THE JOURNAL OF THE RNLI

Volume XLIV Number 456 Summer 1976 25 p

THE BEST WEATHERCLOTHING IN THE WORLD

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THELIFEBOATSummer 1976

/~^ ~ „ 4- /a-fri-fro Notes of the Quarter, by the editor 147

IlLiJ Beaufort Wind Scale 148

Lifeboat Services 149

XLIV Annual Awards 1975 153

456 A Weekend in September 154

Annual General Meeting and Presentation of Awards 156

Opening of new Headquarters at Poole 162

Chairman: Naming Ceremonies: Macduff and Swanage 163MAJOR-GENERAL R. H. FARRANT, CB

Inshore Lifeboats: Handing-over Ceremonies at Crimdon Dene, HartlepoolDirector and Secretary: and Little and Broad Haven ... 164CAPTAIN NIGEL DIXON, RN _, ,. ...

Shoreline 165

Invergordon, by Dag Pike 166

Blue Peter Goes to Sea at Beaumaris, by Ray Kipling 167

Here and There 168Editor:PATRICK HOWARTH Percy Garon, MC GM : Honorary Secretary of Southend-on-Sea Lifeboat

Station from 1952-1975 169Assistant Editor: * T - r r * + - i - T - c i . < . - r \ - i-mAn Eye for Detai] in Lifeboat Design 170

Book Reviews 171

Around the Coast 172Headquarters:Royal National Life-boat Institution, Some Ways of Raising Money 173West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH151 HZ (Telephone PooJe 71133). Letters i /o

Offshore Lifeboat Services, December 1975, January and February 1976 ... 177London Office:Royal National Life-boat Institution, 21 Inshore Lifeboat Services, December 1975, January and February 1976 ... 178Ebury Street, London SW1W OLD(Telephone 01-730 0031). Index to Advertisers 180

COVER PICTURE

Appledore Atlantic 21 inshore lifeboat breastsheavy surf in Bideford Bay. She was donatedby RAF personnel and their families stationedat Wildenrath, Germany, who raised morethan £5,000 for the RNLI in just one year.Since Atlantic 21 ILBs were first stationed atAppledore in the autumn of 1972 they havelaunched on service 50 times and saved 30lives. This photograph was taken by CrewMember Clifford Edwards.

Editorial: All material submitted forconsideration with a view to publicationin the journal should be addressed to theeditor, THE LIFEBOAT, Royal NationalLife-boat Institution, West Quay Road,Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ (TelephonePoole 71133). Photographs intended forreturn should be accompanied by astamped and addressed envelope.

Next Issues: The autumn issue of THELIFEBOAT will appear in October andnews items should be sent by the end ofJuly. News items for the winter issueshould be sent in by the end of October.

Advertisements: All advertising en-quiries should be addressed to DysonAdvertising Services, PO Box 9, Godal-ming, Surrey (Telephone Godalming(04868) 23675).

Subscription: A year's subscription offour issues costs £1.40, includingpostage, but those who are entitled toreceive THE LIFEBOAT free of charge willcontinue to do so. Overseas subscrip-tions depend on the cost of postage tothe country concerned.

145

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I-Hunting

146

NOTES OFTHE QUARTER

by the Editor

LIFEBOATS, IT IS OFTEN SAID, put OUtwhen other vessels are seeking theshelter of harbour. An example of howa lifeboat was able to carry out amission while other well-found vesselswere unable even to leave harbouroccurred on the night of December 1/2,1975. The Cypriot coaster Primrose,which was in serious trouble some threemiles from Dover breakwater, asked forthe help of a tug and later for that of apilot vessel. Conditions were such thatneither tug nor pilot vessel could putout and the decisions not to allow themto leave harbour were clearly correct.The master of a Townsend ferry saidthe conditions were the worst he hadknown in eighteen years' service in theDover Straits. Wind speeds gusting upto 100 mph were recorded, and hecommented that if Sir Francis Beauforthad lived 170 years later he might havehad to revise his wind scale (given onthe next page).

In spite of all this the Dover lifeboatput out, escorted the coaster andsuccessfully piloted her into harbour.Details of the service, which led to theaward of two medals for gallantry, aregiven on page 150. They are an incon-testable tribute to the Waveney class oflifeboat, it designers and its builders.

The voluntary spirit todayTwo speakers at the RNLI's annual

general meeting spoke of the importanceof voluntary service, not only withinthe RNLI, but to the nation as a whole.Both were clearly speaking from theheart and from experience. One wasRaymond Baxter, best known today forhis television programme, 'Tomorrow'sWorld'. The other was Lieut.-ColonelRichard Crawshaw, Labour MP forToxteth and a member of the RNLI'sCommittee of Management.

Raymond Baxter spoke of the impor-tance of the voluntary principle inpromoting the efficiency of the lifeboatservice and of how it enabled theRNLI to get the best value for money.If it were lost, he said, 'the countrywould certainly be the poorer in themoral and spiritual sense as well as inthe purely financial sense'.

Colonel Crawshaw said that workingin local and central government hadcaused him to feel depressed by 'themovement away from the voluntaryspirit'. A few years ago, he pointed out,it had not been necessary to pay some-one to come to a youth club to make acup of tea. 'We could not', he said,'administer the Life-boat Institutionfrom a central source with the sameenthusiasm and dedication as it isadministered on a voluntary basis.'

Newspapers in actionIn the last number of THE LIFEBOAT it

was reported that a series of smallreceptions had been held in LintasHouse to enlist the help of influentialgroups for the work of the lifeboatservice. One reception was for the press,television and radio. Following thatevening The Northern Echo, which ispublished in Darlington and is widelyread in the north of England, mounteda vigorous campaign entitled 'Lifeboatsos'.

Much ingenuity was shown by thenewspaper staff in organising or pro-moting fund-raising efforts. These in-cluded a ball for 700, a greyhoundmeeting, fashion shows, cookery demon-strations, sports meetings and sponsoredschool projects.

Numerous letters came from readerswith donations, some of them signed'anonymous GAP'. Two sisters sent £5'in memory of our mother whosebirthday has just passed'. They added:

'We would rather help to save lives thanplace flowers on her grave.' At the timeof going to press The Northern Echocampaign has produced over £4,000 inaddition to arousing tremendous newinterest in the lifeboat service in thenorth of England.

Similarly the Birmingham EveningMail ran a special campaign with theobject of increasing the branch's incomeand purchasing some piece of equip-ment for the Exmouth lifeboat City ofBirmingham. Again readers' responseswere strikingly generous, and as a resultof the Mail's efforts £2,000 has beencollected already towards a new boardingboat for Exmouth lifeboat.

Isle of Wight AppealIt was also stated in the last number

that the RNLI's Committee of Manage-ment had decided, as a temporarymeasure, to slow down the boat buildingprogramme in 1976 and to order onlytwo new offshore lifeboats. At the sametime we made the point that the boatbuilding programme would be steppedup as soon as finances permitted. In factit has already been decided to order anArun lifeboat this year in addition tothe two Rother lifeboats already bud-geted for.

The new Arun lifeboat will bestationed at Yarmouth in the Isle ofWight. £50,000 towards her cost hasbeen provided by the Wade Foundation,and an appeal is being launched in theIsle of Wight by Major-General R. A.Pigot, a newly elected member of theCommittee of Management and Presi-dent of the Isle of Wight LifeboatBoard, to raise the necessary additionalfunds.

New head officeIn formally opening the new head

office in Poole on May 6, His Royal

Mrs Ann Ritchie, in company with Major-General Ralph Farrant, comes aboard Arun classlifeboat 54-06, The Gough Ritchie, for which she is providing the funds, to be welcomed bythe builder, William Osborne (r). The Gough Ritchie, which will be stationed at Port St Mary,Isle of Man, was lying alongside 54-05, the new Aberdeen lifeboat BP Forties, at Littlehampton.

147

Highness The Duke of Kent, Presidentof the RNLI, said:

The decision to move to Poole canonly be described as a bold and, I am quiteconfident, a wise one . . .

There were a number of reasons formaking the change. Perhaps the mostimportant was that the offices inGrosvenor Gardens were on a longlease, which was in itself a diminishingasset. I think it is evidence of the wisefinancial management of the RNLI thatafter buying the land on which the newhead office is built as a freehold propertyand completing the building it was ableto report that the Institution's reservesstood somewhat higher than they haddone a year earlier . . .'The Duke also called attention to the

importance of the change in that for acentury and a half London had beenthe site of the RNLI's head office.

In its early years the RNLI wasaccommodated in the City of London,first in Austin Friars and later in GreatWinchester Street. A move to the Cityof Westminster occurred in 1851. Thehead office was then off the Adelphi.Half a century later there was a move toCharing Cross Road, and in 1931 theRNLI acquired the buildings in Gros-

Opening of the new headquarters: The President, HRH The Duke of Kent, with (I. to r.) theDirector, Captain Nigel Dixon, and the Chairman, Major-General Ralph Farrant.

photograph by courtesy of Bournemouth News and Picture Service.

venor Gardens with which many of itssupporters today are familiar. The mainadministration during the last war wascarried on in the depot at BorehamWood, but meetings continued to takeplace in Grosvenor Gardens.

Soon the move of the depot fromBoreham Wood to Poole will becompleted and for the first time inthe history of the RNLI, headquartersand depot will be established onadjacent sites in the same town.

BEAUFORT WIND SCALE

Force

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Limits ofwind speed

in knots(A knot is onenautical mile

per hour)

Less than 1

1-3

4-6

7-10

11-16

17-21

22-27

28-33

34-40

41^7

48-55

56-63

64+

Description

Calm

Light air

Light breeze

Gentle breeze

Moderate breeze

Fresh breeze

Strong breeze

Near gale

Gale

Strong gale

Storm

Violent storm

Hurricane

Sea

Sea like, a mirror.

Ripples with appearance of scales formed but without foamcrests.

Small wavelets, still short but more pronounced. Crests haveglassy appearance and do not break.

Large wavelets. Crests begin to break. Foam of glassy appear-ance. Perhaps scattered white horses.

Small waves, becoming longer: fairly frequent white horses.

Moderate waves, taking a more pronounced long form:many white horses (chance of some spray).

Large waves begin to form : white foam crests more extensiveeverywhere. Probably some spray.

Sea heaps up and white foam from breaking waves begins tobe blown in streaks along direction of wind.

Moderately high waves of greater length; edges of crestsbegin to break into spindrift. Foam is blown in well-marked streaks along direction of wind.

High waves. Dense streaks of foam along direction of wind.Crests of waves begin to topple, tumble and roll over.Spray may affect visibility.

Very high waves with long overhanging crests; resultingfoam in great patches is blown in dense white streaks alongdirection of wind; surface of sea takes a white appearance.Tumbling of sea becomes heavy and shocklike. Visibilityaffected.

Exceptionally high waves. (Small and medium-sized shipsmight be for a time lost to view behind the waves.) Seacompletely covered with long white patches of foam lyingalong direction of wind. Everywhere edges of wave crestsare blown into froth. Visibility affected.

Air filled with foam and spray. Sea completely white withdriving spray. Visibility very seriously affected.

Wave height in metres,open sea

Probable

—

,

0.15

0.60

1.0

1.80

3.0

4.0

5.50

7.0

9.0

11.30

13.70

Probablemaximum

—

0.30

1.0

1.50

2.50

4.0

6.0

7.50

9.75

12.50

16.0

148

Eastern Division

141 hour service insevere galeA MESSAGE FROM THE YACHT Coronade tothe Sunk Pilot Cutter, saying that a redflare had been sighted southward, in thedirection of the Long Sand, was inter-cepted by Walton Coastguard at 1621on Sunday, September 14, 1975. Sight-ings followed from the radio ship MiAmiga in position 5r42.5'N,01°35'E, andat 1628 the deputy launching authorityof Walton and Frinton station wasrequested to launch the lifeboat. Themaroons were fired at 1630 and at 1642the 46' 9" Watson lifeboat EdianCourtauld slipped her moorings offWalton Pier and set out on a south-easterly course.

The weather was overcast with rain,and the wind was north north east,force 7. High water Harwich was pre-dicted at 1948.

HM Coastguard diverted the MansionRAF helicopter from another casualtyto confirm the yacht's position, and at1655 it was clarified that Coronade, tothe east of the radio ship, was firingflares to attract attention to a secondyacht in distress some 1$ miles to thenorth of Mi Amiga. The DLA and theCoastguard agreed that the lifeboatshould be directed to the radio ship'sposition to assess the casualty's actualposition in relation to Long Sand.

By 1719 the lifeboat had reachedWallet No. 2 Buoy and, with all shelterfrom the land now lost, was rollingheavily in a rough beam sea. CoxswainFrank Bloom had decided that despitethe severity of the weather he wouldgo directly across the top of GunfleetSand and thence to the westward sideof Long Sand. Crossing Gunfleet Sandin confused breaking seas, he instructedCrew Members Jack Barrett, BrianOxley and Owen Bloom to keep lookouton the foredeck; the lifeboat reachedBlack Deep No. 2 Buoy at 1810.

It was getting dark, but helped bydirections from the helicopter overhead,lights from the casualty were soon seentwo miles eastward; taking over the helmfrom Second Coxswain Dennis Finch,Coxswain Bloom ordered the lookoutsto clear the foredeck and reduced speed

to three-quarter throttle before attempt-ing to cross Long Sand on an easterlycourse; he was well aware of the riskof grounding, for although it was nowhigh water the area was a mass of whitewater with heavy 12' waves breakingirregularly, but with deterioratingweather he decided that time was shortif the crew were to be taken off the yacht.

When half a mile east of Black DeepNo. 2 Buoy the lifeboat took a heavy rollto port, and through the wheelhouse sky-light Coxswain Bloom saw a secondarywave rising above the boat; shouting awarning to all crew, he put the portengine half ahead and swung the wheelhard to starboard as the lifeboat rolledto starboard under the crest of thesecondary wave. The three lookoutshad moved aft and were abreast thestarboard wheelhouse door as the life-boat rolled to an estimated 70° tostarboard. Motor Mechanic BryanWard, in his position to starboard ofthe coxswain, managed to brace himselfagainst the door sill, taking the combinedweights of the coxswain and secondcoxswain on his back as water filled thewheelhouse through the lee door andafter wheelhouse opening.

For a few seconds the boat wascompletely covered as the wave brokeover her and Jack Barrett and the twoyounger crew members on the leerail were submerged in heavy water.Momentarily Coxswain Bloom feltthat a capsize was inevitable, " . . . as itwent completely dark . . .', but the boatswung downwind as intended anddrained rapidly. No crew members hadsuffered more than bruising as they werethrown to starboard and, in an effort

to avert a similar situation, CoxswainBloom ordered Bowman Robert Kempand Jack Barrett to stream the drogue to8 fathoms; this was no easy task in theviolently moving boat, but was safelyachieved. Course was then altered south-eastward to run on a quartering sea.

The weather remained overcast withheavy rain squalls and the wind hadincreased to north east by north force 9,with heavy seas accentuated by thebeginning of the north-north-east ebbtide. Visibility varied, reducing to onemile in squalls.

Once clear of the heavy surf area thedrogue was recovered and the lifeboataltered course northward, coming upon the casualty at 1852. The 30' yacht,Tsunami, was lying to anchor, flying aflag distress signal, under bare spars.The heavy seas were causing her to veerexcessively but the lifeboat was taken towithin hailing distance to ascertain thatthe crew would leave the yacht: theanswer received was that they would doso.

Placing all fenders on the starboardside, Coxswain Bloom took the lifeboatupwind until abreast of the yacht at adistance of some 40 feet and met theyacht as she veered towards him. Thecrew were spaced along the lifeboat'sside deck and although two of theyacht's crew were helped across withoutserious difficulty, the third man had tobe grabbed quickly and hauled aboardas a sea lifted the lifeboat away fromthe yacht in a violent movement.

As Coxswain Bloom manoeuvred tore-position the lifeboat to take off thetwo remaining men, one of those alreadyon board told him that the owner and

Walton and Frinton:Tsunami at anchor south ofLong Sand as Edian Cour-tauld approached. The windwas north east by northforce 9, with heavy seas,the weather overcast withheavy rain squalls.photograph by courtesy of

the lifeboat crew.

149

one other would not leave the yacht. Thecoxswain quickly decided that the onlycourse of action was to try to tow theyacht into deeper open water before thefull ebb tide made conditions untenable.

The second approach was made in asimilar manner and the end of a 1\"nylon towline passed from the bow tothe yacht owner, being cleared along thelifeboat's side by all available crewmembers until, at 20 fathoms, it wasmade fast aft and secured around theyacht's mast, backed up to a cleat. Theyacht's anchor cable was then cut.

Towing began towards North KnockBuoy. Coxswain Bloom's first intention,having been told again that the ownerwas determined to remain on board, wasto attempt the 25-mile downwindpassage to Ramsgate. However, one ofthe yacht's crew told him that Tsunami'srudder was jammed hard a'starboardand that the keel had apparently frac-tured upon grounding earlier; somewater was reported to be entering thehull. With the yacht in that conditionCoxswain Bloom rightly considered thata long downwind tow was too hazard-ous; there was a real danger of broach-ing, and if the yacht lost her keel andcapsized it might be impossible torescue the two yachtsmen should theybe in the cabin.

At 1900, therefore, Coxswain Bloomturned lifeboat and tow on to a northerlycourse to clear Long Sand Head, main-taining the wind on the bow for as longas possible; the tow was lengthened to60 fathoms and the owner and his crewmember battened themselves into theyacht's cabin to man the pump.

At 2112 Long Sand Head Buoy wasabeam and course eased to westward.At 2341, abeam of Sunk Lightvessel,course was again altered to port, withthe tow passing Cork Spit Buoy at0142 and Rolling Ground Buoy at 0210.From this point an increasing lee wasafforded, although the shallow watereffect still caused continual rolling. Thehelm was shared by the more experiencedcrew members during the homewardtow, which required continuous observa-tion of the yacht and close attention tothe towline. Tsunami was towed up theWalton River and secured on a mooringat 0400; the return tow had beenmade at a speed of just over 2 knots.

All five members of the yacht's crewwere taken ashore and returned home intransport arranged by Coxswain Bloom.At 0425 Edian Courtauld left the riverand returned to her moorings; she wasreported refuelled and ready for serviceat 0710.

For this service the silver medal forgallantry was awarded to CoxswainFrank Bloom. The thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Second Coxswain DennisFinch, Motor Mechanic Bryan Ward,Bowman Robert Kemp, AssistantMechanic Keith Richardson and CrewMembers Jack Barrett, Brian Oxley andOwen Bloom.

South Eastern Division

Hurricane in Straitsof DoverDOVER STRAIT COASTGUARD received aMayday call at 2204 on Monday,December 1, 1975, from the 1,199-tonphosphate loaded Cypriot coasterPrimrose indicating loss of steering gearin a position some 3 miles east of Doverbreakwater and that tug assistance wasrequired immediately.

At 2205 Dover Strait Coastguardinformed Dover Port Control that a tugwas required forthwith for the strickencoaster, and in reply was advised thatthe tug was not considered suitable inthe weather conditions prevailing. Sothe Coastguard informed the honorarysecretary of Dover lifeboat station andit was agreed that the lifeboat wouldstand by to launch if required. Her crewwere already assembled and waitingadvice to launch to a ferry adrift inDover Harbour with an injured personaboard.

At 2208 Townsend ferries Free Enter-prise VII and Free Enterprise VIII bothindicated a 15-minute ETA at the positionof the coaster Primrose and the motorvessel Cornish Wasa reported herposition to be some 30 minutes' steam-ing from that of the casualty. At 2226North Foreland Radio broadcast theposition of Primrose to be 4 miles eastof Dover eastern breakwater.

At 2221 Dover honorary secretary wastold that no tug assistance for Primrosewas available and was asked to launchthe Dover lifeboat. Accordingly, at 2237,the 44' Waveney lifeboat FaithfulForester slipped her moorings in thesubmarine pens and set out to sea.

Weather conditions recorded at DoverStrait Coastguard at the time of launch-ing showed the wind direction to befrom 200°T with the force as BeaufortScale storm force 10 (wind speed 48-55 knots). Tide was just one hour afterhigh water Dover.

The storm force winds and tidecreated appalling sea conditions at theeastern entrance to Dover Harbour; anenormous maelstrom of confused seaand spume confronted Faithful Foresteras she tried to claw her way seawardthrough the breakwaters. Before clearingthem she was laid over on her beamends but righted herself and went onunder the expert helmsmanship ofCoxswain/Mechanic Arthur Liddon.

On clearing the eastern harbourentrance at 2242, Faithful Forester wastold by Free Enterprise VIII that thecourse to steer for Primrose was 086°Tand, after verifying this to be correct, thelifeboat accordingly set course 092°M.Wind speed at this time was recorded byinstrument aboard Free Enterprise VIIto be 70 knots—Beaufort Scale hurricaneforce 12. Direction was 190°x. Tide wassetting 054°T at 2.5 knots.

At 2245 Primrose gave her positionas 5 miles north east of Varne Light-

vessel and 5 miles east of Dover break-water. At 2257 she reported that jurysteering gear had been rigged and that aheading of 190°T was being maintained;she was in fact wind and tide rode andmaking up to the north east at a speedof 2.4 knots.

Free Enterprise VII reported at 2318that from radar observation the casualtywas 1J miles off the Goodwin Sandsand closing. At 2320 Dover lifeboatarrived at the casualty having beenguided on to her by the deck and search-lights of Free Enterprise VIII. FaithfulForester had covered the 5 miles fromDover Harbour at an average speed of7.69 knots despite mountainous quarterseas reliably reported by observers onboth ferries to be in excess of 25 feethigh. To have reached the casualty sopromptly despite such conditions high-lights the fine seamanship and doggedperseverance of Coxswain Liddon.Captain Robinson, master of FreeEnterprise VII, said of that night:

'The weather at this time was the worst1 have experienced in this area in someeighteen years service in the DoverStraits. The wind was jusf west of southand my anemometer was indicating100 mph in regular gusts and then settlingat 70 mph. Had Admiral Sir FrancisBeaufort lived 170 years later he wouldcertainly have had second thoughts onhis wind scale.

'The seas were mountainous and it wasobvious to all that the Dover lifeboat hadno chance of navigating visually.'

Coxswain Liddon expertly connedthe Dover lifeboat into a position somehalf a cable off the starboard quarter ofthe coaster, which was shipping heavyseas overall, and stood by, maintainingcourse and speed equivalent to the driftof the casualty. At 2355 navigationlights sighted indicated that an unidenti-fied craft was fast bearing down on toand on collision course with Primrose.Free Enterprise VII, acting as on scenecommander, broadcast a warning onVHF and ascertained that the craft wasMalcolm Miller, approaching at 13knots under bare poles, and thatavoiding action was being taken.

At 0042, Dover Strait Coastguardreported by VHF that the weather frontwould pass through the casualty area in30 minutes' time and at about 0049,with a wind speed reading of 100 mphrecorded by Free Enterprise VII, theDover lifeboat was for the second timeon this service laid on to her beam endsby a combination of sea and windpressure; it was about half a minutebefore the wind slackened and FaithfulForester righted herself; she thenresumed station off the casualty. Duringthis occurrence Free Enterprise VII,keeping careful watch on the lifeboat,realised something was amiss andchecked by VHF radio that all was well.

Meanwhile a Dutch tug reported byVHF that she had sailed from Zeebruggeand gave her approximate ETA as 0930.

The tide was now slack and as the

150

Bridlington: On the morning of November 27, 1975, Bridlington lifeboat, the 37' Oakley William Henry and Mary King stood by, with droguestreamed, while a coble and ten motor fishing vessels entered harbour. The wind was southerly strong gale force 9, the seas rough. Galatea wasthrown almost into the harbour wall by the sea in this picture, but made a second successful run in.

photograph by courtesy of Paul Berriff.

wind had veered to west and diminishedin force to 60 knots—still hurricaneforce 12 though—Coxswain Liddonsuggested to the master of Primrose thathe should steer 270°T with a view tomaking some westing and gaining a leefrom the land. By 0317 it was obviousthat the coxswain's advice, which hadbeen followed, was sound as the coasterhad closed to just under six miles fromDover breakwater.

When some two miles off DoverHarbour eastern arm Primrose requesteda pilot to take her into harbour. At 0346,however, Free Enterprise VIII relayeda reply to the effect that weatherconditions were too severe for the pilotvessel to put out, so Faithful Foresteroffered to lead Primrose into theanchorage. Thus at 0350 Dover lifeboattook station ahead of the coaster, andby passing alterations of course andspeed and also details of the tidalconditions, at 0412 safely pilotedPrimrose into Dover Harbour whenceno other craft had dared to venture allnight.

Once Primrose had anchored, FaithfulForester returned to her berth in the penswhere she was again made ready for seaand placed on station at 0518.

In the final paragraph of his reportCaptain Robinson wrote:

'The whole incident from start tofinish must be the finest piece of seaman-ship I have ever seen with such limitedfacilities in the worst possible conditionsand I salute this small band of dedicatedlifeboatmen who risked life and limbfor some eight hours.'

For this service the silver medal forgallantry was awarded to Coxswain/Mechanic Arthur Liddon. The bronzemedal was awarded to Second Coxswain/Assistant Mechanic Anthony G.Hawkins, who maintained a very highstandard of navigation and communica-tions in particularly bad weather condi-tions. The thanks of the Institutioninscribed on vellum were accorded toSecond Assistant Mechanic Richard J.Hawkins and Crew Members John J.Smith and Gordon Davis. Letters ofthanks from Captain Nigel Dixon, RN,the Director of the Institution, were sentto L. C. White, district officer of HMCoastguard Dover Straits, and themasters of the Townsend car ferriesFree Enterprise VII and Free EnterpriseVIII, Captain B. Robinson and CaptainJ. Davenport.

Western Division

Night service for ILBWATCHET COASTGUARD informed thehonorary secretary of Minehead ILBstation at 2325 on Saturday, September13, 1975, that a flashing light, thoughtto be an SOS signal from a vessel indistress, had been sighted off HurtstonePoint. The ILB, a 19' Zodiac with twinengines and equipped for night opera-tions, was launched at 2335 with Christ-opher Rundle in command and PeterMcGregor and Albert Hartgen as crew.

The wind was north east force 7, andthe sea rough and confused. It was twohours to high water and the flood streamwas setting eastwards at about 2 knots.The night was dark with an overcast skyand driving rain reduced visibility tomoderate.

The ILB headed westward towardsHurtstone Point at slow speed becauseof the rough sea which was aggravatedby wind against tide. A message wasreceived from the Watchet Coastguardmobile that the casualty, thought to be awhite-hulled sailing yacht, was about1J miles east of Hurtstone Point and

151

half a mile off the land. In view of theweather conditions it was requested thatsituation reports be passed from theILB every two minutes.

At 2359, when half a mile north ofMinehead Bluff, an illuminating para-chute flare was fired, but nothing wassighted. The ILB continued westwardand at around 0005 a flashing light wassighted briefly about 30 degrees on thestarboard bow some distance away.Course was altered towards the lightand the Coastguard was informed thatthe weather was deteriorating andprogress towards the last known posi-position of the light was being madewith difficulty. The honorary secretaryinstructed the ILB not to go west ofHurtstone Point and Barry Dock No. 1lifeboat was placed on alert.

At about 0018 a beam of light wassighted right ahead some half-a-mileaway. A second parachute flare wasfired but failed to illuminate thecasualty, and the ILB headed on towardsthe light. Eventually, at 0029, a white-hulled 37' sloop-rigged yacht withoutsails was sighted lying beam on to thesea, bows south east, and rollingheavily.

The wind was still blowing from thenorth east force 7, but the sea wasbecoming more confused, making itdifficult to manoeuvre the ILB.

Helmsman Rundle took the ILB closedown the port side of the yacht, Svea,and shouted to a person standing in thecockpit that the yacht was too large tobe taken in tow; he advised that shebe anchored and the crew would betaken off and landed at Minehead.

The ILB, having stood off while theyacht anchored and became tide-rodewith bows west, manoeuvred, withdifficulty, alongside her port side andmanaged to take off one man beforehaving to stand off again. On the secondattempt the remaining crew, a man anda woman, were taken off in a similarmanner. All were safely on board theILB by 0049.

Svea had sailed in from Lundy Islandtrying to find shelter, but had lost hersails and an anchor and had run out offuel. In an effort to attract attention hercrew had expended all their distressflares at dusk, and had only an electrictorch with which to signal.

The ILB made her way slowly backto Minehead, where the survivors were

landed at 0136 into the care of thehonorary medical adviser, Dr P. Leech(also a crew member), and the boat wasrehoused and ready for service by 0210with the crew standing by for an overduelocal fishing boat. Svea was recoveredlater by a Minehead boat.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Helmsman Christopher J.Rundle, and vellum service certificateswere presented to Crew Members PeterS. McGregor and Albert J. Hartgen.

South Western Division

Trawler taking waterA FRENCH TRAWLER, Enfant de Bretagne,broadcast a Mayday call on the after-noon of Tuesday, December 2, 1975,saying that she was taking water inheavy weather in position 320°M 18 milesfrom St Ives Head. This informationwas given to the deputy launchingauthority of St Ives at 1502, and at 1520the 37' Oakley lifeboat Jane Hay,on temporary duty at St Ives, waslaunched.

The tide was in the last hour of floodand the wind was north north west force7 gusting to force 9. The lifeboat there-fore encountered heavy seas on herstarboard bow from the moment ofleaving harbour as Coxswain ThomasCocking, Senior, set course for thecasualty.

After only about half an hour oncourse the lifeboat received informationthat Enfant de Bretagne had cancelledher Mayday because the leak had beenstopped and she was now under the towof another French trawler. Jane Haywas consequently recalled to station.She had almost reached St Ives Headon the return passage when, at 1625,Enfant de Bretagne sent a further messagereporting that her engine room was nowflooding in very heavy seas. HMCoastguard suggested the lifeboat shouldreturn to the casualty and CoxswainCocking immediately turned seawardsagain, this time setting course almostdue west to allow for what he estimatedmust have been the progress of Enfantde Bretagne since her original Mayday.From the description of the seas whichher master had given, and from his ownestimate of her probable speed made

good southwards of about 5£ knots,Coxswain Cocking surmised, correctlyas it subsequently proved, that thetrawler was probably now approachingCape Cornwall Bank.

Communications with Enfant deBretagne were very poor because of herradio, and the Coastguard repeatedlytried unsuccessfully to obtain an up-dated position from the master. Itappeared that such communication ascould be established had to be via Land'sEnd Radio.

At about 1700 Coxswain Cockingmade another calculation of his own andaltered course to 250°M to intercept thetrawler. Twenty-five minutes later theCoastguard suggested this same courseand the coxswain replied that he wasalready steering that course and that hisETA at the casualty was 1805. At 1740Jane Hay's crew saw lights on thestarboard bow and asked Land's EndRadio to request Enfant de Bretagne tofire a flare to identify herself. Thecasualty never did comply with thisrequest but, about five minutes later,the lifeboat saw the lights of a towingvessel and so realised that Enfant deBretagne was the next vessel astern ofher.

By 1820 Jane Hay had closed towithin a few yards of the trawler'sstarboard side where she took upstation and remained in very closeescort in case the trawler should founder.There was still no communication withthe casualty but, despite the appallingweather conditions, the passage con-tinued without further incident untilthe lee of Land's End was reached southof Runnel Stone Buoy. The Longshipsarea had to be given a very wide berthto westward, as did Cam Base two milessouthwards, because of the enormousseas.

The honorary secretary St Ives thenasked Penlee lifeboat to launch andtake over the escort back to Newlyn.This was done and the rendezvous wasmade at about 1945 when four mileseast south east of the Runnel Stone. StIves lifeboat then handed over the escortto Penlee and set course for home.

The Inspector HM Coastguard SouthWest Division had by this time gone tothe Coastguard lookout at St Ives andreported that spray was in fact beingblown across the lookout, which is some70' above sea level. He became concerned

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston: The coaster Sea Rhine, her cargo shifted, founders. Her mate had been taken off by the 44' Waveney lifeboatKhami.

152

for the safety of the lifeboat on herreturn passage and asked HMS Tartar,which was in the vicinity, to remain inthe area until St Ives lifeboat hadreturned to her station.

The return passage found the life-boat bucking headwinds of a steadyforce 9 from due north as she passedLongships. Conditions graduallyworsened and, by the time she wasabreast of the Brisons, the seas werereaching 35 feet and breaking and, forthe first time in his experience of thislifeboat, Coxswain Cocking found him-self obliged to reduce speed. In spite ofthis, the seas off Cape Cornwall weresufficient to tear the bow fender fromits fixing. St Ives Harbour was eventuallyregained by 2310 and, with some diffi-culty, the boat was recovered on to hercarriage.

This had been a most arduous service,and Motor Mechanic John Hoskingsitting at the radio had found himself onmore than one occasion in water up tohis waist after exceptional seas hadbroken over the quarter and filled thecockpit. They were the worst conditionsCoxswain Cocking and his crew hadever experienced in the lifeboat, and forthe coxswain this spans a period of 25years. Of the eight hours at sea, the lastsix had been in darkness and heavy rain.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Coxswain Thomas Cocking,Senior. Vellum service certificates werepresented to Motor Mechanic John D.Hosking, Assistant Mechanic WilliamBenney and Crew Members David L.Smith, John T. Lander and WilliamH. Jenkyn.

Eastern Division

Sea Rhine foundersAT 0423 ON WEDNESDAY February 11,HM Coastguard informed the honorarysecretary of Great Yarmouth andGorleston lifeboat station that a Maydaycall had been received from the coasterSea Rhine whose cargo had shifted,causing her to list badly.

The 44' Waveney lifeboat Khami setout at 0439 in a strong breeze and amoderate sea. It was high water andvisibility was good. She reached thecoaster, whose position was some 20

ANNUAL AWARDS

T975

The Maud Smith Bequest for theoutstanding act of lifesaving in 1975has been awarded to Coxswain/Mecha-nic David Kennett of Yarmouth, Isle ofWight, for the rescue on September 14of the crew of five of the yacht Chaykaof Ardgour. Coxswain Kennett wasawarded the Institution's silver medalfor this service.

The Ralph Glister Award for the mostmeritorious service by the crew of an

ILB in 1975 has been awarded toHelmsman Michael Coates and CrewMember David Wharton of Whitby forthe rescue on July 25 of a man cut offon a cliff by the tide. For this serviceHelmsman Coates was awarded theInstitution's bronze medal and CrewMember Wharton the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum.

The James Michael Bower Fund. Mone-tary awards from this fund are beingmade to the three men who receivedthe RNLI's silver medal for gallantryfor services during 1975: CoxswainFrank Bloom of Walton and Frinton;Coxswain/Mechanic David Kennett ofYarmouth; and Coxswain/MechanicArthur Liddon of Dover.

miles east south east of the lifeboatstation, at 0620. A tug had alreadytaken off the master of Sea Rhine and aseaman, but the mate had remainedaboard. However, within minutes herlist had increased sharply and thelifeboat went alongside on the portquarter and took the mate off. The othertwo survivors were then transferredfrom the tug to the lifeboat. At 0802Sea Rhine sank and the lifeboat returnedto her station arriving at 0915.

North Eastern Division

Cut off by tideA LOCAL COBLE alerted FlamboroughCoastguard on the afternoon olSaturday, August 23, 1975; two peoplewere cut off by the tide on the cliff atWest Scar. After viewing the site andruling out any attempt at rescue over thecliff as too dangerous, the Coastguardtelephoned the honorary secretary ofthe lifeboat station at 1600, maroonswere fired and the 35' 6" Liverpool life-boat Friendly Forester launched at 1615.It was two hours before high water, withwind north-easterly force 2, a slight seaand moderate swell.

The position of the trapped peoplewas clearly visible from the launchingsite. They were on a ledge some 8 feetabove the water. Both sides of NorthLanding have heavy outcrops of scar.The swell, though moderate at theentrance to the cove, built itself up,

becoming confused especially in thevicinity of the casualties.

Coxswain George Pockley had madeup his mind before launching that anyattempt to take the lifeboat to thecasualties would seriously hazard hisboat and crew and would prove un-successful. He therefore anchored atthe entrance to the cove and veereddown cable. The rocket line was thenfired to the Coastguard on the cliff top,who pulled in one veering line attachedto the breeches buoy. Unfortunately therocket line fouled and chaffed throughbefore the veering line had been hauledto the land, but the gear was recovered,another line fired and the veering linehauled to the cliff top successfully.

With the gear rigged in this way thebreeches buoy could be guided directlyto the two people on the cliff. As one ofthem had an injured leg, and to avoidfurther delay, Coxswain Pockleyinstructed Crew Member AlwynEmmerson to go ashore in the buoy tohelp. Such was the smooth, practised co-operation between lifeboat crew andCoastguard that Alwyn Emmerson waslanded just below the casualties.

By this time the swell was reaching thebase of the ledge and the resultantconfused water made it very difficult forthe casualties to get into the breechesbuoy. While Alwyn Emmerson washelping the first person, AuxiliaryCoastguard John Powell was lowereddown the cliff to help, and both people

continued on page 111

photographs by courtesy of H. E. Appleton.

153

A Weekend in SeptemberSaturday and Sunday, September 13 and 14, 1975:

47 launches on serviceFOUR AWARDS FOR GALLANTRY

TWO SILVER MEDALS, a bronze medal, avellum, 47 launches on service, 34 livesrescued, nine vessels saved, 172 hours atsea. Not a record by RNLI standards,but nevertheless quite a weekend. Manyof the services ended in no positiveachievement; lifeboat or ILB had stoodby sometimes for as long as ten hours ingale force winds, willing to provide atleast background confidence to crewsworking out their own problems, readyto move in when needed. 'Gave help'appears 10 times in the table of launchesopposite. A total of ten hours was spentat sea by three lifeboats looking for theoriginators of flares and distress signalswhich could not be identified.

Several boats launched more[than onceduring the weekend. Bembridge, Torbayand Clacton-on-Sea offshore lifeboatsand Largs, Southend-on-Sea, Weston-

super-Mare, Minehead and HaylingIslands ILBs each went out twice;Eastney ILB three times.

The award-winning services roughlyfollowed the pattern of the weathersystem as it moved from west to east:Weston-super-Mare and Minehead lateSaturday evening; Yarmouth, Isle ofWight, very early Sunday morning;Walton and Frinton Sunday afternoon.The reports of the services by Weston-super-Mare, for which Helmsman JulianMorris was awarded the bronze medal,and by Yarmouth, for which Coxswain/Mechanic David Kennett was awardedthe silver medal, appeared in the lastissue of THE LIFEBOAT. The report of theservice by Minehead for which Helms-man Christopher Rundle was accordedthe thanks of the Institution inscribedon vellum appears on page 151 in this

CHARTS OF WEATHER IN WESTERN EUROPE

issue, and the report of the service bythe Walton and Frinton lifeboat forwhich Coxswain Frank Bloom wasawarded the silver medal appears onpage 149.

Once again we are indebted to theMeteorological Office for allowing usto publish the weather charts below,and to Jack Armstrong of the South-ampton Weather Centre for the follow-ing assessment of the weekend'sweather:

The weather situation on September13 and 14, 1975, can be described as'typical' for the mid-September period,though it does sometimes seem ratherremarkable how often the peak activityof a depression such as this occurs at aweekend.

The low pressure area came acrossthe Atlantic very quickly as a fairly

154

weak feature but it reached the South-west Approaches around mid-day onSaturday, found conditions which suitedit and began to deepen rapidly pushingwinds up to gale force in all quadrants.As it deepened it slowed down butfinally cleared the southern North Seaon Sunday afternoon leaving a galeforce northerly behind it.

It was in fact this northerly galewhich caused most of the incidents,spreading as it did from the WestCountry on Saturday evening to theThames Estuary by Sunday mid-day.

Frequent gusts of gale force 8 wererecorded at land stations and severegale force 9 was measured at Brightonand at Portland; one can deduce that

force 9 was frequently experienced inopen waters.

The great danger of these stormsmust lie in the brief but violent natureof their lives. Mid-day Saturday, quietand peaceful, Sunday night clearingskies and a fresh clear wind, but betweenthe two an 18-hour period of rain andgales and perhaps even tragedy.

Date andtime oflaunch

STATION CASUALTYhours

atSea

livesres-cued

per-sons

landed

ves-sels

saved

ves-sels

helpedServices Rendered

Offshore Lifeboats

13.9.75054912461425171819201925220022352345

14.9.750001003501220140022206080850

09090958101713151453

16421650

1957

BembridgeSt HelierBaltimoreTorbayFishguardClovellyWorkingtonDun LaoghaireEastbourne

FleetwoodNew Quay (Dyfed)Yarmouth Isle of WightTorbayClacton-on-SeaCalshotSelsey

HarwichBarry DockBembridgeHumberNewhaven

Walton and FrintonClacton-on-Sea

Lowestoft

FV Jumbo of PortsmouthYacht BannatyneMFV JoslyneDinghiesDinghyYacht Arundel BaronDinghyYachtUnidentified distress signal

FlaresYachtYacht Chayka of ArdgourYacht AmorelFlaresYachts

1) Yachts Valkyrie and Bonaventure2) Motor yacht Honfleur of GosportYacht TiamoYacht Amanda KYacht TessaYacht Lady Nancy of GrimsbyMotor cruiser Beryl in tow of

motor cruiser CarisbrookeYacht TsunamiYacht Cyma of Deben in tow of

cabin cruiserTug Robin IV of America

324129532

446443

i l 3I

410124

114

54

123

3

57

5

20

1

1

1

1

1

5

1

4211

2

2

13

NoneGave helpSaved boat & rescued 3NoneSaved boatNoneNoneNoneNone

NoneNoneRescued 5Saved boat & rescued 7NoneGave helpGave helpGave helpGave helpNoneLanded a bodySaved boat

Escorted boatsSaved boat & rescued 5

Escorted boatsNone

Inshore Lifeboats

13.9.7510401409144615571655173017491838195422312335

14.9.750030

0949120513251349141515301650165019002010

LargsPort IsaacHolyheadLyme RegisSouthwoldSouthend-on-SeaEastneyWest KirbyWhitstableWeston-super-MareMinehead

Largs

MineheadThe MumblesHarwichEastneyWeston-super-MareHayling IslandSouthend-on-SeaWest MerseaHayling IslandEastney

Yacht MystiqueBatherPerson fallen from cliffDinghiesDinghy Flap JackBatherYacht LorenPersons cut off by tideFishing boatMotorboat 4DYacht Svea

Persons overboard from dinghyTesang

FV Amanda KayDinghyYacht SaraDinghyMotorboatYachtsCatamaran UyoYacht Sea BadgerYachtsPersons stranded on island

25111121123

210121332221

49

1

2

53

2

1

14

1

2

3

1

1

1

1

4

3

1

2

12

9

NoneNoneRescued 1Gave helpSaved boat & rescued 2NoneSaved boat & landed 1NoneNoneRescued 5Rescued 3

NoneNoneGave helpLanded 2Saved boat & rescued 2NoneGave helpSaved boat & rescued 1Gave helpGave helpNone

155

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGand presentation of awards

ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, WEDNESDAY APRIL 14

THE TRUE MEASURE OF SUCCESS — 1,038 LIVES SAVED IN 1975

'THOSE MARVELLOUSLY UNDER-STATEDCITATIONS . . .' Thus Raymond Baxterput into words the feelings of thecrowded Royal Festival Hall on theafternoon of April 14 as he rose tomove the traditional resolution im-mediately following the presentation ofawards for gallantry. One after anothertwelve gallant men, coxswains, helms-men and crew, together with MartinRuddy, a 14-year-old Scout, had comeup to receive their medals, silver orbronze, from the Chairman of theInstitution, Major-General Ralph Far-rant. 'The wind was north north eastforce 9 ... heavy rain . . . while crossingthe Long Sand the lifeboat was laid over70 degrees to starboard and momentarilyoverwhelmed . . .'; '. . . gale force 10winds .. . seas over 25' swept the lifeboat,some filling the wheelhouse . . .';'. . . hurricane force winds . . . Dover . . .extremely confused seas in the harbourentrance from which no vessel, save thelifeboat, had been able to venture allnight...';'... during the return passagethe lifeboat encountered breaking seasof 40-50 feet in height...';'... gale ... herowed five exhausting times backwardsand forwards through the heavy swell andrough seas . . .'

This is both the most solemn and themost triumphant hour of the lifeboatyear.

It was Raymond Baxter, guest speakerbut nevertheless an old friend, who, ashe ended his speech, also put into wordsthe buoyant optimism of the day.Despite having raised more money in1975 than ever before, the Institution'sexpenditure for the year had exceededincome by about a quarter of a millionpounds. While accepting this as a realitywhich has to be faced, there was nodoubt that lifeboat people were un-deterred, looking ahead with reneweddetermination and faith:

Now this crisis has not been the faultof any of you for not trying hard enough.It is simply the product of inflation—theinsidious rat in our national larder. Itwould be very foolish to pretend that thesituation is not extremely serious, butthe RNLI is used to serious situations.No one needs the lifeboat when it is allplain sailing. So be it. We have the mento put to sea when everything is againstthem. Some of them are with us thisafternoon. It is up to al/ of us to provethat though we may not be of theirmettle, we can at least emulate theirexample. By meeting the challenge allsquare, as a lifeboat herself will turn herbow to challenge and overcome a

thundering, breaking wave, we, too, shallredouble our efforts, ride out the stormand see our men safely home.'

The day had begun with the morningannual general meeting at which Major-General Farrant had presented theannual report and accounts to theGovernors:

'I should like to welcome everyone tothis marvellous turn-out of Governors.Thank you all very much for coming . . .

'As you all know this is the first timethat I have had the privilege of addressingthe Governors of the RNLI as Chairman.I count myself fortunate in being in aposition to report to you on a year ofconsiderable success. Last year the livesof over 1,000 people were saved fromdeath by drowning. This is the truemeasure of the success of our work, and itit most gratifying to be able to add thatno member of a lifeboat crew lost hislife on service or on exercise during theyear. Another figure of some significanceis that last year the RNLI recorded its100,000th rescue of human life since webegan to keep records around the middleof the last century.

'During 1975 the RNLI raised moremoney than ever before. In the same yearwe sent six new lifeboats to their stations,and when you consider that a modernlifeboat costs between £100,000 and£200,000 this gives you some idea of theconstructional programme on which wehave been engaged. During the year wecompleted the move of our head officeto Poole . . .'

General Farrant went on to speak ofthe Institution's close co-operation withlifeboat services overseas and otherorganisations at home engaged in thework of saving life at sea. During theyear an RNLI delegation had attendedthe twelfth International Lifeboat Con-ference in Finland, at which 19 countrieshad been represented. The first 54' Arunclass lifeboat to have been built of GRP,launched that spring, had made thepassage to Helsinki:

'When she was shown to the dele-gates . . . she aroused considerableinterest and admiration because shelooked as though she had been shippedunder wraps straight from the builder'syard. She is now on station at Weymouth.We are already receiving enquires fromforeign countries interested in purchasingor building lifeboats of the Arun class.'

At the wish of an overwhelmingmajority of delegates to the conferencethe RNLI is to continue to provide a

central secretariat for lifeboat organisa-tions throughout the world.

'I am sure you will agree that this is ahigh compliment and an indication ofthe international standing of the RNLItoday.'

General Farrant then turned to thequestion of financial reserves. The moveof the head office to Poole had been asuccessful venture both financially andadministratively. The building and thefreehold of the land on which it standshad been paid for almost entirely bydisposing of the lease of 42-44 Gros-venor Gardens, which was, of course, adiminishing asset. With the new build-ing, not only were the working andtravelling conditions of the staff im-proved, but the Institution's funds werespared the burden of having to payLondon allowances. Despite an opera-tional deficit during the year theRNLI's financial reserves were, in fact,somewhat higher at the beginning of1976 than they had been at the beginningof 1975, largely because of an improve-ment in the stock market.

'Nevertheless ... we must continue toregard our reserves as dangerously low.. .Not so long ago reserves of £1 millionmeant that there was enough money tocover a year's operational costs even ifno new money came in. Today £1 millionin reserves would cover our runningcosts for only about two months.'

The erosion of working capital andthe level of expenditure had beenexamined most carefully in the course ofthe year:

'As our first responsibility must be toendeavour to maintain our coastal coverat its present level, the conclusion reachedwas that we must introduce a temporarypause in the accelerated building pro-gramme on which we embarked a fewyears ago.

'I want to emphasize as strongly as Ican that this is a pause and not adiminution of the programme.

'May I remind you of the background ?In 1970 we decided to double the rate ofboatbuilding with the intention of raisingthe average number of offshore boatscompleted in a year from five to ten. Inannouncing the policy, the late AdmiralSir Wilfrid Woods, who was then ourChairman, said openly that it was an actof faith and that we did not have thefinancial resources at the time to ensurethat the programme would be completed.We had high hopes of our anniversaryyear to keep us going in this act of faith.

156

In fact, we have been building at thisaccelerated rate, and that is why thereare now 11 new lifeboats under construc-tion which are due to be completed thisyear. One of these, a 44' Waveney, justlaunched, is to be called Ralph and JoySwann as a mark of our appreciation ofthe many years of devoted service to theInstitution of my predecessor, Com-mander Ralph Swann.

'However, we are having to slow downon construction because of inflation.Whilst on this topic, I recently heard thechairman of one of our committees, whois a retired admiral—that does not pinhim down too closely—comment thatwhen he was a lieutenant the cost of adestroyer was about the same as the costof a 70' lifeboat now. It was a very goodillustration when he first used it last year;I am sorry to say that this year hisdestroyer would be only a 54-footer!The grim fact is that in the past fiveyears the cost of building boats hastrebled.

Therefore, we are having a pause inthe building and are ordering only threenew boats this year, but by the end of theyear we shall have completed 43 newoffshore lifeboats since 1970, which is anaverage of seven new boats per year.When sufficient funds become availablewe shall order more new boats.'

General Farrant then spoke of theefforts being made to keep expendituredown wherever possible without com-promising the efficiency of the service,and also of the efforts being made toincrease contributions, particularly fromthe marine sector of industry.

'In presenting any picture of theRNLI's finances there is one primaryconsideration which must be taken intoaccount, but which is not easily quanti-fied. This is public goodwill, on whichthe whole success of the service depends.I can truthfully state that the RNLI inits long history has never enjoyed

greater goodwill among the public atlarge in this country than it does today.That this is so is principally due to thevoluntary efforts of all those who workfor the service, an appreciable number ofwhom are Governors of the Institution.It is because, of the existence of thisgoodwill that the Committee of Manage-ment is reasonably confident of over-coming the serious financial problemswhich confront the RNLI today.'

Coming to the accounts, a summaryof which appear on this page. Major-General Farrant pointed out that the netcurrent assets had improved during theyear by £0.36 million to a total of£3.74 million; much of the increase infreehold property, which stood inexcess of £1.5 million, was in respect ofthe headquarters building at Poole. Thenet income for general purposes ofslightly over £4.5 million showed anincrease by some £363,000 which, withthe amount released from restrictedfunds, brought available income for theyear to over £5 million for the first timein the history of the Institution.

In a year when national inflation hadbeen running at an average of at least24 per cent, the Institution had been ableto curtail its overall expenditure increaseto 19 per cent, compared with 1974,varying from 39 per cent increase in theboat building programme to 5 per centin the costs of fund raising and publicity.Administrative expenses had increasedby 26 per cent, due mainly to salary andpensions costs and the rises in costs oftravel and the telephone, but economieswere already in hand, and it was hopedthat the increased cost of these adminis-trative items would be held to about 6per cent in 1976.

In conclusion, General Farrant saidthat as the net funds available forcapital expenditure at £1.35 million had

fallen short of capital requirements byabout £0.27 million, that sum had beentaken from reserve to fulfil the boat-building programme.

After some discussion on the presenta-tion in the accounts of investments—their performance was agreed to havebeen extremely good—the report andaccounts for 1975 were adopted.

Next, the President, His Royal High-ness the Duke of Kent, the Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, the Duke ofNorthumberland, and Deputy Treas-urer, David Acland, and other membersof the Committee of Management weredeclared elected. Price Waterhousewere re-appointed as auditors andthanked for their valuable help andadvice.

The question was raised by MajorJ. Showell-Rogers, RM (Poole) of thequalifications required for launchingauthorities. He said that, while heunderstood that it had been laid downthat all station honorary secretaries andother launching authorities should bemaster mariners or naval officers withwatch-keeping certificates, he felt thatrather than such formal qualifica-tions it was more important to findpeople, with, of course, knowledge ofthe sea, who were conscientious andreliable and who would not leave thetelephone unattended. The Chairmanreplied that people chosen would bethose who have the right experience atsea as well as the other qualifications.About 40 per cent of launching authori-ties 'do the job because they areexcellent people who know what theyare about and not because they have amaster mariner's certificate or somenaval qualification. We are extremelyflexible.'

During discussion on flag days andhouse-to-house collections, Mr Booth

EXPENDITURE £000'sLifeboat service: recurrent... 2,640

capital ... 1,617Lifeboat support: fund raising

and publicity 811management 472

5,540

1975 ACCOUNTS SUMMARY

Although the deficit for the year of£268,000 has been more than covered bythe improvement in the value of invest-ments during the year, with expenditureincreasing, the need for adequate reservesbecomes even more pressing, and theCommittee of Management is planningaccordingly.

INCOMEGeneral purpose legaciesSubscriptions and donations...MiscellaneousRestricted Funds

APPEALS £0.15TO INDUSTRY &.SPONSORS —

£000's2,0822,196

248746

5,272

Total: £5,540,000

(SHORELINE)

Total: £5,272,000

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of Wallington asked whether it mightnot be better to hold the London flagday on a Saturday rather than on aTuesday; to which Captain Nigel Dixon,RN, Director, replied that in CentralLondon, where a great deal of money israised, and especially in the City, aweek day was likely to be more success-ful than a Saturday. Tuesday wastraditional and the RNLI enjoys theprivilege, given to it by the MetropolitanPolice, of having the first flag day of theseason. Therefore, unless there were anyother evidence to show that another daywould be better, the situation would beleft as at present.

* * *Major General Farrant, Chairman of

the Institution, welcomed everyone tothe afternoon meeting for the presenta-tion of awards: 'I am delighted to seethe hall so full. Congratulations!' Hespoke of the question-marks which hadbeen in many people's minds after theend of 1974, 'The Year of the Lifeboat'.Could we possible do as well again?Would there be a feeling of anti-climax ?

'We now know the answer to thosequestions. It can be given in a singlesentence. In spite of the economic difficul-ties, of which everyone is aware, moremoney was raised for the RNLI lastyear than in 1974 or any other year inthe RNLI's long history. This was ameasure of the achievements of ourfund-raising branches and guilds, andtheir efforts cannot be valued too highly.I think that you are entitled to giveyourselves a clap.'

After the happy applause had dieddown, General Farrant went on to speakof the success of local and regionalappeals, such as the Bradford andBristol appeals and the Hampshire Roseappeal, which emphasises the importanceand value to the RNLI of local pride ina local lifeboat and crew. He alsothanked the Institution's many regularsupporters, such as 'our friends in theCivil Service and Post Office LifeboatFund' and other organisations likeScouts and Guides, Rotarians andRound Tablers, Foresters, Oddfellowsand Buffaloes . . . 'I know I shall benaming only some of the organisationsto which the RNLI is indebted.'

General Farrant went on to talk of thenew appeals being made to industrialenterprises and financial houses, toshipping, insurance and other concerns:

'As you may have read, we weredelighted to receive a gift of £100,000under deed of covenant from the boardof British Petroleum to provide a newlifeboat to be stationed at Aberdeen.(Applause). We hope that other greatcompanies will follow that example. Itis, perhaps, indicative of the variety ofsupport the RNLI receives that this giftis to be supplemented by one made bythe Aberdeen students to provide theelectronic equipment in the new lifeboat.'(Applause.)

General Farrant then spoke of the

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financial situation; of the deficit for theyear of £268,000; of the efforts beingmade to keep down expenditure withoutimpairing the efficiency of the service;and of the decision to introduce atemporary pause in the boatbuildingprogramme.

'Therefore, we are ordering only threenew boats this year compared with the11 that are already on order and whichwill be launched. Nevertheless, we arestill confident that by about 1980 all ouroffshore lifeboats, apart from the threeboats of the 70' Clyde class, which arevery stable, deep-draught craft, willhave a self-righting capability. That wasour target six years ago and in spite ofthe pause we are adhering to the policywhich we adopted in 1970 . . .

'The RNLI has had some stormyyears—years in which the hands ofCommander Ralph Swann and the lateAdmiral Sir Wilfrid Woods were at thehelm. We may well have stormy passagesahead—I expect more than one—butwe can, I think, face the future withconsiderable confidence, principallybecause of the very great measure ofgoodwill which the RNLI enjoys todayin Britain and Ireland. For this we aregreatly indebted to our honorary workers,but I should also like to express ourthanks to what is now fashionablycalled "the media"—that is to say, thepress, television and radio—for theadmirable way in which over the yearsthey have reported and commented onthe work of the lifeboat service . . . thismay be an appropriate moment tointroduce our guest speaker, although ina sense no introduction is necessary, forthe name and voice and face of RaymondBaxter are known to us all.' (Applause.)

Concluding his remarks, GeneralFarrant then presented the awards forgallantry:

Coxswain Frank Bloom, Walton andFrinton: silver medalOn September 14, 1975, the Walton

and Frinton lifeboat Edian Courtuuldwent to the help of the yacht Tsunami indistress on the south side of the LongSand. A strong gale, force 9, wasblowing and there was heavy rain. Threemen were taken off the yacht, then, asthe owner and one other insisted onremaining on board, a tow line waspassed and a long tow began at twoknots in violent seas. This arduousservice in dangerously shallow waterslasted 14£ hours.

Coxswain/Mechanic David Kennett, Yar-mouth, Isle of Wight: silver medalIn the early hours of September 14,

1975, the Yarmouth lifeboat The Earland Countess Howe was called to the aidof the 28' sloop Chayka of Ardgourdisabled in storm force 10 winds andheavy confused seas seven miles southof the Needles Channel. With superbtiming and expert seamanship Cox-swain Kennett twice brought the lifeboatalongside to snatch first three and thenthe remaining two exhausted crew menon board.

Coxswain/Mechanic Arthur Liddon,Dover: silver medal

Second Coxswain/Assistant MechanicAnthony Hawkins, Dover: bronzemedal:Late on the evening of December 1,

1975, the Dover lifeboat Faithful Fores-ter launched to the aid of the coasterPrimrose which had lost her steeringgear. The wind was storm force 10gusting up to 100 mph. The crew ofPrimrose eventually managed to rigtemporary steering gear; CoxswainLiddon advised a course to be steeredfor Dover and by passing alterations ofcourse, speed and tidal conditionspiloted the coaster into harbour.

Coxswain William Richards, Penlee:bronze medalEarly on the morning of January 25,

1975, the Peniee lifeboat SolomonBrowne launched in gale force windsgusting to hurricane force to answer adistress call broadcast by MV Lovat, thecrew of which were abandoning ship.Two helicopters had been despatched tothe casualty and were able to save twolives, but, sadly, 11 others were lost andthe lifeboat had the arduous andunhappy task of recovering five bodies.During the return passage the lifeboatencountered breaking seas of 40-50 feetin height.

Coxswain John Petit, St Peter Port: barto his bronze medal

Emergency Mechanic John Robilliard,St Peter Port: bronze medalOn completion of a service to a

fishing vessel on the night of July 14,1975, the St Peter Port lifeboat SirWilliam Arnold was called to the aid ofthe tanker Point Law, which wasaground on Alderney. As there was noimmediate danger to the tanker's crew,Coxswain Petit waited until first lightwhen, in gale force conditions, he heldthe lifeboat just clear of the rocks, whileCrew Member Robilliard brought off sixof the crew (one in a stretcher) in thelifeboat's inflatable dinghy; he rowedfive exhausting times backwards andforwards. As the tanker began to breakup the six remaining crew memberswere taken off by helicopter.

Helmsman William Shearer, Berwick-upon-Tweed: bronze medalOn May 31, 1975, Berwick-upon-

Tweed ILB went to the aid of a trimarancapsized in rough sea. An unconsciouswoman was first hauled from thewater; two men clinging to the upturnedhull reported that a second woman wastrapped beneath it. Helmsman Shearerreturned to harbour at full speed and,having landed the woman into medicalcare and embarked a Coastguard withan axe, the ILB returned to the casualtyand freed the trapped woman.

Helmsman Michael Coates, Whitby:bronze medalOn Friday, July 25, 1975, Whitby

ILB was launched to the aid of a manhanging on to the crumbling rock face ofa nearby cliff; he was in danger of losinghis hold and of being swept away by theheavy breaking sea. The ILB wasanchored off and, while Crew MemberDavid Wharton remained on board,Helmsman Coates swam to the foot ofthe cliff attached to a line. He persuadedthe man to slide down into the sea andthey were both hauled back on board theILB.

Coxswain/Mechanic Charles Bowry,Sheerness: bronze medalIn the early morning of August 16,

1975, the Sheerness lifeboat HelenTurnbull went to the aid of a 30' yachtEladnit which had lost her rudder andgone aground in a near gale and heavybroken water. As there was danger thatthe lifeboat herself might be drivenaground, Coxswain Bowry anchoredand two crew members were veereddown to the casualty in the inflatabledinghy. On learning that of the fivepeople on board two were youngchildren and two adults overcome byseasickness, the coxswain decided totow the yacht off. This achieved, theyacht's crew, with first-class seaman-ship, were transferred to the lifeboat.

Crew Member Brian Hodgson, Whitby:bronze medalOn August 18, 1975, Whitby ILB

was conducting a search after a reportthat a small boat had been swamped andher crew of two men washed overboard.While searching in rough seas one manwas seen in the water outside the line ofbreaking surf and a second man, a non-swimmer, in obvious trouble on the edgeof the surf. Crew Member Hodgsonentered the water to help the first man,so that the ILB could go directly topick up the other man. The ILB thenrecovered Brian Hodgson and the firstman just as they were about to be sweptinto the surf.

Helmsman Julian Morris, Weston-super-Mare: bronze medalLate on the night of September 13,

1975, the ILB was launched to the aid offive people. They had climbed on to arocky ledge after their motorboat hadbeen wrecked at the base of a cliff, andthey were in danger of being drownedby the rising tide. After making one runin through the rough and confusedseas, frequently grounding on sub-merged rocks, Helmsman Morris ap-proached again, anchored and veereddown near enough to heave a lineashore. Four men were then hauled outto the ILB by the line and the fifthwaded out.

Martin Ruddy: bronze medalDuring the afternoon of June 7, 1975,

14-year-old Martin Ruddy of the 1stIlfracombe Scout Troop was rowing hisnew 9' inflatable dinghy close to thebeach when he saw a speedboat half amile to seaward, with her occupants

Medallists of 1975: (I. to r., back row first) Coxswain Frank Bloom, Walton and Frinton;Helmsman Michael Coates, Whitby; Coxswain John Petit and Crew Member John Robilliard,St Peter Port: Second Coxswain/Assistant Mechanic Anthony Hawkins, Dover; HelmsmanJulian Morris, Weston-super-Mare; Coxswain/Mechanic Arthur Liddon, Dover; MartinRuddy; Helmsman William Shearer, Berwick-upon-Tweed; Coxswain/'Mechanic DavidKennett, Yarmouth; Coxswain/Mechanic Charles Bowry, Sheerness; Crew Member BrianHodgson, Whitby; Coxswain William Richards, Penlee.

signalling for help. Although he hadbeen warned of the dangerous crosscurrents and rocks in this vicinity heimmediately began to row out. After 20minutes he reached the speedboat, nowsinking, and succeeded in. getting thefour occupants and a dog aboard hisinflatable before starting the arduousand dangerous row back to the shore.

Major-General Farrant next calledupon Raymond Baxter to propose theresolution.

Beginning a speech, every minute ofwhich was to delight his audience,Raymond Baxter listed his qualifica-tions for '. . . participating in thisdistinguished occasion'. They were, hesaid, three in number:

"The first is that in my time I haveactually been a customer of the RNLI. Bythat I do not mean that I bought a flagfrom one of your charming ladies—•although I have actually been known todo that too from time to time—but thatI have had occasion to summon assist-ance at sea from the colleagues of thosegallant men whom we all honour today.I hasten to add that in this particularincident no one got a medal—least of allme—but it gave me the opportunity tosee the work of the Institution at closequarters; well, as close as the rise and fallbetween my old Dunkirk veteran . . .and the inflated rubber hot-water bottlefor which two splendid chaps hadabandoned the warmth and comfort ofthe local pub on a rather dark andblowy night in the lower estuary of theThames. All that was a long time ago ...

'My second qualification is that manyyears even before that . . . I went with mysister to my first dance. It was held in thelifeboat house at Sennen Cove . . . littledid I think that night that some 20 yearsand a world war later I would put tosea with the Dover lifeboat completewith a television crew ... We went out to

the South Goodwin Lightship, the onethat was lost in the subsequent tragedy,and gave the crew their first televisionset ...

'My third qualification—and I havethe Chairman nervously wondering whereon earth this speech is going—is that Ienjoy the privilege of appearing fromtime to time in some of your livingrooms, and have done so on two occa-sions to make the television appeal onbehalf of the RNLI. . .

'Therefore . . . I flatter myself thatmy wife and I are among colleaguesand friends in your distinguished com-pany this afternoon. The more I thinkabout that, the more proud I am to behere at all.

'Whether or not there are such thingsas national characteristics, and the ideadoes not enjoy the support it did whenI was a boy, it is demonstrable that thepeople of Britain have much in commonwith ducks. They don't half take to thewater! Three weekends ago my daughterand I went to see the Head of the RiverRace here on the Thames, in which myson was rowing. That afternoon no lessthan 380 racing eights competed againsteach other over the tideway from Mort-lake to Putney—the University Boat Racecourse in reverse, but that doesn'tmatter because, as you will have noticed,they all row backwards anyway. Thepoint is that over 3,000 men and boys—-and there were some heads even greyerthan mine with not nearly as much hair^were prepared to travel great distancesfrom literally all over the country to pulltheir guts out against each other in ablade-to-blade struggle over the mostdemanding course in the world. All thatfor a few pints of beer which they wouldhave to pay for themselves anyway.

'That sort of behaviour is, I like tothink, still typically British. Certainlythere is no such race elsewhere in theworld. No other people would be daftenough to attempt such a thing.

'I believe that the Royal NationalLife-Boat Institution is also typically

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Raymond Baxter of 'Tomorrow's World'fame, and a member of the RNL1 PublicRelations Committee, moved the resolution.

British, or what many of us used to liketo think of as such. Its only purpose is togo to the rescue of those in peril regard-less of who they may be, where they comefrom, what their business is or how theymanaged to get into danger in the firstplace. In order to do that men such asthose with us this afternoon are preparedto lay down their lives. We all rememberwith pride those who have done so. Thatmay sound all very well—a fine, flowerycouple of sentences—but those of us whohave ever been in a bit of a dust-up at seaknow that it is not just as simple as that.It has to do with being wet and cold forhours on end; with being brutally bangedabout, deafened, blinded and utterly tiied,and with being frightened. One of thecitations mentioned waves 40 or 50 feethigh and breaking. I estimate that fromthe floor to the top shelf of the gallery isless than 50'. Just look, ladies andgentlemen, and think. Perhaps most ofus could do that once or twice and bevery pleased with ourselves. The lifeboat-men live with that reality every day andnight of their serving lives.

'These men put to sea in weather whichhas every responsible skipper of vesselswhich are ten times the size of the lifeboatrunning for shelter. They know andtheir wives, mothers and families knowthat at any minute the call may comeslashing through the closely wovenfabric of everyday life like a cutlassthrough a cushion. It may rattle thechina on the breakfast table, rupturethe routine of a working day, break up aquiet evening with the "tele" or down atthe local, rudely snatch from the warmcomfort of sleep. Sometimes the reasonmay be trivial, the product of grossincompetence, ignorance or careless-ness. The boat may be back in a matter ofminutes or after only weary and anxioushours.

'Yet year after year individuals andwhole families of men continue to acceptthat call and fight like tigers when some-one has the unhappy task of telling themthat enough is enough. They know fullwell that there is a queue behind them,waitins and eager to take their places.Is there anywhere in the world a traditionmore noble ?

'Then there are the secretaries. Theyare a curious breed. They come from allwalks of life and are of all ages, persua-sions and temperaments. They have theinvidious task of "pressing the button".It is not for them to share the excitementof the seagoing. It is for them to wait andworry; to organise and co-ordinate; tocommit the crew to the task and then tosupply the back-up. Could all that bedone by other than volunteers? I do notknow; frankly, I doubt it.

'The RNLI, as we all know, is built ona highly localised, if you like parochial,basis. It is made up of small groups ofpeople who, even if they may not all beclose friends, at least all know eachother well. The whole ethos is to do withthe local community; from the coffeemorning in the Midland vicarage andthe sale of work in Manchester to thefact that the coxswain's grandfathertaught him the shoals round the rivermouth, and that everyone knows thatFred is worried about his daughter'sbaby. That is what it is all about.

'Industrialists as well as sociologistsare now beginning to realise that big isnot necessarily beautiful. Everyone herecould have told them that years ago.

'To those who wonder why theorganisation and financing of the RNLIshould not be, particularly these days, afunction of the State, my response, forwhat it is worth, is "God forbid".(Applause.) In the first place it is theconsensus among those who know—permanent staff, honorary secretaries,coxswains and crews, fishermen, andmany in the other rescue services includ-ing the Royal Navy and the Royal AirForce—that quite simply it would notwork, at any rate not with the samedegree of efficiency at the operationalend. That, ladies and gentlemen, is allthat matters.

'Of course, if as taxpayers we werecalled upon to find the money, instead ofhaving to listen to me you could all begetting stuck into the tea and buns, orbetter still be at home doing the gardeningor the spring cleaning. You would nothave to waste all that time at committeemeetings, on draughty street corners onflag day, and dreaming up new ideas forthe village fete. However, again I havetwo objections. First, all the evidencesuggests that we get better value formoney doing it our way; that is not justa bigoted opinion, it is the conclusion ofhard-bitten experts who have analysedthe finances and management of theInstitution. Secondly, because if it wereso the country would certainly be thepoorer in the moral and spiritual sense,as well as in the purely financial sense.(Applause.)

'In both contexts this country isdemonstrably less well off than it was.For many of us this is a matter of majorconcern and regret. However, the verypresence of all of you here this afternoonis proof that though Great Britain maybe poorer than she was, she is by nomeans bankrupt yet. Unfortunately thisleads me to a cold fact which I am surewill come as a shock to many. Despitethe triumphs of last year's 150th anniver-sary, despite the RNLI's impeccable and

•ever-mounting record of service, despitethe magnificient efforts of the fund-raisers and the open-hearted generosityof the British people who support them,despite all this and more, the RNLI is,

as the Chairman said, in the red. As ofthis year our expenditure exceeds ourincome.

'As one would expect, the dangersignals were spotted early by those thosebusiness men who give so generously oftheir time and expertise in guiding theaffairs of the Institution. As the Chairmantold us, the Committee of Managementhas curtailed the programme of new boatbuilding in order to preserve the higheststandards of day-to-day maintenanceand equipment.'

Raymond Baxter, ending his speechwith the paragraph quoted on page 156at the beginning of this report, thenmoved the resolution:

That this meeting fully recognising theimportant services of the Royal NationalLife-boat Institution in its national workof life-saving, desires to record its heartyappreciation of the gallantry of thecoxswains and crews of the Institution'slifeboats, and its deep obligation to thelocal committees, honorary secretaries andhonorary treasurers of all station branches;to all other voluntary committees andsupporters and to the honorary officers andthousands of voluntary members of thefinancial branches and the ladies' lifeboatguilds in the work of raising funds tomaintain the service.

Since the last annual general meetingthe Committee of Management hadawarded two honorary life governor-ships, one bar to the gold badge andtwelve gold badges to honorary workersfor long and distinguished service.Presentations were made at the FestivalHall by Major-General Ralph Farrantto all but Miss V. Hooper and MrsSayer, who were unable to be there.

HONORARY LIFE GOVERNORP. G. Garon, MC GMHonorary Secretary of Southend-on-Seastation branch from 1952 to 1975.

Mr Garon, a highly respected memberof the Southend community, has beenconnected with the station since before1930. In addition to being honorarysecretary of this busy lifeboat station,he undertook talks and attended eventson behalf of the RNLI, and has formany years been concerned not onlywith the crew but with the varioussub-committees that run the operationaland fund-raising organisation.

Mrs P. Hamley-RowanHonorary secretary of East Sheen andBarnes branch since 1939.

Mrs Hamley-Rowan, althoughseverely disabled and confined to awheel-chair, increases the branchrevenue each year. She is the longestserving supporter in the South Londondistrict and has dedicated her whole lifeto raising funds for the lifeboat service.

BAR TO GOLD BADGEG. T. Paine, MBEChairman of Dungeness station branchsince 1931.

Mr Paine has a record of unbrokenservice with Dungeness station branch

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since 1931. He has organised andsupported most fund-raising events inthe area and given considerable time tolooking after the welfare of the lifeboatpersonnel, also ensuring that the stationis operated in a highly efficient manner.

GOLD BADGEJ. J. AdamsHonorary secretary of Hastings stationbranch since 1956.

Mr Adams is considered to be anoutstanding honorary secretary and runsa highly efficient lifeboat station. Inaddition he has devoted a considerableamount of time to fund raising onbehalf of the RNLI.

Mrs W. H. AlmondChairman of Adlington guild since 1939.

Mrs Almond has provided greatleadership and inspiration to her com-mittee for over 25 years. She is a tirelessworker and promotes considerable en-thusiam for the RNLI in her area.

N. P. ClarkeHonorary information officer of theRNLI and honorary treasurer of Col-chester branch since 1968.

Mr Clarke holds the only officialappointment of honorary informationofficer of the RNLI. In this capacity heundertakes many talks and film shows.He also provides invaluable informationto different organisations and associa-tions. His branch support for theRNLI dates back to 1946 at Newport,then at Harwich, Southampton, andfinally to Colchester where he holds theposition of honorary treasurer.

Mrs T. DowdingChairman of Great Yarmouth andGorleston guild since 1965.

During the years Mrs Dowding hasbeen associated with the Great Yar-mouth and Gorleston guild, of whichshe is now chairman, it has raised over£32,000, mainly due to her leadershipand untiring work.

T. DowningHonorary secretary of Barrow stationbranch since 1949.

Mr Downing has undertaken theresponsibilities of honorary secretary ofBarrow station branch since 1947.During this period he has looked afterthe operational affairs and has also beenvery active with fund raising.

Miss V. HooperPresident of Barmouth guild since 1972.

Miss Hooper as president of Bar-mouth guild plays a very active part,assisting at all fund-raising functions.She has been on the committee formany years and from 1955 until sheretired from the position in 1968 shewas a very able and energetic honorarysecretary.

J. KennedyHonorary secretary of Lytham stationbranch since 1951.

Mr Kennedy has been a most efficientand active honorary secretary for nearly25 years. In addition to looking afterthe operational duties of the stationbranch he has played a leading part inraising funds in the area.

Dr J. Leiper, MBEHonorary medical adviser of Aberdeenstation branch since 1948.

Dr Leiper has been a very activehonorary medical adviser with Aber-deen station branch for almost 27years. In December 1966 he wasawarded a certificate in respect of hismeritorious conduct when injured whilehelping on a lifeboat service to thetrawler Heikendorf. He is always willingto undertake talks and help at fund-raising functions.

I. Moar, BEMChairman of Longhope station branchsince 1971.

Mr Moar gave much invaluable helpat the time of the Longhope disaster.He is very active in local RNLI com-mittee affairs and has been an enthusias-tic member of the branch for over 40years.

Mrs E. Pemberton, JPHonorary treasurer of Wallasey guildsince 1950.

Mrs Pemberton has always been themain driving force of this excellentguild. Her considerable enthusiasm iswarmly welcomed and she is alwaysprepared to be of help.

Mrs R. K. SayerHonorary treasurer of Newhaven guildsince 1952.

Mrs Sayer has looked after thefinancial affairs of the guild for 23years. She has also been one of theleading organisers on the committee.As the wife of the station honorarysecretary she gets deeply involved in alllocal lifeboat activities.

Miss H. WeisteChairman of Orpington guild since 1964and honorary organiser for Green StreetGreen.

Miss Weiste was one of the originalmembers of Orpington branch and iswithout question one of the most activemembers. She is probably the maininspiration behind most of their fund-raising projects. When the guild wasformed in 1964 Miss Weiste wasappointed its chairman.

The Committee of Management hadalso awarded the thanks of the Institu-tion inscribed on vellum to CouncillorT. E. Hall, HON. MA, and to the RoyalMarines, Deal, for their outstandinghelp and service to the RNLI, and thesepresentations were made at the FestivalHall.

As Lord Mayor of Bradford 1974/5,Councillor Hall promoted the Bradfordappeal set up in 1974 to raise money tofund a new lifeboat. It was largely

through his zeal and energy that over£80,000 was raised.

For a considerable number of yearsthere has been a close associationbetween the Royal Marines, Deal, andthe Walmer lifeboat station. Thispractical help continues to the presenttime and was of immense value whenthe new Walmer lifeboat was recentlynamed at her station. The vellum wasreceived by Colonel Shallow, Command-ing Officer, Royal Marines, Deal.

The last presentation by GeneralFarrant was made to Lord Baden-Powell; it was a special certificate ofthanks to the Scout Association for'Operation Lifeboat', an appeal forScouts throughout the country during1974 to raise funds towards the costof a 44' Waveney lifeboat. The targetof £100,000 was exceeded by over£1,000. The lifeboat, at present beingbuilt at Bideford, is to be named TheScout and will be stationed atHartlepool.

To conclude the proceedings of theafternoon the Chairman called uponLieut.-Colonel R. Crawshaw, QBE TD DLMP, to move a vote of thanks to Ray-mond Baxter for his address. Afterspeaking of Mr Baxter's distinguishedwar record in three fighter commands,and of all the help he gives not only tothe RNLI, of which he is a member ofthe Public Relations Committee, butalso to a number of other charities,Colonel Crawshaw continued:

'For a few minutes I should like totouch on some of the points which MrBaxter made in his very interestingspeech . . . He was doubtful, if theservice ceased to be voluntary, whether itcould exercise the same influence overthe Life-boat Institution as it does atpresent. I have news for you: it couldnot. I am quite certain of that . . . Wecould not administer the LifeboatInstitution from a central source withthe same enthusiasm and dedication asit is administered on a voluntary basis.I have come to the conclusion, in myshort life, that the efficiency of anorganisation which is taken over by acentral authority deteriorates in directproportion to the amount of money thatis put into it. (Applause.)

'This organisation is unique in manyways. There are those who man theboats and who face the dangers. Yetthey would be of no use if they were notbacked up by all of you here whorepresent countless thousands who sup-port them during the year. However,again, none of you would be any use ifit were not for people such as RaymondBaxter who, behind the scenes, uses hisexpertise, good common sense and offersadvice in order to help us to run theRNLI.. . While people such as RaymondBaxter continue to exist in our society,the "Tomorrow's World" of those whogo down to the sea in ships will be securein time of emergency by the dedicationof those who serve the Royal NationalLifeboat Institution,' (Applause.)

The business of the afternoon beingconcluded, lifeboat people retired to thefoyer to meet their friends and take tea.

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Opening of newHeadquarters at

Poole

THURSDAY, MAY 6, the day on whichHRH The Duke of Kent, President ofthe RNLI, came down to Dorset toopen the new headquarters at Poole inthe morning and name the new Swanagelifeboat in the afternoon, was bothmemorable and happy; a. day of presentcelebration and future hope in which, tothe great pleasure of lifeboat people, thehead of the family had come to takepart.

As the royal helicopter flew in overPoole, head office staff left their desks toassemble on the forecourt with theirfamilies, members of the Committee ofManagement, Poole lifeboat crew, agroup of pensioners, representatives ofthe local branch and guild, of theCounty of Dorset and the town ofPoole, and of the architects and buildersof the new headquarters.

Before the Duke performed the open-ing ceremony, unveiling a commemora-tive plaque, the Chairman, Major-General Ralph Farrant, thanked himfor the great encouragement of his con-tinual help, and also thanked the peopleof Poole for the warm welcome theyhad given the Institution.

I I

The new headquarters building,designed by Leslie Jones andPartners and built by Brazierand Son of Southampton.

The Duke of Kent described thedecision to establish the headoffice in Poole as bold, and alsowise; he was pleased to see thefamiliar stone lifeboatman stillat the door, now gazing out tosea. A service of dedication wasconducted by The Lord Bishopof Salisbury, The Right Rev-erend George Reindorp, MA DD.Also on the platform was theMayor and Admiral of the Portof Poole, Councillor D.Goading, JP:

After the opening ceremony, honorarysecretary M. Perrins presented Coxswain/Mechanic Frank Ide, Second Coxswain JohnClark and other members of Poole crew tothe Duke . . . who was then taken on aninformal tour of the building by Major-General Farrant, starting (bottom, left) in themuseum with (centre) curator AndrewGould assistant P.R.O. (Poole).

(Right) His Royal Highness studied the medalbook with Alan Neal, assistant secretary(operations division), and (below, right) wasshown round the drawing office by SymingtonMacdonald, chief staff officer (technical).

162

NamingCeremoniesMACDUFF and SWANAGE

DESPITE COLD NORTH-EAST WINDS Straightoff the sea, hundreds of people gatheredat the Fishmarket, Macduff, on SaturdayApril 3, for the naming of the station's48' 6" Solent lifeboat Douglas Currie.She was named by Miss Caroline Currie,grand-niece of one of the principaldonors; other donations include alegacy from the estate of the late J. J.Davidson and a gift from the GlasgowLadies Guild.

The lifeboat had been handed over toSir Charles McGrigor, convener of theScottish Lifeboat Council and a memberof the Committee of Management, bySir Alastair Blair, senior trustee of theDouglas Currie Trust. She was acceptedon behalf of the branch by GeorgeMackay, honorary secretary and him-self an ex-coxswain.

* * *Swanage, on May 6, was luckier in its

weather. It was like a summer day, withsunshine, blue skies and a calm sealapping the beach; just the day towelcome a royal visitor, and this wasthe first occasjon on which a member ofthe royal family had ever come to thestation. HRH The Duke of Kent, RNLIPresident, was to name the 37' 6"Rother class lifeboat /. Reginald Corah.

Macduff, Grampian: Douglas Currie prepares for her naming ceremony.photograph by courtesy of W. J. Heinrich.

A red helicopter of the Queen'sFlight, bringing the Duke from Poole,flew in over the little grey town to landhim on Peveril Point. Children lined theroute of the short walk over the downsto the lifeboat station where the officialenclosure, the foreshore and even thedistant pier were crowded. At sea werePoole lifeboat and ex-lifeboat Gill,dressed overall, while on shore the bandof the Royal Marines played music toset the heart dancing. One guest thebranch was particularly pleased to havewith them was the widow of the lateJ. Reginald Corah, after whom the

new Swanage lifeboat has been named.R. L. Wessel took an unusual dual

role in proceedings: as a trustee of theCorah Foundation he handed over thelifeboat to the RNLI, and then, as amember of the Committee of Manage-ment, delivered her to the care ofSwanage branch. She was accepted byCaptain D. A. N. Aldridge, honorarysecretary.

In his speech, the Duke paid tributeto our 'incomparable crews', to thededication of their wives and to thestrong family traditions and thegenerosity of the town of Swanage.

Swanage, Dorset: (left) Launchof J. Reginald Corah after hernaming. The Duke of Kent thenembarked to make a round ofSwanage Bay.

photograph by courtesy ofA. G. L. Hardy.

(Right) Rebecca Marsh,daughter of Victor Marsh,presents to the Duke a silvermodel of boat and boathou.iemounted on a Purbeck marblebase.

Coxswain Ronald Hardy presents members of Swanage crew to HisRoyal Highness: (.'. to r.) Walter Bishop, John Bishop, Philip Dorey,Eric Dorey (shaking hands) and Second Coxswain/Mechanic VictorMarsh. photographs by J. P. Morris.

163

Inshore LifeboatsHanding-over ceremonies at Hartlepool,Crimdon Dene and Little and Broad Haven

SPRING, AND A NEW SEASON of inshorelifeboat service was given a fine startby the dedication of three boatgenerously given to the Institution by itsfriends: an Atlantic 21 for Hartlepooland D class ILBs for Crimond Dene andLittle and Broad Haven.

Hartlepool is, in fact, an 'all seasons'ILB station and the new Atlantic 21,Guide Friendship HI, had already beenlaunched on service a number of timesbefore her dedication on April 24. Sheis the third of the class to have beenprovided from the £28,000 raised by theGuide Friendship Fund for the RNLI in1974, 'The Year of the Lifeboat'.

It is not the first time that the Guideshave helped the lifeboat service. In1940 Guides of the British Empireraised £50,296 3s 4d to help the wareffort, £5,000 of which was given to theRNLI to pay for a 35' 6" self-rightinglifeboat. She was one of the little shipswhich went to Dunkirk and later, in1941, she was stationed at Cadgwith inCornwall. On June 14, 1947, she wasnamed Guide of Dunkirk.

Back to 1976, Guide Friendship IIIwas presented by Mrs R. H. Owthwaite,Girl Guide Commissioner for the North

Standard bearer and ILB: Thebonds between Guides and life-boat service were drawn evencloser by the dedicationat Hartlepool, Cleveland, onApril 24 of Guide FriendshipIII, the third Atlantic 21given to the Institution byGuides, Rangers andBrownies. The other twoboats, Guide Friendship I andII, are already stationed atAberdovey and Eastney.

photograph by courtesy ofThe Mail.

East of England, to Mrs G. M. Keen, amember of the RNLI Committee ofManagement. About 400 Guides,Rangers and Brownies were present anda number of them were taken afloatby Hartlepool crew after the ceremony.

Just a few miles away, on SaturdayApril 10, about 60 members of the

Turning back the clock', Guideof Dunkirk dressed overall after

'her naming at Cadgwith, Corn-wall, on June 14, 1947. Duringher years of service she launched15 times and saved 17 lives.

photograph by courtesy ofThe Girl Guide Association.

(Below, left) Crimdon Dene,April 10: R. Kirkland, an exeu-ctive committee member of theAncient Order of Foresters, andT. P. Reynolds, honorary secre-tary of the ILB station, atthe handing-over ceremony.

Ancient Order of Foresters, accom-panied by their wives and families,visited Crimdon Dene for the handingover, dedication and blessing of a D classinshore lifeboat donated by the Order.She was presented by R. Kirkland, oneof their executive committee members,and accepted by Councillor J. S.Cummings, chairman of EasingwoldCouncil and a staunch supporter ofSeaham lifeboat.

The third ceremony was on May 9,down at Little and Broad Haven inSouth Wales, when E. R. Mockett,honorary secretary of Coventry branch,handed over a D class ILB to Lieut.-Commander George Cooper, divisionalinspector of lifeboats (west). The costof the boat had been defrayed by thepeople of Coventry and in accepting herJim Max, chairman of Little and BroadHaven branch, said that their generositywould be remembered every time the ILBwas launched.

Little and Broad Haven, May 9: Handingover and dedication of new ILB donated by theCity of Coventry.

photograph by courtesy of A. Williams.

164

ShorelineSection

THOSE OF OUR MEMBERS who are luckyenough to be boat owners will nodoubt be enjoying the start of theseason with, this year, its unusuallywarm and sunny spring weekends. Wewish you good sailing.

Now that the membership office hasmoved to Poole we seem to have acloser liaison with many of our sea-going members and we are lookingforward to seeing more and more ofthem. If you come to Poole on holidaythis summer, or if ever you moor up atPoole Quay on passage, we hope youwill come to see us.

Shoreline membership, now over31,000, has grown to be a substantialand committed part of the RNLI and itmakes a considerable contribution to-wards the Institution's day-to-day run-ning costs. Shoreline members, more-over, give us tremendous support. Wehave much appreciated over the past fewyears the enthusiastic letters which wehave received, the additional donationswhich have come with subscriptions,the offers of help and requests to be putin touch with branches or guilds.

All of which leads us to believe thatsome more tangible bond with thelifeboat service would be welcomed;that Shoreline members would like tocome closer to crew members.

Well, what about a lifeboat ?What about it, Members? a lifeboat

to be named Shoreline whose story

Diana White, a Rother lifeboat stationed at Sennen Cove. With your help a lifeboat of this classcould be named Shoreline.

Length overallBeamDraftDisplacementCrew

37' 6" Engines .. .. Twin 52 h.p.11'6" Mermaid diesels3' I" Maximum speed . . over 8 knots

13 tons Range at maximum speed 1507 nautical miles

Launched down slipway or from beach or carriage, or lies at moorings

could be followed on these pages fromthe day of her keel being laid down inthe boatyard, through building, trialsand delivery to station, to the day of hernaming ceremony, to which memberswould be invited. Then would begin therecord of her service . . .

Bearing in mind the generous, willingsupport we already receive, we should-not wish to ask our members for furthermonetary aid for this project—although,naturally, donations would be mostwelcome. With our membership nowstanding at over 31,000, if each andevery member enrolled one new member,the resulting increase in subscriptionswould be enough to pay for a Shorelinelifeboat. It is as simple as that.

The RNLI has been forced to intro-duce a temporary pause in its boatbuilding programme because of escala-ting costs in this time of inflation.

Shoreline could put a boat on thestocks.

With the enclosed form and self-explanatory letter, therefore, we areasking our members to make a con-certed effort to help the RNLI byproviding a new, modern lifeboat forthe coast; and by forging a direct linkbetween lifeboat crews and Shorelinemembers.

A few people may not be in a positionto recruit a new member; some, on theother hand, may be able to recruitmany more than one. There is no limitto the number and we will gladlyprovide extra forms and any helpneeded. We will back you up as muchas we can, but the success of this effortrests firmly with you.

Let us all look forward to the daywhen our boat, RNLB Shoreline, makesher first rescue and saves somebodyfrom the sea.—G. R. 'BOB' WALTON,membership secretary, RNLI, West QuayRoad, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1HZ (Tel.Poole 71133).

To: SHORELINE, RNLI, WEST QUAY ROAD, POOLE, DORSET, BH15 1HZ.I should like to be a part of such a worthwhile voluntary cause by becoming a SHORELINE member of the lifeboat service

and joining the Institution as :

A Life Member and Life Governor: minimum donation £60,including journal

A Member and Governor: minimum annual subscription £10,including journal

An Offshore Member: minimum annual subscription £3,including journal

SHORELINE LIFEBOAT

Total subscription

NAME

1

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ADDRESS

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Below are the variousitems you are entitled towear or fly as a memberof SHORELINE:Members' tie (Terylene) £1.50Lady's brooch £0.50Metal car badge £1.55Pair of cuff-links £1.758 "hoist flag £1.2512" hoist flag £2.00Dinghy burgee £1.25

Insignia payment

ne Giro number is 294 7056*e P Oj cheque leash for £

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'nature . . .

165

INVERGORDONA new offshore lifeboat station in an area

*JU .,/

of development

by Dag Pike

THE CHANGING PATTERN of Casualtiesaround the coasts of Great Britain andIreland has led to the replacement ofmany traditional lifeboats by the fasterinshore lifeboats; they are more suitedto the type of casualty involved. In thenorthern North Sea a different change istaking place with the development ofNorth Sea oil and this has led to theestablishment of an offshore lifeboatstation to improve the coverage in thearea.

The site chosen was Invergordonwhich may evoke memories to ex-navalpeople. Invergordon is situated onCromarty Firth, one of the finest naturalharbours in the country. The RoyalNavy recognised this many years agoand established a base there, and thefirth was under naval control until 1958,when the base was closed.

Oil has brought changes to the area.The Navy is moving out and in its placethe newly formed Cromarty Firth Ports

(Below) 52' Harriett The James and Margaret Boyd leaves her berth at Invergordon and (above)heads eastwards towards the entrance to Cromarty Firth. On left, site of new refinery.

Authority has been formed to controland manage the development of thisfine harbour which is ideally located foroil related development.

The new lifeboat is closely tied upwith the new Ports Authority. Theorganisation is typical of the closeliaison which is being developed betweenharbour authorities and lifeboatstations. The newly appointed portmanager, Captain Alistair Black, is alsothe honorary secretary of the newRNLI committee and comes to thisarea with a great deal of experience.

After years with the Nigerian PortAuthority, Captain Black came hometo a post as assistant harbour master atHarwich; while he was there, a newlifeboat station was established at thatport.

Establishing a new lifeboat station isnever easy. Tom Nutman, the divisionalinspector of lifeboats for the area, hasworked closely with the committeewhich is headed by Vice-Admiral SirJohn Hayes, KCB QBE. In his dual role aschairman of the Port Authority andchairman of the lifeboat committee,Admiral Hayes is further evidence ofthe close connections between the twoauthorities.

These close links are maintained inthe crew. Coxswain Angus McDonaldis an executive with a tug companyoperating in the Cromarty Firth. Amaster mariner with extensive experi-ence of craft large and small, he hasalso served a spell with the NigerianPorts Authority. At 40 he provides theexperience to match the enthusiasm ofhis young crew.

Second Coxswain David Lipp teachesat the Invergordon High School. In hismid-20's, David teaches seamanship andnavigation among other subjects. Severalof the crew work at the British Alu-minium works at Invergordon. One ofthem is Assistant Mechanic Mike Webb,now an executive with BA but previouslya chief engineer in the Merchant Navy.

Mike Webb's experience matches thepractical experience of the only full-timeman in the crew, Mechanic Ron Coggan.He is no stranger to rescue work,having spent many years as a sergeantfitter in the RAF marine branch. Thehigh standard of maintenance of thelifeboat lying afloat at her berth along-side the old naval jetty is testimony tohis devotion.

And what of the boat herself? ON 913has seen plenty of rough seas during herearlier service at Stornoway. The Jamesand Margaret Boyd is a 52' Barnettwhich has been modified to incorporateself-righting gear with an inflatable bag.

Cromarty Firth may offer shelter tolarge ships, but even inside the harbourthe conditions can be severe for smallcraft. During our visit the wind wasblowing straight down the firth fromthe south west and, being against thetide, it was whipping up a nasty sea.The mountains to the westward are the

continued on page 172

166

John Noakes and Peter Purves, aboard BluePeter II, with Lieut.-Colonel V. J. C. Cooper,honorary secretary Beaumaris (second fromleft), Coxswain William Pritchard, crew andhelpers.

Blue Peter

goes to sea at

Beaumaris

by Ray Kipling

THE COAST OF NORTH WALES JS QUJCt at

the beginning of April with the stormsof winter mainly over and the summerstill to come. The weather can changein a few moments from bright sunshineto strong hail storms which bombardthe magnificent castles like miniaturecannon balls. It is only a few weeksbefore the first holidaymakers arriveand therefore an ideal time to train thecrews of inshore lifeboats, whose mainconcern is the visitors.

Beaumaris lifeboat station hasguarded the Menai Straits from theAnglesey side since its foundation in1891. In 1967 one of the four BluePeter ILBs was sent there to increasethe coverage and this year the inflatableILB has been replaced with a new BluePeter II, an Atlantic 21, so that thestation's ILB can be operational atnight as well as during the day.

The BBC's Blue Peter television team,good friends of the RNLI for manyyears, were naturally interested inseeing how their new ILB was settlingin. Their visit to Beaumaris to film thenew Blue Peter II was during 'workingup', that is the familiarisation periodwhen the crew and launchers train withtheir new equipment before it becomesfully operational. This is the time whenprocedures are learnt and mistakes canbe corrected, because when a call forhelp comes there is no margin for error.

When John Noakes and Peter Purvesarrived at Beaumaris the crew hadalready been at the boathouse for mostof the week, taking time off work orworking night shifts to be free duringthe day. That first day was sunny and

Atlantic 21 BluePeter II, with PeterPurves on board,launches into theMenai Straits.

Exercising with ahelicopter from RAFValley, the mountainsof North Wales inthe background.

calm and, having seen Blue Peter II putthrough her paces, director Ian Oliverknew just what he wanted to film.

The day of filming dawned dull andrainy although there was an air ofexcitement around the boathouse.Everybody had been allocated a job butthe real trial was patience as much ofthe day was spent standing aroundwaiting for a particular sequence to becompleted.

John Bubb, the divisional inspectorof lifeboats, showed John Noakes andPeter Purves the old and new ILBs andtheir boathouses and the morning'sfilming was under way. Each shot wasset up with careful positioning of sound,lighting and camera crews and many ofthe sequences were repeated. The live-liness of John and Peter kept everyonein good humour.

Halfway through the morning ahorde of schoolchildren suddenly ap-peared across the green, like a tribe ofIndians pouring over the ridge in awestern film. Fortunately the childrenwere friendly and had come to see BluePeter in action. John and Peter bothspent much of their spare momentssigning autographs and, when thechildren had gone away, Johnrelaxed his wrists by learning someknots, splicing and rope tricks fromformer coxswain Harold Jones.

The morning's events ended with therecovery of the ILB into a net riggedacross the launching trolley. All wentwell, in spite of the fears of one crewmember that the boat would end up inthe town hall. After all, 10 to zero knotsin a few feet needs careful rigging ofthe net to catch the bows of the boat.

Lunch was curtailed by the arrival ofa helicopter from RAF Valley whichexercised with Blue Peter II, winchingup the divisional inspector. With thehelicopter's departure came hail stormswhich were to play havoc with thecameras. John Noakes donned a wetsuit and put out on an air bed whilePeter Purves summoned the ILB crewwith a maroon and joined them in the'rescue' of his colleague. Although therescue was performed by the new ILB,the old Blue Peter II stood by to makesure that John did not encounter any ofthe dangers of air beds which he waspointing out.

The filming day ended with lifeboatcoxswain Bill Pritchard hoisting theRNLI flag outside the new boathouse,but the ILB crew still had a nightexercise on their schedule. There is nodoubt that whoever chose the expres-sion 'working up' knew what they weredescribing because the Beaumaris ILBhad certainly been working hard all theweek.

After one day's filming the crew andlaunchers of Blue Peter II had won theadmiration of the Blue Peter team—andthen, the summer season being started,like ILB crews all over the country theyturned their attention to the moreserious business of saving lives.

167

Here andThere

Round Table 50th anniversary appealAt their National Conference held at

Blackpool in May, Round Table dele-gates from all over Britain and Irelandvoted to raise funds for a Waveneylifeboat. The appeal is to mark the 50thanniversary of the Round Table in1977 and was proposed by tablers fromNorthern Ireland who realised thatRound Table Britain and Irelandcovered exactly the same areas theRNLI.

Village cricketers defeat SurreyOne of the best cricket matches,

possibly the best ever, in aid of theRNLI was staged at CharterhouseSchool, Godalming, on May 16. A fullSurrey team was opposed by a teamdrawn from the 815 village sides whichcompete in the Haig Village Champion-ship. Seven of the Surrey team hadplayed in test matches, four for England,two for Pakistan and one for NewZealand. Nevertheless, helped by somespectacular catches, the Haig NationalVillage Representative XI got them allout for 150 and won with 152 for four inthe 39th of the 40 permitted overs.

The setting was a green and attractiveone; Charterhouse School band playedexcerpts from 'My Fair Lady'; and thewhole occasion seem typically Englishuntil it was realised that one of theSurrey opening batsmen, GeoffreyHowarth, came from New Zealand,and one of the Village's openingbowlers, Byron James, from Ynysy-gerwn.

There were two beneficiaries of thematch, Geoff Arnold, the Surrey andEngland cricketer, whose benefit year itis, and the RNLI. It was a generousgesture of Geoff Arnold's to share theproceeds of the match with the RNLI.

The chairman of the RNLI organisingcommittee was Mrs Richard Saunders,and there were stalls and sideshowsunder the trees, run by the CentralLondon Committee.

Thank you . . .So often the RNLI is both touched

and heartened by generous, unexpectedgestures made perhaps anonymously,perhaps by old age pensioners. Twosuch instances occurred at the Londonoffice in Ebury Street after reports ofthe AGM and the deficit for 1975 hadappeared in the press. A man, his shirtsleeves rolled up, came in from a near-bywork site with two £10 notes in hishand: he said that he and his mates hadread that the lifeboat service neededmoney, so they had had a whip-roundand made it up to £20. A letter arrivedon the same day from Miss MargaretDent, sending her 'OAP's mite'—£3:'If I were a wealthy lady', she wrote,'I'd love to buy a nice new boat for the

wonderful chaps who go out on the seasto rescue folk in trouble.'

Lotteries Act 1975The Secretary of State has made a

Commencement Order under theLotteries Act 1975, by making amend-ments to Sections 45 and 43B of theBetting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963.The following changes are now in effect:Section 45: small lotteries by registeredsocieties, associations or branches: Theprice of a lottery ticket shall not be morethan 25p (previously 5p); the value of asingle prize shall not be more than£1,000 (previously £100); the total valueof tickets sold shall not exceed £5,000(previously £750); the amount of pro-ceeds appropriated for expenses shallnot exceed 25% of the whole proceeds(previously 10%).Section 43: lotteries incidental to enter-tainment: The expenses incurred inpurchasing prizes shall not exceed £50(previously £10).

New Deputy Master, Trinity HouseCaptain Sir David Tibbits, DSC RN,

retired as Deputy Master of TrinityHouse in April. Captain Miles BuckleyWingate was elected as his successor.

ObituaryIt is with deep regret that we

announce the deaths in April of:Mrs R. M. Lloyd of Conwy, an

honorary life governor of the Institution.Mrs Lloyd has been concerned with theRNLI for close on 70 years and,although 91 last year, was still an activesupporter; she was one of Conwy'sprincipal collectors on flag day in 1975.

R. M. Harris, honorary secretary ofPort Isaac from the time the stationwas re-established with an inshore life-boat in May 1967, until December 1975.

Twenty-one yearsAmong those celebrating Flam-

borough ladies guild's 21st anniversaryon January 12 were Mrs C. Murray-Wells, president for the full 21 years;two founder committee members, MrsJ. Pockley and Mrs R. Leng; and thepresent chairman, Mrs M. Burns, andtreasurer, Mrs R. T. Hardy, who haveboth been guild members since itsformation.

Two ways of looking at i t . . .In the spring issue of THE LIFEBOAT we

published a photograph of ErnieMangold, a man in his mid seventieswho, in two years, collected more than£900 for the RNLI. Now he has writtento tell us something of the philosophybehind his work. He says that manypeople would like to help, but cannotbring themselves to launch out and makethe effort that meeting strangers involves.When he goes out, however, he is notjust collecting money; he hopes that hewill perhaps find his way to lonelypeople who long for a chat and a smilewhether or not they are able to putsomething in his box; that he will be

able to dispel a little gloom, bring aspark of optimism. 'Many people whohave never tried', he says, 'would besurprised how one can be a help—andbe received.'

Scottish radio appealThe amount raised from the radio

appeal made by Coxswain/MechanicGeorge Davidson, DSM, BEM, of Kirk-cudbright, on 'The Week's Good Cause'programme transmitted on BBC Scot-land on Sunday, February 22, was£1,316.50.

Selsey Birdman RallySelsey Birdman Rally, an annual

event in aid of RAFA and RNLI funds,will take place on August 15. Com-petitors attempt to fly 50 metres for aprize of £3,000. They usually land in thewater well short of the finish line to be'rescued' by the crew of the inshorelifeboat.

Likely LadsRodney Bewes, one of those likeable

'Likely Lads', is among the RNLI'smost stalwart supporters, as viewers ofthe BBC's popular series know well.Thanks to Rodney, lifeboat collectingboxes have always featured prominentlyin episodes of each series, and now thatthe film 'Likely Lads' is on generalrelease, audiences again have theopportunity to 'spot the lifeboat collect-ing box'!

The crew of the Lizard-Cadgwithlifeboat is used to frequent visits fromRodney when he is at home in Cornwalland find his keen interest and support agreat encouragement.

Thames barges, Essex smacksAn illustrated talk on Thames barges

and Essex fishing smacks is to be givenby Mrs Molly Kennell, owner of thesmack Hyacinth, at the University ofEssex lecture theatre at 8 pm onThursday, October 28. Tickets, price50p in aid of the RNLI, from G. Dela-fontaine, RYA Coach, c/o EssexUniversity, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester,Essex CO4 3SQ. Please send stampedaddressed envelope and cheque madeout to RNLI.

Change of addressThe new address of the Welsh District

Office is now: Royal National LifeboatInstitution, The Exchange, MountStuart Square, Cardiff CF1 6ED. Thetelephone number remains the same,Cardiff 31831.

Pass it on ...Many libraries, as a means of

economising, are reducing the numberof journals they stock. Perhaps yourlocal library would like to have yourcopy of THE LIFEBOAT when you haveread it; or it might be useful in a waitingroom, at a school or in a club. So, please,do pass it on—if it reaches more people,it may bring us new friends and helpers.

168

Percy Garon, MC, GM

HONORARY SECRETARY, SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, 1952-1975

THE LIFEBOAT SERVICE, fire brigade,his family, Southend, the Thames . . .they are all as much a part of PercyGaron as he is of them; nor would hehave it otherwise. Ask him about hislife, and he will tell you about thepeople of Southend; he will tell youabout his brothers and sisters; about thevolunteers of the fire brigade, '. . . anamazing body of men . . .'; about thelifeboat crews, '. . . with whom I havebeen privileged to serve ...'', about thetwo coxswains who have between themspanned his 30 years service with theRNLI, Sid Page and Peter Gilson,'. . . two of the best in the world . . .' Askhim about his achievements and he willsoon make it clear that his pride hasalways been to be one of a good team.Suggest that he has made outstandingpersonal contributions and his replywill be, 'I've been lucky.'

Perhaps this approach to life isnatural for a member of a large, unitedfamily. Percy Garon, born in Southendin 1890, was the third of four brothersand three sisters. Their father, Harry,had established in the town a familybusiness with many facets and, on hisearly death in 1911, his children tookover his responsibilities and carried onwhere he had left off. Harry Garon hadalso set an example of service to thecommunity which his family was tobuild into a tradition.

All Percy Garon's full, contented 85years have been spent in Southend,except for the years of the first worldwar. A member of the Army ServiceCorps Motor Transport Section, he firstserved as a driver for the Army Counciland was then drafted to East Africa.There he joined in the overcoming ofwhat would seem insurmountable ob-stacles on a slow advance from the areabetween Mombasa and Kilimanjarointo enemy territory; drought and deepdust roads, shortage of petrol, isolationwhen the rains came . . . there was evena time when the lorries advanced by rail,railway wheels being substituted forconventional road wheels. Thus to Dares Salaam. Down the coast by boat,and then came, for Percy Garon, themost testing period. It began with asummons to his commanding officer,Major Dwyer: 'Garon, to the best of myrecollection you know a little bit aboutthe sea. You were a member of theAlexandra Yacht Club at Southend?Well, we're beat again by the rains—novehicle can move—but we've got anidea . . .'

A ship's boat was converted to powerby fitting a lorry chassis on board, the

tyres on the back wheels being replacedwith plates to make paddles:

'So, with the engine, gear box and backaxle of the lorry fitted into the ship's boat,I was placed on the Matandu River incharge of the transport. Rather a nearexperience because up to then that riverhad been enemy preserve—and it wasabsolutely loaded with hippopotami andcrocodiles. And there I was, on a smallship's boat with just enough horsepowerto push her with the tide. If I had to goagainst the tide, well, it was a question ofwhether the petrol would last. Anyhow, Iwas able to convey more than 25 tons ofgoods up to a forward base by going upand back on the tide. The river had a wideestuary, not unlike the Thames, but it soonshallowed and was much overgrown.'

It was malaria which beat him. Hesuffered from all kinds, but when hecontracted cerebral malaria he wasinvalided home. He had received hiscommission in the field, and was laterawarded the Military Cross for his workon the Matandu.

Peace meant a return to his ownriver, the Thames, where, over the years,Percy Garon has watched the trafficchange from sailing barge to com-mercial steam ship to a vast and variedfleet of pleasure boats. He returned in1919 to take his place once again in thefamily business and to resume what wasto be a lifetime of voluntary service.His father, Harry Garon, had beenchief officer of Southend Fire Brigadefrom the time of Percy's birth until 1905,when he had been followed by abrother. The moment Percy Garon gothome he once again became a voluntaryfireman (this was before the days of anational service). On the death of hisuncle in 1934, he was appointed chiefofficer, a position he held until the endof the second world war, in 1945. Sothis responsibility had been undertakenby the Garon family for 55 years.

Percy Garon was also to become the

fire force commander for the whole ofEssex during the war years:

'/ was very proud to hold that positionbecause I had an amazing body of menwith me and I think we had as much ofthe punishment as any area, particularlywith the oil fires which were very numerousand very persistent on the Thames side.'

To control the spread of burning oilhe used a method he had worked outhimself and practised with the firebrigade before the war: directing a finespray of water on to the oil so that it isgently dowsed without being furtherdispersed. It meant walking into thesea of oil directing the hoses on the fireahead, with the ever-present dangerthat the flames could outflank andsurround the advancing men. For hiswork he was awarded the GeorgeMedal. His comment? 'Igot the credit,but the men did the job.' Nevertheless,you cannot get away from the factthat, after fighting the fires, he, likethey, arrived home covered in oil fromhead to foot.

It was now 1945, and Percy Garonhad given up his job as fireman andreturned to his business. His elderbrother, Frank, meantime had been agreat supporter of the RNLI, first aschairman of the Southend branch andthen as honorary secretary. One day inthe Alexandra Yacht Club he turned toPercy and said,'/ haven't got long to go.I want you to promise me you will lookafter my lifeboat.'

Percy Garon kept that promise. '/looked after his lifeboat. I have had theprivilege of doing so, in one way oranother, for over 30 years'

At first he helped his brother bytaking on the post of chairman of thebranch. After Frank had to give up in1947 there were two other secretaries,Commander R. G. Jackson and J. H.Perry, but both died in office, so, in1952, Percy Garon became honorarysecretary. He retired last Decemberafter 23 years and has since beenawarded honorary life governorship ofthe Institution for his services.

His connection with the lifeboat was,however, much longer than his years ofoffice. There had been considerableliaison between the fire brigade and theRNLI in the 1930s. He had seen agreat deal of Sidney Page, who had

Peter Gilson presents PercyGaron(l.) with the launchinghammer he has wielded somany times. Also there,second from right, MichaelPennell, divisional inspectorof lifeboats, east, represent-ing all the coast staff who,over the years, have had thepleasure of working withMr Garon—and it has beena pleasure.

169

been in the crew since 1911 andcoxswain since 1934, making plans forways and means of giving immediateprotection to shipping in the river,should war be declared and theybe attacked.

Fire at sea was not only a hazard ofwar. On December 8, 1962, the lifeboatunder the command of Coxswain PeterGilson went to the aid of the Dutchcoaster Temar, on fire near Sea ReachNo. 2 Buoy, in near gale force winds. Atanker, Mobil Enterprise, was alreadyhelping the coaster, but as the lifeboatcircled Temar a man's head was seen inthe porthole of a blazing cabin. Whilethree of the crew of Mobil Enterpriseworked from the deck to free the man,two of the lifeboat crew boarded Temarto try to hold his head clear of smokeand the man was able to snatch gasps ofoxygen from a mask held up to him bythe lifeboat as she rose and fell alongside.

There were floods, too. During thegales of January 31 and February 1,1953, which caused disastrous floods on

the East Coast, the Southend lifeboatlaunched seven times and was at sea26J hours: towing in first a motorbarge, next a Cornish ketch, then afishing bawley; standing by a groundedtanker; standing by off Canvey Island;evacuating residents of Foulness Islandto Burnham.

During Percy Garon's term of officethe Southend lifeboat launched gettingon for 300 times. And always he wasdown at the pierhead to see the boatoff; to call out, 'All right, Peter. Goodluck!'; to knock out the launching pin.

Getting on for 300 times he had usedthat hammer, and at the branch'sannual dinner which coincided with hisretirement Coxswain Peter Gilson pre-sented it to him, burnished and mountedon a stand (the work of AssistantMechanic Tommy Thornton, junior)

'/ was very proud. It is one of the mosttreasured gifts I have ever received in mylife:

Looking back over that long life,

An eye for detailin lifeboat design

FREE PASSAGE OF AIR into engine roomand cabins of a motor boat under way isessential to both machinery and man.Without it, engines cannot run and thewell-being and efficiency of the crewwould soon be impaired. It follows thatthe ventilation system of a lifeboat forwhich a watertight wheelhouse is anintegral part of her self-righting capa-bility is of first importance. There mustbe vents and a trunking system; butwhere air can pass, so can water. Whatwill happen should the boat capsize?

To meet this eventuality the designoffice of the RNLI has produced agravity air intake valve with minimummechanical action which, with all thevirtues of simplicity, ensures not onlythat the sea is excluded as the boat goesover, but also that ventilation is inter-rupted for as short a time as possible.

To deal with the last point first, thevalves are sited to port and starboard atthe highest possible point in the boat'sstructure (fig. 1). Should the boat be .rolled to starboard, while the starboard!

valve closes, the port valve, still clearof the water, remains open and continuesto supply air to the engines. It is notuntil the angle of heel approaches 100°that both valves close, and it is thenonly a matter of seconds before, as theboat rights herself, the water drains•away and the valves open once again.

The air intake valve (see fig. 2) is anante-chamber to the ventilation trunk-ing system (A), the upper and lowercompartments being separated by ahinged flap (C). Beneath the hinged flapis a perforated control box (B) throughwhich air and water can pass but whichis designed as a runway for the gunmetalball (D) which closes the flap.

In normal conditions the ball liesquiescent at the base of the control box,the flap is open and air passes freelythrough the perforated box to thetrunking system (fig. 2). If the boatshould capsize, as she heels over theball responds to the pull of gravity androlls outboard to close the flap (fig. 3).By the time she is on her beam ends and

during which he has met with serenitybattle, storm, fire and flood, as well asthe unremitting demands of day-by-day responsibility, Percy Garon onlyremembers with pride and affection themen who have walked with him. 'I'vebeen lucky', he says.—J.D.

Sponsored SailA sponsored sail at Roundhay Park is

planned in October by the Post OfficeSailing Club in support of Leeds LifeboatAppeal. Dinghies will sail for six hourson Waterloo Lake, minimum sponsor-ship for each round 50p (minimum £5per boat). It will be an open handicapevent and prizes will include awards forthe boat raising the most money and theboat completing the most rounds of thecourse. Enquiries from North ofEngland clubs or individual sailorswelcomed. Write to Paul Shillito, 15Meynell Walk, Holbeck, Leeds 11(enclosing a stamp) or telephone Leeds452270.

the compartment is filled with water theflap is fully closed by the ball (fig. 4), andit is held even more firmly shut by thehead of water which fills the lowercompartment (fig. 5). As the boat rightsherself, the water drains away, the ballrolls back into its resting place, the flapopens and fresh air passes freely onceagain.

Fig. 1

Fig. 1: Air intake valves sited in turn of wheel-house roof, port and starboard.Fig. 2: Boat upright; air enters freely.A, ventilation trunking into boat; B, perfor-ated box through which air (and water) canpass; C, valve flap; D, 3%" gunmetal ball.Fig. 3: Heeling, 60°: force of gravity rollsball outboard closing valve flap.Fig. 4: On her beam ends, 90°: valve closedbefore water can enter ventilation trunking.Fig. 5: Capsized, 180°: head of water addsstrength to valve seal.Fig. 6: Righting: water drains away and valveopens.

Fig. 5

170

REVIEWS• Dr Robert Haworth, the author ofFirst Aid for Yachtsmen (Adlard Coles,£3.95), is not only the honorary medicaladviser to the RNLI's station at Bar-mouth, but he is also an active memberof the ILB crew, and in that capacitywas awarded the Institution's silvermedal for gallantry in 1971.

He is therefore fuliy aware of thelimitations that small boats impose uponfirst-aiders, and in this book he haspruned the subject hard and cut awaytheory, details of the structure andfunction of the body, and even thedescriptions of the signs and symptoms

.that may lead to accurate diagnosis.The equipment recommended is verysimple so it is perhaps a pity that thephotograph on the cover does not bearout the simplicity of the text.

With this original book on board anyyachtsman can give instant first aidwhich, in the waters around theseislands, should be quite adequate until theadvice given in the special chapters onhow to move casualties and how tocommunicate in emergency with otherships or the shore brings more experthelp.

However, any yachtsman cruisingfurther should be better instructed andbetter equipped.—G.H.

• Grahame Farr's Paper on Life-BoatHistory, No. 2, tells the story of GeorgePalmer's life-boats from 1828 to 1847.Palmer was an Essex man, who at theage of 16 was in a boat which capsizedin Macao Roads. He and other membersof the crew remained for three days onthe bottom of the boat before beingpicked up by a Chinese vessel. In 1796he got his first command and five yearslater came ashore to become a partnerin his family's East India trading house.He was MP for South Essex from 1836to 1847 and joined the Committee ofManagement of the RNLI two yearsafter its foundation. In the same yearhe was appointed Deputy Chairman.

The first lifeboats ordered by theRNLI were built by William Plenty atNewbury, but because he was unableto obtain enough skilled labour hedelivered only three out of twelve boatsordered. The RNLI adopted a policyof persuading local committees to havelocal boats suitably modified, but theVicar of Llanfairynghornwy in Anglesey,the Reverend James Williams, pointed

out that there were no suitable boats tobe found in this area, where many ship-wrecks occurred. For some time workhad been continuing on the productionof a standard lifeboat. A prototype wasaltered according to George Palmer'sproposals, and the first two built-to-order Palmer boats went to North Wales,one being stationed at Cemlyn and theother at Barmouth.

Grahame Farr's admirable bookletgives constructional details and thehistory of all Palmer lifeboats andaccounts of the services which they areknown to have performed. Availablefrom Grahame Farr, 98 Combe Avenue,Portishead, Bristol BS20 9JX, price 50pincluding postage.—P.M.

• Exercises for the Ocean Yacht Navi-gator by Kenneth Wilkes (NauticalPublishing Co., £3.95) provides usefulexercises in astronomical navigation,chronometer work and the computationof ocean passages for the yachtsman.Examples are gives from all types ofobservation in both hemispheres.

If the reader holds a copy of OceanYacht Navigator by the same author hewill be able to solve the problems in thefirst three chapters by reference toextracts from the 1975 Almanac printedin that book. We hope that he willalready have copies of the sight reduc-tion tables and Norie's or Inman'sTables in the shelf above his chart table,but if he has thrown away last year'sAlmanac, he must hurry to scrounge acopy from one of his fellow navigatorsbefore it is too late, otherwise the useful-ness of the last three chapters of the bookwill fade away.

As earnest of a thorough review ofthe book, I promised myself that I wouldfind a spelling or printing mistake andan error in computation. I found thefirst, the only one I could find, on page16 where a new star called 'MirkaF isto be found. I was equally hard put to itto find a computing error, but found itat last on page 75 where an azimuth hasbeen incorrectly extracted from AP 3270which makes a nonsense out of a three-star fix.

If there is anything missing from thisexcellent book, I would suggest thatthere should be more examples in staridentification. It is good practice to pre-plan at the chart table the observationsyou intend to make at twilight but I

know, and I am sure Kenneth Wilkesknows, that 'life ain't like that' and whenyou arrive on deck with the sextant, youare lucky to be able to pick any three ormore stars out of holes in the cloudswithout the foggiest notion what theyare. Few yachts enjoy the luxury of astar-globe and it is useful to know howto use the sight reduction tables back-wards. Starting with altitude andazimuth and knowing your DR position,you can pick from the tables the declina-tion and SHA of the body observed.

There is a lot of enjoyment to be hadby the winter-bound ocean navigatorfrom working through other people'slogs. I was delighted to see that I hadvisited almost the exact spot indicatedin one of the examples at twilightreturning from Fastnet and, referring tomy own sight book, to find that in afour-star fix I had used two of the samestars used in the example.—K.M.

• The north-east coast of Englandis synonymous with lifeboats. Quiteapart from the famed Grace Darlingrescue—and more important than it—it was this part of the coast that sawthe first coherent efforts to reduce theappalling loss of life through shipwreck.The first purpose-built lifeboat, the'Original', was built by Henry Great-head at South Shields and savedhundreds of lives between 1790 and1830. Another Greathead lifeboat wasstationed at Spurn Point in 1800, buttransferred to Redcar in 1802 and wasnamed Zetland. She had a remarkablecareer, performing her last service in1880, and is now the main exhibit in amuseum near the new Redcar lifeboathouse and 37' Oakley lifeboat.

The intervening period of time, inwhich Redcar had eight lifeboats, ischronicled in A History of the RedcarLifeboats by David Phillipson, a mem-ber of Redcar crew for 12 years andnow head launcher. This 15-pageillustrated booklet costs 50p (a percen-tage of the profits goes to lifeboatfunds) and is available from MrPhillipson at 43 Stanley Grove, Redcar,Cleveland TS10 3LN.—A.H.G.

• It must |be recorded with somesadness that Jack Froom's The Story ofthe Southend Lifeboat (30p plus 9ppostage, proceeds to the RNLI, fromthe author, 164 Stock Road, Billericay,Essex CM12 ORS) appears just as theoffshore lifeboat has been withdrawnfrom the station. Nonetheless, Southendlifeboatmen and townspeople can lookback with pride on nearly a century oflifesaving in the Thames Estuary; atradition which is being carried into thefuture by her inshore lifeboats.

Mr Froom, who is secretary of theThames Estuary Lifeboat ResearchGroup, records many of the remarkableservices, such as the eight launches in agale that lasted two days in December1940. A silver and five bronze medalsrewarded arduous service by a crewwhose average age was 45.—A.H.G.

171

Practical help: (above) Scouts repaint Poole'sold lifeboat house, now a museum, with paintsupplied by 1C I as part of the Brighter BritainCampaign (photo, Jeff Morris), and (below)members of 206 air navigation course, RAFFinningly, as a charity project, paint Clovellylifeboat house (photo, Western MorningNews).

Around the coast(Above) Southend's lifeboat Greater London II (Civil Service No.30) launched for the last time on Sunday, March 28, before leavingstation. She has been replaced by an Atlantic 21.

photograph by courtesy of Evening Echo.

(Below left) Getting down to detail: Devon Scouts who visitedBidefordShipyard on March 6 were shown over \Vaveney 44-018 by RogerSullivan, RNLI overseer steel. This lifeboat, to the funding of whichScouts have contributed more than £101,000 and which will be namedThe Scout, will be stationed at Hartlepool.

photograph by courtesy of The Scout Association.

(Below right) Coxswain Harry Jones welcomes the Chairman,Major-General Ralph Farrant, to Hoylake lifeboat station on April 25.Committee and crew were present in strength to meet him and showhim their 37' 6" Rather lifeboat Mary Gabriel.

photograph by courtesy of Bob Bird.

Invergordon(continued from page 166)

breeding ground of many severe squallsand walls of white squalls were whist-ling across the firth, bringing'snow andstinging spray in their path.

Outside the firth, in the open sea,the south west wind is off the land.Here, it is the easterly wind which isfeared, blowing in from the sea and

funnelled into ferocious seas by thetwin arms of the land running out toFraserburgh to the south and Wick tothe north. It is in these conditions thatthe search for North Sea oil goes onand in which casualties may occur.

The oil industry came to CromartyFirth in the early days when a site wassought for building the huge productionplatform. The dry dock at Nigg, justinside the entrance to the firth, is one ofthe largest in the world. Now planningpermission has been given for an oilrefinery close to the Nigg construction

site and the development of the firth isunder way.

It is this development which mightwell produce the first casualties. Aroundthe corner there is Inverness Firth wherethere is similar oil work as well asyachts and fishing boats. Since thelifeboat arrived at Invergordon eighteenmonths ago there have been no casual-ties. This has given the crew time towork up to a high standard of efficiency;all the hard work in training will bejustified when the first call comes offCromarty Firth.

172

(Some

The Province of Northern Irelandimproved its fund-raising in 1975 by21 per cent; a sterling achievement indifficult times. The voluntary workers ofBelfast raised no less than £11,000.

London flag day, Tuesday March, 16,resulted in £83,864, which is £8,135more than the 1975 total: it was thelargest advance so far achieved in anyyear.

In 1975 Redcar guild worked ex-tremely hard to increase their highannual income to £3,500, and hadalready raised £1,250 towards their 1976total by February. Opening the boat-house at Easter to sell souvenirs,despite bitter north east winds, severalladies donned specially prepared Easterbonnets. So attractive was the presenta-tion that they were invited to tour thehotels and public houses with collectingboxes, and this is now to be a feature inthe town. The treasurer is always alertfor a telephone call from one of thefour ships that have adopted the guild,and at a moment's notice dashes off tothe docks to receive money accumulatedduring a voyage.

A long beat for Police ConstablesJohn Myhill and Arthur Sykes of theHumberside Force: 152 miles fromFleetwood to Flamborough and it tookthem from September 16 to 20. Fleet-wood branch, Rotherham, Driffield,Bridlington and Flamborough guildsand Flamborough supporters club allhelped with the sponsorship and asplendid £1,260.37 was raised. At theend of the walk there was a civicwelcome at Flamborough and thelifeboat was launched for a trip afloat.

At Tenby branch's AGM the crew presented a cheque for £1,000 towards the cost of an ILBboathouse. The money was raised with football matches, a dance and a sponsored tow of theILB on her launching trolley to Pembroke Dock and back, more than 21 miles. The crew havealso built by their own labour a fully equipped loft in the offshore boathouse; the money neededcame from the pooling of exercise and practice payments.

JCB digger and using a pneumatic drillwere involved; and that was only astart! Sue won her bet, and, withadditional sponsorships and collection,earned £160 for the RNLI.

Crystal Palace Football and AthleticClub raised £92 for the RNLI at a StValentine's disco dance on February 14.

Bury St Edmunds branch, re-formedtwo years ago, has already raised over£2,000, by organising a flag day, twobarbecues, two dances and a children'ssponsored cycle ride. Until his recentdeath, the branch had the support aschairman of Air Vice-Marshal StanleyVincent, who had been one of the oldestpilots in the Battle of Britain.

Stan Timerick of Kingswinford hasassembled a magnificent model railwayin his loft. Visitors have to buy aplatform ticket, and the proceeds all goto the RNLI.

Over 1,000 people were present inthe Assembly Hall of WalthamstowCivic Centre one April evening to heara three-hour concert of jazz and GlennMiller style music played by Kenny

Sue Punch at work.photograph by courtesy of London Express.

Sue Punch, who works as a part-timebarmaid at the Amsterdam Restaurant,Shoreham, claiming she could do anyjob a man could do, accepted a challengefrom Robert Denis that she could notcomplete a week's training on one of hisconstruction sites. The stake was £50.Digging a sewer, laying bricks, driving a

Tamworth guild have held two 'knit-ins' at the home of their chairman, Mrs Marion ApplebyMatthews. More than £.200 was raised on each occasion.

photograph by courtesy of J. Walker.

173

Ball and his Jazzmen and Syd Lawrenceand his Band. The concert, sponsoredby the International Lloyds Insurancebroking firm J. H. Minet and Co.,raised £750 for the RNLI. Among theguests were the Mayor of WalthamForest and three members of Hastingslifeboat crew with their wives.

Hythe branch luncheon club raisedover £150 for the RNLI during itswinter season from October to March.There were 86 members at the lastlunch on March 24, when the guestspeaker was Colin Cowdrey, CBE. Alsoin March, the branch arranged a Gaeliccoffee evening jointly with CancerResearch; 150 people were at the TownHall to watch Robert Spicer's dogSandy present cheques for £215 each tothe RNLI and Cancer Research, beingthe proceeds of Spicers of Hythe'sgolden jubilee celebrations.

Havering branch of the IndependentOrder of Foresters adopted the RNLIas their charity for 1975 and raised£650, most of it by a 24-hour sponsoredbowl at Dagenham Bowling Alley.

Membership of West Wight guild isincreasing and in 1975 £2,200 was raised.Activities included a cheese and wineparty at the Royal Solent Yacht Club,coffee mornings, a ploughman's lunchparty at Marsh Farm, Newtown, and thesale of souvenirs at Easter and duringsummer weekends as well as the flag daycollection.

The Lord Mayor of Man-chester, Dame KathleenOllerenshaw, jp, whoopened Manchester BoatShow, meets David Jones,divisional organiser northwest, at the RNLI stand.With them are area organi-sers James Murray andBrian Stevenson. £530 wasraised a I the show and anumber of new Shorelinemembers signed on.

Leslie French, seen here (/.) with MrsCharles Hunting Simpson, chairman ofFulmer and Iver branch, gave a presentationof excerpts from Shakespeare at EtonCollege on Sunday, January 18. £.400 wasraised for the RNLI.

Appledore branch was given £4 byfour local girls who gave up sweets forLent but fined themselves Ip for anysweet eaten.

A 15" Easter egg given by Mr andMrs David Larcombe, owners of theWhite Rose Hotel, Sway, was raffledduring a dinner dance at the hotel onSaturday, April 17, and the £54.20raised given to Lymington branch. Theegg was won by a Merchant Navyofficer and his wife, Mr and MrsMichael Farrow.

Chanonry and District Guild had arecord season in 1974/75, raising over£1,200 with coffee mornings, a sale,house-to-house collections and a spon-sored walk.

An exhibition by the Ladies FlowerClub at Wythall, near Birmingham,held at Kings Norton Golf Club earlylast November, raised £100 which, at therequest of E. W. Turner, a Shorelinemember and the husband of the secretaryof the club, was kindly donated to theRNLI. The theme of this excellent ex-hibition was 'Winter Cruise'.

J. D. Lewis of Bury, Lancashire,another Shoreline member, has sinceChristmas been making a slight detouron the way to the school at which heteaches to pick up another member ofstaff. She wished to make a contribution,but Mr Lewis suggested that, instead,she should work out how much she hadsaved in fares and make out a chequeto the RNLI. He has sent in a firstinstalment of £10.

Tytherington County SecondarySchool, Cheshire, organised a sponsoredknit for the RNLI and achieved a finetotal of £138.

Maldon Little Ship Club's New Year's Daysponsored yacht tender rowing race was wonby Brian Watkins (I.) and Malcolm Holland.Twenty-six boats took part and £.203 wasraised for the lifeboat service.photograph by courtesy of Maldon and

Burnham Standard.

A costume Wreckers' Ball organisedby Bodmin and District branch atLanhydrock House, a National Trustproperty, last autumn raised £721 forthe RNLI. The ball has become anannual event and the next will be heldon November 19.

continued on page 176

This badge was found in thearchives of our Glasgow Office.It is thought to date back to theturn of the century. We think hewas saying then:'Please remember the Life-boatmen, Sir'.How do you think he would phrasethis today. Send your suggestionwith 25pto:The Director,Royal National Life-boatInstitution,West Quay Road,POOLE, Dorset.

Name ....

Address

We will send £5 to the best entry asjudged by the Fund-raisingCommittee. I enclose PO/Cheque for 25p

174

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175

Letters...Sea Rhine founders

I would like to thank you and the crewof the Great Yarmouth and Gorlestonlifeboat for your help when you came tothe assistance of Sea Rhine off Lowestofton Wednesday morning, February 11.

It was a great disappointment to mepersonally that we were unable to savethe little ship, but nevertheless it wasmost reassuring to see that 'blue flasher'when you arrived on the scene, and tosee some cheerful faces when I eventuallytransferred to the lifeboat. I must admitthe last hour or so on board Sea Rhinewas somewhat lonely!

Once again, many thanks to you andyour crew, and I hope that when we nextmeet it will be under less tedious cir-cumstances.—DOUGLAS SENNETT, reliefmate, MV Sea Rhine, 19« Arlington Road,Eastbourne, East Sussex.

This letter, much appreciated by the crewof Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat,was written to Staff Coxswain WilliamDent.—THE EDITOR.

Bernard F. GribbleI am researching the life and work of

Bernard F. Gribble, marine artist1873-1962, who painted many lifeboatscenes. I would be most grateful if

anyone having knowledge of theartist or his works would contact me.—DAN M. REES, 74560 Monnetier-Mornex,France.

Rescue on Redwood CreekAs a Britisher, yachtsman and currentresident of San Francisco I mustregister an objection to the remarks ofR. W. V. Jessett in his letter publishedin the winter issue of THE LIFEBOAT.

He described his stirring account of' . . . probably the first rescue in theseparts (San Francisco Bay) under the flagof the RNLI; I do not expect it to be thelast.' He spoke of those rescued as'typical of SF Bay trailer boat operating;they had no lifejackets, no flares, nobailer, no seamanship .. .'.

Typical you say, Mr Jessett? Horse-feathers !

After years of sailing these waters Ihave been more than impressed withthe extent of safety equipment used bythe average weekend sailor. Anyonewho knows the United States cannothelp but admire the splendid job doneby the US Coast Guard, its civilianarm the USCG Auxiliary and otherorganisations such as the US PowerBoat Squadron in the name of 'watersafety'. The very latest safety equipment

is given prominence by yacht brokersand chandlers. Most boats sport theUSCG Auxiliary 'Courtesy Checked'sticker on windshields, and indeedeverywhere one goes, be it marina, boatshow or boatowners' meeting, the topicof safety is constantly being taught,discussed and practised.

In the summer one of the local radiostations runs a cabin cruiser broad-casting fishing and weather conditionson the bay itself, and safety tips are allpart of the regular format.

While I am sure that Mr Jessett sailingabout the bay in his MV Red Dusterflying the RNLI flag is a welcomedaddition, perhaps a word of warning isin order. This being a bicentennial yearhe should take care in boarding theboat of any super-patriot who maymisunderstand his undoubtedly goodintentions!—PETER SCOTT-PADGET, SanFrancisco, California, USA.

All on a summer day . . .You might be interested to hear of a

brief incident which took place atGoring Lock, on the Thames, lastsummer. We were waiting in the lockfor the water level to fall when a ladywho was helping the lock-keeper said,'I see you are flying an RNLI flag. Couldyou tell me where I can get one?' Sohere was the perfect opportunity for meto explain about Shoreline. By that timethe lock gates were open and away wewent.

I don't know if she joined, but shecertainly gave the impression that sheintended to do so.—FRANK HARPER,6 Highbury Terrace, Bath.

Some ways ofraising money

(continued from page 174)

Instead of buying birthday andChristmas cards for each other, theladies who work on the BPF Section ofThorn Lighting, Leicester, saved themoney and sent a cheque for £26 to

Wells-next-the-Sea guild for Wells life-boat.

In a sponsored sailing regatta on alake at Margam, Port Talbot, lastautumn, 160 West Glamorgan childrenraised £662 for the lifeboat service. Forthose who raised the highest amountsthere was a trip to sea in TheMumbles lifeboat.

Every New Year's Eve MonkstoneCruising and Sailing Club hold a fancy

dress party. Anyone not wearing fancydress is fined and the money so collectedis usually donated to Neath branch.This year's collection amounted to£25.50.

The day staff at Plymouth TelephoneExchange chose Plymouth lifeboat fortheir special charity gift in 1975. Therewas a sponsored walk, a bring and buysale, raffles and a number of individualefforts, and two blankets were knitted.The result: £250 for the lifeboat.

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176

Lifeboat Services(continued from page 153)

(and their dog) were in turn taken bybreeches buoy to the lifeboat. JohnPowell and Alwyn Emmerson were thenrecovered in the same way.

The operation was completed by 1720and Coxswain Pockley recovered thegear, weighed anchor and was on thebeach by 1725. Friendly Forester was re-housed and ready for service at 1800.

For this service the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum wereaccorded to Crew Member AlwynEmmerson. A framed letter of thankssigned by Major-General Ralph Farrant,Chairman of the Institution, wasawarded to Coxswain George Pockleyand vellum service certificates werepresented to Acting Second CoxswainJames Major, Motor Mechanic RobertMajor, Assistant Mechanic JohnCrossland and Crew Members GeorgeEmmerson, Roy Leng, Robert Emmer-son, Malcolm Smales, Dennis Wood-house, John Major and James Cross. Aletter of thanks signed by Captain NigelDixon, the Director, was sent to theFlamborough Coastguard mentioningthe particular action of AuxiliaryCoastguard John Powell.

Scotland South Division

Tow in strong galeA VESSEL DRIFTING DANGEROUSLY closeto land at Caldrine Bay was reported toHM Coastguard on the afternoon of

Barry Dock No. 2 lifeboat launched on September 27,1975, to help Storm Eagle, a yacht beingdriven ashore by a strong south-westerly gale. She got a line aboard just as the yacht's anchorrope parted and towed her, with her three crew, back to Barry Harbour.

photograph by courtesy of C. Geach, aboard pilot cutter George Ray.

January 10. The Coastguard informedthe honorary secretary of Campbeltownlifeboat station at 1300. Of the severalvessels in the vicinity, one was attemp-ting to tow the casualty to safety.

At 1315 it was reported that the towline had parted and that the lifeboat wasrequired, so, at 1327, the 52' BarnettCity of Glasgow II set out in a westnorth west strong gale with a high se.aand poor visibility. It was two hoursafter low water.

City of Glasgow II reached thecasualty, cargo vessel Gold of Rochester,at 1600 and put a tow line on her.Because of the prevailing sea conditions,however, the tow was very slow anddifficult. Consequently it was decided to

Number: A tug and aGrimsby fishing vessel werein collision near Bull Lighton the morning of April 1.Being informed that therewere people in the sea,Number lifeboat, the 46' 9"Watson City of BradfordIII, launched in a westerlybreeze with a slight sea andgood visibility. She foundthat the tug had picked upall five people from the sea;they were transferred to thelifeboat, given first aid forexposure and shock andlanded at Grimsby.photograph by courtesy of

T. J. M. Wood.

take Gold to the nearest safe anchorageand hand over the tow to a suitablevessel. The coaster was taken to Duna-verty Bay, anchored and her crew offive taken on board the lifeboat.

City of Glasgow II arrived back inCampbeltown with the five survivors at2120.

Services by OffshoreLifeboats, December1975, January andFebruary 1976Aberdeen, GrampianDecember 30 and January 29.Aith, HighlandFebruary 6.Amble, NorthumberlandDecember 14.Angle, DyfedJanuary 1, 3 and 6.Arbroath, TaysideDecember 1.Baltimore, Co. CorkJanuary 31.Barra Island, Western IslesDecember 23, 30, January 14 and 20.Barry Dock, South GlamorganDecember 3, 22, January 1,25 and February21.Beaumaris, GwyneddJanuary 3.Bridlington, HumbersideDecember 1,13 and January 2.Clovelly, DevonJanuary 2 and 27.Calshot, HampshireDecember 9, January 17, 19 and 29.Campbeltown, StrathclydeJanuary 10.Clacton-on-Sea, EssexJanuary 4 and 16.Cloughey-Portavogie, Co. DownFebruary 2 and 7.Cromer, NorfolkDecember 12, 14 and February 7.Douglas, Isle of ManJanuary 3 and 4.Dover, KentDecember 1, January 13, February 1 and 24.

177

Dungeness, KentFebruary 24.Dun Laoghaire, Co. DublinDecember 12 and January 20.Dunmore East, Co. WaterfordJanuary 2.Eastbourne, SussexDecember 13, February 9 and 24.Falmouth, CornwallDecember 7.Flamborough, HumbersideDecember 1, 2 and 10.Fleetwood, LancashireDecember 26, January 25 and February 10.Fowey, CornwallDecember 1 and 4.Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, NorfolkDecember 1, 12,13, 18, 31 and February 11.Harwich, EssexDecember 1 (twice).Hastings, East SussexDecember 15, January 1, 2,20 and February24.Holyhead, GwyneddDecember 24 and February 5.Howth, Co. DublinDecember 24 and February 14.Hoylake, MerseysideJanuary 1.Humber, HumbersideDecember 2, 3, 13, 14, January 4, 19 and 22.Ilfracombe, DevonDecember 11.Islay, StrathclydeJanuary 10 and 21.Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and GallowayDecember 17 and February 15.Kirkwall, HighlandJanuary 5 and 20.Lerwick, HighlandJanuary 18.The Lizard-Cadgwith, CornwallJanuary 2 and February 1.Llandudno, GwyneddDecember 12.Longhope, HighlandDecember 18.Lowestoft, SuffolkFebruary 17 and 29.Mallaig, GrampianDecember 19, January 6 and 28.Margate, KentJanuary 1 and February 9.Moelfre, GwyneddJanuary 18.The Mumbles, West GlamorganJanuary 2.North Sunderland, NorthumberlandJanuary 13 and February 5.Padstow, CornwallDecember 13, January 3 and 14.Penlee, CornwallDecember 2, 9 and January 28.Plymouth, DevonJanuary 11 and February 3.Poole, DorsetDecember 7, 9, 15 and January 21.Port Erin, Isle of ManDecember 5.

Portpatrick, Dumfries and GallowayJanuary 18.Ramsey, Isle of ManJanuary 4.Ramsgate, KentDecember 11, 17, 27 and 31.Redcar, ClevelandDecember 7.Rhyl, ClwydDecember 12.Rosslare Harbour, Co. WexfordJanuary 29.St David's, DyfedDecember 12.St Helier, JerseyDecember 13.St Ives, CornwallJanuary 19, February 1 and 19.St Mary's, Isles of ScillyDecember 21 and January 31.St Peter Port, GuernseyDecember 13 and February 11.Salcombe, DevonJanuary 27 and February 17.Selsey, West SussexDecember 12 and February 21.Sheerness, KentDecember 16, January 2, 24, 25 (twice),February 1, 5, 17 and 21.Sheringham, NorfolkJanuary 1.Shoreham Harbour, West SussexFebruary 20 and 22.Skegness, LincolnshireJanuary 11.Southend-on-Sea, EssexDecember 1.Stornoway, Western IslesFebruary 26.Swanage, DorsetJanuary 24, February 15, 21 and 22.Teesmouth, ClevelandDecember 12, 26, February 5 and 27.Tenby, DyfedDecember 15.Thurso, HighlandJanuary 21.Torbay, DevonDecember 27, January 4, 10 and 28.Troon, StrathclydeJanuary 2 and 31.Tynemouth, Tyne and WearJanuary 10.Valentia, Co. KerryDecember 15 and February 29.Walmer, KentDecember 1 (twice).Wells, NorfolkDecember 8.Weymouth, DorsetDecember 1.Whitby, North YorkshireDecember 18, January 20 and February 5.Wicklow, Co. WicklowFebruary 29.Yarmouth, Isle of WightFebruary 10.Youghal, Co. CorkJanuary 23.

Services by InshoreLifeboats, December1975, January andFebruary 1976

Aberystwyth, DyfedFebruary 14.Beaumaris, GwyneddJanuary 3 and February 15.Conwy, GwyneddFebruary 7.Eastney, HampshireDecember 6, 30, January 7,25 and February27.Eastney (A.508), HampshireJanuary 18, February 7 and 27.Flint, ClwydJanuary 10 and 18.Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, NorfolkDecember 1, 14 and January 28.Hartlepool, ClevelandDecember 14, February 7 and 29.Harwich, EssexDecember 1.Hastings, East SussexJanuary 14 and 18.Littlehampton, West SussexDecember 17, January 17 and 18.Llandudno, GwyneddDecember 18 and January 18.Lyme Regis, DorsetDecember 2, 18, January 3 and 5.Lymington, HampshireJanuary 25.Lytham-St Anne's, LancashireJanuary 10.Margate, KentDecember 30.Minehead, SomersetJanuary 8.Morecambe, LancashireFebruary 1.New Brighton, MerseysideDecember 21, 30, January 3 and 11.Poole, DorsetDecember 4, 9, 15 and January 12.Queensferry, ForthDecember 21, 27 and February 3.Silloth, CumbriaFebruary 15.Southend-on-Sea, EssexDecember 1.Tynemouth, Tyne and WearDecember 26, January 10, 18 and February18.West Mersea, EssexDecember 7, January 9 and 11.Weston-super-Mare, AvonJanuary 1.Whitstable, KentDecember 3, 6, 14, 30 and February 29.

SERVICES AND LIVES SAVED BY OFFSHORE AND INSHORE LIFEBOATSJanuary 1, 1976 to April 30,1976: Services 262; lives saved 109

133 offshore lifeboats

THE STATION FLEET(as at 30/4/76)

123 inshore lifeboats operating in the summer47 inshore lifeboats operating in the winter

LIVES RESCUED 101,039

from the Institution's foundation in 1824 to April 30,1976

178

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179

Index to AdvertisersBirds Eye Foods Outside Back CoverHenry Browne & Son Ltd 175Cogswell & Harrison Ltd 180Evett Sailwear Ltd Inside Back CoverFairey Marine Ltd 179Functional Clothing Ltd Inside Front CoverHalmatic Ltd 146David Jolly (Tiller Master) 176Mermaid Marine Engines Ltd 175Motor Cruising Association Inside Back CoverNeco Marine Ltd 180Old England Inside Back CoverRentokil 175Tiller Master (David Jolly) 176University Marine Ltd (Zodiac) 179V.Webster 180C. P. Witter Ltd 176

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ENGRAVEDCRYSTALGLASSLIFEBOATTANKARDS

Profiles of some of RNLI's offshore fleet,strikingly engraved on half or one pintCrystal Glass Tankards. Order individuallyor as sets, selecting the craft of your choicefrom the illustrations below.

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KNEBWORTH- HERTSTELEPHONE: STEVENAGE 813431

Backbone ofthe FishingTrade.

This was one that didn't getaway. One of a thousand million.

A thousand million of thereasons why every day and nightmen put out to sea in all weathersto earn their living.

A thousand million reasonswhy lifeboatmen are needed asmuch as they are.

We at Birds Eye would like tovoice our appreciation of thelifeboatmen. We are proud of ourlong association with them.