.

MARCH 29TH . - TEESMOUTH, YORK-SHIRE. The life-boat rescued five men fromthe S.S. Flimston. For details see Hartlepooland Teesmouth, March 9th.

M A R C H 3 1 S T . - F A L M O U T H , C O R N -WALL. At 5.55 P.M. a steamer was seen tob e a s h o r e a t T r e f u s i s P o i n t F a l m o u t hHarbour, and at 6.10 P.M. the motor life-boatCrawford and Constance Conybeare waslaunched. A southerly gale was blowing, witha very heavy sea. The life-boat found theDutch steamer Vliestroom. She was blowingher siren for a tug. The life-boat took onboard a wire hawser from the Vliestroom andbrought it to the tug Goliath, which arriveds h o r t l y a f t e r w a r d s . T h e t u g t o w e d t h eVliestroom clear and took her to FalmouthDocks. The life-boat stood by until 8 P .M.The Goliath then asked the life-boat to takeout the King’s Harbour Master’s assistantand put him on the Dutch steamer Kalso,which had been a t tacked wi th bombs byenemy aeroplanes while the Vliestroom wasbeing towed in. On her way to the Kalso aheavy sea struck the life-boat and damagedher port side, but she stood by the Kalsofor an hour, and then, as her help was notneeded, returned to harbour. News was thenreceived from the naval authorities that theDutch steamer Karanan was dragging heranchors off Flushing and needed a tug. Thelife-boat went to the northern arm of theF a l m o u t h D o c k s , a r r a n g e d f o r t h e t u gNorthgate Scot to go to the steamer’s help,and re tu rned to he r s t a t ion a t 10 P . M . -Rewards, £15 9s.

The following life-boats were launched, butno services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

MARCH 1ST . - ABERDEEN. A ship hadbeen attacked and set on fire, but all survivorswere p icked up by one of H.M. sh ips . -Rewards, £15 9s.

MA R C H 1 S T . - BUCKIE, A N D WHITE-HILLS, BANFFSHIRE. A German ae ro-plane had crashed into the sea, but the crewgot ashore by rubber dinghy in the darkness,unseen by the life-boats. - Rewards : Buckie,£11 14s. ; Whitehills, £15 12s.

MARCH 1ST . - FRASERBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. A vessel had been reportedon fire, but later it was learned that she wasgoing on her way accompanied by a trawler.-Rewards, £14 9s. 6d.

MA R C H 1 S T . - THE LIZARD, CORN-WALL. The S.S. Gairsoppa, of Glasgow,5,000 tons, with a crew of thirty, had beentorpedoed and had sunk. At 10.30 A.M. thelife-boat motor-mechanic saw a small boatwi th surv ivors on board . A s t rong S .W.wind was blowing and the sea was rough,w i t h a h e a v y s u r f . T h e b o a t w a s b e i n gcarried inshore and was drifting helplessly.Realising the need for immediate action,everyone made a grea t e f for t . The l i fe -boatmen did not even wait to put on theirlife-belts or oilskins before launching andt h e y w e r e d r e n c h e d w h e n t h e b o a t w a sw a s h e d f r o m s t e m t o s t e r n a s s h e l e f tt h e s l i p w a y . T h e e f f o r t s w e r e u s e l e s s .Before the life-boat could reach the smallboat she was right in the breakers. One ofthe three men on board was rescued fromthe shore by a coastguard, but the other twowere drowned. An increase in the usua lmoney award on the s tandard sca le wasg r a n t e d t o e a c h m e m b e r o f t h e c r e w . -S t a n d a r d r e w a r d s t o c r e w a n d h e l p e r s ,£12 12s. ; additional rewards to crew, £6.Total rewards, £18 12s.

MARCH 2ND. - ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK.Men in an open boat had been reported offThorpeness, but the “ boat ” was found to bea barrage balloon. - Rewards, £16 9s. 6d.

MA R C H 2 N D . - HELVICK HEAD, CO.WATERFORD. A surv ivor o f a bombedsteamer who had been landed by a trawlerhad reported that others were missing, butthe l i fe -boat found noth ing . - Rewards ,£15 18s.

MARCH 2ND. - CROMER, NORFOLK. ABritish aeroplane had been reported down inthe sea, but a search of several hours, inwhich trawlers and aeroplanes took part,found nothing. - Rewards, £19 18s. 6d.

M A R C H 3 R D . - S T . D A V I D ’ S , P E M -B R O K E S H I R E . A s t e a m e r w a s o n f i r e ,but when the life-boat reached her she foundthe ship’s boats gone and no one on board.- Rewards, £16 7s.

MARCH 4TH . - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. A vessel had been mined, but asother vessels were nearby the life-boat wasrecalled. - Rewards, £9 17s.

MA R C H 4 T H . - ANSTRUTHER, FIFE-SHIRE. A nava l ae rop lane had been re -ported down in the sea, but a later messagesaid that all aeroplanes had been accounted

40 SERVICES 1941

for, and the life-boat was recalled. - Rewards,£8 11s.

MARCH 5TH. - FENIT, CO. KERRY. Anaeroplane of unknown nationality had beenreported down in the sea three miles southof Skelligs Rocks, but nothing was foundexcept a rubber boat which was picked upby an Irish Lights vessel. - Rewards, £20 9s.

MARCH 6TH . - NEWHAVEN, SUSSEX.An Admiralty trawler escorting a convoyhad struck a mine, but the survivors werepicked up by another escor t . - Rewards ,£8 15s.

MA R C H 6 T H . - PORTPATRICK, WIG-TOWNSHIRE. A Br i t i sh ae rop lane hadbeen reported down at sea, but nothing wasfound. - Rewards, £12 16s. 3d.

MARCH 7TH. - POOLBEG, CO. DUBLIN.An open fishing boat had been reported tobe in difficulties, but she made port withouthelp. - Rewards, £10 4s.

M A R C H 7 T H . - P E T E R H E A D , A B E R -DEENSHIRE. A British Anson aeroplanehad crashed at sea, and a destroyer pickedup one survivor, but nothing was found oft h e o t h e r t h r e e m e m b e r s o f t h e c r e w . -Rewards, £6 14s. 6d.

(See Cruden Bay, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 95.)

MARCH 7TH. - CULLERCOATS, NORTH-UMBERLAND. A minesweeper had beenmined, but was towed into port by anotherminesweeper. - Rewards, £14 1s.

M A R C H 8 T H . - F I S H G U A R D , P E M -BROKESHIRE. It had been reported thatthe crew of a bombed ship were taking totheir boats, but the life-boat found nothingexcept an empty sh ip’s boat . - Rewards ,£19 13s.

MA R C H 8 T H . - WELLS, NORFOLK. ABritish aeroplane had been reported downin the sea, but nothing was found. - Rewards,£11 8s. 8d.

M A R C H 8 T H . - M O N T R O S E , A N DA R B R O A T H , A N G U S . A s t e a m e r h a dstranded, but her crew were able to scrambleon to the rocks, and from there were helpedashore. - Rewards : Montrose, £9 12s. 6d. ;Arbroath, £7 10s. 6d.

MARCH 8TH . - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-S H I R E . A S p i t f i r e a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nreported down in the sea, but nothing couldbe found. - Rewards, £10 1s. 6d.

MA R C H 8 T H . - CROMER, NORFOLK.While the No. 2 life-boat was at exercisewith the District Inspector aboard, a servicecall, the third that day, was received. Anaeroplane had been reported down in the sea.The No. 1 life-boat put out and both boatssearched but found noth ing . - Rewards ,£12 5s.

MA R C H 9 T H . - PETERHEAD, ABER-DEENSHIRE. A message had been receivedfrom the coastguard that a heavy explosionhad been heard, and a later message saidt h a t a n S . O . S . h a d c o m e i n f r o m t h eS.S. Esmond The life-boat Julia Park Barryof Glasgow was launched at 9.20 in thee v e n i n g a n d c a m e u p o n a s o u t h - b o u n dconvoy. She hailed the last ship but thatconvoy had suffered no damage. The life-boat then went southwards and at 2.30 inthe morning found the Esmond nine milessouth-west of Buchanness. She had beenattacked and damaged, and seven of hercrew had been seriously injured. They wereso seriously injured that they could not beput on board the life-boat. A message hadalready been sent from a tug asking for adoctor, and the life-boat at once returned toPeterhead to get one. She arrived at 3.45in the morning, but found that a doctor hada l ready gone ou t on board one of H.M.trawlers. - Rewards, £13 3s. 6d.

M A R C H 1 0 T H . - H A R T L E P O O L ,DURHAM. A vessel had grounded on theL o n g s c a r R o c k s , b u t w i t h t h e w e a t h e rimproving the crew decided to remain onboard. - Rewards, £10 13s.

MARCH 11TH. - NORTH SUNDERLAND,NORTHUMBERLAND. A drifting objecthad been reported, and was found to be aparavane. A floating mine was also seenand reported. - Rewards, £16 8s. 9d.

MA R C H 1 1 T H . - WICK, CAITHNESS-SHIRE. A motor f i sh ing boa t had goneashore, but the crew clambered up the rocksand got safely ashore. - Rewards, £6 13s.

M A R C H 1 1 T H . - B A R R A I S L A N D ,HEBRIDES. An upturned boat had beenreported, but was found to be a large logof timber. - Rewards, £7 5s.

M A R C H 1 1 T H . - A R R A N M O R E , C O .DONEGAL. Two ship’s boats, assumed tobe from a ship that had been attacked, werereported several miles to the westward ofthe island, but they could not be found.-Rewards, £19 11s.

MARCH 12TH. - GALWAY BAY. A Britishaeroplane had crashed in Galway Bay, andthe five members of her crew had baled out.Two of them were found, but the o thersseemed to have been blown far out to sea,and the motor life-boat K.E.C.F. was calledout at 3.15 in the morning. She reached thescene of the crash at 6.30, and there shefound pieces of the aeroplane, two servicecaps, a helmet, a fur coat, a parachute, andoil on the water, but there was no sign ofthe men, and after searching for five hoursthe life-boat returned to her station, arrivinga t o n e i n t h e a f t e r n o o n . - R e w a r d s ,£19 15s. 6d.

MARCH 13TH . - THE LIZARD, CORN-WALL. An enemy aeroplane was seen todrop a bomb on the stern of a steamer, andalthough the life-boat arrived on the scene

SERVICES 1941 41

only four minutes after the steamer had sunk,she found no sign of the crew. - Rewards,£15 1s.

MARCH 14TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK.A s teamer had been a t tacked and se t onfire, but when the life-boat arrived her crewhad already left her and she could find notrace of them. - Rewards, £28 0S. 6d.

MARCH 14TH . - PORTPATRICK, WIG-TOWNSHIRE. A rubber dinghy, supposedto have come from a crashed aeroplane, hadbeen reported south of Girvan, but nothingcould be found. - Rewards, £4 15s.

M A R C H 1 6 T H . - B L A C K P O O L , A N DLYTHAM - ST. ANNES, LANCASHIRE. ABritish aeroplane had been reported down inthe sea, but it was found later to be a falsealarm. - Rewards, Blackpool, £11 6s. 9d. ;Lytham - St. Annes, £8 6s. 6d.

M A R C H 1 6 T H . - P A D S T O W , C O R N -WALL. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £12 2s.

M A R C H 1 9 T H . - P A D S T O W , C O R N -WALL. An aeroplane had come down inthe sea , bu t the p i lo t was rescued by afishing boat. - Rewards, £6 4s.

(See Port Isaac, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 95.)

MARCH 20TH. - MOELFRE, ANGLESEY.A boat with a man clinging to it had beenr e p o r t e d , b u t n o t h i n g c o u l d b e f o u n d . -Rewards, £12.

M A R C H 2 2 N D . - B U C K I E , B A N F F -SHIRE. A motor fishing boat had capsizedoff Portknockie, but three of her crew weredrowned and the remaining man was savedby a small boat from the shore. - Rewards,£9 16s. 6d.

MA R C H 2 4 T H . - TENBY, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. A f ly ing boa t had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing could be foundby the life-boat, and her crew were pickedu p b y a w a r s h i p t h e f o l l o w i n g d a y . -Rewards, £23 1s. 9d.

MA R C H 2 6 T H . - CLOVELLY, DEVON.An aeroplane had been reported down S.W.of Lundy Island, but nothing but quantitiesof oil was found. - Rewards, £25 8s.

MA R C H 2 6 T H . - WICK, CAITHNESS-SHIRE. An a i rc ra f t f ly ing low had beenseen suddenly to lose height and was pre-sumed to have c rashed , bu t no th ing wasfound. - Rewards, £18 16s.

MARCH 26TH. - PWLLHELI, CAERNAR-V O N S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d c r a s h e dinto the sea, but an R.A.F. launch picked uptwo of her crew, who died later, and thethree o thers were be l ieved to have beent r a p p e d i n t h e a e r o p l a n e . - R e w a r d s ,£10 6s. 3d.

(See Criccieth, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 97.)

MARCH 27TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK.The R.A.F. reported that a pilot had beenforced to bale out, but a few minutes afterputting out the life-boat received a wirelessmessage “No one in parachute. Return toyour station “. - Rewards, £13 6s. 6d.

MARCH 27TH. - MOELFRE, ANGLESEY.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea , bu t no th ing was found. - Rewards ,£23 16s. 6d.

MA R C H 2 8 T H . - DOUGLAS, ISLE OFMAN. - Red flares had been reported to theN.N.E. of Maughold Head, but nothing wasseen except flashes which appeared to becoming from the Cumberland coast, and wereapparently anti-aircraft defence measures.-Rewards, £13 10s.

MA R C H 2 9 T H . - BALLYCOTTON, CO.C O R K . A t 1 0 . 3 0 i n t h e m o r n i n g t h ehonorary secre ta ry was on watch on thec l i f f s above Bal lycot ton when he saw asteam trawler about eight and a half milessouth of Ballycotton. She was blowing offsteam, as if she were hauling in her trawl.Then he saw three aeroplanes circling round,about 60 feet above her. They dropped fromsix to nine bombs, and the trawler suddenlydisappeared . The aeroplanes c i rc led thewater once more and then flew away. Thehonorary secretary at once called out themotor life-boat Mary Stanford, and she waslaunched at 10.40. A fresh wind was blowing,wi th a rough sea . She reached the spotwhere the trawler had sunk at 11.35, butthere was no sign of any survivors nor evenof any wreckage. She returned to her station,arriving at 2.15 in the afternoon. - Rewards,£6 17s. 6d.

MARCH 30TH . - HOYLAKE, AND NEWBRIGHTON, CHESHIRE. An ae rop lanehad been repor ted down in the sea , bu tnothing could be found. - Rewards : Hoy-lake, £9 7s. ; New Brighton, £19 1s.

APRIL

Launches 77. Lives rescued 131.

A P R I L 1 S T . - T O R B A Y , D E V O N . A t11.53 P . M . on 31st March, a message wasreceived from the resident naval officer atBrixham that a boat from H.M.S. Pomerolwith men on board was adrift outside theharbour. A fresh S.S.E. gale was blowing,w i t h a r o u g h s e a a n d h e a v y s w e l l . A t12.30 A.M. the motor life-boat George Sheewas launched, and the naval examinationk e t c h F l a g J a c k a l s o p u t o u t . H . M . S .Pomerol picked up the boat in the rays of hersearchlight when it was 3,000 yards northof Brixham breakwater, and the Flag Jackgot to the boat and rescued it when half-wayacross Torbay. The life-boat stood by andguided the Flag Jack back to harbour, asnavigation was difficult. Enemy aeroplaneswere about and no shore l igh ts could beshown. The of f icer commanding H.M.S.Pomerol thanked the life-boat crew for theirhelp. - Rewards, £5 12s.

42 SERVICES 1941

APRIL 1ST . - CROMER, NORFOLK. At6.25 P.M. the coxswain was told by a privateof the 23rd Royal Fusiilers that a vessel abouttwo miles N.E. of Cromer wanted a doctor.This was confirmed by the coastguards, andat 6.50 P.M. the No. 2 motor life-boat HarriotDixon was launched with a doctor on board.A s t rong S .E. wind was b lowing, wi th amoderate sea. The life-boat found that thevessel was H.M. Trawler Valesca, which hadbeen a t tacked by enemy aeroplanes . Shehad been slightly damaged, and one of herc r e w h a d b e e n s e v e r e l y w o u n d e d . T h el i fe -boa t pu t the doc tor on board to a t -t end to the in ju red man , and la te r tookdoctor and patient on board, and broughtthem ashore , re tu rn ing to her s ta t ion a t8 P . M . T h e w o u n d e d m a n w a s t a k e n t ohospital and had to have both legs amputatedbelow the knees. - Rewards, £13 12s. 6d.

A P R I L 2 N D . - E Y E M O U T H A N D S T .ABBS, BERWICKSHIRE. At 2.20 in theafternoon a message was received at Eye-mouth that a patrol vessel had been attackedand sunk by enemy aeroplanes about threemiles out, and at 2.35 the motor life-boatFrank and William Oates was launched. Thefishing boat Good Hope also put out to helpin the search for survivors. A strong E.S.E.wind was blowing, and the sea was heavyand confused. At St. Abbs the attack hadbeen seen by a number of fishermen, includingthe coxswain of the life-boat, and the St. Abbsmotor life-boat Annie Ronald and IsabellaForrest was launched at 2.40

The patrol vessel was the Cramond Island.She had a crew of fifteen men. The aero-planes had made a direct hit on her, killingone of her crew, and another was drowned.The other thirteen men got away, eleven ofthem in the ship’s boat and two on a raft.The ship’s boat was making for the shore, butthough she could now be seen from Eyemouthshe was invisible to the Eyemouth life-boat.The St. Abbs life-boat, however, found her at3.10 in the afternoon. She was waterlogged.The life-boat took on board the eleven men,two of whom were badly burned, and as oneof them was clambering into the life-boat, heunfastened and pulled overboard the breechesbuoy on the port side. Unfortunately thiswas not not iced by any of the crew, andwhen the life-boat was on her way to pickup the two men on the raft the line fouledthe propeller and her engine stopped. Shegot out her oars, and then made sail andhoisted a red flag. Her signal was seen fromSt . Abbs by the honorary secre ta ry , whotelephoned to Eyemouth asking that a fishingboat should be sen t to her he lp , and theS p e s B o n a p u t o u t a n d t o w e d h e r i n t oEyemouth . There the rescued men werelanded and the l i fe -boa t ’s propel le r wascleared.

The Spes Bona put out again at once tosearch for the two men on the raft. Anotherboat, the Milky Way, had put out shortlybefore, and the two boats searched Colding-ham Bay. A government trawler was alsosearching. In the end the Milky Way foundthe raft, rescued the two men and broughtthem to Eyemouth.

APRIL 3RD - 4TH. - BROUGHTY FERRY,ANGUS. At 11.34 at night a message wasreceived from the Carnoustie coastguard thata vessel was believed to be ashore on BellRock, and at midnight the motor life-boatMona was launched. A strong N.E. windwas blowing, with a heavy sea, and the nightwas very dark. The naval officer command-ing at Dundee was asked to inform the coastalbatteries that the life-boat was launching, andalso to ask that the lights at Buddon Ness mightbe shown to help the lifeboat over the bar.she went down the unlit channel and pickedup these lights as she came abreast of them,but the visibility was only about half a mileand she lost the lights before she could getthem in line, so that she had to cross the barwithout their help, steering by compass only.In the darkness and the heavy sea the cros-sing was difficult and dangerous, and the life-boat had to reduce speed, but after twentyminutes on compass course she got clear andmade for the Bell Rock. At quarter to twothe life-boat spoke to the Bell Rock by radiotelephone and asked the lightkeeper to showa light so that the life-boat might get herposition. He replied that he had turned iton, but the visibility was so poor that thelife-boat could not see it. The lightkeeperalso said that there was no vessel ashore onthe Rock. The l i fe -boa t passed on th isinformation to the naval officer at Dundee,who told her to return to her station, but tokeep a constant listening watch on her wire-less as he believed that a vessel had beenin difficulties on the Rock and had got clear,but might still be in the neighbourhood andin need of help. The coxswain decided toremain at sea until daybreak and anchoredin twelve fathoms at 2.40 in the morning.Visibility was still less than one mile, butbegan to improve.

The Eyemouth life-boat returned to herstation at 6.30. The St. Abbs life-boat hadalready left Eyemouth and she too arrivedback at her station at 5.30. - Rewards : Eye-mouth, £10 10s. 6d. ; St. Abbs, £7 6s. 6d.The crews of the three fishing boats did notwish to be rewarded.

(See Eyemouth, ” Services by Shore-boats,”page 95).

APRIL 3RD. - ABERDEEN. At 8.33 P.M.the steamer Cairnie, of Methil, was soundingdistress signals and showing white flares onAberdeen Bar. A moderate E.S.E. gale wasblowing, with a heavy sea. At 8.51 P .M .the No. 1 motor life-boat Emma Constancewas launched, and found the Cairnie beingcontinually swept by heavy breaking seas,and drifting towards the shore. Her crew ofseven men were exhausted and helpless. Thelife-boat rescued them, and returned to herstation at 9.55 P.M. - Rewards, £12 7s.

At 5.30 A.M. the life-boat got under weighagain, and half an hour later saw a large steamerlying with two anchors out. She was in avery dangerous position on the south face ofthe Abertay Bank, S.S.W. from No. 3 BlackBuoy. The life-boat went in and spoke thesteamer. She found that she was the EmileFrancqui, of Antwerp. It was she who had

SERVICES 1941 43

been aground on the Bell Rock. She had gotclear with a damaged bottom, and for twohours had been pounding on the bank at lowwater. She was making water in her foreand after holds, and the captain asked thelife-boat to take off eight passengers. Thiswas done, but only with great difficulty, andit took three-quarters of an hour, for withthe high, sharp swell the securing ropes brokethree times. The captain asked if any tugscould come to his help, but the coxswain toldhim that no tug could cross the bar, andadvised him to attempt to make the Firthof For th . The s teamer got under weigh ,with the life-boat standing by, but after shehad gone about 24 miles her rudder becameuseless, and the anchors were again let go.The coxswain repor ted th i s to the nava lofficer at Dundee and to the harbour master,saying that the need for tugs was very urgent.The captain then asked the life-boat to landthe eight passengers and be ready to comeout to his help again if he needed it. Thel i fe -boat le f t the s teamer a t e ight in themorning, arrived at her station at 9.15 andstood by ready to go out again at a moment’snotice.

At five that evening, April 4th, the navalofficer at Dundee asked the life-boat to goout and take off the steamer’s crew as therewas danger that she would break up andfounder during the night. The life-boat lefta t 5 .25 . There was s t i l l a s t rong nor th -easterly wind blowing, and a heavy groundswel l . The l i fe -boat reached the s teamerabout seven in the evening and found ades t royer s tanding by . At the reques t ofher commander she put two of his officerson board the s teamer and then se t aboutrescuing the crew. It was very difficult inthe heavy swel l . The three- inch mani l lasecuring rope broke again and again as thelife-boat rose and fell, until it was completelydestroyed. Then the life-boat used her heavytowing hawsers and they parted twice. Thelife-boat was continually flung against thesteamer, and twelve feet of her port walewere completely destroyed. In spite of thesedifficulties the coxswain kept the life-boata longs ide the s teamer for an hour and aquarter while the 37 men of her crew, waitingtheir opportunity, jumped one by one fromthe s teamer’s ra i l wi th the l i fe -boatmenwaiting below to seize them as they dropped.The life-boat then returned to her station,arriving at ten minutes past ten that night.- Rewards, £25 11s. 0d.

AP R I L 4 T H . - WHITBY, YORKSHIRE.Several fishing boats were out, and as roughs e a s w e r e b r e a k i n g a c r o s s t h e h a r b o u rentrance, the No. 1 motor life-boat Mary AnnHepworth was launched at 11.15 A.M. Sheescorted into harbour a pulling boat withtwo men on board, and then put out againand escorted in six small fishing cobles.-Rewards, £4 16s. 6d.

APRIL 5TH. - SHERINGHAM, NORFOLK.During the morning, four of the crew of theminesweeper Port Rose, which was anchoredtwo or three miles to the north of Sheringham,came ashore in a rowing boat. The weather

was fine with a westerly wind. At noon themen put off to return to their ship, but withina little while the wind veered to the north,increasing in force, and the sea became verychoppy. Mist also came on. After an hourthe Port Rose could see that the men in theboat were unable to make headway and thatthey were exhausted, so she weighed anchorand went towards them, but owing to thecoast defences she could not get to the boat.She anchored again and sounded the distresssignal on her siren. At 1.55 P.M. the motorlife-boat Foresters Centenary was launched,in charge of the second-coxswain, the cox-swain being at sea, fishing. The mist hadnow begun to clear, and it could be seen thatthe men in the small boat had been able tog e t f a r t h e r o u t t o s e a . T h e y w e r e n o wwhere the Port Rose could reach them, soshe weighed anchor again and picked themup about two minutes before the life-boatarrived. As she was not wanted, she went insearch of Coxswain Dumble and h is twopar tners , who had gone out f i sh ing in arowing boat earlier in the day. They couldnot be found; it was concluded that they hadgone ashore, and the life-boat returned to herstation. Shortly afterwards news came thatCoxswain Dumble’s boat, was off Cromer,h e a d i n g f o r h o m e . I t h a d a s t r o n g t i d eagainst it , and as the weather was rapidlygetting worse, the life-boat again went tosea at 3.25 P.M. She found the boat abouttwo miles off Runton. Just before the life-boat arrived a big sea had struck and nearlycapsized it, and had broken two of the fouroars. The life-boat took the boat in tow, andr e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 4 . 1 0 P . M . -Rewards : first service, £16 6s. 6d. ; secondservice, £10 6s. 6d.

APRIL 10TH. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. At 11.45 A.M. a message was re-ce ived f rom the nava l au thor i t i es tha t anaval patrol boat had picked up a barge,which had been abandoned, and asked thatthe l i fe -boa t should br ing i t in . A l igh teasterly breeze was blowing and there was aslight sea. At 11.50 A.M. the motor life-boatGreater London (Civil Service No. 3) waslaunched and took over the barge, Rowland,of London. She was waterlogged and all herpumps were choked. The life-boatmen baledher out with buckets, and towed her inshore.The l i fe -boa t re tu rned to her s ta t ion a t2.30 P.M. - Property salvage case.

AP R I L 1 0 T H . - MARGATE, KENT. At5.34 P.M. the Margate coastguard telephonedtha t an un iden t i f i ed aerop lane had madea forced landing on Margate Sands somethree miles from the shore, and the motorlife-boat The Lord Southborough (Civil ServiceNo. 1) was launched at 5.45 P.M., taking withher a small dinghy, lashed to the after airbox. A moderate N.E. wind was blowing,with a smooth sea. The life-boat found thatthe aeroplane was a Blenheim bomber. Inthe shallow water on the sands, the life-boatherself could not get within a quarter of ami le , bu t the c rew of three a i rmen wererescued with the dinghy, and much valuablegear was salved before failing light compelled

44 SERVICES 1941

the life-boat to return to her station, whichwas reached at 7.45 P.M. - Rewards, £8 11s.

AP R I L 1 3 T H . - TORBAY, DEVON. At2.51 in the afternoon a message was receivedfrom the Torquay coastguard that a smallrowing boat was waterlogged 100 yards S.W.of Orestone and that men were swimming inthe water. The boat belonged to the R.A.F.Another rowing boat was not fa r of f . Aslight S.S.W. wind was blowing and the seawas moderate. The motor life-boat GeorgeShee was launched at three o’clock, andshortly afterwards another message reachedher station to say that the men in the waterhad been picked up and had been landed atTorquay, but the life-boat went on as thesignals made to her to return were not under-stood. She found the boat half a mile eastof Orestone and took her in tow. The life-boat then made for Torquay Daddyhole coast-guard station, and as she got near foundanother boat with three men on board. Thisboat also belonged to the R.A.F., and hadhelped to rescue the men from the water.The three men were exhausted, so the life-boat took them on board and towed the twob o a t s i n t o T o r q u a y h a r b o u r . T h e r e t h erescued men boarded their own boat againand took her to her moorings, and the life-boa t re tu rned to her s t a t ion , a r r iv ing a t4.40 P.M. - Rewards, £2 16s.

AP R I L 1 3 T H . - BEAUMARIS, ANGLE-SEY. At 9.15 P.M. a message was receivedfrom the commander of the Menai Straitsyacht patrol that a tug, which had strandednear Puffin Island, was sinking rapidly. Alight S.W. breeze was blowing, with rain,and the sea was choppy. At 9.35 P . M . themotor l i fe -boat Freder i ck K i t chen wasl a u n c h e d , a n d f o u n d t h e A d m i r a l t y t u gS t . O l i ve r . Her crew of th i r ty-one werealready in the ship’s boats ready to leave.The life-boat rescued the crew and decidedto tow the St. Oliver inshore, to prevent hers inking . This was successfu l ly done , theSt. Oliver being put aground on the mudflatsin Fryars Bay, with her decks submerged.T h e l i f e - b o a t t h e n l a n d e d t h e c r e w a tBeaumaris Pier, arriving back at her stationat 1.30 A.M. - Rewards, £10.

APRIL 14TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK. At6 P.M. a message was received from the coast-guard that a trawler would arrive shortly,with injured men on board to be landed, andat 6.50 P . M . two appeared, H.M. TrawlersMadden and Tamora. A moderate N.W. windwas blowing and the sea was smooth. TheNo. 2 motor life-boat Harriot Dixon waslaunched immedia te ly wi th a doc tor onboard. She went alongside the Madden, andthe doctor went on board, and gave medicalattention to four men who had been woundedby enemy action. The life-boat then took thedoctor to the Tamora, who also had a mans l igh t ly wounded , bu t he was ab le , a f te rattention, to remain on board his ship. Thefour men on the Madden were taken on boardthe life-boat and landed, when they weretaken to Cromer Hospi ta l . The l i fe -boa t

At 3.13 A.M. a message was received from thecoastguard that a vessel was on fire, and at4.20 A.M. the motor life-boat Caroline OatesAver and William Maine was launched. Thewind was light and the sea smooth. All thatthe life-boat found was a large quantity ofwreckage. The ship had disappeared, butthe l i fe -boat found another s teamer , theAmiens, of Swansea, which had been attackedand d isabled . A naval escor t vesse l wasstanding by. The life-boat took off two slightlyinjured men and landed them. Afterwardsthe Amiens sank, and her crew were landedby the naval vessel. The life-boat returnedto he r s t a t ion a t 10 .30 A . M . - Rewards ,£11 5s. 6d.

returned to her station at 8.5 P.M. - Rewards,£13 12s. 6d.

AP R I L . 1 5 T H . - DONAGHADEE, CO.DOWN. At midnight on the 14th April, theDonaghadee coastguard asked the life-boatto stand by at the harbour ready to take onboard an armed guard. A west wind wasblowing, with squalls, and the sea was moder-ate. At 12.30 A.M. the motor life-boat CivilService No. 5 was launched and the armedguard of twelve men was taken on board.The life-boat then went, under the directionof the officer-in-charge, to Mew Island whereshe landed the guard to investigate a reportabout Mew Island Light, and to search thecoas ta l defences . The l i fe -boat took theguard on board again and returned to herstation, arriving at 3.15 A.M . - Rewards,£7 19s. 6d

APRIL 16TH . - ST. IVES, CORNWALL.

APRIL 17TH. - DOUGLAS, AND RAMSEY,ISLE OF MAN. At 5 P.M.. a message wasreceived at Ramsey from the coastguard thatan aeroplane had sighted a vessel showingdistress signals about five miles to the south-east of Ramsey, and at 5.40 the motor life-boat Lady Harrison was launched. A moder-ate southerly wind was blowing, with a slightsea, and there was drizzle and rain. At about7 P.M. the life-boat found the vessel, the motorvessel Carita. Her engines had broken down,and just before the life-boat arrived she hadbeen taken in tow by a coaster. She neededno further help, and the life-boat returnedto her station, arriving at 8.30 P.M., while thecoaster towed the Carita to Douglas. Mean-while messages from the Castletown andRamsey coastguards had been received atDouglas, and at the request of the chief navalofficer the Douglas motor life-boat Manchesterand Salford was launched at 6.30 P.M. Shefound the Carita in tow, and reported thisby wireless to the chief naval officer, and wasasked by him to stand by the Carita untilshe reached Douglas Bay. This the life-boatdid, and returned to her station at 9 P.M.-Rewards : Douglas, £7 15s. 6d. ; Ramsey,£12 5s. 6d.

APRIL 18TH . - THE HUMBER, YORK-S H I R E . A t 1 . 4 5 i n t h e m o r n i n g i t w a sreported that a vessel of an outward-boundconvoy had gone ashore on the Binks. Sheappeared to be on her beam ends and wassounding distress signals on her siren. Ateight minutes past two the motor life-boatCity of Bradford II was launched. A fresh

SERVICES 1941 45

S.S.E. wind was blowing, with a heavy sea.T h e l i f e - b o a t f o u n d t h e s t e a m t r a w l e rDonalda, of Grimsby, and her crew all readyto leave her, but the coxswain advised themt o s t a y o n b o a r d t h e i r o w n v e s s e l , a n dpromised to stand by them until they werein safety. The trawler’s skipper said thatall his lights had failed and asked what thecoxswain could do to help him, so at day-break the life-boat returned ashore, and sawthe military officer-in-charge. He sent anelectrician out in the life-boat, who soon putthe matter right. The life-boat then stoodby until the vessel refloated at 9.15 in themorning and returned to her station, arrivinga quarter of an hour later. - Property salvagecase.

A P R I L 2 0 T H . - A P P L E D O R E , A N DILFRACOMBE, DEVON. At about 1 P .M .a message was received at Appledore fromthe Croyde coastguard that an aeroplane hadcrashed in the sea on the south side of MorteBay, and at 1.10 P .M. the Appledore motorlife-boat Violet Armstrong was launched. Afresh S.W. wind was blowing, with a moderatesea. The life-boat went to a point off Woola-combe, N.W. of Morte Point, and, directedby a look-out man on Baggy Point, foundand rescued four airmen in a dinghy. Allfour were injured, one seriously. The life-boat took them to Ilfracombe, where theywere placed in the charge of an R.A.F. doctor.The life-boat then returned to her station,arriving at 6.15 P.M.

News that an aeroplane had come downin the sea was received at Ilfracombe, a fewminutes before 1 o’clock, from a resident atWoolacombe, and from the Ilfracombe coast-guard at 1.10. At 1.15 the motor life-boatRosabella was launched. She met very heavybreaking seas off Morte Point, and a strongh e a d w i n d a n d t i d e . T h e c o x s w a i n w a sthrown against an after bollard by a heavys e a a n d h e a n d o n e o f t h e c r e w w e r eslightly hurt. On reaching Woolacombe Baythe life-boat saw the Appledore boat rescuingthe airmen, and as her help was not neededshe returned to her station, arriving at 3.40P.M. - Rewards : Appledore, £5 6s. ; Ilfra-combe, £6 11s. 6d.

AP R I L 2 0 T H . - MARGATE, KENT. At2 P.M. a message was received from the coast-guard that two aeroplanes were in the sea,and tha t one a i rman had come down byparachute, and at 2.10 P.M. the motor life-boatThe Lord Southborough (Civil Service No. 1)was launched. A light S.S.W. breeze wasblowing and the sea was choppy. An RAF.launch f rom Ramsgate a r r ived f i r s t and ,the life-boatmen thought, rescued two air-men. The life-boat picked up a rubber boatwhich had been dropped from another aero-plane, and returned to her station, arrivingat 4 .20 P . M . The rubber boat was handedover to the R.A.F. - Rewards, £5 12s. 6d.

APRIL 22ND . - FERRYSIDE, CARMAR-THENSHIRE. At 7.32 A.M . the coxswainreceived a telephone message from the St.Ismael’s coastguard that the Royal ObserverCorps at Carmarthen had reported through

the Fer rys ide Pol ice tha t a sh ip’s boa tw a s a d r i f t i n C a r m a r t h e n B a y . T h epulling and sailing life-boat Richard Ashleywas l aunched a t 8 .40 A . M . A l igh t N.E .wind was blowing and the sea was calm. Thelife-boat found, near No. 2 Buoy in Carmar-then Bay, an empty twenty-feet ship’s boat.The vessel to which the boat belonged wasunknown, but it was assumed that she hadbeen sunk by enemy ac t ion . Taking theboat in tow, the life-boat returned to herstation, arriving at 3.25 P .M. The boat washanded over to H.M. Cus toms Off icer . -Rewards, £12 13s. 6d.

APRIL 23RD . - ST. IVES, CORNWALL.At 6.41 A.M. a message was received from theSt. Agnes coastguard that a Hurricane aero-plane had crashed into the sea one and a halfmi les N.E . by N. f rom Por t rea th , and a t7.38 A.M. the motor life-boat Caroline OatesAver and William Maine was launched. Alight S.E. breeze was blowing and the seawas smooth. The life-boat found nothing,and returned to her station at 11.27 A.M., butshortly afterwards she went out again asanother message had come that the airmanhad again been seen. An aeroplane helpedin the search, and the airman was found,but he was dead. The life-boat, brought hisbody ashore, and returned to her station at2.40 P.M. - Rewards, £7 14s.

APRIL 23RD . - WEYMOUTH, DORSET.At about 12.50 P.M. the coastguard reportedtha t a vesse l about th ree mi les south ofPortland Bill was showing distress signals,and the motor life-boat William and ClaraRyland was launched at 12.55 P .M. A fresheasterly wind was blowing and the sea wasrough. The life-boat found the motor drifterDol-Fyn, on Admiralty service, five milesW e s t o f P o r t l a n d B i l l . H e r e n g i n e h a dbroken down. The life-boat took her in tow,but after about an hour of towing the Govern-ment tug Pilot arrived and took over the tow.After standing by for a time, the life-boat leftthe Dol-Fyn in charge of the tug and returnedto her station, arriving at 4.30 P.M. Mr. K. H.Mooring Aldridge, the honorary secretary,went out wi th the crew on th is serv ice . -Rewards, £4 7s. 6d.

AP R I L 2 4 T H . - MARGATE, KENT. At6.30 P .M. a message was received from thecoastguard that an aeroplane had crashedinto the sea one and a half miles north-eastfrom the look-out, and at 6.40 P.M. the motorlife-boat The Lord Southborough (Civil ServiceNo. 1) was launched. A strong easterly galewas blowing, with a heavy sea. With thehelp of a Lysander aeroplane the life-boatfound and rescued a young Rhodesian pilot.He was uninjured, but delirious from cold ands h o c k . B e c a u s e o f t h e v e r y h e a v y s e arunning and because there would no t besufficient water to enter Margate Harbouruntil 9 o’clock, the life-boat made for Rams-gate. On the way she sent, a message bydayl igh t s igna l l amp to Foreness S igna lStation, asking that medical help should beready. She landed the pilot at 8 P .M . ands t a y e d a t R a m s g a t e f o r t h e n i g h t . A t

46 SERVICES 1941

9.45 A.M. the next morning, 25th April, sheleft for Margate, arriving there at 11 A.M., butowing to the bad weather she could not berehoused until the 28th. Thanks were re-ceived from the naval authorities and theR.A.F. - Rewards, £10 18s.

APRIL 26TH. - GREAT YARMOUTH ANDGORLESTON, NORFOLK. At 12.30 P . M .an officer of the Great Yarmouth naval baseasked the life-boat coxswain if the life-boatcould take some men off a vessel. She wasthe S.S. Ethel Radcliffe, of London, and hadfoundered in shallow water in YarmouthRoads a f te r be ing a t tacked . There were20 se rv icemen on board , on guard . Thelife-boat was also asked to take out food tothe S.S Corrie, of Belfast, anchored in theroads. The sea on the bar and in the roadswas very rough and tugs could not get along-side either of the vessels. The motor life-boat Louise Stephens was launched at 12.45P .M., took food to the S.S. Corrie, and thenbrought ashore the men f rom the Ethe lRadcliffe, returning to her station at 3 P.M.- Rewards, £4 13s.

APRIL 28TH. - BOULMER, AND AMBLE,N O R T H U M B E R L A N D . O n t h e n i g h t o fSunday, 27th April, it was learned at Boulmertha t a German ae rop lane had a t t acked anaval vessel and that the aeroplane had beenbrought down in flames. The coxswain andsecond-coxswain stood by, and twenty min-u te s l a t e r , a t 11 P . M . , t he coas tguard a tBlyth and Boulmer reported distress signalssome eight miles N.E. of Seaton Point. Itwas decided to launch the motor life-boatClarissa Langdon to search, and the honorarysecretary rang up the military authority toget an armed guard. The life-boat had to betaken by her tractor through a narrow gapin the coastal defences of concrete and barbedwire. The night was dark and no lights couldb e u s e d . T h e d r i v e r o f t h e t r a c t o r w a sguided to the gap and through it by the glowof cigarettes. The life-boat was taken downto low water mark, and as soon as the militaryguard a r r ived she was launched of f hercarriage. It was then just after midnight..

W h e n t h e l i f e - b o a t h a d s e t o u t , t h ehonorary secretary of the station feared thata ship had been sunk or damaged, as wellas an aeroplane brought down, so he tele-phoned the commandant of the Red Crossat Alnwick at one in the morning, asking himto be on the alert, and two hours later twoambulances arrived at Boulmer with theirstaffs of men and women nurses. They wereaccommodated in the boat-house. In fact, it,was l ea rned la te r tha t the ae rop lane hadattacked H.M.S.. Patia, a naval auxiliaryvessel of 5,500 tons, and had hit her with anaerial torpedo. The Patia had replied andshot the aeroplane down, but she herself hadsunk.

The coxswain steered for the spot given,eight miles N.E. of Seaton Point, and on hisway found himself among great quantities offloating wreckage, such as oil drums, bagsand wood. In the dark they were difficult toidentify, and great care had to be taken, asthe life-boat was now in an area which had

As from the wreckage it appeared that aship had been sunk as well as an aeroplanelost, the coxswain continued his search amongthe wreckage, saw and examined severalrafts, and found a naval whaler bottom up,but there was no sign of any men.

At daybreak the coastguard reported tothe station a raft off Cullernose Point, withthree men on it, and after arranging for thisnews to be signalled to the life-boat, thehonorary secretary, Mr. William S. Stanton,put out with three other men in the motorfishing boat Primrose to find the raft. Thecoastguard also sent the news to Amble, andthe motor life-boat Frederick and Emma waslaunched at 5.15. Just as the Primrose wasleaving, the news came that this raft hadlanded at Howick Burn, that another hadlanded in Embleton Bay, and that a thirdraft, crowded with men, was three miles eastof Boulmer station. The Primrose met theAmble l i fe -boat , and Mr . S tan ton wentaboard the life-boat, which then went tomeet the third raft and found that it was theBoulmer life-boat. The two life-boats madefor a patrol vessel, two miles to the east, andon their way passed a motor fishing boat,which had a raft alongside.

There was one man in the raft, lying inthe bottom, under water. He was dead, andthe Boulmer life-boat took his body on board.When the two life-boats came up with thePatrol vessel, the Lord Darling, they learntwhat they had suspected must have happened,that not only had the aeroplane been shotdown, but that the vessel which had shot herdown, an armed merchant cruiser, had beensunk. Two patrol vessels had gone to theTyne with survivors, but the skipper of theLord Darling thought that all the crew hadnot been accounted for. The two life-boatscont inued the i r search over a wide a realooking for survivors on rafts or wreckage.Above them an R.A.F. aeroplane was circling.The Boulmer life-boat found four bodies andtook them on board, among them the captainof the armed cruiser, and the Amble life-boatfound ten. But they found no men alive.They continued their search until eight inthe morning and then re turned to the i rs t a t ions , Bou lmer a r r iv ing a t 9 .15 and

been closed because of mines, and the daybefore, when the life-boat was out on exer-cise, the naval authorities would not allowher to go more than half a mile from the shore.

The life-boat then hailed a patrol vessel.The patrol vessel replied with the challengesignal, for the life-boat, by arrangementwith the naval authorities, was under fullnavigation lights. The coxswain told thevessel who he was and asked for information,but the patrol vessel had nothing to tell him,and the life-boat continued her search amongthe wreckage. There she found at last therubber raft, belonging to the enemy aero-plane which had been shot down. In it shefound a wristlet watch, stopped at 11.5, andan airman’s helmet, but there was no traceof the airman. The life-boat took the rafton board.

Amble at 9.45.Meanwhile the other two rafts, which had

been reported, had proved to be ship’s boats.

SERVICES 1941 47

The one which had come ashore at HowickBurn, a mile north of Boulmer, had 41 meno n b o a r d . T h e R e d C r o s s a m b u l a n c eworkers had met them and taken charge ofthe injured. The uninjured were looked afterby the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, andthe villagers gave them dry clothing andfood, and put to bed those who were ex-hausted. The other boat, which had comeashore in Embleton Bay, had about 40 menon board. Both boats had reached the landabout one in the morning, but had waited ford a y b r e a k t o c o m e a s h o r e . - R e w a r d s :Boulmer, £19 7s. ; Amble, £7 12s.

(See Boulmer, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 96.)

A P R I L 2 9 T H . - B A L L Y C O T T O N , C O .CORK. At 10.50 A.M. the lighthouse reporteda partly submerged ship’s boat about oneand a half miles to the south-west, and themotor life-boat Mary Stanford was launchedat 11 A.M. An easterly breeze was blowing,with a moderate sea. On her way the life-boat passed two floating mines. She foundthe boat in the fairway of traffic and towedher back, reaching her station again at noon.The boat appeared to have been in the watera long time. It had some gear aboard and alog entered up to the 17th December, 1940,but there was nothing by which it could beidentified. It was handed over to the militaryauthorities. - Rewards, £4 10s. 6d.

APRIL 29TH. - NEWQUAY, CORNWALL.At 3.15 P.M. the coastguard reported distresss i g n a l s f r o m a f i s h i n g b o a t w h i c h w a srapidly drifting out to sea before a strongE . S . E . w i n d . T h e s e a w a s c h o p p y . T h emotor life-boat Richard Si lver Oliver waslaunched, with the help of R.A.F. men, at3.50 P.M. She came up with the fishing boat,the P.W. 125, of Newquay, with a crew ofthree, about two miles N.W. of Towan Head,took her in tow and brought her into harbourat 4.45 P.M. - Rewards, £9 4s. 6d.

APRIL 30TH . - FRASERBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. At 10.22 P .M. a message wasreceived from the Fraserburgh coastguard thatH.M. Destroyer Erne had been bombed whenten and a half miles from Kinnaird Head,and at 11 P.M. the motor life-boat John andC h a r l e s K e n n e d y was launched . A l igh teasterly breeze was blowing and the sea wassmooth. The life-boat reached the Erne atmidnight, and found that she had been takenin tow by another des t royer . They weremaking for Fraserburgh Harbour. The life-boat put one of her crew on board the Erne andstood by to give help if it were needed. Whenthey were one and a half miles off Fraser-burgh a tug came up and took H.M.S. Ernein tow for Pe terhead . The l i fe -boat thenreturned to her station, arriving at 1.50 A.M.- Rewards, £9 13s.

The following life-boats were launched, butno services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

APRIL 1ST. - KILMORE, CO. WEXFORD.Fires at sea had been reported, but after the

life-boat had gone some miles out it becameevident tha t they were r igh t across thechannel near the Welsh coast. - Rewards,£19 13s. 6d.

A P R I L 2 N D . - D O N A G H A D E E , C O .DOWN. A s teamer had gone ashore , bu ther crew of six were rescued from the shoreby the coastguard life-saving apparatus.-Rewards, £6 16s. 6d.

AP R I L 2 N D . - THURSO, CAITHNESS-S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d c r a s h e d a tWhiten Head, but her crew had been rescued.- Rewards, £15 13s.

AP R I L 3 R D . - ROSSLARE HARBOUR,CO. WEXFORD. An unknown vessel hadreported that she was being attacked, butnothing could be found. - Rewards, partlypaid permanent crew, £2 3s. 6d.

A P R I L 3 R D . - B A L L Y C O T T O N , C O .CORK. A collier was reported to have beenmachine-gunned by German aeroplanes, butcould not be found. News was received laterthat a collier had passed, going west, withoutl i g h t s , a n d t h e l i f e - b o a t w a s r e c a l l e d . -Rewards, £9 1S.

A P R I L 4 T H . - F L E E T W O O D L A N C A -SHIRE. A Br i s to l Hampden a i rc ra f t hadbeen reported missing but nothing was found.- Rewards, £12 9s. 9d.

A P R I L 5 T H . - C O U R T M A C S H E R R YH A R B O U R , C O . C O R K . A t r a w l e r ’ sengines had broken down, but she repairedthem and she was able to go on her way.-Rewards, £4 13s. 6d.

A P R I L 5 T H . - B A R R A I S L A N D ,HEBRIDES. A ship’s boat, with sails up,had been reported some miles off the coast,but could not be found, and it was learntlater that she was a small fishing boat undersail, and not in need of help. - Rewards,£14 13s.

A P R I L 5 T H . - A N S T R U T H E R , F I F E -SHIRE. A vesse l was repor ted to be indifficulties, with a sloop standing by, but inthe gale which was blowing, with a very heavysea running, it was impossible for the sloopto pass a rope and get the vessel in tow, andshe wanted the life-boat’s help. The life-boat went to the position given, but found nosign of either vessel. - Rewards, £14 12s. 6d.

A P R I L 5 T H . - S T . M A R Y ’ S , S C I L L YISLANDS. A British aeroplane had crashedin the sea several miles to the N.W. of St.Agnes, but nothing was found. - Rewards,£12 18s.

A P R I L 6 T H . - D U N M O R E E A S T , C O .W A T E R F O R D . A n u n k n o w n a e r o p l a n ewas reported to have crashed into the sea,but nothing was found. - Rewards, £10 6s.

APRIL 7TH. - HARTLEPOOL, AND SEA-HAM, DURHAM. An aeroplane had beenreported down in the sea, but nothing was

48 SERVICES 1941

found. - Rewards : Hartlepool, £4 7s. ; Sea-ham, £4 19s. 6d.

AP R I L 9 T H . - TORBAY, DEVON. TheN o r w e g i a n o i l - t a n k e r B e u s t o n a n d t h eBritish steamer Dudley Rose sailing in convoyhad been attacked by German aeroplanes,and the tanker had been set on fire. Thesea was a mass of flame for 150-500 yardsround her. Both vessels sank and the life-boat carefully examined all wreckage, butfound no survivors. - Rewards, £5 18s.

A P R I L 1 8 T H - A N G L E , P E M B R O K E -SHIRE. A vessel was reported to have beenbombed and set on fire by enemy aeroplanes,b u t n o t h i n g c o u l d b e f o u n d . - R e w a r d£11 9s.

APRIL 10TH . - PWLLHELI, CAERNAR-VONSHIRE. An R.A.F. fighter aeroplanewas reported to have come down in the sea,but no th ing could be found. - Rewards ,£11 8s.

APRIL 11TH . - DUNBAR, EAST LOTH-IAN. A British aeroplane had come downin the sea, but a destroyer rescued the pilot.- Rewards, £4 7s. 6d.

APRIL 11TH. - SHOREHAM HARBOUR,SUSSEX. A fishing boat, whose engine hadbroken down, had gone aground, but shewas refloated and able to return to harbourunder sail. - Rewards, £4 19s. 6d.

APRIL 11TH . - SWANAGE, DORSET. Aburn ing aeroplane was repor ted to havecrashed into the sea, but nothing except apatch of oil was found. - Rewards, £8 8s.

APRIL 11TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK. ABritish bomber was reported to have comedown in the sea, but nothing was found, andwhile the life-boat was searching the newscame that the bomber had crashed 45 milesaway. - Rewards, £13 6s. 6d.

APRIL 13TH . - SENNEN COVE, CORN-WALL. Red flares had been reported, butnothing could be found. Later it was learnedthat the flares were Holmes lights of the life-buoys of the Belgian steamer Arbel, of Antwerp,which were blown off her when she wasbombed and sunk. Seventeen survivors ofher crew of twenty got ashore at St. Ives.-Rewards, £17 2s.

A P R I L 1 4 T H . - P E T E R H E A D , A B E R -D E E N S H I R E . A v e s s e l i n c o n v o y w a sreported to have been bombed, but nothingwas found. - Rewards, £7 16s.

AP R I L 1 4 T H . - TENBY, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. A sh ip’s boa t had been repor tedadrift, but nothing was found. - Rewards,£12 1s.

APRIL 16TH . - ST. IVES, CORNWALL.Two raf t s wi th men on board had beenreported west of Gurnards Head, but nothingwas found. - Rewards, £6 18s.

APRIL 18TH . - ILFRACOMBE, DEVON.A British aeroplane had been reported downi n t h e s e a b e t w e e n C o m b e M a r t i n a n dLynton, and one of the crew was believed tohave baled out, but nothing was found, andit was learnt later that one of the crew wasdead and the other five safe. - Rewards.£6 13s. 6d.

APRIL 18TH. - ANSTRUTHER, FIFE-S H I R E . A n A d m i r a l t y k e t c h h a d b e e ndamaged while engaged on salvage work,but she was towed into harbour by anothervessel. - Rewards, £8 18s.

APRIL 18TH. - BALTIMORE, CO. CORK.Flares had been reported several miles southof Skilligs, but nothing could be found. Thelife-boat put out again to a German aero-plane which had crashed in the sea, but thes ix a i rmen had been rescued f rom the i rrubber boat by a fishing boat which wason the spot. - Rewards, £16 16s.

AP R I L 1 8 T H . - PORTPATRICK, WIG-TOWNSHIRE. A smal l vesse l had beenrepor ted wes t of Corsewal l Lighthouse ,apparently unable to make headway, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £7 10s.

APRIL 2lST. - PORTRUSH, CO. DOWN.Red rockets had been reported, but nothingwas found. - Rewards, £7 3s.

APRIL. 23RD. - CLACTON - ON-SEA, ANDWALTON AND FRINTON, ESSEX. Anaeroplane had been reported down in thesea , bu t no th ing was found. - Rewards :Clacton-on-Sea, £25 3s. ; Walton and Frinton,£13 2s. 6d.

AP R I L 2 4 T H . - THE LIZARD, CORN-WALL. An aeroplane was reported to havecome down in the sea, but nothing was found.- Rewards, £16 0S. 6d.

AP R I L 2 4 T H . - PENLEE, CORNWALL.An aeroplane was reported to have comedown in the sea, hut nothing was found.-Rewards, £8 11s.

APRIL 26TH . - HASTINGS, SUSSEX. Arocket was repor ted to have been f i redtowards the south, hut nothing was found.-Rewards, £31 15s. 6d.

A P R I L 2 6 T H . - G R E A T Y A R M O U T HA N D G O R L E S T O N , N O R F O L K . As t e a m e r h a d b e e n a t t a c k e d a n d b a d l ydamaged, and her crew had abandoned her,but they were picked up by the examinationvessel and a tug. - Rewards, £4 15s. 6d.

AP R I L 2 6 T H . - PORTPATRICK, WIG-TOWNSHIRE. A Br i t i sh ae rop lane wasreported to have come down in the sea, butlater it was learnt, that other boats werenear the place, and the life-boat was recalledby wireless. - Rewards, £3 2s. 6d.

APRIL 27TH . - FERRYSIDE, CARMAR-T H E N S H I R E . A B r i t i s h a e r o p l a n e h a dcrashed into the sea, but the body of the

SERVICES 1941 49

pilot had already been picked up. - Rewards,£12 7s. 6d.

A P R I L 2 9 T H . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. A British Sunder-land aeroplane had been reported down int h e s e a , b u t n o t h i n g c o u l d b e f o u n d . -Rewards, £10 14s.

(See Bardsey Island, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 96.)

APRIL 29TH. - HOLY ISLAND, NORTH-UMBERLAND. A Spi t f i re ae rop lane hadcrashed into the sea, but only a large patchof oil was found. - Rewards, £7 15s. 6d.

AP R I L 29TH. - WALTON AND FRIN-TON, ESSEX. A Hurr icane f igh te r ae ro-p l a n e h a d c r a s h e d a t t h e m o u t h o f t h eHanford Water , bu t when she was foundshe was a lmost submerged and the p i lo twas dead. - Rewards, £4 6s.

MAY

Launches 53. Lives rescued 27.

MAY 1ST. - CROMARTY. At 7.40 A.M. amessage was received from the Cromartycoastguard that two airmen had been seenin the sea off Brora, and at 8.20 A.M. themotor life-boat James Macfee was launched.A light easterly breeze was blowing and thesea was calm. The life-boat was directedby wireless to search east of Clyne Hill, andfound the body of one of the airmen. Theother could not be found. The life-boat thenspoke a naval examination vessel, and wasasked to take the body to Invergordon. Thiswas done, and she returned to her station at7.30 P.M. - Rewards, £6 13s.

MAY 1ST. - ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK.At about 1.20 P.M. the coastguard reporteda small open pulling boat about two and ahalf miles from the look-out, and the No. 1motor life-boat Abdy Beauclerk was launchedat 1.30 P.M. A fresh N.E. breeze was blowing,with a moderate swell. The life-boat foundthe small boat with two men in her. Theywere Dutchmen, who had belonged to theDutch Navy and had slipped out of Hollandin the early morning of the 28th April tocome to England. The life-boat returned toher station at 2.20 P.M., but she had to lie offfor two hours, owing to the heavy swell,before she could be beached. - Rewards,£14 3s.

MA Y 5 T H . - PADSTOW, CORNWALL.At about midnight on the 4th May informa-tion was received from the Padstow coast-guard that a convoy had been attacked fromthe air about ten miles N. by W. of StepperPoint, and that one of the ships was on fire.At 1 A.M. the motor life-boat Queen Victoria,on temporary duty at this station, put out.The sea was smooth, with a light S.E. breeze.The life-boat found the laden motor vesselMarie Flore, of Antwerp, ablaze from stemto stern. She went alongside, but got noresponse to shouts . Al l she found was a

ship’s boat, and this she took in tow. Shethen offered to help the Dutch motor vesselNarwal, which was towing another vesselwhich had been damaged in the same attack,but her help was not needed and when thevessel in tow sank, the Narwal rescued thesix survivors. The life-boat then returnedto her station, but put out again to continuethe search. She went back to the burningMarie Flore, found that the fire had partlydied down, put three men on board her and,wi th o ther he lp , towed her in to harbour ,r e t u r n i n g t o h e r m o o r i n g s a t 2 . 1 5 P M -Property salvage case.

M A Y 6 T H . - W E L L S , N O R F O L K . A tabout 5 P.M. the life-boat coxswain heard aship sounding “ V ” in morse on her whistle,” I need assistance “, and the motor life-boatRoyal Silver Jubilee 1910-1935 was launchedat 6.30 P . M. A strong northerly wind wasblowing, with a rough sea. The life-boatfound the S.S. Radstock, of Bridgwater, a milenorth of Wells Bar. She was bound fromAvonmouth for Wells, and was short of water,coal and food. Her degaussing gear was outof order and she could not get a pilot. Athis request she landed the captain, put apilot on board, and returned to her stationat 7.30 P.M. - Rewards, £11 8s. 10d.

M A Y 7 T H . - T H E H U M B E R , Y O R K -SHIRE. At about 5 A.M. the Royal NavalShore Signal Station informed the coxswainthat the pilot cutter, at anchor off the life-boat house, had reported an aeroplane downabout one and a half miles to the N.N.E.in The Gut. She had struck a barrage ballooncable, when returning from a bombing raidon Germany. Later the pilot cutter reportedthat she had picked up one survivor in arubber boat, which was drifting past her.The motor life-boat City of Bradford II putout at 5.40 A.M. A strong N.E. breeze wasblowing, with a moderately rough sea. Atabout daybreak the life-boat picked up twodead airmen about two miles S.W. of SpurnPoint, and put the bodies on board the patrolboat Perfective, to be taken to Grimsby. Thelife-boat then found the aeroplane in fourfeet of water on the Trinity Sand, but therewere no other survivors, and she returned toher station at 12.20 P.M. - Paid permanentcrew. Rewards, 4s. 6d.

MAY 7TH. - EYEMOUTH, AND ST. ABBS,BERWICKSHIRE. At 5 .15 P . M . the Eye-mouth honorary secretary received a messagefrom the Royal Observer Corps post that anaeroplane had been seen to dive into the seaa b o u t t e n m i l e s e a s t o f E y e m o u t h . A tSt. Abbs information was received a fewminutes later, from the naval authorities atRosy th , th rough the Roya l Nava l ShoreSignal Station, that an aeroplane had crashedabout five miles east of St. Abbs Head. Bothmotor life-boats put out, the Eyemouth boatFrank and William Oates at 5.30 P.M., andthe St. Abbs boat Annie Ronald and IsabellaForrest at 5.35 P.M. The weather was fine,w i t h a l i g h t n o r t h - e a s t e r l y w i n d a n d amoderate sea. With the help of aeroplanes,the life-boats made a thorough search, and

50 SERVICES 1941

the Eyemouth life-boat picked up a rubberdinghy from a German bomber and a petroltank. These she handed over to the policewhen she returned to her station at 9.45 P.M.Guided by aeroplanes the St. Abbs life-boatpicked up the body of a German airman, andr e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 9 . 5 0 P . M . -Rewards : Eyemouth , £22 11s . 6d . ; S t .Abbs, £14 8s.

M A Y 8 T H . - S T . I V E S , C O R N W A L L .Shortly after 4 A.M. a message was receivedf rom the nava l au thor i t i es , th rough thecoastguard, asking for the life-boat to meeta trawler due at St. Ives at 5 o’clock withsurvivors on board from a sunken ship, someof them wounded, and the motor life-boatCaroline Oates Aver and William Maine waslaunched at 4.45 A.M. A light S.S.E. breezewas blowing, but the sea was rather rough.The life-boat took out a doctor and ambu-lance men and met H.M. Trawler Pear l .She had on board survivors from H.M.S.Viva II, which had been attacked and sunkwhi le on escor t du ty . Af te r pu t t ing thedoctor and ambulance men on board, thelife-boat returned ashore, took out respiratoryapparatus and then landed five of the sur-vivors. At six in the morning she put to seaand searched a wide area for more survivors,but found none, and returned at 2.40 P .M .In the meantime a steamer landed three menwhom she had picked up. The Viva II, inthe early months of the war, was under thecommand of Captain R. L. Hamer, R.N.,D.S.O., the Institution’s deputy chief inspec-tor of life-boats, who won the D.S.O. whileserving in her. - Rewards, £10 7s. 6d.

aground, and the motor l i fe -boat L o u i s eStephens was launched at 4.45 A.M. A N.E.breeze was blowing, with a moderate sea.After searching for some time without success,the life-boat learned at 5.45 A.M. by wirelessfrom the naval base that the launch waso n t h e C a i s t e r S h o a l . A s t h e l i f e - b o a tapproached her she came afloat on the risingtide, but she was in a dangerous position, inthe narrow channel between Barber Sand andCaister Shoal. The life-boat went alongside,found that the launch had lost her propellers,and towed her to Yarmouth, returning to herstation at 8.55 A.M. - Rewards, £4 l6s. 6d.

MAY 13TH. - NEW BRIGHTON,CHESHIRE. At 1 .15 in the morn ing thepolice reported a vessel was in trouble offEgremont stage, and on enquiry the honorarysecretary was told that part of the stage,with a searchlight and soldiers on it, hadbeen broken adrift and was being carried upthe river. At 1.50 the No. 2 motor life-boatEdmund and Mary Robinson left her moorings.A westerly breeze was blowing and the seawas smooth. The life-boat found that thesteamer Westlands had drifted on to the stageon the flood tide, had broken it away andwas still pressing against the stage. As themen on the stage were all right, she stoodby until the Mersey Dock vessel Vigilantarrived. She then put the marine surveyorfrom the Vigilant on board the steamer andcontinued to stand by while the Vigilantt o w e d t h e W e s t l a n d s a w a y . W h e n t h esteamer had safely anchored in the river thelife-boat returned to her moorings, arrivingat 4.25 in the morning. - Rewards, £10 10s.

MA Y 8 T H . - LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLK.At 8.40 in the morning the naval base tele-phoned, through the coastguard, that a heavyexplosion had occurred where the examinationvessel Thistle had last been seen, and them o t o r l i f e - b o a t M i c h a e l S t e p h e n s w a slaunched at 9.10. A fresh N.E. wind wasblowing. The sea was choppy and was fullof mines. One blew up only 100 yards asternof the life-boat. Fifteen minutes after put-ting out she found the wreck of the Thistletwo cables from the N.E. Newcome Buoy.She searched among the wreckage for sur-vivors, but she found only one, out of a crewof about fifteen, bleeding and badly injured.She returned to harbour where she landed therescued man. At 10.15 she put to sea againto continue the search and spoke to navalvessels which were returning on account ofthe mines . She searched thoroughly , bu tcould find no more survivors and returned toharbour, where she arrived at noon. - Inrecognition of the dangerous nature of theservice, an increase in the usual money awardon the s tandard sca le was made to eachmember of the crew. Standard rewards toc r e w a n d h e l p e r s , £ 3 1 1 s . ; a d d i t i o n a lrewards to crew, £6 ; total rewards, £9 11s.

MAY 11TH. - GREAT YARMOUTH AND

M A Y 1 5 T H . - F I L E Y , Y O R K S H I R E .Several fishing boats were out, some crab-bing and some fishing, and as at 10 in themorning three of the boats could not be seenfrom the coastguard’s look-out it was decidedto search for them. At 10.25 the motor life-boa t The Cu t t l e was launched. A f reshN.N.W. breeze was blowing, with a moderateswell. The life-boat found the three boatsabout nine miles away and escorted them in.- Rewards, £8 9s.

GORLESTON, NORFOLK. At 4 .12 A . M .the Great Yarmouth coastguard telephonedthat the naval base wanted the life-boat tohelp with a R.A.F. launch which had gone

M A Y 1 7 T H . - F R A S E R B U R G H , A N DP E T E R H E A D , A B E R D E E N S H I R E . A t1.18 A.M . the naval authorities at Rosythasked, through the Fraserburgh coastguard,that the Fraserburgh life-boat should he gotready to launch. A few minutes later thestation was given a position ten or twelvemiles from Kinnaird, and at 2 A.M. the motorlife-boat John and Charles Kennedy waslaunched. A light N.W. wind was blowing,with a moderate sea. The life-boat foundnothing at the position given, so she alteredcourse to the eastward, and half an hour laterfound the troopship S.S. Archangel, of Harwich.She had been bombed by German aeroplanes,and a destroyer and tug were standing by. Thelife-boat prepared to take wounded men offthe steamer, but a trawler arrived and tookover this work, so the life-boat, in companywith the destroyer, went to look for driftingboa ts . Severa l boa ts were found , bu t a l lwere empty except one, with one soldier on

SERVICES 1941 51

b o a r d . H e w a s r e s c u e d a n d p u t o n t h edestroyer. At about 6 A.M . a tug took theArchangel in tow, in a southerly direction.The life-boat went with them, for the Arch-angel had no life-boats left, and was makingwater. At 8.15 A.M. the Fraserburgh honorarysecretary sent a message to the Peterheadstation through the coastguard, asking if thePeterhead life-boat could be launched to relievethe Fraserburgh boat, and at 8.55 the Peterheadmotor life-boat Julia Park Barry of Glasgowput out. She met the Archangel when shewas five miles N.E. of Peterhead, and tookover from the Fraserburgh life-boat, whichreturned to her station, arriving at 11.40 A.M.For a time the Peterhead life-boat escortedthe Archangel southward, and then it wasdecided to abandon her as she seemed likelyto s ink . She had been so badly damagedamidships that there was no communicationbetween the after and fore ends, so the life-boat went alongside the after end and rescuedeighteen men, while the tug took off theremainder from the fore end. The Archangelwas then beached at Belhelvie, and the life-b o a t r e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 1 P . M . -Rewards : Fraserburgh, £14 9s. 6d. ; Peter-head, £4 7s.

MAY 17T H . - SHOREHAM HARBOUR,S U S S E X . A t 4 . 3 6 P . M . t h e c o a s t g u a r dr e p o r t e d t h a t a G e r m a n a e r o p l a n e w a sattacking shipping about two miles south ofthe harbour, and a few minutes later thatthe aeroplane had c rashed on f i re . Themotor life-boat Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunnwas launched at 5.7 P .M. The weather wasfine and the sea calm. The life-boat foundthe S .S . Ala , of Os lo , damaged , and pu tseveral life-boatmen on board to help insalving gear, guns and ammunition. Thenthe harbour tug and ano ther s teamer go tthe Ala in tow, the life-boatmen remainingon board her to help. The Ala was towed inand beached, and the life-boat brought ashoreher captain, mate and a naval rating. Otherswere landed by a naval crash boat. The life-boat returned to her station at 6.30 P . M .-Property salvage case.

MA Y 1 9 T H . - BRIDLINGTON, YORK-S H I R E . D u r i n g t h e a f t e r n o o n a s t r o n gnortherly wind was blowing, with a roughsea and rain squalls, and news was sent tothe life-boat station that the open motorfishing coble Sarah Elizabeth had not returnedfrom the fishing ground. It was then learntfrom the Ulrome coastguard that she hadbeen seen drifting south, and the motor life-b o a t S t a n h o p e S m a r t w a s l a u n c h e d a t4.45 P.M. Eight miles to the south she foundthe Sarah Elizabeth. Her engine had failed,her propeller been damaged, her sails blownaway, and her crew of three were exhaustedwith baling. The life-boat took them aboardand, with the coble in tow, arrived back ather station at 8.15 P.M. - Rewards, £11 7s.

MAY 19TH. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. At about 6.30 P .M . the coxswainwas warned for service by the naval controlas two ships had been attacked and were indistress. The sea was calm, with no wind.

At 6.45 P .M . the motor life-boat GreaterLondon (Civil Service No. 3) was launched,and near the Nore Light-vessel, found theS.S. Dixcove, of Liverpool, in tow of two tugs.

One of the tugs had on board fifty survivorsfrom S.S. Winkfield, of Glasgow. She trans-ferred them to the life-boat. Going east fortwo miles, the life-boat then took on boardfour more surv ivors f rom a Dutch nava lvessel. Two of them were badly wounded,a n d a n o t h e r w a s s u f f e r i n g f r o m s h o c k .The life-boat landed the fifty-four men atthe naval base and returned to her stationat 8.30 P.M. - Rewards, £7 1s.

MAY 20TH. - ST. DAVID’S, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. At about 7.50 P .M . the coastguardreported that an aeroplane had crashed intothe sea south of Ramsey Is land , and themotor l i fe -boat C i v i l S e r v i c e N o . 6 waslaunched at 8.19 P .M. and made for RamseySound. A light N.N.W. wind was blowingand the sea was calm. In the meantime aman who lives on Ramsey Island had seenthe crash and had gone to the spot. Therehe saw a man in the water. He was a Pole,the pilot of a Hurricane, and was swimmingin a life-jacket near the cliff. He shouted“ Friend, Pole “. The man helped him outof the water. Meanwhile another man fromthe island, one of the farm employees, hadput out in the island’s boat, and brought herround to the spot. There he found the pilotand his rescuer and took them on board.He was making with them for Ramsey Soundwhen he met the life-boat, and she took themon board. The airman was suffering fromb u r n s o n t h e f a c e a n d s h o c k . A d o c t o rattended to him as soon as he was landed,and he was then sent to hospital. Puttingout again the life-boat picked up the airman’sparachute in Dillyn Bay, and returned to herstation at 10.15 P.M. - Rewards, £8 14s.

(See S t . David’s , “ Serv ices by Shore-boats,” page 97.)

M A Y 2 2 N D . - P E T E R H E A D , A B E R -DEENSHIRE. At 6 A . M . the coas tguardreported that the steam drifter the GoldenRod, of Peterhead, was ashore near SlainsCastle, five miles S.W. of Buchan Ness. Asthe weather was fine, with a light southerlywind blowingand a slight swell, the coastguardwas asked to find out in what state the drifterwas, and a little later reported that she waslisting heavily. At 7 A.M. the motor life-boatJulia Park Barry of Glasgow was launched,and found another drifter standing by. TheG o l d e n R o d was making wate r and th i scaused her to bump as the tide rose, but at9 A.M. she refloated, and the life-boat escortedher to harbour and then re tu rned to herstation, arriving at 9.45 A.M. - Rewards,£3 4s. 6d.

MA Y 2 2 N D . - MOELFRE, ANGLESEY.A small rowing boat with two boys on boardwas seen by the coastguard to be in difficulties.They had broken one of their oars and astrong S.W. wind was blowing, with a roughsea, and the boat was being carried out to sea.At 10.45 A.M. the motor life-boat G.W. waslaunched. She came up with the small boat

52 SERVICES 1941

one mi le N.N.E. of Moel f re I s land , andbrought her back, arriving at 11.30 A.M-Rewards, £5 2s. 6d.

MA Y 2 3 R D . - ST . IVES, CORNWALL.At 6.13 P .M . the coastguard passed to thelife-boat station a message from the residentnaval officer at Penzance, that a vessel witha dangerous list was about four miles N.E.of Pendeen and was making for St. Ives.A strong N.W. breeze was blowing, with arough sea . The motor l i fe -boa t C a r o l i n eOates Aver and William Maine was launchedat 6.25 P.M. and found the S.S. Bidassoa, ofFalmouth, laden, and bound, with a crewof sixteen, from Avonmouth to Plymouth.Her cargo had shifted, and she required a pilot.The life-boat guided the Bidassoa towards theharbour until a pilot took charge, and thenreturned to her station, arriving at 7.27 P .M.- Rewards, £10 16s. 6d.

MA Y 2 3 R D . - TROON, AYRSHIRE. At8 P .M. the Portpatrick coastguard reported avessel ashore south of Ayr Harbour, and themotor l i fe -boat S i r D a v i d R i c h m o n d o fGlasgow was launched at 8.45 P.M. A strongN.W. breeze was blowing, with a very heavysea and heavy ra in . The l i fe -boa t foundthat the vessel was the motor vessel Ifiena,a Dutch vesse l , now of London. She hadrefloated and was making for the harbour,but she failed to make it , struck the northpierhead, and eventually went aground onthe sand south of the harbour, one hundredyards from the shore. The crew wished tobe taken off, but as she was only drawing sixfeet of water the life-boat could not go along-side on the lee side, and on the weather sidethe sea was breaking over her. The coast-guard rocket life-saving apparatus attemptedto fire a line on board her but failed. Hercrew of five - four men and a woman - thenput off in the ship’s boat, and with the helpof the life-boat reached the shore. The life-boatreturned to her station at 1.30 A.M. - Rewards,£9 1s.

The following life-boats were launched,but no services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

MAY 1ST. - ST. IVES, CORNWALL. Anenemy aeroplane had crashed into the sea offGurnards Head, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £13 6s. 6d.

M A Y 1 S T . - B U C K I E , B A N F F S H I R E .An aeroplane was repor ted to have comedown in the sea north of Lossiemouth, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £3 5s. 6d.

MAY 2ND. - PORT ST. MARY, ISLE OFMAN. An aeroplane had crashed in the sea,and part of it was above water. Attemptswere made to recover the bodies of her crew,b u t t h e y w e r e unsuccessful. - Rewards,£7 12s. 6d.

(See Port St. Mary, “ Services by Shore-boats,” p. 96.)

MAY 3RD. - SHERINGHAM, NORFOLK.A German aeroplane had been reported down

in the sea half a mile from the shore, but thecrew of four landed in their rubber dinghyu n a i d e d a n d w e r e a r r e s t e d . - R e w a r d s ,£19 9s. 6d.

MAY 4TH. - FISHGUARD, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. A steamer had been bombed ands e t o n f i r e a b o u t t e n m i l e s N . N . W . o fSt. Davids, but the life-boat was recalledby wireless, as it was learned that anothervessel had taken her in tow. Later she sank.- Rewards, £3 17s. 6d.

MAY 6TH. - BALLYCOTTON, CO. CORK.The military look-out had reported a trawlersounding her fog siren, but the life-boat wasreca l led when a message came f rom theBallycotton Lighthouse that, after signalling“ mines floating seven miles S.W. Bally-co t ton Light ,” the t rawler had gone on . -Rewards, £9 1s.

MAY 7TH . - HASTINGS, SUSSEX. Twoairmen had baled out from their aeroplane,b u t n o t h i n g w a s f o u n d . - R e w a r d s ,£18 18s. 3d.

MA Y 7 T H . - TORBAY, DEVON. Twoboys had taken a rowing boat from Babba-combe Beach, but the life-boat could notf i n d t h e m . T h e p o l i c e d i s c o v e r e d t h ewreckage of the boat, but as no one hadbeen reported missing it was assumed thatthe boys were safe. - Rewards, £4 7s.

MAY 8TH . - PADSTOW, CORNWALL.A vesse l had been repor ted sunk, i t wasthought by enemy action, but nothing wasfound. - Rewards, £3 19s.

MAY 10TH . - SALCOMBE, DEVON. ABritish aeroplane had been shot down, butthe crew of two succeeded in reaching theshore unaided. - Rewards, £6 17s. 6d.

M A Y 1 1 T H . - B L A C K P O O L , A N DLYTHAM - ST. ANNES, LANCASHIRE.A British aeroplane had been reported downin the sea off South Shore, Blackpool, butla te r i t was found tha t she had made alanding on the Southport side of the river,a n d t h a t t h e t w o a i r m e n w e r e s a f e . -R e w a r d s : B l a c k p o o l , £ 4 ; L y t h a m - S t .Annes, £5 10s. 6d.

MAY 13TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY,AND PORTHDINLLAEN, CAERNARVON-SHIRE. A pilot was reported to have baledout from a British aeroplane about elevenmiles in a nor th-wes ter ly d i rec t ion f romPorthdinllaen Point, but nothing was founde x c e p t a n e m e r g e n c y h a t c h . R e w a r d s :Holyhead, £2 17s. ; Porthdinllaen, £7 16s.

MAY 13TH . - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A barge had struck a wreck andsunk with a cargo of wheat. The weatherwas calm, and the life-boat attempted tosalve her, but she was too badly damaged.-Rewards, £8 14s.

MA Y 1 5 T H . - THE HUMBER, YORK-SHIRE. A German Junkers 88 ae rop lane

SERVICES 1941 53

had come down in the convoy anchorage,but two members of her crew were pickedup from their rubber boat by the balloonship Wengen, and the two others were lost.-Permanent paid crew. Rewards, 7s. 6d.

MA Y 1 6 T H . - HASTINGS, SUSSEX. Araft had been reported off St. Leonard’s Pier,but it was found to be part of a hatchwayprobably from a ship that had been attacked.- Rewards, £16 2s. 6d.

MAY 16TH. - APPLEDORE, DEVON. Anaeroplane had been reported down ten milesout in the direction of Lundy Island, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £7 11s. 3d.

MA Y 1 7 T H . - BUCKIE, BANFFSHIRE.A British aeroplane was reported to havec r a s h e d , b u t n o t h i n g w a s f o u n d e x c e p twreckage. - Rewards, £2 13s.

MAY 17TH. - BALTIMORE, CO. CORK.An explosion and flares, probably connectedwith war activities, had been reported somet e n m i l e s o f f , b u t n o t h i n g w a s f o u n d . -Rewards, £16 10s.

MAY 22ND . - PADSTOW, CORNWALL.An aeroplane was reported to have crashedinto the sea off Trevose Head, but actuallyi t had only f lown low in th ick weather . -Rewards, £3 19s.

M A Y 2 2 N D . - F E R R Y S I D E , C A R -MARTHENSHIRE. At 7.57 in the eveningthe Pembrey coastguard telephoned that aboat was in distress half a mile off shore,and the pulling and sailing life-boat RichardAshley slipped her moorings at 8.27 and putout under all sail. A strong S.S.W. windwas blowing, with a heavy breaking sea anda thick fog. The coxswain had to take thelife-boat across the bar and close alongshorein the breaking water, and, as nothing couldbe seen in the fog, he had to navigate her bylead and compass. Several times she tookgreen seas aboard and was practically sub-merged, but the coxswain handled her veryskilfully and took her to a point half-wayalong Pembrey Sands , where the boa t indistress should have been, but found nothing.It was learned later that the boat was thefishing smack Sealark, of Swansea, and thather crew of two men had managed to swima s h o r e . T h e l i f e - b o a t r e t u r n e d t o h e rmoorings at 1.30 in the morning, havingbeen five hours at sea. It was a difficult andarduous service, and an increase in the usualmoney awards on the s tandard sca le wasmade to each member of the crew. Standardrewards to crew and helpers, £19 7s. ; addi-t i o n a l r e w a r d s t o c r e w , £ 7 1 0 s . ; t o t a lrewards, £26 17s.

M A Y 2 2 N D . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,C A E R N A R V O N S H I R E . A t 6 . 4 3 P . M . ate lephone message came f rom the seniornaval officer at Liverpool, asking the life-boat to go to the help of a British aeroplanein distress, and the motor life-boat M.O.Y.E.was launched at 7.30 P.M. A moderate S.W.

breeze was blowing, with a moderate seaand rain. The life-boat made for the positiongiven, W. by S. 1/4S., 36 1/4 miles from Porthdin-llaen Point. It was very difficult to see inthe continuous rain and, when at midnightthe life-boat reached the position given ands e a r c h e d , s h e c o u l d f i n d n o t h i n g . T h eweather was getting steadily worse duringthe search, and the life-boat returned to herstation at 5.35 A.M., having been out elevenhours . - An increase in the usua l moneyaward on the standard scale was granted toeach member of the crew. Standard rewardsto crew and helpers, £10 10s. ; additionalrewards to crew, £2 19s. 6d. ; total rewards,£13 9s. 6d.

MAY 24TH . - HOLY ISLAND, NORTH-UMBERLAND. A British aeroplane camedown at sea, but her crew were rescued by adestroyer. - Rewards, £5 2s. 6d.

MA Y 2 4 T H . - MARGATE, KENT. RedVery lights, presumably from an aeroplanedown in the sea , had been repor ted , bu tnothing was found. - Rewards, £8 11s.

MA Y 2 5 T H . - FRASERBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. The Faroese motor vesse lH a r r y had been reported on fire, but on herway out the l i fe -boa t l ea rned f rom H.M.trawler Ebor Abbey that she had found theH a r r y a b a n d o n e d a n d h a d s u n k h e r . -Rewards, £4 16s. 6d.

MA Y 2 7 T H . - ST . IVES, CORNWALL.S.S . R e g i s t a n , an aux i l i a ry c ru i se r , wasattacked and set on fire by four enemy aero-planes, but the survivors were picked up by amotor boat from Sennen Cove and by de-stroyers. - Rewards, £15 3s. 6d.

(See Sennen Cove, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 97.)

MAY 30TH. - RUNSWICK, YORKSHIRE.A fishing coble was several hours overdue,but made harbour without the help of thelife-boat. - Rewards, £6 18s.

MA Y 3 0 T H . - TROON, AYRSHIRE. Acanoe was reported to have sunk leaving aboy, wearing a life-jacket, in the sea, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £4 10s. 6d.

MAY 3lST . - COURTMACSHERRY, CO.CORK. A steamer had been reported ashoreand in need of help at Newfoundland Bay,twelve miles east of Old Head Lighthouse,but she got off and went on her way withoutthe life-boat’s help. - Rewards, £9 7s.

MAY 3 l S T . - BARMOUTH, MERION-E T H S H I R E . A B r i t i s h a e r o p l a n e h a dcrashed into the sea, but an R.A.F. boat hadgone to her help. - Rewards, £6 7s.

JUNE

Launches 41. Lives rescued 24.

J U N E 2 N D . - YOUGHAL, CO. CORK.At about 4.10 P.M. a message came that arowing boat with two persons on board was

54 SERVICES 1941

in difficulties in Youghal Bay. The windwas due east and increasing, with a groundswell, and the boat was being carried awayby the wind and tide. The motor life-boatLaurana Sarah Blunt was launched at 4.30P .M . and found the boat about three milesaway with two inexperienced boys on board.She towed them in and re turned to herstation again at 6 P.M. - Rewards, £5 5s. 6d.

JUNE 3RD . - AMBLE, NORTHUMBER-LAND. At 1.20 A.M . the coastguard tele-phoned that news had been received that aship had been bombed and was sinking someseven miles east of Coquet, and the motorlife-boat Frederick and Emma was, launchedat 1.50 A.M. A strong N.E. wind was blowing,with a heavy swell. The life-boat found theS.S. Royal Fusilier, of Leith, of 3,000 tons,with a crew of twenty-nine. She had beenbombed while on her way from London toLei th and was l i s t ing bad ly to por t . Herc r e w h a d a l r e a d y b e e n t a k e n o f f b y adestroyer. At the request of the destroyer, thecoxswain put some of his crew aboard thesteamer, and passed a rope from her to thedestroyer, which took her in tow. The life-boat had her gunwale damaged when therough seas threw her against the destroyerand the steamer. She picked up and tookin tow a ship’s boat, and returned to herstation at 5.30 A.M. - Rewards, £10.

J U N E 4 T H . - FRASERBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. Dur ing the a f te rnoon theKinnaird Head coastguard reported a splashand the sound of an explosion bearing 360°from Kinnaird Head two miles distant, justafter two British aeroplanes had disappearedinto the mist, and the naval authorities askedthe life-boat to investigate. At 5.40 P . M .the motor life-boat John and Charles Kennedyput out. A light S.E. wind was blowing, witha moderate sea. The life-boat found a largepatch of oil, a deflated rubber dinghy andthree pieces of a Blenheim bomber, but nosign of any survivors. She returned to herstation at 7.15 P.M. - Rewards, £7 6s. 6d.

JUNE 6TH . - MONTROSE ANGUS, ANDG O U R D O N , K I N C A R D I N E S H I R E . A tone in the morning the Montrose s ta t ionheard from the coastguard that a convoy wasbeing attacked by enemy aeroplanes thirteenmiles E. 3/4 N. from Scurdyness, and at sixminutes past two the motor life-boat GoodHope was launched. A light N.E. wind wasblowing, and the sea was calm. At 3.45 thelife-boat found the S.S. Queensbury, of London,a vessel of nearly 4,000 tons, with a crew ofabout 35. She had been set on fire and wasblazing from stem to stern. Two coastershad taken off the crew, and one of them hadgone on her way, bu t the o ther was s t i l lthere, and the life-boat took aboard from hertwelve rescued men, two of whom were badlyinjured. She brought them ashore, arrivingat 6 A.M., and the men were sent straight tohospital, but one of them died later.

Meanwhile the Gourdon life-boat stationhad been told by the coastguard at 1.40 inthe morning that a vessel was on fire abouteight miles S.E. by E. from Gourdon, and as

the life-boat was being overhauled the motorboat Elizabeth, manned by a crew of seven,put out. She found the Montrose life-boattaking off the survivors and so she returnedto Gourdon. - Rewards : Montrose, £13 10s.;rewards to Gourdon.

(See Gourdon, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 97.)

JUNE 6TH. - THE LIZARD, CORNWALL.At 8.40 A.M. a request came from the navalofficer at Penzance, through the coastguard,asking for the life-boat to go to the help ofthe naval motor launch No. 155, and themotor life-boat Duke of York was launchedat 9.14 A.M. The weather was foggy, withlight winds and a calm sea. The life-boatfound the launch ashore at Penvose, midwaybetween Lloyd’s Station and Cadgwith, andit was feared that she might capsize. Thelife-boat returned to the Lizard and broughtback cement and launching timbers. Them o t o r l a u n c h w a s t h e n s h o r e d u p . S h eref loa ted la te r and was taken in tow forFalmouth by a naval salvage steamer. Thelife-boat returned to her station at 4.20 P.M.- Rewards, £11 8s. 6d.

JUNE 9TH . - HOLY ISLAND, NORTH-UMBERLAND. At 2 .35 in the morn ingthe coastguard telephoned to the life-boatstation that a trawler was ashore half a milenorth of Bamburgh Castle, and the motorlife-boat Elizabeth Newton, on temporaryduty at the station, was launched at 2.50.An easterly wind was blowing, with a strongground swell. The life-boat found the steamtrawler Remagio, of Grimsby, with a crew oft e n o n b o a r d . S h e h a d b e e n h o m e w a r dbound with fish, when a German aeroplanehad bombed her, and the skipper had run herashore. In the heavy swell the life-boat hadgreat difficulty in getting alongside, but shesucceeded and made fas t . One man fe l lfrom the trawler’s rigging into the sea, andwas rescued from the shore. The life-boatrescued the remaining nine, but two of them,in jumping for her, fell between her and thetrawler and it was only with great difficultythat they were seized and dragged aboard.The rescue lasted 55 minutes, and all thet i m e t h e c r e w k n e w t h a t o n b o a r d t h eRemagio was an unexploded time bomb. Oneof the rescued men had had his: hand badlycrushed and, as there was no doctor on HolyIs land , the l i fe -boat made for Seahousesso that he might have it attended to as soonas possible. She arrived at 4.45 in the morningand left again at six, arriving back at herstation at seven. - It was a service markedby skill and determination, and an increase inthe usual money award on the standard scalewas made to each member of the crew.S t a n d a r d r e w a r d s t o c r e w a n d h e l p e r s ,£14 2s.; additional rewards to crew, £4 ;total rewards, £18 2s.

J U N E 1 1 T H . - S T . D A V I D ’ S , P E M -BROKESHIRE. At 2.15 in the afternoonthe coastguard telephoned that the navalbase had reported a boat, from a vessel indistress, twelve miles north of St. David’sHead, and the motor life-boat Civil ServiceNo. 6 was launched at 2.45. A light S.E.

SERVICES 1941 55

wind was blowing and the sea was calm.The life-boat found the S.S. Baron Carnegie,of Ardrossan, of nearly 2,000 tons, bound, inballast, from Swansea to the Gold Coast. Shehad been attacked and badly damaged. Atug had come to her help and was now towingher towards F ishguard , bu t ea r ly on thefollowing morning, June 12th, she sank. Ofher crew of 39 men, a number had alreadybeen rescued by other vesse ls when theSt. David’s life-boat arrived. The life-boatherself found no one alive, but picked upand brought back seven bodies. She returnedt o h e r s t a t i o n a t 6 . 3 0 P . M . - R e w a r d s ,£3 14s. 6d.

J U N E 1 2 T H . - WHITBY, YORKSHIRE.During the morning a moderate north-eastwind was blowing, with rough breaking seasat the harbour entrance. This made it verydangerous for smal l vesse ls to en ter . At11.50 the No. 1 motor life-boat Mary AnnHepworth was launched to meet seven smallcobles returning from fishing. She escortedt h e m i n t o h a r b o u r a n d r e t u r n e d t o h e rstation at 4.45 P.M. - Rewards, £4 16s. 6d.

J U N E 1 3 T H . - ABERDEEN. A messagewas received from the Gregness coastguardthat a vessel was on fire seven miles fromGreyness, and at 1.30 in the morning the No. 1m o t o r l i f e - b o a t E m m a C o n s t a n c e w a sl a u n c h e d . A l i t t l e n o r t h e r l y w i n d w a sblowing, with a moderate sea. The life-boatfound the S.S. Dalemoor, of London. She hadbeen bombed and was burn ing . The l i fe -boat signalled to H.M. Corvette J.115, learnedfrom her that thirty-nine of the crew hadbeen picked up, and was asked to search forfurther survivors. At 3.30 A.M. a naval tugarrived, went alongside the Dalemoor, whichwas still burning fiercely, and put three menon board to make fast a tow line. Mean-while the life-boat had searched, but foundno one. At 3.50 A.M. the tug asked the life-boa t to pass a l ine be tween her and thesteamer. This the lifeboat did, took off thethree men who had been put on board theDalemoor, and returned them to the tug.She then continued her search until 6 A.M.The tugs were now using their fire hoses onthe Dalemoor, and as they no longer needed herhelp, the life-boat returned to her station at7.30 A.M. - Rewards, £12 8s.

J U N E 1 3 T H . - WHITBY, YORKSHIRE.During the morning a light northerly breezewas blowing, but there was a strong swellbreaking about four hundred yards outsidethe harbour entrance, and a fishing coble,attempting to make the harbour, shipped anas ty sea and near ly foundered . Severa lother cobles could be seen returning, and at1.15 P.M. the No. 2 pulling and sailing life-boatJacob and Rachael Vallentine was launched toescort the cobles into harbour. She met thecobles Silver Line, Rosamund, Cutty Sarkand Brighter Hope, and as it was low water,she stood by them in the roadstead untilthere was sufficient water to enter harbour.Then she escorted them in and returned to herstation at 3 P.M. - Rewards, £8 5s. 6d.

JUNE 17TH. - COVERACK, CORNWALL.The G.O.C. Fa lmouth sen t a message ofthanks. - Property salvage case.

J U N E 2 0 T H . - P E T E R H E A D , A B E R -DEENSHIRE. At 2 in the morning infor-mation came from the senior naval officerthat H.M.T. Resmilo had been bombed inPeterhead Bay, and with a doctor and thesenior naval officer on board the motor life-boa t Ju l i a Park Bar ry o f G lasgow waslaunched at 2.15 A.M. The sea was calm, buta variable breeze was blowing and the weatherwas thick. By the time the life-boat arrivedthe Resmilo had sunk, and there was no signof her or her crew, so the life-boat returnedto harbour to see if the examination vesselh a d b r o u g h t i n a n y s u r v i v o r s , b u t t h eexamination vessel herself had not come in.The life-boat put out again, searched theshore and at 4 A.M. found the examinationvessel stranded at the west side of the bay.She had on board the survivors from theResmilo, twenty-four in number. The life-boat took them off and landed them at Peter-h e a d H a r b o u r a t 4 . 3 0 A . M . - R e w a r d s ,£8 16s. 6d.

JUNE 21ST. - GREAT YARMOUTH ANDGORLESTON, NORFOLK. At 7.20 in themorning the naval authorities, through thecoastguard, asked for the services of the life-boat to land an injured man from a destroyercoming into the roads, and at 7.40 A.M. themotor life-boat Louise Stephens was launched,picked up a doctor at the naval base, and putout to sea. The wind was S.S.W., with as m o o t h s e a . T h e l i f e - b o a t f o u n d H . M .Destroyer Whitshed in the gatway, and wentalongside and took on board the injured man.She landed him at the naval base and re-turned to her station at 10 A.M. - Rewards,£4 15s. 6d.

J U N E 2 l S T . - P E T E R H E A D , A B E R -DEENSHIRE. At 4.45 P .M. a message wasreceived that a Peterhead motor boat, theBoy, with two on board, had not returned,and the motor life-boat Julia Park Barryof Glasgow was launched at 5 P .M. A freshS.S.E. wind was blowing, with a moderateswell, and there was fog. The life-boat wentto the north, in which direction the missingboat had last been seen, and two miles awayf o u n d t h e m o t o r b o a t . H e r e n g i n e h a dfailed. She took the boat in tow and arrived

56 SERVICES 1941

back at Peterhead at 6.15 P . M . - Rewards£5 14s. 6d.

J U N E 2 5 T H . - CLACTON - ON - SEA,E S S E X . A t 2 . 2 5 A . M . t h e c o a s t g u a r dreported that a British bomber was believedto be down several miles to the eastward, andthe motor life-boat J. B. Proudfoot, on tem-porary duty at this station, was launched at3.15 A.M. A light S.E. wind was blowing andthe sea was smooth. Two miles S.S.E. ofHolland Look-out she found a Polish pilotswimming, and a f te rwards p icked up thebomber’s dinghy, empty. As the pilot wasunhur t , she cont inued her search for theother a i rmen, bu t wi thout success . Shereturned to her station at 5.25 A.M., landedthe pilot, put to sea again, and searched until8.25 A.M. - Rewards, £13 2s. 6d.

J U N E 2 6 T H . - W E L L S , N O R F O L K .Shortly after 9 in the morning the R.A.F.reported, through the coastguard, that anaeroplane had crashed in the sea, and themotor life-boat Royal Silver Jubilee l910-1 9 3 5 was l aunched a t 9 .45 A . M . A l igh twesterly breeze was blowing, and the sea wassmooth . About f ives mi les E .N.E. of theboat -house the l i fe -boa t found a rubberballoon, but though she made a thoroughsearch she found nothing else, and returnedto her station at 12.20 P .M. While she wasout she saw an object, which might havebeen a parachute , and sen t a motor boa tafter it, but the boat could not overtake it,it was being so rapidly carried out to sea.-Rewards, £8 9s. 5d.

(See Wells, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 98.)

The following life-boats were launched butno services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

JUNE 1ST. - BARMOUTH, MERIONETH-SHIRE. A German aeroplane had crashedtwelve miles west of Aberystwyth, but noth-ing was found. - Rewards, £7 10s.

(See Aberystwyth, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 97.)

J U N E 3 R D . - S T . M A R Y ’ S , S C I L L YISLES. A civilian passenger aeroplane leftSt. Mary’s and never reached the mainland,but nothing was found. - Rewards, £12 18s.

J U N E 7 T H . - B A R R A I S L A N D ,HEBRIDES. An object had been reportedfloating in the sea, which appeared to haveprongs, but it was found to be the carcaseo f a b u l l o c k w i t h t h e f e e t u p w a r d s . -Rewards, £9 8s. 6d.

JUNE 7TH . - CLOUGHEY, CO. DOWN.Reports had been heard which were thoughtto be rockets, but it was found that the crewof a small salvage steamer had been firinga gun. - Rewards, £6 19s.

JUNE 11TH. - SCARBOROUGH, YORK-SHIRE. A steamer had been badly damagedby a German aeroplane, but a destroyer hadtaken off her crew, and was standing by untila tug came. - Rewards, £32 1s.

The news of the vessel on fire had also beensent by the coastguard to St. David’s, and thelife-boat Civil Service No. 6 had launched atthe same time as the Fishguard life-boat,5.25 in the morning. The St. David’s boatfound nothing, and from time to time askedher station by wireless if there was any moreinformation to be given. At 7.30 the twomotor life-boats met, and the St. David’s boatreturned to her station, arriving at 8.30 int h e m o r n i n g . T h e F i s h g u a r d b o a t c o n -tinued her search until 11.30, finding nothing,and then returned to Fishguard with a patrolvessel which had also been searching. Shearrived back at her station at one in theafternoon.

J U N E 1 1 T H . - R U N S W I C K , Y O R K -SHIRE:. A steamer had been bombed by aGerman aeroplane and had sunk, but onlywreckage and two empty rafts were found.-Rewards, £21 13s.

JUNE 12TH . - FRASERBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. An unknown vessel, elevenmiles away, had been reported in need ofhelp, but nothing could be found. - Rewards,£12 3s.

J U N E 1 3 T H . - F ISHGUARD AND ST.D A V I D ’ S , P E M B R O K E S H I R E A t 4 . 4 0in the morning a message was received atFishguard from the coastguard that a vesselwas on fire seven miles west of StrumbleHead, and at 5.25 the motor life-boat WhiteStar was launched. A light N.W. wind wasblowing, with a slight sea. All the life-boatfound was oil bubbles coming to the surfaceand two boxes of fish which she broughtback with her.

It was then discovered that the two boxesof fish were part of the cargo of the greatW e s t e r n R a i l w a y C o m p a n y ’ s s t e a m e rSt. Patrick, of London, bound from Rosslareto F ishguard . She had been a t tacked byGerman aeroplanes, and a bomb had struckher between the bridge and the funnel. Ithad penetrated to the oil tanks, setting themon fire, and in five minutes the steamer hadsunk. The majority of the ninety people onboard were picked up by government vesselsand landed at Milford Haven. Some eighteenwere thought to have lost their lives, includ-ing the captain, mates and several of thestewards. - Rewards : St. David’s, £6 12s. ;Fishguard, £6 12s.

J U N E 1 4 T H . - W E L L S , N O R F O L K . Araft flying a white flag had been reported, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £21 3s. 9d.

JUNE 14TH . - SHOREHAM HARBOUR,SUSSEX. An enemy aeroplane had beenreported down in the sea, but nothing wasfound. - Rewards, £9 19s.

J U N E 1 7 T H . - CLACTON - ON - SEA,ESSEX. Red s ta rs f i red f rom the sur faceof the sea had been reported, but nothingwas found. - Rewards, £7 10s.

J U N E 1 7 T H . - D U N M O R E E A S T , C OWATERFORD. A motor fishing boat hadgone ashore in the fog, but she got off without

SERVICES 1941 57

help and was at anchor when the life-boatreached her. - Rewards, £8 15s.

JUNE 20TH . - MINEHEAD, SOMERSET.An aeroplane had crashed into the sea, butnothing could be found. - Rewards, £7 0s. 3d.

(See Watchet, “page 98.)

Services by Shore-boats,”

JUNE 20TH. - WALTON AND FRINTON,ESSEX. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but later this was found tobe incorrect. - Rewards, £6 6s. 6d.

JUNE 21ST. - CLACTON - ON - SEA, ANDW A L T O N A N D F R I N T O N , E S S E X . ABritish fighter aeroplane had come down inthe sea, but the pilot was rescued by a barge.I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e t w o l i f e - b o a t s t h emotor boarding boat from Walton went out.- Rewards : Clacton, £7 17s. 6d. ; Walton,£17 6s.

J U N E 2 2 N D . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. The Dutch motorvessel Aegir, of Groningen, had sprung a leak,but she was piloted in by a Bardsey Islandmotor boat, and was beached at Porth Oer.- Rewards, £5 5s.

JUNE 22ND. - TOBERMORY, ARGYLL-SHIRE. Two young men had gone out fish-ing in a small sailing boat on the previousday, and when they did not return a partysearched the coast. A dog which had gonewith them returned alone, a patrol boat pickedup their boat and one of her oars and her boomwere found on the shore, but the life-boatcould find no trace of the men. - Rewards,£4 19s. 6d.

JUNE 23RD . - SHOREHAM HARBOUR,SUSSEX. A boat of the Air Sea RescueService had gone out to the help of an aero-plane which had come down in the sea, hadcaught fire herself and had been burnt out,but her crew were rescued by the examina-tion boat. - Rewards, £6 16s. 6d.

JUNE 23RD . - SHOREHAM HARBOUR,SUSSEX. An R.A.F. aeroplane had comedown in the sea and her pilot had baled out,but he was picked up by a boat which hadput out from the shore. - Rewards, £11 10s.

JUNE 27T H . - PADSTOW, CORNWALL.A drifter, which was helping in the salvageof a motor vessel, had gone ashore herself,but she got off without help. Partly paidpermanent crew. - Rewards, £6 9s.

J U N E 2 7 T H . - W I C K , C A I T H N E S S -SHIRE. An R.A.F . aeroplane had beenreported down, but nothing was found, andlater it was learned that the aeroplane hadreturned safely. - Rewards, £7 13s. 6d.

JUNE 29TH . - LONGHOPE, ORKNEYS.A party of soldiers had been fishing fromsome rocks, and a heavy sea had swept oneof them away, but he was lost before the life-boat could reach him. - Rewards, £9 18s.

J U L Y 1 1 T H . - P E T E R H E A D , A B E R -D E E N S H I R E . A t 5 i n t h e m o r n i n g t h ecoastguard reported that a steam trawlerwas ashore and then that she was makingdis t ress s ignals , and the motor l i fe -boatJulia Park Barry of Glasgow was launchedat 5.35 A.M . The sea was calm, but therewas a th ick fog . The l i fe -boa t found thesteam trawler Suzette, of Aberdeen, on therocks one mile north of Peterhead, with adangerous list. She was a vessel of abouttwo hundred tons, loaded with fish, and hada crew of twelve. The life-boat put out ananchor for her, and as her crew had decidedto stay on board during daylight, the life-boat put back to harbour at 7.30 A.M. Shearranged to return to the Suzet te at high-water as the Suzette’s boat had been broken,and at 1.20 P.M. she went out again, and stoodby while a tug made an unsuccessful attemptto refloat the trawler. She then went back toPeterhead, taking with her six of the Suzette’screw. She arrived at 7.20 P .M.

JULY

Launches 39. Lives rescued 71.

J U L Y 4 T H . - M A R G A T E , K E N T . A t2.15 P .M . the Ramsgate naval base askedthe life-boat crew to stand by from 3 P .M.This they d id . An hour la te r they wereasked to go out to a rubber dinghy reportedto be off Birchington with two people onboard, and at 4.5 P.M. the motor life-boat TheLord Southborough (Civil Service No. 1) waslaunched. The weather was fine and the seacalm. The life-boat found the dinghy over-turned. Her water ballast pockets had made itlook as if she had men on board. The life-b o a t t o o k t h e d i n g h y o n b o a r d , a n dreturned to her station at 4.50 P.M. - Rewards£5 12s. 6d.

JULY 10TH . - PADSTOW, CORNWALL.At 2.40 in the morning the Stepper Pointcoastguard reported that an SOS was beingflashed six miles N.N.E. of Stepper Point.As it was known that convoys were passingand that they were being attacked, the No. 1m o t o r l i f e - b o a t P r i n c e s s M a r y l e f t a t3.26 A.M. There was a light breeze and aslight swell. The life-boat found a ship threemiles north of Stepper at 3.50 A.M., but shedid not need help, and said that it mighthave been another ship which had alreadygone into the harbour. The life-boat returnedto harbour and found tha t th i s sh ip , theNorwal, had six survivors aboard, from theNorwegian steamer Svint, of Oslo, which hadbeen attacked. Other survivors were believedto be in two boats some ten miles off. Thelife-boat put out again, and at 5.40 A.M .picked up ten men from the ship’s boat. Oneof them was the captain, who wished to goback to the Svint , but when the life-boatreached her at 5.55 A.M., she was sinking.The mate was lying dead on deck, and thel i f e - b o a t t o o k t h e b o d y o n b o a r d . S h ea r r ived back a t Pads tow a t 8 .15 A . M . Apatrol boat had picked up four more men ofthe Svint, and this accounted for the wholecrew of twenty-one. - Rewards, £7 19s.

58 SERVICES 1941

At 11 P.M. the life-boat left harbour againa n d s t o o d b y t h e t r a w l e r , b u t s h e w a srecalled by the naval authorities at 2.30 nextmorning, the 12th, as a convoy was beingattacked off Rattray Head. Nothing morewas heard of the attack on the convoy, andat 3.15 A.M. the life-boat went back to theSuzette , taking the six men whom she hadlanded the evening before. Fog preventedany attempt to get the trawler off on thist i d e a n d t h e l i f e - b o a t r e a c h e d h a r b o u ragain at 6.30. Later in the day the tug madeanother attempt to refloat the trawler andthe life-boat returned to her at 3.30 in theafternoon, but this attempt also failed, and,as the trawler was now making a lot of water,the life-boat rescued the whole of her crewof twelve, and finally returned to harbour at7.30 P.M. The owner of the Suzette undertookto reward the life-boat crew. - No expenseto the Institution.

JULY 13TH . - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. Jus t a f te r 6 in the morn ing theRoyal Naval Shore Signal Station telephonedto the life-boat coxswain that a ship hadbeen mined about ha l f a mi le S .S .W. ofS o u t h e n d p i e r , a n d t h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tGreater London (Civil Service No. 3) waslaunched at 6.27 A.M. A light easterly windwas blowing and the sea was smooth. Thelife-boat found the S.S. Collingdoc, of New-castle, of about 1,500 tons, light, with a crewof twenty-four. She was sinking, and thelife-boat remained alongside her while shewas being towed to shallow water. She thenrescued seventeen of the crew, landed themat Southend pier, returned to the Collingdocand rescued the captain and second officer,leaving the ch ief of f icer aboard . She re-turned to her station at 8.45 A.M. and stoodby in case she should be wanted. - Rewards,£4 13s.

JULY 13TH . - HASTINGS, SUSSEX. At1 2 . 1 5 P . M . t h e c o a s t g u a r d a t F a i r l i g h treported that two small fishing boats weremissing. A strong S.W. breeze was blowing,with a moderate sea, but the weather wasgetting worse, and at 12.30 P .M. the motorl i f e - b o a t C y r i l a n d L i l i a n B i s h o p w a slaunched. Off Pett the life-boat found thefishing boats Two Pals and Boy Ben. Theywere making very poor progress, but, escortedby the life-boat, they reached harbour safely,and the life-boat returned to her station at2.4 P.M. - Rewards, £18 7s. 6d.

J U L Y 1 3 T H . - P E T E R H E A D , A B E R -DEENSHIRE. At 5 P . M . the coas tguardreported that an aeroplane had crashed inthe sea half a mile east of Buchanness, andthe motor l i fe -boat . Ju l i a Park Bar ry o fGlasgow was launched at 5.5 P.M. A freshnortherly wind was blowing, with a moderatesea. With two of H.M. trawlers, the life-boatsearched for three hours and then, at 8 P.M.,found the naval seaplane W2670, with acrew of three aboard. She towed the sea-plane, which was making water, into Peter-head harbour at 9 P.M. - Rewards, £6 13s. 6d.

JULY 15TH . - FRASERBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. At 2 .15 A . M . the Kinna i rd

Head coastguard reported a vessel ashore,firing signals of distress, a quarter of a milewest of Cairnbulg lookout. A light N.N.E.wind was blowing, with a smooth sea and fog.The motor life-boat John Russell, on tem-porary duty at the station, was launched at2.45 A.M., and found the motor fishing smackEnergy, of Trangisvaag, Faroe Islands, loadedwith fish. She was on rocks and her crew ofsix had taken to the ship’s boat. The life-boat took them on board and returned toher station, arriving at 4.15 A.M. - Rewards,£9 1s.

J U L Y 1 5 T H . - D U N B A R , E A S TLOTHIAN. At 2 P .M . news was receivedthat the steamer, St. Clears, of Newport, of8,000 tons, had stranded at Whitberry Nessin a fog, and at 2.5 P.M. the motor life-boatGeorge and Sarah Strachan was launched. Amoderate N.E. wind was blowing and thesea was rough. The life-boat remained along-side the steamer for six hours, and helped torefloat her. The St. Clears then went on herway and the life-boat returned to her stationat 8.30 in the evening. - Rewards, £7 16s. 6d.

J ULY 1 6 T H . - WHITBY, YORKSHIRE.At 1 A . M . the coas tguard te lephoned thelife-boat coxswain that a vessel was ashoreat Robin Hood’s Bay, and the No. 1 motor life-boat Mary Ann Hepworth was launched at1.30 A.M. The weather was foggy, withoutwind, but there was a heavy swell. The life-boat found, well up under the cliffs of the NorthCheek, the minesweeper Lord Darling. Tidewas about half ebb, and there was only justenough water for the life-boat, as the placewas strewn with rocks. A ship’s boat, whichwas over the minesweeper’s side, had first tobe moved, and then the life-boat got along-side and took off the whole crew, twenty-onein all. As the life-boat, was moving awayher propellers picked up a rope and the life-boat was pulled under the ship’s counter.The minesweeper was rising and falling inthe swell, and her counter crashed down onthe life-boat’s rails bending them. Then thepull of the life-boat eventually broke the rope,and on one engine she got in to Whi tbyharbour, where she landed the rescued menat 4.10 A.M. - Rewards, £9 8s.

JULY 24TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK. At8 A.M . the naval base at Great Yarmouthreported, through the coastguard, that anaeroplane was down in the sea E . by S .eleven and a half miles from Cromer. A lightS.S.W. wind was blowing and the sea wassmooth. The No. 1 motor life-boat H. F.Bailey was launched at 8.15 A.M. She had onlyfour of her normal crew of twelve on board.The rest were out fishing. But she picked upthe coxswain from his fishing boat. Abouteight miles east of Cromer she found a partlyinflated rubber boat and two large wheelsof a bomber. The wheels she handed over toH.M.T . S t a r o f O r k n e y , which a r r ived al i t t l e l a te r . Then the l i fe -boa t cont inuedher search, and at about 10 A.M. found thebody of one of the crew of the aeroplane.She passed a rope round the body and towedit to H.M. Trawler Epine, whose crew took

SERVICES 1941 59

it aboard. A further search was made, butnothing more was found, and the life-boatr e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 1 . 3 0 P . M . -Rewards, £3 16s. 6d.

J U L Y 2 7 T H . - D U N B A R E A S T -LOTHIAN. At 8.40 A.M., information wasreceived from the Royal Observer Corps,through the coastguard, that a vessel wasashore two and a half miles east of Dunbar,and the motor life-boat George and SarahStrachan was launched at 9 A.M . The seawas smooth, but there was a dense fog. Thelife-boat found the S.S. Empire Ptarmigan,of London, with a crew of forty-seven onboard, and stood by her until she refloated.The life-boat then returned to her station,arriving at 6.45 P.M. - Rewards, £6 7s. 6d.

The following life-boats were launched, butno services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

J U L Y 3 R D . - P E T E R H E A D , A B E R -D E E N S H I R E . A f i s h i n g b o a t h a d g o n eashore, but her crew were landed by a motorboat. - Rewards, £5 14s. 6d.

(See Whinnyfold, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 99.)

J U L Y 4 T H . - A N S T R U T H E R , F I F E -SHIRE. An aeroplane had come down inthe sea, but her crew were rescued by anotherboat. - Rewards, £5 19s.

(See Cra i l , “Serv ices by Shore-boa ts ,”page 99.)

J U L Y 4 T H . - W H I T B Y , Y O R K S H I R E .A steamer had been bombed and sunk, fourof her c rew being k i l led , but the sevensurvivors, three badly wounded, were pickedup by a patrol boat. - Rewards, £5 18s.

JULY 5TH. - ST. DAVID’S, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. Red flares had been reported, buta search, during which a floating mine wasseen, found nothing. - Rewards, £6 12s.

J ULY 8 T H . - EASTBOURNE, SUSSEX.Red lights on the water level had been seen,but no th ing could be found. - Rewards ,£17 10s.

J U L Y 9 T H . - F I L E Y , Y O R K S H I R E . Afishing boat was overdue, as her engine hadbroken down, in foggy weather , bu t shereached the shore under oars while the life-boat was searching for her . - Rewards ,£14 18s. 6d.

(See F i ley , “Serv ices by Shore-boats ,”page 99.)

JULY 10TH . - HASTINGS, SUSSEX. Anaeroplane had been reported down in thesea, but the life-boat could find nothing, andlater it was reported that a patrol boat hadpicked up an airman some miles from thepos i t ion g iven to the l i fe -boat s ta t ion . -Rewards, £16 4s. 6d.

JULY 10TH. - BEAUMARIS, ANGLESEY.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea, but nothing could be found, and the

l i fe -boa t was reca l led by a pa t ro l boa t . -Rewards, £8 15s.

JULY 12TH . - CAISTER, NORFOLK. ABritish bomber had been reported down in thesea , bu t no th ing was found. - Rewards ,£7 1s. 6d.

J U L Y 1 3 T H . - G O U R D O N , K I N C A R -DINESHIRE. Two R.A.F. aeroplanes hadcollided while on patrol and had crashed intothe sea, but the life-boat, with two R.A.F.o f f i c e r s o n b o a r d , c o u l d f i n d n o t h i n g . -Rewards, £10 7s.

(See Johnshaven,boats,” page 99.)

“ Services by Shore-

JULY 14TH . - GIRVAN, AYRSHIRE. Anaeroplane was reported to have come downin the sea, but it was found on the beach.-Rewards, £3 5s. 6d.

JULY 15TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY.A steamer was reported to have been bombedand sunk by enemy aeroplanes, but the life-boat found nothing except a patch of oil.Another vessel picked up an injured man ina boat. - Rewards, £3 15s.

JULY 15TH . - LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLK.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea, but nothing could be found. - Rewards,£4 0s. 6d.

J ULY 1 6 T H . - BLACKPOOL, LANCA-SHIRE. The life-boat was launched to bein attendance while certain aeroplane testswere being carried out, and had an R.A.F.signaller on board. - Rewards, £6 5s.

JULY 18TH . - ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea , bu t no th ing was found. - Rewards ,£26 17s.

JULY 18TH. - STROMNESS, ORKNEYS.A fishing boat’s engine had broken down, butthe boat was taken in tow by a naval patrolboat. - Rewards, £4 16s. 6d.

J U L Y 2 1 S T . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,C A E R N A R V O N S H I R E . A R . A . F . a e r o -plane had been reported down in the sea, butnothing could be found. - Rewards, £4 18s.

J ULY 2 1 S T . - PORT ST. MARY, ISLEOF MAN. An R.A.F. aeroplane had crashedin the sea and the pilot had baled out, buthe was p icked up dead by a governmentlaunch. - Rewards, £20 11s. 6d.

JULY 24TH. - ABERDEEN. A vessel hadbeen reported ashore, but the life-boat wasrecalled as the coast had been patrolled andnothing had been seen. - Rewards, £6 17s. 6d.

J U L Y 2 6 T H . - A R R A N M O R E , C O .DONEGAL. Flares followed by rockets hadbeen reported, but the only vessel found wasa trawler which did not answer the life-boat’ssignals. - Rewards, £16 2s.

J ULY 2 7 T H . - THURSO, CAITHNESS-S H I R E . A S p i t f i r e a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e n

60 SERVICES 1941

reported down in the sea, but nothing couldbe found. - Rewards, £8 6s. 6d.

J U L Y 2 8 T H . - P O R T I I D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. A Hurricane aero-plane had been reported down in the sea, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £4 14s.

J U L Y 3 l S T . - S T . A B B S , B E R W I C K -SHIRE. A man bathing in Coldingham Bayhad got into difficulties, but was drownedbefore he lp could reach h im. - Rewards ,£8 13s. 6d.

J U L Y 3 l S T . - T H E L I Z A R D , C O R N -WALL. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea , but when the l i fe -boatreached the position given she found navalboats searching, and after a time returnedto her station. - Rewards, £14 16s.

J U L Y 3 l S T . - A R R A N M O R E , C O .DONEGAL. Flares had been seen, and itwas feared that a ship had been sunk by aGerman aerop lane , bu t no th ing could befound. - Rewards, £13 4s. 6d.

AUGUST

Launches 50. Lives rescued 152.

AUGUST 1ST. - HOLY ISLAND, NORTH-UMBERLAND. At 4 .14 P . M . the coas t -guard telephoned that the Longstone Light-house had been bombed by a German aero-plane and that the life-boat was required.A fresh northerly wind was blowing, with achoppy sea. The motor life-boat Milburnwas launched at 4.35 P.M., reached the light-house at 5.30, took on board the three keepersand landed them at Seahouses at 7 P.M. Thelife-boat reached her station again at 8.0 P.M.At 12.30 next morning a message came fromthe coastguard that the naval authoritieswanted a bomb disposal squad and the chiefkeeper t aken ou t to the l igh thouse . Thelife-boat was launched at 11 A.M., and landedthe party at the Longstone at 1.15 P .M. bymeans of a small boat which she had towedfrom Seahouses . She le f t the l ighthouseagain at 2.30 P .M . , put the bomb disposalsquad ashore at Seahouses, and returned toher station at 4.15 P . M . - Rewards : firstlaunch, £7 15s. 6d. ; second launch, expensesdefrayed by the Admiralty.

A U G U S T 2 N D . - D O N A G H A D E E , C O .DOWN;. At 5.40 P .M. the police telephonedthat a small yacht had overturned about halfa mile out at sea, and that three personswere clinging to it. A light squally N. windwas blowing, with a choppy sea. The motorlife-boat Civil Service No. 5 left her mooringsat 5 .50 P .M , the honorary secretary, Mr.David McKibbin , go ing ou t as ass i s tan tmotor -mechanic , as the regular man wasabsent. The life-boat found the overturnedyacht with all sail set, but there was no traceof the crew. A message was then receivedthat another boat had rescued them and hadtaken them to Millisle. The life-boatmencut the yach t ’ s ha lyards so tha t the sa i l

dropped, and towed the yacht to Donaghadeeharbour, where she arrived at 7.15 P.M. Oneof the three people who had been on theyacht sent a subscription to the life-boatstation. - Rewards, £5 16s. 6d.

AUGUST 5 T H . - PEEL, ISLE OF MAN.At about 8 in the morning the coastguardreported that the fishing boat Emulate, ofKirkcaldy, was in difficulties about fourmiles W.N.W. of Peel, and the motor life-boatHelen Sutton was launched at 9 A.M. AN.W. wind was blowing, with a rough sea.The life-boat soon saw that the Emulate hadbeen taken in tow by another fishing boat,the Protect Us, and returned to the bay.There she stood by until all the fishing boatshad got in safely, and returned to her stationat 2.35 P.M. - Rewards, £7 13s.

(See Peel, ” Services by Shore-boats,”page 100.)

SILVER MEDAL SERVICEAT FLEETWOOD

AU G U S T 5 T H . - FLEETWOOD,LANCASHIRE. On the 4th of August,1941, a half gale was blowing from thenorth-north-west, with squalls and arough sea. A three-masted motorschooner of 300 tons, the Stella Marie,manned by Faroe Islanders, arrived offthe harbour. She was loaded with freshfish from Ireland to the value of£10 ,000 . She anchored nea r theexamination vessel, some four milesfrom the harbour, and could be seenthere, riding uneasily to her anchor.

During the evening the weather gotworse, and the Stella Marie tried toweigh anchor with the intention ofmaking the harbour, but either thewindlass broke down, or the anchorwas fouled. She had to remain atanchor all night. Next morning hercable parted and she began to drift.Then her main engine broke down.Her crew, who had been working allnight, were tired out, and they werevery glad to accept an offer fromthe examination vessel to give thema tow. Unfor tuna te ly the hawserparted and the schooner started todrift again.

At last, at 10.30 in the morning,seeing that the schooner was againadrift, the resident naval officer askedthe life-boat crew to stand by. Thecrew in fact had been standing by, inthe life-boathouse, since early in themorning. They were all Fleetwoodfishermen. They knew very well what

SERVICES 1941 61

was likely to happen. They uneasilywatched the unavailing efforts whichwere being made to help the schooner,and they were not too pleased at thedelay on the part of the resident navalofficer in calling out the life-boat, forthey well knew that time was veryimportant, and that every minute’sdelay was making their own job, whenthey were called out, more difficultand dangerous.

Shortly after asking them to standby at 10.30 the resident naval officerasked them to launch, but at the lastmoment he cance l led i t . Hal f anhour later he again asked the life-boatto launch, and again cancelled it. Itwas not until 12.45 in the afternoonthat the word was finally given, andat last the motor life-boat Ann LetitiaRussell got away. She had a crew ofsix instead of the usual eight men.

A strong gale was now blowing, andthe ebb tide was running against it,causing a high and very confused sea.While he had been waiting for theorder to launch the coxswain hadthought out how he would act, know-ing that speed would be imperative,and he drove the life-boat as hard ashe could through the heavy seas atthe grave risk of washing his own crewoverboard . The l i f e -boa t was soenveloped by the seas that those whowere watching her from the shorecould hardly follow her on her journey.In ha l f an hour she reached thes c h o o n e r , b u t b y t h a t t i m e t h eschooner had drifted on to a sandbank.She was hard and fast on it. The seaswere breaking right over her decks.Her crew of eight men had been forcedto climb into the rigging.

As the coxswain came close to thewreck he knew that he must act atonce. He reckoned - and this wasconfirmed by the men of the schoonerafterwards - that he had not morethan ten minutes to rescue them,before they would fall, exhausted, outof the rigging.

There was no time to carry out theusual manoeuvre of anchoring, andthen dropping down on the cable tothe wreck. The coxswain took thelife-boat alongside without anchoring.Nearly all the time she was underwater. One heavy sea turned her

completely round, and drove her sternagainst the schooner, bending thesteel pintle of the rudder, forcing therudder up as high as it would go, andjamming it there. In spite of this thecoxswain, after much manoeuvring,brought the l ife-boat close to theschooner, and, although the schooner’screw were exhausted, shaking, andin a state of collapse, and althoughthe life-boat’s crew were two short,the eight men were very quickly res-cued . Some jumped ; some weredragged th rough the seas ; somefound themselves on board the life-boat without knowing how they hadgot there. So quickly was i t donethat those watching on shore, whenthey saw the life-boat on her way back,thought that she had been unable torescue anyone.

On the return journey the coxswainhad great difficulty in steering thelife-boat, but he brought her safelyin, arriving at two in the afternoon,and it was only when the boat washauled up into the boathouse that hefound that the rudder was jammed.

It was a difficult and very skilfulrescue carried out with great dashand promptness, and the eight menwere rescued only in the nick of time.

The Institution made the followingawards :

To COXSWAIN JEFFREY WRIGHT,the silver medal for gallantry, witha copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ;

To SYDNEY HILL, the motor-mech-anic, the silver medal, with a copy ofthe vote inscribed on vellum ;

To JAMES LEADBETTER, the second-coxswain, R. WRIGHT, the assistantmotor-mechanic, and W. HOUSTONand D. WRIGHT, members of the crew,the thanks of the Institution inscribedon vellum ;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew a reward of £1 in additionto the ordinary scale reward of 12s. 6d.Standard rewards to crew and launch-ers, £5 8s. ; additional rewards to crew,£6 ; total rewards, £11 8s.

A U G U S T 5 T H . - N E W C A S T L E , C O .DOWN. At 4.10 P.M. a message was receivedfrom the Newcastle coastguard that a localfishing boat was in distress three to four mileseast of the coastguard station, and at 4.30P.M. the motor life-boat L. P. and St. Helenwas launched. A westerly wind was blowing

62 SERVICES 1941

and the sea was choppy. The life-boat foundthe fishing boat John Francis at the mouthof Dundrum Bar. John Smith, her owner,a former life-boat coxswain, and anotherman were on board. Her engine had brokendown, and the sails which had been set hadblown away. The men had then anchoredand made signals of distress. The life-boatrescued them and towed the John Francisin to harbour , r e tu rn ing to he r s t a t ion a t6.35 P.M. - Rewards, £21 13s. 6d.

GOLD AND SILVER MEDAL SER-VICES AT CROMER AND GREATYARMOUTH AND GORLESTON

AUGUST 6TH. - 7TH. - CROMER, GT.YARMOUTH AND GORLESTON,AND SHERINGHAM, NORFOLK,AND LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLK. Onthe night of the 5th of August,, 1941, aconvoy of merchant ships, escorted bynaval vessels, was making its waydown the east coast. A gale was blow-ing from the north-north-west, witha rough sea and squalls of wind andrain. Visibility was very poor. In theearly morning of the 6th the convoywas off the Norfolk coast, and six ofthe steamers went on the HaisboroughSands, where the seas were breakingh e a v i l y . T h e s t e a m e r s w e r e t h eOxshott, of London, the Deerwood, ofLondon, the Gallois, of Rouen, theT a a r a , o f P a r m u , E s t h o n i a , t h eAberhil l , of Methil, Fife, and thePaddy Hendly.*

It was not until just after eight inthe morning that the Life-boat Serviceheard that the six steamers weresteamer with that name, or any name re-sembling it, could be found in the register,and as all the rescued men were transferredat once by the life-boats to naval vessels, andnone was brought ashore, there were no othermeans of checking the names.

sands, and, in the heavy seas, weregoing rapidly to pieces. Naval shipswere standing by in deeper water.There was an R.A.F. patrol overhead.Twelve men of the six steamers hadbeen drowned, in attempts at rescue,and most of the crew of the Taarawere rescued by the whaler of one ofthe destroyers, “ in steep breakingseas “, as the Admiralty wrote, ” inwhich it was not to be expected thatany boat could live “. The whaler hadset to work at eight in the morning,and carried on until noon.

The H. F. Bailey made first for theOxshott, which had only her two masts,and her funnel and upper works amid-ships, showing above water. Thecoxswain could see no sign of life onboard her, so he made for anothersteamer across the sands, but, as heapproached her, he saw about sixteenmen, roped together, hanging behindthe funnel of the Oxshott. He realisedthat their position was the more pre-carious so he returned to her at once.There was nowhere in the steamerwhere a rope could be made fast, buthe could see, in her cracking upperworks, a wedge-shaped opening. Hesteered for that opening, taking thelife-boat right over the submergeddeck, and drove her bow into it. Thesea kept washing her out of it, butagain and again he forced her bow intothis opening, and held it there, untilthe sixteen men who remained of thesteamer’s crew had all been hauledinto the life-boat. All the time heavyseas were breaking over her, and twiceshe bumped heavily on the submergeddeck.

The coxswain then took the life-boat alongside the second steamer,the Gallois. She was above water.With his engines working, the cox-swain held the life-boat alongside,head to wind, while some of thesteamer’s crew jumped aboard andothers slid down ropes. One man fellinto the sea, but the l ife-boatmenhauled him aboard unhurt. From theGallois the H. F. Bailey rescued 31 men.She then left the sands and trans-ferred the 47 rescued men to a de-stroyer. It was now about noon.

While she was transferring the men,the other Cromer life-boat, the Harriot

SERVICES 1941 63

Dixon, arrived. She came alongsidethe H. F. Bailey, and Coxswain Bloggput his second-coxswain, J. J. Davies,aboard her in command, for he hadalready taken part in two rescues, andwas fully acquainted with the stateof the seas on the sands.

The H. F. Bailey then returned tothe sands and approached the thirdsteamer, the Deerwood. She had onlyher bridge above water. There hercrew were gathered. The coxswainagain drove the life-boat right overthe steamer’s bulwarks and the sub-merged deck. With his engines work-ing, he held her against the bridgewhile the nineteen men who remainedof the steamer’s crew jumped aboard.

The H. F. Bailey had now rescuedthree crews. She made for a fourth.the Aberhill, but found that the GreatYarmouth and Gorleston motor life-boat, the Louise Stephens, had arrived,and was already engaged in rescuingthe crew. The Louise Stephens hadhad the message at eight in the morn-ing. She had set out at 8.25. Shehad reached the Haisborough Sandsat 11.30. She found that the crew ofthe f i r s t s t eamer which she hadapproached had already been rescued,so she made for another, the Aberhill,which was lying in the surf with herback broken. With great difficultythe Louise Stephens went alongside onthe steamer’s lee side, amidships ;ropes were thrown ; the life-boat washeld close to the steamer ; and theentire crew of 23, as each man saw hisopportunity, jumped into the life-boat.Then life-boatmen cut the ropes andthe life-boat made for another steamer.But she found that her crew hadalready been rescued.

Meanwhile the H. F. Bailey hadgone on to the Taara, but the HarriotDixon was already alongside her.This steamer, too, had had her backbroken, and both her bow and sternwere under water. The coxswain ofthe Harriot Dixon held the life-boatagainst the steamer’s bridge, with hisengines working, head to wind and sea,and the eight remaining men of thesteamer’s crew jumped aboard her.

The H. F. Bailey had gone on tothe sixth of the steamers, the PaddyHendly, and the Harriot Dixon, having

rescued the eight men from the Taara,c a m e a n d s t o o d b y . T h e P a d d yHendly had also had her back broken.Again the coxswain took the life-boatalongside and held her against thesteamer, with his engines working,head to wind and sea, while the 22men of the crew jumped aboard. Thewater was so shallow that twice thelife-boat bumped on the sands. Asshe was moving clear of the wreck,she ran right aground, but the nextsea refloated her. It was now aboutone in the afternoon.

119 LIVES RESCUED

The Harriot Dixon transferred herrescued men to a destroyer and madefor Cromer. The Louise Stephens wasalready on her way to Gorleston. TheH. F. Bailey, with 41 rescued men,made for Yarmouth. On her way sheexamined the wreck of a trawler whichcould be seen with only one mast andsome of her upper works above water.There was no-one on board. The life-boat continued on her way until she meta destroyer. She transferred the 41men to her and then, at the destroyer’srequest, went to another trawler, H. M.Arkwright. The Arkwright transferredto her two dead bodies, and she con-t inued on her way to Yarmouth .There she arrived just before five inthe afternoon. The Louise Stephenshad already reached her station atGorleston an hour before. So endedthis memorable service. The H. F.Bailey had rescued 88 men, the LouiseStephens 23 and the Harriot Dixon 8.

Two other life-boats had also beencalled out, the Foresters Centenary, ofSheringham, and the Michael Stephens,of Lowestoft. They had arrived atthe sands to find that the rescue wasfinished, and returned to their stations.

When the H. F. Bailey reachedY a r m o u t h , s h e w a s f o u n d t o b eseverely damaged. She had twice beendriven over sunken decks. She hadbeen bumped severely on the sands.She had run aground. The result wasthat she had three holes in her portbow. Twenty feet of her port fenderhad been torn off. Her bow puddinghad been to rn of f . Her s tem hadbeen torn off. Its bolts had been forcedright through six or eight inches of the

6 4 SERVICES 1941

deadwood and had punctured someof the air cases inside the hull. Suchwas the price she had paid for those88 lives rescued.

What the Navy thought of th i sse rv ice was shown by the s igna lreceived at the life-boat stations fromthe flag officer in charge at GreatYarmouth congratulating the cox-swains and crews of all the life-boats.The signal said :

“ I have been instructed by theCommander-in-Chief, Nore, to conveyhis sincere congratulations and admira-tion for the superb seamanship andcourage displayed by them on themorning of Wednesday, 6th August.The flag officer in the YarmouthCommand and all those in the Yar-mouth Command wish to associatethemselves in this highly deservedcommendation.”

THE REWARDS

It was a service of great difficultyand danger, carried out with splendidskill and courage, and the Institutionmade the following awards :

To COXSWAIN HENRY G. BLOGG,of Cromer, a second clasp to his goldmedal, with a copy of the vote in-sc r ibed on ve l lum. He was a l soawarded the British Empire Medal ;

To S E C O N D -C O X S W A I N J O H N J .DAVIES, of Cromer, who took com-mand of the Harriot Dixon when shereached the sands, the silver medalfor gallantry with a copy of the voteinscribed on vellum ;

To COXSWAIN CHARLES A. JOHNSON,of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, thesilver medal for gallantry, with a copyof the vote inscribed on vellum ;

To SECOND-COXSWAIN LESLIE J.HARRISON, of Cromer, who was inthe Harriot Dixon, a second claspto his bronze medal, with a copy ofthe vote inscribed on vellum ;

To HENRY W. DAVIES, of Cromer,the motor-mechanic of the H. F.Bailey, a second clasp to his bronzemedal, with a copy of the vote in-scribed on vellum ;

To H. V. LINDER, of Cromer, themotor-mechanic of the Harriot Dixon,the bronze medal for gallantry, witha copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ;

To G. F. MOBBS, the motor-mechanic

of the Great Yarmouth and Gorlestonlife-boat, the bronze medal for gal-lantry, with a copy of the vote inscribedon vellum ;

To the other eighteen members ofthe three crews, the thanks of the Insti-tution inscribed on vellum : WILLIAMT. DAVIES, of Cromer, bowman of theH. F. Bailey, JAMES W. DAVIES, assis-tan t motor -mechanic , H E N R Y T .DAVIES, signalman, W. ALLEN, signal-man, and J. R. DAVIES, R. COX andC. HARRISON, life-boatmen ; W. H.DAVIES, of Cromer, assistant motor-mechanic of the Harriot Dixon, andJ. J. DAVIES, JNR., R. C. DAVIES,G . C O X , C . B R A K E N B U R Y and L.HARRISON, life-boatmen ; J. WRIGHT,second-coxswain of the Great Yar-mouth and Gorleston life-boat, T.MORLEY, bowman, A. BUSH, assistantmotor-mechanic, W. PARKER, signal-man, and L. SYMONDS, life-boatman ;

To the coxswain and each of thenine members of the crew of theH. F. Bailey, a reward of £2 in additionto the ordinary scale reward of 12s. 6d.Standard rewards to crew and launchers,and other payments, £11 1s. 6d. ;additional rewards £20 ; total rewards,£31 1s. 6d.;

To the second-coxswain and eachof the seven members of the crew ofthe Harriot Dixon, a reward of £2 inaddition to the ordinary scale rewardsof 12s. 6d. Standard rewards to crewand launchers, £7 16s. 6d. ; additionalrewards to crew, £16 ; total rewards,£23 16s. 6d. ;

To the coxswain and each of the sixmembers of the crew of the GreatYarmouth and Gorleston life-boat,a reward of £2 in addition to theordinary scale reward of 12s. 6d.Standard rewards to crew and helpers,£4 18s. 6d. ; additional rewards tocrew, £14 ; total rewards. £18 18s. 6d.;

To the coxswain and each of thesix members of the crew of the Lowes-toft l ife-boat, a reward of 30s. inaddition to the ordinary scale rewardof 19s. Standard rewards to crew andhelpers, £6 1s. ; additional rewards tocrew, £10 10s.; total rewards, £16 11s.;

To the coxswain and each of theseven members of the crew of theSheringham life-boat, a reward of 30s.in addition to the ordinary scale reward

SERVICES 1941 65

of 12s. 6d. Standard rewards to crewand helpers, £15 14s. ; additionalrewards to crew, £12 ; total rewards,£27 14s. ;

Total rewards and other paymentsfor the service, £118 1s. 6d.

A number of gifts were received ingrati tude. Messrs. Will iam FranceFenwick & Co. Ltd., the owners ofthe Deerwood, sent £50 to the Cromercrew ; Messrs. Hudson Steamship Co.Ltd., owners of the Oxshott , sent£10 10s. to the Cromer crew, and£5 5s. to the Cromer branch ; sur-vivors of the Oxshott’s crew and rela-tives sent £5 2s. to the Institutionthrough the Seaham branch ; theTredegar Associated Collieries andShipping Co. Ltd., owners of theGallois, sent £10 10s. to the Cromerbranch.

On the 7th of August the GreatYarmouth and Gorleston life-boat waslaunched at three in the morning, atthe request of the flag officer in chargeat Great Yarmouth, and took out anAdmiralty salvage officer to surveythe wrecks. She returned at 9.30.- Rewards, £14 13s.

AUGUST 1 3 T H . - EASTBOURNE, SUS-SEX. At about 1.30 in the afternoon theLangney Point coastguard telephoned thatseven men working on the wreck of theS.S. Barnhill should be taken off at once.A strong S.W. breeze was blowing, the seawas rough, and the wreck would soon beawash. The Barnhil l had been bombed inMarch 1940, and a salvage party was workingon her in Pevensey Bay. At 1.50 P .M . themotor life-boat Jane Holland was launched,as no o ther su i tab le boa t was ava i lab le ,rescued the seven men, and returned to herstation at 2.50 P.M. - Rewards, £6 13s.

(See Eastbourne,“ Accounts of Services byLife-boats 1940,” page 57, and Hastings,“Accounts of Services by Life-boats 1940,”page 134.)

AUGUST 15TH. - BARROW, LANCA-SHIRE. At 10.35 in the morning a messagewas received from Hoylake coastguard thata Blenheim bomber was down off WalneyIsland, and the motor life-boat N.T. waslaunched immedia te ly . A l igh t wind wasblowing and the sea was slight. The life-boat found the bomber two miles N.W. ofFort Walney. She also found a rowing boatwith one man on board which had put outfrom Barrow, and a motor boat with two menon board which had put out from Haverigg.The man in the rowing boat helped the fiveairmen, one of whom was badly hurt, fromthe wing of the aeroplane into the life-boat.The life-boat then took him on board and

A U G U S T 2 1 S T . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. At 6.24 P .M . theR.A.F. asked for the help of the life-boat tosearch for an aeroplane off Porthysgaden,a n d t h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a t M . O . Y . E . w a slaunched a t 6 .51 P . M . A l ight wes ter lybreeze was blowing and the sea was smooth.The life-boat found the motor boat Pal tow-ing a rubber dinghy and wreckage. On boardshe had the body of a man. The flood tidewas strong, and the life-boat towed the motorboa t to Por thysgaden . She then re turnedto Porthdinllaen, searching as she went, andwhen she was off Porthdinllaen Look-out aboatman told her that a rubber dinghy hadbeen seen some two mi les out . Here sheround wreckage of an aeroplane, but therewas no sign of the dinghy, and as it was nowdark the life-boat returned to her station,arriving at 10.20 P.M. - Rewards, £9 12s.

took his boat in tow. The engine of the motorboat from Haverigg had broken down, sothe life-boat rescued the two men and tookthe boat in tow. She arrived back at herstation at 2.15 in the afternoon and landedthe rescued airmen who were taken away ina naval ambulance. - Rewards, £4 19s. 6d.

(See Barrow, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 100.)

(See Bardsey Island, and Porthysgaden,Carmarthenshire, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 101.)

AUGUST 23RD . - APPLEDORE, DEVON.During the morning several of the crew ofthe life-boat were at the boat-house whenthey saw the small pleasure boat Busy Bee,of Barnstaple, in difficulties and shewingsignals of distress. A strong S.E. wind wasblowing, with a moderate sea. The motorlife-boat Violet Armstrong was launched at10.10 A.M. and found the small boat on therocks abreast of the Pulleys, with one manin her. He was taken into the life-boat and,with the small boat in tow, the life-boatreturned to her station, arriving at 11.25 A.M.A letter of thanks was received from therescued man. - Rewards, £2 10s.

AUGUST 23RD . - TENBY, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. At abou t 10 .30 in the morn ingthe coastguard reported that the motor boatbelonging to the monks on Caldy Island hadbroken down and was drifting on to the rocksat the back of St. Catherine’s Fort. A strongS.E. wind was blowing, with a rough sea.The motor l i fe -boa t J o h n R . W e b b waslaunched at eleven o’clock and found thedrifting motor boat. She rescued the fivemen on board, and towed their boat to abuoy, where she moored it. The five men shelanded at Victoria Pier. The life-boat thenanchored, as, in the rough seas, she could notget back on the slipway. At about 12.50 P.M.the motor boat parted from the buoy anddrifted ashore. The life-boat put off againat 3.5 P .M., got a rope aboard the boat andtowed her into harbour, arriving at 5 P .M.-Property salvage case.

A U G U S T 2 7 T H . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. At 12.16 P .M . the

6 6 SERVICES 1941

coastguard reported that a small rowing boatwas in difficulties off Porthdinllaen Point.A moderately strong S.W. wind was blowing,w i t h a r o u g h s e a . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tM.O.Y.E. was launched at 12.45 P .M . Hercrew was completed by the inclusion of fourgol fe rs who were a l l on hol iday a t the i rnative town of Nevin. The life-boat foundthe small boat, the Rover, several miles N.E.of Porthdinllaen Point. She was half fullof water and had one boy on board, a visitorfrom Manchester. The life-boat rescued him,and, with the small boat in tow, returned toher station at 1.30 P.M. - Rewards, £3 6s.

AUGUST 29TH. - TOBERMORY, ARGYLL-SHIRE. At 3.15 P .M. the local doctor askedfor the help of the life-boat to take a youngwoman, suffering from acute appendicitis, tohosp i ta l a t Oban , as there would be nosteamer until the following morning. A freshN.W. wind was blowing, with a heavy sea.The motor life-boat Sir Arthur Rose took thepatient on board and sailed at 4.25 P .M . ,r each ing Oban a t 7 .25 P . M . Leaving forhome again at 9 P .M . the life-boat arrivedat 12.45 A.M . next morning. The patient’scondition was so serious that she had to havethe operation at once, and her life was saved.- Rewards, £7 10s.

AUGUST 30TH . - APPLEDORE, DEVON.At 3.45 P.M. a message was received from theresident naval officer at Appledore, that anaeroplane had crashed into the sea betweenthe Bar and Haire Point off Saunton Sands,and the motor life-boat Violet Armstrong waslaunched a t 3 .35 P . M . A modera te N.W.breeze was blowing and the sea was smooth.The life-boat found the body of an airman,and her crew attempted to revive him, hutwithout success. The life-boat returned toher station at 5.40 P.M. - Rewards, £4 17s. 6d.

The following lifeboats were launched, butno services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

AUGUST 1ST. - MINEHEAD, SOMERSET.An aeroplane’s dinghy had been reported,b u t n o t h i n g w a s f o u n d . - R e w a r d s ,£10 18s. 6d.

AUGUST 3 R D . - CROMER, NORFOLK.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea, but the life-boat only found wreckage ofa balloon and, learning that no aeroplanew a s m i s s i n g , r e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n . -Rewards, £5 14s.

AUGUST 6TH. - WALTON AND FRINTON,E S S E X . A b u r n i n g a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nseen to crash into the sea, but only oil andsmashed t imber were found. - Rewards ,£14 1s. 6d.

AUGUST 8TH. - BERWICK - ON - TWEED,NORTHUMBERLAND. An object, thoughtto be a man floating, had been seen in thesea, but nothing was found. - Rewards, £5.

AUGUST 8 T H . - MINEHEAD, SOMER-SET. A number of soldiers had gone out in

a boat and could not make any headwayagainst tide and sea, but they were pickedup by a steamer. - Rewards, £5 14s.

AUGUST 9 T H . - CAISTER, NORFOLK.During an air raid at night an aeroplane hadbeen seen burning at sea, but it disappearedbefore the life-boat could reach it and only apatch of oil was found. - Rewards, £17 17s.

AUGUST 9TH . - BARROW, AND FLEET-WOOD, LANCASHIRE. An aeroplane hadcome down in the sea off Walney Island,but no trace of her crew could be seen andit was learned later that her crew had beenlanded . - Rewards : Bar row, £10 12s . ;Fleetwood, £10 16s.

AUGUST 11TH. - RHYL, FLINTSHIRE. Anaeroplane had been reported down in the sea,but nothing was found. - Rewards, £10 8s. 6d.

A U G U S T 1 5 T H . - S C A R B O R O U G H ,YORKSHIRE. An aeroplane had come downin the sea on fire, but only wreckage wasfound. - Rewards, £19 4s. 6d.

AUGUST 19TH. - NEW BRIGHTON, ANDHOYLAKE, CHESHIRE. An R.A.F. aero-plane had been reported down in the sea inthe estuary of the River Dee, but nothingwas found. - Rewards : New Brighton, £9 5s.;Hoylake, £17 10s.

AUGUST 20TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea in flames six miles N.W. of Cromer, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £17 10s. 6d.

A U G U S T 2 l S T . - A B E R Y S T W Y T H ,CARDIGANSHIRE. An aeroplane had beenreported down in the sea, but nothing wasfound. While the life-boat was searching,another aeroplane was reported in the sea, anda third in distress, and a motor boat was sentout to her help. - Rewards, £8 9s. 6d.

(See Aberystwyth, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 101.)

AUGUST 21ST.- SENNEN COVE, CORN-WALL. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea of f Cape Cornwal l , bu tnothing was found. - Rewards, £14 1s.

AUGUST 21ST. - WICKLOW. A vessel hadbeen reported on fire, but nothing was found,and later it was learned that the crew of thev e s s e l h a d g o t t h e f i r e u n d e r c o n t r o l . -Rewards, £5 7s 6d.

AUGUST 2 3 R D . - CADGWITH, CORN-W A L L . A n R . A . F . a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nreported down in the sea, but nothing wasfound. - Rewards, £25 19s. 6d.

AUGUST 25TH . - GIRVAN, AYRSHIRE.A c o b l e h a d b r o k e n d o w n , b u t r e a c h e dharbour unaided. - Rewards, £9 1s.

AUGUST 25TH . - CLOGHER HEAD, CO.LOUTH. A woman had been car r ied ou tof her depth whi le ba th ing , but she wasdrowned before the life-boat could reach her,

SERVICES 1941 67

and her body was recovered from the shore.- Rewards, £8 12s.

AUGUST 26TH. - FLEETWOOD, LANCA-SHIRE. A steam drifter had been reportedashore and showing signals of distress, but itwas found that a mistake had been made inthe s igna l and tha t she was no t in anydifficulty. - Rewards, £4 13s. 6d.

AUGUST 2 7 T H . - EASTBOURNE, SUS-SEX. A naval vessel, towing a target for thearmy, was repor ted to have fouled somebuoys , bu t she got c lear wi thout he lp . -Rewards, £13 16s.

AUGUST 2 7 T H . - CADGWITH, CORN-WALL. A Sunderland flying-boat had comedown in the sea, but was taken in tow bya motor boat. - Rewards, £10 1s.

AUGUST 27TH. - BLACKPOOL, LANCA-SHIRE. Two aeroplanes had collided andfallen in Blackpool, and two airmen had beenseen to fall into the sea, but nothing couldbe found. After the return of the life-boata party of life-boatmen and firemen recoveredthe body of one airman which was floatingnear the shore. - Rewards, £6 1s.

A U G U S T 2 8 T H . - B A L T I M O R E , C O .C O R K . A v e s s e l h a d b e e n r e p o r t e d i ndistress by Valentia Radio Station, but not race of her could be found. - Rewards ,£14 2s.

A U G U S T 2 8 T H . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. A Br i t i sh bomb-ing aeroplane had come down in the seaabout 11.30 in the morning, off Rhosneigr,Anglesey, twenty miles away on the otherside of Caernarvon Bay, and at 12.36 P .M.a message was received from the naval officerat Holyhead asking that the life-boat shouldbe sent at once to the rescue. The motorlife-boat M.O.Y.E. was launched at 12.48and arrived off Rhosneigr at about 2.30. Amoderate gale was blowing and the sea wasrough. I t was now three hours s ince thebomber had come down, and in the meantimevery gallant efforts to rescue the aeroplane’screw of three men had been made from theshore. All the attempts were unsuccessful,and eleven of the rescuers, as well as the threeairmen, had been drowned. When the life-boat arrived there was nothing to be seenexcept two aeroplanes overhead, and thelife-boat searched for nearly an hour, butfound noth ing . She then re turned to herstation, arriving at seven in the evening.-Rewards, £4 12s.

(See Rhosneigr , “ Serv ices by Shore-boats,” 1942, page 60.)

AUGUST 2 9 T H . - GREAT YARMOUTHAND GORLESTON, NORFOLK. A Britishfighter aeroplane had been reported down in thesea to the E.N.E. of Gorleston, but the life-boat was recalled when it was learned thatthe aeroplane had come down sixty milesaway. - Rewards, £4 15s. 6d.

AUGUST 2 9 T H . - DONAGHADEE, CO.D O W N . S i g n a l s o f d i s t r e s s h a d b e e n

reported, but the life-boat found nothing,and later it was learnt that the signals hadcome from a fishing boat whose engine hadfa i led , bu t i t had s ta r ted aga in and shehad got safely home. - Rewards, £8 18s. 6d.

(See Donaghadee, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 101.)

AUGUST 30TH. - CLACTON - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A British bombing aeroplane hadcrashed into the sea, but another boat hadsaved four of the crew from a rubber dinghy,a n d t h e f i f t h m a n c o u l d n o t b e f o u n d . -Rewards, £12 16s. 6d.

AUGUST 3 l S T . - RHYL, FLINTSHIRE.The pilot of a British aeroplane had wirelessedthat he was baling out about 3 miles N.W.of Rhyl, but the life-boat was recalled beforeshe reached the position given. - Rewards,£16 11s. 6d.

AUGUST 3 l S T . - MONTROSE, ANGUS.A flare and flashes had been reported, butnothing could be found. - Rewards, £9 17s.

SEPTEMBER

Launches 59. Lives rescued 46.

S E P T E M B E R 3 R D . - W E Y M O U T H ,DORSET. A t 7 .50 P . M . in format ion wasreceived from the naval authorities at Port-l and , th rough the coas tguard , tha t th reet rawlers or dr i f te rs were ashore be tweenSt. Albans Head and Durdle Door, Wey-mouth Bay, and the motor life-boat Williamand Clara Ryland put out at 8.10 P .M. Theweather was calm, but there was a dense fog.By 9.20 P .M., in spite of the darkness anddense fog, the life-boat had found the mine-sweeper Ceresio on the rocks at the northside of Weymouth Bay. She stood by untildaylight, and at high water got a tow ropeaboard the minesweeper and pulled her bowsclear of rocks. A little later the Ceresio re-floated, and the life-boat returned to herstation at 7.30 A.M. - Property salvage case.

SEPTEMBER 3RD. - SWANAGE, DORSET.At 7.30 P .M. it was learned from the coast-g u a r d t h a t a v e s s e l w a s a s h o r e u n d e rSt . Albans Head . The sea was ca lm, bu tthere was a very thick fog. The motor life-b o a t T h o m a s M a r k b y w a s l a u n c h e d a t8.15 P .M . , and at 9 P .M . found the armedtrawler Olvina. She had a crew of twenty-four, and she asked the life-boat to stand by.The life-boat stood by all night, and ran outa kedge and wire from the trawler. Salvagepumps then arrived, the holes in the trawlerwere plugged and the water pumped out,and she refloated on the high tide on Fridaymorning. Escorted by the life-boat she wentto Portland under her own steam, and thelife-boat went back to her station, arrivingat 4 P .M. on the 5th. She had been out forforty-four hours. - Rewards, £20 16s.

S E P T E M B E R 4 T H . - P O R T A S K A I G ,ARGYLLSHIRE. At 10 A . M . a messagewas rece ived f rom the Ki lchoman coas t -

6 8 SERVICES 1941

guard that a vessel was ashore on the eastside of Mull of Oa, and at 10.30 A.M thereserve motor life-boat Duke of Connaught,o n t e m p o r a r y d u t y a t t h e s t a t i o n , w a slaunched. The sea was calm, the weatherclear, and there was no wind. The life-boatfound the Norwegian steamer Isbjorn, ofStavanger. She had gone aground in thickweather at about 5 in the morning, but wasin no immediate danger. Her captain askedthe life-boat to help refloat the steamer, andshe went to Port Ellen, where the coxswaintelephoned for permission to help in thissalvage work. permission was given by thehonorary secre ta ry on the unders tandingthat the life-boat would be informed throughPort Ellen if she was wanted for any otherservice. With the help of the life-boat, theIsbjorn was refloated at 5.35 P .M. The life-boat then called at Port Ellen to see if therewere any instructions for her, and returnedto her station at 11.30 P.M. - Property salvagecase.

S E P T E M B E R 7 T H . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,A B E R D E E N S H I R E . A t 8 . 5 7 P . M . t h eKinnaird Head coastguard reported that avesse l was be ing a t tacked by aeroplanesseveral miles to the N.E. of the head. Shewas the S.S. Trsat, of Cardiff (late of Jugo-slavia), and was bound, laden with fish, fromI c e l a n d t o H u l l . L a t e r t h e c o a s t g u a r dreported red flares, and at 10.7 P.M. the motorlife-boat John and Charles Kennedy waslaunched. A light N.E. wind was blowing,with a moderate swell. The life-boat stoppeda pa t ro l t rawler , to ld her of the d i s t resssignals and then went on. She found firstan empty boat, then wreckage, and then awater-logged boat with thirteen men and ad e a d b o d y o n b o a r d , a n d a n o t h e r m a nclinging to the boat. They were all takeninto the life-boat and told the coxswain thatt h e r e w e r e s t i l l t w o m e n m i s s i n g . T h es teamer had sunk . The l i fe -boa t handedover the boat and the dead body to a patrolboat, and continued to search among thewreckage, but there was no trace of the twomen. Leaving the patrol boat to carry onthe search the l i fe -boa t re turned to herstation at 1.15 next morning with the fourteenrescued men. - Rewards, £10 8s.

S E P T E M B E R 7 T H . - B L Y T H , N O R T H -UMBERLAND. At abou t 11 .30 a t n igh tthe coastguard asked the life-boat to go tothe help of a balloon drifter which was ashorein Blyth Bay about half a mile S.S.W. ofBlyth piers. The night was dark, but clear.A moderate easterly wind was blowing anda swel l was break ing on the beach . Them o t o r l i f e - b o a t J o s e p h A d l a m l e f t a t1 1 . 4 7 P . M . , and a t midnigh t found H.M.Balloon Drifter Marcia. It was low waterand the Marcia was rolling heavily, withseas breaking over her stern. A tug arrived,and with the help of the life-boat and herl ine- throwing gun, a tow rope was f ixedbetween the Marcia and the tug, which thentried to get her off, but the tow rope parted.A fishing yawl now serving with the R.A.F.arrived, with a naval commander on hoard,and he asked the life-boat to take a tow

rope f rom his yawl to the Marc ia . Thisthe life-boat tried to do, but the rope was notlong enough, and the yawl would not comein any closer. While this attempt was beingmade the tug’s tow rope was accidentallyslipped from the Marcia, and the officer onthe yawl then asked the coxswain to try totake off the Marcia’s crew.

The life-boat anchored to seaward andveered down on her cable, and the coxswaintook her alongside the Marcia. Here thewater was so shallow that the life-boat keptstriking the sandy bottom, and the coxswainhad to be very careful that he did not gor igh t aground and ge t washed up on thebeach . He had a l so c lose ly to watch theMarcia, as she rolled in the surf, lest sherolled over on to the life-boat, and there wasthe added difficulty that he could not usehis searchlight, as there was an air-raid inprogress on the Tyneside six miles to thesouth. In spite of these difficulties he heldthe life-boat alongside for a quarter of anhour and in that time the seven membersof the Marcia’s crew jumped aboard. Thelife-boat then weighed anchor and returnedto her station, where she arrived at 3.50 inthe morning.

The coxswain had handled the life-boatvery wel l , and the Ins t i tu t ion made thefollowing awards :

To C O X S W A I N J O S I A H W H E A T L E Y , theInstitution’s thanks inscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and each of the eightmembers of the c rew a reward of £1 inaddition to the usual money reward on thestandard scale ;

S tandard rewards to c rew and he lpers ,£11 18s. ; additional rewards to crew, £9 ;total rewards, £20 18s.

S E P T E M B E R 8 T H - P O R T A S K A I G ,ARGYLLSHIRE. At 8.10 A.M . a messagewas received from the Kilchoman coastguardthat a vessel was ashore on Chuirn Island,Ardmore Poin t , I s lay . The weather wasthick, with a slight N.W. wind and a calmsea. At 9.15 A.M. the motor life-boat Dukeo f C o n n a u g h t , on temporary du ty a t thestation, was launched, and found the steamerAuk, of Greenock. She had grounded badly,but as there was little wind her crew werein no immediate danger. The life-boat tookmessages from the steamer to Port Askaig tobe despatched, returned to the Auk and stoodby dur ing the n igh t . At daybreak a tugarrived, and the life-boat returned to herstation at 9.55 A.M . on the 9th. She hadbeen on service just over twenty-four hours.-Rewards, £22 6s.

SEPTEMBER 8TH . - LOWESTOFT, SUF-FOLK. At 7.30 P .M. the coastguard reporteda motor boat flying a distress signal, and themotor life-boat Michael Stephens was launchedat 7.55 P.M. The position given was one anda half miles S. by W. from Benacre Lookout,some ten miles from Lowestoft. A strongN.E. wind was blowing, the sea was rough,and in the darkness the lifeboat could seenothing. She searched until 11.30 P .M. andt h e n a n c h o r e d . E n e m y a e r o p l a n e s w e r eabout and there were ra ids on shore . At

SERVICES 1941 69

4 next morning she resumed her searchfurther south, and just before 6 A.M. foundthe fishing boat Happy Days, of Lowestoft,with a crew of three. Her engine had brokendown. The life-boat took her in tow andbrought her into port at 8 A.M. - Rewards,£11 18s.

S E P T E M B E R 1 0 T H . - P O R T A S K A I G ,ARGYLLSHIRE. At 10.30 in the morninga message was received from the police atBowmore that an aeroplane had been reporteddown in the sea near the entrance to LochKillisport, Knapdale. This was confirmedby the coastguard a few minutes later, andat 12.15 the motor life-boat the Duke ofConnnaught, on temporary duty at the station,was launched . A squa l ly N.W. wind wasblowing and the sea was rough. The life-boat spoke a small rowing boat and learnedfrom her that a naval drifter had founderedin the Sound of Jura. She had a crew offifteen. An aeroplane had seen men strug-gling in the water and others getting ashoreby raft. The airman had then flown overOrmsary and had dropped messages. Tworowing boa ts had a t once pu t ou t to therescue. Of the drifter’s crew ten were safe.The other five had been drowned, and threeof the bodies had been picked up. This wasthe position when the life-boat arrived. Shesearched and found the two remaining bodies,which she put on board an R.A.F. pinnace.She also found the drifter’s boat, with noone on board, took it in tow, and handed itover to H.M. Trawler Wolves . She thenreturned to her station, arriving at 8.10 inthe evening. - Rewards, £7 13s.

(See Ormsary, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 102.)

SEPTEMBER 15TH. - CROMER, NOR-FOLK. At 6.28 in the morning the Cromercoastguard reported a vessel awash aboutf ive mi les N.N.E. f rom Cromer , and theNo. 1 motor l i fe -boa t H. F . Ba i l ey waslaunched at 7.5. A strong N.E. wind wasblowing, with a moderate sea. The life-boatfound that the vessel was the motor vesselPontfield, of Newcastle, laden with petrol.She had struck a mine and had been brokeninto two parts. A destroyer had the afterpart in tow, and was trying to keep it fromdrifting ashore. She told the life-boat thatthe survivors of the crew had been taken toHarwich . The coxswain of the l i fe -boatthen went alongside the fore part and foundthat there was no one aboard. The captainof one of H.M. trawlers then asked him tostand by the fore part until he returned andput some of h is men on board . This thelife-boat did for over an hour, but it wasclear that the fore part was sinking rapidly.The coxswain made for the after part, as hesaw that the attempts to tow it had beenabandoned and that it was now only aboutthree-quarters of a mile from the shore. Heput some life-boatmen on board it, and halfan hour later two tugs arrived and got theafter part of the Pontfield in tow. At therequest of a salvage officer the life-boat stoodby until the tug had taken the after part intoYarmouth Roads, where they arrived at 2.30

in the afternoon of the following day. Thelife-boat then returned to her station, arrivingat seven in the evening. She had been out onserv ice for th i r ty-s ix hours . - Proper tysalvage case.

(See Sunderland, “ Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 73.)

SEPTEMBER 16TH. - CLACTON - ON - SEA,ESSEX. At 11 .45 A . M . an ae rop lane wasseen to crash into the sea, and at 11.52 A.M.the motor life-boat Edward Z. Dresden waslaunched. A light northerly breeze was blow-ing and the sea was calm. Four miles S.E.of Clacton Pier, on Gunfleet Sands, the life-boat, found a British bomber, with a crew ofthree . They were s tanding on the wings ,but were in no immediate danger. The waterwas so shallow that the stern of the life-boattouched the sands when she was still 100yards away. She fired two lines with herline-throwing gun, but they fell short. Thelife-boat then asked the airmen to paddletowards her in their dinghy, and they wereabout to do so , when a speed boat f romBright l ingsea came in and took them onboard . The l i fe -boa t was then asked bywireless to get in touch with a drifter closeby, and to help in an attempt to salve theaeroplane. The life-boat lent tools for theimmediate removal of certain parts of theaeroplane, and after the aeroplane had beenbuoyed, so that it could be lifted later, thelife-boat returned to her station, where shearrived at 5 P.M. - Rewards, £4 6s. 6d.

SE P T E M B E R 1 7 T H . - NO V E M B E R 6 T H . -CROMER, NORFOLK. The S.S. Tedding-ton, of London, with a valuable cargo onboard, had been attacked by German aero-planes and set on fire. Her crew had beentaken off by a naval vessel and the steamerhad s t randed about th ree mi les S .E: . o fC r o m e r . O n t h e 1 7 t h S e p t e m b e r t h eAdmira l ty sa lvage of f icer asked for thes e r v i c e s o f t h e N o . 1 m o t o r l i f e - b o a tH. F. Bailey to take firemen and motor pumpsto the vessel. Later in the day she took outace ty lene p lan t , and on subsequent dayscar r ied the sa lvage men and s tevedoresbetween Cromer and the wreck. Working inrelays the life-boatmen gave rnuch help withthe work of salving cargo, and it was notuntil the 6th November that the last life-boatt r ip was made . On severa l occas ions theNo. 2 motor life-boat Harriot Dixon went outin place of the H. F. Bailey, and betweent h e m t h e s e t w o b o a t s w e r e e n g a g e d o ntwenty-eight days as follows : The No. 1life-boat, September 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,25, 29 and 30th ; October 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,14, 15, 17 and 18th ; and November 6th ;t h e N o . 2 l i f e - b o a t , S e p t e m b e r 1 9 t h ;October 1, 19, 21 and 22nd ; and Novem-her 4th. - The expenses were paid by theAdmiralty.

SEPTEMBER 20TH . - DUNMORE EAST,CO. WATERFORD. Dur ing the n igh t o f18th September the sound of bombs andheavy gunfire had been heard out at sea,and on the morning of the 20th a messagecame from the coast watchers at Hook Point

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that wreckage and a ship’s boat had beens e e n a b o u t 4 m i l e s t o t h e S . S . W . T h eweather was fine but hazy, with an easterlybreeze, and the sea was smooth. At 9.15 A.M.the motor life-boat Annie Blanche Smith waslaunched. She found the ship’s boat, but noone was on board , and took her in tow.About 60 large mahogany logs were floatingabout, and the life-boat towed back three ofthem. She arrived at her station at 1.45 P.M.- Property salvage case.

SE P T E M B E R 2 l S T . - FLAMBOROUGH,Y O R K S H I R E . A t 6 . 1 0 A . M . a m e s s a g ewas received from the naval signal stationthat an aeroplane had fallen into the seanear the north landing, and at 6.35 A.M. themotor life-boat Elizabeth and Albina Whitleywas launched. A N.E. breeze was blowingand the sea was smooth. When about half amile off shore the life-boat saw a rubberdinghy with men on board, but when shewas still 50 yards from it an R.A.F. speedboat came up at great speed, passed the life-boat and rescued the airmen. The life-boat,which was then two and a half miles northof Flamborough Head, cruised about andpicked up three petrol tanks and the log ofthe aeroplane . She then re turned to herstation at 7.35 A.M. - Rewards, £8 12s.

SEPTEMBER 21ST. - BLACKPOOL, LAN-C A S H I R E . A t 1 2 n o o n a m e s s a g e w a sreceived from the R.A.F. Observer Corps atSquires Gate that an R.A.F. pilot who wason patrol had reported a parachute down inthe sea about three miles N.W. of Blackpoolstation, and at 12.15 the motor life-boatSarah Ann Austin was launched. Mr. EdgarLaw, the deputy chairman of the branch,went with her. A light east wind was blow-ing and the sea was smooth. The life-boatwas piloted from the air by another R.A.F.m a c h i n e , a n d i t w a s n o t u n t i l s h e h a dtravelled twenty miles N.W. of Blackpoolstation that she found not a parachute buta meteorological balloon, twelve feet in dia-meter . She p icked i t up and re turned toher station, arriving at 5.12 P .M. There theba l loon was handed over to the R.A.F . -Rewards, £6 2s.

S E P T E M B E R 2 3 R D . - C R O M E R , N O R -FOLK. At about 9.40 A.M. a request camef rom the nava l base a t Grea t Yarmouth ,through the coastguard, for the life-boat toland an injured man, and the No. 1 motorl i f e - b o a t H . F . B a i l e y w a s l a u n c h e d a t1 0 A . M . wi th a doc tor on board . A l igh tE.S.E. wind was blowing and the sea wassmooth. Three miles to the E.S.E. of Cromerthe life-boat found the S.S. J. B. Paddon, ofLondon. Her chief mate had fractured twofingers of his left hand. The doctor attendedto it, and the life-boat then brought the mateashore, arriving at 11.10 A.M. - Rewards,£6 4s.

SEPTEMBER 24TH . - NEWCASTLE, CO.DOWN. At 3 A.M. the coastguard telephonedthat a ship was ashore at Ringfad Point,Killough, and the motor life-boat L. P. andSt. Helen was launched at 3.20 A.M. A S.E.

wind was blowing, with a moderate sea, andthere was a dense fog. The life-boat foundthe 6,000-ton steamer Bereby, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, with a crew of 52. She was laden,and bound from Liverpool to West Africa.The life-boat stood by until after daylightand then went with messages to Ardglass.She returned to the Bereby and stood byagain, waiting for a tug, but before it camea naval patrol vessel arrived, and the life-boattook two officers from her to the Bereby andback again. At 2 P .M. the tug arrived, buther efforts to refloat the steamer failed. Asthe coastguard life-saving apparatus waswaiting on shore in case the crew of thesteamer had to be rescued, the life-boat leftfor her station. As she passed John’s Pointshe was signalled to return to Killough tobring off a salvage officer. This she did, andit was not until 7 P .M. that she got back toher station.

Three days later, on the 27th September,the coastguard reported that five men, inattempting to land from the Bereby in theship’s boat, had been wrecked on the rocksbetween the sh ip and shore . There theywere marooned, waist deep in water. Thelife-boat was launched at 3.15 P .M. A S.W.gale was blowing, with heavy seas. The life-boat found that seven other men had put offin another boat from the steamer, and hadr e s c u e d t h e f i v e m e n , b u t r e s c u e d a n drescuers were in a very exposed position.T h e l i f e - b o a t r e s c u e d t h e m a n d l a n d e dthem at Ardglass, where she also put ashorethe ship’s papers, code books and chrono-meters. She then returned to her station,arriving at 8.20 P.M. - Rewards : first ser-vice, £56 8s. ; second service, £47 4s.

S E P T E M B E R 2 4 T H . - L O N G H O P E ,ORKNEYS. At about five in the eveningthe coastguard reported that a vessel neededhelp about a mile N.W. of Duncansby Head,and the motor life-boat Thomas McCunn waslaunched at 5.30. A S.E. gale was blowing,with a rough sea. The life-boat found theN o r w e g i a n m o t o r b o a t R u n d a . S h e h a descaped f rom Norway wi th 24 people onboard, had reached Lerwick safely and hadlanded fourteen of them there. The otherten were bound for Buckie, but their fuelhad run short. They were cold and hungry,and the life-boat crew opened their emergencyrations for them. The life-boat then tookthe Runda in tow and brought her into AithHope, arriving at seven in the evening. Therethe Runda was refuelled, and the following daywent on her way to Buckie. The life-boatanchored for the night at Aith Hope, but asthere was a strong gale from the S.E. rightinto the bay, the crew stayed on board. Inthe morning the life-boat returned to Long-hope, arriving at 8 A.M. - Rewards, £9 15s. 6d.

SE P T E M B E R 2 9 T H . - BARRA ISLAND,H E B R I D E S . A t 5 . 3 0 i n t h e a f t e r n o o ninformation was received at the life-boatstation that five men, who had been collectingcattle from the islands to the south of Barra,were then on Pabbay Island and could notget away on account of the heavy weather.At six in the evening the motor life-boat

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an aeroplane believed to be down in the seaoff Bexhill, but nothing could be found.-Rewards, £11 4s. 6d.

SE P T E M B E R 2 7 T H . - GOURDON, KIN-CARDINSHIRE. A steamer had stranded,but her crew were rescued from the shore bythe coastguard life-saving apparatus fromJohnshaven. - Rewards, £25 15s. 6d.

SE P T E M B E R 2 9 T H . - NEWQUAY, ANDST. IVES, CORNWALL. A British aero-plane had been reported down in the sea,but the life-boats were recalled at the requestof the naval officer at Penzance. - Rewards :Newquay, £18 ; St. Ives, £25 1S. 6d.

S E P T E M B E R 2 9 T H . - P O R T P A T R I C K ,W I G T O W N S H I R E A B r i t i s h a e r o p l a n ehad been reported down in the sea, but thelife-boat was recalled before reaching positiongiven. - Rewards, £4 10s. 6d.

SEPTEMBER 30TH . - NEWCASTLE, CO.DOWN. A motor yacht had broken downin Dundrum Bay and had burnt flares, butshe had been driven ashore before the life-boat could reach her and her crew were ableto land. The yacht was subsequently salved.- Rewards, £27 1s. 6d.

OCTOBER

Launches 74. Lives rescued 140.

OCTOBER 1ST - 22ND. - CROMER, NOR-F O L K . D u r i n g t h e m o n t h b o t h o f t h eCromer life-boats were launched several timesand gave help to the S.S. Teddington, whichhad stranded after enemy attack in Septem-ber. For details see September 17th, page 69.

O C T O B E R 4 T H . - P W L L H E L I , C A E R -NARVONSIIIRE. At 8.40 P .M. the Abersochcoastguard reported that the R.A.F. at Pen-rhos had seen flares eastwards of St. Tudwall’sIsland, at 9 P.M. that an aeroplane was downin the sea, and at 9.15 P .M . that a motorlaunch, H.M.S. Glendower, belonging to thecamp, which had put out at 1 P .M . with aparty of Wrens and sailors aboard, had notre tu rned . At 10 P . M . the motor l i fe -boatC. and S. was launched. A moderate easterlywind was b lowing, wi th a s l ight sea . At10.30 P .M. the life-boat saw flares, and fourand a half miles S.W. of the life-boat stationshe found the motor launch with her enginebroken down. She took her in tow, with thep a r t y o f s e v e n o n b o a r d , a n d r e a c h e dPwllheli at 11 P.M. She was ready to go outagain in search of the aeroplane, but the callwas cancelled as it had been found that noaeroplane was missing. - Rewards, £11 14s.

O C T O B E R 6 T H . - C U L L E R C O A T S ,N O R T H U M B E R L A N D . A t a b o u t 1 1 . 2 6A.M. the life-boat coxswain received a tele-phone message from the Blyth coastguardthat a vessel was ashore about one mile southof St. Mary’s Island, and at 11.35 A.M. themotor life-boat Westmorland was launched.The weather was foggy, with a light E.S.E.wind, and a slight swell. The life-boat found

t h a t t h e v e s s e l w a s t h e m i n e - s w e e p i n gtrawler Nodzu, and stood by. After aboutan hour the trawler came off without helpas the t ide rose , and made for harbourescorted by the life-boat, which arrived backa t h e r s t a t i o n a t 2 . 1 5 P . M . - R e w a r d s ,£14 14s. 6d.

O C T O B E R 8 T H . - B A R R O W , L A N C A -SHIRE. At 3.12 A.M. a telephone call camefrom the coas tguard a t Walney tha t thecoast watcher at Ravenglass had reported avessel in distress and firing rockets, and themotor life-boat N.T. was launched at 3.45 A.M.A light, variable wind was blowing, with amoderate swell. On Barn Shoal, one milesouth of Seascale, the life-boat found thesteam trawler Recinia, of Milford Haven.She had a crew of twelve and was boundwith fish for Fleetwood. At the request ofthe master the life-boat stood by to see ifthe Recinia would refloat at high water, butshe was found to be leaking. The mastersaid that he would remain on board untillow water and then take his crew ashore andarrange for the sale of the fish. The life-boatreturned to her station, arriving at 5.45 P.M.- Rewards, £22 19s.

OCTOBER 10TH. - WHITBY, YORK-SHIRE. At about 10.30 A.M . the harbourentrance had become dangerous owing to aheavy fresh which was running out on thee b b t i d e . A s t r o n g N . N . W . b r e e z e w a sb l o w i n g , a n d t h e s e a w a s r o u g h . F o u rfishing cobles were out, and the coxswainand second-coxswain of the motor life-boat.were among the fishermen at sea. The cox-swain of the pulling boat decided to take outthe motor lifeboat Mary Ann Hepworth, andshe left at 10.45 A.M. She escorted the coblesFreda, Dorothy, Brighter Hope and Enterprisesepara te ly in to harbour , and re tu rned toher station at 1.30 P.M. - Rewards, £7 6s. 6d.

OCTOBER 11TH. - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. At 9.55 in the morning a messagecame f rom the coas tguard tha t a rubberdinghy, with two men on board, was in thesea e leven mi les E.S .E. of Skegness . Astrong northerly wind was blowing, with arough sea, and squalls of rain. The coast-guard said that a naval patrol boat had beensent out and, for that reason, the life-boatwas not launched. Ten minutes later anothercall came from the coastguard asking thatthe life-boat should go at once. The patrolboat had not sufficiently powerful engines toface the tide and strong wind. At 10.40 themotor life-boat Anne Allen was launched.Aeroplanes guided her towards the dinghy,and she found it, 11 miles away, at 11.35.There were five men on board. They werethe crew of a Whitley bomber which hadcome down in the sea on her way back fromGermany. The life-boat brought back thedinghy as well as the men and reached herstation again at 12.40 P .M. The rescued menthanked their rescuers, who also received atelegram of congratulation from the RoyalAir Force, and letters of thanks were receivedby the Ins t i tu t ion f rom the of f icer com-manding No. 58 Squadron, the Air Council

SERVICES 1941 73

and the Director-General of aircraft safety.- Rewards, £10 1s. 6d.

O C T O B E R 1 1 T H . - S U N D E R L A N D ,DURHAM. At 9 .57 A . M . the coas tguardreported that the after part of the tankerPontfield, in tow of a tug, was making heavyweather off the port. On 15th Septemberthe Pontfield had struck a mine off Cromerand been broken in two. The fore part hadsunk and the after part had been towed toYarmouth. The tug Empire Henchman wasnow tak ing her to the Tyne for repa i r s .The vessels had already been seen to be indi f f icu l t ies , and the l i fe -boat c rew wasstanding by, and at 10.45 A.M . the motorlife-boat Edward and Isabella Irwin put out.A strong and squally N.E. breeze was blowingand the sea was rough. The life-boat rescuedtwenty- two men f rom the Pont f i e ld , andreturned at 11.40 A.M. In the afternoon thetug fired rockets, and, at 5.40 P.M., the life-boat put out a second time. She found thatthe Empire Henchman wanted her to takeoff a pilot and put him on board the Pontfield.She took him off but found it impossible toput him on the Pontfield, so she brought himashore, arriving at 7.30 P.M. - Rewards,£7 15s. 6d. and £15 7s. 6d.

(See Cromer “ Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 69.)

O C T O B E R 1 4 T H . . - R O S S L A R E H A R -BOUR, CO. WEXFORD. On the night ofthe 13th the Carne look-out post reportedthat it had heard a ship give three blasts onher whistle near Findale Perch, and thoughtshe must have gone aground. The weatherwas calm, with a smooth sea, but there wereoccasional squalls and showers of rain whichmade observation difficult. The life-boatstation asked the look-out post to send aman of the coastal life service to investigate,and later the look-out post reported that theship had passed towards Greenore Point and,later still, that a ship had arrived about aquarter of a mile off the pier and was blowingher whistle continuously. Morse signals weremade to her asking what was the matter andif the life-boat was wanted, but no reply wasreceived. and at 12.40 in the morning of the14th the motor l i fe -boa t M a b e l M a r i o nT h o m p s o n was launched . She found thesteam trawler Solan, of Hull. The trawlerhad gone aground and had refloated, but shewas leaking badly. The life-boat put hersecond-coxswain on board to act as pilot, and,with the life-boat escorting her, the trawlercame to the pier and berthed. - Partly paidpermanent crew. Rewards, £4 13s.

OCTOBER 15TH. - DUNMORE EAST, CO.WATERFORD. Distress signals were seenfrom a fishing vessel in Waterford Harbour,and at 6.10 P .M. the motor life-boat AnnieBlanche Smith was launched. A strong S.W.wind was blowing, and the sea was rough.The life-boat found the motor trawler Prideof Rosslare, of Dublin, with a crew of two,disabled by the failure of her engine. Shetowed her to Dunmore Eas t . - Rewards ,£13 2s. 6d.

OCTOBER 16TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.At 5.30 A.M. messages were received from thecoastguard that an aeroplane had caught fireand crashed into the sea a quarter of a mileoff Happisburgh Beach, and at 5.46 A.M. theNo. 1 motor l i fe -boa t H. F . Ba i l ey wasl a u n c h e d . T h e r e w a s a m o d e r a t e S . W .breeze, with a slight sea. The life-boat foundparts of an aeroplane, thought to be a BritishBeaufighter, and the shattered body of oneof the crew. She brought back his remainsand re tu rned to he r s t a t ion a t 10 A . M . -Rewards, £19 8s. 6d.

O C T O B E R 1 6 T H . - MARYPORT, CUM-BERLAND. At about 5.10 A.M. the Work-ington coastguard reported a red flare fiveto six miles away in a westerly direction, andasked for the life-boat crew to stand by. Awesterly gale was blowing, with a heavy seaand rain squalls. At about 6 the coast-guard asked tha t the l i fe -boa t should belaunched, and the motor life-boat JosephBraithwaite put out at 6.45 A.M. Off White-haven she found the motor fishing vesselKaren Maria, of that port, with a crew offour, in tow of another fishing boat. Theengine had failed. Escorted by the life-boatthe two fishing boats reached Whitehavensafe ly , and the l i fe -boa t re turned to herstation at 11.30 A.M. - Rewards, £13 12s.

O C T O B E R 1 7 T H . - GALWAY BAY. At4.15 P.M. the motor life-boat City of BradfordNo. I, on temporary duty at the station, waslaunched to take a priest and doctor to asick woman on Inisherr Island. Half a galewas blowing from the S.W. and the sea wasrough. - Rewards, £14 2s.

O C T O B E R 1 7 T H . - H O Y L A K E ,CHESHIRE. During the evening the life-boat telephone messenger saw flares in theHilbre Swash, bearing approximately 300°from the life-boat house, and reported themto the coastguard. Then, at 7.32 P . M . , thecoastguard reported red flares two to threemi les N.W. f rom Hoylake look-out ; thelife-boat crew was, assembled by messengers,and at 8.33 P.M. the motor life-boat Oldhamwas launched. A fresh, squally S.W. windwas blowing, with a rough breaking sea. Thelife-boat went round East Hoyle Bank, andat 9.30 P.M. found the motor launch Constance,of Mostyn. She had been engaged in salvagework on the wreck Nestos. Her engine hadfailed, and she way leaking badly and indanger of sinking. The life-boat went along-side, rescued the crew of seven, and landedthem opposite Hoylake Baths at 10.15 P .M.Accommodation for them was found by theWomen’s Voluntary Service. The life-boatwas rehoused at 12.15 A.M., and a few hourslater the Constance had become a total wreck.- Rewards, £20 2s.

OCTOBER 18TH. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. About 12.20 in the early morninginformat ion was rece ived f rom the navalcont ro l a t the p ie r -head tha t a bar rage-balloon-drifter and a barge had been drivenashore on the West Shoebury Sands. A S.W.gale was blowing, with a rough sea. The

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motor life-boat Greater London (Civil ServiceNo. 3) was launched at 12.45 A.M. and foundboth vessels high and dry. A destroyer thensignalled to her by morse that a vessel wasashore on Middle Shoebury Sands, and thatshe was in urgent need of help. The guardvessels were not expecting the life-boat, andit was only after a great deal of manoeuvringthat she was able to get through the boomdefences. She found the ex-Belgian defencevessel Andre Marcel with a crew of seven onboard. As soon as there was water enough,the life-boat went alongside, and the captainasked her if she could save his vessel. Thelife-boat found that the Andre Marcel hadonly a very small anchor and chain, and thatshe had no spare chain, wire or anchor. Thelife-boat got out her own spare warp andanchor, dropped the anchor, and passed thewarp to the Andre Marcel so that it could beput round her windlass. She then got a towrope on board the Andre Marcel and, withthe life-boat towing, the Andre Marcel 'sengine running and her crew heaving on thewindlass, an attempt was made to haul thevesse l of f . The engine soon ran hot andbecame useless, and it was only after a longtime of heaving on the windlass and haulingon the tow rope that the Andre Marcel wasrefloated. The life-boat towed her for twomiles, but, as the gale was increasing, shesent a message for a tug, which arrived anhour later. After a good deal of manoeuvringin the heavy seas, the life-boat got a tow ropefrom the tug to the Andre Marcel. She thenwent back to pick up her own anchor andwarp and re tu rned to her s ta t ion . Thereshe learned that a barge, two miles to thew e s t o f t h e p i e r , w a s m a k i n g v e r y b a dweather, and went out again. She found thebarge to be the Plover , of London. ThePlover had by this time been driven over asandbank, and was in smoother water. Hercaptain thought that he would not need help,and the life-boat again returned to her station.It was then 1.20 P .M. The naval authoritiessent a message of thanks. - Property salvagecase.

OCTOBER 18TH . - FILEY, YORKSHIRE.A strong westerly wind was blowing, with arough sea, and during the morning the life-boat coxswain was on watch, as some motorfishing cobles were out at sea. At 1.25 P .M.one of two cobles which were still out wasreported two miles off, and the motor life-boat The Cuttle was launched at 1.40 P .M.She escorted in the cobles Windsor Lad andJohn and Mary, and returned to her stationat 3.30 P.M. - Rewards, £11 10s.

O C T O B E R 1 8 T H . - FLEETWOOD, ANDBARROW, LANCASHIRE. At 4 .15 P . M .the naval authorities asked the Fleetwoodlife-boat to go to the help of a vessel agroundabout one hundred yards W. by N. of ShellWharf Buoy, and the motor life-boat AnnLeti t ia Russell was launched at 4.40 P .M .A strong N.W. wind was blowing and thesea was very rough. The l i fe -boa t foundthat the vessel was the ex-Belgian tankerLaurent Meeus, of Ghent, of 6,429 tons, loadedwith oil, bound from the U.S.A. to Heysham.

Her master asked the life-boat to stand by,and one of the life-boatmen, who was also apilot, was put on board her. As the tiderose the Laurent Meeus got off under her ownsteam and was brought to a safe anchorageoff the Wyre Light. The Barrow station hadreceived the call a quarter of an hour afterFlee twood, and the motor l i fe -boat N.T .was launched at 4.45 P .M. She reached theLaurent Meeus at 6.15 P .M., a few minutesafter the Fleetwood boat, and after standingby for a time returned to her station. Bothlife-boats reached their stations again at8.45 P.M. - Rewards : Fleetwood, £18 17s. :Barrow, £19 7s.

OCTOBER 19TH . - COVERACK, CORN-W A L L . A t 1 0 . 3 1 P . M . i n f o r m a t i o n w a sreceived, through the coastguard, that thecoastwatching post at Kennack had seen anaeroplane crash into the sea in Kennack Bay,and in e ight minutes the motor l i fe -boa tThe Three Sisters was away. A strong S.W.wind was blowing, with a rough sea and rain.Searching off Lankidden, below Blackhead,the l i fe -boat p icked up severa l p ieces ofwreckage from an aeroplane. She continuedher search , bu t found noth ing more , andre tu rned to he r s t a t ion a t 1 .30 A . M . Thelost aeroplane was identified as a BritishBeaufighter, and the life-boat was thankedby the Group of the R.A.F. to which theaeroplane belonged. - Rewards, £16 18s. 6d.

O C T O B E R 2 0 T H . - H O L Y I S L A N D ,NORTHUMBERLAND. At 11 .30 on thenight of the 19th the coastguard reportedthat a steamer in the harbour was makingsignals of distress. A strong westerly galewas blowing, with a rough sea. The life-boatc rew were ca l led ou t and found tha t thes teamer was only twenty yards f rom thelife-boat slipway, so near to it that the life-boat could not be launched. They waiteduntil the steamer had drifted clear, and wereable to launch the motor life-boat Milburnat 12.30 on the morning of the 20th. Thel i fe -boat found tha t the s teamer was theBoy Jermyn, of Grimsby, a drifter engagedon salvage work, carrying a crew of five.She put one of her crew on board her to actas p i lo t , and s tood by her un t i l she hadreached safety. The life-boat returned to herstation at 3.30 A.M. - Rewards, £16 17s. 6d.

OCTOBER 20TH . - PETERHEAD, ABER-DEENSHIRE. At 4.25 A.M. a message wasreceived from the coastguard that a red flarenear Scotstoun Head had been reported fromRattray. Half an hour later it was reportedthat six red flares had been seen, and thatpermission had been received from the navalbase for the life-boat to be launched. As thecrew were assembling a third message camethat the flares were south of Rattray Light-house . At 4 .45 A . M . the motor l i fe -boatJulia Park Barry of Glasgow, was launched.A N.W. gale was blowing and the sea waschoppy. The l i fe -boat reached the s teamtrawler Leo, of Grimsby, stranded on thesands. She was lying in six feet of water,and as her crew were in no immediate dangerthe life-boat stood by, waiting for the tide

SERVICES 1941 75

to rise. At eight o’clock, an hour after highwater, the life-boat made fast to the trawler,and after three hours of hauling succeeded ing e t t i n g h e r a f l o a t . T h e l i f e - b o a t t h e nreturned to her station, arriving at 11.30 A.M.- Property salvage case.

O C T O B E R 2 0 T H . - W H I T E H I L L S ,B A N F F S H I R E . A t 9 . 3 A . M . t h e B a n f fcoastguard reported distress signals threemiles N.E. by N. from East Head, Portsoy,and the motor life-boat Civil Service No. 4was launched. A W.N.W. gale was blowing,with a very rough sea. The life-boat foundH.M. Minesweeper Guide On, broken downand leaking. The examination vessel wasstanding by. She and the life-boat allowedher to drift towards Macduff, keeping by hera l l t h e t i m e . T h e n , i n t h e l e e o f B a n f fHarbour , the mas te r o f the examina t ionvessel was put aboard the minesweeper top i l o t h e r i n t o h a r b o u r . T h e l i f e - b o a tremained in attendance until the Guide Onhad reached the shelter of the harbour underher own power, and then returned to herstation, arriving at 11.35 P . M . - Rewards,£7 17s. 9d.

O C T O B E R 2 0 T H . - R O S S L A R E H A R -BOUR, CO. WEXFORD. At 10 .45 A . M .the S.S. Wallace Rose entered the bay flyingsignals for a boat and stretcher, as she hadshipwrecked men on board. The life-boatMabel Marion Thompson was launched at11 A.M. with customs and police on board,and wi th the l i fe -boa t s ta t ion secre ta ry ,Mr. W. J. B. Moncas, in the crew. A S.W.w i n d w a s b l o w i n g . S h e f o u n d t h a t t h eWallace Rose had rescued eight men froman upturned ship’s boat, and three bodies.They a l l be longed to the ex-Norwegiansteamer Rusk, which had been sunk by aGerman aeroplane, while bound, light, fromCork to Newport. Five other members ofher crew were reported to have reached CahirPoin t in another boa t . Two o thers wereunaccounted for. The life-boat brought offone man who was sick and the three bodies,and landed them at 12.30 P.M. Her boardingboat took out provisions to the Wallace Rose,and the steamer then made for Newport, takingwith her the other seven rescued men. - Partlypaid permanent crew. Rewards, £2 2s. 6d.

OCTOBER 21ST. - DUN LAOGHAIRE, CO.DUBLIN. At abou t 11 A . M . t he ha rbourmaster was informed by telephone that aship’s boat, the Dronze, of Howth, had leftHowth at 9 P .M . the previous evening togo to Sutton, four miles away, but had notbeen seen since passing the Bailey Lighthouseat 9 .30 P .M . Enquiries were made withoutresult, but a boat could be seen anchored onthe Bur fo rd Bank in Dubl in Bay , and a t12.55 P.M. the motor life-boat Dunleary IIwas launched to her. The sea was smoothand a moderate westerly breeze was blowing.The life-boat found that this boat was themissing boat. Her engine had failed and shehad lost her rudder. The two men on boardwere almost exhausted. The life-boat took

them on board, and with their boat in tow,brought them to Dun Laoghaire, arriving at2.20 P.M. - Rewards, £3 6s.

O C T O B E R 2 2 N D . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,ABERDEENSHIRE. At 2.5 A.M. a messagewas received from the coastguard at KinnairdHead tha t a red f la re had been seen of fCairnbulg Briggs, near the beacon, and at2.30 A.M. the motor life-boat John and CharlesKennedy was launched. A moderate W.N.W.wind was blowing, with heavy rain showers,but the sea was smooth. The life-boat foundH.M. Trawler Alder stranded on the end ofCairnbulg Briggs. She anchored and veereddown stern first to the trawler. Though thesea was smooth there was a good deal ofbroken water round the trawler. It was noteasy to get alongside her, and the life-boatwas smashed against her. Forty feet of thepor t -wale was sp l in tered , ten of the i ronstanchions bent, the cockpit fractured, ando t h e r d a m a g e d o n e , b u t h e r s e a w o r t h i -n e s s w a s n o t a f f e c t e d . S h e r e s c u e d t h eAlder’s crew of twenty and returned to herstation, arriving at 3.25 A.M . - Rewards,£14 9s. 6d.

O C T O B E R 2 2 N D . - W H I T B Y , Y O R K -SHIRE. F ish ing cobles had pu t to sea a t8 A.M. , and all except three had returnedby noon. By 1 P . M . a strong N.N.E. windwas blowing, with a heavy sea, making itdangerous for cobles to come into harbour,and at 1.55 P.M. the No. 1 motor life-boatMary Ann Hepworth put out. The cobleswere then about two mi les to the nor th .They were the Ramlah, Freda, and Rosa-mund. They had a pretty bad time gettinginto the harbour through the heavy seas but,escorted by the life-boat, they made it safely.- Rewards, £8 5s. 6d.

SILVER AND BRONZE MEDALS E R V I C E S A T C R O M E R A N D

GREAT YARMOUTH ANDGORLESTON

OCTOBER 26TH - 27TH. - CROMER,AND GREAT YARMOUTH ANDGORLESTON, NORFOLK. Abouteight in the morning a message camefrom the Cromer coastguard that theYarmouth naval base had asked forthe life-boat to go to a vessel ashoreon Hammond Knoll about 22 mileseast of Cromer, and the Cromer No. 1life-boat H. F. Bailey was launchedat 8.15. A full gale was blowingfrom the north-north-east, with heavysqualls of rain, hail and sleet. Thesea was very rough, the weather verycold.

The life-boat reached HammondKnoll at 11.35, and found that thevessel was the S.S. English Trader, of

7 6 SERVICES 1941

London, with 44 men on board. Fiveothers had been swept overboard anddrowned before the life-boat arrived.The steamer was lying on the sandswith her hull nearly under water, andthe seas, the coxswain said afterwards,presented him with the most appallingproblem that he had ever had to face.They were not true-running seas. Onewould run along the weather side fromforward, and another from aft, andwhen they met they would go up nearlymast high and then crash down on thesteamer. At times the only parts ofher visible were the tops of her masts,the lee side of the chart room, wherethe crew were huddled, and the funnel.On the lee side the sea was nothinglike as bad as on the weather side,but it was still very heavy, very con-fused and running in all directions.The fore derricks had broken looseand were swinging about with everysea, the hatch covers were off, and thesea was covered with cargo washedout of the hold. It was clear thatit would be impossible to go along-side at present, and the life-boat wentas close as possible and signalled thatshe would make her attempt at slackwater which would be about fourin the afternoon. However, about1 . 1 5 t h e c o x s w a i n t h o u g h t t h a tthere was a chance. He succeededin getting fairly close to the lee sideof the steamer, but very heavy seas,coming round both her bow and stern,piling up, and bursting amidships,made it impossible to go alongside.The life-boat fired a line, but it hadto be aimed at a high angle, if it wasto reach the crew on the bridge, andit was blown back.

FIVE LIFE-BOATMEN OVERBOARD

The life-boat pulled out again, andabout 2.15 made a second attempt. Shewas forced to approach broadside to thesea, and what happened next is bestdescribed in the coxswain’s own words :“ We were trying to approach abouthalf speed, and when still about 100yards away a huge wall of water sudden-ly rose up on our port side, a shout of‘ look out ‘, and before I could evengive a half turn of the wheel I waslifted out of the boat just as thoughI had been a bit of cork. We were

simply overwhelmed by the sheerw e i g h t o f w a t e r . H o w t h e b o a trighted herself I shall never under-stand. It must indeed have been thehand of Providence. The boat musthave been hit hardest abaft the forecockpit. Had she been hit as hardalong her whole length there wouldbe no life-boat crew in Cromer today.”The captain of the English Tradersaid afterwards that he saw her keelcome right out of the water.

The second coxswain and threeother members of the crew werethrown clean overboard with the cox-swain, two others were thrown out ofthe boat,, but managed to grab theguard rails and haul themselves aboardagain, and the rest were flung hereand there, knocked about and winded.A s t h e b o a t r i g h t e d h e r s e l f t h esecond-coxswain’s son sprang to thewheel, brought the boat under controlaga in , and s tee red to where h i sfather and the coxswain were floating.They were hauled on board, and thecoxswain at once took command again.The life-boat then went to pick up theother three men, but the crew hadgreat difficulty in getting them onboard. They were so waterlogged thatit took five minutes to haul in eachman. The signalman of the boat, ,W. E. Allen, the last to be rescued,had then been 25 minutes in the water.He was unconscious. The crew suc-ceeded in reviving him. He sat up,spoke a few words, then suddenlycollapsed and died.

It was now about three in the after-noon, nearly seven hours since thelife-boat had left Cromer, and hercrew were all pretty well exhausted.Various small ropes had been washedoverboard. These had got round thepropellers, reducing the boat’s speeda n d m a k i n g i t m o r e d i f f i c u l t t omanoeuvre her. The coxswain decidedto make at once for Great Yarmouth.On her way she tried to speak to theYarmouth naval base by radio tele-phone to ask that a doctor and anambulance might be waiting for herwhen she came in. She could not getthrough to the base, but her messagewas picked up by the Great Yarmouthand Gorleston life-boat and she relayedit to Yarmouth.

SERVICES 1941 77

When she got this message the GreatYarmouth and Gorleston l ife-boatLouise Stephens was already at sea onthe way to help the English Trader.About 11.40 in the morning she hadhad a request from the coastguard togo out to Hammond Knoll to reinforcethe Cromer life-boat, and had beenlaunched at noon. She had a verydifficult journey, 19, miles in the faceof a strong northerly gale, with arough sea and a f lood t ide . Thejourney took her 3 1/2 hours, and shereached Hammond Knoll about 3.30,just half an hour after the Cromerlife-boat had left it on her way toGreat Yarmouth. The two life-boatshad passed without seeing one another.

While the water was slack, between4 and 6 o’clock, the Louise Stephensmade five separate attempts to goalongside the English Trader and getunder her lee. She was very heavilybuffeted, and shipped a great deal ofwater. She was faced too with thesame difficulties as the Cromer life-boat,the loose, swinging derricks and thefloating cargo, but at one of the fiveattempts she succeeded in firing a lineover the wreck, got a mooring rope se-cured between them, and was able tohaul alongside, but the rope parted, andthe life-boat was swept away. The seaswere increasing, and darkness was nowsetting in. The captain of the EnglishTrader himself blew a whistle andwaved to the life-boat to go away. Itwas now 6.15 and the coxswain decidedto return to Gorleston for the night.

Meanwhile the Cromer life-boat hadarrived at Yarmouth at six in theeven ing . There a doc tor and anambulance were waiting, and the bodyof the signalman was put ashore.Some of the crew were so exhaustedthat they had to be helped out of theboat, but they immediately refuelledher and made ready for a furtherattempt at rescue early next morning.The crew were then taken to theShipwrecked Sailors’ Home where theywere given hot baths, hot drinks andfood and dry clothes. At the sametime a telephone call was put throughto Cromer for more dry clothing andoilskins, and for another man to takethe place of the signalman. They cameat once by car.

The Gorleston life-boat was now onher way home. The bad weather andthe absence of lights made it a difficultjourney, but the coxswain stood in-shore, picked up the land, followed thecoast down, and reached Gorlestonabout 10.30 at night. The crew wereso wet and cold, the night so dark, thatthe coxswain decided not to refuel thelife-boat until morning. He told thecrew to assemble again at 5.30.

Late that night, when the Cromercoxswain heard that the Great Yar-mouth and Gorleston life-boat hadreturned, he telephoned her coxswainto discuss their arrangements for then e x t m o r n i n g . H e s a i d t h a t h eintended to go to sea again at fouro’clock. The Gorleston coxswain saidthat he would wait until day.

CROMER’S THIRD ATTEMPT

Next morning, between 3.30 and4 o’clock, the Cromer coxswain wasup and got weather reports both fromthe Yarmouth naval base and theCromer coastguard. Both told thesame. Wind and sea had gone downa very little, but the weather was muchwhat it had been the day before. At4.15 he called at the naval base andasked that the boom defence might beopened. At 4.40 the life-boat put tosea. She had still three hours of dark-ness before her. The ropes were stillround her propeller. She had 22 milesto go against the gale. It took her threehours and twenty minutes. She reachedthe sands about eight in the morning.By that time the wind had backed tothe north-west, and wind and sea hadboth gone down. The fore part ofthe English Trader was now underwater, but the l ife-boat was able,without difficulty, to go alongside thesteamer’s lee rail, which was onlyabout two feet above her, and withinhalf an hour the 44 survivors of thecrew had been taken on board thelife-boat and she was making againfor Yarmouth. She arrived there andlanded the men about 11.30 in theforenoon. Although both wind andsea had gone down, there was still toomuch sea for it to be possible to haulthe Cromer life-boat on to her slipway,and her crew left her at Gorleston andreturned to Cromer by car.

78 SERVICES 1941

Meanwhile the Great Yarmouth andGorleston life-boat had put out at 6.30in the morning and reached HammondKnoll at 8.30, to find that the Cromerlife-boat had rescued the crew and wasnow returning. The Great Yarmouthand Gorleston life-boat arrived at herstation again at 11.30.

THE REWARDS

Both the Cromer and Great Yar-mouth and Gorleston life-boats madevery gallant attempts on the first dayin circumstances of great difficulty anddanger, and the Cromer crew showedan indomitable spirit in preparing forsea again immediately they arrived atYarmouth on the evening of that day,in spite of the terrible and exhaustingexperience through which they hadpassed, and in setting out again onthe second attempt in the early hoursof the following morning.

The Institution made the followingawards :

To CROMER

To COXSWAIN HENRY G. BLOGG, athird clasp to the silver medal forgallantry which he already held ;

To each of the following members ofthe crew, already holders of the bronzemedal for gallantry, with one or moreclasps, another clasp :

To JOHN J. DAVIES, SENIOR, second-coxswain, and HENRY W. DAVIES,motor-mechanic, third clasps ;

To JAMES W. DAVIES , assistantmotor-mechanic, and the late EDWARDW. ALLEN, boat signalman, secondclasps ;

To WILLIAM T. DAVIES, bowman,and JOHN J. DAVIES JNR. and SIDNEYC. HARRISON, life-boatmen, clasps ;

To each of the following membersof the crew, HENRY T. DAVIES, boats igna lman, W I L L I A M H . D A V I E S ,ROBERT C. DAVIES and JAMES R.DAVIES, the bronze medal for gal-lantry ;

To the coxswain and each of theabove eleven members of the crew acopy of the vote inscribed on vellum,except to the late Edward W. Allen,whose widow was awarded, in place ofit, a relative’s certificate recording thegallantry of his death ;

To the coxswain and each of theten members of the crew who tookpart in both services, a reward of £5,in addition to the ordinary rewards onthe standard scale of £1 8s. 6d., for thefirst service and £2 16s. 6d. for thes e c o n d s e r v i c e , m a k i n g a t o t a lmonetary reward to each man of£9 5s. ;

To the late EDWARD W. ALLEN, areward of £5 in addition to the ordinaryaward on the standard scale of £1 8s. 6d.for the first launch, making a totalmonetary reward of £6 8s. 6d. ;

To GEORGE R. COX, life-boatman,who took the place of Edward W.Allen on the second service, the thanksof the Institution inscribed on vellumand a reward of £2 in addition to theordinary scale reward of £2 16s. 6d.,making a total reward of £4 16s. 6d.

Total rewards on the ordinary scaleto crew and helpers for both services,£52 16s. ; additional rewards to crew,£62 ; other expenses, £26 19s. ; totalrewards and expenses, £141 15s.

A pension was granted to the widowof Edward W. Allen on the same scaleas if he had been a sailor of the RoyalNavy killed in action, and the funeralexpenses were paid by the Institution.

Letters of thanks were sent to MissPertwee, matron and secretary of theShipwrecked Sailors’ Home, Great Yar-mouth, and to Police Constable R. C.Crighton, through the Chief Constable,Great Yarmouth, for his help to thecrew when they came ashore exhausted.

To GREAT YARMOUTH AND GORLESTON

To COXSWAIN CHARLES A. JOHNSON,a third clasp to the bronze medalf o r g a l l a n t r y , w h i c h h e a l r e a d yheld ;

To each of the other six members ofthe crew, JOHN R. WRIGHT, second-coxswain, THOMAS C. MORLEY, bow-man, GE O R G E F . MO B B S , motor -mechanic, ARTHUR G. BUSH, assistantmotor-mechanic, WILLIAM PARKER,signalman, and LEWIS D. SYMONDS,life-boatman, the thanks of the Institu-tion inscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and each of the sixmembers of the crew a reward of £3in addition to the ordinary reward onthe standard scale, of £2 16s. 6d. for

SERVICES 1941 79

the first service and £1 8s. 6d. for thesecond service, making a total rewardto each man of £7 5s. ;

Total rewards on the ordinary scalefor both services to crew and helpers,£25 8s. 6d. ; additional rewards tocrew, £21 ; total rewards, £46 8s. 6d.

Total monetary rewards to bothstations, £188 3s. 6d.

Many messages of congratulationswere received, including messages fromthe flag officer at Great Yarmouth, theinspec tor o f coas tguard , and theowners of the English Trader, theTrader Naviga t ion Co . , L td . Theowners also made a donation to theInstitution.

O C T O B E R 2 6 T H . - A M B L E , N O R T H -UMBERLAND. At 8.20 in the morning amessage came from the senior naval officer,t h r o u g h t h e B l y t h c o a s t g u a r d , t h a t t h eA d m i r a l t y p a t r o l v e s s e l R o b i n a I n g l e sappeared to be in difficulties. She was atanchor on a lee shore N.E. of Amble harbour,and a N.E. gale was blowing, with a heavyswell. At 8.45 the motor life-boat Frederickand Emma was launched and went alongsidethe Robina Ingles. In doing so she damagedher bow. While she was rescuing the crewof four, the cable parted and the RobinaIngles began to drift on to the rocks. Thismade the rescue very difficult, but the fourmen had been taken off before the vesselstruck the rocks, and the life-boat returnedt o h e r s t a t i o n , a r r i v i n g a t 9 . 4 0 A . M . -Rewards, £7 12s.

OCTOBER 27TH. - SHERINGHAM, NOR-FOLK. At 12.50 in the afternoon the land-lord of the Crown Inn, on the sea front, wasserving in his bar. The morning had beenfoggy, bu t a t tha t moment the sun camethrough and as it did so the landlord glancedout of the window and saw a speck on thesea about two miles north of Sheringham.He got his telescope on it, and saw that thespeck was men on what looked like a raft.Just then the second-coxswain of the life-boat came in for his lunch-time glass of beer.He went off at once with the news, and at1.5 the motor life-boat Foresters Centenarywas launched. A light W.N.W. wind wasblowing, and the sea was rough, with a strongswell after a very heavy gale the day before.The life-boat reached the “ speck ” twentyminutes later and found that it was a rubberd inghy wi th f ive a i rmen on board . Theywere all Poles, the crew of a Wellingtonbomber which had come down in the seaoff the Wash at about 8.30 the night beforein the gale. They had taken to their dinghybut, in the heavy seas, the sixth member ofthe crew had been unable to reach it and hadbeen drowned. The other five men had beendrifting and tossing in their dinghy in heavyseas for seventeen hours, soaked and sea-sick.The life-boat crew rescued them, gave themrum, chocolate and biscuits from the emer-

gency ra t ions and brought them ashore ,landing them at 2 P .M . A letter of thankswas received from the Directorate of Air-craft Safety. - Rewards, £19 16s. 6d.

OCTOBER 29TH . - PETERHEAD, ABER-D E E N S H I R E . A t 5 . 3 0 A . M . t h e c o a s t -guard reported signals of distress, and a fewminutes later said that a vessel was ashoreone mile north of Rattray Head. At 6.35 A.M.the Pe terhead motor l i fe -boat Ju l i a ParkBarry of Glasgow was launched. A N.N.E.gale was blowing, with heavy seas. Afterpunching north through sleet and hail forabout two hours the life-boat found H.M.trawler Flotta, with a crew of thirty-three.She had been on escort duty, she was nowhigh up on the beach, and her crew werebeing landed by the coastguard rocket life-sav ing appara tus . The l i fe -boa t s tood byu n t i l 1 0 A . M . a n d t h e n r e t u r n e d t o h e rstation, which she reached at 11.15 A.M .-Rewards, £10 0s. 6d.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT SHERINGHAM

OCTOBER 30TH - 31ST. - SHERING-HAM, NORFOLK. At 7.47 in theevening of the 29th of October theSheringham coastguard reported that avessel off Cley, about five miles west ofSheringham, was showing a signalthat she was out of control and thatthe Yarmouth naval base had sug-gested that the life-boat should putout to investigate. A very strong galewas blowing from the north-east, deadon shore, with a very heavy sea, and thehonorary secretary decided not to takethe very great risk of launching thelife-boat against the gale unless thevessel actually showed signals of dis-tress. The crew had been assembled,and the coxswain, and some of themen, continued to stand by until mid-night.

A t 1 . 7 o n t h e m o r n i n g o f t h e30th the Cromer coastguard tele-phoned that the vessel was driftingashore at Clcy. The honorary secre-tary then telephoned to Cley coast-guard and found from him that thevessel was still a mile off shore andwas signalling for a tug. The coast-guard had replied to her signal thatit was impossible to send out a tug insuch weather, but that the crew of thelife-boat was standing by to launch.The captain of the vessel hadreplied that he would signal againif he wanted the life-boat. By 7.50i n t h e m o r n i n g t h e w e a t h e r h a d

80 SERVICES 1941

moderated a little, and the honorarysecretary informed the Cromer coast-guard that the l ife-boat could belaunched if she were needed. At 9.23the Cley coastguard reported that thevessel had signalled that she wasdrifting and wanted help, and it wasdec ided to launch . Al though theweather had moderated a little, it wasstill blowing hard from the north-east.A very rough sea was running, and therewere hard squalls of rain and sleet.

The motor life-boat Foresters Cen-tenary was taken out of her house ata quarter to ten. The tide was low and,with a shortage of launchers, it wasa very difficult launch. The life-boaton her carriage had first to be takendown the steep pebble beach, thenthrough a narrow channel in whichwere about two feet of water, andthen over a sandbank which was justcovered with water. On this sand-bank the carriage stuck, and it was ahard struggle to move it again, but inthe end the launchers dragged the life-boat into a sufficient depth of water,and at 10.23 she left her carriage. Asit was low water the sea at the placeof launching was not heavy, and it wasbroken by an outer ledge of rocks. Thelife-boat had to be taken through anarrow channel in this ledge, acrosswhich heavy seas were breaking.T h e c o x s w a i n h a n d l e d h e r v e r yskilfully and brought her safely throughthe channel. Once she was in deepwater her chief difficulties were over.She reached the vessel at 11.5 andfound her to be the Canadian steamerEaglescliffe Hall, of Montreal. She hadnot gone ashore, but was lying with hertwo anchors down head to sea in aboutfour fathoms of water. She had driftedthrough a boom defence, had carriedpart of it away, and had a lot of wiresand buoys trailing from her propeller.The life-boat went alongside and madefast. Fifteen of the steamer’s crewcame down a rope ladder and droppedinto the life-boat, but the captain andeight of the crew said that they wouldremain aboard, as the weather wasm o d e r a t i n g . T h e a c t u a l w o r k o frescue had taken forty minutes. Thelife-boat arrived back at her station at12.25 that afternoon.

The weather continued to improve,

and on the following day, at therequest of a naval salvage officer, thelife-boat took the fifteen rescued men,a salvage officer and supplies of foodout to the Eaglescliffe Hall again,A tug had now come to tow out thesteamer, and the life-boat piloted heruntil she had towed the steamer intodeep water.

The Institution made the followingawards :

To COXSWAIN JAMES E. DUMBLE,the bronze medal for gallantry and acopy of the vote inscribed on vellum;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew a reward of £2 in additionto the usual money award of 19s. onthe standard scale ;

A letter of thanks to Mr. H. R.Johnson, the honorary secretary, whowas at the telephone continuouslyfrom 7.47 on the evening of the 29thuntil 1.30 in the afternoon of the 30th ;

Additional awards were also made tothe 44 launchers ;

Standard rewards to the crew andlaunchers, £21 19s. 6d. ; additionalrewards to the crew and launchers,£27 10s. ; total rewards, £49 9s. 6d.

OCTOBER 30TH. - MINEHEAD, SOMER-SET. At about 11.5 A.M. the resident navalofficer at Watchet reported an object at sea twomiles to the N.E. of Minehead. It was thoughtthat it might be a rubber dinghy as an aero-plane had crashed the previous evening, buton being examined through the range finderof a coastal battery, it appeared to be a balloon.On the request of the resident, naval officerthe motor l i fe -boat K a t e G r e a t o r e x waslaunched at 11.45; A.M . A strong N.N.E.wind was b lowing, wi th a modera te sea .The life-boat found a partially submergedbarrage balloon, and towed it to Minehead,arriving at 2.30 P.M. - Rewards, £8 9s.. 6d.

The following life-boats were launched, butno services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

OCTOBER 1ST. - PETERHEAD, AHER-D E E N S H I R E . A f i s h i n g b o a t h a d b e e nreported overdue, but it was found that shehad put into Aberdeen. - Rewards, £13 3s. 6d.

O C T O B E R 3 R D . - LOWESTOFT, SUF-FOLK. Two longshore f i sh ing boa ts hadmade signals of distress, but they reachedharbour without help. - Rewards, £8 10s. 6d.

OCTOBER 3RD . - HELVICK HEAD, CO.WATERFORD. A ship had been attackedby a German aeroplane, but she was onlys l igh t ly damaged and made por t wi thouthelp. - Rewards, £15 18s.

SERVICES 1941 81

OCTOBER 4TH. - STORNOWAY, ISLANDOF LEWIS. A steamer had gone agroundnorth of Rudha Hunish, Skye, but she gotof f wi thout he lp and went on her way. -Rewards, £7 9s. 3d.

c a l l e d . - P a r t l y p a i d p e r m a n e n t c r e w .Rewards, £6 3s. 6d.

W E X -

O C T O B E R 6 T H . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,ABERDEENSHIRE. A naval trawler whichwas leaking had been reported to be makingfor Fraserburgh, but she made for Aberdeeninstead. - Rewards, £14 9s. 6d.

OCTOBER 6TH. - PETERHEAD, ABER-DEENSHIRE. A salvage steamer bringingscrap iron from a wreck had struck somerocks during. a fog and had sunk, but hercrew were picked up from their small boatby an Aberdeen trawler. - Rewards, £13 3s. 6d.

OCTOBER 9TH. - FRASERBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. A smal l motor cob le hadbeen seen making way wi th d i f f icu l ty inbad weather, but she reached St. Combeswithout help. - Rewards, £8 5s. 6d.

OCTOBER 9TH. - MOELFRE, ANGLESEY.A British bomber aeroplane had been re-por ted in the sea e ighteen mi les S .E. ofDouglas, which would make her 39 milesfrom Moelfre, but it was found that the life-boat was not needed and she was recalled.-Rewards, £8.

O C T O B E R 1 0 T H . - P O R T A S K A I G ,ARGYLLSHIRE. An R.A.F . p innace hadfoundered and her crew had taken to theirsmall boat, but they were rescued by H.M.S.Lochiel a few minutes before the arrival ofthe life-boat. - Rewards, £10 9s. 6d.

OCTOBER 11TH. - ST. IVES, CORNWALL.A German aeroplane had been shot downabout ten miles north-west of St. Ives, butno survivors could be found, only the wreckedaeroplane. - Rewards, £27 5s. 3d.

O C T O B E R 1 2 T H . - R O S S L A R E H A R -BOUR, CO. WEXFORD. Red rockets hadbeen reported and then a message came thatan aeroplane had crashed on the coast, butnothing was found, and later it was learnedtha t the aeroplane had c rashed on land . -P a r t l y p a i d p e r m a n e n t c r e w . R e w a r d s ,£6 10s. 6d.

O C T O B E R 1 3 T H . - W H I T B Y , Y O R K -SHIRE. A British aeroplane was thoughtto have crashed in the sea ten miles northo f W h i t b y , b u t n o t h i n g w a s f o u n d . -Rewards, £19 19s. 6d.

OCTOBER 14TH. - GIRVAN, AYRSHIRE.An aeroplane was reported to have crashedinto the sea between Ailsa Craig and BennaneHead, but no trace of it could be found.-Rewards, £15 9s.

O C T O B E R 1 4 T H . - R O S S L A R E H A R -BOUR, CO. WEXFORD. Rockets had beenreported some miles S.S.E. of Greenore Point,but when it was learned that a convoy hadbeen attacked well over on the Welsh side ofSt. George’s Channel the life-boat was re-

OCTOBER 20TH. - KILMORE, CO.F O R D . A t 6 . 3 0 i n t h e e v e n i n g a s m a l ltramp steamer was seen on her way west-wards inside the Coningbeg Lightship, whentwo German aeroplanes attacked her. Oneaeroplane dropped three bombs, but they allmissed, and the aeroplanes made four o rfive machine-gun attacks, but the steamerput up a spirited resistance. Both aeroplanesthen made off southwards, and the steamercont inued on her way to Water ford . Atseven o’clock another ship was seen comingup from the east, and at about 7.20 she wasattacked by a single aeroplane when abouttwo miles S.E. of the Little Saltee Island.This ship, too, put up a stout resistance, anda big flame was suddenly seen to go up. Itwas then 7 .30 . The motor l i fe -boa t A n nIsabella Pyemont was at once launched andgot away at 7.45. She made for the sceneof the attack, but could find nothing. TheConingbeg Lightship was now firing signalsfor the life-boat which went and spoke her.The lightship reported that so far as she couldsee the a t tacked sh ip had shot down theaeroplane. The life-boat at once went backand searched right down to Black Rock offCarnsore Point, but she could find nothingand returned to her station at 11.30 P .M-Rewards, £30 8s.

OCTOBER 20TH. - PORTPATRICK, WIG-TOWNSHIRE. A motor vessel apparentlyin difficulties from the failure of her enginewas seen to be in tow of another vessel, butthe life-boat was recalled when the vessel wasseen to slip her tow and go on under her ownpower. - Rewards, £4 15s.

OCTOBER 23RD . - MOELFRE, ANGLE-SEY. An aeroplane was reported to havecome down in the sea, but it was found laterthat it had landed safely. - Rewards, £12.

OCTOBER 24TH. - ABERDEEN. An aero-plane had caught fire and come down in thesea, but the airman was picked up by a navalvessel. - Rewards, £14 11s. 6d.

O C T O B E R 2 4 T H . - PORTHDINLLAES,CAERNARVONSHIRE. An aeroplane hadcome down in the sea, but the crew wererescued by an Air Sea Rescue launch, whichalso towed the aeroplane to port. - Rewards,£11 8s.

O C T O B E R 2 4 T H . - ALDEBURGH, SUF-FOLK. An aeroplane was reported to havecrashed into the sea, but the life-boat foundnothing. - Rewards, £19 11s. 6d.

OCTOBER 27TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea, but only an oxygen cylinder was found.- Rewards, £31 19s. 9d.

OCTOBER 28TH . - RHYL, FLINTSHIRE.A British aeroplane had been reported downin the sea , bu t no th ing could be found. -Rewards, £28 16s. 9d.

8 2 SERVICES 1941

O C T O B E R 3 l S T . - RAMSGATE, KENT.An airman had been reported down in thesea, but nothing could be found. - Rewards,£15 9s.

NOVEMBER

Launches 71. Lives rescued 91.

N O V E M B E R 1 S T . - S C A R B O R O U G H ,YORKSHIRE. Wind and sea had go t upin the morning while several fishing boatswere out, and by eleven o’clock a strongeasterly gale was blowing, with a rough sea.The motor life-boat Herbert Joy II put out,and two miles to the E.N.E. she found thekeel boat Thankful, and escorted her back toharbour. She went out again and met thecoble Evelyn Margaret, handed life-belts toher crew and escorted her in. During thistrip she saw a floating mine and reported itto the coastguard. She put out again andescorted the fishing boat Sceptre past them i n e a n d t h e n , p u t t i n g o u t a g a i n , s h eescorted in the fishing boat Dahlia. Puttingout for the fifth time she warned a steamtrawler of the mine and guided her past it,and on her sixth, and last, trip she met the keelboat Alex, handed life-belts to her crew, andescorted her in. She returned to her stationat three in the afternoon. - Rewards, £20.

N O V E M B E R 2 N D . - H A R T L E P O O L ,D U R H A M . A n a e r o p l a n e w a s r e p o r t e ddown in Tees Bay, and at 2.5 in the morningthe motor life-boat The Princess Royal (CivilService No. 7) put out to search for her.She found nothing, but as she was returningat about 9.45 a morse message came fromthe coas tguard say ing tha t H .M. TrawlerLoch Hope was aground on the west bankof the en t rance channel to Har t lepool . Afresh wind was blowing from the N.E., arough sea was running, and a rising tide waswashing the trawler inshore. Two tugs hadgone to her help, but there was not sufficientwater for the tugs to get anywhere near her,and only a life-boat could stand up to theheavy seas and broken water. The masterof one of the tugs asked the life-boat to takea wire to the trawler, and the life-boat wentalongside the Loch Hope and passed her about200 fathoms of wire. She then put back toharbour with the other tug, to consult thedock master. The first tug attempted to towthe trawler out, but the wire parted. Thel i fe -boa t re tu rned to the t rawler , t ak ingwith her a naval officer of the auxiliary patrol.She then took 200 fathoms of manilla ropefrom the tug to the Loch Hope, and this timethe tug succeeded in refloating the trawler.It was then about 1.30 in the afternoon, andthe life-boat was back at her station at 2 P.M.A letter of thanks was received from thenaval authorities. - Rewards, £25 6s., also19s. and property salvage case.

NOVEMBER 4TH. - FILEY, YORKSHIRE.The local fishing cobles Joan and Mary,Dorothy Rose, and Matthew and Edward hadgone out in bad weather, and by 11.45 A.M.it had got so much worse, with a fresh N.E.wind blowing and a breaking sea, that it was

N O V E M B E R 6 T H . - B E A U M A R I S ,A N G L E S E Y . A t a b o u t 1 1 A . M . t h ecoas tguard te lephoned tha t the res identnaval officer at Holyhead wanted the life-boat to take out a doctor to the ex-Dutchmotor vessel Sumatra, near Puffin Island, asshe had an injured man on board, and themotor l i fe -boat Freder i ck K i t chen waslaunched at 11.45 A.M . A S.W. wind wasblowing and the sea was smooth. The life-boat found the vessel off Dinmore Point, putthe doctor on board, and then escorted thevessel to Beaumaris pier, where the injuredman was put ashore. He was a gunner whohad been wounded in ac t ion aga ins t anenemy aeroplane on the previous evening.The l i fe -boa t re tu rned to her s ta t ion a t1.35 P.M. - Rewards, £6 13s.

decided to launch the motor life-boat and at12.2 P .M. The Cuttle put out. She remainedin attendance on the boats until they reachedsafety, and gave one coble, the Matthew andEdward, a short tow when her engine failed.The l i fe -boa t re tu rned to her s ta t ion a t3.30 P.M. - Rewards, £11 16s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 4TH - 6TH. - CROMER, NOR-FOLK. Both of the Cromer life-boats werelaunched to the S.S. Teddington, which hadstranded after enemy attack in September.

For details see September 17th, page 69.

NOVEMBER 6TH . - DONAGHADEE, CO.DOWN. At 12.15 in the afternoon the policereported that a parachute had come down inthe sea off The Commons, Donaghadee, andat 12.45 the Belgian motor life-boat MinistreAnseele, on temporary duty at the station,was launched. She took with her, in tow, as m a l l b o a t . M r . D a v i d M c K i b b i n , t h ehonorary secretary of the station, went outas a member of the crew. A strong N.W.wind was blowing, with a choppy sea. Thelife-boat found part of a parachute with amine attached. This the life-boatmen putinto the small boat, brought it back, andhanded over to an armourer of the R.A.F.-Rewards, £4 19s.

NOVEMBER 6TH. - PETERHEAD, ABER-DEENSHIRE. At about 9.15 in the eveningthe naval officer in charge asked, through thecoastguard, for the life-boat to be ready tolaunch to the help of H.M. Trawler Flotta.The trawler was being towed in by a tugf r o m t h e s t r a n d a t R a t t r a y H e a d , a n dappeared to be s ink ing . At 9 .20 ano thermessage came to say that the trawler wastwo miles east of Peterhead, and at 9.30 athird message said that she was off BuchanNess., and that the life-boat should go outimmediately. The motor life-boat Julia ParkBarry of Glasgow was launched at 9.35, andon her way out met the tug going towardsthe harbour. When she got to the positiongiven off Buchan Ness she saw H.M. TrawlerFiley Bay, who told her that the Flotta hadsunk, that she herself had two members ofthe crew and one dead man on board, and thatthe remainder of the crew were on the tug.The life-boat overtook the tug, took on boardthe nine men of the Flotta’s crew and landed

SERVICES 1941 83

them at Peterhead at midnight. - Rewards,£13 3s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 9 T H . - P O O L B E G , C O .DUBLIN. At about 12.15 P .M. informationwas received from the skipper of a tug thatthe S.S. Rosehill, of Cardiff, outward boundin ballast for Cardiff, had run aground on asandbank N.W. of the Bul l L igh thouse .A whole S.E. gale was blowing, with a roughsea. The motor life-boat Helen Blake waslaunched at 12.45 P .M . , and stood by thesteamer until 2.15 P.M., when a tug refloatedher and towed her into port. The life-boatg o t b a c k t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 2 . 3 0 P . M -Rewards, £6 9s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 10TH. - GREAT YARMOUTHA N D G O R L E S T O N , N O R F O L K . A t5.20 A.M . the Great Yarmouth coastguardtelephoned that rockets had been seen, andlater it was learned that the British steamerWinona was aground five miles N.E. 1/2 E.from Gorleston pier. The motor life-boatLouise Stephens was launched at 6.15 A.M.A strong S.E. wind was blowing, with a heavysea. The life-boat made a wide search, butfound nothing and returned to her stationat 11.30 A.M. At 5 P .M . on the same daythe flag officer in charge at Great Yarmouthasked, through the coastguard, that the life-boat might land wounded men from H.M.Trawler Commander Holbrook, and she leftat 5.20 P.M., picking up a doctor and a sick-bay attendant at the naval base. It was nowpitch dark, and it was only with great diffi-culty that the life-boat found the trawler inYarmouth Roads and pu t the doc tor onboard. One of the men was so seriously hurtthat the doctor wanted to get him ashore atonce, and in spite of the heavy seas he wast ransfer red to the l i fe -boat . A wire lessmessage was sent ashore for lights to beswitched on, and at 7.45 P .M. the life-boatlanded the wounded man and the doctor atthe naval base. Here the life-boat was askedto wait for further instructions.

At 8.10 in the evening the life-boat wasasked to go out again to the Winona, takinga salvage officer with her. The Winona wasrepor ted now to be ashore eas t of Nor thDenes, but when the salvage officer arrivedhe said that the latest message was that theWinona had lost both her anchors and wasdrifting. He asked if the coxswain thoughthe could find her, and the coxswain said thathe would try. The night was very dark, andit was not possible to see more than five yards.The seas were very heavy. The life-boat wentnorthwards, and after a long search found thesteamer in Cockle Gat at about ten at night.With difficulty the life-boat put the salvageoff icer on board her , and the coxswainadvised him to keep the ship heading S.S.W.This was done , and af te r some t ime thesalvage officer came on board the life-boatagain, and asked the coxswain to send awireless message ashore for a light to beshone a t f requent in te rva ls . The Winonawas now nearing the Scroby Elbow Buoy, andthe coxswain advised the salvage officer tokeep her head ing S .W. The Winona wasnow in deep water and the moon was rising.

It was possible to pick up the land, and thesteamer was got into a safe position. As thesalvage officer now reported that he was allright, the life-boat returned to harbour andinformed Operations of the steamer’s position.The life-boat then returned to her stationand was moored in the river. It was now12.45 in the morning of November 11th.The Flag Officer-in-Charge in Great Yarmouths e n t h i s t h a n k s t o t h e l i f e - b o a t f o r h e rservices both to the Commander Holbrookand the Winona. - Rewards : first service,£9 5s. 6d. ; second service, £12 6s. 6d. ;third service, £15 11s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 10TH. - THURSO, CAITH-NESS-SHIRE. A ga le f rom the eas t hadbeen blowing all through November 9th, andon the 10th it rose to hurricane force, with avery heavy sea running and the air thick withspindrift. Many ships had taken shelter inthe bay, and the honorary secretary of thelife-boat station was keeping watch on them.One of them was the fishing smack Langness,f rom the Faroes , which was anchored inScrabs te r roads tead . She was bound forAberdeen with sixty tons of fish, and had acrew of seven. She had two anchors down,but at, 2.30 in the afternoon the honorarys e c r e t a r y s a w h e r p o r t c a b l e p a r t . T w ominutes later he saw a distress flare burningon the smack and called out the life-boatc r e w . A t 2 . 4 5 P . M . t h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tH.C.J. was launched and found the Langnessriding very heavily to her remaining anchor.The seas were so heavy that the life-boat hadgreat difficulty in getting alongside. Onesea nearly threw her right aboard the smack,and the next threw her against it, damagingher fender. In spite of this she succeeded intaking off the seven men and landed themat 3.15 P . M . Next day the Langness droveashore. - Rewards, £8 7s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 10TH. - FALMOUTH, CORN-WALL. Just before seven in the evening amessage was received from the representativeof a salvage company which was engaged inbreak ing up the wreck of the S .S . Mar i eChandris, off Amsterdam Point, St. Anthony,saying that five of his men who were workingon the ship could not get away in their boatas a gale was blowing from the south, with ar o u g h s e a . A t 7 . 2 0 t h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tCrawford and Constance Conybeare waslaunched, took off the men and brought themashore at 9 P.M. A gift, in thanks for this helpwas received from the salvage company.-Rewards, £11 14s.

N O V E M B E R 1 1 T H . - H O L Y H E A D ,ANGLESEY. At 2 .5 A . M . a s teamer eas tof Salt Island was heard blowing on her siren,and a flare was seen, and at 2.55 A.M. theFrench motor life-boat Jean Charcot , ontemporary duty at this station, was launched.A strong S.W. gale was blowing, with a roughsea. The life-boat found that the steamerPenhale had drifted on to the Norwegiansteamer Jan, spoke the vessels, directed oneto another anchorage, stood by for an hour,and then returned to her station, arriving at4.30 A.M. - Rewards, £5 12s. 6d.

84 SERVICES 1941

N O V E M B E R 1 2 T H . - DUNMORE EAST,CO. WATERFORD. A small cargo steamer,bound from Cork to Glasgow, the S.S. Mon-mouth Coast, of Liverpool, was attacked bytwo German aeroplanes at the entrance toWaterford Harbour. The weather was fine,and the coast watchers above Dunmore sawthe aeroplanes drop bombs c lose to thesteamer, and machine-gun her. The aero-p lanes then made of f , and the watchersbelieved that one of them had been hit by

rescue boat No. 244, with a crew of four, hadfouled the nets of a fishing boat off Lee Bay.Information was at once given to the life-boat station, and on learning that the otherR.A.F. boat stationed at Ilfracombe was notavailable the honorary secretary sent outthe motor life-boat Rosabella. She left at7 P.M. A slight westerly wind wasblowing and the sea was smooth. The life-boat found the rescue boat of f Caps tonePoint, drifting up channel, with the fishingboat s tanding by . She towed her back toIlfracombe, arriving at 8.15 P.M. - Rewards,£21 12s.

SILVER MEDAL SERVICEAT SHOREHAM HARBOUR

NOVEMBER 16TH. - SHOREHAMHARBOUR, SUSSEX. Jus t a f t e rone in the morning the motor life-boat Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunnwent out to the help of the mine-sweeper President Briand. A strongsouth wind was blowing, with a heavyswell, and the minesweeper, which washaving trouble with her engine, wasin danger of being carried ashore. Thelife-boat went alongside and, at thecaptain’s request, stood by until about9.30 in the morning. By that time thetide had flowed, there now seemed nodanger of the minesweeper goingaground, and a tug was on her way out.The life-boat returned to her station.

About 9.40 the coxswain of thelife-boat was asked to go out in thepilot cutter and pilot in the mine-sweeper. The pilot cutter took himout and put him on board her. Aboutthe same time the S.S. Goole, ablockship, was ordered out to help

with the tow. The wind had now in-creased to a gale from the south-east,with a very heavy sea which wasbreaking at least three-quarters of amile off the shore. The Goole gotinto difficulties and narrowly escapedbeing wrecked in the harbour mouth.At 9.45 a call came for the life-boat to go out again, as the mine-sweeper and the tug were both indanger of going ashore. She waslaunched at once, the second-coxswaintaking command. She found the tugtrying to haul the minesweeper clear,and took a tow-rope herself, but bothropes parted. The minesweeper wasnow in very shallow water. She letgo her anchor, but struck and layhelpless, rolling heavily, with the seasbreaking over her.

The second-coxswain took the life-boat straight in to the rescue, but hehad to go alongside six or seven timesbefore he was able to take off all the21 men of her crew and the life-boat’sown coxswain. Once the life-boat’sbow was lifted right on to the mine-sweeper ’ s r a i l and he r s t em wasdamaged. Shortly after her crew hadbeen rescued the minesweeper heeledover on he r beam. The l i f e -boa tcame back to ha rbour th rough avery heavy breaking sea, with the tiderunning strongly across the harbourmouth. She took several big season board. When she arrived at noon,it was just eleven hours since shehad first gone out.

The second-coxswain had only takencharge twice before, both times in fineweather, and he handled the life-boatwi th very f ine seamanship . Thedangers of the rescue were increasedby the fact, known to all the crew,that there had been many fatal casual-ties at Shoreham Harbour throughlandmines which had been placedbelow as well as above high water.

The Institution made the followingawards :

To ACTING-COXSWAIN JAMES T.UPPERTON, the silver medal for gal-lantry, with a copy of the vote in-scribed on vellum ;

T o H E N R Y P H I L C O X , m o t o r -mechanic, the bronze medal for gal-lantry, with a copy of the vote in-scribed on vellum ;

SERVICES 1941 85

To the other five members of thec rew, J O H N E . LA K E R , bowman,CECIL, M. AYLING, assistant motor-mechanic, VICTOR H. PAGE,CHARLES E. LAKER and ALBERT E.UPPERTON, life-boatmen, the thanksof the Institution inscribed on vellum ;

To the ac t ing coxswain , motormechanic, and each of the other fivemembers of the crew, a reward of £1in addition to the ordinary scalerewards of £3 15s. 6d., for the twoservices, making a total reward of£4 15s. 6d. to each man. Standard re-wards to crew and launchers, £34 13s. ;additional rewards to the crew, £7 ;total rewards, £41 13s.

NOVEMBER 16TH. - COURTMACSHERRYHARBOUR, CO. CORK. At about 8.30 A.M.a telephone message came from the coastwatchers that a ship was firing distress signalsabout two miles S.E. of Old Head of Kinsale,and the motor life-boat Sarah Ward andWilliam David Crosweller was launched at8.45 A.M . A whole gale was blowing fromthe S.S.E., with rain and a very heavy sea.T h e l i f e - b o a t f o u n d t h e s t e a m t r a w l e rD a n d o r a , of Aberdeen. Her engines hadbroken down, and she had been riding to ananchor, but another trawler had just arrivedand had taken her in tow. The l i fe -boa te s c o r t e d t h e t w o t r a w l e r s i n t o K i n s a l eHarbour , and re tu rned to he r s t a t ion a t5.30 P.M. - Rewards, £14 3s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 16TH - 17TH . - KIRKCUD-BRIGHT, KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE, ANDMARYPORT, CUMBERLAND. At 8.45 inthe evening of November 16th the Kirkcud-bright life-boat Morison Watson was launchedto the help of Hopper No. 2, of Preston, whichwas reported to be ashore three miles west ofRavensha l l Po in t . A modera te S .E . windwas blowing, with a moderate sea, and thenight was very dark, with rain showers. Thelife-boat searched for half the night but couldfind no sign of the hopper and, as the weatherwas improving and the sea was calm, shereturned to her station, arriving at 3 in themorning of November 17th.

The Hopper No. 2 refloated, and at 8.20 onthe evening of the 17th the naval authoritiest o l d t h e M a r y p o r t s t a t i o n t h a t s h e w a sdriving up the Solway Firth towards Mary-port. A squally W.N.W. wind was now blow-ing , wi th a heavy sea . At 9 .20 P . M . theMaryport motor life-boat Joseph Braithwaitewas launched, and found the hopper one anda half miles north of Maryport piers. Shewas bound light from Birkenhead to Working-ton, and had a crew of five. The men wereexhausted, and had had no food for two days.The life-boatmen gave them rum and choco-late from the emergency rations, and thecoxswain went aboard the hopper , tookcharge and brought her into Maryport, withthe life-boat escorting her. The life-boatr e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 1 1 . 1 5 P . M . -

Rewards : Kirkcudbright, £16 ; Maryport,£20 10s.

N O V E M B E R 1 8 T H . - F I L E Y , Y O R K -S H I R E D u r i n g t h e a f t e r n o o n t w o l o c a lmotor boats were reported overdue, and at5 P .M . the motor life-boat The Cutt le wasl a u n c h e d t o s e a r c h f o r t h e m . A l i g h twesterly wind was blowing, with a moderateswel l . The l i fe -boat found the Peggy I Icoming in under her own power, and afterescorting her part of the way, the life-boatwent to look for the other boat, the Sheila.She found her, with her engine broken down,two miles off Filey Brig. As darkness wasapproaching she took her in tow and broughther in. - Rewards, £16 19s.

NOVEMBER 17TH. - CLACTON - ON - SEA,ESSEX. Ear ly in the evening the coas t -guard reported that red flares had been seenfrom a sailing barge aground in Spitway, andat 7.32 P .M. the motor life-boat Edward Z.Dresden was launched. A fresh W.S.W. windwas blowing, with a rough sea. The life-boatfound that the barge had refloated. She wasthe Saltcote Belle, bound with wheat forColchester. The life-boat stood by her forhalf an hour to see if she was damaged, and,as she was not, the barge went on her wayand the life-boat returned to her station,arriving at 1.30 A.M. - Rewards, £15 6s.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT RAMSEY

N O V E M B E R 2 0 T H . - RAMSEY,ISLE OF MAN. About seven in themorning, the steam trawler Strathairlie,of Aberdeen, of 193 tons, on her wayfrom Fleetwood to the fishing grounds,ran ashore at Skellig Bay, about threemiles north of Ramsey. The wind wasblowing strongly from the south-south-east,, with a heavy on-shore sea, and thenight was very dark, with rain. Thelaunch of the life-boat by tractor inthe heavy sea and darkness was verydifficult, but the motor life-boat LadyH a r r i s o n got away a t 7 .45 . Shereached the trawler at 8.30 and foundher right in the surf on a flat sandyshore. The seas were sweeping cleanover her, banging her heavily on thesands, and all the time driving herfurther in. The life-boat herself wasnearly standing on end in the heavysurf. In that shallow water i t wasvery difficult and hazardous for her togo near enough to rescue the trawler’screw, and the trawler gave no lee oneither side, where the life-boat couldhave found some shelter from the seas.The coxswain anchored and dropped

86 SERVICES 1941

down on his cable with the enginesrunning. He could not, in the shallowwater, go alongside in the ordinaryway, but he managed to get two linesto the trawler from the life-boat, onefrom her bow and one from her stern.When a sea had passed, the life-boat-men hauled the life-boat near enoughto the trawler for one of the trawler’screw to jump aboard. Then, beforethe next sea came, they hauled herout again by her cable. Again andagain she went in, and again andagain she was within a foot of beingflung right on the trawler. Thosewho were watching from the shoreexpected at any moment to see themcrash together. They knew that ifthey did it would certainly be theend of the trawler, the life-boat andboth crews. But the coxswain handledthe life-boat very skilfully. Thirteentimes he took her without mishap nearenough to the trawler for a man tojump aboard, until all the thirteen menof the crew had been rescued. Thenhe hauled her clear and brought hersafely into Ramsey harbour at 9.36.

It was a hazardous rescue, carriedout with great skill, and the Institutionmade the following rewards :

To COXSWAIN JOHN COMISH, thebronze medal for gallantry, with acopy of the vote on vellum ;

To ERNEST STARKEY, acting motor-mechanic, the thanks of the Institutioninscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain, acting motor-mechanic and each of the five membersof the crew, a reward of £1 1s. inaddition to the ordinary scale rewardof 19s., making a total reward of £2t o e a c h m a n , a n d a n a d d i t i o n a lreward of 10s. to each helper. Stan-dard rewards to the crew and launchers,£11 10s. ; additional rewards to crewand helpers, £16 7s. ; total rewards,£27 17s.

N O V E M B E R 2 1 S T . - ROSSLARE HAR-BOUR, CO. WEXFORD. At 12.55 in themorning the watchman reported rockets andflares from a ship between South Shear Buoyand Tuskar, and at 1.5 the motor life-boatMabel Marion Thompson was launched. Asoutherly gale was blowing, with a very heavysea. One and a half miles S.E. of the SouthShear Buoy the l i fe -boa t found the I r i shsteamer Kerrymore. Her steering gear hadbroken down, and she was labouring heavilyin the seas. The life-boat stood by her until

the weather improved and then returned toh a r b o u r a t 3 . 1 5 A . M . S h e h a d t o l d t h esteamer to signal by morse if she neededhe lp , bu t a t 8 A . M . the s teamer went onher way. - Par t ly pa id permanent c rew.Rewards, £6 1s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 2lST . - LOWESTOFT, SUF-FOLK. At 2.45 P.M. the naval base reportedthat two small fishing boats were in distressjus t ou t s ide the ha rbour , and a t 3 .5 them o t o r l i f e - b o a t M i c h a e l S t e p h e n s w a slaunched. A strong S.E. wind was blowing,wi th a heavy sea . The weather was verythick, with fog and rain. The life-boat foundthat one boat, the Shield, had been smashedto pieces against the South Pier, and hercrew of three men had been rescued from thepier. She then went in search of the otherboat Joy, which had a crew of four, foundher near the harbour bar, and escorted heri n t o h a r b o u r . S h o r t l y a f t e r w a r d s H . M .Drifter Rowantree, in attempting to enterharbour, stranded on a newly made sand-bank about thirty yards outside the entrance,and the life-boat went to her help. She gota wire rope from her, and attempted to pluckher of f , bu t the wire par ted . A tug thencame out and took the Rowantree in tow,with the life-boat standing by just inside theharbour entrance, but after a few minutesthe Rowantree turned completely over. Asshe did so her crew of 13 got on to her up-turned bottom. The life-boat went alongsideat once and rescued ten of the men. She wasthen carried away by the tide, but again gotalongside and rescued the remaining five men.Two of the rescued men were injured. Thelife-boat returned to her station at 4.45 P.M.-An increase of 10s. in the usual money awardwas made to each man. Standard ‘rewardsto crew, £7 9s. ; additional rewards to crew,£4 10s. ; total rewards, £11 19s.

N O V E M B E R 2 2 N D . - S T O R N O W A Y ,ISLAND OF LEWIS. At 8.5 A.M. a messagewas received from a naval base that H.M.M o t o r L a u n c h N o . 2 1 9 , w i t h a c r e w o fthirteen, was ashore on the east side of GoatIsland, in Stornoway harbour, and was indanger of sinking, and at 8.25 the motorlife-boat William and Harriot was launched.A moderate S.S.E. gale was blowing, with arough sea and heavy rain. When the life-boatreached the launch she found that five ofthe crew had got on to the island when thelaunch struck, two of them badly injured.The life-boat got a rope to the launch andattempted to tow her off, but the rope broke.She then got another f rom the launch toH.M. Trawler Harlech Castle , which wasanchored c lose in shore , and the t rawlersucceeded in towing the launch of f . Thelife-boat stood by until the launch was safelyberthed in the harbour, and then, taking amedical officer on board, returned to GoatIsland and brought off the five men. Sher e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 1 1 . 1 5 A . M . -Rewards, £3 16s.

N O V E M B E R 2 2 N D . - WICKLOW. At 10in the morning distress signals were made

SERVICES 1941 87

b y t h e m o t o r s c h o o n e r W i n d e r m e r e , o fArklow, a mile N.N.E. of Wicklow pier, andt h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a t L a d y K y l s a n t w a slaunched immediately. A strong S.S.E. galewas blowing, with a very heavy sea. Thelife-boat found the Windermere lying to withher only anchor down. She had lost her otheranchor the night before in Arklow Bay. Thelife-boat took off her crew of five, who wereexhausted, landed them, and returned to herstation at 12 noon. - Rewards, £10 4s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 2 2 N D . - BARRA ISLAND,HEBRIDES. During the morning the mailsteamer Lochearn, of Oban, arrived in Castle-bay harbour. A southerly gale was blowing,with a rough sea, and the steamer was unableto make the pier. She had to anchor in theharbour . As the day went on , and thereappeared to be no signs of the gale abating,the captain of the Lochearn asked for thelife-boat, and at 4.45 P.M. the motor life-boatLloyd’s put out and brought ashore fifteenpassengers, including a sick woman. Sher e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 7 . 1 5 P . M . -Rewards, £10 8s. 9d.

N O V E M B E R 2 2 N D . - N E W H A V E N ,SUSSEX. At 7.5 in the evening the navalauthorities asked for the services of the life-boat for a patrol boat which was in diffi-culties near the mouth of the harbour andthe motor life-boat Cecil and Lilian Philpottwas launched at 7.30 P.M. A strong southerlywind was blowing and the sea was choppy.The life-boat found that the vessel was thepatrol boat Joseph, of Dover, with a crew oftwelve on board. She had run aground inthe bight of the breakwater. The strong tidemade the work difficult, but the life-boatsucceeded in getting the boat afloat, andescorted her into harbour. She returned toher station at 11.45 P .M. The life-boat crewwere thanked by the naval officer-in-charge.- Rewards, £17 17s.

NOVEMBER 23RD . - BARROW, LANCA-S H I R E . A t 1 0 . 4 0 i n t h e m o r n i n g t h eWalney coastguard telephoned that a steamtrawler was aground about one and a halfmiles W.S.W. of the coastguard station, andat 10.50 A.M. the motor life-boat N.T. waslaunched. A fresh southerly wind was blow-ing, with a rather heavy swell. The life-boatfound the steam trawler Nordale, of Scar-borough, aground. She had a crew of fifteen,and was laden with fish for Fleetwood. Thelife-boat towed her off and escorted her asfar as the Wyre Light. She then returnedto her station, arriving at 2.15 P.M. - Propertysalvage case.

NOVEMBER 23RD . - KIRKCUDBRIGHT.At 1 .15 P . M . t he Por tpa t r i ck coas tguardreported that fire and smoke had been seensome miles S.S.W. of Ravenshall Point, andfifteen minutes later the Isle of Whithorncoastguard reported that an aeroplane hadcrashed three miles off Garliestown. Themotor life-boat Morison Watson was launcheda t 2 P . M . A m o d e r a t e S . W . w i n d w a s

blowing, with a slight sea. An R.A.F. speedboat had already gone out, had found wreck-age and had picked up the bodies of twoA m e r i c a n a i r m e n . W h e n t h e l i f e - b o a tarrived she helped in a further search, andfound blue prints and four cylinders, whichl a t e r s h e h a n d e d o v e r t o t h e R . A . F . a tGibbhill. The speed boat had now receivedan order by wireless to take the bodies toWhithorn. As she did not know the passagethe life-boat coxswain went aboard to pilother, and the two boats made for Whithorn.After the bodies had been landed they re-turned to their stations, the life-boat arrivingat 6.45 P.M. - Rewards, £12 9s. 3d.

NOVEMBER 24TH. - GREAT YARMOUTHAND GORLESTON, NORFOLK. At 10.15In the morning the naval authorities askedthat the life-boat should be launched to go tothe help of a vessel 15 miles east of Gorleston.The vessel had been attacked by the enemyand was being towed in by two tugs. A lightS.W. wind was blowing, with a moderate sea.The motor life-boat Louise Stephens waslaunched at 10.30 and found that the vesselwas the steamer Blair Nevis. She was nowvery low in the water, but her crew wishedto remain on board. Her captain, however,asked the life-boat to stand by as he had noboats. The life-boat then helped by taking asalvage officer from one of the tugs to theBlair Nevis and by carrying messages to thetug and to a motor launch. Escorted by thelife-boat the Blair Nevis reached YarmouthRoads at about 3.30 P.M., and after standingby for half an hour the life-boat returned toher station at 5.15. - Rewards, £6 4s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 2 4 T H . - W H I T B Y , A N DRUNSWICK, YORKSHIRE. The Whi tbyfishing boats had gone out about 9 in themorning, and a strong S.W. wind had got up,bringing a rough sea. By three in the after-noon all had returned to harbour except thecoble Spray. She had one man and threeboys on board. As no news could be got ofher, the No. 1 motor life-boat Mary AnnHepworth was launched at 3.50, and foundthe Spray six miles away to the north-eastwith her engine broken down and half fullof water. The life-boat took her in tow andbrought he r in to harbour . The Runswickmotor life-boat had also put out, but shewas recalled when it was learned that theS p r a y h a d b e e n t a k e n i n t o W h i t b y . -Rewards : Whi tby , £10 11s . 3d . ; Runs-wick, £15 12s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 27TH. - WELLS, NORFOLK.A t 11.45 P.M. a message came from the coast-guard that an aeroplane was down in thesea three miles N.W. from Wells look-out,and at 12.19 the motor life-boat Royal SilverJubi lee , 1910-1935 was launched. A lightsoutherly breeze was blowing, and the seawas smooth. Dr. E. W. Hicks, the honorarysecretary of the station, went out with thelife-boat. The way down to the sea is by awinding channel fu l l of shoals , which i sdoubly difficult in a time of war when nolights can be shown, and on the way downthe life-boat found an R.A.F. rescue launch,

88 SERVICES 1941

which was also going out, in difficulties. Thecoxswain of the life-boat put his second-coxswain on board the launch to pilot her,and Dr. Hicks also went on board her. Thelaunch then went out to sea, followed by thelife-boat. When she was near to the positiongiven by the coastguard, the launch flashedher lamp and at once a small answering lightappeared. The launch ran down to it andfound a rubber dinghy with six airmen onboard, the crew of a Wellington bomber.The launch rescued them and took the dinghyin tow, and the second coxswain of the life-boat piloted her up the channel again. Thelife-boat saw her returning, and she turnedback, reaching her station again at 3.21 inthe morning. - Rewards, £23 6s. 9d.

NOVEMBER 30TH . - BARMOUTH, MER-I O N E T H S H I R E . D u r i n g t h e a f t e r n o o nseveral Spitfire aeroplanes were flying nearBarmouth, and at 3.40 P.M. the life-boat cox-swain saw one of them dive into the sea.Twenty minutes later the motor life-boatLawrence Ardern, Stockport was launched.A moderate east wind was blowing, but thesea was calm. A mile and a half N.W. ofFairbourne beach the life-boat found a largepatch of oil, a pilot’s seat, a pair of high boots,an oxygen cylinder, an arm rest and otherbits of wreckage. These she brought ashoreand handed to the police, to be given later tothe R.A.F. She returned to her station at8.30 P.M. - Rewards, £12 5s. 3d.

N O V E M B E R 3 0 T H . - A R K L O W , C O .WICKLOW. At 9 .15 P . M . a message wasreceived from the civic guard that a fishingboat was showing distress signals half a mileup the north shore, and at 9.40 P.M. the motorlife-boat Inbhear Mor was launched. A S.E.wind was blowing and the sea was rough.By the light of her searchlight the life-boatfound a local herring drifter anchored closein shore in heavy seas, half a mile from thepier head on the north beach. She had nosa i l s o r engine , on ly oars . The l i fe -boa trescued the three men on board and took theboat in tow. She arrived back at Arklow at10.30 P.M. - Rewards, £13 1s.

The following life-boats were launched, butno services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

N O V E M B E R 1 S T . - K I L L Y B E G S , C O .D O N E G A L . F l a r e s h a d b e e n r e p o r t e dtwelve miles off, but nothing was found.This was the first service call received at,this recently established station, where thel i f e -boa t a r r ived on 24 th Augus t , 1941 . -Rewards, £13 2s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 2ND. - COURTMACSHERRYH A R B O U R , C O . C O R K . A t r a w l e r h a dbeen bombed, but her crew, several of themwounded, were picked up by another trawler.- Rewards, £14 0S. 6d.

NOVEMBER 2ND. - MINEHEAD, SOMER-SET. An aeroplane was reported to havec r a s h e d i n t o t h e s e a . W i t h t h e h e l p o fsoldiers the life-boat was launched, but she

found nothing, and articles subsequentlywashed ashore proved the aeroplane to havebeen a German bomber. - Rewards, £24 3s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 4TH . - FLEETWOOD, ANDBLACKPOOL, LANCASHIRE. Two a i r -men had ba led ou t o f a Br i t i sh Def ian ttrainer aeroplane when its engine failed, butnothing was found, and it was learnt thatthe pilot had come down on shore. Laterthe body of the other airman was washed up.A letter of thanks was received from theSquadron to which the aeroplane belonged.- Rewards, Fleetwood £13 9s., Blackpool£15 10s.

NOVEMBER 5TH. - RHYL, FLINTSHIRE.A British aeroplane was reported to havecrashed into the sea, but nothing could befound. - Rewards, £23 1s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 7TH. - EASTBOURNE, SUS-SEX. A British aeroplane had been seen tocrash into the sea, but a search, in which anAdmiralty boat and aeroplanes took part,found nothing. - Rewards, £16 8s. 3d.

N O V E M B E R 8 T H . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,A B E R D E E N S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e h a dbeen reported down in the sea thirty-sevenmiles in a N.E. direction from Kinnaird Head,but nothing was found. The life-boat was outfor ten and a half hours. - Rewards, £23 19s.

THREE LIFE-BOATMEN OVERBOARD

NOVEMBER 9TH - 10TH. - MONTROSE, ANDB R O U G H T Y F E R R Y , A N G U S . S h o r t l yafter six in the evening an Admiralty tugwas bombed f rom the a i r . The Montrosecoxswain saw the bombs dropping. Thinkingthat the life-boat would be needed he wentto the station, and the crew stood by. At6.45 a message came that the tug was in nodanger of sinking, but the crew was asked tocontinue standing by. Then a request fromthe resident naval officer was received that thelife-boat should be launched, and at 8.30the motor life-boat The Good Hope put out.A gale was blowing from the S.E. No leadinglights could be shown, and the coxswain hadto take her down stream trusting to his ownknowledge. He knew that to cross the bari n t h a t w e a t h e r w o u l d b e a h a z a r d o u sbus iness . A very heavy sea was ro l l ingi n . H e r e d u c e d s p e e d u n t i l h e m e t t h ebreakers and then went full speed ahead toclear them. The life-boat shipped some veryheavy seas, but she came safely through andh e a d e d t o t h e N . E . T h e t u g h a d b e e nreported two miles away, and the life-boatsaw a light flashing which she took to be thetug. If it was in fact her light the coxswainsaw she must be so c lose inshore tha t i twould be impossible for the life-boat to reachher, and he tried to get in touch with theshore by wireless, as, in the heavy seas, it wasimpossible to make out the shore signalswhich were being flashed to the life-boat.He could get no reply.

All attempts to get in touch with the shorefa i led , and to a t t empt to en te r harbouragain in the heavy sea and in the darkness,

SERVICES 1941 8 9

with no leading lights being shown, wouldhave been too great a risk. The coxswaindecided to remain outside, steaming slowlyinto the teeth of the gale in order to keep hisposition. With no shore navigation lights toguide him he had lost the entrance to theharbour, and at one time during the nighthe was surprised to find that the life-boat wasnear rocks in heavy broken water. He puther at full speed ahead for fifteen minutes toget her off the land. and then. reducing speedagain to little less ‘than half,’ he kept her attha t th rough the hours o f the n igh t . Thecoxswain was at the wheel until about threein the morning. Then the second-coxswaintook his place until six, still keeping the boat’shead to the wind. Then the bowman tookthe wheel until dawn, which began about aquarter to eight.

The coxswain then headed towards theland, but could not see it. Until ten in themorning he steered to the north-west. Henow had a man on each side keeping a sharplook-out for breakers, for though the landcould still not be seen, he knew that it mustbe close as the sea had begun to break veryheavily. At last he caught sight of GourdonHill about three miles away, and knew hewas off Johnshaven. He altered course andarrived off Montrose harbour about noon.He again tried to get in touch with the shoreby wireless, but failed. He could see nothingof the Admiralty tug, and thought that, ifshe had gone ashore, she must now be acomplete wreck. He could see that the seaat the entrance to the harbour was so heavythat it would be dangerous to attempt toenter. The alternative was to try to makethe Firth of Forth, but in that course therewas the danger of running out of fuel andbeing left to drift outside the firth throughanother night. He decided to take the riskof entering Montrose harbour. The gale wasstill blowing from the S.E. and a mountainoussea was running. He put out the drogue andheaded for the harbour. When he was abouta mile off the bar the seas began to breakwith terrific force, but the life-boat continuedher course without trouble until she wasabout 100 yards f rom the Anna t Buoy .Then a terrific sea struck her, and the nextthing the coxswain knew he was being drawnunder water. When he came up he could seetwo members of the crew (the bowman andhis son) floating about twenty yards nearerthe shore, and the life-boat herself floatingstill further inshore, among the breakers, buthe could not see if anyone was on board.

The life-boat had been struck twice. Thefirst sea had lifted her out of the water. Thesecond, c rashing down on the deck , hadcarried away the coxswain’s safety straps,and washed him and two others out of theboat. Though it did not capsize her, it sub-merged her. The second-coxswain, who hadbeen standing by the coxswain, was thrownheavily into the bottom of the boat, and wasright under water. As the boat’s stern cameup he found that he was hanging on to thes teer ing rod wi th the r igh t hand and thegunwale with his left. He had been cut aboutthe head and face, but he had not lost hiss e n s e s . H e t h o u g h t t h a t t h e l i f e - b o a t ’ s

stern had been under water for about fifteenseconds. The engines were still running and,as the water cleared off, the life-boat gatheredheadway. The second-coxswain could seethe men in the water about two lengthsastern, but in that heavy sea, and with thedrogue out, it was impossible to turn to pickthem up, and the life-boat was now so closeto the shore that she twice touched bottomwhile the second-coxswain was bringing herback into the channel. He continued his wayup harbour, and as he approached the piershouted to the honorary secretary, who waswaiting there, that three men had been sweptoverboard, that they might be washed ashoreand that he must get a doctor. It was then12.45 P.M. on November 10th, and the life-boa t had been a t sea for s ix teen hours .The crew landed, bruised and all sufferingfrom shock.

Meanwhile the three men in the water hadbeen so buffeted by the seas - as the coxswainsaid, “ churned over and over “ - that, whenthey saw the life-boat go on her way, theygave up hope of being saved, but the tidecarried them nearer the shore, their life-beltskept them afloat, and all three reached land,still conscious, but exhausted and dazed.The coxswain was the last of the three. Hehad been in the water fully an hour, and hadbeen car r ied a mi le by the t ide . He jus tmanaged to crawl up the beach, saw two menwho were searching for him, and then lostconsciousness. Dr. Alexander Stephen waswaiting ready on the beach when they werewashed up , and a f te r he had a t tended tothem, they were taken to hospital, wherethey remained for a few days.

BROUGHTY FERRY

At 4.37 in the morning of November 10th,t h a t i s , j u s t o v e r e i g h t h o u r s a f t e r t h eMontrose life-boat had gone out, the BroughtyFerry station was informed that the Montroselife-boat had gone to the help of an Admiraltytug ashore near North Esk, but that she hadnot kept touch with the shore. The BroughtyFerry crew were asked to stand by. Anothermessage came ask ing them to go out tosearch for the Montrose life-boat, and sayingthat the coastguard life-saving apparatuswas standing by near the wreck of the tug.At 6.55 the motor life-boat Mona put out.She saw the wreck of the tug near North Esk,and realized that the rescue of its crew couldonly be done by the life-saving apparatus.She could not get within two miles of her. Shesearched Montrose bay, but could find nosign of the Montrose life-boat. Her coxswainassumed that she must have made for herstation and he himself made for the Tay.The l i fe -boa t a r r ived of f the bar abouttwo in the afternoon, but in that heavy seai t was hopeless to a t tempt to go in . Thecoxswain then headed for May Island wherehe arrived at 5 P.M. He could get no answerto his signals, so he decided to take shelterin the Firth of Forth, and a naval vessel senthim to anchorage off Methil at 8.45 in theevening. There the life-boat remained untilnine next morning when she put into Methilharbour. She had then been 26 hours at sea.

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She stayed there until 10.25 A.M. the followingd a y , w h e n s h e r e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n ,arriving at 4.30 in the afternoon.

For both life-boats it had been a long andvery arduous service and the Institution madethe following rewards :

MONTROSE

T o t h e c o x s w a i n a n d t h e t w o o t h e rmembers of the crew who were washed over-board, a reward of £2 16s. 6d. in addition tothe ordinary scale reward of £2 16s. 6d.,making a reward of £5 13s. to each man ;

To each of the other five members of thecrew, a reward of £2 in add i t ion to theordinary scale reward of £2 16s. 6d., making£4 16s. 6d. to each man ;

To the launchers additional rewards amount-ing to £1 10s. ;

To the coxswain and six other members ofthe crew, exc luding the fu l l - t ime motor-mechanic, compensation for loss of earnings,amounting to £64 19s. 8d. ;

To the coxswain and each of the sevenmembers of the crew, each of whom los tclothing and other belongings, compensationamounting to £58 4s. ;

Standard rewards to crew and launchers,£25 14s. ; additional rewards to crew andlaunchers, £l9 19s. 6d. ; compensation for lossof earnings, £64 19s. 8d. ; compensation forloss of belongings, £58 4s.. Total rewardsand compensation to crew and launchers.£168 17s. 2d.

The Ins t i tu t ion sen t spec ia l l e t te rs ofthanks to Mr. David Wyllie, the honorarysecre ta ry of the s ta t ion , Dr . AlexanderStephen, to whose care the three men washedashore owed their lives, and who refused totake any fee for his services, Provost AndrewTodd, the chairman of the branch, the navalofficer-in-charge, and the police.

BROUGHTY FERRY

To the coxswain and each of the otherseven members of the crew a reward of £2in addition to the ordinary scale reward of£3 15s. 6d., making a reward of £5 15s. 6d.to each man. Standard rewards to crew andlaunchers, £25 7s. ; additional rewards tocrew, £16 ; other expenses, £12 14s. ; totalrewards to crew and launchers, and expenses,£54 1s.

Total rewards and expenses for the twolife-boats, £222 18s. 2d.

NOVEMBER 9TH . - DONAGHADEE, CO.D O W N . A v e s s e l h a d b e e n r e p o r t e d i ndistress, but no trace of her could be found.- Rewards, £14 7s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 1 0 T H . - T E N B Y , P E M -BROKESHIRE. A s igna l and a red l igh thad been reported, but nothing was found.-Rewards, £15 19s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 1 1 T H . - S T R O M N E S S ,O R K N E Y S . D i s t r e s s s i g n a l s h a d b e e nreported two to three miles S.E. of BurghHead, Stronsay, but on calling in at Kirkwall,

the life-boat found that her services were notneeded, as no trace of any vessel could beseen. - Rewards, £23 12s.

NOVEMBER 14TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLE-SEY. Two red flares had been seen, but thelife-boat found nothing. - Rewards, £2 17s.

N O V E M B E R 1 5 T H . - R H Y L , F L I N T -S H I R E , A N D H O Y L A K E , C H E S H I R E .A British aeroplane had been reported downin the sea, but the life-boats found nothing,and it was learned later that no aeroplane wasmissing. - Rewards : Rhyl, £13 2s. ; Hoy-lake, £30 4s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 6 T H . - S U N D E R L A N D ,D U R H A M . A s h i p h a d b e e n r e p o r t e ddrifting, but the only vessel found had hera n c h o r d o w n a n d d i d n o t n e e d h e l p . -Rewards, £15 7s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 16TH . - BARROW, LANCA-SHIRE. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £6 3s.

NOVEMBER 16TH . - RUNSWICK, SCAR-BOROUGH, AND WHITBY, YORKSHIRE.A British bomber aeroplane had been re-ported down some miles out at sea, and lateri t was repor ted tha t another bomber wasdown, but nothing was found by the life-boats, although the Runswick crew saw aGerman raider brought down. Scarboroughlife-boat saw and reported several floatingmines . Three Whi tby f i sh ing boats a l sojoined in the search. - Rewards : Whitby,£7 6s 6d . ; Runswick , £14 18s . ; Sca r -borough, £20 13s. 6d.

(See Whitby, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 104.)

N O V E M B E R 1 7 T H . - C R O M E R , N O R -FOLK. A British airman was reported tohave baled out into the sea, but nothing wasfound. - Rewards, £28 0s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 1 9 T H . - CLOUGHEY, CO.DOWN. Red l igh ts , apparen t ly d roppedfrom an aeroplane, had been reported, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £21 13s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 2 l S T . - R O S S L A R E H A R -BOUR, CO. WEXFORD. A f i sh ing boa thad been repor ted overdue , bu t she wasfound ashore above high water mark withher crew safe. - Partly paid permanent crew.Rewards, £3 1s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 2 2 N D . - P E T E R H E A DA B E R D E E N S H I R E . A w o r k m a n f r o m ashipbuilding yard had reported that a boathad capsized off North Head, Peterhead, butnothing was found, and it was thought thatwhat had been seen was the Broughty Ferrylife-boat making for Fraserburgh. - Rewards,£6 14s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 2 3 R D . - S T O R N O W A Y ,I S L A N D O F L E W I S . T h e N o r w e g i a nsteamer Ledual had gone ashore, but wasrefloated. - Rewards, £11 5s.

SERVICES 1941 91

NOVEMBER 24TH. - KILMORE, CO.WEXFORD. A s teamer was repor ted tohave been attacked by enemy aeroplanes,but nothing was found. - Rewards, £40 5s.

N O V E M B E R 2 6 T H . - S T O R N O W A Y ,I S L A N D O F L E W I S . A n a v a l t u g h a dg o n e a s h o r e , b u t r e f l o a t e d . - R e w a r d s ,£6 13s.

N O V E M B E R 2 6 T H . - S T . D A V I D ’ S ,P E M B R O K E S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e h a dbeen reported down in the sea, but nothingcould be found. - Rewards, £12 6s.

NOVEMBER 27TH . - NEWCASTLE, CO.DOWN. Red flares had been reported, butnothing could be found. - Rewards, £42 8s.

N O V E M B E R 2 8 T H . - C R O M E R , N O R -FOLK. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the Sea, but the life-boat was re-called by wireless, as the wrong position hadbeen given. - Rewards, £13 6s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 2 9 T H . - P E E L I S L E O FMAN. It had been reported that an aero-plane was missing and that a body with al i fe - jacke t was f loa t ing in the sea , bu tnothing could be found. - Rewards, £17 6s. 3d.

DECEMBER

Launches 34. Lives rescued 34.

D E C E M B E R 1 S T . - L E R W I C K , S H E T -LANDS. Shortly before mid-day the navalauthorities telephoned that the ten-year-olddaughter of the lightkeeper at South Light-house, Fair Isle, was in urgent need of adoctor. A S. by W. gale was blowing, witha heavy sea, and it was impossible to sendany other vessel. The motor life-boat LadyJane and Martha Ryland left at 12.40 P.M.,and reached Fair Isle at 6.30 P .M. She tookon board the girl Margaret Smith, and herf a t h e r a n d m o t h e r , a n d l a n d e d t h e m a tLerwick at 12.5 A.M . next morning. Thegirl was taken to hospital and was operatedon at once. The surgeon afterwards thankedthe life-boat crew and said that their prompti-tude had enabled him to save the girl’s life.Later she was killed in an air-raid. - Noexpense to the Institution.

D E C E M B E R 3 R D . - R O S S L A R E H A R -B O U R , C O . W E X F O R D . A t a b o u t11.20 P .M. on the 2nd December a terrificexplosion was heard, followed by a series ofsmall explosions, and then rockets were seengoing up f rom the Tuskar Rock Ligh t -house. The motor life-boat Mabel MarionThompson was launched at 12.45 on themorning of December 3rd . Mr . W. J . B .Moncas, the secretary of the branch, wentwith her. A light wind was blowing from thesouth, and the sea was calm. As the life-boat travelled towards the lighthouse hercrew could see repea ted SOS s igna ls inmorse . She had taken her board ing boa twith her, and Mr. Moncas and two of thecrew landed from it on the rock. A mine,

which the three keepers of the lighthouse had,f o r t w o h o u r s , w a t c h e d d r i f t i n g s l o w l ytowards them, had struck the base of the light-house and exploded. One of the men was onduty in the tower, and the other two werein the kitchen. The explosion had brokenthe glass in the lantern 100 ft. above the rock,and had put out the light. It had knockeddown and dazed the man who was on dutyin the tower . I t had wrecked the l iv ingquarters and seriously injured the two menwho were in the kitchen. One of them hadmultiple injuries, was unconscious and hadhad all his clothes blown off him. The otherwas conscious, but severely injured. Theuninjured man had dragged them clear ofthe wreckage of the living rooms and, withgreat difficulty, they were lifted into thelife-boat. Leaving one of her crew to staywith the one uninjured keeper, the life-boatreturned to her station, arriving at 2.15 inthe morning. The injured men were sent tohospital but two hours later one of them died.The Institution sent a letter of thanks toMr. Moncas and the crew, and the Institutionwas warmly thanked by the Commissionersof Irish Lights. At the funeral of the light-keeper the Institution was represented by thedistrict inspector, Lieut-Commander S. W.Tansley, R.D., R.N.R. - Partly paid per-manent crew. Rewards, £4 4s.

D E C E M B E R 6 T H . - F L A M B O R O U G H ,Y O R K S H I R E . I n t h e e a r l y m o r n i n gseveral fishing cobles had put out to sea,but shortly afterwards the weather began toget bad, and several of the boats on reachingthe fishing grounds, turned back. By 1 P .M.a S.W. gale was blowing, with a rough sea,a n d a t 3 P . M . a s o n e o f t h e b o a t s , t h eBoy's Own, had not returned, the motor life-boa t El i zabe th and A lb ina Wh i t l e y waslaunched to search for her. She found hera t 4 . 1 5 P . M . , about s ix mi les of f F lam-borough Head , making very bad wea therand in a precarious position. Her crew offour were baling all the time. The life-boatthrew a l ine to her and towed her back ,arriving at 5.30 P.M. - Rewards, £19 5s. 3d.

D E C E M B E R 7 T H . - T H U R S O , C A I T H -N E S S - S H I R E . I n t h e e a r l y m o r n i n g anorth-westerly gale, between 80-90 miles anhour, was blowing, with a very heavy seaand showers of rain and hail, and at 2.30 asteam drifter, with no one on board, brokeadr i f t . She dr i f ted towards the l i fe -boat ,lying at moorings, carried away one of hermoor ing ropes and bent four s tanchions .Together the two vessels continued to driftuntil they came alongside a steamer. Therethey were secured. At 9.15 in the morningthe life-boat crew were summoned, and theywent out and moored the life-boat in a vacantberth. At eleven in the morning it could beseen that a steamer in Scrabster roadstead,the S.S. Sado, of Haugesund, Norway, was indifficulties. She was a vessel of over 900 tons,laden with cement for Scrabster, and had acrew of 17. A few minutes later she was heardblowing her siren for help, and at 11.45 A.M.the motor life-boat H.C.J. slipped her moor-ings and went to the Sado’s help. As she

92 SERVICES 1941

was going out be tween the p ie r heads , asquall struck her and she scraped againstone of them, damaging the edge of the deck.She found that the steamer had lost both heranchors and was drifting. The coxswain putone of his crew on board and, with the life-boat standing by, the Sado was taken intoharbour and moored. It was then 12.30 P .M.Two hours later the steamer broke all herropes and went aground. - Property salvagecase.

D E C E M B E R 8 T H . - R O S S L A R E H A R -BOUR, CO. WEXFORD. At 5 .45 A . M . amessage was received from the military look-out post at Greenore Point that rockets andflares had been seen, and at 6.35 A.M. themotor lift-boat Mabel Marion Thompson waslaunched. A light S.W. breeze was blowingand the sea was smooth. The life-boat sawthe SOS signal being flashed, made for it,and , when two mi les S . by E . of HaughBuoy found a ship’s boat with eleven menon board. They were the crew of the steamerGertie, of Liverpool, which had struck a mineand sank near the Tuskar Rock, and theyhad flashed the signal with an electric torch.The life-boat rescued the eleven men andtook their boat in tow. The men were un-injured, but very wet and cold, and theywere given rum. The life-boat landed themat Rosslare pier, and returned to her stationat 8.10 A.M. - Partly paid permanent crew.Rewards, £3 10s. 6d.

DECEMBER 9TH. - AITH, SHETLANDS. Amessage was received from Dr. Cruickshank,of Walls, that he had had an urgent call togo to Foula Island. The weather was toorough for the ferry boat to make the passage,and no other vessel was available on themain land , so he asked tha t the l i fe -boa tshould take him. The life-boat crew wereassembled and stood by, but meanwhile theweather had got rapidly worse, and whenFoula was rung up i t was l ea rn t tha t noboat could land on the i s land in the in -creasingly heavy seas and unfavourable wind.On the two following days a whole gale wasblowing, and the heavy seas still made landingat Foula impossible. By the 9th the weatherhad moderated, and at 10 A.M . the motorlife-boat The Rankin was launched, withDr. Cruickshank on board. A whole galewas still blowing, with a very heavy sea andsqualls of sleet. The life-boat reached Foulaat 2.30 in the afternoon and found that thepatient, a woman, was too ill to be takenthrough the rough seas, so it was decidedthat she should shelter in the lee of the islandfor the night. By next morning the seas hadmoderated, the woman was taken on board,and the life-boat landed her at Aith, whereshe was taken to hospital for an operation.The life-boat returned to her station at 2 P.M.on the 10th December. - Expenses defrayedby the Department of Health for Scotland.

D E C E M B E R 2 3 R D . - WHITBY, YORK-SHIRE. At about 10.10 A.M. the coastguardtelephoned that the local motor fishing cobleZephyr, with a crew of three, was flyingdistress signals about one and a half miles

N.E. of Whitby Rock Buoy, and at 10.30 A.M.the No. 1 motor life-boat Mary Ann Hep-worth was launched. A fresh N.W. breezewas blowing, with a ground swell. The life-boat found the Zephyr disabled with a roperound the propeller, took her in tow andbrough t he r in to Whi tby a t 11 .40 A . M . -Rewards, £7 6s. 6d.

DECEMBER 25TH . - LOWESTOFT SUF-FOLK. At 3.45 P.M. a man told the life-boat,coxswain that a small boat was in difficultiesin the South Roads, and this was reportedto the naval duty officer who kept the boatunder observation. Later a message camef r o m t h e n a v a l b a s e t h a t t h e b o a t w a sdrifting out to sea, and that the occupantswere waving a flag. At 4.15 P.M. the motor life-boat Michael Stephens was launched. A strongN. by E. wind was blowing, with a rough sea.The life-boat reached the small boat four milessouth of Lowestoft, and found her half full ofwater, with two exhausted men aboard. Thelife-boat took them off and, with their boat intow, made for Lowestoft,, but a sea struckthe small boat and broke her painter, andshe had to be abandoned. The l i fe -boa ta r r ived back a t he r s t a t ion a t 5 .30 P M -Rewards. £7 18s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 2 5 T H . - H A R T L E P O O L ,DURHAM. At 6.50 P.M. on Christmas Dayinformation was received, through the coast-guard, that distress signals had been seen,and the life-boat crew were assembled. At7.35 P.M. the naval authorities reported thatan Admiralty tug was being sent out andasked that the life-boat should go also, andthe motor lifeboat The Princess Royal (CivilService No. 7) was launched at 8 P .M . Amodera te N.N.W. wind was b lowing andthe sea was rough. Three miles N. of Heughthe life-boat found the S.S. Charles Parsons,of London, with a crew of twenty on board.She had been bombed by a German aero-plane, was making water and was not undercontrol. One of her crew had had his legsbroken and he was transferred to the life-boat. She then sent a wireless message to theloca l nava l wi re less s ta t ion ask ing for adoctor and ambulance to be in readiness,and, at the captain’s request,, she also askedfor two tugs to help the steamer into port.She landed the injured man at 9.40 P.M. andreturned to the Charles Parsons. She stoodby her until the tugs towed her into Hartle-p o o l a t 1 . 3 0 n e x t m o r n i n g . - R e w a r d s ,£15 11s.

The following life-boats were launched, butno services were rendered for the reasonsgiven :

DECEMBER 1ST. - ST. IVES, CORNWALL.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea, but neither wreckage nor survivors couldbe found. - Rewards, £10.

D E C E M B E R 4 T H . - FERRYSIDE, CAR-MARTHENSHIRE. A motor boa t ownedby mooring contractors to the R.A.F. wasoverdue, but later she was reported to besafe. - Rewards, £16 19s.

SERVICES 1941 93

D E C E M B E R 5 T H . - HASTINGS, KENT.A red light had been reported on the wateroff Bexhill, but nothing could be found.-Rewards, £44 17s.

D E C E M B E R 6 T H . - DUN LAOGHAIRE,CO. DUBLIN. Rockets and shell-fire hadbeen reported, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £14 5s. 6d.

DECEMBER 6TH. - PORTPATRICK, WIG-TOWNSHIRE. A seap lane had been re -ported down in the sea, but was later reportedto be safe. While searching for her, the life-boat found a barrage balloon partly deflated,but in the heavy seas it was impossible tosalve it. - Rewards, £5 14s.

D E C E M B E R 7 T H . - A P P L E D O R E ,DEVON. An aeroplane was repor ted tohave crashed into the sea, but the life-boatw a s r e c a l l e d b y t h e n a v a l a u t h o r i t i e s . -Rewards, £15 12s.

DECEMBER 8TH . - BROUGHTY FERRY,ANGUS. An R.A.F. seaplane had failed tore turn to i t s base , bu t no th ing could befound. - Rewards, £13 1s.

DECEMBER 8TH. - MONTROSE, ANGUS.At 5.15 in the evening the coastguard atUsan reported that four Admiralty trawlerswere being bombed by enemy aeroplanes twomiles to the S.E., and the motor life-boatThe Good Hope put out at 5.35. She reachedthe pos i t ion g iven by the coas tguard 25minutes later. Two of the trawlers had beensunk, but they must have gone down veryquick ly for there was no t race of them.Aeroplanes dropped flares, and by their lightthe life-boat continued her search for overfive hours, but she found nothing. If therewere any survivors from the two trawlers,they must have been picked up by the othertwo, which had gone on their way to theirbase before the life-boat arrived. - Rewards,£14 8s.

D E C E M B E R 1 0 T H . - M O E L F R E ,A N G L E S E Y . A n u n k n o w n d r i f t e r h a dstruck a mine, but the life-boat found onlywreckage. - Rewards, £7 1s.

DECEMBER 12TH . - SHOREHAM HAR-BOUR, SUSSEX. An aeroplane, which hadcaught fire, was reported to have come downin the sea, but naval rescue boats had alreadygone to its help. - Rewards, £15 7s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 1 8 T H . - A B E R D E E N . A naeroplane was reported to have crashed int h e s e a , b u t n o t h i n g c o u l d b e f o u n d . -Rewards, £15 9s.

DECEMBER 10TH . - BARMOUTH, MER-IONETHSHIRE. An ae rop lane had beenreported down in the sea off Pwllheli, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £29 3s.

DECEMBER 19TH . - PORTHDINLLAEN,C A E R N A R V O N S H I R E . A t a n k e r h a d

been attacked by German aeroplanes andset on fire, and the life-boat and naval motorboats went as near to her as possible, butsaw no sign of anyone on board. - Rewards,£15 10s.

D E C E M B E R 2 0 T H . - S T O R N O W A Y ,ISLAND OF LEWIS. H.M. Tank LandingCraft 144 was in danger, as her engine hadbroken down, but she was taken in tow byone of H.M. trawlers. - Rewards, £6 13s.

DECEMBER 20TH. - ARBROATH, ANGUS.A pilot had baled out from a British aero-p lane , bu t he was p icked up by a nava lvessel. - Rewards, £7 15s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 2 2 N D . - K I L M O R E , A N DROSSLARE HARBOUR, CO. WEXFORD.An aeroplane was reported to have crashedinto the sea, and red and green flares couldbe seen apparently at sea level, but nothingwas found. - Rewards : Kilmore, £33 14s. 6d ;Rosslare Harbour, partly paid permanentcrew, £4 15s.

D E C E M B E R 2 3 R D . - F I L E Y , Y O R K -SHIRE. Lights had been reported flashingon the wate r and i t was thought tha t anaeroplane might be down, but nothing couldbe found. - Rewards, £23 0s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 2 7 T H . - H A R T L E P O O L ,DURHAM, AND REDCAR, YORKSHIRE.Flares had been seen and an aeroplane wasbelieved to be in the sea, but the life-boatsfound nothing, and later it was learned thata German aeroplane had been lost, with hercrew. - Rewards : Hartlepool, £15 11s. ;Redcar, £18 12s.

DECEMBER 28TH . - DUN LAOGHAIRE,CO. DUBLIN. A small steamer had beenreported drifting in need of help, but thelife-boat found that she was a trawler atanchor, and that what had been thought tobe a red flag on her fore stay, as a signal ofdistress, was the flag on a Dan buoy whichshe was carrying forward. - Rewards, £7 11s.

DECEMBER 29TH. - BALLYCOTTON, CO.CORK. F lares , fo l lowed by rocke ts , hadbeen reported, and the noise of aeroplaneshad been heard , bu t no th ing was found. -Rewards, £7.

D E C E M B E R 2 9 T H . - SCARBOROUGH,Y O R K S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nreported down, but only patches of oil werefound. - Rewards, £44 19s.

DECEMBER 30TH. - DONAGHADEE, CO.DOWN. The sound of a horn and shoutsfor help were heard at eight in the evening,and the life-boat put out at once. She sawa ship’s life-boat with seven men on board,b u t b e f o r e s h e r e a c h e d t h e m a n R . A . F .rescue boat got ahead of her and rescued theseven men. Their ship had struck a rockand had sunk. - Rewards, £13 7s. 6d.

Services by Shore-boatsJANUARY MEETING

ILFRACOMBE , DEVON . At about 5 in theafternoon of the 21st June, 1940, the coast-guard reported a ship’s boat drifting somef ive mi les nor th of I l f racombe. A l ightN.N.W. wind was blowing, with a slight sea.The honorary secre ta ry sen t ou t a motorfishing boat, manned by three life-boatmen.They picked up the boat, which had no oneon board , and brought i t to I l f racombeHarbour. - Rewards, £1 10s., 4s. for fuel used,and 4s. to coxswain for loss of earnings.

ISLAY , ARGYLLSHIRE . At about 1.30 inthe afternoon of the 6th August, 1940, thecoastguard received information from PortEllen that a boat was drifting in at Soldier’sRock, Grafdale. Port Askaig life-boat wassome distance away, and a motor boat wassent out from Port Charlotte by the coast-guard, manned by two men accompanied bya police officer. The drifting boat was foundto be a ra f t . No one was on board . Theboat towed the raft ashore. - Rewards, £1 10s.and 10s. for fuel used.

PORT ST . MARY , ISLE OF MAN . Shortlyafter 4 in the afternoon of the 7th December,1940, an aeroplane crashed off LangnessPoint. A strong gale was blowing from theN.E., with a very rough sea. Three boatsp u t o u t t o s e a r c h , t h e P o r t S t . M a r ymotor life-boat, the motor trawler MargaretRose, manned by seven men, and a 14-feetopen boat from Langness Lighthouse mannedby the principal keeper, W. Quillan, and abus driver, Eric Hudson, who volunteeredto go. They had to bail constantly, and theirboat was in danger of sinking. When theysaw the trawler and life-boat approachingthey returned to the lighthouse. Their actionwas very brave, and they ran great risk insuch a boat in that heavy sea. Nothing wasfound of the aeroplane. - Rewards : £2 10s.a n d a f r a m e d l e t t e r o f t h a n k s e a c h t oMr. W. Quillan and Mr. E. Hudson : £7 tothe crew of the trawler, and £2 for fuel used.Total rewards. £14.

(See Port St. Mary, “ Accounts of Servicesby Life-boats,” page 139.)

H ILBRE , CHESHIRE . At 3.10 P .M . on the20th December, 1940, an aeroplane was seento dive into the sea near Hilbre Point. Aparty of soldiers was on the beach, and anofficer from this party, two other soldiers anda fisherman, got a boat from the Yacht Cluband pu t ou t . They rescued one a i rman .Later the coastguard recovered the body ofanother from the aeroplane. - Rewards, aletter of thanks to the officer and £1 10s. tothe three men.

C A I S T E R , N O R F O L K . About one in themorn ing of the 28 th December , 1940 , a

Wellington bomber crashed into the sea amile north of the life-boat station and 200yards f rom the shore . A N.W. wind wasblowing and there was broken water at thescene of the crash. The life-boat coxswain,two other life-boatmen and a soldier put outin a small boat at 1.25. With some difficultythey got alongside the aeroplane, only to findthat the crew of six had left. All six hadswum for the shore, and three had reached it.The small boat searched unsuccessfully fortwo hours and then returned. - Rewards, £4and 10s. for broken stern sheets.

FEBRUARY MEETING

PORT WEMYSS , ISLAY . The S.S. Agate,laden with coal and bound from Poole toBelfast, lost touch with her convoy duringthick weather and ran ashore at Carn Pointon the west coast of Islay at 4.30 in themorning of the 30th December, 1940. Thecaptain and his crew of fourteen abandonedship and made along the coast of Islay in theship’s boat. At 10 o’clock the boat, whichwas three miles off shore, was seen from PortWemyss, and three men put off in a motorboat . They found the men in the sh ip’sboat very exhausted, and towed their boatthrough a heavy swell into smooth water.There they took the most exhausted men intotheir own boat and guided the remainder inthe ship’s boat to the shore. The coast atthis place is treacherous, with swift tides,and it is almost certain that the shipwreckedmen would not have reached safety withouthelp. - Rewards, £2 17s.

ILFRACOMBE, DEVON. At mid-day on the12th January, 1941, the coastguard reportedtwo raf t s adr i f t o f f I l f racombe, and thehonorary secretary of the life-boat stationsent off three life-boatmen in a motor boat.They brought in both rafts. At 10.15 nextmorning they put off again and found andtowed in a third raft. No men, or bodies,were found. - Rewards, £3 15s. and 15s. forfuel used.

PORTHDINLLAEN, CAERNARVONSHIRE. Thefishing boat Snowdrop, of Aberystwyth, hadput in at Porthdinllaen to await the floodtide and, owing to bad weather, had remainedthere. A strong easterly wind was blowing,with a choppy short sea. On the evening ofthe 14th January, 1941, shouts were heardfrom her, and three men went out in a rowingboat to find that the Snowdrop was driftingtowards the rocks . They go t ou t ano theranchor, and then brought ashore the crew oftwo. Later, as the flood tide made and themoon came out, it was seen that the Snowdropwas again drifting, and two men, and theSnowdrop’s own crew, relaunched the rowingboat, warped the Snowdrop out of dangera n d b r o u g h t h e r i n t o h a r b o u r s a f e l y . -Rewards, £1 10s.

9 4

SERVICES 1941 95

MARCH MEETING

SANDAY , ORKNEYS . On the morning ofthe 10th December, 1940, flares were seenby the coastguard from the Holms of Ire,where the trawler Alex Hastie, of Aberdeen,had gone ashore, with a crew of ten aboard.A fresh S.W. wind was blowing, with a heavyswell and an ebbing tide. The coastguardlife-saving apparatus could not get acrossthe sounds until 10 A.M., but in the mean-time four men put off in a 10 1/2 feet boat.They landed on the lee side of the OuterHolm, walked the remainder of the waythrough long grass, and succeeded in res-cuing one of the crew before the L.S .A.arrived. These men then assisted the L.S.A.,and looked after one of the crew who hadbeen hurt. The trawler was abandoned andbecame a total wreck. The Stromness life-boat was sent out, but the rescue work hadbeen completed before she could reach theposition. - Rewards, £3.

(See Stromness, “ Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 139.)

APRIL MEETING

SC O U R I E , S U T H E R L A N D . On the a f te r -n o o n o f t h e 2 6 t h F e b r u a r y , 1 9 4 1 , amotor boat, with a crew of four, went outl ine- f i sh ing near Handa I s land . On thefollowing morning the boat had not returned,and enquiries were made, without result.About 10.45 a bonfire was seen on HandaIsland and a motor boat, manned by twomen, put off from Scourie. They found thefour missing men on the island, and broughtthem back to Scourie. - Rewards, £1 5s. and14s. 6d. for fuel used.

CRUDEN BAY, ABERDEENSHIRE. At about9 in the morning of the 7th March, 1941,information was received that an aeroplanehad crashed in the sea off Whinnyfold, andthe coastguard sent out a motor boat. Shefound nothing. A destroyer picked up onea i rman. Three o thers were miss ing . ThePeterhead motor life-boat also searched, butwithout success. - Rewards, £3.

(See Peterhead, “ Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 40.)

ST. ANDREWS, FIFESHIRE. On the eveningof the 17th March, 1941, three Polish soldiers,who were out in a small rowing boat, wereseen to be in difficulties. The tide was ebbing,and an increasing light S.S.E. wind wasblowing, with a slight swell. A coastguardand three other men put out in a pulling boat,found the soldiers completely exhausted, andbrought them and their boat into St. Andrews.- Rewards, £2.

PORT ISAAC, CORNWALL. At about 4.50 inthe afternoon of the 19th March, 1941, aGladiator aeroplane fell into the sea aboutone and a half miles W.N.W. of KellandHead. The sea was smooth and the weatherfine, with a light N.W. wind. The PadstowNo. 1 motor life-boat put out, but in themeant ime the p i lo t had been p icked up ,uninjured, by a fisherman and landed atPort Isaac at about 6 o’clock. - Rewards, 10s.

(See Padstow, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 41.)

C R A I L , F I F E S H I R E . A t 9 .41 P . M . on the19th March, 1941, the Elie coastguard re-ported to Anstruther life-boat station thata small fishing boat was ashore under thelook-out at Crail, and that a boat from Crailwas needed. The weather was foggy, with alight westerly wind and a calm sea. A smallboa t , manned by four men, pu t ou t f romCrail and brought ashore the fishing boat’screw of seven men. - Rewards, £3 and 2s. forfuel used.

NEW BRIGHTON , CHESHIRE . At 5 in theafternoon of the 21st March, 1941, a rocketwas fired in the Mersey off Egremont Stage.A light S.E. wind was blowing and the seawas smooth. The Institution’s motor board-ing boat, manned bv the coxswain, bowmanand motor mechanic put out to investigate,and found the S.S. Brit ish Commodore atanchor. She had fired a rocket, but it was am i s t a k e a n d s h e d i d n o t n e e d h e l p . -Rewards, 10s.

EYEMOUTH, BERWICKSHIRE. On the after-noon of the 2nd April, 1941, the Admiraltypatrol vessel Crammond Isle was attacked andsunk by enemy aeroplanes about three mileseast of Eyemouth. A moderately strong S.E.wind was blowing, with a rough, confused sea.Eleven of the ship’s crew got away in a boat andtwo on a raft. The remaining two were lost.Five boats went out to their help, the life-boatsfrom St. Abbs and Eyemouth and three fishingboats from Eyemouth. The St. Abbs life-boa t p icked up the boa t wi th the e levensurvivors, but a rope fouled her propeller.The Eyemouth life-boat found nothing. Oneof the fishing boats towed in the St. Abbslife-boat and then put out again to help inthe search for the raft. Another fishing boatfound and rescued the men on the raft. Thecrews of the three fishing boats did not desireany rewards, but £11 3s. 6d. was paid by theIns t i tu t ion in compensa t ion for damagecaused to another boat by one of the threefishing boats. Thanks were received fromthe naval authorities at Leith.

(See Eyemouth and St. Abbs, “ Accounts ofServices by Life-boats,” page 42.)

LYTHAM - ST . ANNE’s, LANCASHIRE . At12.14 in the morning of the 8th April, 1941,t h e h o n o r a r y s e c r e t a r y o f t h e l i f e - b o a tstation was informed by the police that anenemy aeroplane had been shot down, andthat cries for help had been heard from thebeach. The sea was smooth, with a moderateE. breeze. Low water prevented the life-boat going out, so a large punt was mannedby the honorary secretary, Mr. F. Dearden,five life-boatmen and two Home Guards.They found tha t the German a i rman hadscrambled ashore and was in charge of thepolice. The aeroplane was burning on thebanks on the other side of the river, aboutone and a half miles to the south, so thehonorary secre ta ry took the l i fe -boa t ’ sboarding boat and a small punt across ther i v e r a n d l a u n c h e d t h e p u n t o v e r t h e

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South Tra in ing Wal l , manned by two oft h e l i f e - b o a t ’ s c r e w a n d t h e t w o H o m eGuards. They landed and searched for abouttwo hours, but found no trace of enemy air-men . At 9 .45 A . M . Squ i res Gate R .A.F .repor ted tha t one of the i r aeroplanes onpatrol had seen a parachute on the bank nearthe 8th Mile Light. The honorary secretarysent out three life-boatmen in a fishing boat.They found a parachute, with harness and awireless set, but no airmen. - Rewards, aletter of thanks to Mr. F. Dearden, £5 to themen who went out in the night, £1 10s. tothe men who went out in the day and 5s. toa helper on shore. Total rewards, £6 15s.

MAY MEETING

P O R T L O E , C O R N W A L L . A t 2 . 4 0 i n t h emorning of the 14th April, 1941, the coast-guard watchman saw an aeroplane make aforced landing on the sea. Her engines hadfailed. He immediately called on two fisher-men, who put out in a boat. They found thetwo airmen unable to use their rubber boatas it was foul of the tail of the aeroplane, andrescued them. A drifter towed in the aero-plane. - Rewards, £1.

B O U L M E R , N O R T H U M E R L A N D . O n t h enight of the 27th April, 1941, H.M.S. Patia,an auxiliary vessel of the Royal Navy, wassunk by enemy aeroplanes about eight milesN.E. of Boulmer. The weather was clear,with a light, N.E. wind and a moderate swell.T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a t s f r o m A m b l e a n dBoulmer both went out early on the 28thand p icked up a number of dead bodies .While they were out a raft was reported offCullernose Point, and the honorary secretaryof the Boulmer life-boat station, Mr. W. Stan-ton, went out with three fishermen in a motorb o a t . - R e w a r d s , a l e t t e r o f t h a n k s t oMr. Stanton, and £3 3s.

(See Boulmer and Amble, “Accounts ofServices by Life-boats,” page 47.)

JUNE MEETING

CARNE , Co. WEXFORD . On the night ofthe 16th March, 1941, the steam trawlerThomas Booth, of Milford Haven, when onher way to the fishing grounds, ran on to theWhelkeen Rock, a mile off shore, S.S.E. ofWexford. The weather was foggy, with alight N.E. wind and a slight ground swell.Her SOS was seen flashed through a breakin the fog, and three men put out in a rowingboat. Guided by another SOS they foundthe trawler’s crew of eleven in the ship’s boat.They did not know their position, and theirboat was drifting towards a reef of rocks overwhich a strong spring tide was running. Thethree men guided them safely to Carne pier.- Rewards, £3.

BALLYCOTTON , Co. CORK . On the 23rdApril, 1941, the coxswain of the Ballycottonlife-boat and two other life-boatmen werefishing from a rowing boat about two milesout in Ballycotton Bay. A fresh wind wasblowing, with a moderate sea and a long swell.The weather got worse, and at 5.30 in the

afternoon a sea broke on the boat, capsizingher. Two of the men clung to the keel andthe other to an oar. The boat drifted intobroken water, turning over several times.Half a mile away was another boat, a 14-footdinghy manned by two brothers. They sawthe accident and at once went to the rescue.The sea was increas ing , and before theyarrived they broke one of their oars in two,but they handled their dinghy with greatcoolness, courage and skill. They got to thescene just in time and picked up the three menin the water, now almost exhausted, haulingthem in over the stern of the dinghy.

It was a rescue in which the rescuers notonly showed courage and skill, but ran greatrisk, and the Institution awarded its thanksinscribed on vellum, to each of the two men,MICHAEL LYNCH and MATTHEW LYNCH.

The Institution made rewards of £3 andalso paid £1 10s. for a new pair of oars.Matthew Lynch returned his money awardto the Institution.

BARDSEY ISLAND, CAERNARVONSHIRE. Atabout 6 in the evening of the 29th April,1941, the R.A.F. at Penrhos reported, throughthe coastguard, that an aeroplane was downin the sea nine miles W.N.W. of BardseyIsland. A moderate E.N.E. wind was blow-ing, with a slight sea. The Porthdinllaenlife-boat was launched, aeroplanes went up,and by means of prearranged signals thecoastguard called out the Bardsey Islandmotor boat. With a crew of five she searchedthroughout the night, but found nothing.-Rewards, £7 10s. and £1 1s. for fuel used.

(See Porthdinllaen, “ Accounts of Servicesby Life-boats,” page 49.)

PORT ST . MARY , ISLE OF MAN . Shortlybefore eleven in the morning of the 2nd May,1941, an aeroplane crashed into the sea inP o r t S t . M a r y b a y . W i n d a n d s e a w e r em o d e r a t e . T h e c o a s t g u a r d r e p o r t e d t h ecrash to the life-boat station, and the life-boat was launched, but meanwhile the crashhad been seen from the shore by four men,who put out in two small motor boats. Oneboat, getting away very quickly, reachedthe aeroplane within fifteen minutes, andfound that the pilot was dead. She got hisbody out of the partly submerged aeroplaneand brought it ashore. - Rewards, £1 15s.and 5s. for fuel used.

(See Port St. Mary, “ Accounts of Servicesby Life-boats,” page 52.)

ST . D A V I D 'S , P E M B R O K E S H I R E . Shor t lybefore 8 in the evening of the 20th May, 1941,a burning aeroplane was seen by a farmer onRamsey Island to fall into the sea to thesouth-west of the island. A light N.N.W.wind was blowing, with a calm sea. Thefarmer told one of his men to bring round hismotor boat, and then went himself to theshore opposite the spot. There he saw a manswimming towards him, and the man shouted“ Friend, Pole “. The farmer helped himout of the water. By this time the motorboat had arrived and took both men aboard.On her way to Ramsey Sound the motor boatwas met by the St. David’s life-boat, which

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took aboard the fa rmer and the a i rman .The farmer’s man took the motor boat backto her moorings, and the life-boat landed theairman, who was suffering from burns, shockand exhaustion. The farmer then went inthe life-boat to guide her to the scene of theaccident, and the life-boat picked up theairman’s parachute. She then went to themotor boat’s mooring and collected his tunicand life-jacket. - Rewards, £1 5s.

(See St. David’s, “ Accounts of Servicesby Life-boats,” page 51.)

SENNEN COVE, CORNWALL. At about 10.45on the night of the 27th May, 1941, theauxiliary cruiser Registan was bombed byfour enemy aeroplanes and set on fire sixmiles N.W. of Sennen Cove. The weatherwas f ine , wi th a l igh t S .W. wind and amoderate sea. The Sennen Cove life-boatwas be ing overhauled , and her second-coxswain and four other men put out in amotor fishing boat at 11 o’clock. Close tothe burning steamer they rescued four menfrom a raft, one badly injured. They hadmade use of a morse lamp and the light hadattracted an enemy aeroplane, which flewover the motor boat and machine-gunnedh e r c r e w , b u t w i t h o u t d o i n g t h e m a n ydamage. They landed the four rescued mena t Sennen Cove a t 3 .15 in the morn ing .The St. Ives life-boat had been launched at1 1 . 1 5 P . M . , bu t a r r ived to f ind tha t a l lsurvivors had been rescued by destroyers.-Rewards, £10 and £1 for use of boat.

(See St. Ives, “ Accounts of Services byLife-boats, ” page 53.)

BARDSEY ISLAND, CAERNARVONSHIRE. At10.10 in the morning of the 29th May, 1941,information was received at the Aberdaronlook-out that an aeroplane was down in thesea one mile south-east of Bardsey Island.Signals were made to the island, and a motorboat, manned by four men, put out, but thereport proved to be a false alarm. - Rewards,£2 and 7s. 6d. for fuel used.

SEAHAM, DURHAM. At about 5.15 in theafternoon of the 1st June, 1941, the coast-guard reported a coble two and a half milessouth of Seaham coastguard look-out and aquarter of a mile off shore, with one of thecrew of three waving his arms. A light N.E.breeze was blowing, with a slight sea. TheSeaham life-boat was off service, and twomen put out in a motor coble and towed thed i s a b l e d c o b l e t o S e a h a m H a r b o u r . -Rewards, £1 5s. and 5s. for fuel used.

GOURDON, KINCARDINESHIRE. At 1.40 inthe morning of the 6th June, 1941, informa-tion was received from the coastguard that avessel was on fire about eight miles S.E. by E.from Gourdon. She was one of a convoywhich had been attacked by enemy aero-planes. A N.E. wind was blowing, with aslight swell. Seven men put out in a motorboat, but found that the Montrose life-boathad already arrived and was taking somesurvivors from one of two steamers whichhad rescued the crew of the bombed steamer.

The seven men in the motor boat returnedashore. - Rewards, £9 13s. 6d.

(See Montrose, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 54.)

S E A H A M , D U R H A M . A b o u t 8 i n t h emorning of the 8th June, 1941, the coast-guard reported an “ object with a flash fromit ” a quarter of a mile south of ShipperSeaBay. Wind and sea were moderate. Threemen put out in a motor coble, but foundnothing. - Rewards, £1 17s. 6d. and 5s. forfuel used.

JULY MEETING

CRICCIETH, CAERNARVONSHIRE. At about11.30 in the morning of the 26th March, 1941,a Wellington bomber crashed into the sea,between Criccieth Castle and Harlech. Theweather was foggy, with a heavy swell. Tworowing boats, each manned by two men, putout, but before they could find anything anR.A.F. speed boat and the Pwllheli life-boatarrived, and the two rowing boats went back.- Rewards, £2 5s. In addition to a smallmonetary award and 27s. for damage, paidby the R.A.F. to one of the boats.

(See Pwllheli, “ Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 41.)

CULZEAN, AYRSHIRE. At one in the after-noon of the 24th May, 1941, a Spitfire aero-plane was seen to fall into the sea about oneand a half miles north-west of Maidens. Some-thing was seen to fall away from the aero-plane, but it was not possible to say if itwas the pilot or part of the aeroplane. Thea e r o p l a n e s a n k . A n o r t h - e a s t w i n d w a sblowing: and the sea calm. Six men in twomotor fishing boats, which were anchored inMaidens Harbour, immediately put out andsearched for an hour, but all they found wasan oxygen cylinder, a seat cushion, a headpad, and boot. - Rewards, £2 5s. and 5s. forfue l used . The crew of one of the boatsreturned their rewards as a donation to thefunds of the Institution.

WHITSTABLE, KENT. At 4.30 in the after-noon of the 28th May, 1941, two men werefishing from a small dinghy a quarter of am i l e w e s t o f W h i t s t a b l e h a r b o u r . T h e yhoisted sail to return ashore, and their boatcapsized. The motor fishing smack ExpressCK.231 was informed by the coastguard and,manned by her crew of three, she went imme-diately to the rescue. She found the twomen clinging to their upturned boat. Theyhad been in the water twenty minutes andwere exhausted. The three men brought themashore. Had they not been so prompt in goingout the two men would probably have beendrowned. - Rewards, £2 5s. and 2s. 6d. forfuel used.

ABERYSTWYTH, CARDIGANSHIRE. At 4.15in the morning of the 1st .June, 1941, thehonorary secretary of the life-boat stationwas called to the police station and told thata German aeroplane had been shot downtwelve miles due west of Aberystwyth. Thelife-boat’s coxswain and motor-mechanic put

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out in a motor boat at 5.10, with three policeofficers. They searched a large area, butfound no th ing and re tu rned a t 3 .30 P . M .They had then been over ten hours at sea.The Barmouth motor life-boat also searchedand found nothing. - Rewards, £1 10s. to thetwo life-boatmen and £1 for fuel used.

(See Barmouth, “ Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 56.)

WATCHET, SOMERSET. On the 10th June,1941, the second-coxswain of the life-boat,E. J. Escott, learned that two little girls hadbeen trapped by the tide on a ledge to thewest of the harbour. Escott is a pilot, andwas about to board a steamer. After he hadgot aboard her, the steamer towed his hobbleboat to the scene . The hobble boa t thencast off and her crew of two men rowed herto the ledge . In the meant ime two o thermen had got down the 50-foot cliff to thebeach and one of them had reached the ledge.He helped the girls into the hobble boat.-Rewards, £1 10s. and a letter of thanks toSecond - Coxswain Escott.

FILEY, YORKSHIRE. At 2.55 in the after-noon of the 14th June, 1941, the coastguardreported that the fishing coble Topsmoz wasbroken down four miles E.N.E. of Filey Brigg,and was be ing towed by a nava l t rawlertowards the Bell Buoy. Her mast had goneoverboard. A fresh W.S.W. wind was blow-ing, with a moderate sea. The life-boat crewwere assembled, but the coxswain thought acoble would be more suitable than the life-boat, and put out in his own coble with threeother l i fe -boa tmen. The t rawler le f t theTopsmoz when about a mile off Filey Briggwhistling buoy, in order to join two othertrawlers which were waiting for her, and thecoxswain’s coble towed in the Topsmoz andher crew of three. - Rewards, £1 10s. and4s. 6d. for fuel used.

C R A I L , F I F E S H I R E . A t abou t 5 P . M . onthe 16th June, 1941, the coastguard reportedthat a raft was adrift one and a half milesS.S.W. of Fife Ness. There was a light westbreeze, with a smooth sea. Two fishermenwent out in a motor fishing boat, found threesoldiers and a civilian on the raft and rescuedthem. - Rewards, £1 10s. and 3s. for fuel used.

PORTSOY , BANFFSHIRE . At 11.15 in themorning of the 17th June, 1941, the coast-guard saw a small fishing boat, under sail,bu t no t making headway. A l igh t N.W.wind was blowing, with a slight sea, and thetide was four hours ebb. The man on boardthe f i sh ing boat was inexper ienced . Helowered sail as he approached a lee shore,and tried to row off, but he made no head-way and was in danger of going ashore onthe rocks on the east side of Portsoy Bay.At the request of the coastguard two men putout in a motor fishing boat and towed thesmall boat into harbour. - Rewards, 10s.

WATCHET , SOMERSET . On the afternoonof the 20th June, 1941, an R.A.F. trainingaeroplane came down in the sea about fivem i l e s E . N . E . o f W a t c h e t h a r b o u r . T h e

weather was f ine and the sea ca lm. AnR.A.F . of f icer asked for he lp , and fourmen, including the life-boat coxswain andsecond-coxswain, put out with the officer in arowing boat. They used this boat in pre-ference to launching the life-boat, as it couldbe got away at once from the pier-head.Nothing was found but oil and wreckage,and the boat returned to harbour at 7.40 P.M.,getting a tow for some distance from a patrolvessel. The Minehead life-boat had also putout, but found nothing. - Rewards, £4.

(See Minehead, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 57.)

H A S T I N G S , S U S S E X . O n r e c e i p t o f amessage from the Dover naval authorities,at about 5 P.M. on the 21st June, 1941, thatan aeroplane was coming home damaged,two men stood by in readiness to put off,b u t t h e i r s e r v i c e s w e r e n o t r e q u i r e d . -Rewards, 5s.

COVERACK, CORNWALL. At about 3 in themorning of the 25th June, 1941, an aeroplanecrashed into the sea two miles from Coverack.The crash was heard and reported by a coast-watcher, and three men put off from Coverackin a motor boat at 6.5. They found a Germanairman floating in the water, and returnedwith him at 7.30 A.M. - Rewards, £1 10s. and2s. 6d. for fuel used.

WELLS, NORFOLK. The Wells motor life-boat was launched at 9.45 in the morning ofthe 26th June, 1941, to the help of an aero-plane which had come down in the sea aboutthree miles north of Wells. A light westerlywind was b lowing. The sea was smoothand the weather fine. The life-boat foundnothing but a rubber balloon. About half anhour a f te r the l i fe -boa t had gone ou t anobject, which might have been a parachute,was seen, and three men put out in a motorfishing boat, but the object began to driftmore rapidly, as if some weight attached toit had fallen off it, and it disappeared to theeastward. - Rewards, £1 10s. and 5s. for fuelused.

(See Wells, “ Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 56.)

MO N T R O S E , ANGUS . About 4 .15 in theaf te rnoon of the 2nd Ju ly , 1941 , i t wasreported to the police that a boy, who wasbath ing of f the beach pavi l ion , had d is -appeared. The tide was low, with a lighteasterly wind and a smooth sea. The policeappealed to the life-boat honorary secretaryfor help. In view of the low tide and theposition where the boy had last been seen,he sent out the coxswain’s motor fishing boat,towing a small boat, instead of the life-boat.Three men manned the motor boat, and afterabout two hours’ search they recovered thebody. - Rewards, £1 17s. 6d. and 2s. 6d. forfuel used.

SEPTEMBER MEETING

HOYLAKE , CHESHIRE . On the afternoonof the 30th June, 1941, two women with twosmall children were cut off by the rising tide

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b e t w e e n t h e b a t h s a n d w o o d e n j e t t y a tHoylake. The weather was fine and the seacalm. Their plight was seen from the shorebu t no boa t was ava i lab le . Two ba thersswam out and brought in a rowing boat, butit was without oars. A fisherman got paddlesf r o m t h e b a t h s , , a n d t h e b o a t p u t o u tmanned by the life-boat coxswain, a coast-guard and two bathers. They reached thescene just in time. The women were holding upthe children and were themselves up to theirnecks in water. - Rewards, £1 2s. 6d.

WHINNYFOLD, ABERDEENSHIRE. At 10 inthe morning of the 3rd July, 1941, the motorfishing boat Diligent, of Peterhead, wentashore two hours after high water at theS c a u r s o f C r u d e n . W i n d a n d s e a w e r emoderate, but the weather was foggy. Thecrew shouted for help and three men put outf rom Whinnyfo ld in a motor boa t . Theyrescued the Diligent’s crew of four, andlanded them at Whinnyfold at about 10.30.The Peterhead life-boat was also launched,but she was not required. - Rewards, £1 2s. 6d.and 3s. 6d. for fuel used.

(See Peterhead, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 59.)

CRAIL, F IFESHIRE . Shortly after 2.30 inthe afternoon of the 4th July, 1941, an aero-plane was seen by the coastguard to crashinto the sea eight miles from Fifeness. Theweather was fine and the sea smooth. Twomotor boats, manned by five men, went out,rescued the airman and salved his rubberboat. - Rewards, £1 17s. 6d. and 6s. for fuelused.

(See Anstruther, “ Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 59.)

CROMER, NORFOLK. At 4.48 in the morningof the 6th July, 1941, the coastguard reportedthat an aeroplane had been seen to fall intothe sea one mile east of Cromer. The weatherwas fine, with a light S.W. wind and a smoothsea. As the No. 1 motor life-boat was beingoverhauled, four men put out in two crabboats, which could get away more quicklythan the No. 2 life-boat. Three airmen gotashore without help, but a fourth was missing.The two boats searched for him, but foundnothing and returned at 7 A.M. - Rewards,£3 12s. and 10s. for fuel used.

H A S T I N G S , S U S S E X . About two in themorning of the 8th July, 1941, a rubber floatwas reported off St. Leonards. The weatherwas clear, with a light N.W. wind and asmooth sea. Four men put out in a motor boatand found only a floating can and a piece ofa dan buoy. - Rewards, £3 8s. and 4s. forfuel used.

S I D M O U T H , D E V O N . On the evening ofthe 8th July, 1941, a small rowing boat wasin difficulties five miles S.S.E. of Sidmouth.A light N.W. wind was blowing, with a slightswell. The naval authorities sent out a boat,but she could not find the rowing boat andwas recalled. Next morning the Exmouthlife-boat station was, informed, but she wasnot needed, as a motor fishing boat, which

was at sea with two men on board, found thesmall rowing boat about seven o’clock andtowed her, and her crew of two, into Sid-mouth at eight o’clock. - Rewards, £1 and2s. 6d. for fuel used.

F I L E Y , Y O R K S H I R E . On the evening ofthe 9th July, 1941, the motor fishing coblePeggy II was reported overdue and couldnot he seen from the cliffs. A light northerlywind was blowing, with a slight sea and somefog. The motor boat Sunbeam put out. TheFiley motor life-boat was also out. Whilethey were searching , the coble , wi th herengines broken down, came in under oars,arriving at 10 o’clock. - Rewards, £1 10s.and 6s. for fuel used.

(See Filey, "Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 59.)

HASTINGS, SUSSEX . At 8 in the morningof 10th July, 1941, the coastguard asked forthe services of a motor boat as three-quartersof a mile S.E. off Fairlight there appearedto be a submerged boat with men hangingto it. The sea was calm, with a light N.E,wind. Two men put out in a motor boat,but they found only a bather’s float with ap iece of wood a t tached . They brought i tashore. - Rewards, 15s. and 2s. 6d. for fuelused.

HYTHE, KENT. About 3.45 in the afternoonof the 12th July, 1941, a rifleman of the 1stLondon Irish Rifles got into difficulties whilebathing about one hundred yards east of theHythe coastwatching post. Two men wentto his help in a motor boat and brought himashore. He soon recovered. - Rewards, 10s.

AUCHENMALG, W IGTOWNSHIRE . At 4.30in the afternoon of the 13th July, 1941, avisitor reported to the coastguard that anaeaoplane had crashed in Luce Bay half amile from the shore. Two men went out ina f i sh ing boa t . They p icked up one manalive and one dead. - Rewards, £1 and 5s.for use of the boat.

.JOHNSHAVEN , KINCARDINESHIRE . About4.20 in the afternoon of Sunday the 18th July,1941, two Spitfire aeroplanes collided andcrashed into the sea two miles S.E. of Brother-ton Point. A few minutes later two Johnshavenfishing boats put out to their help, each witha crew of four men. They found only a rubbercushion. The Gourdon life-boat also put out,but found nothing. - Rewards, £4 and £1 forfuel used.

(See Gourdon, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 59.)

ST R O M A I S L A N D , P E N T L A N D F I R T H . Onthe morning of the 18th July, 1941, a Spitfireaeroplane, escorting a convoy, crashed in thesea about 400 yards off Mell Head, south-westof Stroma Island. A moderate S.E. wind wasblowing, with a moderate swell. Two menin a rowing boat saw it, and at once went tothe rescue . They p icked up the p i lo t t enminutes after he had crashed. Meanwhilethe coastguard had called out a motor boat,and she had put off with three fishermen and

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a s c h o o l b o y o n b o a r d . T h e y t o w e d t h erowing boat to the nearest landing place,where the pilot was taken to a house. Themotor boat then fetched a doctor from themainland and later conveyed the rescued air-man to the mainland. - Rewards, £1 2s. 6d.,5s. for fuel used and £3 for loss of fishing.

PORT-WRINKLE , CORNWALL . At 4.45 inthe evening of the 4th July, 1941, a Britishbombing aeroplane, returning from Brest,crashed into the sea off Tregantle cliff, nearPortwrinkle. Two men put out at once in amotor fishing boat and found that the aero-plane’s crew, two of whom were wounded,had got ashore in their rubber dinghy. Theytook the men aboard their fishing boat andbrought them to Portwrinkle. - Rewards, 15s.

HUNSTANTON , NORFOLK . About 6.40 inthe evening of the 25th July, 1941, a Britishtrainer aeroplane crashed into the sea offHuns tan ton look-ou t hu t . Two men in am o t o r f i s h i n g b o a t , o n t h e i r w a y f r o mHeacham to Brancaster, altered course andreached the spot in a few minutes, and anArmy captain and two other soldiers, whowere ba th ing , swam to the spot , bu t theaeroplane had sunk, and there was no signof her crew. The fishing boat picked up theswimmers and landed them, and after cruisinground for a short time went on to Brancaster.- Rewards, 15s. and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

C R O M E R , N O R F O L K . Shor t ly a f te r 8 inthe morning of the 26th July, 1941, the navalbase at Great Yarmouth reported, throughthe coastguard, that H.M. Trawler Strath-garry was going to anchor off Cromer andwanted a boat sent out to land some airmen.The weather was fine. The life-boat coxswainand three other men went out in a motorfishing boat and brought ashore from thetrawler six Polish airmen, one slightly injured.- Rewards, £1 10s. and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

BURGHEAD, ELGINSHIRE . At 2.35 in themorning of the 27th July, 1941, the coast-guard saw an aeroplane come down in the seaoff Burghead, and asked the police to sendout a motor boa t . Two men pu t ou t t enminutes later, and found the aeroplane’srubber dinghy with a complete crew of sixof a Whitley bomber belonging to an R.A.F.training school. They brought the men andtheir dinghy ashore. - Rewards, £1.

DUNGENESS, KENT. At 12.45 in the after-noon of the 1st August, 1941, an aeroplanewas seen to crash into the sea about one milefrom the coastguard look-out at Lade. Tworescue boats and a fishing boat with two menon board were c lose by and went to thespot. The fishing boat rescued one airmanand the crash boats the other two. - Rewards,to the two men, 15s. and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

CRICCIETH, CAERNARVONSHIRE. At 10.50in the morning of the 1st August, 1941, araft was seen drifting seawards from thecoas twatch ing pos t a t L landanwg, and amotor boat from Criccieth put out at 11.25

W H I T S T A B L E , K E N T . A b o u t 2 i n t h eaf te rnoon of the 12 th Augus t , 1941 , thefishing boat Express, manned by two men,father and son, of Tollesbury, Essex, strucka mine and sank off East Spaniard Buoy.The men were able to get away in their smallboat. They hoisted a blanket as a distresssignal, and it was seen by the motor fishingboat Emma which was fishing four miles away.A fresh W.N.W. wind was blowing, with achoppy sea. The Emma went to their help,picked them up and landed them at Whit-stable. The two rescued men had themselvesbeen rewarded by the Institution the monthbefore for rescuing other men in difficulties.-Rewards, £1 and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

manned by a boatman and an airman whowas on leave. They reached the raft at 12.38,rescued two men and a boy who were onboard, and took them to Harlech, returningto Criccieth again at 5 o’clock. - Rewards,£1 5s. and 12s. 6d. for fuel used.

PE E L , I S L E O F MA N . Whi le the motorfishing boat Emulate, of Pittenweem, wasdrift-net-fishing for herring off the west coastof the Isle of Man on the night of the 4thAugust, 1941, the wind changed and her netsfouled the prope l le r . She anchored . Thewind was now blowing half a gale from theN.W., with a rough sea, and about eight nextmorning the Emulate was reported in distressabout four miles W.N.W. of Peel. The Peellife-boat was launched, but before she reachedthe spot the Emulate had been taken in towby another Scottish fishing boat, the ProtectUs, which brought her safely into harbour.-Rewards, £2 12s. 6d. and 5s. for fuel used.The rewards were returned as a gift to theInstitution.

(See Peel, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 60.)

BARROW , LANCASHIRE . On the morningof the 15th August, 1941, a British aeroplanecame down in the sea off Walney Island.A light S.E. wind was blowing, with a slightsea. One man put out in a rowing boat fromBarrow, and two men in a motor boat fromHaverigg. The Barrow motor life-boat wasalso launched, and the man in the rowingboat helped the airmen from the wings oftheir aeroplane into the life-boat. The life-boat then took his boat in tow. The engineof the boat from Haverigg had broken down,and the life-boat took this boat in tow aswell. - Rewards, 12s. 6d.

(See Barrow, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 65.)

AB E R Y S T W Y T H , C A R D I G A N S H I R E . Whi lethe Aberystwyth life-boat was out searchingfor an aeroplane on the a f te rnoon of the21st August, 1941, a message was receivedthrough the coas tguard f rom the Ai r SeaRescue Service, Liverpool, reporting an aero-plane in the sea nine miles N.W. of Aberyst-wyth. Two men put out at about 3 in theafternoon in a motor boat and the residentnaval officer at Aberystwyth went with them.They searched, but found nothing, and re-

SERVICES 1941 101

turned about four hours later. - Rewards, £1,9s. for fuel used and £4 for loss of earnings.

(See Aberystwyth, “ Accounts of Servicesby Life-boats,” page 66.)

BARDSEY ISLAND , AND PORTHYSGADEN ,CAERNARVONSHIRE . On the evening of the21st August, 1941, information came that anaeroplane was down in the sea off Porthys-gaden. A light westerly breeze was blowing,and the sea was smooth. Three boats puto u t t o t h e r e s c u e : a m o t o r b o a t f r o mPorthysgaden, with a crew of three, at 5.50in the evening, a Bardsey Island boat fromAberdaron, with a crew of five at 6.25, andthe Por thd in l l aen l i f e -boa t a t 6 .51 . TheBardsey I s land boa t found no th ing . ThePorthysgaden boat picked up the body ofan airman and the life-boat took her in tow.- Rewards, £6 17s. 6d. and 9s. for fuel used.

(See Porthdinllaen, “ Accounts of Servicesby Life-boats,” page 65.)

WHITSTABLE, KENT. About 8.45 P.M. on the21st August, 1941, it was learned that themotor boat Juno, with a crew of two, hadbroken down off Whitstable. Darkness wasfalling and she was in danger of driftingashore. Two men went out in a motor boatand brought her in. The rescued men hadhad their boat mined nine days before andhad been rescued. Earlier in the year they hadthemselves been rewarded for a rescue . -Rewards, £1 5s. and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

LLANDUDNO , CAERNARVONSHIRE . Duringthe evening of the 26th August, 1941, a smallboat, in which there were two visitors froma convalescent home, got into difficulties.A strong N.N.W. wind was blowing, with achoppy sea . Two f i shermen put ou t in arowing boat to the rescue, but they also gotinto difficulties. The life-boat coxswain andanother man then went out in a motor boat,but when they reached the boat with the twovisitors on board their petrol had run out.They anchored and the coxswain put thet w o v i s i t o r s o n b o a r d t h e m o t o r b o a t .Leaving them there, he, and the man withhim, then got into the visitors’ rowing boatand pulled ashore. This took them abouttwo hours. They then got a second motorboat, returned to the rescue and towed intheir own motor boat and the rowing boatwhich had gone out to the rescue. - Rewards,£2 15s. and 2s. for fuel used.

OCTOBER MEETING

K I N L O S S , E L G I N S H I R E . A t 11 .40 in themorning of the 27th August, 1941, it wasreported to the Burghead coastguard hy theR.A.F. at Kinloss, that an aeroplane hadcome down in the sea two miles north ofKinloss. Three men put out from Burgheadin a motor boat, but found nothing, as theinformation given was incorrect. - Rewards,£1 2s. 6d. and 5s. for fuel used.

DONAGHADEE , Co. DOWN . On the 29thAugus t , 1941 , the motor f i sh ing vesse lHenrietta was out with nine people on board

and did not return. At 10.25 at night flaresw e r e s e e n b y t h e c o a s t g u a r d a n d t h eDonaghadee l i fe -boa t was launched , bu tcould find no trace of the Henrietta. Mean-while two men had put out in a small motorboat, I’m, Alone, and they found the Henriettawith her engine broken down. Her engineer,however, was able to repair it, and she camein under her own power, bringing with herthe two in the motor boat. - Rewards, £1.

(See Donaghadee, “ Accounts of Servicesby Life-boats,” page 67.)

B A R D S E Y I S L A N D , C A E R N A R V O N S H I R E .About 9.45 in the evening of the 20th Sep-tember, 1941, the R.A.F. reported that anaeroplane had come down in the sea 28 milesaway from the island. Three boats put out,a motor boat from Bardsey Island with sixm e n o n b o a r d a n d t h e l i f e - b o a t s f r o mPor thd in l laen and Holyhead . The th reeboats made a long search, but nothing wasfound except oil and fuel tanks, which wereseen f loa t ing by a des t royer . - Rewards ,£7 10s. and 15s. for fuel used.

(See Porthdinllaen and Holyhead, “Ac-counts of Services by Life-boats,” page 71.)

PORT ST. MARY, ISLE OF MAN. About 2.30in the morning of the 24th September, 1941,the coastguard saw a vessel aground on therocks at Gansey Point, about half a mile fromPort St. Mary harbour. A light S.E. windwas blowing and the sea was calm, but theweather was foggy. The coastguard reportedit to the harbour master, who put out in amotor boat with a fisherman and a memberof the crew of an Air Sea Rescue launch.He arranged to signal for the life-boat shouldshe be needed and her crew were assembled.The three men found the Danish motor vesselMerkur II aground on the sloping rocks ofGansey Point. She had gone aground at highspring tide and was in danger of falling overas the tide ebbed. The harbour master tookoff her c rew of seven and brought themashore. The Merkur II was refloated by at u g a t t h e n e x t h i g h w a t e r . - R e w a r d s ,£1 17s. 6d. and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

B E X H I L L , S U S S E X . A b o u t 2 . 5 5 i n t h eafternoon of the 27th September, 1941, aSpitfire pilot baled out of his aeroplane, whichcrashed into the sea. The pilot landed in thewater, with a rubber dinghy, about one anda half miles from the shore, south of Bexhill.The tide was high and the weather fine. Twomen put of f in a smal l rowing boa t andrescued him. - Rewards, 15s.

N E W B R I G H T O N , C H E S H I R E . A t 7 .25 inthe evening of the 28th September, 1941, asmall flat-bottomed boat was seen driftingout to sea on the ebb tide off New Brightons tage . There were two boys on board i t .They had taken i t f rom i t s moor ings a tEgremont and had no oars . The wea therwas clear, with a slight sea and no wind, butdarkness was coming on. The motor life-boatmotor-mechanic and another life-boatmanmanned the motor boarding boat and towedthe drifting boat back. - Rewards, £1.

102 SERVICES 1941

NOVEMBER MEETING

WALMER , KENT . Shortly after 6 in theevening of the 17th August, 1941, a BritishBeaufort bomber crashed into the sea betweenKingsdown and Walmer, some 400 yards offshore. A fresh S.W. wind was blowing, witha choppy sea. The accident was seen by aman who was on his way to church, and hewent at once to the beach. There he launchedhis 9-feet dinghy and rowed out, accompaniedby an unknown officer. They found threeairmen in the sea, got two into the dinghyand, with the third airman made fast to her,returned to the shore. A fourth airman waslost. A motor boat had also put off, mannedby the life-boat coxswain, two men and a boy,but the dinghy had already rescued the men.- Rewards, £1 2s. 6d. to the men in the motorboat and 2s. for fuel used. The man in thedinghy declined an award.

DRUMMORE , W IGTOWNSHIRE . About 6.35in the evening of the 3rd September, 1941, amotor cyc l i s t repor ted to the Drummorecoastguard that an aeroplane had crashedinto the sea off Terally Point, Luce Bay. Alight S.S.E. wind was blowing, with a con-fused sea, and the weather was misty, withrain. Drummore harbour was dry and theonly boat available was a 14-feet rowing boat,which was on the mud. This boat was goton to an R.A.F. lorry, taken three miles byroad to the shore, carried over the shingleand launched. She had a crew of six, thestation officer of coastguard, the harbour-master, an R.A.F. corporal, and three air-craftmen who had manned the lorry. Theywere helped on shore by another airman.They found nothing, and on the followingday the aeroplane , wi th the body of thepilot inside, was found by divers from anAir Ministry vessel. - Rewards, £3 15s. and5s. to the man who helped on shore.

ORMSARY, ARGYLLSHIRE. On the morningof the 10th September, 1941, a naval trawlerstruck on a rock at Knap Point, at the mouthof Loch Killisport, and sank in deep water.A north-westerly wind was blowing, with arough sea. Of the trawler’s crew of fifteen,five were drowned ; others got ashore on araft ; and others were seen by an aeroplanestruggling in the water. The airmen flewover Ormsary and dropped messages sayingthat there were sailors in the water and goingashore on an island to the north. Two rowingboats put out. One of the boats was mannedby two men used to boats, and the other byfour men, an auxiliary policeman, an airman,a forester and a worker in a saw mill. Twoof these men, with the policeman and theairman, were on leave to attend a funeral.They were actually at the funeral when themessage was dropped by the aeroplane, andleft at once to help in the rescue.

The two boats searched the island and,finding no one, pulled for the shore of theloch and landed . There they found tha tsome of the trawler’s crew had got ashore, andhelped with artificial respiration.

T h e P o r t A s k a i g l i f e - b o a t w a s a l s olaunched, and reached the scene later. She

picked up two bodies and a ship’s boat.-Rewards, a letter of thanks and £1 to eachof the six men.

(See Port Askaig, “ Accounts of Servicesby Life-boats,” page 69.)

B R O R A , S U T H E R L A N D . A b o u t 4 . 3 0 i nthe afternoon of the 16th September, 1941,a Botha aeroplane crashed into the sea 2 1/4miles east of Brora. A light S.S.E. wind wasblowing, with a slight sea. Two fishing boatsput out, one of them manned by three menaged 74 73 and 66. These men found theaeroplane, with three of the crew on the wings,two of them badly injured. The fourth air-man was drowned. They rescued the threeairmen, and the other boat took the aeroplanein tow, and handed her over to naval vessels.Later she sank, but was salved. The Cromartylife-boat and an R.A.F. speed boat also cameout to the rescue. Rewards, £1 17s. 6d.,£3 for loss of fishing and 19s. for repairs andfuel used.

(See Cromarty, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 71.)

CROMER, NORFOLK. At 5.35 in the eveningof the 17th September, 1941, an aeroplanecrashed into the sea east of Cromer pier.The crash was seen by soldiers, who told somefishermen. A light N.W. wind was blowing,with a slight sea. Ten men put off in twomotor boats, but found no one, for the aero-plane was a Queen Bee, operated by wireless,and had no crew. One of the motor boatstook the aeroplane in tow, but she sank.-Rewards, £3 15s. and 10s. for fuel used.

FOLKESTONE , KENT . About 3.15 in theafternoon of the 27th September, 1941, twoairmen baled out from a British aeroplaneoff Folkestone. One, a Belgian, came downin the sea about half a mile off Copt Point.and the aeroplane and the other came downon shore near The Warren. Three men whowere out in a fishing boat went to the airmanin the sea, picked him up, and then put himon board a motor torpedo boat. - Rewards,£1 2s. 6d.

ILFRACOMBE, DEVON. About 6.30 P .M. onthe 8th October, 1941, a lady visitor saw aman on Gull Rock, Beacon Point, Hele Bay,waving for help. She told a man who re-ported to the coastguard. A variable off-short S.W. wind was blowing, and the tidewas four hours flood. It would cover therock at high water. Two men put out in arowing boat and succeeded in rescuing theman, although there was some ground sea,both at the launching place and the rock.-Rewards, £1.

F O L K E S T O N E K E N T . A t 6 . 4 5 i n t h emorning of the 9th October, 1941, a fishingboat could be seen from Folkestone pier onfire. She was about half a mile away. Shehad three men on board. Three other menwere in a boat which was nearby, and withinfive minutes had rescued them. The burningboat drifted ashore, drifted away again, andthen dr i f ted c lose to the p ier . There the

SERVICES 1941 103

fire brigade poured water on her, and, in theend, she sank alongside the pier. - Rewards,£1 2s. 6d.

SOUTHWOLD, SUFFOLK. About one o’clockin the afternoon of the 11th October, 1941,a motor fishing boat was seen flying a flagof distress. Half a gale was blowing fromthe N.N.E., with squalls and a very heavysea. The defences across the mouth of theharbour made it impossible for any vessels togo out, and the life-boat station had beenclosed, but the life-boat coxswain and threeother men put out to the rescue in a motorf i sh ing boat launched of f the beach . S ixother men helped them to launch her, andthey ran great risk of their boat being cap-sized, as a heavy sea was breaking on thebeach. As it was, they lost an oar and broketheir rudder, but they found the fishing boathalf a mile east of Southwold, with her enginebroken down, and rescued the two men onb o a r d . - R e w a r d s , £ 4 t o t h e f o u r m e n ,£3 0s. 6d. for repairs to the boat and fuelused and £1 10s. to the six helpers on shore.

WHITBY , YORKSHIRE . About 2.30 in theafternoon of the 21st October, 1941, themotor fishing coble Brighter Hope, with thelife-boat coxswain and two other membersof the crew on board, was running for Whitbyharbour when she saw that the coble GuideMe was in difficulties. A strong N.N.W.wind was blowing, with a rough sea, and theGuide Me, with the tide and sea against her,had got on the edge of the Whitby rocks.She made signals of distress. The BrighterHope got right across the rocks, throughbroken water, and several times her crewhad to bring her up head to the sea. In theend she reached the Guide Me, found thatshe had a crew of four on board, that herengine had broken down and that she hadlost an anchor and was hanging on to herlas t one . The B r i g h t e r H o p e towed theGuide Me safely into harbour. - Rewards,£1 10s. and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

ILFRACOMBE, DEVON. At 10 in the morn-ing of the 22nd October, 1941, the coastguardreported a ship’s boat drifting about threemi les N.E. of Widmouth Head. A f reshnortherly wind was blowing, with a slight sea.Mr. T. R. L. Green, the life-boat honorarysecretary, went out in a motor boat withthree other men. At 10.55 they reached theship’s boat. She was damaged and partlywaterlogged, but had no one on board. Theyt o w e d h e r i n t o I l f r a c o m b e h a r b o u r . -Rewards, 15s. and 5s. for fuel used.

PAIGNTON , DEVON . About 3.55 P .M . onthe 26th October, 1941, a sailing dinghy,with three men on board, capsized a mileeast of Roundham Head. A strong wind wasblowing from the north, with a choppy sea,and the weather was very cold. A boy sawthe accident and told a private of the Buffsand an a i rc ra f t sman of the R.A.F . Theylooked out to sea and could see somethingfloating in the water. They ran at full speedto Paignton harbour, 300 yards away, gottwo oars from a guard-room, which had to be

unlocked, pushed a 12-feet dinghy 30 yardsinto the sea and started to row to the rescue.The soldier had some experience of handlingboats, but the aircraftsman had not, and asthe progress was slow, the soldier took bothoars and rowed the greater part of the way.They found three men clinging to the up-turned dinghy and quickly rescued two ofthem. The th i rd man was much heavie r .They found it very difficult to get him aboard,and in doing so ran a very grave risk ofcaps iz ing the i r d inghy. As i t was , watercame in over the stern quarter. The rescuehad taken twenty minutes . The boa t wasstill in considerable danger, with fire menon board her in the choppy sea. The twomen first rescued volunteered to row andthe two rescuers sat in the stern, to trim theboat, in itself a difficult operation in thechoppy sea with an over-loaded boat. Thetwo rescued men were much exhausted andhad frequently to stop rowing and rest, butthey succeeded in bringing the boat safely in.

In recognition of their promptitude andc o u r a g e t h e I n s t i t u t i o n h a s a w a r d e d t oPRIVATE CHARLES W. F. REEVES and A IR-CRAFTSMAN T HOMAS ECKERSLEY each theInstitution’s thanks on vellum and £2.

DECEMBER MEETING,

LOSSIEMOUTH , MORAYSHIRE . About 5.30in the morning of the 30th July, 1941, amotor fishing vessel at sea, some four milesN.W. by N. from Lossiemouth, heard shoutsfor help, and cruising round picked up twoairmen from a Wellington bomber which hadcrashed into the sea. The weather was fine.- Rewards, £5 for loss of fishing.

PO R T H K E R R I S , C O R N W A L L . About 8 inthe morning of the 27th October, 1941, aHudson aerop lane of Coas ta l Commandcrashed into the sea a quarter of a mile eastof Porthkerris beach in Falmouth bay. Alight northerly wind was blowing and thesea was calm. Three men who were at workin the St. Keverne Quarry at once put outin a rowing boa t . The Hudson had burs tinto flames and submerged very quickly, andthey had to pull their boat through burningp e t r o l o n t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e s e a . T h e ysucceeded in reaching the aeroplane, andrescued two of her crew of four. - Rewards,£3.

L A N G N E S S , I S L E O F MA N . Abou t 12 .40in the afternoon of the 13th November, 1941,a British aeroplane was seen to crash intothe sea about a quarter of a mile S.S.E. ofLangness Lighthouse. A light easterly windwas blowing, with a smooth sea. Two light-keepers at once went to their boat, carried itover the rocks and launched it with the helpof R.A.F. recruits, who were at rifle practicenearby. The keepers rowed to the spot, butmeanwhile one R.A.F. recruit had swum outto the help of the airmen, reaching them justbefore the boat. The keepers rescued thet w o a i r m e n a n d b r o u g h t t h e m a n d t h erecruit ashore. - Rewards, £2.

W H I T B Y , Y O R K S H I R E . On the morningof the 16th November, 1941, information

104 SERVICES 1941

was received that a British aeroplane had NEWBIGGIN-BY-THE-SEA , NORTHUMBER-come down in the sea twelve miles E. by LAND. About 1.30 in the afternoon of the 27thN.1/2 N. of Whitby. An easterly wind was November, 1941, the coble Primrose wasblowing, with a rough sea. Runswick and struck by a heavy sea, when preparing toScarborough motor life-boats put out, but make a landing, and two of her crew of threethe low tide prevented Whitby motor life- were washed overboard . The coble wasboat getting away at once. In view of this about 150 yards ou t to the sou th o f thedelay the coastguard asked that fishing boats wall of Newbiggin quay, and the sea wasshould be sent, and three, manned by eleven very rough, with a southerly wind of almostmen, left at 9.20 A.M . They searched for gale force. Another coble, the Robert ando v e r t h r e e h o u r s , b u t f o u n d n o t h i n g . - Sisters, with a crew of three, was near, andRewards, £10 9s. and £2 for fuel used. r e s c u e d t h e t w o m e n i n t h e w a t e r . T h e

(See Runswick, Scarborough and Whitby, Primrose, with the other member of her crew“Accounts of Services by Life-boats” page 90.) still aboard, drifted ashore. - Rewards £1 10s.