RNLI Services 1943...Services by the Life-boats of the Institution, by Shore-boats and by Auxiliary Rescue-boats during 1943 During the year life-boats were launched 411 times. Of

Services by the Life-boats of the Institution,by Shore-boats and by Auxiliary Rescue-

boats during 1943

During the year life-boats were launched 411 times. Of these

launches 249 were to vessels and aeroplanes in distress through

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

Hie Record Month by Month

1943

J a n u a r y .

February .

March

April

May

June

July

August

September .

O c t o b e r .

November .

December .

Totals .

Numberof

Life-boatLaunches

32

34

33

23

32

29

27

41

29

30

49

52

411

LivesRescued

byLife-boats

76

55

42

10

24

9

15

92

42

19

31

54

469

Vesselswhich

Life-boatsSaved orHelpedto Save

7

2

4

5

3

4

4

9

3

2

1

3

47

LivesRescued

byShore-boat:

5

14

9

4

14

-

13

-

29

36

33

3

160

LivesRescued

AuxiliaryRescueBoats

-

-

-

5

-

-

-

3

-

-

-

3

11

Twenty-nine Medals for Gallantry

THE HUMBER, YORKSHIRE

On the 7th January, 1943, the Humber life-boat rescued nineteen of the crew ofH.M. Trawler Almondine.

COXSWAIN ROBERT CROSS was awarded a clasp to his gold medal.MOTOR MECHANIC GEORGE RICHARDS was awarded the silver medal.BOWMAN GEORGE STEPHENSON was awarded the bronze medal.ASSISTANT MOTOR MECHANIC SAMUEL CROSS was awarded the

bronze medal.SIGNALMAN WILLIAM MAJOR was awarded the bronze medal.LIFE-BOATMAN SIDNEY HARMAN was awarded the bronze medal.LIFE-BOATMAN GEORGE W. SHAKESBY was awarded the bronze medal.

HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY

On the 12th February, 1943, the Holyhead life-boat rescued the crew of forty-seven of the S.S. Castilian, of London.

COXSWAIN RICHARD JONES was awarded the bronze medal.MOTOR MECHANIC JOHN JONES was awarded the bronze medal.

ST. DAVID’S, PEMBROKESHIRE

On the 28th February, 1943, the St. David’s life-boat rescued a man trapped onthe cliff at Llanunwas, near Solva.

DR. JOSEPH SOAR, Mus. Doc., honorary secretary, was awarded the bronzemedal.LIFE-BOATMAN GWILYM J. DAVIES was awarded the bronze medal.

HASTINGS, SUSSEX

On the 31st March, 1943, the Hastings Life-boat rescued seven of the crew ofH.M. Trawler Caulonia.

COXSWAIN JOHN E. MUGGRIDGE was awarded the bronze medal.MOTOR MECHANIC WILLIAM R. HILDER was awarded the bronze

medal.

ST. DAVID'S, PEMBROKESHIRE

Landing Craft G.16.On the 25th April, 1943, the St. David’s life-boat rescued a survivor from H.M.

COXSWAIN WILLIAM WATTS H. WILLIAMS was awarded the bronzemedal.

2

SERVICES 1943 3

BARRA ISLAND, HEBRIDES

On the 5th September, 1943, the Barra Island life-boat rescued fifteen of thecrew of the S.S. Urlana, of London.

COXSWAIN MURDO SINCLAIR was awarded the silver medal.

LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLK

On the 30th September, 1943, the Lowestoft life-boat rescued ten of the crew ofH.M. Minesweeper 106.

COXSWAIN ALBERT SPURGEON was awarded a clasp to his bronzemedal.

MOELFRE, ANGLESEY

On the 21st October, 1943, the Moelfre life-boat rescued the crew of four of anaeroplane.

COXSWAIN JOHN MATTHEWS was awarded a clasp to his silver medal.SECOND COXSWAIN RICHARD M. EVANS was awarded the bronze

medal.MOTOR MECHANIC ROBERT WILLIAMS was awarded a clasp to his

bronze medal.

NEWHAVEN, SUSSEX

On the 23rd November, 1943, the Newhaven motor life-boat, after having beenseverely damaged in collision with H.M. Trawler Avanturine, and having lost a manoverboard, escorted the trawler to safety.

COXSWAIN LEONARD A. J. PEDDLESDEN was awarded the silver medal.SECOND COXSWAIN FREDERICK A. PARKER was awarded the bronze

medal.MOTOR MECHANIC RICHARD WILLIAM LOWER was awarded the

bronze medal.BOWMAN BENJAMIN J. CLARK was posthumously awarded the bronze

medal.LIFE-BOATMAN ALFRED J. EAGER, acting as assistant motor mechanic,

was awarded the bronze medal.LIFE-BOATMAN STANLEY WINTER was awarded the bronze medal.LIFE-BOATMAN STEPHEN HOLDEN was awarded the bronze medal.LIFE-BOATMAN HAROLD MOORE was awarded the bronze medal.

SALCOMBE, DEVON

On the 4th December, 1943, the Salcombe life-boat rescued the crew of elevenof the Admiralty salvage craft L.C.18.

COXSWAIN EDWIN WILLIAM DISTIN was awarded the bronze medal,

ANGLE, PEMBROKESHIRE

On the 18th December, 1943, the Angle life-boat rescued six of the crew of themotor vessel Thor, of Rotterdam.

COXSWAIN JAMES WATKINS was awarded the silver medal.

List of Services by Life-boats All the life-boats mentioned are motor life-boats unless it is stated

tha t they are pulling and sailing Persons

Time of rescued from 1943 Launching shipwreck

Jan . 3. 9.30 p.m. R.A.F. launch No. 124. Hartlepool life-boat gave help. 4. 8.0 a.m. Aith life-boat took food to Foula Island and brought a sick

Queen's District nurse to Walls, thereby saving her life - - 1 6. 12.15 p.m. Motor fishing boat Two Sisters, of Newbiggin. North Sunder

land life-boat saved boat and rescued — — _ — — — _ 2 6. 11.0 p.m. Phillip's Defence Unit No. 3. The Humber life-boat - - - 5 7. 3.10 a.m. H.M. Trawler Almondine. The Dumber life-boat - - - - 19 8. 7.40 p.m. H.M. Naval Vessel. Ilfracombe life-boat took out a doctor. 9. 12.10 p.m. A rubber dinghy from a British aeroplane. Hoylake life-boat

saved dinghy and rescued - - — . _ _ — — _ — - 4 11. 1.15 a.m. Motor schooner Ruth II, of London. Donaghadee life-boat

stood by vessel. 11. 5.15 a.m. Motor vessel Empire Ford, of Hull. North Sunderland life-boat 9 11. 8.45 a.m. S.S. Anna, of Nieuport, Belgium. The Humber life-boat - - 8 11. 8.0 p.m. S.S. Anna, of Nieuport, Belgium. The Humber life-boat stood

by vessel. 12. 12.45 p.m. Admiralty trawler Their Merit. Great Yarmouth and

Gorleston life-boat gave help. 14. 12.30 p.m. A ship's raft. Fenit life-boat salved raft. 21 . 11.0 a.m. Two British aeroplanes. Skegness life-boat picked up 2 dead

bodies. 23. 8.45 a.m. Motor fishing boat Emily, of Ballycotton. Ballycotton life

boat saved boat and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 26. 1.25 p.m. An aeroplane. Margate life-boat salved a parachute. 27. 5.5 p.m. Motor fishing boat Pilot III and rowing fishing boat Eira, of

Llandudno. Llandudno life-boat saved boats and rescued - 6 28. 11.50 a.m. Sailing barge Resolute, of Mistley. Clacton-on-Sea life-boat

landed 1. 29. 3.25 p.m. Motor fishing boat Valkerye, of Pittenweem. Anstruther life

boat saved boat and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 31. 11.20 a.m. Fire-float Gladys, of London. Southend-on-Sea life-boat - - 14 31. 11.30 a.m. Man fallen over the cliff. Llandudno life-boat picked up dead

body. Feb. 1. 7.45 a.m. Fire-float Gladys, of London. Southend-on-Sea life-boat saved

vessel. ,, 5. 6.45 a.m. S.S. Harley, of Newcastle. Cromarty life-boat gave help. ,, 5. 7.0 p.m. Man cut off by tide. Galway Bay life-boat _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 ,, 6. 6.0 a.m. H.M. Drifter Gowan. Broughty Ferry life-boat stood by vessel. ,, 9. 2.50 p.m. H.M. Trawler Clotilde. Great Yarmouth and Gorleston life

boat gave help. „ 12. 5.25 a.m. S.S. Castilian, London. Holyhead lifeboat - - - - - - 41 „ 12. 2.30 p.m. S.S. Castilian, London. Holyhead life-boat took out officials. ,, 13. 11.10 a.m. S.S. Castilian, London. Holyhead life-boat took out officials. ,, 13. 6.30 p.m. Motor fishing boat Welcome Home, of Stornoway. Stornoway

life-boat saved boat and rescued — — — _ — — — — - 6 ,, 15. 7.5 p.m. Admiralty barge. Peterhead life-boat gave help. ,, 28. 10.35 p.m. Man stranded on cliffs. St. David's life-boat _ _ _ _ _ 1

Mar. 8. 5.30 p.m. Fishing boat Water Lily, of Margate. Margate life-boat saved boat and rescued _ — — — - — — — — - - - - 2

,, 8. 9.46 p.m. Admiralty Tug Amsterdam. Redcar life-boat gave help. „ 10. 12.15 a.m. S.S. Asteria, of Glasgow. Troon life-boat _ _ _ _ _ _ 15 „ 10. 5.10 p.m. Fishing boat Annie Cargill, of Arbroath. Arbroath life-boat

saved boat and rescued — — — — — — — — — — — „ 12. 6.20 p.m. A barrage balloon. Cromer No. 1 life-boat salved balloon. ,, 15. 3.30 p.m. S.S. Empire Bridge, of Liverpool. Lytham-St . Annes life

boat gave help. „ 17. 6.30 a.m. S.S. Empire Bridge, of Liverpool. Lytham-St . Annes life

boat gave help. 1 0 a m f S.S. Kernoozer, of Bridlington. Bridlington life-boat - - - 9

" ' ' ' ' J S . S . Kernoozer, of Bridlington. Bridlington life-boat stood 10.0 a.m. |̂ b y y e s s e l

4

SERVICES 1943 5

Time of 1943 Launching

Mar . 22 . 8.0 a .m . » 2 3 . 4 .5 p . m .

,, 2 5 . 10.0 a .m .

» 27 . 8.55 p . m . » 30 . 9.15 p . m . „ 8 1 . 4 .30 a .m .

Ap l . 2 . 6.0 p . m .

„ 2. 7.30 p . m .

5. 1.51 p . m .

7. 7.15 a .m.

„ 7. 10.50 a .m. 7 . 10.55 a .m .

„ 7. 6.40 p . m .

„ 1 1 . 6.17 p . m .

„ 10. 7.40 p . m . „ 20. 1.5 p . m .

„ 2 5 . 2.30 p . m .

„ 2 5 . 10.45 p . m . „ 26 . 4.45 a .m . „ 29 . 4 .50 a .m .

May 3 . 4.0 p . m .

8. 7.15 p . m .

„ 12. 9.30 a.m." 7.15 p . m .

„ 12. 7.9 p . m . „ 13 . 5.3 p . m .

„ 2 1 . 9.45 a .m .

„ 22 . 1.50 a .m.

„ 24 . 4.45 p . m .

„ 2 8 . 6.15 p . m . „ 30 . 6.15 p . m .

» 30 . 8.10 p . m .

J u n e 3 . 10.5 a .m .

9. 10.30 a .m. 9. 3.20 p . m .

„ 18 . 11.32 p . m .

„ 19 . 2.40 p . m .

„ 2 3 . 4 .0 p . m .

„ 24 . 8.0 p . m .

„ 25 . 12.20 p . m .

„ 26 . 9.0 p . m . u 27 . 12.37 p . m .

July 9. 9.40 p.m.

Persons rescued from

shipwreck S.S. Nolisement, of Cardiff. Port St. Mary life-boat gave help. An aeroplane. Newcastle, Co. Down, life-boat picked up 2

dinghies and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ i Aith life-boat brought a sick woman from Foula, thereby

saving her life and also that of her unborn child - - - - 2 H.M.S. Birnbeck. Weston-super-Mare life-boat escorted vessel. S.S. Cushendon. Clovelly life-boat stood by vessel. H.M. Trawler Caulonia. Hastings life-boat — — — — — — 7 An aeroplane. Aith life-boat took a military guard to Foula

Island and brought airmen back. Fishing vessel True Vine, of Aberdeen. Newburgh life-boat

gave help. Fishing coble Humility, of Newbiggin. Newbiggin life-boat

saved coble and rescued — — — _ _ — — — — _ _ 3 Seaplanes and R.A.F. launch. Cromarty life-boat gave help

and saved launch. Schooner Else, of Faroes. Aberdeen No. 1 life-boat gave help. Fishing coble Lily, of Bridlington. Bridlington life-boat

escorted boat. Sailing barge Greenhithe, of London. Aldeburgh No. 1 life

boat escorted vessel. S.S. Erode, of Norway. Shoreham Harbour life-boat picked

up a dead body. A Carley float. Coverack life-boat salved float. A British aeroplane. Newquay, Cornwall, life-boat salved

dinghy and rescued - - - - — - - - - - - _ 2 Fishing boat Dorothy, of Llandudno. Llandudno life-boat

saved boat and rescued _ - _ _ - — — — — — _ 3 Landing craft G.16. St. David's life-boat _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 Balloon ship Thora. The Dumber life-boat _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 British Wellington aeroplane. Ilfracombe life-boat salved

wreckage. Motor pilot boat of Wexford. Rosslare Harbour life-boat

saved boat and rescued — — — — — — — — — — — 4 Sailing barge George Smeed, of Rochester. Great Yarmouth

and Gorleston life-boat — — _ _ — — — _ _ _ _ 2 S.S. Joffre Rose, of Liverpool. Arklow life-boat stood by

vessel and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 15 A British aeroplane. Buckie life-boat salved wreckage. An American aeroplane. Sheringham life-boat picked up a

dead body. Motor vessel Zuiderhaven. Skegness life-boat landed an

injured man. Steam trawler Cynthia, of Grimsby. Runswick life-boat gave

help. Two aeroplanes. Fraserburgh life-boat salved dinghy and

landed 2 dead bodies. Soldier fallen over cliff. Angle life-boat _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 Fishing smack Two Brothers, of Lytham. Lytham_St. Annes

life-boat saved boat and rescued — _ _ — _ _ _ _ 2 A German aeroplane. Walton and Frinton life-boat picked up

a dead body. Fishing boat Speedwell, of New Brighton. New Brighton

No. 1 life-boat escorted boat. Motor vessel Edina. Wick life-boat stood by vessel. A British aeroplane. Filey life-boat salved wreckage. Trawler C. Risager, ex. Danish. Maryport life-boat escorted

vessel. Motor fishing boat Two Sisters, of Newbiggin. Blyth life

boat saved boat and rescued — — — — — — — — — 3 Tobermory life-boat took a sick woman to Oban thereby saving

her life - - - - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 Auxiliary sailing vessel Manx Heather, of Douglas. Douglas

life-boat saved boat and rescued — _ — _ _ _ _ _ 3 American Flying Fortress aeroplane. Caister life-boat salved

wreckage. A British aeroplane. Caister life-boat gave help. A British aeroplane. Skegness life-boat salved 2 dinghies and

gear and rescued — — — — — — — — — — — — — 2 Sailing barge Maria, of Rochester. Walton and Frinton life

boat saved barge and rescued _ - - - _ _ _ _ _ 2

6 SERVICES 1943

1943 Ju ly 10.

Time of Launching

12.30 a.m.

; 14. 11.35 a.m.

»> 26 . 3.0 a.m. _, 3 1 . 4.0 p.m. J» 3 1 . 8.3 p.m.

Aug. 1. 1.40 a.m.

J ) 5. 11.50 a.m.

6. 1.35 a.m. 9. 12.53 p.m.

1 1 . 6.5 a.m. 1 1 . 6.18 a.m.

1 1 . 9.45 a.m.

1 1 . 9.45 a.m.

12. 6.35 p.m.

>» 1 3 . 12.20 a.m.

,. 2 1 . 12.55 a.m.

2 1 . 1.30 a.m. » 22 . 5.15 p.m.

J» 24 . 7.45 p.m.

2 5 . 11.20 p.m. >> 2 8 . 4.10 p.m.

J» 29 . 4.5 p.m.

29 . 11.20 p.m. 30 . 9.20 a.m.

JJ 3 1 . 12.16 p.m.

Sept . 5. 6.

9.0 a.m. 1.17 p.m.

» 6. 4.19 p.m.

7. 11.15 a.m. 8. 10.5 a.m.

15 . 9.15 p.m. » 17. 1.15 a.m.

>> 2 1 . 7.0 p.m.

22 . 2.30 a.m. » 30 . 10.0 p.m.

Oct. 6. 2.45 a.m.

»> 6. 3.30 a.m.

i t 7 . 3.15 p.m.

1 1 . 7.45 p.m. 1 1 . 9.45 p.m. 12. 6.37 p.m.

13 . 3.18 p.m. j » 2 1 . 1.45 a.m.

N o v . 2. 9.13 a.m.


shipwreck Small boat Fine Gael, of Kilmore Quay. Kilmore life-boat

saved boat and rescued — — — — — — — — — — — 3 Bathers belonging to Royal Air Force. Newquay, Cornwall,

life-boat salved dinghy. An aeroplane. Cromer No. 1 life-boat - - - - - - - 5 Bathers. Blyth life-boat - - - - - - - - - - - 3 Motor fishing boat Gadj, of Great Yarmouth. Great Yar

mouth and Gorleston life-boat saved boat and rescued - — 2 S.S. Lee S. Overman, of Wilmington. The Humber life-boat

stood by vessel. American Flying Fortress aeroplane. Berwick-on-Tweed

life-boat salved gear. Yacht Kingfisher, of Bangor. Donaghadee life-boat - - - 2 British Hawker-Hendley target towing aeroplane. Newquay,

Cornwall, life-boat salved wreckage. A British aeroplane. Eastbourne life-boat salved dinghy. British Halifax aeroplane. Selsey life-boat salved two para

chutes. Two fishing cobles Matthew and Edward, and Jean and Barbara,

of Filey. Filey life-boat escorted cobles. Motor fishing cobles Quest and Dennis, of Flamborough.

Flamborough life-boat escorted cobles. Fishing boat Mary Kate, of Wexford. Rosslare Harbour life

boat saved boat and rescued - - - - - - - - - - 4 A War Department boat. Plymouth life-boat saved boat and

rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3 Motor vessel Athelduchess, of Liverpool. St. David's life-boat

saved a ship's boat and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9 Motor vessel Athelduchess, of Liverpool. Angle life-boat - - 56 Yacht Vega, of Ringsend. Howth life-boat saved yacht and

rescued - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 Smack Our Need, of Lowestoft. Sheringham life-boat gave

help. British Anson aeroplane. St. Ives, Cornwall, life-boat - - - 5 Yachts Mimosa and Osna, of Howth. Howth life-boat saved

yachts and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 6 Pleasure boat Seamouse, of Rosslare. Rosslare Harbour life

boat saved boat and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 A naval craft. Shoreham life-boat gave help. Landing craft F.P.1058. Southend-on-Sea life-boat gave help. A rowing boat of Porthdinllaen. Porthdinllaen life-boat saved

boat and rescued - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 S.S. JJrlana, of London. Barra Island life-boat - - - - - 15 An aeroplane. Hastings life-boat salved gear Fishing boat Commander, of West Kirby. Hoylake life-boat

escorted boat. A naval cutter. Douglas life-boat saved boat and rescued — - 5 A British aeroplane. Boulmer life-boat salved a rubber dinghy. Landing craft T.2427. Port St. Mary life-boat gave help. American Flying Fortress aeroplane. North Sunderland life

boat _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 8 Motor vessel Sven Knud, of Esbjerg. Fraserburgh life-boat

saved vessel and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 An aeroplane. Barrow life-boat salved wreckage. H.M. Minesweeper 106. Lowestoft life-boat salved gear and

rescued - - _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - - 10 S.S. Valldemosa, of Glasgow. Port Erin life-boat stood by

vessel. S.S. Valldemosa, of Glasgow. Port St. Mary life-boat stood by

vessel. A Seafire aeroplane. Clovelly life-boat picked up a dead body

and a rubber dinghy. Naval motor launch 1054. Hartlepool life-boat - - - - - 10 British Catalina Hying boat. Aith life-boat - - - - - - 2 Motor vessel Margurette Marie Louise, of Newlyn. The Lizard

life-boat gave help. Aeroplane of the Fleet Air Arm. Arbroath life-boat - - - 3 British Whitley aeroplane. Moelfre life-boat saved dinghy

and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 S.S. Olev. of Norway. New Brighton No. 2 life-boat stood by

vessel.

SERVICES 1943 7

1943 Nov. 2.

Time of Launching

10.30 a.m. 2. 2.50 p.m.

2. 11.45 a.m.

3 . 8.30 a.m. 5. 11.10 a.m.

9. 4.53 a.m. » 10. 1.15 p.m. „ 13. 10.30 a.m.

„ 14. 3.15 p.m. „ 14. 9.5 p.m. „ 14. 10.30 p.m.

„ 15. 1.45 p.m. » 18. 12.38 p.m. „ 22. 1.30 p.m.

„ 23. 9.45 p.m. „ 24. 5.50 a.m.

» 24. 9.45 a.m.

» 30. 2.10 a.m.

Dec. 2. 7.10 a.m. 3 . 5.48 a.m. 3 . 8.0 a.m. 3 . 12.20 p.m.

4 . 10.15 p.m. „ 9. 2.23 a.m.

„ 15. 1.20 p.m. ,, 18. 2.30 p.m. „ 18. 2.55 p.m. „ 18. 5.50 p.m. » 21. 10.45 a.m.

„ 21. 10.45 a.m. „ 21. 1.15 p.m. „ 21. 3.35 p.m.

„ 22. 5.15 a.m. „ 25. 10.30 a.m.

„ 30. 2.5 p.m.

„ 30. 4.12 p.m.


shipwreck H.M. Submarine Tuna. Blyth life-boat landed 64 and rescued 1 II.M. Submarine Tuna, and H.M. Examination vessel

Sedulous. Blyth life-boat put crew on submarine and gave help.

H.M. Submarine Tuna, and H.M. Examination vessel Sedulous. Tynemouth life-boat gave help.

II.M.S. Foam Queen. Hastings life-boat gave help. A British target-towing aeroplane. Newcastle, Co. Down,

life-boat picked up a dead body. S.S. Broughty, of Dundee. The Humber life-boat gave help. A Walrus aeroplane. Port Askaig life-boat gave help. Tobermory life-boat took a sick woman to Oban, thereby saving

her life _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ i Two salvage lighters. Donaghadee life-boat gave help. Landing craft T.354. St. Mary's life-boat - - - - - 17 Steam drifters Pittendrum and Barbara Cowie, and a tug.

Fraserburgh life-boat gave help. Motor vessel Teasel, of Cardiff. St. Ives life-boat gave help. Landing craft T.89S. Filey life-boat saved vessel and rescued - 12 A British aeroplane. Holyhead life-boat picked up 2 dead

bodies. II.M. Trawler Avanturine. Newhaven life-boat escorted vessel. H.M. Trawler Avanturine. Shoreham Harbour life-boat escorted

vessel. Motor fishing vessel Vidar, of London. Barrow life-boat

escorted vessel. Steam trawler River Tay, of Granton. Tobermory life-boat

landed 12. Motor vessel Reiger, of Zuidbroek. St. Ives life-boat landed 1. S.S. Graiglas, of Cardiff. Hartlepool life-boat landed a pilot. Landing craft T.2263. Bridlington life-boat landed 9. Fishing boat Morning Star, of Cromer. Cromer No. 2 life-boat

escorted boat. Admiralty Salvage vessel L.C.1S. Salcombe life-boat - - - 11 Motor fishing boat St. Gerard, of Dublin. Arklow life-boat

saved vessel and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 6 Landing craft 1237. Margate life-boat gave help. Hopper No. 4, of Dublin. Dun Laoghaire life-boat — — — — 8 Hopper No. 7, of Dublin. Howth life-boat gave help. Motor ship Thor, of Rotterdam. Angle life-boat - - - - 6 P'ishing coble Robert and Jane, of Newbiggin. Newbiggin life

boat gave help. French naval motor launch Chasseur 5. Swanage life-boat - 3 S.S. South Coaster, of Cardiff. Exmouth life-boat - - - - 13 Motor fishing coble Hilda, of Scarborough. Whitby No. 1

life-boat saved coble and rescued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3 Motor vessel Vrede. Donaghadee life-boat — _ — — — - 3 American S.S. Frederick Bortholde. Stornoway life-boat gave

help. Sailing dinghy L.2156, of Wallasey. New Brighton No. 2

saved boat and rescued — — — — — — — — — — — 1 An American Liberator aeroplane. Eastbourne life-boat

salved gear.

Summary of the Year’s Work

Launches of Life-boats.

Tota l number of l aunches , inc lud ing those in which for var iousreasons no services were rendered - - - - - - - - 411

Of these launches 249 were to vessels and aeroplanes in distressthrough a t tack by the enemy or f rom o ther causes due to thewar , and 1 6 2 were to vesse ls in d is t ress f rom other causes .

Lives rescued.

Lives rescued by life-boats - - - - - - - - - - - - 469Lives rescued by shore boats, auxiliary rescue-boats and in other

w a y s , f o r w h o s e r e s c u e t h e I n s t i t u t i o n g a v e r e w a r d s - - - 1 7 1

Total of lives rescued - - - - - - - - - 640

Of the 469 lives rescued by life-boats 210 were from vessels anda e r o p l a n e s i n d i s t r e s s t h r o u g h a t t a c k b y t h e e n e m y o r o na c c o u n t o f t h e w a r , a n d 2 5 9 f r o m v e s s e l s i n d i s t r e s s f r o mother causes .

Persons landed.

Persons landed who had been, or might have been, in danger ordistress- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 85

Vessels and boats helped.

Vessels and boats which life-boats saved or helped to save fromdestruction - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 47

Vessels or boats which life-boats stood by, escorted to safety orhelped - - - - - - - - - - - - 74

8

Accounts of Services by Life-boatsJANUARY

Launches 32. Lives rescued 76.

JANUARY 3RD . - HARTLEPOOL, DUR-HAM. At 9 .10 P . M . the nava l of f icer incharge telephoned that R.A.F. high-speedlaunch No. 124 was somewhere off Hartle-pool. Her compass had gone wrong and shecould not find port. A moderate northerlywind was b lowing , wi th a rough sea . At9.30 P .M. the motor life-boat The PrincessRoynl (Civil Service No. 7) was launched andafter a long search found the launch at mid-night five miles east of Heugh Light. Thelife-boat hailed the launch, but owing to thenoise of the launch’s powerful engines, couldhear no reply, so she set a course for Hartle-p o o l a n d t h e l a u n c h f o l l o w e d h e r . I nHartlepool bay they met H.M.T. Loch Hopecoming out to search , and the l i fe -boa thanded the launch over to her. Then goingto the entrance channel buoy she played hersearchlight on it to help the Loch Hope leadthe launch into harbour, and returned to herstation at 2.10 A.M. - Rewards, £14 5s.

J A N U A R Y 4 T H . - AITH, SHETLANDS.On the 2nd January, Dr. Cruickshank, ofWalls, telephoned that the Queen’s DistrictNurse on Foula Island was dangerously illand would have to be taken to the mainland.He asked if the life-boat could be used as anambulance, as the ferry service had beensuspended for over six weeks owing to badweather. It was decided that the life-boatshould go when it was certain that a landingcould he made, and on the morning of the4th January, news came at 6.35 A.M. that itwould be possible. The weather was coldwith snow showers. A moderate northerlybreeze was now blowing, but the sea wasr o u g h , w i t h a h e a v y g r o u n d s w e l l . A t8 A.M. the motor life-boat The Rankin waslaunched, and made for Walls. There shet o o k a b o a r d t h e d o c t o r . S h e a l s o t o o kon board food supplies, which were urgentlyn e e d e d b y t h e i s l a n d e r s . S h e r e a c h e dFouls at 3.15 P . M . , embarked the patient,landed her at Walls, and returned to herstation at 10.4 P.M. - Rewards, £20 4s. 6d.No expense to the Institution.

JANUARY 5TH AND 6TH. - NEWBIGGIN,AND NORTH SUNDERLAND, NORTH-U M B E R L A N D . A t 5 . 5 P . M . t h e c o a s t -guard repor ted to the Newbiggin s ta t ionthat the sixteen-feet fishing boat Two Sisters,of Newbiggin, had not returned. An increas-ing S.S.E. wind was blowing with a choppysea , and the Newbiggin motor l i fe -boatAugustus and Laura was launched at 5.50 P.MShe could not f ind the Two S i s t e r s andreturned at 9.28 P.M. The hauling up of thelife-boat in the darkness and over the softsand was very hard, but great help was given

by the women launchers, and the boat wasready again for service at midnight. Duringthe service the St. John Ambulance stood by.

At North Sunderland, just after middayon the following day, the coastguard reporteda small boat drifting towards the shore. Amoderate S.S.E. wind was then blowing witha rough sea . The motor l i fe -boa t W.R.A.was launched at 12.15 P .M . and one mileeast of the harbour she found the Two Sisters,which had been drifting all night with herengine broken down. The life-boat rescuedher crew of two, took her in tow and returnedto her station, arriving at 1.5 P.M. - Rewards :Newbiggin, £25 13s. 6d. ; North Sunder-land, £13 2s. 6d.

GOLD MEDAL SERVICEAT THE HUMBER

JANUARY 6TH. - THE HUMBER,Y O R K S H I R E . A t 7 . 5 7 i n t h eevening the station received a requestfrom the extended defence officerfor the life-boat to go to the help ofPhillip’s defence unit No. l*, whichwas reported to have gone ashore,inside the boom defence, on the norths ide of Tr in i ty Sand . The motorlife-boat City of Bradford I I waslaunched at 8.10. It was then blow-ing a full gale from the east, againsta strong ebb t ide. The night washeavily overcast and very dark. Therewere frequent snow showers. Thelife-boat passed the gate in the defence-boom ten minutes after launchingand the defence-boom vessel, whichwas connected by telephone with theshore, called to her by megaphonethat a tug had already gone to the helpof the Phillip’s defence unit, and thelife-boat returned to her station at8.35.

No sooner had she been housed thanword came to the coxswain that avessel was aground on the Binks. Asthe t ide was ebbing the coxswainknew that he could not approach herand that she would lie quiet on thesands until the flood tide. He andhis crew stood by.

Then at 10.50 the port war signals ta t ion t e lephoned tha t Ph i l l ip ’ sdefence unit No. 3 had broken adriftfrom her moorings and was entangled

* A Phillip’s defence unit was an anchored craft, like a huge iron buoy, which mounted anti-aircraft guns.

9

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on the inner side of the boom defence.From the life-boat station the men onthe Phillip’s defence unit were seento be firing red rockets and makingsignals for help. They were in gravedanger of being swept out to sea bythe strong ebb t ide. Ten minuteslater the life-boat was launched andfound the Phillip’s defence unit nowthoroughly entangled in the boom.The life-boat approached from theseaward side by the light of search-lights from the shore which, at times,were of help to her and, at other times,blinded her crew. She approachedthe boom bow on. She did this fourtimes and the five men on the Phillip’sdefence un i t jumped aboard her .The life-boat herself had her stem andbow planking damaged by the longsteel spikes of the boom, which werethere expressly for sinking smallboats. At 11.20 the life-boat landedthe rescued men a t the l i f e -boa tslipway, and then tied up alongside apatrol vessel to wait for the flood tidein order to go to the help of the vesselon the Binks.

At 3.10 next morning she cast offand found H.M. Trawler Almondinelying on her side on the sands. Herport side was under water and shewas smothered with the heavy seas.The night was still overcast and verydark, and there were still heavy snowshowers. A strong spring flood tidewas now swirling over the Binks atthe rate of five or six knots, and theseas were breaking from all directions.

The Almondine signalled the life-boat and asked her to take off hercrew. At 3.35 in the morning thecoxswain made his first attempt. Heran the life-boat, head to tide, along-side the trawler’s lee side and passeda rope to her. The rope was se-cured, but almost immediately theswirling t ide swung the l ife-boatround , the rope was b roken , thelife-boat’s mast fouled the trawlerand was broken. With the breakingof the mast her wireless was put out ofaction. The life-boat again approachedthe trawler. She did it no fewer thantwelve times, first from one end andthen from the other. She did it inswift dashes, remaining alongside justl o n g e n o u g h f o r a m a n t o j u m p

aboard her, and then sheering offagain so as not to be smashed on thetrawler’s sunken side. All the timethe heavy seas were sweeping over her.They twisted and tossed her about atwill, and several times they flung heragainst the trawler. Five feet of heroak stem, already damaged againstthe boom in the earlier service thatnight, was splintered right back tothe planking of the boat, and theplanking itself was holed just abovethe water-line. Sometimes she sheeredoff with no one rescued. Sometimesone man jumped ; was grabbed ; wasdragged aboard. Sometimes as manyas three jumped at once.

By 4.20 - forty-five minutes afterthe first attempt - nineteen men hadbeen rescued in this way. The tide wasrising, and as i t rose the trawlerseemed to be righting herself. Sheseemed now to be water-borne againand her captain hailed the life-boat’scoxswain to ask if he and his officersshould now abandon ship or remainby her. Before the coxswain couldreply the trawler’s lights went out andnothing more was seen of her in thedarkness and driving snow. By thehelp of the life-boat’s searchlight, andof searchlights from the shore, thecoxswain searched the sandbanks andthe entrance to The Humber for anhour and a half, but he could find nosign of her. The life-boat returned toher station at 6.15 in the morning.There she landed the nineteen res-cued men, and the coxswain at oncetelephoned to the port war signalstation. Here he learned that wordhad just been received that a tug hadfound the Almondine drifting in theentrance to The Humber and hadtaken her in tow.

Though damaged the life-boat wasstill seaworthy, and four days latershe went out, though her broken stemhad not been replaced, and rescuedeight lives from another vessel.

The rescue of the men of the Almon-dine had only been made possible bythe fine seamanship and great deter-mination of the coxswain, who wasvery ably supported by his crew, andthe Institution made the followingawards :

To COXSWAIN ROBERT CROSS, G.M.,

SERVICES 1943 11

a clasp to the gold medal for con-spicuous gallantry, which he alreadyheld, with a copy of the vote inscribedon vellum ;

To GE O R G E R ICHARDS , reservemotor mechanic, the silver medal forgallantry, with a copy of the voteinscribed on vellum ;

To each of the other five members ofthe crew, GEORGE STEPHENSON, bow-man; SAMUEL CROSS, assistant motormechanic ; and WILLIAM MAJOR, SID-N E Y H A R M A N a n d G E O R G E W .SHAKESBY, life-boatmen, the bronzemedal for gallantry, with a copy ofthe vote inscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and each of thesix members of the crew a specialreward of £5.

The crew are permanent paid men,and the ordinary rewards to launchersamounted to £2 5s. ; special rewardsto crew, £35 ; total rewards, £37 5s.

JANUARY 8TH. - ILFRACOMBE, DEVON.During the evening a request was receivedat the pier for a doctor to be sent to a navalvessel in the Bristol Channel. As no othersuitable boat was available the motor life-boa t R o s a b e l l a pu t ou t a t 7 . 40 P . M . Astrong S.E. wind was blowing, with a moder-ate sea. She put the doctor on board thenaval vessel but unfortunately the injuredman for whom he was wanted had alreadydied. The life-boat returned to her stationat 8.40 P.M. - Rewards, £24 6s.

JANUARY 9TH. - HOYLAKE, CHESHIRE.At about 10 A.M. the Hooton R.A.F. aero-drome asked the coastguard to search thebanks with their telescope for signs of a mis-sing aeroplane, which had not returned theprevious evening . News then came tha taeroplanes had seen four men in a rubberd inghy in the es tuary of the River Dee .At 10.37 A.M. a request was received for thelife-boat crew to assemble, and at 11 A.M.came a request for her to launch. A strongS.E. breeze was blowing with a choppy seaand it was very cold. The motor life-boatOldham was launched at 12.10 P .M. and aquarter of a mile N. by E. of Dee Buoy shefound the dinghy with four airmen on board.The aeroplane had come down about 6 P .M.the previous evening and the men wereexhaus ted and suf fer ing f rom exposure .The life-boat took them and their dinghy onboard and brought them ashore at 1.40 P.M.A waiting R.A.F. ambulance took them tohospital. - Rewards, £10 4s. 6d.

JANUARY 11TH . - DONAGHADEE, CO.DOWN. At 12.45 in the morning the policetelephoned that a vessel was in distress offthe Cable Hut, Ballyvester, Donaghadee.The motor life-boat Civil Service No. 5 waslaunched at 1.15. A whole gale was blowing

with a very heavy sea. The life-boat foundthe four-masted motor auxiliary schoonerRuth II, of London, on the rocks, close inshore . She made severa l a t tempts to ge tto her, but it was impossible among the rocks.Nor was she able to fire a line across her.Meanwhi le , as soon as the l i fe -boat waslaunched , the honorary secre ta ry of thestation, Mr. D. McKibbin, had gone by carto the scene of the wreck, where the coast-guard and the po l ice were prepar ing tocar ry ou t a rescue f rom the shore . Thecrew of the schooner fired a line to the shoref r o m t h e i r l i n e - t h r o w i n g g u n a n d t h e nlaunched a raft. By means of the line thepeople on the shore were able to haul in theraft, and it passed backwards and forwardsbetween the ship and the shore until eight ofthe crew of nine had been rescued. One ofthe men unfortunately was washed off theraf t and drowned. Whi le the rescue wasgoing on the life-boat stood by until a signalwas flashed to her that all the crew had beentaken off. She then returned to her station,arriving at four in the morning. - Rewards,£13 19s. 6d.

J A N U A R Y 1 1 T H - N O R T H S U N D E R -L A N D , N O R T H U M B E R L A N D . A t 4 . 4 2in the morning the coastguard reported thatsignals of distress could be seen three mileseast of the harbour and at 5.15 the motorlifeboat W.R.A. was launched. A moderateS.E. gale was blowing, with a heavy sea,and rain squalls. The tide was at half flood.Half an hour later the life-boat, with thehelp of her searchl ight , found the motorvessel Empire Ford, of Hull. She was ladenwith cement, bound for Macduff, and hada crew of n ine men. She had anchored ,and was helpless on a lee shore. She wass t ra in ing on her cab le , wi th heavy seassweeping over her deck. and her engine-room was flooded. Her crew had huddledtogether on the bridge aft. She was lyingacross the wind and sea, and the life-boat’scoxswain, coming close, hailed her master,and asked him if he thought that his cablewould hold and if he could wait until the tideslackened. The ship would then turn to thewind and sea, making it easier for the life-boat to come alongside and rescue the crew.The master replied that he thought that hecould wait, and the lifeboat stood by. Shekept very close to the ship, and in touch withthe master, in case she was suddenly needed,for the weather was becoming worse. Thera in squa l l s were more v io len t , and thetemperature had fallen below freezing point.For two hours the life-boat waited, and thenshe went close. The Empire Ford threw hera line and she drew alongside. It was stilldark and the life-boat was pitching heavilyin the seas, but she hung on, and the men ofthe Empire Ford, watching their opportunity,jumped aboard her. Six were rescued in thisway. The master, mate and one able-sea-man remained on the ship, in the hope that atug might be sent to their help.

With the six rescued men the life-boatreturned to North Sunderland harbour andlanded them, and the chief engineer of theEmpire Ford tried to get a tug to take her in

12 SERVICES 1943

tow ; bu t no tug was ab le to go in tha tweather. The life-boat’s crew had returnedwet through and numbed by the great cold.They hurried to their homes for a hot drinkand returned immediately to the harbour.At nine o’clock the life-boat put out for thesecond time. The wind had now increasedto a whole gale, the sea was heavier, and theEmpire Ford was in extreme danger. Violentseas were breaking over the life-boat as sheput out, but day had now come, and she hadno difficulty in picking up the Empire Fordagain. The coxswain told the master thatno tug would come and that he must leavehis vessel at once. The life-boat again wentalongside, a line was made fast, and the threem e n j u m p e d i n t o h e r . S h e r e t u r n e d t oharbour , a r r iv ing the re a t 10 .30 in themorn ing . Ha l f an hour l a te r the E m p i r eFord’s cable parted and she was swept ashoreon the Wide Open Reef of the Farne Islands.But for the life-boat the whole crew of ninewould have been lost.

The coxswain had handled his life-boatwith courage and fine seamanship, and hadwisely used his knowledge of the tides andthe coast, for had he gone in at once to therescue, when the seas were running heavilyover the Empire Ford, instead of waiting forthe tide to slacken, lives would probably havebeen lost.

The Ins t i tu t ion awarded to C O X S W A I NGEORGE N. DAWSON its thanks inscribed onvellum, and to him and to each of the sixmembers of his crew a special reward of 30s.in addition to the ordinary reward on thestandard scale of £1 8s. 6d. Rewards on thes t a n d a r d s c a l e t o c r e w a n d h e l p e r s ,£16 11s. 3d. ; additional rewards to crew,£10 10s. ; total rewards, £27 1s. 3d.

JANUARY 11TH. - THE HUMBER, YORK-S H I R E . A b o u t 8 . 3 0 A . M . t h e p o r t w a rs igna l s ta t ion repor ted tha t the Danishsteamer Sparta was in difficulties, and asecond message was received shortly after-wards tha t the Belg ian s teamer A n n a , ofNieuport, needed help at once. At 8.45 A.Mthe motor life-boat City of Bradford II waslaunched . The damage tha t she had re -ceived in the services five days before hadnot yet been repaired. A strong S.E. windwas blowing, with a moderate sea. A milenorth of No. 5 Trinity Buoy the life-boatf o u n d t h e A n n a . S h e h a d t e n m e n o nboard, including a pilot, and was bound ladenf r o m N e w c a s t l e t o G o o l e . I n t h e e a r l ymorning in a dense fog she had been in colli-s ion wi th the S p a r t a and had sunk . Herdeck forward was now awash . The l i fe -boat rescued the c rew of e ight , bu t thecaptain and pilot decided to stay on boardas the bridge and after part of the ship werea b o v e w a t e r . T h e l i f e - b o a t l a n d e d t h erescued men a t Gr imsby and then a t therequest of the naval authorities she wentout again to look for the Sparta. She couldnot find her, and learnt later that she wasm a k i n g f o r G o o l e a n d t h a t s h e a r r i v e dsafely.

She went again to the Anna and found thatshe was not needed, but promised to returnagain as the tide rose and stand by until

after high water. This she did, reaching thesteamer at 8 P.M. She found a naval salvageparty on board. It had pumped her out, andon the high tide the steamer refloated. Shewas leaking, but able to control the waterwith her pumps, so the life-boat returned toher station, arriving at 11.15 P . M . - Paidpermanent crew. - Rewards, first service,18s. ; second service, property salvage case.

JANUARY 12TH. - GREAT YARMOUTHAND GORLESTON, NORFOLK. At about12.25 P.M. the port war signal station reportedthat the Admiralty trawler Their Merit wasaground on the North Beach just north ofthe harbour entrance, and a tug went out.A few minutes later the motor life-boat wasasked to go, and the Louise Stephens waslaunched a t 12 .45 P . M . A s t rong S .S .W.wind was blowing, with a very rough sea.In trying to get near the trawler the tugtouched the ground. She then asked thelife-boat to connect her with the trawler.The trawler fired a line over the life-boat, andin very heavy seas the l i fe -boat passedhawsers between the trawler and the tug,and the tug succeeded in towing the trawleroff the beach and the life-boat returned toher station, arriving at 1.35 P .M . , and thetug came in with the trawler a little later.-Property salvage case.

JANUARY 14TH . - FENIT, CO. KERRY.At noon the lightkeeper on Little Samphirereported a ship’s raft floating three milesto the N.N.W., and a second raft farthernor th . A s t rong N.W. wind was b lowingwith a heavy breaking swell and showers ofhail. The motor life-boat Peter and SarahBlake was launched at 12.30 P.M. and reachedthe nearer raft at 1.30 P.M. She found no oneon board, and took her in tow. Meanwhilethe other raft had got into broken water offFenit Island and in the end went ashore.She also had no one on board. The life-boat arrived back at her station at 3.30 P.M.- Rewards, £6 19s.

JANUARY 2lST. - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. At 10.25 A.M. the honorary secretaryof the s ta t ion saw a Lysander aeroplaneand a Spitfire aeroplane collide. The Ly-sander c rashed a t once but the Spi t f i ref l e w o f f , o n l y t o c r a s h o n e a n d a h a l fmiles south of Skegness pier. The motorlife-boat Anne Allen was launched at 11 A.M.A moderate S.W. wind was blowing, but thesea was smooth. There was haze. The life-boat picked up two bodies from the Lysanderand brought them ashore . She fa i led tofind the Spitfire and returned to her stationat 1 .23 P . M . The Spitfire was found laterone and a half miles south of the scene ofthe accident. - Rewards, £10 19s.

JANUARY 23RD. - BALLYCOTTON, CO.CORK. At 8.35 A.M. a man reported thathe had seen a flare and the motor life-boatMary Stanford was launched at 8.45 A.M.A moderate N.N.W. wind was blowing, witha heavy swell. Eight miles S.E. of Bally-cotton Light, the life-boat found the motorfishing boat Emily, of Ballycotton, with a

SERVICES 1943 13

crew of four on board. She was drifting tosea with her engine broken down, and themen had burned c lo th ing , soaked in o i l .That was the flare which had been seen.The l i fe -boat towed the Emi ly to Ra l ly -cotton, arriving at 11.15 A.M. - Rewards, £7.

J A N U A R Y 2 6 T H . - MARGATE, KENT.At 1.15 P.M. the resident naval officer askedthat the life-boat should be launched as aparachute had been seen in the sea two anda half miles to the north-east; the motorl i fe -boat T h e L o r d S o u t h b o r o u g h ( C i v i lService No. 1) was launched at 1.25 P . M .A fresh S.W. wind was blowing, with a choppysea. The life-boat found that the airman hadbeen picked up by a patrol boat and handedover to an R.A.F. rescue boat, and returnedto her station, with the parachute, arriving at2.25 P.M. - Rewards, £8 11s.

J A N U A R Y 2 7 T H . - L L A N D U D N O ,C A E R N A R V O N S H I R E . A t 4 . 4 5 P . M . amessage came from the coastguard that theLlandudno fishing boat Pilot No. 3 was indistress two miles east of the pier head, andthe motor life-boat Thomas and Annie WadeR i c h a r d s w a s l a u n c h e d a t 5 . 5 P . M . Asoutherly gale was blowing, with a roughsea. The life-boat found the Pilot No. 3with her engine broken down, and water-logged. She had a crew of three. The life-boat took her in tow and while making forharbour in the fading light, found three moremen in difficulties in the fishing rowing boatEira. This boat also she took in tow andreached harbour, with the six men and theirboats, at 6.30 P.M. - Rewards, £25 13s.

JANUARY 28TH. - CLACTON - ON - SEA,E S S E X . A t 1 1 . 4 2 A . M . t h e c o a s t g u a r dreported that a sailing barge had struck amine to the S. by E., three quarters of a milefrom Holland look-out hut, and had blownup. A light S.W. breeze was blowing with aslight swell. Without waiting for a full crew,the motor life-boat Edward Z. Dresden waslaunched within eight minutes, but foundonly wreckage. The barge was the Resolute,of Mistley, bound from London to Ipswich,laden with wheat. She had a crew of two.Her skipper had been rescued by anotherbarge, which transferred him to the life-boa t and she landed h im a t Clac ton a t2.30 P.M. - Rewards, £4 16s.

JANUARY 29TH. - ANSTRUTHER, FIFE-SHIRE. At 3.15 P .M . Mr. A. N. Cunning-ham, a member of the local committee, re-ported that the motor fishing boat Valkerye,of Pittenweem, lying just off the harbour,was showing distress signals, and the motorlife-boat Nellie and Charlie was launched at3.25 P.M. A strong S.W. wind was blowing,with a moderate sea, and the life-boat foundthat the Valkerye’s engine had broken downand that her anchor was dragging. She hada c rew of four . Wi th in a quar te r o f anhour of launching the life-boat had towedher into harbour. - Rewards, £9 16s.

J A N U A R Y 3 1 S T A N D F E B R U A R Y 1 S T . -SOUTHEND - ON - SEA, ESSEX. At 11 A.M.

on the 31st of January the naval controlreported that the National Fire Service floatGladys, lying half a mile west of the pier, wasdriving on to the sands, and at 11.20 A.M. themotor life-boat J. B. Proudfoot, on temporaryduty a t the s ta t ion , was l aunched . Thesecond coxswain was in command, as the cox-swain was in London in connection with abroadcast which he was to give on the workof the station. A whole gale was blowing,with rain squalls and a very rough sea. Thelifeboat found the Gladys being swept byheavy seas and hitting the sand. The life-boat let go her anchor, dropped down and,with great difficulty, got close in. The fire-float’s crew of fourteen were very seasick, butthe life-boat got them all on board and landedthem at the pier at 1.15 P.M.

Next morning the coxswain was told by thep i e r m a s t e r t h a t t h e f i r e - f l o a t h a d b e e nwashed against the pier and was crashing intoit. The weather was still bad. A moderateS.W. gale was blowing, with squalls and aheavy sea. When he got to the boathouse thecoxswain was met by a naval officer whoasked that something should be done to savethe vesse l f rom cut t ing the p ier in two.The coxswain, taking a second anchor andcable on board the l i fe -boa t , pu t ou t a t7.45 A.M. He left one of the crew on the pier,and this man, with great difficulty, droppedfrom the pier on to the fire-float. The cox-swain then anchored to windward of thef i r e - f l o a t , a n d f i r e d a l i n e t o h e r . T h elife-boatman on board her hauled in a tow-rope and made it fast. By heaving on thisrope the l i fe -boatmen kept the f i re - f loa tfrom doing any more damage, but already shehad torn girders from the pier and they werelying on her deck. Then, with the help ofa motor vessel, the life-boat towed the fire-float round the pier and under its lee. Therethe naval control took charge of her. Thisprompt service not only saved the fire-float,but prevented the pier from being cut intwo, a matter of great importance to thenaval control. The life-boat returned to herstation at 12 noon. - Rewards : first service,£8 15s; second service, property salvagecase. A letter of thanks was received fromthe Thames naval control office at Southend.

J A N U A R Y 3 l S T . - L L A N D U D N O ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. During the morn-ing, a man who had arrived from Llandudnoon the previous day fell over the cliffs nearPen Trwyn. A moderate southerly gale wasblowing, with a rough sea. It was too roughfor a rowing boat to put out and the motorlife-boat Thomas and Annie Wade Richardswas launched at 11.30 A.M. She found theman’s body about a mi le and a ha l f o f fO r m e ’ s H e a d . T h e l i f e - b o a t b r o u g h t i tback, arriving at 12.45 P .M. It was thoughtthat the man had fallen when trying to savehis hat, and that he was killed before hereached the water. - Rewards, £13 17s.

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

J A N U A R Y 3 R D . - N E W Q U A Y , C O R N -WALL. An aeroplane was reported to have

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crashed into the sea but nothing was found.-£16 10s.

JANUARY 4TH. - GALWAY BAY. Duringthe morning news was received from ValentiaRadio that the S.S. Barrister, of Liverpool,was ashore off Skird Rocks. The crew werecalled out at once and were on board thel i f e - b o a t a b o u t t e n o ’ c l o c k , b u t u n f o r -tunately the engines could not be started.It was not until 11.30 that the starboardengine was working, and not until after oneo’clock that the port engine was working.The life-boat got away about 1.30 in theafternoon. Meanwhile a message had beenreceived to say that the ship was not onSki rd Rocks , bu t was on In i shshark . Amoderate wind was blowing from the S.S.E.,and the sea was smooth. After passing theSkird Rocks, the coxswain decided to go toRoundstone Bay, as he thought that it wouldbe dark when he go t to In i shshark . Onarriving at Roundstone he learned from thelocal guard that the ship was being aban-doned.

Meanwhile the news of the Barrister hadr e a c h e d t h e a u x i l i a r y r e s c u e s t a t i o n a tInishbofin at noon and the auxiliary rescuemotor boat had put out, manned by a crewof five. A moderate wind was blowing fromthe S.W., with a rough sea. She found theBarrister with her crew of 73 abandoning her,and stood by while they got into the ship’sboats. Then, with another motor boat, shehelped to tow the ship’s boats ashore. Shereturned to her station at 7.30 in the evening.

The Galway Bay crew remained at Round-stone for the night and put out to the wreckat nine next morning, January 5th, with thesecond coxswain in command. She foundno one on board the wreck, and put in toCleggan for petrol. It could not be obtainedat once, and the life-boat did not leave forh e r s t a t i o n u n t i l n o o n o n J a n u a r y 6 t h ,arriving there at six in the evening.

In view of the delay in launching and thecoxswain’s action in putting in to Round-s tone and remain ing there for the n ight ,ins tead of go ing d i rec t to the wreck , anenquiry was held by the district inspector.After this enquiry both the coxswain andsecond coxswain resigned, and their resigna-t ions were accepted by the Ins t i tu t ion . -Rewards : Galway Bay, £42 11s. 8d. ;Inishbofin auxiliary rescue-boat, £18 10s. 8d.

(See Inishbofin, “ Services by AuxiliaryRescue-boats,” page 68.)

J A N U A R Y 1 5 T H . - B O U L M E R , A N DAMBLE, NORTHUMBERLAND. A smal lNewbiggin fishing boat, bound from NorthSunder land to Amble , had been repor tedoverdue, but nothing could be found, and onthe following day the boat was towed in by aCraster fishing boat. - Rewards : Boulmer,£30 5s. ; Amble, £7 12s.

(See Craster, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 57.)

J A N U A R Y 1 7 T H . - T O B E R M O R Y ,A R G Y L L S H I R E . T h e B e l g i a n s t e a m e rOstende had been reported in difficulties, but

later signalled that she was out of danger.-Rewards, £22 12s.

JANUARY 22ND. - MARGATE, KENT. At11.10 A.M. the resident naval officer askedthat the life-boat should be sent to a positionthree miles N. by W. of Margate, where anaeroplane’s yellow rubber dinghy had beenseen . A S .W. wind was b lowing, wi th amoderate sea, and at 11.20 A.M. the motorl i fe -boat T h e L o r d S o u t h b o r o u g h ( C i v i lService No. 1) was launched. She foundthat the dinghy had already been picked upby an R.A.F. rescue launch, and returned tothe station at 1 P.M. - Rewards, £7 12s.

J A N U A R Y 2 2 N D . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,A B E R D E E N S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e h a dcrashed into the sea, but was found by asmall fishing boat. She had sunk in ten feeto f w a t e r a n d t h e p i l o t w a s d r o w n e d . -Rewards, £6 12s.

J A N U A R Y 2 7 T H . - A L D E B U R G H ,SUFFOLK. A Walrus aeroplane had beenreported down on the sea but she got aways a f e l y a n d t h e l i f e - b o a t w a s r e c a l l e d . -Rewards, £22.

J A N U A R Y 2 9 T H . - B A R M O U T H ,MERIONETHSHIRE. Red flares had beenseen, which it was thought might be from anaeroplane’s dinghy, but nothing could befound. - Rewards, £15 1s. 6d.

FEBRUARY


F E B R U A R Y 5 T H . - C R O M A R T Y . A t6.25 A.M. the Burghead coastguard reporteddistress signals from a vessel aground onemile west of Findhorn, and the motor life-boatJames Macfee was launched at 6.45 A.M. Amoderate S.W. wind was blowing, with amoderate sea. The life-boat found the S.S.Harley, of Newcastle, hard aground. Shewas bound, laden with coal, from Blyth toInverness. The life-boat ran out an anchorfor her and at high water she was refloatedand went on her way. The life-boat returnedto her station, arriving at 1.15 P.M. - Rewards,£7 2s. 6d.

FE B R U A R Y 5 T H . - GALWAY BAY. At6.50 P .M. information was received that aman had been cut off by the tide on a rockhalf a mile from the boat house, and was ingreat danger. A S.W. gale was blowing witha rough sea, and the tide was rising. It wasconsidered that the boarding boat to themotor life-boat K.E.C.F. would be moresuitable at this rocky spot than the life-boatherself, and she left at 7 P.M. with the crewof eight on board. When she reached therock the man was already waist deep in waterand at any moment might have been sweptaway. He was rescued and brought ashoreat 8.15 P.M. - Rewards, £13 2s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 6TH. - BROUGHTY FERRY,ANGUS. At 5.25 A.M . the coastguard at

SERVICES 1943 15

Carnoustie telephoned that distress flareshad been seen between Horseshoe and LadyBuoys, and the motor life-boat Mona waslaunched at 6 A.M. A westerly gale wasblowing, with a rough sea. The life-boatfound H.M. Drifter Gowan with a crew often aboard. She had stranded about half amile E. by S. of the beacon on Lucky Scaup.The tide was running out and each time thelife-boat attempted to get alongside, shegrounded. After the third attempt she layoff and called the drifter by morse lamp.The dr i f te r answered tha t the water wasrapidly leaving her and that she was un-damaged, but asked the life-boat to stand byuntil daylight. This she did. The Dundeeharbour tug also came out and stood by. Atdaybreak. as she was no longer needed. thelife-boat returned to her station, arriving at9.30 A.M. The Gowan was re-floated later in

Nearly in the middle of this channel isa small group of rocks, the EastPlatters, submerged at al l but thelowest tides. They are a well-knowndanger and it was they that were toprove fatal to the Castilian.

the day. - Rewards, £10 7s.

FEBRUARY 9TH . - GREAT YARMOUTHA N D G O R L E S T O N . N O R F O L K . A t2.25 P .M. the coastguard reported that H.M.Trawler Cloti lde was ashore on the northbeach about one hundred yards from thenorth pier, and ten minutes later the navalauthorities asked that the life-boat shouldgo out. A strong S.S.W. wind was blowingwith a rough sea and rain. The motor life-boat Louise Stephens was launched at 2.50 P.M.and got a wire from the trawler to a tug, buti t b roke . She then got a wi re f rom thetrawler to another tug and this also broke.The tide was falling, nothing more could bedone and the tugs returned to harbour. Itwas then 5.30 P .M. The life-boat remained,s t a n d i n g b y . A t 8 P . M . t u g s c a m e o u tagain. The life-boat could not fix up a linebetween them and the trawler until the tideturned, but on the coxswain’s advice thetrawler put her engines full astern and soong o t h e r s e l f o f f t h e b e a c h . S h e w a s n o tdamaged, so the lifeboat returned to herstation, arriving at 9.45 P . M . - Rewards,£23 3s.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT HOLYHEAD

FEBRUARY 12TH - 13TH. - HOLY-HEAD, ANGLESEY. In the earlyhours of the 12th of February theS.S. Castilian, a 3,000-ton ship of theEllerman Papayanni Company, en-tered Church Bay, and let go twoanchors. She had evidently come infor shelter. A heavy gale was blow-ing from the south-west and the seawas very rough. The anchors failedto hold, and the Castilian steamedaway to the northwards, probably totake shelter on the north side ofAnglesey in the two-miles channelbetween the Skerries Rocks and Car-me1 Head on the mainland of Anglesey.

Shortly after five o’clock in themorning the coastguard passed to thelife-boat station a message from thenaval base that a ship was ashoresomewhere inside the Skerries, andat 5.25 the motor life-boat A.E.D.p u t o u t . O w i n g t o t h e w a r s h ehad a crew of only six men, instead ofeight. I t was pitch dark, and thedarkness and heavy seas made italmost impossible to see anything.The life-boat searched for about twohours before she found the Castilianaground on the East Platters. Theheavy seas were pounding on herweather side. The ebbing tide ranagainst her lee side. Her bows wereon the rocks. Her stern was swungto and fro by the wind and tide andthe eddies which abound round therocks. The life-boat came as closeas was possible and her coxswainhailed the captain. He told him thathe must leave the ship. The captainrefused. He hoped that tugs wouldpull her off, though no tug could havedone it. The life-boat drew away andthe coxswain reported by his radiotelephone to the honorary secretary.Both knew that at any moment thesteamer might slip off and perhapsfounder. It was decided that the life-boat should stand by and wait forwhat might happen. The l ife-boatherself was in considerable danger,and the coxswain made for the lee ofthe Skerries. They would give her alittle shelter.

The Casti l ian was soon list ingheavily to port, and about an hourlater the coxswain warned the captainthat, with wind and sea increasing,and the tide ebbing, it would soon bealmost impossible to do anything tohelp him. He then agreed to abandonship, and the coxswain brought thelife-boat more or less alongside. Itwas done only with great difficulty,and after several attempts. I t hadto be done on the weather side becauseof the ebbing tide, that ran againstthe lee side, and the ships’ boats which

16 SERVICES 1943

were turned out on that side and werean added and grea t danger . Butthe coxswain handled the life-boatwith great skill, and, with the promptand complete co-operation of themotor mechanic, he was able to holdher near enough to the steamer forthe forty-seven officers and men tojump aboard. They all landed safely,though one slightly injured his foot.It was then 8.45. At ten o’clock thelife-boat arrived at Holyhead. Attwo o’clock in the afternoon theCastilian slipped off the rocks andsank. Only the top of her funnelsand her mast were above water.

The life-boat went out to her twicemore. The naval base asked her tofind out if it would be possible torecover confidential mails which werein the chart room. She also took outthe Castilian’s captain and the shoresuperintendent of the Ellerman Papay-anni Company. She went out on thefirst trip at 2.30 on the afternoon ofthe 12th and returned at 6.15, andon the second at 11.10 in the morningof the 13th, returning at 1.10 in theafternoon.

The rescue was carried out in theface of very considerable risks. Itsucceeded through the great skil lwi th which coxswain and motor -mechanic handled the life-boat andher engines.

The Institution made the followingawards :

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

To JOHN JONES , motor-mechanic,the bronze medal for gallantry, witha copy of the vo te inscr ibed onvellum ;

TO ROBERT WILLIAMS, second-cox-swain, RICHARDBELL, bowman, HUGHTHOMAS, assistant motor-mechanic,and THOMAS NUNN, life-boatman, thethanks of the Institution inscribedon vellum ;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew, a special reward of £2, inaddition to the ordinary reward onthe standard scale of £1 8s. 6d. each.Standard rewards to crew, £5 14s. ;additional rewards to crew, £12 ; totalrewards, £17 14s.

Rewards of £5 14s. and £2 17s.

were granted for the two last trips,but these were repaid to the Institutionby the shipping company.

F E B R U A R Y 1 3 T H . - S T O R N O W A Y ,HEBRIDES. At about 5.15 P .M. a messagewas received from the Post Office in the villageof Bayble that a small motor fishing vesselhad been seen off Bayble Head at 4 P .M .bu t had not been seen s ince . A wester lywind of gale force was blowing with a roughs e a . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a t W i l l i a m a n dHarriot was launched at 6.30 P.M. and, twomiles east of Arnish lighthouse, she found themotor fishing vessel Welcome Home, of Storn-oway, with a crew of six ; she was making noheadway against the strong wind and heavysea. The life-boat towed her into Stornoway,arriving at 7.45 P.M. - Rewards, £13 2s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 1 5 T H . - P E T E R H E A D ,A B E R D E E N S H I R E . A t 4 . 3 5 P . M . t h ecoastguard reported that the naval authori-ties wished the life-boat crew to be assembledas an Admiralty barge was in difficultiesin Peterhead Bay. An hour later the crewwere dismissed as their services were notnceded. Another message came at 6.50 P.M.that the barge had floated off the sands, butthat her steering gear was out of action,and that she had gone ashore again, this timeo n t h e r o c k s . A n o r t h w e s t e r l y g a l ew a s b l o w i n g w i t h a m o d e r a t e s e a . T h emotor life-boat Julia Park Barry of Glasgowwas launched at 7.5 P.M., but she found thatthe barge had repa i red her s teer ing gearand had got off the rocks. She needed nohelp so after giving information and advice.the life-boat returned to her station, arrivingat 7.55 P.M. - Rewards, £17 10s. 6d.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT ST. DAVID’S

FEBRUARY 28TH. - ST. DAVID’S,PEMBROKESHIRE. At 9.20 in theevening the police telephoned to thel i fe -boa t s ta t ion tha t a man wastrapped somewhere up the cliffs nearLlanunwas, Solva. The honorary sec-retary suggested that the coastguardshould also be told, and its l ife-saving apparatus called out, but ashe thought that it would probably beimpossible for it to rescue the man fromthe top of the cliffs, he decided to sendout the life-boat, taking the boardingboat with her, to see what could bedone from the bottom of the cliff.The motor life-boat Civil Service No. 6was launched at 10.35. The honorarysecretary, Dr. Joseph Soar, Mus. Doc.,went with her. The weather wascalm. She arrived off the cliffs nearSolva village at 11.30. The cliffs

SERVICES 1943 17

there are more than 200 feet high.The life-boat had to remain 500 yardsfrom the bottom of them. She couldget no nearer owing to the rocksand the swell. The second-coxswain,D. J. Lewis, and one of the crew,went in the boarding boat sufficientlynear to find the man. He was ona ledge about forty feet up. He couldget neither up nor down.

The second coxswain returned tosay that it was impossible to get up thecliffs to the ledge from the shore.There was nothing to do but try toclimb down the cliffs, and one of thecrew, Gwilym Davies, volunteeredt o t r y i t . T h e s e c o n d - c o x s w a i n ,Gwilym Davies and Dr. Soar thenwent ashore in the boarding boat.It was not easy to find a place to landin the darkness and surf, among thehuge stones at the foot of the cliffs,but the second-coxswain handled theboarding boat skilfully, and she camea s h o r e w i t h o u t m i s h a p . G w i l y mDavies then found a place where hecould climb up the cliff. At the topwere the coastguard, with the life-saving apparatus, and they loweredhim down above the ledge where theman was trapped.

While Davies was climbing thecliff, Dr. Soar and the second-cox-swain returned to the life-boat, gother signalling lamp and came ashoreagain. Below the ledge the sea raninto a cleft in the cliffs, and from thewater in the middle of this cleft rose arock. As it was impossible, from theshore below, to throw the light of thesignalling lamp on to the ledge, Dr.Soar climbed this rock and from itstop was able to shine it on the man.By th i s l igh t he d i rec ted Daviesas he was being lowered to the ledge.Davies and the rescued man werethen lowered still further until theywere able to swing themselves on tothe rock beside Dr. Soar, and fromthere they all three climbed downinto the boarding boat. All this hadbeen done in pitch darkness, except forthe l igh t o f the s igna l l ing lamp.Meanwhile the boarding boat below,with the second-coxswain on boardher, had been in danger from theswell which was increasing as the tiderose. It was now 1.30 in the morning,

two hours after the l ife-boat hadarrived off the cliff. The boardingboat came safely out to the life-boatagain, and the life-boat arrived backat her station at 2.30.


To GWILYM DAVIES , the bronzemedal for gallantry, with a copy ofthe vote inscribed on vellum, and £2in addition to the ordinary rewardon the standard scale of £1 17s. 6d. ;

To DR. JOSEPH SOAR, Mus. Doc.,the honorary secretary of the station,the bronze medal for gallantry, witha copy of the vo te inscr ibed onvellum ;

To DAVID J. LEWIS, second-cox-swain, the thanks of the Institutioninscribed on vellum, and £1 in addi-tion to the ordinary scale reward onthe standard scale of £1 17s. 6d. ;

To POLICE SERGEANT EVANS, whorang up the life-boat station, a letterof appreciation ;

To the coxswain and to each of thefour other members of the crew areward of 10s. in addition to theordinary scale reward on the standardscale of £1 17s. 6d. ;

S tandard rewards to c rew andlaunchers, £11 15s. 6d. ; additionalrewards to crew, £5 10s. ; total re-wards, £17 5s. 6d.


F E B R U A R Y 1 S T . - H O L Y H E A D ,ANGLESEY. An aeroplane had been re -ported down in the sea but actually it hadcrashed on land. - Rewards, £5 14s.

F E B R U A R Y 3 R D . - A L D E B U R G H ,S U F F O L K . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e n r e -ported down off Aldeburgh, but it was foundto be much further north and the life-boatwas recalled. - Rewards, £43 11s.

F E B R U A R Y 4 T H . - A R K L O W , C O .WICKLOW. Fla res and l igh ts had beenreported, but nothing was found. - Rewards,£15 10s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 5TH . - RHYL, FLINTSHIRE.A Mustang aeroplane had crashed into thesea, but no trace of her could be found.-Rewards, £13 8s.

F E B R U A R Y 5 T H . - S T . I V E S , C O R N -WALL. An aeroplane had crashed into the

18 SERVICES 1943

sea in flames, but nothing of her was found.- Rewards, £11 7s.

FEBRUARY 5TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.A Stirling aeroplane had crashed into the seain flames, but nothing of her was found.-Rewards, £26 1s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 6 T H . - P O R T A S K A I G ,HEBRIDES. A steamer had been reportedin distress fifteen miles west of Rhinns Point,Islay, but by the time the life-boat reachedher she had made repairs and was going onher way. - Rewards, £18 4s.

FEBRUARY 7TH . - MOELFRE, ANGLE-SEY. An aeroplane was reported to havefallen into the sea, but nothing was found,and it was thought that she had simply beenflying very low. - Rewards, £12 13s. 6d.

FEBRUARY 8TH . - RAMSGATE, KENT.Three R.A.F. men were engaged in salvingan aeroplane on the Goodwin Sands. Theywere working in a small boat from a trawler.Their boat capsized leaving them strandedon the sands, but the trawler rescued thembefore the arrival of the life-boat. - Rewards,£6.

F E B R U A R Y 8 T H - 9 T H . - P A D S T O W ,CORNWALL. A fishing boat was overdue,but at the first search the life-boat couldfind nothing, and when she put out again shefound the boa t bo t tom up on the shore .The on ly man on board her had landedsafely. - Rewards, first launch, £9 19s. 6d. ;second launch, £5 1s.

FEBRUARY 9TH. - SELSEY, AND SHORE-HAM HARBOUR, SUSSEX. A Mustangfighter aeroplane crashed into the sea, butonly wreckage was found. - Rewards, Selsey,£9 7s. ; Shoreham Harbour, £6 11s.

F E B R U A R Y 9 T H . - B A R R O W , L A N -CASHIRE. A Beauf igh te r ae rop lane hadbeen reported down in the sea, but nothingwas found. - Rewards, £14 6s. 6d.

F E B R U A R Y 1 1 T H . - P O R T P A T R I C K ,WIGTOWNSHIRE. An aeroplane had beenreported down in the sea, but nothing couldbe found. - Rewards, £8 11s.

F E B R U A R Y , 1 2 T H . - P E E L , I S L E O FMAN. A s teamer had s t randed , bu t hercrew got ashore unaided, and the ebbing tideleft the steamer high and dry. - Rewards,£13 4s.

FEBRUARY 12TH and 13TH. - MOELFRE,ANGLESEY. Twice lights had been seendrifting, and twice the life-boat searched, butfound noth ing . - Rewards , f i r s t se rv ice ,£15 9s. ; second service, £17.

FEBRUARY 16TH . - SELSEY, SUSSEX.Two U.S.A. Liberator aeroplanes had collidedand crashed, with the loss of about twentylives, but nothing could be found. - Rewards,£9 7s.

FE B R U A R Y 1 8 T H . - ST . IVES, CORN-WALL. An aeroplane had been reporteddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £30 4s.

F E B R U A R Y 1 9 T H . - B A R M O U T H ,MERIONETHSHIRE. An ae rop lane wasreported to have crashed in the sea, butn o t h i n g c o u l d b e f o u n d . - R e w a r d s ,£26 11s. 6d.

FE B R U A R Y 2 8 T H . - LERWICK, SHET-L A N D S . T h e e n g i n e o f a N o r w e g i a nfishing vessel had broken down in a gale,and she was leaking, but in a lull her crewrepaired the engine and she got into Lerwickunaided. A letter of thanks on behalf of theN o r w e g i a n s w a s r e c e i v e d . - R e w a r d s ,£19 15s. 6d.

FEBRUARY, 28TH. - PEEL, ISLE OF MAN.An R.A.F. Anson aeroplane had crashed intothe sea, but an R.A.F. rescue launch rescuedthe crew and the life-boat was recalled.-Rewards, £25 19s. 6d.

MARCHLaunches 33. Lives rescued 42.

MARCH 8TH . - MARGATE, KENT. Justafter 5 p.m. the coastguard reported that thelocal fishing boat Water Lily, which could beseen about three miles north of Margate pier,appeared to be in trouble with her engine, andthe motor life-boat The Lord SouthboroughCivil Service No. 1) was launched at 5.30 P.M.A moderate S.W. wind was blowing, the seasmooth , the t ide ebbing . The l i fe -boattowed the fishing boat, with her crew of two,into harbour, arriving at 6.15 P.M. - Rewards,£16 17s. 6d.

MARCH 8TH . - REDCAR, YORKSHIRE.At 9.8 P .M. the coastguard reported a shipashore on Redcar Rocks, N.E. of the pier.A little later it was learned that the vesselwas the Admira l ty tug A m s t e r d a m . Theweather was fine, and the sea smooth, witha light westerly wind blowing. The tide wasebbing. At 9.46 P .M . the motor life-boatLouisa Polden was launched, and found thatthe tug had run on the rocks and was highand dry. As she was unable to go alongsideshe returned and landed two men who putout in a small boat to the tug. The life-boa t then re turned to her , and s tood byuntil 2 next morning, when she was told thattugs were coming and that her help was nolonger needed ; she arrived back at her stationa t 2 . 3 0 A . M . T h e t u g w a s r e f l o a t e d a t4.30 A.M. - Rewards, £19 14s.

MARCH 10TH. - TROON, AYRSHIRE. At11.30 P.M. on 9th March, the duty naval officerat Ardrossan reported the S.S. Asteria, ofGlasgow, ashore on Eagle Rock, off Ardrossanbreakwater, and in need of help. She was avessel of 694 tons gross, in ballast, carryinga crew of fifteen and bound from Glasgow toArdrossan. The night was dark with rainsqual l s , and a f resh wes ter ly wind wasblowing with a rough sea. The motor life-

SERVICES 1943 19

boat Sir David Richmond of Glasgow waslaunched at 12.15 next morning and reachedthe s t eamer a t 1 .30 A . M . She found theArdrossan pilot boat standing by and thesteamer herself lit up by searchlights fromthe shore.

The coxswain took the life-boat straightup to the steamer. There was a nasty back-wash from the rocks, but he got her safelyalongside it, and in a short time had rescuedthe crew of fifteen. The life-boat landedthem at Ardrossan, and reached her stationagain at 3.30 A.M.

The rescue was carried out promptly andskilfully and an increase in the usual moneyaward on the standard scale was made toeach member of the crew. - Standard rewardsto crew and helper, £13 14s. 6d. ; additionalrewards to crew, £4 ; total rewards, £17 14s. 6d.

MARCH 10TH . - ARBROATH, ANGUS.At 5.5 P.M. the coastguard reported that thelocal motor fishing boat, Annie Cargill, wasin difficulties and drifting rapidly towardsthe rocks half a mile east of Arbroath harbour.A fresh W.S.W. wind was blowing, with ar a t h e r r o u g h s e a . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tJohn and Will iam Mudie was launched at5.10 P .M. and found that the fishing boat’sengine had broken down. She had a crewof six on board. The life-boat towed herinto harbour, arriving at 5.40 P.M. - Rewards,£16 19s. 6d.

MARCH 12TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK.At 5.50 P .M. information was received fromthe Cromer coastguard that what appearedto be a small white boat could be seen somesix miles N.N.E. 1/2 E. Half an hour laterthe naval authorities at Great Yarmouthasked that the life-boat should go out, andthe No. 1 motor life-boat H. F. Bailey waslaunched at 6.20 P .M. A light easterly windw a s b l o w i n g , a n d t h e s e a w a s s m o o t h .The life-boat found the object to be a partlysubmerged bar rage ba l loon , took i t onboard , made a fu r ther search , bu t foundnothing, and returned to her station, arrivingat 9 P.M. - Rewards, £19 l6s.

MA R C H 1 5 T H - 17 T H . - LYTHAM-ST.A N N E S , L A N C A S H I R E . A t 9 . 3 0 A . M .information was received from the residentnaval officer at Preston, and confirmed bythe coastguard, that a vessel was aground,and at 10 A.M. the motor life-boat Dunlearywas launched. A moderate S.W. breeze wasb l o w i n g , w i t h a m o d e r a t e s e a , a n d t h ewea ther was th ick . At 11 A . M . the l i fe-boat saw the vessel lying on the Horse Bank,south of the Penfold Channel. She was theS.S. Empire Bridge, with a crew of twelve, andshe had run aground during a fog, whilebound with china clay from Cornwall toP r e s t o n . H e r m a s t e r e x p e c t e d t h a t s h ewould refloat on the evening tide and askedif the life-boat would return and stand byhim then . This she promised to do , pu tback to her station where she arrived at2 P.M., refuelled and left again at 3.30 P.M.,taking a pilot with her. She passed a cableto the steamer and tried to tow her off, butwi thout success , so she re turned to her

s t a t ion aga in , a r r iv ing a t 9 P . M . On thefollowing day it was arranged that the life-boa t should go ou t fo r the th i rd t ime a t6.30 in the morning of the 17th, by whichtime a tug would have arrived from Preston.This was done . The l i fe -boat passed thetug’s hawser to the steamer and helped totow her of f , and f ina l ly re turned to herstation at 11 in the morning of the 17th.-Property salvage case.

MARCH 19TH. - BRIDLINGTON, YORK-S H I R E . A b o u t 1 2 . 3 5 i n t h e m o r n i n g amessage came from the Bridlington coast-guard that distress rockets had been seen atHornsea, eleven miles south of Bridlington,and at 1 A.M. the motor life-boat StanhopeSmart was launched. A fresh E.N.E. windwas blowing, with a swell which caused acertain amount of surf on the beach, and theb o a t h a d t o b e l a u n c h e d t h r o u g h c o a s tdefences. The night was cloudy, but therew a s s o m e m o o n l i g h t . A s t h e l i f e - b o a tcleared the land, the wind and sea increased.She had no difficulty in finding the vessel indis t ress , as two shore searchl ights weretrained on her, and she reached her at 2.15.She was an o ld wooden dr i f te r , the S .S .Kernoozer, now being used by contractorsto the Air Ministry for putting down andtaking up moorings. She had lost a blade ofher propeller, her engine had stopped, ands h e h a d a n c h o r e d , b u t h e r a n c h o r w a sdragging. She was lying inside broken water,in about three fathoms, was rolling heavily andwas leaking badly. Her master said that hewanted to abandon ship, and the lifeboat wentstraight alongside, under her lee, and made fast.There were nine men on board the Kernoozer,and they and the cat jumped into the life-boat.The whole rescue took only a few minutes.The life-boat arrived back at Bridlington atfour in the morning. Later in the morningit was learned that the Kernoozer’s crewwere going out to her again in a large fishingboat, to see if she could be towed into Brid-lington, and as the weather was still bad itwas decided that the life-boat should go withthe f i sh ing boa t . Both boa ts le f t a t t eno’clock, but when they reached the Kernoozerthey found that she had gone ashore and wasbreaking up. The life-boat returned to hers ta t ion a t one in the a f te rnoon. A le t te rof thanks was sent to Mr. C. H. Gray, theh o n o r a r y s e c r e t a r y , w h o a c t e d a s h e a dl a u n c h e r , a n d a n i n c r e a s e i n t h e u s u a lmoney reward on the standard scales was madeto each member of the c rew. - S tandardrewards to crew and helpers, £30 15s. 6d. ;a d d i t i o n a l r e w a r d s t o c r e w , £ 8 ; t o t a lrewards, £38 15s. 6d.

MARCH 22ND. - PORT ST. MARY, ISLE:OF MAN. At 7 A.M. the Castletown coast-guard telephoned, for information only, thata vessel was ashore at Strandhall, one and aquarter miles E. by N. of Port St. Mary.Thirty-five minutes later he asked the life-boa t to pu t ou t and a t 8 A . M . the motorlife-boat Sir Heath Harrison was launched.A fresh easterly wind was blowing, with achoppy sea. The life-boat found the vessel to bethe S.S. Nolisement, of Cardiff, of over 5,000

20 SERVICES 1943

gross tons, laden. She carried a crew of forty-nine, but they were in no immediate danger.As a tug was expected the life-boat returned toharbour at 9 A.M., and when the tug arrived at1.30 P . M . , she again put out. The Nolise-ment had now been carried further ashore andthe tug could no t re f loa t her . The l i fe -boat again returned to harbour, and at 7 P.M.went out for the third time, taking a govern-ment salvage officer with her. She returnedat 7.30 P . M . , and made a final trip to the. A moderate easterly

w i n d w a s b l o w i n g , w i t h a c h o p p y s e a .Aeroplanes dropped flares to guide the life-boat and an hour later the life-boat foundand rescued the pilot of a Spitfire in a rubberdinghy, nine miles E.S.E. of Newcastle har-bour. His engine had failed and he had had tobale out. He was uninjured, though sufferingfrom shock, and was able to return to hisstation the following morning. On the wayback the life-boat found another and largerd inghy, f rom a bombing aeroplane , andbrought it in. She handed over the dinghiesand other aircraft gear to the coastguard,and re tu rned to her s t a t ion , a r r iv ing a t6 P.M. - Rewards, £28 1s. 6d.

MARCH 25TH. - AITH, SHETLANDS. OnMarch 17th a doctor telephoned to the stationto ask if the life-boat would be available tobring from the Island of Fouls to the main-land a woman who was expecting a baby.A strong breeze was then blowing, with aconsiderable ground swell. Five days laterhe came personally to the station to explainthat if the woman’s life were to be savedshe must be removed to the main land assoon as possible, that it would be fatal toattempt to remove her in the tiny island ferryboat, that no larger boat was available, andthat she could only be removed, even by thelife-boat, in fine weather. The life-boat wasat once put at the doctor’s disposal, but itwas not until another three days had past,the 25th, that wind and sea had gone downsufficiently for the journey to be possible fort h e p a t i e n t . A m o d e r a t e w i n d w a s t h e nblowing, with a moderate sea running. Thel i fe -boa t pu t ou t a t t en in the morn ingand reached Foula at 2.55 in the afternoon.She took the patient from Foula to Walls,and returned to her station, arriving at 8.35that evening. The baby was born at Walls,and for a time the condition of both motherand baby was critical, but the skilled atten-tion which could be given to them at Walls,and would not have been possible at Foula,s a v e d t h e m b o t h . - N o e x p e n s e t o t h eInstitution.

MARCH 27TH. - WESTON-SUPER-MARE,SOMERSET. At 8.15 P .M . i t was learnedfrom the officer commanding H.M.S. Birnbeck,that the motor vessel with a crew of four wasashore off Howe Rock, in Berrow Bay, andwould foul the coast defences if she drovefurther ashore on the rising tide. A strongwesterly wind was blowing with a moderatesea , bu t the c rew were in no immedia tedanger. The motor life-boat Fife and Charleswas launched at 8.55 P .M., found the vesselmoving out of the bay, and at her request,escor ted her in to the River Axe. As thelife-boat was returning she saw a tug fromCardiff and signalled her, by morse, that allwas well. She arrived back at her station at10.30 P.M. - Rewards, £13 13s.

MARCH 30TH. - CLOVELLY, DEVON. At8.55 P.M. the naval authorities at Appledoreasked the life-boat to go to a vessel flyingsignals of distress two miles east of Clovelly.A moderate W.N.W. gale was blowing, witha rough sea. The motor life-boat City ofNottingham, was launched, with the help ofwomen launchers, at 9.15 P .M. and twentyminutes later found the S.S. Cushendon,leaking badly, with an Admiralty trawlerstanding by. She asked the steamer to followher closer in but the master replied that heh a d n o s t e a m . T h e l i f e - b o a t s t o o d b yunt i l near ly one nex t morn ing . By tha ttime things had improved ; the master saidthat he no longer needed help ; and the life-boa t re tu rned to her s t a t ion , a r r iv ing a t1.15 A.M - Rewards, £27 18s. 6d.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT HASTINGS

M A R C H 3 l S T . - H A S T I N G S ,SUSSEX, AND DUNGENESS, KENT.At 2.15 in the morning a messagecame from Dover asking the life-boat to launch to the help of a vessel3,000 yards to the south of Jury’sGap, 10 1/2 miles from Hastings. Shewas H.M. Trawler Caulonia, with acrew of 24. A fresh to strong west-south-west wind was blowing, withheavy rain, and during the night thewind had reached gale force. A heavyground swell was breaking a quarter ofa mile off shore. For some time pastgovernment contractors had beenworking on a large defence scheme,and the beach was blocked by obstaclesof all sorts which had to be moved.This, poor visibility, and the heavysea made the launch long and difficult.Soldiers took part in i t , and thehonorary secretary of station, Com-mander W. Highfield, O.B.E., R.N.,the coxswain, who was in command ofthe boat for the first time, and the

SERVICES 1943 21

motor-mechanic, were conspicuous inthe work of launching. But for theirskill and knowledge the launch wouldhave taken much longer than it did.When the boat was first launched aheavy sea, coming from a breach inthe old harbour, threw her back onthe beach, and she had to be hove upand turned again. She got afloat at4.30, and made her way to Jury’sGap. The wind was moderating, butthere was a h igh fo l lowing sea .She r eached the t r awle r a t 5 .50just as day came. The sea wasbreaking about a quarter of a mileoff shore, and the trawler lay wellinside the broken water, broadside onto the sea. Her fore part was underwater, and her after gun was justshowing. Seven of the crew weregathered round the funnel. The otherseventeen had left the wreck on a raftand eleven of them had got ashore.The coastguard life-saving apparatushad fired eight rockets with 400-fathom lines from the shore, but theyhad failed to reach the trawler. Asthe life-boat arrived the whole of thetrawler’s bridge was swept away. Thecoxswain went round the trawler’sstern, but the heavy seas breakingover her, floating wreckage, and astrong tide made it very difficult forhim to come alongside her. He handledthe life-boat with great skill and cool-ness, and brought her close to the traw-ler. A line was thrown and, with theengines working all the time, he heldher alongside for half an hour, and theseven men were rescued. The life-boat herself was undamaged, exceptfor a few scratches, and reachedHastings again at five past eight in themorning.

Great difficulties had been overcomein the launch, and the actual rescuewas due to the splendid handlingof the life-boat by the coxswain, themotor-mechanic’s skill with his engines,and the able way in which they weresupported by the second-coxswain,the bowman and the rest of the crew.The Institution made the followingawards :

To COXSWAIN JOHN E. MUGGRIDGE,the bronze medal for gallantry, witha copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ;

To W. R. H I L D E R , t he motor -

To COMMANDER W. H I G H F I E L D ,O.B.E., R.N., the honorary secretary,the thanks of the Institution inscribedon vellum ;

mechanic, the bronze medal for gal-lantry, with a copy of the vote in-scribed on vellum ;

To EDWARD F. ADAMS, the second-coxswain and FREDERICK P. WHITE,the bowman, each the thanks of theInstitution inscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and each of theeight members of the crew a rewardof 15s. in addition to the ordinaryreward on the standard scale of £2 7s.,making a total reward to each man of£3 2s.

Rewards to crew and launchers onthe standard scale, £54 1s. 6d. ;additional rewards to crew, £6 15s. ;total rewards £60 16s. 6d.

Only a few days after the ServiceCoxswain Muggridge lost his life whenhis fishing boat was blown up by amine, and the motor-mechanic, W. R.Hilder, was killed in an air-raid onHastings two months later.

Information was also sent to Dun-geness and the life-boat was launchedand went to the trawler, only to findthat the Hastings life-boat was thentaking off the last of the survivors.-Rewards, Dungeness, £34 17s.


M A R C H 1 S T . - W I C K , C A I T H N E S S -SHIRE. An R.A.F. Spitfire aeroplane hadcome down in the sea , bu t the p i lo t wasrescued by a trawler and the life-boat wasrecalled. - Rewards, £6 13s.

MARCH 4TH. - LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLK.A naval motor gunboat had been reported inneed of help, and the life-boat made twosearches in bad weather, with enemy aero-planes about, but the gunboat got in unaided.The l i fe -boa t was thanked by the nava la u t h o r i t i e s . - R e w a r d s , f i r s t l a u n c h ,£11 7s. 6d. ; second launch, £8 11s.

MARCH 6TH. - RAMSEY, ISLE OF MAN.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea, but nothing was - found. - Rewards,£34 18s.

MARCH 7TH . - HOYLAKE, CHESHIRE.A Tiger Moth aeroplane had been reporteddown in the sea but nothing was found.-Rewards, £25 2s. 3d.

(See Llanerchymor. “ Services by AuxiliaryRescue-boats,” page 68.)

22 SERVICES 1943

MARCH 9TH. - DUNGENESS, KENT. AStirling bombing aeroplane had crashed inthe sea near Lade. The life-boat found herand searched her, but there was no one onboard. She then searched for her dinghy,but could not find it. - Rewards, £22 14s. 6d.

MARCH 12TH. - HOLY ISLAND, NORTH-UMBERLAND. Signals had been reportedby the coastguard, but nothing but a convoytravelling north could be found. - Rewards,£16 2s. 6d.

MARCH 14TH. - BUCKIE, BANFFSHIRE.A Defiant aeroplane had crashed into thesea, but her crew of two were lost. - Rewards,£11 17s.

MARCH 15TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLE-SEY. An aeroplane had c rashed in to thesea, but her crew were rescued by a navalmotor launch. - Rewards, £7 10s.

MA R C H 2 7 T H . - AMBLE, NORTHUM-BERLAND. A Hur r icane ae rop lane hadcrashed into the sea, but only wreckage wasfound. - Rewards, £11 8s.

MARCH 27TH. - PORT ST. MARY, ISLEOF MAN. A s teamer had gone aground ,but she refloated before the life-boat reachedher and went on her way. - Rewards, £27.

MARCH 27TH. - PWLLHELI, CAERNAR-V O N S H I R E . A L i g h t n i n g R . A . F . a e r o -plane had crashed into the sea, but an R.A.F.launch rescued one airman, and the othercould not be found. - Rewards, £7 11s. 6d.

MARCH 29TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLE-S E Y . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e n r e p o r t e ddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £9 8s.

M A R C H 2 9 T H . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. An Anson R.A.F.trainer aeroplane had been reported down inthe sea, but nothing was found. - Rewards,£20 16s.

M A R C H 3 1 S T . A B B S , B E R W I C K -SHIRE. A trawler had been seen flying adistress signal, but she did not need help andhauled down her signal. - Rewards, £9 7s.

M A R C H 3 1 S T . - W A L T O N A N DF R I N T O N , E S S E X . A n a e r o p l a n e h a dbeen reported down in the sea, but the life-boat was recalled by wireless. - Rewards,£13 11s. 6d.

APRIL


AP R I L 2 N D . - AITH, SHETLANDS. At4.30 P.M. the naval officer in charge, Shet-lands, asked if the life-boat could take ami l i t a ry guard to Fou la , and b r ing backsome airmen whose Whitley bomber aero-plane had crashed on the island. A moderateN.W. gale was blowing, with a heavy sea,and the weather was thick and cold. The

motor life-boat The Rankin, with the guardon board, put out at 6 P.M. She arrived atabout 9.45 P.M., but found that a landing wasimpossible in the darkness and the heavy seas,and anchored. She had to wait until noonthe following day by which time the weatherhad moderated and she was able to land theguard and embark the a i rmen who wereinjured. She took them to Walls, where themen were taken charge of by the local doctor,and re tu rned to her s t a t ion , a r r iv ing a t6.45 P.M., over twenty-four hours after shehad set out. Letters of thanks were receivedfrom the R.A.F. at Wick and the flag officerin charge at Lerwick. - Rewards, £15 17s.

A P R I L 2 N D . - N E W B U R G H , A B E R -DEENSHIRE. At 6.56 P.M. the Colliestoncoastguard reported that a fishing vessel wasshowing distress signals, south of the RiverYthan, and the motor life-boat John Ryburnw a s l a u n c h e d a t 7 . 3 0 P . M . A m o d e r a t eN.W. wind was blowing, with a moderatesea. The life-boat found that the vessel wasthe True V ine , par t ly loaded wi th f i sh .Her engine had broken down and she wishedto be towed to Aberdeen. The minesweeperLord Ashfield, which was passing, agreed totake the True Vine in tow, and the life-boatcarried a rope between the two. The mine-sweeper toned the True Vine to Aberdeen,and the life-boat returned to her station,arriving at 8.40 P.M. - Rewards, £12 18s.

AP R I L 5 T H . - NEWBIGGIN, NORTH-U M B E R L A N D . A t a b o u t 1 . 2 0 P . M . t h ecoastguard reported that the motor cobleHumility, of Newbiggin, was overdue. Shehad a crew of three. A strong westerly windwas blowing, with a rough sea. The motorlife-boat Augustus and Laura was launchedat 1.51 P .M. and an hour later found thecoble five and a half miles N.E. of NewbigginP o i n t . H e r e n g i n e h a d b r o k e n d o w n .The l i fe -boa t towed her in , a r r iv ing a t4.35 P.M. - Rewards, £10 6s. 6d.

APRIL 7TH. - CROMARTY. At 6.35 inthe morning a message came from the R.A.F.that several of their seaplanes had brokenadrift from their moorings, with their crewsaboard, that they had not enough boats toface the storm, and that they would be gladof the life-boat’s immediate help. A strongN.W. gale was blowing, with a rough sea,and there were heavy showers of sleet. Themotor life-boat James Macfee was launchedat 7.15, went to the seaplane base, took twoR.A.F. officers on board, and then patrolledround the seaplanes and gave them valuablehelp. They were all made safe except one,which had foundered. The life-boat searchedthe firth for her crew of six men, but they hadal l been drowned. She a l so repor ted bywireless to the authorities on shore that ape t ro l barge a t moor ings wes t of Inver -gordon, with no one aboard, was sinking.This message probably led to the barge beingsaved, for, as soon as the weather moderatedslightly, R.A.F. men went out and boardedher, just in time to prevent her from sinking.After the life-boat had returned to her station,a small R.A.F. launch, No. 867, was seen

SERVICES 1943 2 3

drifting about three miles from shore, andthe l i fe -boa t went ou t aga in . She foundno one on board the launch, towed her intoharbour , and re tu rned to he r s t a t ion a t11.45. - Rewards, £4 7s. 6d.

A P R I L 7 T H . - A B E R D E E N . A t a b o u t10.20 A.M. the auxiliary motor schoonerElse, of the Faroes, was seen from Aberdeenharbour round house to be in difficulties offthe sou th breakwater . A s t rong N. windwas blowing, with a rough sea and sleetsqualls. The No. 1 motor life-boat EmmaConstance was launched at 10.50 A.M. andfound that the naval vessel Concord had theElse in tow. A line from the Else was takenby the life-boat, and she helped to tow, butthe line parted. Then the tow-line from theConcord also parted, but by this time theElse was able to go under her own power,and all three vessels entered port at 11.30 A.M.- Rewards, £3 19s 6d

AP R I L 7 T H . - BRIDLINGTON, YORK-S H I R E . A t 1 0 . 3 7 A . M . , t h e c o a s t g u a r dreported that a coble was in difficulties offUlrome, eight miles south of Bridlington, andthat she had put up a sail which had beenblown away. The weather was very bad .A heavy sea was running, and a N.W. gale,the worst experienced for many years, wasbringing down chimney-pots and tiles allover the town. At 10 .55 A . M . the motorlife-boat Stanhope Smart was launched, bytractor, and about an hour later she found theopen motor coble Lily, of Bridlington, inballast, with a crew of five on board. Herengine had broken down, and she was beingtowed by the large motor fishing boat LaMariole which, while on her way in from thefishing grounds, had found the Lily drivingfast to leeward. As the Lily was half full ofwater her skipper asked the life-boat to standby and she escorted the two boats to harbour,arriving at 12.45 P.M. - Rewards, £6 17s. 6d.

APRIL 7TH . - ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK.At 4.10 P . M . , the coastguard informed thelife-boat station that a sailing barge boundnorth had not been reported for some time.A northerly pale was blowing with a veryheavy sea . At 6 .17 P . M . the coas tguardreported that the barge had been seen comingout of a squall about six miles to the E.N.E.She was making heavy weather. Her top-sail had been blown away and she appearedto be flying a signal of distress. The No. 1motor life-boat Abdy Beauclerk was launchedat 6.40 P .M . and about half an hour latercame up with the barge Greenhithe, of London.She was holding her own under her foresailand the life-boat escorted her into smoothwater in Hollesley Bay. It would have beenimpossible in that gale for the life-boat tocome ashore on the beach at Aldeburgh, andshe made for Harwich, arriving at 10.30 P.M.She returned to her station on the followingday. - Rewards, £58 13s.

APRIL 11TH. - SHOREHAM HARBOUR,S U S S E X . A t 5 . 4 5 P . M . t h e c o a s t g u a r dreported a ship sinking four miles S.E. atLittlehampton, and at 6.17 P .M . the motor

life-boat Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunn waslaunched. A fresh S.W. wind was blowing.The l i fe -boat found the wreckage of theNorwegian steamer Frode, which had beenmined while in convoy. Guided by a smokesignal dropped by a searching aeroplane thelife-boat found and picked up a man in thewater , bu t he was dead . Motor l aunchespicked up some survivors and several deadbodies. After searching until dark the life-boa t re tu rned to her s t a t ion , a r r iv ing a t10.20 P.M. - Rewards, £13 5s. 6d.

APRIL 16TH. - COVERACK, CORNWALL.At 7 .35 P . M . the coas tguard repor ted anobject on the sea in a south-easterly directionfrom Blackhead, and at 7.40 P .M. the motorlife-boat The Three Sisters was launched.A light easterly wind was blowing and thesea was smooth. A mile and a half south ofBlackhead the life-boat found a Carley float,with no one on board. She signalled Black-head lookout , l ea rned tha t th i s was theobject to which she had been called out, andwith the float in tow returned to Coverack,arriving at 9.25 P.M. - Rewards, £11 1s.

APRIL 20TH. - NEWQUAY, CORNWALL.At 12.37 in the afternoon the coastguardreported that an aeroplane towing a targethad come down in the sea about two mileswest of the harbour. Most of the regularlife-boat crew were out fishing, but a crewwas made up of three regular men and sixvolunteers, and the motor life-boat RichardSilver Oliver was launched at 1.5. It wasdead low water, spring tide, and the launchhad to be made from the beach outside theharbour. Men from the R.A.F. helped. Alight N.W. wind was blowing, with a moderateground sea. At 1.25 the life-boat found arubber d inghy of f Pent i re Poin t wes t ofFistral Bay with two airmen on board. Shewas just in time to rescue them, for they werevery much exhausted. She took the airmenand dinghy on board and arrived back at herstation at 1.55 P . M . A letter was receivedfrom the R.A.F. station to which the aero-plane belonged, thanking the life-boat for thepromptness with which it had gone to therescue. - Rewards, £16 10s.

AP R I L 2 5 T H . - LLANDUDNO, CAER-NARVONSHIRE. The rowing boa t Meg,with no one on board, anchored in LlandudnoBay, was in danger of sinking during a strongsouther ly ga le , wi th a rough sea . Threemen put out in the small fishing boat Dorothyto bring her in, but when they reached hershe had already sunk. They were now indifficulties themselves, and at 2.30 P .M. themotor life-boat Thomas and Annie WadeRichards was launched. She rescued themand took their boat in tow, arriving back ather station at 3.15 P.M. - Rewards, £8 19s.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT ST. DAVID'S

APRIL 25TH - 26TH. - ST. DAVID’S,PEMBROKESHIRE. At ten in the

24 SERVICES 1943

evening a message was received fromthe coastguard, that a tank landingcraft was in distress one mile south-south-east of St. Ann’s Head. This wasnear the entrance to Milford Haven,but as the Angle, Milford Haven, motorlife-boat was off service for overhaul,the St. David’s motor life-boat CivilService No. 6 was launched. It wasthen 10.45, and she had a journey of18 miles, through a south-west gale,with a heavy sea. It was a difficultjourney in that weather, and it wasmade no better by the knowledge of thecrew that floating mines were about.

According to a statement in theHouse of Commons after an officialenqu iry had been he ld by theAdmiralty, there were two tanklanding craft, with 70 to 80 navalmen and marines on board. A deepdepression had come up much morequickly than had been expected, butthe commanding officers decided thatthey could make Milford Haven, andthey had arrived off it at midday onApril 25th. By this time a full on-shore gale was blowing, with a heavyand confused sea. The flag officer incharge at Milford Haven sent out twotugs and two trawlers, and alsodiverted H.M.S. Rosemary, an escortvessel, to their help. Several timesthese vessels succeeded in passingtows to the landing craft, but in theheavy seas all the tows parted.Finally one of the landing craftfoundered at six in the evening, andthe other at one in the morning of the26th. In spite of all that could bedone by the rescue ships 72 men in thelanding craft were drowned. TheRosemary launched a whaler to therescue, but she too was lost with thesix men on board.

The life-boat reached the sceneabout one in the morning. Her crewnoticed a strong smell of oil, and thesea was smoother, but they sawnothing. Then, at 1.20, in the pitchdarkness, they heard a shout. The life-boat steered towards it, and, in thebeam of a searchlight from a naval ves-sel, she saw a man swimming towardsher. She picked him up about 1.40. Hewas covered with oil, and collapsedas soon as he had been rescued. Thecrew stripped him of his wet clothing,

massaged him and, when he hadrevived a little, reclothed him in one ofthe emergency suits carried in theboat, and put him in the engine-room with bags as a pillow and anoilskin coat over him. The life-boat continued to cruise round untildaylight. She found no one else, butjust before day broke, she saw afloating mine only a few yards ahead,and avoided it just in time. It wasa very narrow escape She may wellhave had other escapes without knowingit during the night. As she could donothing more she returned to herstation. It was again a very roughpassage. She arrived about 8.30next morning.

The coxswain had then been at thewheel just short of 10 hours, and he hadbefore him a very difficult problem.There was a very heavy run of sea onthe slipway which would make it verydangerous to attempt to haul the life-boat up into the house. The alternativewas to leave her at moorings, but thecoxswain knew that if the weather wereto get worse, and the life-boat werewanted again, it would be verydifficult, at moorings, to man andrefuel her. He decided to take therisk of hauling her up the slipway inthe heavy sea, and succeeded in doingit, with practically no damage to her.In this he showed great nerve, skilland judgment. He was greatly helpedby two of the launchers who manned theboarding boat and tended the slippingropes from the buoys to the life-boat.They were not fishermen used to boats,but two young farm labourers, andthey ran a very great risk of beingcapsized. The life-boat was got intoher house at 9.15, and the rescued man,a naval stoker, still suffering fromshock, was taken in a car by thehonorary secretary to his house. Hewas given a hot bath and a meal, andput to bed. After some hours hewas much better, and after anothergood meal he left in an ambulance forhis naval base at 6.30 in the evening.

The following message was receivedfrom the flag officer of the navalbase at Milford Haven : “ Please con-vey to your crew of the St. David’slife-boat my appreciation of theirprompt answer to our call, and admira-

SERVICES 1943 25

tion for their efforts during the rescueduring last night.”


To COXSWAIN WILLIAM WATTS H.WILLIAMS for his devotion to duty ina difficult service, and his great skillin rehousing the life-boat, the bronzemedal for gallantry, with a copy of thevote inscribed on vellum, and a rewardof £3 in addition to the ordinary rewardon the standard scale of £1 17s. 6d. ;

To each of the seven members of thecrew a reward of £2 in addition to theordinary reward on the standard scaleof £1 17s. 6d. ; but no th ing could be found. - Rewards ,

£12 13s. 9d.

A P R I L 4 T H . - N E W B R I G H T O N ,CHESHIRE. A red light had been reported,

T o P E R K I N J O N E S a n d E D W I NPHILLIPS, who manned the boardingboat, a reward of £2 in addition to theord inary reward on the s tandardscale to launchers of 13s. 6d. ;

To the other two launchers a rewardof £1 in addition to the ordinary rewardon the standard scale to launchers of13s. 6d. ;

S tandard rewards to c rew andhelpers, £13 19s. ; additional rewardsto c rew and he lpe r s , £23 ; to t a lrewards, £36 19s.

APRIL 26TH . - THE HUMBER, YORK-SHIRE. At 2.50 A.M. the naval authoritiesreported that the balloon vessel Thora hadgot on to the boom defence, but that the tugY o r k s h i r e m a n was going to her he lp . Awhole W.S.W. gale was blowing with a veryr o u g h s e a . A t 4 . 1 8 A . M . c a m e a n o t h e rmessage ask ing for the l i fe -boa t , and a t4.45 A.M the motor life-boat City of Brad-f o r d I I w a s l a u n c h e d . S h e r e a c h e d t h eposition twenty minutes later and with thehelp of searchlights from the Bull Fort founda man clinging to a life-buoy. With diffl-culty, she got him on board, and spoke to thepatrol vessel Forethought. She had rescuedfive men of the Thora from a Carley float,but the remaining two were missing. Thelife-boat put the man whom she’d rescuedon board the Forethought, so that he couldreceive better attention, and be taken morequickly to Grimsby, and then searched forthe two missing men, but she found onlywreckage . She then made for Gr imsby,arriving at eight in the morning, the crewwere put up at the Missions to Seamen, andreturned to their station the following day.-Paid permanent crew. - Rewards, £2 2s. 8d.

APRIL 29TH . - ILFRACOMBE, DEVON.At 4.45 A.M. the naval officer in charge atAppledore reported that an aeroplane hadcrashed, and a quarter of an hour later heasked for the life-boat to be sent to helpnaval and R.A.F. boats searching for thecrew of a Wellington bombing aeroplanewhich had crashed off Morte Point. The sea

was calm with a light westerly wind. Themotor life-boat Rosabella was launched at4.50 A.M. and about 6 A.M. she saw wreckageof the aeroplane three miles N.W. of MortePoint. She picked up some of the wreckageand articles from the aeroplane, but foundno surv ivors a l though she searched forseveral hours until the search was aban-doned on instructions from the naval officeri n c h a r g e . S h e r e t u r n e d t o h a r b o u r a t10.55 A.M. - Rewards, £13 15s. 9d.


A P R I L 4 T H . - P O R T A S K A I G , H E B -R I D E S . A B r i t i s h a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nrepor ted down, but noth ing was found. -Rewards, £14 12s. 6d.

(See Ardfern , “ Serv ices by Auxi l ia ryRescue-boats,” page 68.)

APRIL 5TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK. ALancas te r bomber aeroplane had c rashedand her dinghy had overturned with six air-men on board, but a destroyer escorting apassing convoy rescued two of them, and ofthe other four only two dead bodies werefound. - Rewards, £17 6s. 6d.

APRIL 6TH - 7TH. - CLACTON, ESSEX. At12.55 in the afternoon the coastguard reportedthat a barge was showing signals of distressabout five miles off Clacton, and the Clactonmotor l i fe -boat E d w a r d Z . D r e s d e n waslaunched at 1.15. A north-westerly gale wasblowing, with a very rough sea. The life-boa t found the barge an hour l a te r , theTam o’ Shanter, of London, anchored one anda half miles east of the Swin Bell Buoy. Shewas loaded with brick rubble and bound forMaldon. Her crew consisted of a man and aboy. The skipper said that she was leaking,but refused to abandon her and asked thecoxswain to tow him to Brightlingsea. Healso asked for two or three life-boat men tobe put on board to help him weigh anchor.This was done. The men were the second-coxswain, Frank Castle, the assistant motor-mechanic, A. Liddiard, and the bowman,A. Griggs. In forty minutes they had gotthe anchor up and the l i fe -boa t took thebarge in tow. After she had towed her forone and a half miles, to the Swin Bell Buoy,the tow parted, and at 4.45 P .M. the bargeanchored for the night to wait for a morefavourable tide. The life-boat lay astern ofher all night, secured to her by a line.

Through the night, wind and sea fell, givingprospect of a fine day, but on the morning ofthe 7 th the wind increased aga in to anexceptionally strong gale from the west, witha heavy sea. Again the coxswain tried topersuade the skipper of the barge to abandonship, but again he refused and, on account ofthe change of wind, asked the coxswain to tow

26 SERVICES 1943

him to Harwich. The life-boat and bargewaited for a favourable tide, and it was notuntil one in the afternoon that the bargeagain weighed anchor. The life-boat thentowed her through the Swin Spitway but aftershe had been towing for about three miles, inv e r y h e a v y s e a s , t h e t o w a g a i n p a r t e d .The wind and sea were now almost abeam,so the barge hoisted a sail and went on herway with the life-boat escorting her. Boththe barge and the l i fe -boa t were ro l l ingheavily and shipping a good deal of water,and they had only gone a shor t d i s tancewhen sudden ly , a t 2 .50 P . M . , the bargecapsized, throwing the skipper, the boy andthe three l i fe -boatmen in to the sea . Thelife-boatmen were wearing life-belts, but theother two were not. The life-boat went atonce to their rescue, but the boy had sunkalmost immediately, and though the crewwere able to get hold of second-coxswainCastle with a boathook, he appeared to beeither dead or unconscious. They lost holdof him and could not find him again. Theythen went to the help of the other men, whowere seen to be alive. They rescued the bow-man, and then the assistant motor-mechanic.The latter had been supporting the skipperof the barge, but before the life-boat’s crewcould get hold of the skipper, he had loosedh i s h o l d a n d d i s a p p e a r e d T h e l i f e - b o a tsearched for over an hour, but found nothingof the three who had been lost and returnedto her station, arriving at five in the after-noon. She had then been at sea for 28 hours.

The assistant motor-mechanic was suffer-

APRIL 12TH. - CROMARTY. The engineof an Admiralty motor vessel had brokendown, but she was towed in by anothervessel. - Rewards, £6 5s.

APRIL 20TH . - CLACTON - ON - SEA,E S S E X . A G e r m a n a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nshot down in flames, but the only survivorwas picked up by another boat. The life-boat then learnt that two British aeroplaneshad come down and joined in the search forthem, but nothing was found. - Rewards,£5 15s. 6d.

APRIL 28TH . - SENNEN COVE, CORN-WALL. An aeroplane was reported to havecrashed but nothing was found. - Rewards,£7 2s.

MAY


ing from shock and exposure, and the bow-man from a slight injury to his wrist. Thecoxswain and motor-mechanic were a lsosuffering from injuries, the coxswain withbadly bruised hands, and the motor-mechanicwi th a spra ined musc le in h i s back . Asneither of the motor-mechanics was fit forduty and the coxswain had no strength in hishands, the boat was off service for a day ortwo. The second-coxswain, Frank Castle,who lost his life, was nearly 50 years old.He was unmarried and left no dependants.His body was never recovered.

MAY 3RD. - ROSSLARE HARBOUR, CO.W E X F O R D . D u r i n g t h e a f t e r n o o n t h ecoxswain was watching the Wexford pilotboat off Wexford Bar, apparently waiting forthe tide. A N.N.E. gale was blowing witha rough sea . Then the coxswain saw herdrift close to the shore and hoist a flag. Hecalled out the crew and the motor life-boatMabel Marion Thompson was launched at4 P.M. Three and a half miles N. by W. ofRosslare pier she found the pilot boat. Herengine had broken down ; she had anchored,but her anchors were dragging ; and now shewas close to broken water. She had a crewof four. With great difficulty the life-boatgot a line aboard her, and towed her intoRoss la re ha rbour , a r r iv ing a t 5 .45 P . M . -Par t ly pa id permanent c rew ; Rewards ,£1 16s.

MAY 8TH. - GREAT YARMOUTH ANDGORLESTON, NORFOLK. At 8 .15 A . M .the coastguard reported that the sailing barge

In view of the exceptionally bad weatherand the hardships endured, a reward of £3in addition to the ordinary reward on thestandard scale of £2 10s. was made to eachmember of the crew. Standard rewards tocrew and helpers, £16 11s. 6d. ; additionalrewards to c rew, £24 ; compensa t ion forinjuries, £1 5s. ; total rewards and compensa-tion, £41 16s. 6d.

APRIL 7TH . - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A barge had been reported sink-ing, but she had sunk, and there was no signof her crew when the life-boat arrived. Asteamer had gone ashore, but tugs were stand-ing by her and she did not need the life-boat.- Rewards, £4 17s. 6d.

George Smeed, of Rochester, was draggingh e r a n c h o r s . T h e l i f e - b o a t c r e w w e r eassembled but the barge made no signal ofdistress, and at 11.30 A.M. the crew were dis-missed . Dur ing the day the weather go tworse and by evening a S.S.W. gale wasblowing with a very rough sea. At 6.50 P.M.the barge burned flares for help and at 7.15the motor life-boat Louise Stephens waslaunched, found the barge half a mile southof the pier at 7.40 P.M., and went alongside.The two men on board her jumped into thelife-boat, which landed them at the navalbase and returned to her station at 8.45 P.M..- Rewards, £12 8s.

AP R I L 1 2 T H . - ANGLE, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. Lights had been reported on Grass-holm Island at night, but it was found thatg r a s s o n t h e i s l a n d h a d b e e n o n f i r e . -Rewards, £8 14s. 9d.

MAY 12TH. - ARKLOW, CO. WICKLOW.At 9 A.M. a message was received from theKi lmichae l Po in t look-out tha t the S .S .Joffre Rose, of Liverpool, had gone ashore onthe main land south of Pass Head , whi lebound laden with coal from Port Talbot toD u b l i n . S h e h a d a c r e w o f s i x t e e n . Astrong S.S.W. wind was blowing, with a veryrough sea . The motor l i fe -boa t l n b h e a rMor was launched at 9.30 A.M . , reachedthe steamer at 10.45 A.M., and went along-

SERVICES 1943 27

side, but the crew declined to leave and thelife-boat remained standing by. Meanwhilethe coastguard life-saving apparatus on shorehad rigged the breeches buoy, but when itfired a line over the steamer, no one of hercrew seemed able to rig it, so three life-b o a t m e n w e n t a b o a r d a n d d i d i t . T h ecrew, however, remained in the steamer.The weather moderated and the life-boatreturned ashore, after arranging with thec a p t a i n t h a t i f i t g o t w o r s e h e s h o u l dhoist a distress signal. The life-boat reachedh e r s t a t i o n a t 4 . 1 5 P . M . D u r i n g t h eaf te rnoon the rece iver of wrecks v is i tedthe wreck. He came back, saying that thecaptain wished the crew to be taken off,and three hours after her return the life-boatput out again. She found that the captain,who had gone ashore by the breeches buoy totelephone to his owners, had sent a messagethat the crew should stay aboard until hereturned, so the life-boat remained standingby until after dark. It was then no longersafe for her to stay, the chief officer of thesteamer decided to leave her, and the life-boat rescued the crew of fifteen and broughtthem ashore, arriving at 11.30 P.M. Rewards :first service, £5 2s. ; second service, £10 13s.

MAY 12TH . - BUCKIE, BANFFSHIRE.At about 6.42 P .M. the coastguard reportedan explosion eight to ten miles N.E. by 1/2 E.of Buckie, and the motor life-boat K.B.M.was launched at 7.9 P .M. A strong westerlywind was blowing, with a rough sea. At theposition given by the coastguard the life-boat found a tug, whose captain said that hehad seen an aeroplane crash and had reachedthe spot within an hour. It was a Britisha e r o p l a n e , a n d h e h a d p i c k e d u p s o m ewreckage. The life-boat searched and alsopicked up some wreckage which she handedto the coas tguard when she re turned a t12.10 A.M., but she found no members of thecrew. - Rewards, £7 19s.

M A Y 1 3 T H . - S H E R I N G H A M , N O R -FOLK. At abou t 4 .45 P . M . in format ionwas received that an aeroplane had comedown in the sea off Blakeney Point. Theweather was fine with a strong S.W. breezeand a choppy sea. An exercise of the life-boat had just been carried out by the DistrictInspector of Life-boats, Commander T. G.Michelmore, R.D., R.N.R., and when per-mission to launch had been given by thenaval authorities the motor life-boat ForestersCentenary put out again at 5.3 P.M. Guidedby a smoke float, dropped by a searchinga e r o p l a n e , t h e l i f e - b o a t p i c k e d u p a nAmerican airman at 6.20 P .M. He was un-conscious and though the crew tried artificialrespiration for over two hours, they couldnot revive him. Another airman had beenrescued by the R.A.F. rescue launch fromWells, and she spoke to the life-boat andreported that the others had baled out overthe land, and that the whole crew of theaeroplane were accounted for . The l i fe -boat then returned to her station, arrivingat 8.30 P.M. - Rewards, £19 18s. 9d.

MA Y 2 1 S T . - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. At 9 A.M. a naval establishment on

shore reported through the coastguard that avesse l was s igna l l ing for a doc tor . Theweather was fine, with a light N.E. wind anda smooth sea. With a doctor on board them o t o r l i f e - b o a t A n n e A l l e n p u t o u t a t9.45 A.M., and two miles east of Skegnessfound the motor vessel Zuiderhaven. Shehad a very badly injured man aboard andthe lifeboat brought him ashore, where hewas taken to the naval hospital. - Rewards,£6 15s.

M A Y 2 2 N D . - R U N S W I C K , Y O R K -S H I R E . A t a b o u t m i d n i g h t o n t h e 2 1 s tMay a ship was seen amongst the rocks justsouth of Runswick, and at 1.50 A.M. on the22nd the motor life-boat Robert Patton - TheAlways Ready was launched. The sea wassmooth, but there was fog. About half a milesouth of Runswick village the life-boat foundthe Gr imsby s team t rawler C y n t h i a . Shehad run aground in the fog when returningfrom fishing. The life-boat ran out a kedgeanchor. With its help the trawler was re-floated at 4.15 A.M. and the life-boat returnedto her station, arriving at 4.40 A.M. - Propertysalvage case.

(See Whitby, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 60.)

MA Y 2 4 T H . - FRASERBURGH, ABER-D E E N S H I R E . A t 4 . 4 0 P . M . t h e s e n i o rnaval officer reported that two aeroplaneshad crashed in flames, and the motor life-boat John and Charles Kennedy was launchedat 4.45 P.M. A light westerly wind was blowingand the sea was calm. Directed by the coast-guard, the life-boat went N.N.W. of KinnairdHead, and at 5.30 P .M . found the trawlersDreadnought and Curlew each with a dead air-man on board. The bodies were transferred tothe life-boat, which had also picked up a rub-ber dinghy. The trawler Dreadnought pickedup another. A Walrus seaplane landed onthe water and jo ined in the search , bu tfound noth ing . The l i fe -boa t re turned toFraserburgh wi th the bodies , a r r iv ing a t6.30 P.M. - Rewards, £5 1s.

M A Y 2 8 T H . - A N G L E , P E M B R O K E -SHIRE. At 5.50 P .M . a telephone messagewas received from the Milford Haven navalbase that a soldier had fallen over the cliff atMi l l Bay . The wea ther was f ine wi th an o r t h e r l y w i n d a n d a g r o u n d s w e l l . A t6.15 P.M. the motor life-boat Elizabeth Elsonwas launched, taking with her her boardingboat. She found the soldier on the beach,under the cliffs, and the boarding boat ing o i n g a s h o r e i n t h e s w e l l w a s s l i g h t l ydamaged, but she brought the soldier offsafely and the lifeboat took him to MilfordHaven returning to her station at 9.15 P.M.Press reports stated that in addition to thelife-boat, the army, the navy, the air force,the coastguard and civil defence workers alltook part in the search. - Rewards, £18 4s. 6d.

MA Y 3 0 T H . - LYTHAM - ST. ANNES,LANCASHIRE. Shor t ly a f t e r 1 P . M . thelocal fishing smack Two Brothers, with acrew of two, went to sea. As a moderatewesterly wind was blowing with a moderate

28 SERVICES 1943

sea the smack was watched, and at about4 P.M. she was seen to be on Salters Bank,north of the fourteenth mile light, at thee n t r a n c e t o t h e R i v e r R i b b l e . S h e w a slying in a dangerous position on a lee shoreand at 6.15 P.M. the motor life-boat Dunlearypu t ou t . A t 7 P . M . she found the smackpounding violently on the banks. The life-boat went alongside her and put two men onboard; she herself touched bottom while shewas doing it. She then took the smack intow and , wi th the smack’s c rew ba l ing ,brought her to Lytham and beached her .She returned to her station at 7.55 P .M .-Rewards, £8 5s. 6d.

MAY 30TH. - WALTON AND FRINTON,E S S E X . A t 7 . 4 3 P . M . t h e c o a s t g u a r drepor ted tha t an aerop lane had c rashedapproximately E.N.E. from Frinton battery,close inshore, and at 8.10 P .M . the motorlife-boat E.M.E.D. was launched. A highwesterly wind was blowing, with a slightsea. The life-boat found a German airmanfloating, supported by his Mae West. Hewas dead. She returned to her station andwas then directed to another position 300yards east of the Naze, where another aero-plane had been reported down. There shefound nothing and was instructed to returnashore, as service vessels had arrived to takeup the search. She reached her station againat 9.45 P.M. - Rewards, £14 3s. 6d.


M A Y 1 S T . - S E N N E N C O V E , C O R N -W A L L . A S p i t f i r e a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nreported down in the sea, but nothing wasfound. - Rewards, £6 14s.

MAY 1ST. - MOELFRE, ANGLESEY. Anaeroplane had come down in the sea, but thelife-boat found nothing. In her own crew ofnine were five merchant captains, who wereon leave. - Rewards, £5 14s. 6d.

M A Y 5 T H . - W E L L S , N O R F O L K . Amotor rescue dinghy had been dropped froman aeroplane to airmen whose aeroplane hadcome down in the sea and who had got awayin their rubber dinghy. The motor dinghyt o o k t h e o t h e r d i n g h y i n t o w . T h i s i sbelieved to be the first occasion on whichone of these motor dinghies was droppedfrom an aeroplane for actual rescue work.The motor dinghy broke down when stilltwelve miles from Wells, for which place itwas making, but before the life-boat reachedthe dinghies they had, by chance, been seenby a motor launch which brought them in.-Rewards, £14 16s. 3d.

M A Y 5 T H . - S T . A B B S , B E R W I C K -SHIRE. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea but only a patch of oil wasfound. - Rewards, £6 8s.

MAY 5TH . - BALTIMORE, CO. CORK. Afishing boat had got into difficulties and waslong overdue , bu t she managed to reach

shelter in a little bay, unaided. - Rewards,£14 17s.

MAY 7TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY.A British aeroplane had come down in thesea, but her crew of three were rescued bymotor launches and a seaplane. - Rewards,£2 10s.

M A Y 7 T H . - K I L L Y B E G S , C O .DONEGAL. A fishing yawl, with a crew ofsix, was overdue in a gale, but she madeland without help. - Rewards, £8 15s.

MAY 8TH . - BARROW, LANCASHIRE.A Liberator aeroplane had been reporteddown in the sea, but nothing was found.-Rewards, £16 10s.

M A Y 8 T H . - P O R T P A T R I C K , W I G -TOWNSHIRE. A steamer had gone ashore,but she got off and was taken in tow byanother vessel, which brought her to a shelteredposition and there beached her. - Rewards,£12 3s.

MAY 8TH. - DONAGHADEE, CO. DOWN.At 6 A.M. a telephone message was receivedfrom the coastguard at Bangor asking forthe life-boat to go to a vessel in distress offPortpatrick on the coast of Wigtownshire.A north-easterly gale was blowing, with avery rough sea and rain. The motor life-boat Civil Service No. 5 was launched at6.40 A.M., but was recalled by wireless justbefore she reached the Scottish coast, as thevessel in distress, which was the S.S. Burring.ton Combe, had been taken in tow by tugs.The life-boat arrived back at her station at10.45 A.M. This was an arduous service andan increase in the usual money award on thestandard scale was made to each member ofthe crew. - Standard rewards to crew andhelpers, £7 ; additional rewards to crew, £4 ;total rewards, £11.

MAY 11TH. - BARROW, LANCASHIRE.An Anson aeroplane had been reported downin the sea, but nothing could be found.-Rewards, £6 2s.

MAY 13TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK. Adestroyer had a badly injured man on board,and wanted to send him ashore, but he wastaken off by a motor launch before the life-boat arrived. - Rewards, £16 4s. 6d.

MAY 17TH. - ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK.Two pilots were reported to have baled outfrom an aeroplane, but nothing was found.Just after the life-boat had returned a furtherreport came that a pilot was in a rubberdinghy, and she went out again, but againnothing was found. - Rewards, £11 15s. ;and £12 7s. 6d.

MA Y 2 1 S T . - THURSO, CAITHNESS-SHIRE. A raft with men on board had beenreported, but the ” raft ” was found to be atree trunk with projecting branches, and thelife-boat was recalled by wireless. - Rewards,£4 4s.

(See Farr, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page60.)

SERVICES 1943 29

MAY 21ST. -WICK, CAITHNESS-SHIRE.The trawler Gardar, of Iceland, had been sunkin co l l i s ion wi th the s teamer M i g u e l d eL a r r i n a g a , but the l a t t e r p icked up themajority of the Gardar’s crew, and the life-boat found only wreckage. - Rewards, £8 15s.

M A Y 2 2 N D . - W I C K , C A I T H N E S S -SHIRE. Two fishing boats, one towing theother, had got into difficulties, but both madeLybster harbour without help. - Rewards,£4 7s. 6d.

MA Y 2 2 N D . - CLACTON - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A British Spitfire aeroplane hadcome down in the sea, but the pilot wasr e s c u e d b y a f i s h i n g b o a t . - R e w a r d s ,£3 4s. 6d.

MA Y 2 6 T H . - LYTHAM-ST. ANNE’S ,LANCASHIRE. An aeroplane crashed intot h e s e a , b u t n o s u r v i v o r s w e r e f o u n d . -Rewards, £6 7s. 6d.

MAY 31TH. - BARROW, LANCASHIRE.An aeroplane had been reported down in thesea, but it had crashed on land. - Rewards,£5 5s. 6d.

JUNE


J U N E 3 R D . - N E W B R I G H T O N ,CHESHIRE. At 9.30 A.M. the coxswain wasinformed that the fishing boat Speedwell, ofNew Brighton, had broken from her mooringsand gone aground between the Perch Rockl igh thouse and Har r i son Dr ive , and tha tthree men had waded out at low water in ana t tempt to re f loa t her . The weather wassqua l ly wi th a s t rong N.W. wind , and arough sea, and as the boat was on a lee shorewith a rising tide the No. 1 motor life-boatWill iam and Kate Johnston was launchedat 10.5 A.M . She found that the men hadrefloated the boat, escorted her to moorings,and re tu rned to her s t a t ion , a r r iv ing a t10.55 A.M. - Rewards, £4 11s. 3d.

JUNE 9TH. - WICK, CAITHNESS-SHIRE.At 10.2 A.M. the coastguard reported a vessela s h o r e n e a r K e i s s C a s t l e . T h e s e a w a ssmooth, with a light E.S.E. wind, but therewas dense fog. The motor life-boat City ofEdinburgh was launched at 10.30 A.M. andfound the motor vessel Edina hard ashore.She was bound for the Orkneys, laden, with acrew of fourteen. She was in no immediatedanger, and the captain said that he did notneed help, but the life-boat stood by until theE d i n a r e f loa ted a t abou t 1 .30 P . M . Shearrived back at her station at 2.30 P . M .-Rewards, £3 15s.

J U N E 9 T H . - F ILEY, YORKSHIRE. At3 . 3 P . M . the coas tguard repor ted tha t aBritish aeroplane had crashed into the sea offReighton Gap, and at 3.20 P .M . the motorl i fe -boat The Cu t t l e was launched . Theweather was foggy, with a light easterlywind, and a slight sea. The life-boat foundthat the aeroplane had been smashed to small

pieces, and there was no sign of any survivors.She picked up pieces of the aeroplane, awheel, the first-aid kit and other things, andreturned to her station, arriving at 4.45 P.M.- Rewards, £9 6s. 6d.

J U N E 1 8 T H . - MARYPORT, CUMBER-LAND. At 11.3 P.M. the harbour masterrepor ted th rough the coas tguard tha t afishing vessel was in distress two and a halfm i l e s s o u t h - w e s t o f M a r y p o r t , a n d a t11.32 P.M. the motor life-boat Joseph Braith-waite was launched. A strong S.W. windwas blowing, with a high, confused sea andheavy rain squalls. The life-boat found themotor trawler C. Risager, a Danish vesselworking from Whitehaven with a crew of four.Her engine had broken down. She had lostb o t h a n c h o r s . H e r c r e w w e r e a l m o s texhausted. Just before the life-boat arrived,a government examination steamer had takenthe trawler in tow, and escorted by the life-boat the two vessels reached Workington at1.40 A.M. The life-boat arrived back at herstation at about 3 A.M. The resident navalofficer at Workington sent his congratulationsto the life-boat crew. - Rewards, £12 6s.

JUNE 19TH . - BLYTH, NORTHUMBER-LAND. At 2.23 P .M the coastguard reporteda fishing boat showing signals of distress offNewbiggin . As the Newbiggin l i fe -boatwas off service, the Blyth motor life-boatJoseph Adlam was launched at 2.40 P .M .A light but increasing S.W. wind was blow-ing, with a choppy sea. Five miles N.E. ofBlyth the life-boat found the motor fishingboat Two Sisters, with a crew of three. Shewas unable to make home against the increas-ing wind. The life-boat towed her to New-biggin and returned to her station, arrivingat 5 P.M. - Rewards, £5 1s.

J U N E 2 3 R D . - T O B E R M O R Y , H E B -RIDES. On the afternoon of the 23rd Junethe local doctor asked for the life-boat toconvey a woman with acute appendicitis toOban. A light N.W. wind was blowing andthe sea was calm, but no other suitable boatw a s a v a i l a b l e . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a t S i rArthur Rose left her moorings at 4 P .M . ,took on board the patient and a nurse andreached Oban at 7.45, where an ambulancewas waiting for them. An operation had tobe performed at once, and had the life-boatnot been able to take the woman to Oban,her l i fe could not have been saved . Thelife-boat waited for the nurse to return fromhosp i t a l and l e f t Oban a t 9 .10 , a r r iv ingback a t her s ta t ion jus t a f te r midnigh t . -Rewards, £7 10s.

JUNE 24TH. - DOUGLAS, AND RAMSEY,ISLE OF MAN. At 7.50 in the evening amessage came to Douglas that the motorboat Margaret was in distress in the directionof Laxey, and at 8 P .M. the motor life-boatManchester and Sal ford was launched. Ast rong W.S.W. wind was b lowing, wi thheavy seas . When the l i fe -boat was ha l fway to Laxey a wireless message was senther to return at once as another vessel wasin distress off Douglas, Head, and the Ramsey

30 SERVICES 1943

life-boat would go out to the boat off Laxey.Meanwhile at 9 P.M. the coastguard had calledup the Ramsey station and at 9.30 the motorlife-boat Lady Harrison had put out. Shearrived off Laxey at 10.30, but found that theMargaret had got into Laxey harbour with-o u t h e l p . S h e r e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n ,arriving at 12.30 the following morning.The Douglas motor life-boat, putting back,had found the motor boat Manx Heather, ofDouglas, with three men on board, who wereout fishing for pleasure, one and a half milesS.S.W. of Douglas Head. She was out ofcontrol. The life-boat took her in tow andbrought her into Douglas harbour at eleventha t n igh t . - Rewards : Douglas , £11 ;Ramsey, £18 10s.

JUNE 25TH . - CAISTER, NORFOLK. Attwelve noon the coastguard telephoned thatan airman was in the sea 500 yards S.E. ofWaxham. He was one of the c rew of anAmerican Fortress aeroplane. All the crewhad baled out but the others had come downon land. The coxswain and several membersof the crew were away and an ex-coxswain,Charles Laycock, aged 73, took charge. Hegot together a scratch crew, which includedthree soldiers, and the motor life-boat Jose’Neville was launched at 12.20 P .M. A freshN.W. wind was blowing, with a choppy sea.The ae rop lane had a l ready sunk and thepilot had got ashore without help. The life-boat was able to see the aeroplane underwater, and reported her position to a navalrescue launch. She picked up some thingsfrom the aeroplane which were floating about,and handed them over to the police when shearrived back at her station at 3.40 P .M .-Rewards, £8 8s.

JUNE 26TH . - CAISTER, NORFOLK. At8.30 in the evening the honorary secretaryof the life-boat station was on duty at thelocal observation post where it was knownthat the pilot of a Thunderbolt aeroplane tothe north of Caister, coming in from the sea,intended to bale out. Had he known wherehe would do it, the honorary secretary wouldhave called up the life-boat and sent her outr e a d y t o p i c k h i m u p . H e h a d t o w a i t ,however , un t i l he saw the p i lo t tu rn h i smachine upside down, preparatory to balingout, and at once rang up the Caister coast-guard asking him to pass the information tothe life-boat coxswain. It was then 8.45,and a quarter of an hour later the motor life-boat Jose' Nevil le was launched. A freshN.E. wind was blowing, and the sea wasc h o p p y . T h e l i f e - b o a t f o u n d t h a t t h eaeroplane had come down about four milesN. by E. of the life-boat station and that thea i rman had jus t been rescued by a smal lboa t which had put ou t f rom the shore .The Winterton coastguard then signalled toher asking her to go to the help of a Walrusamphibious aeroplane. It had gone out to therescue, had landed on the sea, had got intorough water, and had been washed ashore.The life-boat went at once to her help, and,at the second attempt, fired a line across herfrom her line-throwing gun. She refloatedthe Walrus and at ten o’clock started to tow

her to Yarmouth. An hour later a rescuelaunch arrived and took over the tow, but thelife-boat escorted them until the Walrus wassafely in Yarmouth roads. She then returnedto her station, arriving at 1.30 next morning.- Rewards, £17 11s. 6d.

(See Scratby, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 62.)

J U N E 2 7 T H . - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-S H I R E . A t 1 2 . 7 . P . M . t h e c o a s t g u a r dtelephoned that an aeroplane had crashedinto the sea off Chapel, and the motor life-boat Anne Allen was launched at 12.37 P.M.A light N.E. wind was blowing, with a groundswell. Five and three-quarter miles N.E.of Skegness pier the life-boat found the crewo f a B o s t o n a e r o p l a n e . T w o w e r e i n adinghy. One had a broken spine and theother injuries to his legs. A third was in thewater, attached to the dinghy by a line. Hewas dead . Wi th d i f f icu l ty the l i fe -boattook all three on board and took them toSkegness where they were sent to the R.A.F.hospital. Two of the airmen were Frenchand one Tahitan. The life-boat also broughtback some gear, including two dinghies,a n d h a n d e d i t o v e r t o t h e R . A . F . S h ereturned to her station at 2 P.M.. - Rewards,£6 7s.


JUNE 2ND. - FISHGUARD, PEMBROKE-S H I R E . A v e s s e l h a d b e e n r e p o r t e d i ndistress, but she was picked up by an Ad-miralty tug. - Rewards, £9 18s.

J U N E 8 T H . - THURSO, CAITHNESS-SHIRE. A Wal rus seap lane had c rashedinto the sea, but a patrol vessel rescued hercrew. - Rewards, £5 2s.

JUNE 10TH. - PENLEE, CORNWALL. Afishing boat was overdue ; but was foundbeing towed in by a Belgian fishing boat.-Rewards, £5 6s. 6dl.

J U N E 1 2 T H . - S H E R I N G H A M , N O R -FOLK. An aeroplane had crashed into thesea in flames, but the survivors were pickedup by another vessel. - Rewards, £27 16s. 3d.

JUNE 14TH . - BARRA ISLAND, HEB-RIDES. A light, thought to be a distresssignal, had been seen, but nothing could befound. - Rewards, £7 4s. 9d.

J U N E 1 4 T H . - WHITEHILLS, BANFF-SHIRE. An aeroplane had crashed into thesea, but nothing could be found. - Rewards,£8 10s. 2d.

JUNE 16TH . - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. A Spitfire aeroplane had crashedi n t o t h e s e a , b u t n o t h i n g w a s f o u n d . -Rewards, £8 2s.

J U N E 1 9 T H . - WELLS, NORFOLK. ABritish Miles Martinet aeroplane had beenreported down in the sea, but only an oilpatch was found. - Rewards, £15 10s. 3d.

SERVICES 1943 31

J U N E 1 9 T H . - DUN LAOGHAIRE, CO.DUBLIN. Two small yachts had got intodifficulties, but one was able to go on with-out help and the other was taken in tow byanother yacht. - Rewards, £5 1S.

JUNE 23RD. - CLACTON - ON - SEA, ANDW A L T O N A N D F R I N T O N , E S S E X . AFlying Fortress aeroplane had been reporteddown in the sea, but nothing was found.-Rewards : Clacton, £11 6s. 6d. ; Walton andFrinton, .£14 3s. 6d.

JUNE 24RD. - ILFRACOMBE, AND LYN-MOUTH, DEVON. An aeroplane had beenreported down in the sea, but nothing wasfound. - Rewards : Ilfracombe, £18 5s. ;Lynmouth, £32 19s.

JUNE 26TH. - MOELFRE, ANGLESEY.An R.A.F. aeroplane had been reported downin the sea, but nothing was found. - Rewards,£8 13s. 6d.

J U N E 2 7 T H . - W E L L S , N O R F O L K . Arubber dinghy had been reported drifting,bu t on ly a t a rge t , thought to have beenm i s t a k e n f o r t h e d i n g h y , w a s f o u n d . -Rewards, £12 9s. 3d.

JUNE 29TH. - DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN.A smal l rowing boat had been repor tedmiss ing , bu t could not be found. I t wasfound abandoned in a cave on the followingday. - Rewards, £13 16s. 9d.

J U N E 3 0 T H . - BARMOUTH, MERION-ETHSHIRE. A Whitley bombing aeroplanehad been reported down in the sea, but noth-ing was found. - Rewards, £19 1s. 6d.

JULY


JULY 9TH. - WALTON AND FRINTON,AND CLACTON - ON - SEA, ESSEX. Whilebound f rom Roches te r to Maldon wi th aload of brick rubble the barge Maria, ofRochester, lost her sprit and was in difficul-ties about one and a half miles S.W. of theSwin Spit bell buoy. A light S.W. wind wasblowing, with a rough sea. The Clacton-on-Sea motor life-boat was launched at 7.39 P.M.,but her engine broke down, and at 9.40 P.M.the Wal ton and Fr in ton motor l i fe -boa tE.M.E.D. was launched to help her, but whenit was learned at Walton that she was makingfor her station under sail, a wireless messagew a s s e n t t o t h e E . M . E . D . t o g o t o t h ebarge instead. She reached her at 11.10 P.M.and s tood by her th rough the n igh t . Thebarge had two men on board . At about5 o’clock next morning the life-boat took thebarge to Brightlingsea creek, and returnedt o h e r s t a t i o n , a r r i v i n g a t 1 2 . 4 2 P . M . -Rewards : Wal ton and Fr in ton , Proper tysalvage case ; Clacton-on-Sea, £11 2s.

J U L Y 1 0 T H . - K I L M O R E , C O . W E X -FORD. At midnigh t on the 9 th Ju ly oneof the life-boatmen reported to the coxswaint h a t t h e s m a l l b o a t F i n e G a e l h a d n o t

returned. She had been taken out at aboutseven in the evening by three boys, none ofw h o m k n e w m u c h a b o u t s a i l i n g . T h eweather was now getting bad, with a risingwes ter ly wind and ra in . The motor l i fe -boat Ann Isabella Pyemont was launched at12.30 A.M. and searched around the SalteeIslands, but found nothing. As the tide wasrunning east she went in that direction andat 2.40 in the morning picked up the smallboat by her searchlight. The boat was thenabout four miles to the east of the LittleSaltee Island and five miles off shore. Shetook the boat in tow and arrived back at herstation again at 3.40 A.M. - Rewards, £24 15s.

JULY 14TH. - NEWQUAY, CORNWALL.At 11.20 A.M. the coastguard reported thattwo bathers, men of the R.A.F., were drown-ing off Perranporth. A strong S.W. wind wasblowing with a moderately heavy sea. Themotor life-boat Richard Si lver Oliver wasaway in fifteen minutes, but was not in timeto save the men. She found and brought in anR.A.F.. dinghy, which it was assumed hadbeen dropped by an aeroplane to the help ofthe men. She arrived back at her station at1.50 P.M. - Rewards, £12 5s. 6d.

JULY 26TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK. Atabout 2.42 in the morning the coastguardreported that an aeroplane had crashed intothe sea about a mile north of Cromer, and theNo. 1 motor l i fe -boa t H. F . Ba i l ey waslaunched at 3 A.M. . A moderate southerlybreeze was blowing, and the night was veryd a r k , b u t t h e s e a w a s s m o o t h . A l m o s timmediately after launching, the life-boatheard cries and then found a man in thewater. She turned on her searchlight andf o u n d t h r e e m o r e m e n a b o u t a h u n d r e dyards further east. While she was gettingthese men aboard she heard another manshout ing , and rescued h im too . The f ivemen were the crew of a Wellington bombingaeroplane. The life-boat was back at herstation and had landed the men twenty-twominutes after setting out. - Rewards, £16 2s.

JULY 31TH. - BLYTH, NORTHUMBER-L A N D . A t 3 . 5 0 i n t h e a f t e r n o o n t h ecoastguard telephoned that he could see threepeople on the wreck of the minesweeperUnic i t y on the beach in Bly th Bay . Theminesweeper had caps ized jus t e ighteenmonths earlier, on January 31st, 1942, justoutside the Blyth piers, and two of her menhad been rescued from the sea by the Blythlife-boat. The minesweeper had been salvedand put on the beach a t Bly th . A s l igh tS.S.E. wind was blowing with an increasingswell, and the wreck would soon be coveredb y t h e r i s i n g t i d e . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a tJoseph Adlam was launched at four o’clock,and, as time pressed, the coxswain did notwait for the whole of the crew of eight men,but went ou t wi th four . She reached thewreck at 4.15. It was covered with barnacleswhich made it necessary to take great carein getting alongside. The life-boat found onthe wreck a girl and two men. The girl hadgot into difficulty while bathing near thewreck , bu t had managed to ge t on to i t .

32 SERVICES 1943

The two men, sub-lieutenants in the navy,had then swum out to it to help her, butthey found that they could not get back.T h e y h a d a l l t h r e e b e e n b a d l y c u t a n dbruised on the barnacles, and were bleedingfreely, and the life-boat took them to the navalbase so that they could get medical attentionas soon as possible. She then returned toher s t a t ion , a r r iv ing the re a t 4 .45 P . M . -Rewards, £3 16s.

JULY 3lST. - GREAT YARMOUTH ANDGORLESTON, NORFOLK. At about 7.30in the evening the coastguard telephonedthat a small fishing boat appeared to be indifficulties, but that she had set a small sailand was approaching Britannia pier. A lightS.E. wind was blowing, with a moderate sea.Half an hour later the coastguard reportedthat the boat was now at the back of thepier and in need of he lp , and the motorlife-boat Louise Stephens was launched at8.3 P.M. She found the motor boat Gadj, ofGreat Yarmouth. She had anchored closeto the beach. She had two men on board.The life-boat towed her in and arrived backat her station at 9.15 P.M. - Rewards, £7 8s.


J U L Y 6 T H . - T H E H U M B E R , Y O R K -SHIRE. A Beaufort fighter aeroplane badcome down in the sea, but her crew of twowere rescued by a fishing coble which wasclose by when she crashed. - Partly paidpermanent crew. - Rewards, £1 17s. 6d.

J ULY 8 T H . - PWLLHELI , CAERNAR-VONSHIRE. A Br i t i sh Anson aerop lanehad come down in the sea, but her crew wererescued by a Walrus amphibious aeroplane.- Rewards, £3 2s. 6d.

JULY 12TH. - PORTRUSH, CO. ANTRIM.A small rowing boat of Ballycastle was miss-ing, but no trace of her could be found.-Rewards, £8 8s.

JULY 14TH. - NEWQUAY, CORNWALL.A n a v a l m o t o r b o a t h a d b e e n r e p o r t e dmissing, but the life-boat was recalled wheni t w a s l e a r n e d t h a t t h e m o t o r b o a t h a dreached Bude. - Rewards, £24 6s.

JULY 15TH . - CROMER, NORFOLK. Anairman had baled out from a British fighteraeroplane, but he was picked up by a boatl o w e r e d f r o m a s t e a m e r . - R e w a r d s ,£13 14s. 6d.

JULY 10TH . - ILFRACOMBE, DEVON.A R.A.F. Whitley bombing aeroplane hadcrashed, but her crew and their dinghy werepicked up by an R.A.F. boat. - Rewards, £17.

J U L Y 1 9 T H . - F I S H G U A R D , P E M -BROKESHIRE. A rubber dinghy with thesurvivors of an aeroplane’s crew had beenreported twenty-nine miles N.N.W. of Fish-guard, but the life-boat was recalled by thecoastguard before she reached the positiongiven. - Rewards, £9 6s.

J U L Y 2 4 T H . - M A R G A T E , K E N T . A naeroplane was reported to have crashed inthe sea, but the life-boat found nothing, andwas signalled by an R.A.F. launch to returnto her station. - Rewards, £11 5s.

J U L Y 2 5 T H . - D O N A G H A D E E , C O .DOWN. A vessel had gone ashore on NewI s l a n d , b u t s h e g o t o f f w i t h o u t h e l p . -Rewards, £5 17s. 6d.

J ULY 2 6 T H . - ROSSLARE HARBOUR,CO. WEXFORD. A small yacht had goneashore on the Dogger Bank, bu t go t o f fwithout help. - Partly paid permanent crew.- Rewards, £2 14s. 6d.

J U L Y 2 6 T H . - S H E R I N G H A M ,NORFOLK. An Amer ican For t ress aero-plane had crashed, but her crew of ten wererescued by a motor fishing boat. - Rewards,£15 12s.

(See Sheringham, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 63.)

JULY 26TH. - LOWESTOFT, AND ALDE-BURGH, SUFFOLK. A Br i t i sh bombingaeroplane had come down in f lames of fS o u t h w o l d , b u t h e r c r e w w e r e l o s t . -Rewards : Lowestoft, £11 15s. ; Aldeburgh,£49 2s.

JULY 26TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK. AnAmer ican F ly ing For t ress aeroplane hadcrashed near Overstrand, but the crew wererescued by local boats. Another AmericanFlying Fortress had crashed near Shering-ham, but her crew were rescued by a fishingboat. - Rewards, £8 3s. 6d.

(See Overstrand and Sheringham, “ Ser-vices by Shore-boats,” pages 62 and 63.)

JULY 27TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK. Thecrew of an aeroplane were adrift in theird i n g h y , b u t t h e y w e r e p i c k e d u p b y atrawler. - Rewards, £14 19s. 6d.

JULY 28TH. - CAISTER, NORFOLK. AnAmer ican F ly ing For t ress aeroplane hadbeen reported down on the beach at Hemsby,but no th ing could be found. - Rewards ,£8 8s.

JULY 28TH . - GALWAY BAY. A flyingboat was overdue, but was later sighted inClew Bay. The l i fe -boa t went as fa r asCleggan, but returned on learning that theflying boat had been located. - Rewards, £15.

JULY 29TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK. TwoAmerican Flying Fortress aeroplanes hadc o l l i d e d a n d c r a s h e d , b u t n o t h i n g w a sfound. - Rewards, £8 3s. 6d.

J U L Y 3 0 T H . - S H E R I N G H A M , N O R -FOLK. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing could be foundexcept a patch of oil. - Rewards, £17 14s.

JULY 3lST. - DUNBAR, EAST LOTHIAN.After an aeroplane had come down two air-men were reported in the sea, but no trace ofthem was found. - Rewards, £11 6s.

SERVICES 1943 33

AUGUST

Launches 41. Lives rescued 92.AUGUST 1ST . - THE HUMBER, YORK-

S H I R E . A t a b o u t 1 . 8 A . M . t h e R o y a lNaval shore signal station reported that ala rge s teamer had run aground near theChequer Shoal Buoy. The night was dark,but lit by lightning flashes, and there was amoderate southerly wind with a ground sea.At 1.40 A.M. the motor life-boat City of Brad-ford II was launched and found the S.S. LeeS. Overman, of Wilmington, North Carolina,U.S.A. which, while bound for Hull, hads t ruck the sunken wreck of the G o t h i c .A government examination vessel got a ropeaboard, and the steamer was pulled off thew r e c k o n t h e f l o o d t i d e . T h e l i f e - b o a tescorted her to a safe anchorage, and then, asshe was able to go on her way, returned toher station at 5.20 A.M . - Paid permanentcrew.

AUGUST 5TH. - BERWICK - ON - TWEED,NORTHUMBERLAND. At 11.10 A.M . in-formation was received from the residentnaval officer at Berwick that an aeroplanewas down in the sea off Berwick high light-house. She was an American Flying Fortresson passage from America. A strong E.S.E.wind was blowing, with a confused cross sea,and visibility was poor. A second messagefrom the R.N.O. cancelled the call for the life-boat, but seeing the position of the aeroplanef r o m t h e s h o r e t h e h o n o r a r y s e c r e t a r ydecided to send out the motor l i fe -boatJ. and W. to help in the search for survivors,and she left at 11.50 A.M. She picked up abox, two flying jackets and some papers, butthere was no sign of any of the crew, and thelife-boat returned at 1.30 P . M . - Rewards,£4 4s.

A U G U S T 6 T H . - D O N A G H A D E E , C O .DOWN. At 1.15 in the morning the Bangorcoastguard telephoned that they had learnedfrom the Ballyholme Hotel that a yacht wasin distress in Ballyholme Bay. She was theKingfisher of Bangor, with two people onb o a r d . T h e n i g h t w a s d a r k w i t h h e a v yrain, and a moderate N.E. wind was blowingwith a very heavy sea. The motor life-boatCivil Service No. 5 put out at 1.35, reachedthe Kingfisher at 2.35 A.M., rescued the twopeople on board, and arrived back at herstation at 4 A.M. - Rewards, £9 7s. 6d.

A U G U S T 9 T H . - N E W Q U A Y , C O R N -WALL. At 12.29 in the afternoon a messagew a s r e c e i v e d f r o m t h e c o a s t g u a r d t h a ta Hawker Hendley target-towing aeroplanehad crashed into the sea. A light northerlywind was blowing, with a moderately heavysea . The motor l i fe -boa t R i c h a r d S i l v e rOliver was launched at 12.53 P .M. and offCarters Rock, about half a mile north ofPenhale Point, she found a large patch of oiland wreckage. She picked up some of thewreckage and returned to her station, arriv-ing at 3.5 P .M . Two motor boats also putout. - Rewards, £12 5s. 6d.

(See Newquay, Cornwall, “ Services byShore-boats,’ ‘page 63.)

A U G U S T 1 1 T H . - E A S T B O U R N E ,SUSSEX. At 5.24 in the morning the coast-guard te lephoned tha t an ae rop lane hadcome down in Pevensey Bay and asked thatthe life-boat crew should stand by. A lightwesterly wind was blowing, with a moderatesea. Twenty minutes after the first messagethe life-boat was asked to go to the aero-plane, which was a quarter of a mile offPevensey Sluice. The motor life-boat JaneH o l l a n d w a s l a u n c h e d a t 6 . 5 A . M . S h epicked up a rubber dinghy and some of thecrew of the aeroplane were rescued by anR.A.F . l aunch . The l i fe -boa t re tu rned toher station at 8.10 A.M. - Rewards, £8 14s.

AUGUST 11TH . - SELSEY, SUSSEX. At5.45 in the morning the coastguard tele-phoned that an aeroplane was down half amile from the coastguard station, and thatthe crew had baled out. She was a Halifax.Twenty- f ive minutes l a te r , au thor i ty tolaunch the life-boat to search for men wasreceived, and the motor life-boat CanadianPacific was launched at 6.18 A.M. A moder-ate westerly wind was blowing, with a choppysea. Other boats and aeroplanes took partin the search, and five of the crew were pickedu p b y a r e s c u e l a u n c h . T h e l i f e - b o a tpicked up two parachutes and returned toher station at 11.50 A.M. - Rewards, £5 11s.

AUGUST 1 1 T H . - F ILEY, YORKSHIRE.At 9 in the morning the coxswain was toldthat two boats were out fishing. A strongN.W. wind was then blowing, with a roughsea, and after consultation with the coast-guard, it was decided to send out the motorlife-boat The Cutt le. She was launched at9.45 A.M. and escorted into harbour the twoboats Matthew and Edward and Jean andBarbara, returning to her station at 11.45 A.M.- Rewards, £9 6s. 6d.

A U G U S T 1 1 T H . - F L A M B O R O U G H ,Y O R K S H I R E . A t a b o u t 9 . 3 0 i n t h emorning a message was sent to the cox-swain that the weather was very bad and thatseveral fishing cobles were out. He went tothe station and found that most of the fishingboats had cut their gear and had alreadycome ashore, but that two were still out.A N.N.E. gale was blowing, with a very heavysea. He decided to launch, and at 9.45 themotor life-boat Elizabeth and Albina Whitleyw a s p u t o u t . S h e m e t t h e c o b l e Q u e s tcoming in and escorted her. She went outagain and found the other coble, Dennis,south of Flamborough Head and three milesf rom the l i fe -boat s ta t ion . Owing to theheavy sea, the coxswain advised the cobleto run for Br id l ing ton , and th i s she d id .The life-boat then returned to her station,arriving at 11.20 A.M. - Rewards, £10 12s. 6d.

AUGUST 12TH. - ROSSLARE HARBOUR,CO. WEXFORD. At 6.5 in the evening thecoast life-saving service man at Curracloetelephoned that a fishing boat was flying asignal south of Blackwater Head. A freshsouth-westerly wind was blowing, with ar o u g h s e a . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a t M a b e lMarion Thompson was launched at 6.35 P.M.

34 SERVICES 1943

and found the smack Mary Kate, of Wexford.She had a crew of four on board and hada n c h o r e d a f t e r b r e a k i n g h e r m a i n m a s t .The life-boat towed her into Rosslare har-bour, arriving at 9.30 P.M. - Partly paid per-manent Crew. - Rewards, £4 7s. 6d.

AUGUST 13TH . - PLYMOUTH, DEVON.At 12.5 in the morning the King’s harbourmaster reported that men and a boat weremarooned on the Rennie Rocks between thebreakwater and the Mew Stone. They hadbeen trying to salve a small motor boat whichhad gone ashore. A S.W. wind was blowing,with a heavy swell. At 12.20 A.M. the motorlife-boat Ministre Anseele, a Belgian life-boat in the Institution’s reserve fleet, ontemporary duty, was launched, taking withher a boarding boat. She found three menfrom War Department vessels Brigadier andG r e y L a d y , rescued them, and put thema b o a r d t h e i r v e s s e l s a t B a r b i c a n . S h ereturned to her station at 3 A.M. A letter ofthanks was received from the Commander-in-chief at Devonport. - Rewards, £8 15s.

A U G U S T 2 l S T . - S T . D A V I D ’ S , A N DA N G L E , P E M B R O K E S H I R E . L a t e o nthe night of the 20th August, the coastguardreported a vessel ashore inside the south-eastrocks of the Smalls off the coast of Pembroke-shire. She was the tanker Athelduchess, ofLiverpool, with a crew of over sixty, whichh a d b e e n i n c o n v o y . A f r e s h w i n d w a sblowing and the sea was rough. The newsreached the St. David’s life-boat station at12.20 in the morning and the Angle stationat 12.45. The St. David’s motor life-boat,Civil Service No. 6, and the Angle motorlife-boat, Elizabeth Elson, were launched.At 1 .30 in the morn ing the S t . David’slife-boat received a wireless message thatt h e c r e w w e r e a b a n d o n i n g t h e s h i pa n d t h a t h e r b o a t s w e r e d r i f t i n g i n anorth-easterly direction. She set her courseaccordingly, and at three o’clock she founda drifting boat and rescued four men fromi t . S h e t h e n m a d e f o r t h e s h i p , w h i c hshe reached at 3.30, and found her strandedupright on the rocks near the lighthouse.L a d d e r s w e r e i n p o s i t i o n o n h e r s i d e s ,but were not being used, and it was evi-den t tha t the cap ta in had dec ided tha t i twas not necessary for more members of thecrew to leave. Two tugs were standing bya n d t h e l i f e - b o a t w a s t o l d t h a t a n o t h e rboat had left the ship. As a wireless messagewas rece ived saying tha t the Angle l i fe -b o a t w a s o n h e r w a y t o t h e S m a l l s t h eSt. David’s boat went in search of the secondof the ship’s boats. She found it at 4.30with five men on board and rescued them.She stood by until daylight and then returnedto her station where she arrived at 9.30. Therescued men were given clothes and food anda t ranspor t came f rom the nava l base a tMilford Haven to fetch them.

Meanwhile the Angle life-boat had reachedthe wreck at 4.15 in the morning. She hadhad 22 miles to travel in a rough sea. The tugswere wai t ing for h igh water in order toattempt to get the ship off the rocks, and thelife-boat passed hawsers between the tugs

and the sh ip , and then s tood by her . Athigh water the tugs attempted to move theship, but failed. Her captain then decidedto abandon ship, and the life-boat took off the56 men still on board. She transferred someof them later to a salvage vessel, landed theremainder a t Mi l fo rd Haven and a r r ivedback at her station at seven in the evening.She had then been out on service for 17 hours.

It had been a long and arduous service forthe Angle crew. A reward of £1 was made toeach man in addition to the ordinary rewardon the s tandard sca le o f £1 17s . 6d . ; areward of 10s. was made to the launchers inaddi t ion to the ord inary reward on thes t a n d a r d s c a l e o f 1 3 s . 6 d . A d d i t i o n a lrewards to the Angle crew and launchers,£15 10s. ; standard rewards, £21 1s. 6d. ;total rewards to the Angle crew and launchers,£36 11s. 6d. Rewards to the St. David’screw and launchers, £10 4s. Total rewardsfor the service, £46 15s. 6d.

AUGUST 22ND. - HOWTH, CO. DUBLIN.At 5 P.M. the coastwatchers reported a yachtd ismasted of f the Bai ley l ighthouse . Astrong squally W.S.W. breeze was blowing,w i t h a c h o p p y s e a . A s t r o n g t i d e w a srunning . The motor l i fe -boa t R.P.L . waslaunched , wi th the honorary secre ta ry ,Mr. B. J. Newcombe, on board, but when shereached the yacht in Dublin Bay her help wasdeclined. On her way home the life-boatcame up with the yacht Vega, of Ringsend,about a mile N.E. of the Nose of Howth.Her bowsprit had gone, and her sails weretorn. There were three men on board, and attheir request the life-boat towed the Vegainto Howth harbour. She returned to herstation at 6.50 P.M. - Rewards, £5 4s. 6d.

AUGUST 24T H . - SHERINGHAM, NOR-F O L K . A t a b o u t 7 . 3 0 P . M . t h e f i s h i n gsmack Our Need, of Lowestoft, owned by asalvage firm and bound light from Lowestoftto Oban, with a crew of four, ran agroundon the rocks about half a mile N.E. of thel i fe -boa t s ta t ion . The weather was f inewith a light S.E. wind and a slight swell. Afishing boat went to the stranded smack andsignalled that the life-boat was wanted. At7 . 4 5 P . M . the motor l i fe -boat Fores t e r sCentenary was launched. At the request ofthe skipper she ran out an anchor and stoodb y . T h e t i d e w a s t h e n a b o u t o n e h o u rbefore low water. From 10 P . M . onwardsefforts were made to pull the vessel off therocks. Fishermen and life-boatmen went onboard, and in the end she got off. She thenanchored for the n ight and the l i fe -boatreturned to her station, arriving at 11.40 P.M.- Property salvage case.

AUGUST 25TH. - ST. IVES, CORNWALL.At 10.35 P .M. a message was received fromthe resident naval officer, Penzance, throughthe coastguard, that an Anson aeroplane wasdown three miles N.W. of Portreath. A lightS.W. wind was blowing, with a moderate sea.The motor life-boat Caroline Oates Aver andWilliam Maine was launched at 11.20 P .M.Aeroplanes were also searching. The life-boat saw a flare and about 1.30 A.M. found

SERVICES 1943 35

and rescued the whole crew, five in number,f r o m a r u b b e r d i n g h y . O n e m a n w a sinjured. Life-boatmen gave him first-aid,and gave him and the other airmen rum,biscuits and chocolate. They were all wet,cold and exhausted. On her way back toSt. Ives, the life-boat signalled for a doctorand ambulance to be wai t ing . The l i fe -boat got back to her station at 3.30 A.M .- Rewards, £13 14s.

AUGUST 28TH. - HOWTH, CO. DUBLIN.At about 4 in the afternoon, the sailing yachtsMimosa and Oona collided in a heavy westerlysquall. They were both dismasted and indanger of being driven ashore on the rocksof The Steer off Ireland’s Eye. Each hadthree men on board . The motor l i fe -boa tR.P.L. was launched, in a choppy sea, at4 .10 P .M . She took the two yachts in towand reached Howth again at 4.50 P .M. Theowner of the Mimosa made a donation to thestation. - Rewards, £4 12s.

AUGUST 29TH. - ROSSLARE HARBOUR,CO. WEXFORD. At 3.50 in the afternoonthe military look-out post on Greenore Pointreported a sailing boat in distress off thepoint. A strong westerly wind was blowingwith a rough sea, and the coxswain couldsee that the boat was drifting to leeward andwould soon be in great danger. The motorl i fe -boat , M a b e l M a r i o n T h o m p s o n , waslaunched at 4.5 P.M., the honorary secretary,Mr. W. J. B. Moncas, going with her. Twentyminutes later she reached the boat. Therewere two young men on board and she wasfull of camping equipment. She had a sailup, but the two boys on board were rowing inan attempt to make headway against wind,sea and tide, and were exhausted. The life-boa t took them on board and wi th the i rboat in tow, returned to Rosslare harbour,arriving at 5.5 P .M. A letter of thanks and£5 were received from the father of one of theb o y s . - P a r t l y p a i d p e r m a n e n t c r e w . -Rewards, £1 3s. 6d.

AUGUST 29TH. - SHOREHAM HARBOUR,SUSSEX. At 10.45 P .M. the resident navalofficer asked that the life-boat crew shouldstand by, and at 11.20 P.M. the motor life-boa t R o s a W o o d d a n d P h y l l i s L u n n waslaunched to take out an officer, who wasresponsible for the safety of landing craft.She also had a naval signaller on board. Afresh S.W. wind was blowing with a ratherrough sea, and the landing craft were unableto enter harbour and had anchored outside.Throughout the night the life-boat stood by,or manoeuvred among the landing c ra f t ,a s s h e w a s n e e d e d . N e x t m o r n i n g t h eweather had modera ted and the l i fe -boa treturned to harbour at 8.15. The landingc r a f t w e n t i n t o h a r b o u r a l i t t l e l a t e r . -Rewards, £15 3s.

AUGUST 30TH. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. At 9.10 in the morning the navalcontrol reported that an invasion barge waslying near the Blacktail Spit Buoy with herengine broken down and nothing to secureher. A fresh S.W. wind was blowing with a

r o u g h s e a . T h e m o t o r l i f e - b o a t J . B .Proudfoot was launched at 9.20 A.M . andfound invasion barge L.C.V.P. 1058 half ami le N.E. of the buoy. With some di f f i -culty she took her in tow, and towed her forseven miles until they were inside the defenceboom. The life-boat then signalled a drifter,which towed them both to Southend, arrivingat 1 P.M. - Property salvage case.

A U G U S T 3 1 S T . - P O R T H D I N L L A E N ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. At 12 .5 P . M . thecoastguard reported that a small rowing boatwas making signals of distress two milesN. by E. from Porthdinllaen Point. A lightbut increasing S.S.W. wind was blowing,with a slight sea, and the tide was ebbing.The motor life-boat M.O.Y.E. was launchedat 12.16 P .M . and found two ladies in theboa t . She took them on board , and wi tht h e s m a l l b o a t i n t o w , a r r i v e d b a c k a tPorthdinllnen at 12.50 P.M. - Rewards, £4 5s.


AUGUST 3RD. - LYTHAM - ST. ANNES,L A N C A S H I R E . I t w a s r e p o r t e d t h a t aman had baled out from an aeroplane, butnothing was found, and it was thought thatit must have been a target shot down which wasmistaken for a man. - Rewards, £4 19s. 6d.

AUGUST 9TH. - WHITEHILLS, BANFF-SHIRE. Two small tugs had broken awayfrom a larger tug which had been towingthem, and were driving ashore, but by thetime the life-boat arrived they were ashoreand the only man aboard had been taken off.- Rewards, £5 10s.

(See Banff, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 64.)

A U G U S T 1 1 T H . - F I S H G U A R D , P E M -BROKESHIRE. Two women and a ch i ldwere marooned on rocks between Tresaithand Penbryn Sands by the t ide , bu t theydecided to remain until the tide went out,and the life-boat was recalled. - Rewards,£7 1s.

AUGUST 13TH. - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-S H I R E . A B o s t o n a e r o p l a n e h a d c o m edown at sea, but her crew were rescued by aminesweeper. - Rewards, £6 15s.

A U G U S T 1 4 T H . - F L A M B O R O U G H ,Y O R K S H I R E . S o m e p e o p l e h a d b e e nmarooned in the cliffs, but when the life-boat was launched her propeller was fouledby rubbish, and when she was ready to goshe was not needed. - Rewards, £8 11s.

AUGUST 1 5 T H . - BLYTH, NORTHUM-B E R L A N D . A s m a l l m o t o r b o a t w a s i ndifficulties, but reached land without help.- Rewards, £11 7s.

AUGUST 16TH . - SELSEY, SUSSEX. Ana e r o p l a n e , b e l i e v e d t o b e G e r m a n , h a dcrashed during an air-raid on Portsmouth,but only oil was found. - Rewards, £13 12s.

36 SERVICES 1943

AUGUST 20TH. - PENLEE, CORNWALL.A Dutch motor vessel was in difficultieswith her engine, but she was able to go onher way without help. - Rewards, £9 0S. 6d.

AUGUST 20TH. - MARYPORT, CUMBER-LAND. A bombing aeroplane had crashedinto the sea, but only wreckage and a rubberdinghy were seen. - Rewards, £10 0S. 6d.

AUGUST 2 2 N D . - MOELFRE, ANGLE-SEY. A British Wellington aeroplane hadcome down in the sea, but her crew wererescued by an R.A.F. launch. - Rewards,£11 9s.

AUGUST 2 2 N D . - ST. DAVID’S, PEM-BROKESHIRE. A Wel l ing ton ae rop lanehad been repor ted down in the sea , bu tnothing could be found. - Rewards, £8 1s.

AUGUST 23RD . - BALLYCOTTON, CO.CORK. Rockets, probably from warships,had been reported, but no vessel in need ofhelp could be found. - Rewards, £9 11s.

AUGUST 24TH. - BARRA ISLAND, HEB-RIDES. A smal l motor l aunch had beencaught in a storm, but was able to makesafety without help. - Rewards, £5.

AUGUST 27TH. - FRASERBURGH, ABER-D E E N S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e nreported down, but it was a ship’s balloonand this was picked up by a motor boat.-Rewards, £3 15s.

(See Pennan, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 64.)

AUGUST 27TH. - THE HUMBER, YORK-S H I R E . A B e a u f i g h t e r a e r o p l a n e h a dcrashed into the sea, but the life-boat foundonly small pieces of wreckage. - Paid per-manent crew. - Rewards, 13s. 6d.

A U G U S T 2 9 T H . - P W L L H E L I , C A E R -N A R V O N S H I R E . A s m a l l r o w i n g b o a twhich had gone out the previous evening hadnot returned, but she put in to Abersochwhile the life-boat was searching. - Rewards :£5 14s.

AUGUST 29TH. - ABERYSTWYTH, CAR-DIGANSHIRE, AND PORTHDINLLAEN,CAERNARVONSHIRE. A land ing c ra f thad been reported in difficulties with herengine broken down, but she anchored ,a n d t h e l i f e - b o a t s w e r e n o t n e e d e d . -Rewards : Aberystwyth, £16 2s. ; Porth-dinllaen, £8 15s.

A U G U S T 3 1 S T . - B A L T I M O R E , C O .CORK. An explosion had been heard anda flare seen, but nothing could be found.-Rewards, £11 16s.

AUGUST 3lST . - LLANDUDNO, CAER-NARVONSHIRE. An aeroplane had beenreported in the sea, but nothing could befound. - Rewards, £21 8s.

A U G U S T 3 1 S T . - E A S T B O U R N E ,SUSSEX. Bombing aeroplanes had collided

in mid-air, but nothing was found by the life-boat. A rescue boat rescued one airman andpicked up some bodies. - Rewards, £14 1s. 3d.

SEPTEMBER


SILVER MEDAL SERVICEAT BARRA ISLAND

S E P T E M B E R 5 T H . - B A R R AISLAND, AND STORNOWAY, HEB-RIDES. At 7 o’clock in the morninga message came f rom the coas t -guard that a vessel was ashore onIdrigill Point on the Isle of Skye, 40miles away. The local telephone servicewas out of order, and there was somedelay in getting away the reservemotor life-boat Duke of Connaught,which was on temporary duty at BarraIsland. She left at nine o’clock. A galewas blowing from the south-south-eastand a heavy sea was running. Therewas continual heavy rain and the visi-bility was nil. From time to time thelife-boat took heavy seas on board.About 2.15 in the afternoon the weathercleared and the coxswain could seeIdrigill Point and the vessel strandedclose under the high cliffs. She wasthe S.S. Urlana, of London, of about9,000 tons, and she had a crew ofabout forty. Another steamer, theThurland Castle, which had been inthe same convoy, was standing by.The gale was blowing as strong asever, and the wind was now comingfrom the south.

Heavy seas were dashing over theUrlana, and heavy seas were breakingin the life-boat as she made straightfor her. The coxswain could seesome of the steamer’s crew runningalong the deck. Then they disap-peared, and it seemed that no one wasleft on board. As the life-boat gotcloser, the coxswain could see that thesteamer’s port side amidships was on asharp point of the cliff, but that therewas a small space under her portquarter where it would be possible forthe life-boat to go alongside, althoughthere was a fierce backwash of sea fromthe cliffs. He came round the steamer’sstern and nearly collided with a motorboat full of men coming out frombehind her . He had jus t t ime to

SERVICES 1943 37

put the helm over and swing clear.As the l i f e -boa t came round shepassed very close to the rocks.

The life-boat stood by until theship’s boat had got clear and had set acourse for the Thurland Castle. Thenshe hailed her and was answered thatthe men on board the ship’s boatwere the last of the steamer’s crew.The others had already been put onboard the Thurland Castle. The ship’sboat asked the life-boat to stand byher, but they had only gone a fewyards together when the ship’s boat’sengine broke down, and the menshouted for the life-boat to take themin tow.

In the heavy seas running it was noeasy task to pass a rope, and therewas a great risk of the two boatscrashing into one another, but thelife-boat got the ship’s boat in towwithout mishap. Then, as soon asthe tow started, the line snapped, andthe ship’s boat drifted broadside on tothe seas. She was in imminent dangerof being swamped or capsized, but thelife-boat, running down the trough ofthe sea, threw a line as she passedher. As she did so the ship’s boatdisappeared completely under a heavysea, and all on board the life-boatthought she had gone, but she cameup again, the rope was made fast, andthe life-boat towed her head on towind and sea. This time the rope held,and the life-boat brought her safelyto the Thurland Castle, about a mileaway. The steamer was rolling heavily,which made it difficult to approachher, but the coxswain, watching hisopportunity, went full speed along-side her, and a rope was thrown fromthe steamer to the ship’s boat. Atthat moment the steamer rolled overso heavily, that the coxswain had tolet go his tow rope, and this was doneonly just in time to get clear. Thelife-boat stood by until the 15 menfrom the ship’s boat had been takenon board the steamer.

The coxswain decided to make forCarbost, some ten miles away, torefuel and shelter. It was now justa f t e r f o u r i n t h e a f t e r n o o n . A tthis moment the oil pressure gaveout ; the motor-mechanic had tothrottle down his engine ; the life-

boat was struck by a heavy sea ;her engine stopped. She was veryclose to the rocks. She began to drifttowards them. The crew quickly setthe sa i l s , bu t in the heavy seasthe l i fe -boa t would not t ack . Bythis time the rocks were very close,and as the life-boat would not comeup to the wind the coxswain wore herround. It was plain that she wouldnot clear the point, but the mechanichad now found that the engine had failedbecause the oil pump had been severed.Using the hand pump he was able tostart the engine again just in time toget clear. The life-boat then made forCarbost, where she arrived at six thatevening, nine hours after she had setout. The gale continued through thefollowing day, the Monday, and thecoxswain decided to remain at Car-bost. By the next day, Tuesday, theweather was moderate, and the life-boat returned to Barra Island, arrivingthere at four in the afternoon.

It was a long and difficult service,skilfully carried out, and the Institu-tion made the following awards :

To COXSWAIN MURDO S INCLAIR,the silver medal for gallantry, with acopy of the vote inscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and the sevenmembers of his crew a reward of £3each in addition to the ordinary rewardon the standard scale of £4 14s. ,making a money reward to each manof £7 14s. ;

S tandard rewards to c rew andlaunchers, £39 1s. 8d. ; additionalrewards to crew, £24 ; total rewards,£63 1s. 8d.

The owners , The Br i t i sh Ind iaSteam Navigation Co. Ltd., made agift of £100 to the Institution.

The S tornoway motor l i fe -boa tWilliam and Harriot left at 6.45 in themorning. She had some 70 milesto travel and when she arrived at5.15 in the afternoon, she found thesteamer abandoned. She put intoLoch Harpor t fo r the n igh t , andreached Stornoway again at 7.50 ont h e e v e n i n g o f 6 t h S e p t e m b e r . -Rewards, £16 19s.

SEPTEMBER 6TH. - HASTINGS AND EAST-B O U R N E , S U S S E X . A t 1 2 . 4 0 i n t h eaf te rnoon informat ion was rece ived f romt h e c o a s t g u a r d a n d t h e p o l i c e t h a t a n

38 SERVICES 1943

aeroplane was down in the sea . A f reshW.S.W. wind was blowing, with a moderatesea. The aeroplane was an American Fort-ress and she was reported to be a quarter ofa mile off shore at Bexhill with her crew intheir dinghies. With the second coxswainin charge, in the absence of the coxswain, andwith the honorary secretary, Commander W.Highfield, O.B.E., R.N., on board, the motorlife-boat Cyril and Lilian Bishop was launcheda t 1 .17 . She found and p icked up somephotographic apparatus attached to a para-chute, and saw a rubber dinghy washed upon the beach. Nothing else could be seen sothe life-boat returned, reaching her stationagain at 2.53. The Eastbourne motor life-boat Jane Holland was also launched, butfound nothing. All the crew of the aero-plane had already been rescued, some bya boat and some from the shore. - Rewards :Hastings, £16 6s. 9d. ; Eastbourne, £7 9s.

(See Bexhill and Pevensey, “ Services byShore-boats,” page 66.)

S E P T E M B E R 6 T H . - H O Y L A K E ,CHESHIRE. At 3.28 in the afternoon thecoastguard reported a small fishing boat, atanchor, in a dangerous position in HilbreS w a s h w i t h s e a s b r e a k i n g o v e r h e r . Astrong W.S.W. wind was blowing, with arough sea. The motor life-boat Oldham wasaway at 4.19 P.M. having been launched withaid of the tractor in the record time of elevenminutes. She found the West Kirby fishingboat Commander, half a mile north of Hilbre,hoisting sail to go into Hilbre Pool. Thelife-boat escorted the boat until a safe anchor-age was reached and then returned to herstation, arriving at 6 P.M. - Rewards, £8 5s. 6d.

SEPTEMBER 7TH . - DOUGLAS, ISLE OFMAN. At 11 A . M . the nava l au thor i t i e sreported that a naval cutter, being used fortraining purposes off Douglas, was beingdriven on to the rocks at Onchan Head. Astrong W.S.W. breeze was blowing, with avery rough sea. The motor life-boat Man-chester and Salford was launched at 11.20 A.M.,found the cutter, got a line aboard, and towedher and her crew of five into Douglas har-bour. The life-boat then put out to look fora second cutter, and found that she was allright. Searching again, she found a thirdcutter, but it was in tow of an R.A.F. launch.The life-boat returned to her station, arrivingat 2 P.M. - Rewards, £5 10s.

SEPTEMBER 8TH. - BOULMER, NORTH-UMBERLAND. At 9.43 in the morning amessage came from the coastguard that aBritish Hurricane aeroplane had crashed intothe sea two miles east of Embleton, someseven miles N.N.E. of the life-boat station.The honorary sec re ta ry , Mr . Wi l l i am S .Stanton, was then at Alnwick on business,six miles away. As soon as the message waspassed on to him he returned to the stationby car. There he found that all the fisher-men were out at sea, including all the regularmembers of the life-boat’s crew. The onlyone on shore was the motor-mechanic, andh e g o t t h e l i f e - b o a t r e a d y . W h e n t h ehonorary secretary arrived he collected a

scratch crew, which included three men ofthe R.A.F., and took command himself, andthe motor life-boat Clarissa Langdon waslaunched, the motor-mechanic driving thelaunching tractor. It was then five minutespast ten, only twenty-two minutes after themessage had been received from the coast-guard. About one and a half miles east ofDuns tanburgh Cas t le the l i fe -boa t foundpatches of oil and picked up a rubber dinghywhich had not been inflated. She learnedlater that the pilot had been saved by a fishingboat. She returned to her station, arrivingat 1.10 in the afternoon. - Rewards, £6.

(See Newton-by-the-Sea, “ Services byShore-boats,” page 65.)

SEPTEMBER 15TH . - PORT ST. MARY,ISLE OF MAN. At. 7.30 in the afternoonthe Castletown coastguard telephoned that avessel was in difficulties in Castletown Bay.A S.W. gale was blowing, with a heavy swell.The life-boat crew assembled, but the navalauthorities asked them not to launch at onceas the vessel, which was landing craft 2429,appeared to be ge t t ing out of her d i f f i -culties. At nine o’clock another messagecame from the naval authorities asking thelife-boat to go and at 9.15 P .M., the motorlife-boat Sir Heath Harrison was launched.S h e r e a c h e d t h e v e s s e l a t t e n o ’ c l o c k .She was then half a mile from the beach in thecent re of Cas t le town Bay. The l i fe -boa tgu ided her in to Cas t le town harbour andreturned to her station, arriving at 12.20in the a f te rnoon . The nava l au thor i t i esexpressed their thanks. - Rewards, £17 15s.

SEPTEMBER 17TH . - NORTH SUNDER-LAND, AND HOLY ISLAND, NORTHUM-BERLAND. At 12.25 in the morning thecoastguard reported that an aeroplane hadcrashed into the sea one and a half milesnor th by eas t of Seahouses . She was anAmerican Flying Fortress which had been inthe air since 11 the previous morning. Herwireless had failed and she had lost her bearings.Just as she reached land her fuel had come toan end and she had been forced down intot h e s e a b e s i d e t h e F a r n e I s l a n d s . T h eweather was fine, and the sea smooth. Themotor l i fe -boat W.R.A. was launched a t1.15 A.M. and found eight of the aeroplane’screw on one of the islands. One of them wasbadly in jured . They had go t ou t o f theaeroplane into their dinghies, and so reachedthe i s land , bu t the F ly ing For t ress hadsunk in a few minutes, and two of the crewhad gone down with her. Two members ofthe life-boat’s crew who had received first-aid training in the Home Guard, attendedto the in jured man. They found tha t h i sleg was broken, and put it in splints. Then,using a rubber dinghy as a stretcher, theycarried him to the life-boat across threehundred yards of rocks . Wi th the e igh tr e s c u e d a i r m e n o n b o a r d t h e l i f e - b o a treached her station again at 2.45 A.M. Shewent back again to the island and finallyreturned at 4.45 A.M. The Holy Island motorlife-boat was also launched at 12.58 in themorning. She searched for some time with-out finding anything and returned at 7.15.-

SERVICES 1943 39

Rewards : North Sunderland, £15 9s. ; andHoly Island, £13 16s. 9d.

SE P T E M B E R 2 1 S T . - FRASERBURGH,ABERDEENSHIRE. At 6.30 in the even-ing the coastguard telephoned that a vessel,one and a half miles N.E. of Kinnaird Head,was flying a distress signal. A N.W. galewas blowing, with a choppy sea. The motorlife-boat John and Charles Kennedy waslaunched at seven o’clock, and found themotor vessel Sven Knud, of Esbjerg, with acrew of four. Her engine had failed and shehad been riding to a sea anchor for two daysin the gale. Now she had broken adrift andwas driving in a nasty sea on to a lee shore.The life-boat took her in tow and brought hersafely into Fraserburgh harbour at 8.10 P .M.- Property salvage case.

SE P T E M B E R 2 2 N D . - BARROW, LAN-C A S H I R E . A t 2 . 1 5 i n t h e m o r n i n g t h enaval authorities telephoned that an aero-plane was down in the sea about three milesW.N.W. of Silecroft. A light N.E. wind wasblowing and the sea was smooth , wi th af lood t ide . The motor l i fe -boat N.T . waslaunched at 2.30 and, 500 yards off shore,between Haverigg and Haverigg Point,found a damaged Anson aeroplane, but therewas no sign of her crew. The life-boat tookon board some of the wreckage and stood byunt i l a rescue launch a r r ived . She thenreturned to her station, arriving at 10.15-Rewards, £13 19s.( S e e M i l l o m , “ S e r v i c e s b y A u x i l i a r yRescue-boats," page 69.)

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICEAT LOWESTOFT

SEPTEMBER 30TH. - LOWESTOFT,SUFFOLK. At 9.40 in the eveningthe naval authorities asked that themotor l ife-boat Michael Stephensshould go out to the help of a vesselwhich was ashore about one and a halfmiles south of the harbour. She wasH.M.M.S. 106 and had a crew of four-teen. The life-boat left at ten o’clock.The wind was light, from the west, butthere was a heavy ground swell, andthe night was dark and foggy. Search-lights were turned on the vessel, and itcould be seen that she had stuck fastnear the outer end of a sea-defencegroyne about 100 yards from theshore. She was in seven feet of waterand her crew, in their own boat, hadrun out a kedge anchor. The cox-swain knew that there were sub-merged coast defences consisting ofconcrete blocks and iron piles near wherethe vessel lay, but their exact positionwas unknown to him. The vessel, in

fact, was actually on the iron piles.In spite of this the coxswain wentalongside her without hesitation, andat the request of her commandingofficer took off all confidential booksand gear. He left the vessel ateleven o’clock and landed these thingsat the naval base.

At 11.45 red rockets were seencoming from the vessel and the life-boat again went out to her. She tookwith her this time a naval officer. Asearchlight was playing on the har-bour, but as the life-boat came out,going slowly on one engine, the lightwas suddenly switched off. In theintense darkness which followed thel i fe -boa t h i t the p ie r a g lanc ingb l o w . T h e b o w f e n d e r t o o k t h eforce of i t and the boa t was un-damaged, but the coxswain, a man of63, was thrown against the binnaclewhich cut open his jaw for three

put on his wound, and at 1.15 in themorning put out for the third time.He found the vessel rolling veryheavily, and in danger of breaking up,so he made fast alongside and took offten men. The other four had climbedalong the groyne and got ashore. Itwas now two in the morning. Thelife-boat hauled out into deeper waterand anchored until daylight. She thenwent back to the vessel and put hercrew on board her again. She waiteduntil a motor naval boat came out tostand by, and returned to harbourwhere she arrived at 3.30. Then, andnot till then, the coxswain agreedto go to hospital. There his wound

40 SERVICES 1943

was cleaned and eight stitches wereput in it. Even then he refused to gooff duty, and attended the hospital asan ou t -pa t i en t . He and h i s c rewwere warmly thanked by the command-ing officer and the crew of H.M.M.S.106. It was found impossible to re-float the vessel, so boatbuilders sawedher through, brought three-quartersof her into harbour, and left the bowashore on the defence piles.

It was a long and arduous service inwhich the coxswain displayed courageand forti tude, and the Institutionmade the following awards :

To COXSWAIN ALBERT SPURGEON,a clasp to the bronze medal for gal-lantry which he already held, with acopy of the vote inscribed on vellum,and £2 ;

To each of the other six members ofthe crew a reward of £1 in addition tothe ordinary reward on the standardscale of £2 7s. ;

S tandard rewards to c rew andlaunchers, £12 5s ; additional rewardsto crew £8 ; total rewards, £20 5s.


SEPTEMBER 5TH . - MARGATE, KENT.An aeroplane had crashed into the sea. butthe airman’s body was picked up by a fishingboat. - Rewards. £5 12s. 6d.

(See Margate, “’ Services by Shore-boats,”page 64.)

S E P T E M B E R 6 T H . - D U N B A R , E A S TLOTHIAN. Two Hurricane aeroplanes hadcollided, and an airman had baled out, buthe was picked up by a fishing boat. - Rewards,£2 10s.

SEPTEMBER 8TH . - PORTHDINLLAEN,CAERNARVONSHIRE. An Anson traineraeroplane had crashed into the sea, but thelife-boat found nothing. - Rewards, £5 7s.

SEPTEMBER 9TH. - PORTHDINLLAEN,CAERNARVONSHIRE. An Anson t ra in-ing aeroplane had crashed into the sea, buttwo men in a rowing boat had rescued threeof the crew and recovered two bodies. Athird body had been left in the aeroplane.-Rewards, £7 6s.

(See Trevor, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 65.)

SE P T E M B E R 1 2 T H . - PENLEE, CORN-WALL. A small boat was reported to havec a p s i z e d , b u t n o t h i n g c o u l d b e f o u n d . -Rewards, £14 14s.

S E P T E M B E R 1 3 T H . - D U N B A R , E A S TLOTHIAN, AND ST. ABBS, BERWICK-

SHIRE. The American liberty vessel No.572 had stranded, but a fishing boat stoodby her and she refloated. - Rewards : Dun-bar, £4 7s. 6d. ; St. Abbs, £6 8s.

S E P T E M B E R 1 6 T H . - S A L C O M B E ,DEVON. An aeroplane had come down inthe sea, but her crew had been picked upfrom their rubber dinghy by a Hope Covefishing boat. - Rewards, £6 13s.

(See Hope Cove, “ Services by Shore-boats,” page 65.)

SEPTEMBER 18TH. - FENIT, CO. KERRY.Flares had been reported off Loop Head, butnothing could be found. - Rewards, £13 16s.

SEPTEMBER 19TH . - NORTH SUNDER-LAND, NORTHUMBERLAND. An ae ro-plane had crashed into the sea, and a shipwhich had been seen to stop and put out asmall boat was believed to have saved thepilot, but no trace of the observer could befound. - Rewards, £13 4s. 9d.

S E P T E M B E R 2 5 T H . - B A R M O U T H ,MERIONETHSHIRE, AND PWLLHELI ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. An Anson aero-p lane had been repor ted down, nor th ofSt. Patrick’s Causeway, but a search by thelife-boats, aeroplanes, and an R.A.F. boat waswithout result. and later it was learned thatno aeroplane was missing. - Rewards : Bar-mouth, £16 17s. 6d. ; Pwllheli, £10 0s. 3d.

SEPTEMBER 27TH. - MARYPORT, CUM-B E R L A N D . A m o t o r s c h o o n e r h a dgrounded, but she refloated and after shehad drifted for a time her anchor held andshe did not need the services of the life-boat.- Rewards, £30 15s.

S E P T E M B E R 2 8 T H . - L L A N D U D N O ,CAERNARVONSHIRE. A launch attachedto a Coast Artillery School had got intodifficulties and had capsized after strikinga diving tower, but the crew were all rescuedfrom the shore. - Rewards, £8 17s. 6d.

S E P T E M B E R 2 8 T H . - F I L E Y , Y O R K -SHIRE. Lights , which might have beenfrom an airman baled out from an aeroplane,had been reported, but nothing was found.-Rewards, £15 17s. 6d.

SEPTEMBER 29TH . - BUCKIE, BANFF-S H I R E . A s m a l l m o t o r b o a t h a d b e e nreported in difficulties, but she managed toreach Cullen unaided. - Rewards, £7 19s.

OCTOBER


OCTOBER 6TH. - PORT ERIN, AND PORTST. MARY, ISLE OF MAN. Shortly aftertwo in the morning the Ramsey coastguardinformed both life-boat stations that a shipwas in distress W.S.W. of the Chicken Rock.Port Erin was asked if she would launch atonce, and Port St. Mary if she would standby. A S .S .W. ga le was b lowing , wi th a

SERVICES 1943 41

heavy sea , and the n igh t was dark , wi thheavy rain. The Port Erin motor life-boatMatthew Simpson left at 2.45 A.M. and reachedthe ship at 3.30. She found her to be theGlasgow s teamer Val ldemosa , with herengine broken down. She was at anchor,and the life-boat stood by.

At Port St. Mary a second message wasreceived at 2.30 A.M. stating that the vesselwas ashore on the Calf of Man and askingt h a t t h e l i f e - b o a t s h o u l d g o o u t . T h emotor l i fe -boat S i r H e a t h H a r r i s o n waslaunched at 3.30, but she could not find thes teamer , as a l l her l igh ts had been ex-tinguished, so she put into Port Erin to see ifshe could get some more information. Sheput out again, and at six o’clock she foundthe Valldemosa, and the Port Erin life-boat.She stood by for a time, and at 7.30, as theweather was moderating, as there was noimmediate danger, and as a government boathad also now arrived, she returned to herstation, arriving at 8.45. At 8.45 the PortErin life-boat left the steamer, and returnedto her station. After her crew had had ameal she put out again at 9.15 and stood bythe Valldemosa until a tug arrived. Laterthe steamer got away under her own power,with a tug in attendance, and the life-boatreturned to her station, where she arrivedat four in the afternoon. - Rewards : PortErin, £28 8s. 6d. ; Port St. Mary, £33 16s.

OCTOBER 7TH . - CLOVELLY, DEVON-SHIRE. At 3.10 in the afternoon the wifeof the life-boat coxswain saw a Seafire aero-plane crash into the sea five miles N.E. by N.of Clovelly. A moderate N.E. breeze wasb l o w i n g , a n d t h e s e a w a s s m o o t h . T h emotor l i fe -boat C i t y o f N o t t i n g h a m waslaunched at 3.15 P .M. and found the badlybattered body of an airman. She searchedfurther and found a deflated rubber dinghy.With the body and the dinghy she returnedto Clovelly, arriving at 5.30. - Rewards,£16 15s. 6d.

OCTOBER 11TH. - HARTLEPOOL, DUR-HAM. At 7 .20 in the evening the coas t -guard reported that red flares had been seenby the post of the Royal Observer Corps.The motor life-boat The Princess Royal -Civil Service No. 7, was launched at 7.45.The second-coxswain took charge, as the cox-swain was on duty as a pilot, but the news ofthe launch was signalled to him by morselamp and he jo ined the l i fe -boa t a t theharbour entrance. A light W.S.W. breezewas blowing, with a slight swell, and therewas a haze. On Mill Rock, a mile north ofH e u g h L i g h t , t h e l i f e - b o a t f o u n d t h eAdmiralty motor launch 1054, with a crew ofeleven. She could not get alongside owing torocks, and fired her line-throwing gun, butt h e l i n e f e l l s h o r t o f t h e l a u n c h . T h elaunch’s crew then came out to the life-boatin their own small boat, two at a time, allbut one man who had got ashore over therocks taking with him the ship’s papers.The life-boat got back to her station withthe ten rescued men a t 11 .5 . - Rewards ,£13 13s.

OCTOBER 11TH . - AITH, SHETLANDS.At 9.15 in the evening the naval authoritiesasked , th rough the coas tguard , tha t thelife-boat should go to a vessel showing signalsof d is t ress wes t of Papa Stour . A s t rongW.S.W. breeze was blowing, with a roughsea, and the weather was thick and cold.The motor life-boat The Rankin was launchedat 9.45. At midnight she reached the posi-t ion g iven and found an R.A.F . Ca ta l inaflying boat which had come down in the sea.She was in a dangerous position, near thed r e a d e d r e e f s a t t h e e n t r a n c e t o P a p aSound, and an R.A.F. launch was attemptingto tow her off shore. The life-boat stood by.After the launch’s tow rope had parted severaltimes, two of the flying boat’s crew left herin a rubber dinghy and the life-boat wentimmediately to their rescue, as they weredrifting in a perilous position. At the sametime the launch took the remaining four menoff the flying boat. It was then two in themorning . The l i fe -boa t gave the rescuedmen suits from the emergency kit carried bylife-boats to change into, of which they werevery glad, for it was 4.30 before the life-boat reached Aith again. The flying boatbecame a total wreck. - Rewards, £13 14s. 6d.

OCTOBER 12TH. - THE LIZARD, CORN-WALL. At 6.10 in the evening informationwas rece ived f rom the coas tguard tha t asmall steamer was flashing an S.O.S., andthe motor life-boat Duke of York was launcheda t 6 . 3 7 . A f r e s h s o u t h e r l y b r e e z e w a sblowing, the sea was moderate, but therewas a heavy ro l l . One and a ha l f mi lesW. by N. of Pradennack Head , the l i fe -boat found the ex-Belg ian motor vesse lMargurette Marie Louise, engaged on govern-ment work. Her engine had broken down.The life-boat towed her to Newlyn, where shewas bound, arriving at 11.10. The life-boatreturned to her station next morning, arrivingat 8.50 A.M. - Property salvage case.

OCTOBER 13TH. - ARBROATH, ANGUS.At 3 .15 in the a f te rnoon the coas tguardreported that an aeroplane had crashed intothe sea three miles S.W. of Arbroath harbour.A light southerly wind was blowing, and theweather was fine with a smooth sea. Withinlive minutes the motor life-boat John andWilliam Mudie had been launched and wason her way to the spot which she reached at3 .38 . The aerop lane , which be longed tothe Fleet Air Arm, had already sunk, and hercrew of th ree had taken to the i r rubberd inghy. Al l were in jured . The l i fe -boa trescued them, and at 4 o’clock got back toArbroath where an ambulance was waitingon the pier. - Rewards, £7 11s.

SILVER MEDAL SERVICEAT MOELFRE

O C T O B E R 2 1 S T . - M O E L F R E ,A N G L E S E Y . A b o u t 1 . 1 5 i n t h emorning the coastguard sent a messageto the coxswain that an aeroplane was

42 SERVICES 1943

in distress, burning red flares, off DulasIsland, some three miles to the west.The coxswain summoned the crew,and the boat got away at 1.45. Thenight was very dark, with rain, and itwas b lowing very hard f rom thesouthward. A very rough sea wasrunning. As soon as the l ife-boatcleared the land she could see Verylights to the westward, evidentlybeing fired by the airmen. When thelife-boat got to the scene she foundtwo or three trawlers standing by,but they could do nothing to help.They could not lower their boats inthat heavy sea, nor could they them-selves get near the airmen, who werenow in their rubber dinghy, beatingup against the rocks on the weatherside of a reef on the north of Dulas,where the seas were breaking heavily.

The airmen were in great danger,and the coxswain knew that whateverhe did must be done at once, or theywould be smashed on the rocks. Tellinghis crew to “ hold on to yourselvesin case she strikes “, he boldly steeredthrough the darkness towards where -somewhere among the rocks - hesupposed the dinghy to be. He didnot know what rocks were in his way,nor what water was, or was not, underhis keel.

Apart from the danger of wreckingthe life-boat he had to approach therubber dinghy very carefully, for fearthe life-boat would overrun her orknock the men out of her. He had aman at the searchlight, but the boatwas rolling so heavily that it was notof great use, so he placed the second-coxswain in the bows, telling him tolie flat. There, if he could, he wasto watch for the rocks and directthe coxswain through them. All thetime he was in great danger himselfof being washed overboard as thel i fe -boa t ro l led . In th i s way, byfaith rather than by sight, the life-boat moved through the darkness.All on board knew that the odds werethat she would strike the rocks, withalmost certain loss of life among hercrew. That she did not, and that shefound and rescued the airmen was, sothe district inspector who visi tedMoelfre wrote, “ only rendered possibleby striking dispensation of Providence,

combined with great human skill anddaring. The risks to the salvors andthe bravery shown were great.”

The life-boat found the airmen onlyjus t in t ime . When the second-coxswain, lying in the bows, saw them,one of them had just been washed outof the dinghy. They were all verymuch exhausted, and one of them hadbeen in ju red on the rocks . Thesecond-coxswain was the strong manof the crew. He seized the airman andlifted him straight out of the waterinto the life-boat, a great feat ofstrength. Then he threw a line tothe dinghy and, with the other threeairmen holding it, the life-boat backedout from the rocks towing the dinghywith her until she was in a slightlysafer place. Then the men were takeninto the life-boat, and the second-coxswain lifted the dinghy on boardher, another great feat of strength.His unusual strength had played abig part in the rescue and had savedmuch time, when a few minutes mighthave meant the difference betweenlife and death. With great difficulty,and at great risk, the coxswain care-fully backed the life-boat out fromamong the rocks, and she returned toher station, undamaged, arrivingabout three in the morning.

The following message was receivedfrom the pilot of the aeroplane :

“ Whitley V - ’ H ‘ - ditched quarterof mile S.E. of Point Lynas at 0120hours. Fired first rocket 0140 hours.Picked up 0230 hours.

“ Rescued from reef by line thrownfrom life-boat. Life-boat crew dis-played extreme courage and skill inattempting such a rescue in suchadverse condi t ions o f wea ther -30 m.p.h. wind - and in such a hazar-dous situation, and I should like onbehalf of myself and my crew to re-commend them for the highest honourand credit possible in the RoyalNational Life-boat Institution. Thelife-boat was brought right in close tothe rocks thus endangering the safetyof boat and crew to get us safely andquickly off the reef. A wind of almostgale force, a dark rough sea, and anunknown treacherous cove addedgreatly to the already present diffi-culties.”

SERVICES 1943 43

For this gallant service the Insti-tution made the following awards :

To COXSWAIN JOHN MATTHEWS, aclasp to the si lver medal for gal-lantry which he already held, witha copy of the vo te inscr ibed onvellum ;

To SECOND-COXSWAIN RICHARD M.EVANS, the bronze medal for gallantry,with a copy of the vote inscribed onvellum ;

To ROBERT WILLIAMS, the motor-mechanic, who handled the enginewith great skill and accuracy, a claspto the bronze medal for gallantrywhich he already held, with a copy ofthe vote inscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and each member ofthe crew a reward of £3 in addition tothe ordinary reward on the standardscale of £1 17s. 6d. each ;

To each of the five launchers a re-ward of 10s. in addition to the ordinaryreward on the standard scale of 12s. ;

Standard rewards, £16 2s. 6d. ;additional rewards, £26 10s. ; totalrewards, £42 12s. 6d.


OCTOBER 2ND. - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. Distress flares had been reportedabout midnight , bu t no th ing was found . -Rewards, £29 2s. 6d.

OCTOBER 2ND. - THE HUMBER, YORK-SHIRE. A German aeroplane had crashedin flames, but no survivors could be found.-Paid permanent crew. - Rewards, £1 4s.

OCTOBER 6TH. - BARRA ISLAND, HEB-R I D E S . A v e s s e l h a d b e e n r e p o r t e d i ndistress off the south-west corner of the Islandof Skye, but nothing could be found, and afterspending the night at Carbost, the life-boat,which was in charge of an acting coxswain,returned to her station on the following day.- Rewards, £26 7s. 4d.

OCTOBER 8TH. - MARGATE, KENT. Anaeroplane had been reported down in the sea,but half an hour after the life-boat put outshe was recalled by wireless by the navalofficer in charge at Ramsgate. - Rewards, £15.

OCTOBER 8TH . - MINEHEAD, SOMER-S E T . A M a r t i n e t a e r o p l a n e h a d c o m edown in the sea, but only wreckage wasfound. - Rewards, £18 2s.

(See Watchet, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 65.)

OCTOBER 10TH. - RAMSGATE, KENT. Afishing boat had gone ashore, but she did

not need help and got off later in the day.- Rewards, £7 18s.

O C T O B E R 1 2 T H . - DUN LAOGHAIRE,C O . D U B L I N . A s m a l l b o a t h a d b e e nblown out to sea, but she reached land un-aided. - Rewards, £7 11s.

(See Wicklow, “ Services by Shore-boats,”page 66.)

O C T O B E R 1 2 T H . - B A L T I M O R E , C O .CORK. A vessel had been reported in dis-tress, but it was found that a mistake had beenmade. - Rewards, £26 4s.

O C T O B E R 1 2 T H . - P O R T R U S H , C O .ANTRIM. A steamer had run aground buther crew got ashore unaided and the life-boatwas recalled. - Rewards, £7 11s.

OCTOBER 17TH. - SALCOMBE, DEVON.A light had been reported, drifting south ofBolt Head, but nothing could be found.-Rewards, £13 12s. 6d.

OCTOBER 17TH. - CROMER, AND SHER-I N G H A M , N O R F O L K . T e n m e n h a dbaled out from an American Fortress aero-p lane , bu t no t race of them was found,although aeroplanes and other vessels joinedin the search. - Rewards : Cromer, £9 3s. 6d. ;and £26 2s. 6d. ; Sheringham, £29 1s.

OCTOBER 17TH. - SKEGNESS, LINCOLN-SHIRE. A disabled naval motor boat hadmade signals of distress, but she was taken intow by another vessel. - Rewards, £10.

O C T O B E R 1 8 T H . - PORTHDINLLAEN,C A E R N A R V O N S H I R E . A n a v a l m o t o rboa t had broken down, bu t the l i fe -boa tcould not find her and she reached Fish-guard unaided. - Rewards, £12 12s.

O C T O B E R 1 8 T H . - A L D E B U R G H ,SUFFOLK. An aeroplane had crashed intothe sea, but her crew got ashore in theirrubber dinghy. - Rewards, £47 13s. 6d.

OCTOBER 2lST . - HASTINGS, SUSSEX.A parachute had been seen coming down,but only a large patch of oil was found.-Rewards, £36 0s. 6d.

OCTOBER 24TH. - ANSTRUTHER, FIFE-S H I R E . A S w o r d f i s h a e r o p l a n e h a dcrashed into the sea, but two of her crewwere saved by a rescue launch , and thethird man could not be found. - Rewards,£19 11s. 6d.

OCTOBER 24TH . - PETERHEAD, ABER-D E E N S H I R E . A W h i t l e y b o m b e r h a dcome down, but two of her crew were rescuedfrom the shore and a search for the others wasunsuccessful. - Rewards, £15 13s.

OCTOBER 25TH . - ST. DAVID’S, PEM-B R O K E S H I R E . A n a e r o p l a n e ’ s d i n g h ywas reported to have been seen, but nothingwas found. - Rewards, £12 8s.

OCTOBER 28TH. - APPLEDORE, DEVON-SHIRE. A Br i t i sh ae rop lane had c rashed

44 SERVICES 1943

into the sea, but her crew of two were rescuedby an American amphibious craft. - Rewards,£9 12s.

O C T O B E R 2 8 T H . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,ABERDEENSHIRE. Two sh ips had beenreported in collision in Strathbeg Bay, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £14 18s. 6d.

NOVEMBER

Launches 49 Lives rescued 31

NOVEMBER 2ND. - NEW BRIGHTON, CHE-SHIRE. At 8.33 in the morning the Hoylakecoastguard reported that the naval authoritieswanted a life-boat to go out and stand by avessel high and dry on the Burbo Bank, halfa mile south-west of the Crosby Light-vessel.A light easterly wind was blowing and the seawas smooth , but the weather was foggy.The No. 2 motor life-boat Edmund and MaryRobinson was launched at 9.13, in charge ofseventy-year-old ex-coxswain W. H. .Jones,in the absence of the other coxswains, andfound the Norwegian steamer Olev, underthe Ministry of War Transport, bound withcoal from Barry to Liverpool. After stan-ding by for a time the life-boat was informedthat the steamer was not damaged and wasexpected to get off on the rising tide. Shearrived back at New Brighton at 12.30 P .M.- Rewards, £5 5s.

NOVEMBER 2ND. - BLYTH, AND TYNE-MOUTH, NORTHUMBERLAND. At 9.45in the morning, the Blyth coastguard reporteda ship ashore half a mile south of St. Mary’sLighthouse. The sea was slight, with a lightnorth-east wind blowing, but there was avery thick fog and it was very cold. Thecrew of the nearest life-boat, the Cullercoatsboat, were out fishing, and the coastguardcould not get into communication with thenext neares t s ta t ion , Tynemouth , so theBlyth life-boat Joseph Adlam, was launchedat 10.30. At eleven o’clock she found H.M.Submarine Tuna ashore on the rocks withH.M. Examination Vessel Sedulous agroundjust ahead of her. The Sedulous had beenleading the Tuna in from the sea through thefog when they went ashore. The life-boatwent close in. As she did so the submarine,which was rolling heavily, suddenly fell overon her beam ends, throwing one of her meninto the water. The life-boat rescued him.As the tide was falling the submarine com-mander asked the life-boat to take off hiscrew, and she took aboard about sixty men.The commander himself and several of themen remained in the submarine.

Meanwhile, at 11.35, the district officer ofcoastguard had succeeded in getting intocommunication with the Tynemouth station,and the motor life-boat Henry FrederickSwan, was launched at 11.45. She reachedthe scene of the wrecks at 12.40, and foundthe Blyth life-boat engaged in taking the menoff the submarine. She stood by.

The Blyth life-boat now returned to Blythand landed the rescued men of the submarineat the naval base. There she was asked to

take them back to the Tuna again aboutthree in the afternoon, when the tide wouldhave turned.

The Tynemouth life-boat was still standingby, and at one in the afternoon a tug arrived.The life-boat took a wire hawser from her tothe submarine and by means of this the tugkept the submarine’s stern on to the swelland the on-coming tide. At 1.45 another tugcame up and this also, with the life-boat’shelp, was connected with the submarine.The life-boat then remained alongside untilthe tide was flowing and the submarine cameup on a more even keel.

At 2.50 the Blyth life-boat left harbouragain with the sixty men from the submarine,which she reached at 3.25. She then stoodby until the submarine refloated at 4.15 andput the men back on board her.

So far the life-boats had not been able todo anything to help the examination vessel,which was fur ther inshore than the sub-marine, and when the Tynemouth life-boatwent close to her at 3.45 she found her stillfast aground. Her crew had put out a kedgeanchor, but had not succeeded in refloatingher. The life-boat now took a rope from herand by keeping this taut was able to haul thevessel stern on to the swell, and prevent herfrom swinging broadside on to the rocks.

The Blyth life-boat, having put the sub-marine’s crew on board her again, now cameup, and she too took a rope to help in keepingthe examination vessel stern on to the swell.

The thrust-shaft bearing of the Tynemouthlife-boat was now found to be over-heated,and the life-boat returned to her station,which she reached at 6.30 in the evening.

The Blyth life-boat, from 5 until 5.30, heldthe examination vessel stern on to the sea.Tugs then arrived, and the life-boat connectedher to them with wire ropes. The tugs suc-ceeded in towing her off and both the Tunaand the Sedulous made for Blyth harbour.The Blyth life-boat herself arrived back ather station at 7.30 in the evening. The foghad been dense the whole time. - Rewards,Bly th and Tynemouth . Proper ty sa lvagecases.

NOVEMBER 3RD. - HASTINGS, SUSSEX.At eight in the morning the life-boat stationreceived a message from the Fairlight coast-guard that a steamer was sinking one milesouth of Hastings. A moderate south-by-east wind was blowing, with a moderate sea.The motor life-boat Cyril and Lilian Bishopwas launched at 8.30, but it was 8.50 beforeshe got away as, owing to the low tide, she hadto be dragged over a sand bank by the crewand launchers, all of whom got wet from headto foot. Commander W. Highfield, O.B.E.R.N., the honorary secretary of the stationwas on board. When the life-boat reached thevessel she found her to be the S.S. Foam Queen,with no one on board, apparently damagedby a bomb on her stern. On the arrival of theDover tug Lady Duncannon the life-boat putmen on the wreck to make fast the towinghawser. In the meantime a wireless messagereported a small boat adrift about a milesouth of Hastings. The life-boat went insearch, but found nothing, and returned to

SERVICES 1943 45

the wreck, where the tug was trying to getinto wireless communication with Dover.The life-boat returned to her station at 11.10.- Rewards, £31 17s.

N O V E M B E R 5 T H . - NEWCASTLE, CO.DOWN. A message was received from thecoastguard at 10.40 in the morning that anaeroplane was down in the sea near Ardglass.A fresh southerly breeze was blowing with astrong swell. The motor life-boat L. P. andSt. Helen was launched at 11.10. Valuablehelp was given by U.S.A. troops who weremarching by. Their help was enlisted as itwas low water and the boat had to be draggedacross the harbour. The life-boat searched,but without success, and at 1.10 she put intoArdglass. Here further information was ob-tained, a further search was made and thelife-boat found wreckage and a dead body,supported by a partially inflated Mae West.She brought the body to Ardglass at 2.45,returned to her station and was rehoused at6 that evening. - Rewards, £26 4s.

N O V E M B E R 9 T H . - T H E H U M B E R ,YORKSHIRE. About 4.15 in the morninginformation was received from the Mable-thorpe coastguard, through the Royal NavalShore Signal Station, that the Saltfleet coast-guard had seen d is t ress rocke ts . A l igh tvariable wind was blowing, with a slight sea.The motor life-boat City of Bradford II waslaunched at 4.53 and found the S.S. Broughty,of Dundee, one mile north of Saltfleet. Shehad gone ashore in fog, while bound ladenfrom Dundee to Hull, with a crew of sixteenon board . L i fe -boa tmen were pu t aboardthe steamer and then the life-boat took theground. She remained until the tide made.In the meantime an anchor was laid out fromthe Broughty on the flood tide. She refloatedand went on up the Humber. The life-boatreached her station again at six that evening.- Property salvage case.

N O V E M B E R 1 0 T H . - P O R T A S K A I G ,ARGYLLSHIRE. At 12 .40 in the a f t e r -noon the Bowmore Police reported that arubber dinghy with men aboard had beenseen eight miles south-west of Oversea Islandoff the wes t coas t of I s lay . A gale wasblowing from the south-west, with a veryrough sea. Putting out at 1.15 the motorlife-boat Charlotte Elizabeth went to the posi-tion given, only to learn by radio telephony thatthe men had been picked up. While she wasreturning she received a further message bymorse f rom Rhu Vaa l L iqh thouse tha t aWalrus aeroplane had been forced down nearthe lighthouse. The life-boat found her, butthere was no sign of the crew. The life-boattook the aeroplane in tow, transferring herto R.M.S. Lochiel, and continued to searchfor the crew until told that they were safe.She reached her station again at 8.30 thatevening. - Rewards, £20 15s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 13TH . - TOBERMORY, AR-GYLLSHIRE. At 10.15 in the morning itwas learned from the local doctor that awoman suffering from severe gastric trouble

must be taken at once to hospital. As nosteamer would run for two days the motorlife-boat Sir Arthur Rose left at 11.5 with thepatient and a nurse on board. She reachedOban at two o’clock and the woman was takento hospital by motor ambulance. The nursereturned with the life-boat which left Obanat 3.10 and reached Tobermory at 6.5. Thepatient had been operated on by the time thelife-boat got back, and no doubt her life wassaved by the promptitude with which she wasconveyed to hospital. She made a donationto the funds of the Institution. - Rewards,£5 14s.

NOVEMBER 14TH. - DONAGHADEE, CO.D O W N . A t 2 . 5 0 i n t h e a f t e r n o o n , t h eAdmiralty salvage officer at Bangor reported,through the coastguard, that two salvagelighters, with crews on board, were driftingashore in Belfast Lough, near Bangor. Astrong northerly wind was blowing, with arough sea and hail showers. The motor life-boat Civil Service No. 5 left her moorings at3.15 and reached the lighters at 4.15. Shestood by until tugs arrived, passed ropesfrom the lighters to the tugs, and then helpedin getting the lighters to safety. She re-turned to her moorings at seven that evening.- Rewards, £10 13s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 14TH. - ST. MARY’S, SCILLYISLES. At 8.15 at night the life-boat cox-swain was informed by the officer of NavalMotor Launch 535 that a landing craft hadrun ashore at Newford Island Point. A freshnorth-by-east wind was blowing, with a roughsea. With the officer the coxswain went tothe pier and sent a morse signal asking if helpwas needed. The vesse l rep l ied tha t shewould like a boat to stand by in case shecapsized. The motor life-boat Cunard waslaunched at 9.5, and when she reached thevessel, which was homeward bound fromGibraltar, found all hands ready to leave.They were taken into the life-boat, with theirb a g g a g e , a n d l a n d e d o n t h e p i e r a t t e no’clock. - Rewards, £16 2s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 1 4 T H . - F R A S E R B U R G H ,ABERDEENSHIRE. Dur ing the da rknessof the early hours a heavy north-north-eastgale, with squalls and a rough sea, broke themoorings of the fishing fleet in BalaclavaHarbour. One drifter was driven on to thesouth breakwater and severely damaged. Atdaybreak her position was seen to be seriousbut she sank before help could reach her.The motor life-boat John and Charles Kennedywas launched at 10.30 A.M. to go to the aid of atug and other drifters which had broken adrift.The tug and the dr i f t e r s Pi t t endrum andBarbara Cowie, which had no crews on board,were safely moored, and the life-boat returnedat 1.50 in the afternoon. - Rewards, £8 11s.

N O V E M B E R 1 5 T H . - ST . IVES, CORN-WALL. At 1 .19 in the a f te rnoon the S t .Ives coas tguard te lephoned tha t a motorvesse l was making for S t . Ives Bay andrequired a pilot. A strong north wind wasblowing, with a heavy sea, and the tide was

46 SERVICES l943

low. The motor life-boat Caroline OatesAver and Will iam Maine was launched at1.45, with a pilot on board, and, six miles ina northerly direction from St. Ives Head,found the motor vessel Teasel, of Cardiff, atanchor. She was bound, laden, for Cardifffrom Truro. Her engine was giving troubleand her master would not risk running forS t . I v e s . T h e p i l o t w e n t o n b o a r d h e ra n d t h e l i f e - b o a t s t o o d b y . D u r i n g t h eafternoon H.M. Corvette Cambridgeshirearrived, and the life-boat took a towline fromher to the Teasel, but the Teasel lost her endand it was with difficulty that the line wasagain passed. The corvette took the strain,and the pilot returned to the life-boat, whicha r r ived back a t he r s t a t ion a t 7 .30 tha tevening. The Teasel was able to go on herway the following day. - Rewards, £35 6s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 18TH. - FILEY, YORKSHIRE.Just after noon the coastguard reported avessel not under control one and a half mileseast of Filey Brig. A fresh northerly windwas blowing, with a rather rough sea. Bothcoxswains, with other life-boatmen, were outfishing, but ex-Coxswain R. C. Jenkinson tookcharge, and at 12.38 in the afternoon themotor life-boat The Cutt le was launched.T w e n t y m i n u t e s l a t e r s h e r e a c h e d t a n klanding craft 898, with a crew of twelve onboard , r id ing to an anchor ou t as te rn . Amine unseen by the men on the landing craftwas floating only two yards from her. Thelife-boat men shouted instructions, and themen of the landing craf t heaved on hercab le and c leared the mine . The landingcraft was having difficulty with her engines,but after a life-boatman had been put onboard to act as pilot she got under way. Thelife-boat passed a towing rope from her tothe minesweeper Ann Vera , but the ropebroke. The minesweeper then fired a lineto her by rocket, but this also broke. As thelanding craft was now drifting towards rocksoff Gristhorpe and in great danger, and as theminesweeper could not follow her the life-boat went in again and again. She succeededin passing a rope aboard her, hung on, headedeas twards , pu l led her c lear o f the rocksa n d t o w e d h e r r i g h t i n t o S c a r b o r o u g h .The officer-in-charge congratulated the life-boat crew. He said the landing craft wouldhave been wrecked but for their help. Thelife-boat returned to her station at 6.15 thatevening. - Property salvage case.

N O V E M B E R 2 2 N D . - H O L Y H E A D ,ANGLESEY. At 1.15 in the afternoon theHolyhead coastguard reported that an R.A.F.aeroplane had crashed between the break-water and the Sker r ies . A s t rong nor th-west wind was blowing, with a moderatelyrough sea, and hail showers. The motor life-boat A.E.D. was launched at 1.30 and, withtwo small naval vessels, searched, but withoutsuccess. She reported by radio telephone tothe naval base, which asked her to continuethe search . This she d id , and about thecentre of Church Bay found two dead bodies.She got back at 5.10. - Rewards, £5 14s.

SILVER MEDAL SERVICE ATNEWHAVEN

NOVEMBER 23RD. - NEWHAVEN,SUSSEX. At 8.40 in the evening amessage came from the naval officer-in-charge at Newhaven, through thecoastguard, asking that the life-boatshould s tand by . The c rew wereassembled and at nine o’clock thehonorary secretary reported the boatfully manned and ready for service.A further message was received fromthe naval officer-in-charge at 9.42,asking the life-boat to launch andstand by. No other information hadbeen given to the life-boat station, so,before launching, the honorary secre-tary asked the position to which thelife-boat was to go and what servicewas expected of her. He was thengiven a position two miles from New-haven, and the motor life-boat Ceciland Lilian Philpott was launched at9.45.

A gale was blowing, with a veryrough sea, the night was dark with con-tinuous heavy rain, and visibility wasvery bad. The coxswain went to theposition given, but found nothing.The shore signal station was sendingout further information, but in thatweather it was impossible to read thesignals, and the coxswain returned tothe mouth of the harbour. He wastold to go eastwards to the mouth ofthe Cuckmere, between four and fivemiles from Newhaven. There, offHope Gap, he saw the lights of a vessel.She was firing rockets, red, green andwhite, and burning flares. Search-lights from the shore batteries werep l a y i n g o n t h e w a t e r , b u t t h e i rdazzling lights were more of a hind-rance than a help to the life-boat.The coxswain, however, could makeout a large trawler. She was, in fact,H.M. Trawler Avanturine, with 25men on board, in a very dangerousposition, for she was only between 200and 300 yards off a rocky lee shore, andfrom her position the coxswain realisedshe was very near a reef which heknew must be just off her port beam.She was in only three to four fathomsof water, and she drew 15 1/2 feet.

The coxswain decided that the onlything to do was to anchor, drop down

SERVICES 1943 47

on his cable, with the wind and tide,and go under the trawler’s lee side.This meant dropping down on thecable across her bows. He let go theanchor, and had run out about fortyfathoms of cable when suddenly, outof the darkness, the trawler, which hehad thought to be at anchor, appearedclose to the life-boat coming at fullspeed towards her.

The coxswain put his engines fulla s te rn , bu t i t was too l a te . Thetrawler was lifting out of the troughand at the same moment a heavy seacaught the life-boat and flung heragainst the trawler’s bow. It cutright through the life-boat’s side. Theshock b roke he r mas t in to th reepieces, which went overboard, takingthe wireless with them, and felled fiveof the crew.

The coxswain knew that the boathad been badly damaged. How greatthe damage was he could not tell, buthe at once went astern and gave ordersfor the anchor to be hove in andstowed, and the mast and rigging to becleared away. While these thingswere being done a heavy sea was seenapproaching, and the coxswain shouted" hold on ”. After the sea had passedit was found that the bowman andsignalman, Benjamin J. Clark, hadgone with it.

The position now was that the cox-swain, who had been thrown heavilyagainst the wheel, was suffering intensepain in his back ; that he had not onlylost one of his crew of seven men, butthat three others were injured, howseriously he could not tell ; that he didnot know how seriously injured he washimself ; that he had only one un-injured man on deck. The other twouninjured were the two motor-mech-anics. The coxswain was finding theboat increasingly hard to steer, and thepetrol tank hatch had gone overboardand had left a large open space onthe deck, an added danger to the crewworking in the darkness.

In spite of this the coxswain lookedfor and found the trawler, which hadsteamed off. He then escorted her toa place of reasonable safety, some twoor three miles off the harbour entrance,where she could anchor for the rest ofthe night. With his wireless out of

action and his signalman lost, the cox-swain was unable to communicate withthe shore, but he stood by for a timeto see if there were signs of any othervessels in difficulty, and as therewere no other lights to be seen hemade for Newhaven. The hole in theboat was on the weatherside, whichincreased the difficulty of controllingher ; and this, with the pain he wassuffering, taxed the skill and strengthof the coxswain to the utmost, but hebrought the life-boat safely in andberthed her half an hour after mid-night. It was then one and a halfhours since the trawler had rammed her.

The injured men were attendedto by the naval surgeon and werethen sent home by naval transport.The coxswain had bruised his back. Thesecond coxswain had injuries to thebridge of his nose and both eyes, andbruises on body and legs. One of thecrew had lost his false teeth, smashedin his mouth and completely des-troyed. Stitches had to be put in hislower lip by the naval surgeon. Healso had injuries to his hands, arms,head and chest, which was heavilybruised. The fourth injured man wassuffering from bruises and cuts.

Patrols were sent out along thebeaches and at mid-day of the follow-ing day the body of the bowman andsignalman, Benjamin J. Clark, wasfound. At the inquest held on Nov-ember 26th the verdict was accidentallydrowned. Benjamin Clark was 49years of age and had served in theNewhaven life-boats for 25 years.His father and his brother both hadlong records of service in the life-boats, and both had served as cox-swain. At his own wish BenjaminClark was buried at sea, and theInstitution made the arrangements forthe funeral and paid all expenses. Heleft a widow, and the Institutionpensioned her, from the day of hisdeath, as if he had been a sailor, soldieror airman killed in action. The Navycollected £40 for the benefit of thewidow. The Institution also compen-sated the injured men for their lossof wages while they were unable towork.

The life-boat herself had been veryseverely damaged. The trawler’s stem

4 8 SERVICES 1943

had driven two feet deep into her,had broken a hole, just abaft theport shoulder, from deck to bilgekee l , 5 fee t f rom top to bo t tomand 2 feet 6 inches across at the top.It had buckled the port petrol tankand had driven it with such violenceagainst a bulkhead that the bulkheadhad been fractured and water had gotthrough into the forward and afterho lds and the cab in . I t was th i swhich had made the boat difficult tosteer. Although the petrol tank hadbeen moved off its seating and hadbeen badly buckled, it had not beenperforated and the engine had con-tinued to work off that tank, withoutany failure in the petrol supply, rightto the end of the service.

A patch was put over the hole, andon November 30th the life-boat wentby sea to Shoreham Harbour fo rrepairs. On the same day a life-boatfrom the reserve fleet took her place atNewhaven. The repairs took fourmonths to carry out, and cost about£650.

In recognition of the gallantry andendurance of the coxswain and crew incarrying on, in spite of their injuries,with a boat which they all knew to beseverely damaged, the Institutionmade the following awards :

To COXSWAIN LEONARD A. J. PEDD-LESDEN, the silver medal for gallantrywith a copy of the vote inscribed onvellum ;

To SECOND-COXSWAIN FREDERICKA. PARKER; R. W. LOWER, the motormechanic ; J. EAGER, the acting assis-tant motor-mechanic ; and S. WINTER,S. HOLDEN and H. MOORE, life-boat-men, bronze medals for gallantry, withcopies of the vote inscribed on vellum ;

To BENJAMIN J. CLARK, the bow-man and signalman, the bronze medalfor gallantry, posthumously, and acertificate to his widow recording hisdevotion to duty and his sacrifice ;

To MR. R. K SAYER, the honorarysecretary of the station, an inscribedaneroid barometer ;

To R. HOLDEN, head launcher, aletter of thanks ;

To the naval authorities at New-haven for the services of the surgeonand their help with the burial at sea,a letter of thanks ;

To MR. CARDY, divisional marinemanager of the Southern Railway atNewhaven, for his help with the burialat sea, a letter of thanks ;

To the coxswain and each memberof the crew a special reward of £2, inaddition to the ordinary reward on thestandard scale of £1 17s. 6d., makinga reward of £3 17s. 6d. to each man ;

To seven launchers a reward of12s. 6d. each, in addit ion to theordinary reward on the standard scaleof 12s., making a reward of £1 4s. 6d.to each man ;

S tandard rewards to c rew andlaunchers, £18 4s . ; additional rewardsto crew and launchers, £20 7s. 6d. ;total rewards, £38 11s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 24TH . - SHOREHAM HAR-BOUR, SUSSEX. At 4.50 in the morning amessage was received at Shoreham Harbourf rom the coas tguard tha t H .M. TrawlerAvanturine, which had been left at anchor bythe Newhaven life-boat off Newhaven, asdescribed above, was dragging her anchor,and at five o’clock the motor life-boat RosaWoodd and Phyllis Lunn was launched. Shereached the trawler at 7.15. The trawler’screw did not wish to be taken off,, but askedthe l i fe -boa t to s tand by . Thus she d id .Then, with a tug, she escorted the trawlerinto Newhaven harbour, arriving there at12.28 in the afternoon. She returned to herstation at six in the evening, having been outfor thirteen hours. - A special reward of £1was given to the coxswain and each of theseven members of the crew in addition to theordinary reward on the standard scale of £117s. 6d. Additional rewards, £7 ; standardrewards, £13 15s. ; total rewards, £20 15s.

NOVEMBER 24TH. - BARROW. LANCA-SHIRE. At 9.10 in the morning the PortWar Signal Station reported to the lifeboatcoxswain that a small-vessel appeared to bein need of help about three miles off shore,east-south-east of Walney Light. A westerlygale was blowing, with a very heavy sea andhail squalls. The motor life-boat N.T. waslaunched at 9.45 and found the auxiliarysailing vessel Vidar, of London, laden withfish and carrying a crew of four. Her enginehad broken down, but the crew had repairedit before the life-boat reached her. Theyasked to be escorted into harbour, and thisthe life-boat did, arriving at 12.30. - Rewards,£6 19s.

NOVEMBER 30TH. - TOBERMORY, AR-GYLLSHIRE. At 1.30 in the morning, atelephone message came from Kyle that avessel was ashore on the Morven Coast oppo-site Craignure. A strong north-west windwas blowing, with a heavy swell and hailshowers. The motor life-boat Sir ArthurRose was launched at 2.10, and at 4.30 foundthe Granton steam trawler River Tay onInninmore Point. She had struck a large

SERVICES 1943 49

rock, while bound from the fishing groundswith fish for Oban, and her crew of ten hadleft her and taken refuge on the rock. Theywere in no immediate danger and the life-boat stood off to wait until daylight, whenconditions would be easier for taking themoff. The Northern Lights Commissioners’vessel Hesperus arrived, offered to help,lowered her motor boat, and at 6.30 took thetrawler’s crew off the rock and transferredthem to the life-boat. The life-boat madefor Oban where they were landed at 7.45 andtaken charge of by the Shipwrecked Mariners’Society. The life-boat reached her stationagain at 11.35. - Rewards, £16 19s.

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

NOVEMBER 2ND. - BALLYCOTTON, CO.CORK. A fishing boat had been delayed byan engine breakdown, but got in, unseen bythe life-boat, in a fog. - Rewards, £13 14s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 3RD. - SHERINGHAM, NOR-FOLK. Whi le bombing aeroplanes werereturning from operations the life-boat stoodby at sea, but her services were not needed.- Rewards, £32 8s.

N O V E M B E R 5 T H . - TOBERMORY, AR-GYLLSHIRE. A s teamer went ashore onLady Rock in the Firth of Lorne, but washelped by tugs. - Rewards, £19 15s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 9TH. - TROON, AYRSHIRE.A flashing light had been seen, but only aR.A.F. flare was found. - Rewards, £11 17s.

NOVEMBER 10TH. - LLANDUDNO, CAER-NARVONSHIRE. A smal l boa t wi th twoboys in i t d r i f ted out to sea bu t no th ingcould be found. Later the boat came ashore,but there was no sign of the boys. - Rewards,£23 11s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 1 1 T H . - A P P L E D O R E ,DEVON. An aeroplane crashed in the sea atnight, but the crew landed in Morte Bay.The life-boat sheltered at Clovelly until thefollowing morning. - Rewards, £17 0s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 12TH.. - CLACTON - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A barge was seen, apparently indifficulties, but did not need help when thelife-boat reached her. - Rewards, £7 13s.

NOVEMBER 12TH . - LONGHOPE, ORK-NEYS. A ship’s engine had broken down,but the crew were able to repair it and go ontheir way. - Rewards, £11 18s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 12TH. - PORT ERIN, ISLE OFMAN. Five men f rom an aeroplane wereadr i f t in a rubber d inghy , bu t they werepicked up by a steamer. - Rewards, £35 13s.

N O V E M B E R 1 3 T H . - T H E H U M B E R ,YORKSHIRE. An airman baled out froma Lysander aeroplane, but landed on shore.- Paid permanent crew.

NOVEMBER 13TH. - HOWTH, CO. DUB-L I N . R o c k e t s h a d b e e n r e p o r t e d , b u tnothing was found. - Rewards, £14 6s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 1 4 T H . - P E N L E E , C O R N -WALL. A landing craft had been reportedin need of guidance to Falmouth, and waslater stated to have made a distress signal,but nothing could be found. - Rewards, £3114s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 16TH . - PADSTOW, CORN-WALL. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £8 2s.

NOVEMBER 16TH. - BALLYCOTTON, CO.C O R K . A n o v e r d u e f i s h i n g b o a t w a sthought to be in difficulties, but she had beendelayed because she was down to the deckwith an exceptionally large catch of herringsand got safely into Kinsale. - Rewards, £2010s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 16TH. - MOELFRE, ANGLE-S E Y . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e n r e p o r t e ddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £25 3s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 16TH . - STORNOWAY, IS-LAND OF LEWIS. The Amer ican motorvessel Markay, a tanker, of Wilmington, hadrun aground , bu t a tug was found to bestanding by. - Rewards, £9 8s.

NOVEMBER 18TH. - HOWTH, CO. DUB-LIN. A fishing boat’s engine had brokendown, but the boat declined help and driftedto safety. - Rewards, £14 6s. 6d.

NOVEMBER 23RD. - WALMER, KENT. Amotor gunboat was reported to have madedistress signals, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £46 18s.

N O V E M B E R 2 4 T H . - SKEGNESS, LIN-COLNSHIRE. The instruments of a Lan-caster bombing aeroplane failed while she wasreturning from Berlin and the airmen, insteadof being at 1,000 feet as they reckoned, foundthemselves in the sea near Chapel St. Leon-ards , bu t they reached the shore in the i rdinghy. - Rewards, £21 7s.

NOVEMBER 24TH. - ST. MARY’S, SCILLYISLES. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £14 5s.

NOVEMBER 24TH. - HOWTH, CO. DUB-LIN. A f i sh ing boa t was overdue in badweather , bu t she was towed to Sker r iesHarbour by another fishing boat. - Rewards£14 6s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 2 6 T H . - B E R W I C K - O N -T W E E D , N O R T H U M B E R L A N D . A naeroplane had been reported down in the sea,but a search, in which a launch and aircrafta l s o t o o k p a r t , w a s w i t h o u t s u c c e s s . -Rewards, £6 12s.

NOVEMBER 26TH . - APPLEDORE, ANDCLOVELLY, DEVON. A rubber d inghy

50 SERVICES 1943

had been reported firing distress flares, butnothing could be found. - Rewards, Apple-dore, £9 12s. ; Clovelly, £20 12s.

N O V E M B E R 2 7 T H . - A N S T R U T H E R ,FIFESHIRE. A R.N.A.S . ae rop lane hadcome down in the sea, but only wreckage wasfound, by another vessel taking part in thesearch. - Rewards, £18 19s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 2 9 T H . - ABERDEEN, A N DN E W B U R G H , A B E R D E E N S H I R E . Asteamer had foundered after being in collision,but all her crew, fifty-four in number, weresaved by their own boats and rafts and byanother vessel. - Rewards : Aberdeen, £619s. ; Newburgh, £8.

NOVEMBER 29TH. - WELLS, NORFOLK.An American Fortress aeroplane had beenreported down, but the life-boat was recalledby Hunstanton coastguard. While the life-b o a t w a s o u t , b a t t e r i e s o n s h o r e t w i c ef i r e d m a c h i n e g u n s . T h e f i r e w a s n o tdirected at the life-boat. It probably camefrom troops at exercise who could not bewarned that the life-boat was in the neigh-bourhood. - Rewards, £25 9s.

N O V E M B E R 3 0 T H . - BARRA ISLAND,H E B R I D E S . B o d i e s a n d w r e c k a g e h a dbeen washed ashore on Eriskay, but no vesselor survivors could be found. - Rewards, £108s. 6d.

N O V E M B E R 3 0 T H . - ST. IVES, CORN-WALL. An aeroplane had crashed into thesea on fire, but nothing could be found.-Rewards, £30 4s.

DECEMBER


D E C E M B E R 2 N D . - S T . I V E S , C O R N -WALL. At 6.15 in the morning the coast-guard repor ted tha t a vesse l th ree mi lessouth-east of St. Ives Head had signalled thatshe was sinking. A moderate north-west windwas blowing, with a rough sea. The motorlife-boat Caroline Oates Aver and WilliamMaine was launched at 7.10 and found theDutch motor vessel Reiger, of Zuidbroek.She had been beached in a sinking conditionin Carbis Bay, and was awash forward, buther crew of twelve, who were in no immediatedanger, did not wish to leave her. The life-saving rocket apparatus was also standing by.The life-boat brought ashore the ship’s chiefofficer so that he could telephone to London.She reached her station at 8.40. - Rewards,£11 13s.

DECEMBER 3RD. - HARTLEPOOL, DUR-HAM, AND TEESMOUTH, YORKSHIRE.At 4.56 in the morning the coastguard tele-phoned the life-boat station that two vesselsappeared to be in danger, and twenty minuteslater he asked that the life-boat should go toa vessel believed to be on Longscar Rock.A strong north-north-east wind was blowing,

with a heavy sea. The motor life-boat ThePrincess Royal - Civi l Service No. 7 waslaunched at 5.48, but, owing to the darknessand the position of the vessel, returned toharbour to await daylight. At daybreak shewent out again and on Seaton Beach foundthe S.S. Graiglas, of Cardiff, bound for drydock in the River Tees. The life-boat re-mained alongside for a short time and thenthe captain and crew, forty-five in number,decided to remain on board, but they askedthat the pilot should be landed. The life-boat arrived back at her station with thepilot at nine o’clock.

The Teesmouth motor life-boat was alsolaunched at 7.50, but finding no other vesselin need of help she went into Hartlepool,where she learned that only one vessel wasashore. - Rewards : Hartlepool, £14 5s. ;Teesmouth, £14 10s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 3 R D . - B R I D L I N G T O N ,YORKSHIRE. At seven in the morning avessel - the L.C.T. 2263 - was seen to be indifficulties close to the South beach behindthe pier. She was driving ashore in brokenwater and was making signals by red lightsand her searchlight. A strong east-north-eas t wind was b lowing, and the sea wasrough. Men were sent along the shore incase any of the crew of the landing craft werewashed overboard, and the life-boat crewwere assembled. At eight o’clock the motorl i fe -boat S t a n h o p e S m a r t was launched .Running in, with her drogue out, she let goanchor to windward, and veered down to thelanding craft. She took a tow rope from her,and held her off the rocks until after highwater, when L.C.T. 2263 was allowed to goaground clear of the rocks and the break-water.At the captain’s request the life-boat tookoff and landed nine of the crew. In order todo this she had to fire a rocket across thevessel and go alongside, shipping heavy seasduring the operation. The captain and threeothers remained on board the i r vesse l . -Property salvage case.

DECEMBER 3RD. - CROMER, NORFOLK.During the morning while the fishing boatswere out an east-south-east wind sprang up,causing a heavy surf on the beach. As theboat Morning Star, with a crew of three, hadnot returned by noon the No. 2 life-boatHarriot Dixon was launched at 12.20 in theaf te rnoon. She found the M o r n i n g S t a r ,took aboard some of her gear, handed life-belts to her crew and, keeping as close aspossible to her, escorted her through the surf.Both boats were beached at 12.45. - Rewards,£13 11s.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICE ATSALCOMBE

DECEMBER 4TH. - SALCOMBE,DEVON. At 9.15 at night the coast-guard at Hope Cove reported a vesselashore at the lower end of Skerries, threemiles to the east of Start Point. She

SERVICES l943 51

was the Admiralty salvage craft L.C.18, with eleven men on board, and hadbroken away f rom her tow. Thenight was cold and wet, with an east-erly gale blowing and very high seas.

The honorary secretary of the life-boat station told the coastguard thathis motor-mechanic was ill and hissecond motor-mechanic had died thatday. He would do his best to get acrew, but in the circumstances hethought it would be wise to warn theTorbay life-boat. This was done, butshe was not needed. The coxswain atSalcombe was able to get a formermotor-mechanic who had resignedabout a year before, to take charge ofhis engines and as he was still short ofa man the honorary secretary, Mr. H.W. Richards, a man of sixty-five, buta keen and experienced yachtsman,went as a member of the crew.

At 10.15 the motor life-boat Samueland Marie Parkhouse was launched.An hour later she reached the wreckto find her very high out of the waterand dragging across the Skerries.She was rolling heavily and gave thelife-boat no lee for shelter. In spiteof this, and the dangers of the dark-ness and heavy seas, Coxswain Distin,handling the life-boat with great skill,took her right alongside the salvagecraft, but her crew would not jump.He took her alongside again andagain and again. It was not untilthe fourth time that the eleven menjumped, and, with the whole crewrescued, the life-boat made for Sal-combe. She arrived at 1.30 next morn-ing. It was a dangerous rescue mostskilfully carried out, and the Institutionmade the following awards :

To C O X S W A I N E D W I N W I L L I A MDISTIN, the bronze medal for gallantry,with a copy of the vote inscribed onvellum ;

T o M R . H . W . R I C H A R D S , t h ehonorary secretary of the station, aletter of appreciation ;

To the coxswain and each of the sixmembers of the crew a special rewardof £1 in addition to the ordinary re-ward on the standard scale of £1 17s.6d. each. Standard rewards to thecrew, £13 14s. 6d . ; additional rewardsto crew and launchers, £7 ; total re-wards, £20 14s. 6d.

DECEMBER 9TH. -ARKLOW, CO. WICK-LOW. At 10.40 on the night of the 8th ofDecember i t was learned f rom the Civ icGuards that the fishing boat St. Gerard, ofDublin, with a crew of six, was overdue. Shehad been expected back at six o’clock. Theweather was wild, with a south-cast windblowing and a very rough sea. Enquiriesalong the coast were without result. At 1.50next morning it was learned that red flareshad been seen by the Killmichael Look-out,and at 2.23 the motor life-boat Inbhear Morwas launched . She found the S t . G e r a r dhalf way between Courtown and Pass Head,two miles off land. Her engine had brokendown and she was thrown on to a lee shore.The life-boat took her in tow and made forWicklow, as she could not have got intoArklow. She returned to her station at 1.10that afternoon. - Rewards, £23 8s. 6d.

DECEMBER 16TH . - MARGATE, KENT.At 1.15 in the afternoon a number of smallinvasion barges put into Margate Harbour.A fresh easterly wind was blowing with achoppy sea. The officer-in-charge reportedthat one, which had sprung a leak, was sinking,and that another barge had her in tow. Heasked for help, and the motor life-boat TheLord Southborough (Civil Service No. 1) waslaunched at 1.20. Two miles north-east ofMarga te she found the two barges . Wi ththe life-boat was the officer-in-charge, and heboarded the barge which was towing. Thelife-boat then made fast astern of the sinkingbarge - L.C. 1237, with a crew of four - tohelp in steering her ; the vessels made forMargate. At the harbour entrance the life-boat took over the tow and placed the L.C.1237 in a position where she could be beached.It was than 2.15 in the afternoon. - Rewards,£10 13s. 6d.

DECEMBER 18TH . - DUN LAOGHAIRE,CO. DUBLIN. At 2.10 in the afternoon atelephone message was received from theBailey Lighthouse, Howth, that Hopper No.4, a dredging vessel belonging to the DublinPort and Docks Board, had gone ashore nearS u t t o n . A w i n d o f h u r r i c a n e f o r c e w a sblowing, with sleet and a confused sea. Themotor life-boat Dunleary II was launched at2.30 and found the Hopper two miles north-north-east of Poolbeg Lighthouse, returningto Dublin, light, with a crew of eight on board.The life-boat dropped anchor and veereddown to the hopper. Although the hopperwas aground, with seas breaking over herstern, the crew did not at first wish to leave,but later they were taken off by the life-boat,which reached Dun Laoghaire again at 4.25.- Rewards, £7 17s.

DECEMBER 18TH . - HOWTH, CO. DUB-LIN. At about 2 .15 in the a f te rnoon theBailey Lighthouse reported that the DublinPort and Docks Board Hopper No. 17 wasadrift, bearing north-west from the lighthouse.A strong west-south-west wind was blowing,with a heavy sea and rain squalls. Another hop-per was aground at Sutton, but the Dun Laogh-aire life-boat went to her help. The motorlife-boat R.P.L. was launched at 2.55 and

52 SERVICES 1943

found the hopper at anchor leeward of Toweron Ireland’s Eye. She took a message fromthe hopper to a tug, and stood by ready topass a tow rope, but the tug fixed the towwithout help and towed the hopper to Dublin.The life-boat reached her station again at5.25. - Rewards, £11 17s.

SILVER MEDAL SERVICE ATANGLE

DECEMBER 18TH. - ANGLE, PEM-BROKESHIRE. A gale was blowingfrom the south-west and a very roughsea was running. In the early eveninga small Dutch ship, the motor vesselThor, of Rotterdam, which was evi-dently seeking shelter, was seen indifficulties off St. Anne’s Head at theentrance to Milford Haven. Here thesea is always worse than farther out,and as the Thor approached the mid-channel buoy she was overwhelmed bya following sea and thrown on her beamends. Just before this happened thehonorary secretary of the life-boatstation had been asked to assemblethe crew. He realised that in suchweather and in such a position a smallvessel must be in great danger, so,instead of assembling, he called themotor life-boat out at once, and theElizabeth Elson was launched at 5.50.It was well that he did so.

When the life-boat approached theThor Coxswain Watkins found a tugstanding by. The life-boat asked forinformation, and the tug’s skipper toldhim, in so many words, ” We can donoth ing . Do what you can .” Thecoxswain went closer to the Thor andby the light of his searchlight saw heron her beam ends, all awash, withheavy seas breaking right over her. Shelooked, he said, “ like a half-tiderock.” It was dangerous to go anycloser, but he did it, and saw thatsome of the crew had abandoned thewreck and were in the water, and ingreat straits. It was now pitch darkand it was very difficult to see themen, but the life-boat picked up twoof them. A third was carried awayand drowned. The life-boat was onthe weather side of the Thor. To goany closer on that side was certaindisaster, so the coxswain took her toleeward to see if any more men wereleft on the Thor. She was now nearlybottom up, with heavy seas breaking

over he r . Gear and wreckage toleeward made the approach dangerous,but the coxswain brought the life-boat so close to the Thor that hewas able to drag two of her crew tothe life-boat with veering lines, andtwo more were able to jump into herfrom the bottom of the Thor. No oneremained on board. So far as couldbe discovered the Thor had had tenmen on board. The l ife-boat hadrescued six ; the tug had rescued one ;three were lost.

The coxswain, a man of sixty-seven,took great risks. He handled the life-boat with great skill and daring, andhis responsibility and risks were in-creased by the fact that he had notall his regular crew with him.


To COXSWAIN JAMES WATKINS, thesilver medal for gallantry, with a copyof the vote inscribed on vellum ;

To ALBERT E. REES , the motor-mechanic, the thanks of the Institution,inscribed on vellum ;

To the coxswain and each of theeight members of the crew a specialreward of £1, in addition to the ordin-ary reward on the standard scale of£1 17s. 6d. each. Standard rewards tothe crew and launchers, £19 2s. 6d. ;additional rewards to the crew, £9 ;total rewards, £28 2s. 6d.

DECEMBER 2lST . - NEWBIGGIN, NOR-THUMBERLAND. The fishing coble Robertand Jane, of Newbiggin, with a crew of three,was the only coble to put out on this day, andas the sea rose, with a strong south-south-eastwind, anxiety was felt for her safety. It wasdecided to send out the motor l i fe -boatAugustus and Laura, and she left at 10.45.She found the coble, with her engine brokendown, three miles east-north-east of New-biggin Point. After standing by while thecrew of the coble hauled their line she thentook her in tow, but later the coble was ableto ge t her engine s ta r ted . The l i fe -boa t ,which had t rouble wi th one of her ownengines, reached her station again at 12.45.- Rewards, £15 13s. 6d.

DECEMBER 21ST. - SWANAGE, AND WEY-MOUTH, DORSET. At 10.27 in the morn-ing the Swanage coastguard telephoned thatthe naval officer in charge at Poole wished theSwanage life-boat to go to the help of anescort vessel which had capsized three milessouth of Durleston Head. A strong and in-creasing south-west wind was blowing, witha heavy sea, and visibility was very poor attimes. The Swanage motor life-boat Thomas

SERVICES 1943 53

Markby was launched at 10.45 and reachedthe vessel half an hour later. She found herto be Chasseur 5, a chaser of the French navalforces. She had been escorting a submarinewhen she capsized, and the submarine wass tanding by . Three of the chaser ’s c rewwere clinging to the keel, two of them ex-hausted. It was only by skilful seamanshiptha t they were rescued . Four more wererescued by the submarine, but others of thecrew of twenty-three were trapped in thevessel. They could be seen looking throughan open porthole. In that heavy sea and withno tools to break into the chaser the life-boatcould do noth ing to he lp them. She re-turned to Swanage, first arranging with thesubmar ine to pump o i l on the sea . Shelanded the rescued men at noon, and put outaga in a t 12 .52 , wi th saws and axes , bu tshe arrived to find that the submarine wasunder way. The chaser had sunk at 12.55.

The life-boat station at Weymouth hadalso been informed, and after consultationwith the coastguard the honorary secretarysent out the William and Clara Ryland at oneo’clock, but recalled her by wireless and shereturned to her station again at 2.45.

The Commander-in-Chief of the FrenchN a v a l F o r c e s i n t h e U n i t e d K i n g d o mthanked the Swanage life-boat crew, and theflag-officer-in-charge at Portland expressedappreciation of the work of the crews of bothlife-boats. - Rewards, Swanage, £12 5s. ;Weymouth, £5 14s.

In 1946 the French Government awardedm e d a l s t o C o x s w a i n R . C . B R O W N , A .CHINCHEN, mechanic, W. E. NINEHAM, bow-man, and life-boatmen F. POND , A. DYKE .and C. BROWN ; the French Life-boat Societyawarded a silver gilt medal to the coxswain,and bronze medals to the mechanic and bow-man ; and the Academy of Pol i t i ca l andMoral Science, Institut de France, Paris,presented 1,000 francs each to the coxswain,mechanic and bowman, and to Sir GodfreyBaring, Bt., chairman of the Institution, themedal of the Berthault Foundation.

DECEMBER 2lST . - EXMOUTH, DEVON.At 8.15 in the morning of the 13th of Decem-ber, the S.S. South Coaster, of Cardiff, ranaground on the eastern end of Pole Sands,west-by-south three-quarters of a mile fromOrcombe Point. She carried a crew of thir-teen and was laden with coal from Marsdenfor Exeter. A tug and a landing craft weres e n t o u t b y t h e n a v a l a u t h o r i t i e s , a n d ,although the crew of the life-boat stood by inreadiness on the morning and on the eveningof the 13th, and again on the evening of the18th, the life-boat was not called upon tolaunch. On the morning of the 21st a south-south-west gale was blowing, with heavy seas.and the resident naval officer asked that thelife-boat should be sent out. The motor life-boat Catherine Harriet Eaton was launched at1.15 in the afternoon, with naval signallersaboard. She rescued the whole of the crewthirteen in number. A message of congratu-lation was sent by the resident naval officerto all concerned, and the Institution speciallythanked the station officer of coastguard G. WLeak, who, owing to the illness of the honorary

D E C E M B E R 2 5 T H . - STORNOWAY, IS-LAND OF LEWIS. At nine in the morningthe coastguard reported that an SOS hadbeen received from a vessel ashore on Flad-dachuain Island off the north of Skye, buttha t another vesse l was s tanding by . Asouth-south-west gale was blowing, with achoppy sea. A further message came thathelp was needed, for the vessel was poundingheavi ly wi th seas washing over her . Themotor life-boat William and Harriot waslaunched at 10.30 and reached the positiona t 2 .40 in the a f te rnoon . She found theAmerican steamer Frederick Bortholde, with acrew of seventy-five on board, and went along-side, but the crew were reluctant to leave bya ladder over the side. Owing to the heavymotion of the steamer and the parting of herown mooring ropes the life-boat stood off.Later H.M. trawlers landed a party on thelee side of the island. They were able to getropes to the steamer and brought ashore 70of her men. Most of them were transferredto the trawlers by the life-boat, but a fewremained to s ta r t sa lvage work when theweather eased. Five men had remained onthe s teamer . The l i fe -boat was no longerneeded and arrived back at her station at12.45 next morning. - Rewards, £14 2s. 6d.

secretary of the station, was in charge.-Rewards, £29 17s.

D E C E M B E R 2 l S T . - W H I T B Y , Y O R K -SHIRE. At about 3.25 P .M. the coastguardtelephoned to the life-boat coxswain that themotor fishing coble Hilda, of Scarborough,was in distress. A strong southerly wind wasblowing, with a rough sea. The No. 1 motorlife-boat Mary Ann Hepworth was launchedat 3.35 P .M. and found the coble five milesE.S.E. of Whitby, disabled by an enginebreakdown. The coble, together with hercrew of three, was taken in tow and broughtinto Whitby at 5.20 P.M. - Rewards, £11 6s.6d.

DECEMBER 22ND. - DONAGHADEE, CO.DOWN. At 4.45 in the morning the Bangorcoastguard reported that a vessel was ashorea t Luke’s Po in t , Ba l lyho lme. A squa l lynorth-westerly gale was blowing, with a roughsea and ra in . The motor l i fe -boa t Civ i lService No. 5 was launched at 5.15 and at 6.20found the motor vessel Vrede ashore on rockswith her engine-room full of water. She hada crew of nine and was bound, laden with tea,f r o m G l a s g o w t o E x m o u t h . A f t e r s o m edifficulty the coxswain took the life-boatalongside the vessel and three of the crewjumped into her. Five other members of thevessel’s crew reached land in their own boat,bu t the cap ta in re fused to leave . As therescued were in a state of exhaustion the life-boat took them to Donaghadee, where shearrived at 7.45. She then returned to theVrede as there was a danger of her breakingup. After standing by until 9.30 the life-boatleft. The weather was then improving andthe danger lessening. She reached her stationat 10.30. - Rewards, £10 12s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 3 0 T H . - NEW BRIGHTON,CHESHIRE. At 1.45 in the afternoon the

54 SERVICES 1943

police reported a boy adrift in a small boatoff Maddock’s Slip, River Mersey, and in needo f h e l p . A f r e s h n o r t h - w e s t w i n d w a sblowing, with a rough sea. With ex-secondcoxswain Stonall in charge, the No. 2 motorlife-boat Edmund and Mary Robinson wasl a u n c h e d a t 2 . 5 . S h e f o u n d t h e s m a l lboat fifty yards from the sea wall, over whichseas were breaking. The coxswain took thelife-boat to windward of the dinghy and oneof the crew jumped on board and made herfas t to the l i fe -boa t . The boy was takenaboard the life-boat, and with the dinghy intow, she reached her station again at threeo’clock. - Rewards, £6 4s.

DECEMBER 30TH. - EASTBOURNE, ANDHASTINGS, SUSSEX. At about four o’clockin the afternoon the coastguard informed theEastbourne life-boat station that a U.S.A.Liberator aeroplane had come down in thesea off Pevensey Bay. A light north-westwind was blowing, with a slight sea. Themotor life-boat Jane Holland, was at oncelaunched and found and brought ashorethree airmen’s coats, one pair of trousers, anoxygen tank, a wireless set, and an identifica-tion disc, but there was no sign of the men.She returned to her station at 6.5.

The Hastings station was informed by theFairlight coastguard at 3.57 that, the aero-plane was in the sea four miles south-west-by-west from Bexhill, and the motor life-boatCyril and Lilian Bishop was launched at 4.20.She found only a patch of oil, and arrived backat her station at 7.40. It was learned laterthat, six airmen had been picked up by fishingboats. - Rewards, Eastbourne, £21 8s. 6d. ;Hastings, £60 10s. 6d. (See Pevensey Bay,“ Services by Shoreboats, ” 1944, page 54.)

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

DECEMBER 2ND. - CLOVELLY, DEVON.A ship’s boat had been reported at sea, butthe life-boat only found an empty raft whichshe could not bring in owing to the rough sea.- Rewards, £17 4s. 6d.

DECEMBER 3RD. - PORTPATRICK, WIG-TOWNSHIRE. A vessel had been reportedsunk in collision, but a search in the darknesswas without result. Picking up a wirelessmessage that some survivors had been res-cued the life-boat continued to search untildaylight, but found nothing. - Rewards, £2111s. 6d.

DECEMBER 5TH. - TORBAY, DEVON. AnAdmiralty tug was in difficulties, but she wastaken in tow by a minesweeper. - Rewards,£5 12s.

D E C E M B E R 8 T H . - MARYPORT, CUM-B E R L A N D . A h e r r i n g d r i f t e r h a d b e e nreported aground, but the life-boat foundn o t h i n g , a n d a d r i f t e r , w h i c h h a d b e e naground, came in while the life-boat was out.- Rewards, £26 14s.

D E C E M B E R 9 T H . - K I L L Y B E G S , C O .D O N E G A L . A n a e r o p l a n e h a d b e e n

reported down in the sea, but nothing couldbe found. - Rewards, £13 2s. 6d.

DECEMBER 11TH. - ALDEBURGH, SUF-FOLK. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing could be found.Rescue craft and aeroplanes also searched.-Rewards, £24 2s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 1 1 T H . - I L F R A C O M B E ,DEVON. An aeroplane had been reporteddown, but the life-boat was recalled when itwas known that the airmen had been saved.- Rewards, £12 8s. 6d.

DECEMBER 15TH. - SHERINGHAM, NOR-FOLK. An aeroplane had been repor teddown in the sea, but nothing was found, andan aeroplane dropping smoke bombs mayhave been mis taken for an aeroplane inflames. - Rewards, £29 1s.

DECEMBER 16TH. - SHERINGHAM, NOR-FOLK. The life-boat was launched to standby during air operations, but her services werenot needed. - Rewards, £23 19s.

DECEMBER 17TH. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. Two invas ion barges had beenreported ashore, but were found at anchorand not in need of help. The naval authori-ties thanked the life-boat crew. - Rewards,£14 17s.

DECEMBER 17TH. - BALLYCOTTON, CO.CORK. An SOS had been repor ted f roman aeroplane, but later she landed safely.The representative in Eire of the BritishGovernment expressed thanks to the life-boatcrew through the Department of ExternalAffairs, Dublin. - Rewards, £20 13s. 6d.

DECEMBER 18TH. - ANSTRUTHER, FIFE-SHIRE. A Chesapeake R.N.A.S. aeroplanehad crashed. The life-boat searched in thedarkness, but found nothing. Next morningt w o b o d i e s w e r e f o u n d o n t h e b e a c h . -Rewards, £24 1s. 6d.

DECEMBER 18TH. - THE HUMBER,YORKSHIRE. A boat, from an examina-tion vessel, with a crew of three, had goneashore, but the men landed without help.-Paid permanent crew.

D E C E M B E R 1 8 T H . - B R I D L I N G T O N ,YORKSHIRE. A landing craft was in dis-tress, but she got ropes ashore by rocket anddid not need the he lp of the l i fe -boat . -Rewards, £21 12s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 18TH. - SCARBOROUGH,YORKSHIRE. Red flares had been repor-t e d , b u t t h e l i f e - b o a t f o u n d n o t h i n g . -Rewards, £35 17s.

DECEMBER 20TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.An American bombing aeroplane fell into thesea, but a passing coasting vessel picked upher crew. - Rewards, £9 3s. 6d.

DECEMBER 20TH. - CAISTER, NORFOLK.At n ight a message was rece ived tha t a

SERVICES 1943 55

bombing machine was expected to crash, butnothing was found. - Rewards, £24 17s.

DECEMBER 20TH. - ANGLE, PEMBROKE-SHIRE. An aeroplane was reported to havecrashed into the sea, but nothing could befound. - Rewards, £19 2s. 6d.

DECEMBER 21ST. - SOUTHEND - ON - SEA,ESSEX. A vessel was flying a flag, thoughtto be a distress signal, but the flag was foundto be her house flag and she was not in needof help. - Rewards, £7 4s.

D E C E M B E R 2 1 S T . - BUCKIE, BANFF-SHIRE. A boat had been reported ashoreand showing flares, but could not be found,and it was presumed that she had got off.-Rewards, £10 8s. 6d.

DECEMBER 21ST . - FLAMBOROUGH,YORKSHIRE. An airman was reported tohave baled out from a Whitley aeroplane, buthe was not found. - Rewards, £27 12s.

D E C E M B E R 2 2 N D . - E A S T B O U R N E ,SUSSEX. The life-boat was called out bythe naval authorities to search a given area,but all that she found were two floats aboutfour feet long and these she left alone in casethey were explosives. - Rewards, £22 15s. 6d.

DECEMBER 22ND. - NEWBURGH, ABER-DEENSHIRE. A smal l f i sh ing boa t cap-sized while attempting to cross the bar at theriver mouth, but her crew of three were lostbefore the l i fe -boat could reach them.-Rewards, £7 19s.

DECEMBER 22ND. - ALDEBURGH, SUF-POLK. An aeroplane had been repor ted

down in the sea, but nothing could be found.- Rewards, £21 6s. 6d.

D E C E M B E R 2 3 R D . - ROSSLARE HAR-BOUR, CO. WEXFORD. Flares had beenreported but nothing could be found, and itwas thought that they had been dropped byan aeroplane. - Partly paid permanent crew.Rewards, £4 9s.

DECEMBER 26TH . - PORTHDINLLAEN,CAERNARVONSHIRE. An Anson aero-p l a n e h a d b e e n r e p o r t e d o v e r d u e , b u tnothing was found and it was learned that thea e r o p l a n e h a d c r a s h e d o n t h e s h o r e . -Rewards, £12.

D E C E M B E R 2 7 T H . - KILLYBEGS, CO.DONEGAL. An aeroplane had been repor-ted down in the sea, but nothing was found.- Rewards, £13 2s. 6d.

DECEMBER 27TH. - SHERINGHAM, NOR-FOLK. An Amer ican For t ress aeroplanehad been abandoned by her crew but theycame down on the land. The aeroplane flewon until shot down into the sea by a Spitfireaeroplane. - Rewards, £19 16s. 6d.

DECEMBER 28TH . - NEWQUAY, CORN-WALL. An American Liberator aeroplanehad crashed in the darkness and caught fire,but she was right under the cliffs, and thelife-boat could not get nearer than 300 yards.With the rising tide would-be rescuers, whowent along the shore, were cut off by the tideand a very heavy ground sea, and the aircrew and their rescuers to the number ofeighteen lost their lives. All were membersof the U.S.A. Forces. - Rewards, £24 11s.

DECEMBER 29TH . - RAMSEY, ISLE OFMAN. A vessel had gone ashore, but she gotoff and did not need help. - Rewards, £27 7s.

Services by Shore-boats

Six Medals for Gallantry

WEST KIRBY, CHESHIRE

On the 6th February, 1943, two men in a small boat were rescued.MR. BENJAMIN S. ARMITAGE was awarded the bronze medal.MR. HERBERT JONES, coxswain of the Hoylake life-boat, was awarded the

bronze medal.MR. WILLIAM G. WIDDUP, station officer of H.M. coastguard, Hoylake, was

awarded the bronze medal.

PORTHLEVEN, CORNWALL

On the 23rd March, 1943, an Army Officer was rescued.MR. THOMAS HENDY MATTHEWS was awarded the bronze medal.

BARROW, LANCASHIRE

On the 27th September, 1943, the crew of two of the fishing boat Seabird, ofBarrow, were rescued.

MOTOR MECHANIC JAMES O. MOORE was awarded the bronze medal.ASSISTANT MOTOR MECHANIC FRANK MOORE was awarded the

bronze medal.

JANUARY MEETING

BARROW, LANCASHIRE, and MILLOM, CUM-BERLAND. At four in the afternoon of the 20thof August, 1942, the naval base asked theBarrow life-boat station to search for an aero-plane which had crashed north of Walney.A strong south-west wind was blowing, withheavy squalls of rain, and the sea was rough.The coxswain of the Barrow life-boat andthree other men put out in a motor pilotcutter. A motor boat, manned by an auxili-ary coastguard and three other men, put outfrom Millom at considerable risk, and fourairmen put out in a dinghy from Walney.The motor boat from Millom found a deadbody and the motor pilot cutter saw parts ofthe aeroplane, but that was all . The fourairmen in the dinghy got into difficulties andwere rescued by the pilot cutter. - Rewards,Barrow pilot cutter, £5, and 12s. for fuelused ; Millom motor boat, £5, and 10s. forfuel used.

(See Barrow, “ Services by Shore-boats, ”1942, page 68.)

LOSSIEMOUTH , MORAYSHIRE . About 4.30in the afternoon of the 13th of December,1942, an aeroplane crashed into the sea oneand a ha l f mi les nor th-west -by-nor th ofLoss iemouth harbour . The wea ther wasmoderate. The motor fishing boat Sunrise,

with a crew of six, put out and rescued theaeroplane’s crew of five, who were in theirrubber dinghy. - Rewards, £7 10s., and 11s.for fuel used.

FEBRUARY MEETING

D O W N I N G S , C O . D O N E G A L . Whi le ou tfishing off Innisboffin Island on the 27th ofNovember, 1942, the motor fishing boat Starof Hope, of Downings, foundered and sankwhile her herring nets were being hauled, anda fresh north-west breeze was blowing with achoppy sea and squalls. Her crew of fourwere left struggling in the water. It was thenmidnight. The men’s cries were heard by thecrew of another fishing boat, who at oncewent to their rescue. It was only with diffi-culty and some danger that she picked upthe men in the darkness, for she was not farfrom a lee shore, and was broadside on inthe t rough of the sea dur ing the wholeoperation, which lasted for about three hoursfrom midnight to three next morning. Noextra fuel was used, but the night’s fishingwas abandoned and it was estimated that themen lost between £20 and £40. - Rewards,£10.

KINGSDOWN , KENT . About 8.40 in themorning of the 3rd of December, 1942, twofishermen were out fishing in a 16-feet motor

56

SERVICES 1943 57

boat. The weather was fair, but hazy, andthe sea smooth. The men saw a Wellingtonbomber, which had been damaged by a nightfighter, skimming the water between Kings-d o w n a n d S t . M a r g a r e t ’ s B a y . T h e n i tstopped and began to sink. The two menwere about to shoot their nets but replacedthem and went at once to the rescue. Theyreached the aeroplane in about ten minutesand rescued the five airmen. Three of themwere wounded. - Rewards, £1 l8s., 2s. forfuel used and £5 for loss of fishing.

RYE , SUSSEX . At midday on the 12th ofDecember, 1942, two men were fishing in RyeBay, in a motor fishing boat, when they saw aSpitfire aeroplane crash and the airman comedown by parachute. A northerly off-shorewind was blowing, with a choppy sea. Theywent at once to the airman, rescued him ands a l v e d h i s d i n g h y . T h e y g a v e h i m t e a ,cigarettes and dry clothes and landed him atRye Harbour, where an ambulance took himto hospital. - Rewards, £1 l8s., £1 for fuelused and £2 for loss of fishing.

CRASTER, NORTHUMBERLAND. About 4.20in the afternoon of the 16th of January, 1943,the small fishing boat the Two Sisters, ofNewbiggin, with only one man on board wasseen off Craster Harbour. Her engine had bro-ken down and the man had rigged a small pieceof canvas on an oar. A freshening southerlywind was blowing, with a slight sea. Six menput out in the 30-feet motor fishing cobleArchbolds and came up with the fishing boatone and three-quarter miles N.N.E. of Crasterand towed her into Craster Harbour. Thisfishing boat had recently been the cause ofseveral life-boat launches. - Rewards, £3, 5s.for use of the boat and 3s. for fuel used.

(See Boulmer and Amble, “Accounts ofServices by Life-boats,” page 14.)

N E W B I G G I N , N O R T H U M B E R L A N D . About12.45 in the afternoon on the 21st of January,1943 , the coas tguard to ld the l i f e -boa tstation that a boat was showing distress sig-na ls two mi les south-eas t of NewbigginPoint, but before the life-boat was launchedanother message came that the coble Johnand Margaret , manned by three men, hadalready gone out. A gale was blowing fromthe west-south-west, but the sea was moder-ate and the weather was fine. The John andMargaret found the Newbiggin coble Robertand Sisters, with her engine broken down.She was in danger of drifting out to sea. TheJohn and Margaret towed her into New-biggin. - Rewards, £2 5s., and 3s. for fuelused.

SC A R B O R O U G H , Y O R K S H I R E . A t 1 .45 inthe afternoon of the 26th of January, 1943,the coastguard telephoned that an R.A.F. aero-plane had come down in the sea about twomiles east of Cayton Bay, which is two milessouth-eas t o f Scarborough. A modera tewesterly wind was blowing, with a smooth sea.As it was dead low water and as most of thelife-boat crew were at sea the honorary secre-tary decided to send fishing cobles, and three,Lily, Florence and Treasure - each with acrew of three - put out at once. A tug alsowent. They searched but found nothing and

returned after two hours. - Rewards, £6 15s.and 10s. to each boat for fuel used.

SCARBOROUGH , YORKSHIRE . At 10.32 onthe night of the 3rd of February, 1943, thecoastguard telephoned that a German aero-plane, a Dornier 217, had crashed at Gris-thorpe, three miles south of Scarborough.Wreckage had been found and it was evidentthat the crew had baled out. The life-boatwas asked to search the Cayton Bay area, butthe cha i rman of the branch sen t ou t themotor cobles Treasure and Constance instead,as they could get away more quickly. Theweather was fine, with a smooth sea. Eightm e n m a n n e d t h e t w o c o b l e s a n d t h e ysearched for about two hours , bu t foundnothing. Four life-boatmen stood by at thelife-boathouse. - Rewards, £15 to the men whomanned the cobles, £2 8s. to the men ashoreand 10s. each to two boats for fuel used.

MARCH MEETING

ROBIN HOOD 'S BAY, YORKSHIRE. At noonon the 6th of September, 1942, the Scar-borough motor fishing coble Florence wasfishing in Robin Hood’s Bay. The weatherwas line, with a light westerly wind and asmooth sea. The coble was manned by twomen. They saw a German aeroplane crashand the pilot bale out. Cutting away theirgear they went at once to the spot, rescuedhim and took him to Scarborough. - Rewards,£5 for loss of fishing and gear and for fuelused.

WALLS, SHETLANDS . On the night of the8th of November, 1942, a R.A.F. Wellingtonbomber crashed into the sea off Vaila, Shet-lands. A moderate west-south-west gale wasblowing , wi th a heavy sea and ra in . AtWalls four men manned a motor boat andp u t o u t , b u t t h e y o n l y f o u n d p i e c e s o fwreckage . The Ai th motor l i fe -boa t wasalso launched, but found nothing. Of thesix airmen on the bomber, four drifted ashore,in the darkness, in their dinghy, one wentdown with the aeroplane and the sixth waswashed ashore dead. - Rewards, £6, and 5s.for fuel used.

(See Aith, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” 1942, page 52.)

F I L E Y , Y O R K S H I R E . A b o u t 5 i n t h eafternoon of the 11th of December, 1942, theb o w m a n o f t h e l i f e - b o a t s a w a H a l i f a xbomber crash into the sea, some three milessouth-east from the Filey coastguard look-out. The weather was fine, with a slight seaand a light westerly wind. The bowman isthe owner of two motor cobles, Jean andBarbara and Matthew and Edward, and hesent them out at once, manned by thirteenmen. After a search in the darkness the Jeanand Barbara found eight airmen in theird inghy. I t had then dr i f ted a mi le f romw h e r e t h e a e r o p l a n e h a d c r a s h e d . S h erescued them and brought them ashore. Theother coble brought in the d inghy. TheFiley motor life-boat was also launched buther services were not needed. The thirteenrescuers would not accept any payment “ for

58 SERVICES 1943

saving men who were f ight ing for the i rcountry.“ - Rewards. Letters of thanks toMessrs . T . Jenkinson and G. Mainpr ize .

(See Filey, “ Accounts of Services by Life-boats, ” 1942, page 58.)

APRIL MEETING

PORTMUCK, Co. ANTRIM. Just after noonon the 19th of October, 1943, a British aero-plane crashed into the sea about six milessouth-east of Muck Island, and the Portmuckcoastguard called out a local motor boat,Bl96 . The sea was smooth wi th a l igh tsouth-west wind. With three men on boardthe motor boat left at one o’clock, but anR.A.F. rescue launch reached the aeroplanefirst, rescued the crew from their dinghy, andtook the aeroplane in tow. After a time therescue launch left the aeroplane and made forLarne with the rescued men. The motor boatthen took the aeroplane in tow and towed herabout 2 1/2 miles. Then a tug came out and themotor boat passed the towing wires to herand made for Larne, where she arrived atf ive in the a f te rnoon . Hal f an hour l a te rthe tug arrived with the aeroplane. - Re-wards, £8, including compensation for loss offishing and fuel used.

NAIRN . About 10.30 in the morning onthe 27th of January, 1943, it was reportedtha t an ae rop lane had c rashed a t sea . I tcould be seen indistinctly, some distance tothe west of Nairn Harbour. Two men putoff in a 10-feet rowing boat - the tide was lowand only a small rowing boat could get out ofharbour. A fresh westerly wind was blowingand the sea was smooth. The men searchedbut found nothing. The airmen reached landin their own rubber dinghy. - Rewards, £1and 2s 6d. for use of boat.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICE ATWEST KIRBY

WEST KIRBY, HOYLAKE, CHESHIRE.Just before half-past twelve in theafternoon of the 6th of February, 1943,two men in a 14-feet boat were seen tobe making from Hilbre for West KirbySailing Club in the River Dee estuaryon the flood tide. A strong westerlywind was blowing, with a very roughsea. The boatman of the sailing clubrealised that she was in danger ofbeing swamped and flung against thesea wall. He rang up the coastguardat Hoylake, who passed on the newsto the Hoylake life-boat station. AsHoylake is 2 1/2 miles away from WestKirby, the coxswain decided that itwould take too much time to attempta rescue with the life-boat, so he and thestation officer of the coastguard wentto West Kirby by car, taking withthem the life-saving apparatus. When

the dinghy came within hailing dis-tance they advised the two men onboard to let go their anchor and waituntil a boat could be launched to theirhelp from the sailing club. This theydid. The coxswain, the coastguardand the boatman of the club launcheda dinghy from the club. To do it inthe heavy breaking seas needed greatskill, activity and determination, andthey took a great risk. They knewthat if they were capsized, or if theylost an oar, they would be carried onto the sea wall themselves and thatthis would mean certain death. Noone could have helped them from thewall, for its top was covered withbarbed wire, as part of the coastdefences against invasion, and only avery strong swimmer could havehoped to swim back to the launchingslipway of the club. The three mensurmounted all their dangers, reachedthe anchored dinghy and rescued thetwo men who, had they not anchoredand waited, would certainly have beenswamped and dashed to death on thesea wall. It was a skilful and verygallant rescue and the more gallantsince the life-boat coxswain was 65years old.

The Institution awarded its bronzemedal for gallantry, with a copy of thevote inscribed on vellum, and £2 toeach of the three men, COXSWAINHERBERT JONES, MR. W. G. WIDDUP,the station officer of coastguard, andMR. BEN ARMITAGE, the boatman ofthe West Kirby Sailing Club. It alsosent a letter of appreciation to POLICECONSTABLE DAVIES, who gave theinformation.

PO R T I S A A C , C O R N W A L L . At 7 in theevening of the 8th of February, 1943, theopen fishing boat Rosalie, of Port Isaac, withonly one man on board, was off Varley Pointmaking for harbour when her engine brokedown. The man dropped anchor, but thecable parted and the boat drifted across PortIsaac Bay. A strong south-south-west windwas blowing, with a slight sea. Five men inthe motor fishing boat Boy Fletch, who hadjust come ashore, went out again, but theRosalie had no means of showing where shewas and the Boy Fletch missed her in thedarkness. She returned to harbour at 8.25;P .M., but twenty minutes later she put outagain and searched without success until10 P . M . Then she had to return owing toincreas ing wind and sea . The Pads towmotor life-boat had also been launched twice,

SERVICES 1943 59

and in the morning she found the Rosalie.She was bottom up at Pentargon Beach, butthe fisherman had got ashore. - Rewards, £5,and 10s. for fuel used.

NEWQUAY, CORNWALL. About 6.45 in theevening of the 7th of March, 1943, the coast-guard reported that two persons had beencaught under the high cliffs, two miles east ofthe harbour. They must be rescued at once,for though the weather was fine and the seamoderate, the flood spring tide was nearly ati t s h ighes t . Rescue f rom the c l i f f top byropes was practically impossible. It must bedone by boat and a motor boat and a smallboat were considered the best means of doingi t . The l i fe -boa t ’s coxswain and motor -mechanic put off with a fisherman in his 26-feet motor boat Lady Gwen, taking a punt intow. After some difficulties and at some riskthey rescued the two persons, an army lieu-tenant and a sergeant of the W.A.A.F . -Rewards, £5 12s. 6d., and 1s. for fuel used.

MAY MEETING

G O U R O C K , R E N F R E W S H I R E . Jus t beforemidnight on the 4th of September, 1942, thenaval tug Romsey, with a crew of 20, draggedher anchor off Gourock pier, and the outward-bound steamer Lairdsburn ran her down.She sank in a few minutes. A strong south-west wind was blowing, with a very roughsea and heavy squalls of rain. The customslaunch Courier was alongside the S.S. Viceroyof India and heard cries for help. Mr. F.Stewart, the senior customs officer, who wason the Viceroy of India, at once went onboard his launch and made for the cries. Hehad with him his coxswain and the assistantcustoms officer. They found three men on asmall raft and rescued them, but the propellerof the i r launch was fouled by a p iece ofclothing. She could not go astern, and it wasonly with great difficulty that she got back tothe Viceroy of India, and put the rescued menon board. Her crew then tried to clear thepropeller. They were only partly able to doit, but they returned to the search, and theport medical officer went with them. Theyfound and rescued a fourth man, and con-tinued their search for others until three inthe morning. One of the four men rescueddied later.

The collision had also been heard by thepilot cutter Cejoie, manned by two men and aboy, and the pilot cutter Kimpok, manned bya man and a boy, which were lying off Gourockpier. They put out and each picked up oneman. Af ter landing these men they con-tinued the search until three in the morning.

It was a gallant rescue in very bad weatherand the Institution awarded its thanks onvellum to CUSTOMS OFFICER F. STEWART ,COXSWAIN HOCKEY, of the Courier, COXSWAINCLAUDE BROWN, of the Cejoie and COXSWAINFRANK BOTT, of the Kimpock.

It also awarded £1 10s. to each of the threecoxswains and to each of the other four menand boys who took part in the search exceptthe port medical officer. - Total rewards, £1010s.

The owners, The Alexandra Towing Co.Ltd., made the same rewards of money, andalso made a gift to the funds of the Institution.

KEISS, CAITHNESS-SHIRE. About 11.38 inthe morning of the 3rd of April, 1943, aBr i t i sh Hampden bomber c rashed a t theent rance to Keiss harbour . A l ight wes t -south-west wind was blowing and the sea wassmooth. Two men had just left their 23-feetm o t o r f i s h i n g b o a t . T h e y r u s h e d b a c k ,started the engine and, joined by four others,went to the scene. They found the four menof the aircraft already in their dinghy, tookthem on board the motor boat and towed inthe dinghy. - Rewards, £3.

SCARBOROUGH, YORKSHIRE. On the even-ing of the 3rd of April, 1943, the auxiliarycutter Ziska, employed by the R.A.F., wasbe ing towed southward by a t rawler . Atabout 6 o’clock the trawler slipped her, buther engine failed and she drifted northwardswith the ebbing tide. The weather was fine,with a light wind and a moderate swell. At8.0 in the evening the coastguard asked thelife-boat station for help in getting her intoharbour before dark. It was decided to sendout the motor coble Constance, manned bythe life-boat coxswain, motor mechanic andtwo other men. She put out at 8.45 and tookthe Ziska in tow. Twice the tow-rope broke,but she brought her safely in at ten o’clock.- Rewards, £5, with 10s. for fuel used and £2for rope lost.

S T . I V E S , C O R N W A L L . A t 6 . 1 5 o n t h eevening of the 5th of April, 1943, a Venturaaeroplane was seen circling low, about 1,000yards of f Basse t t s Cove , near Por t rea th ,between fishing vessels and the shore. Shewent straight into the sea and disappeared inless than a minute. The weather was finewith a light north-west wind and a slight sea.Two motor fishing boats, the Nellie and theRosebud, each with a crew of two, racedto the spot, and within eight minutes theRosebud had rescued three airmen and theNellie one. On the Rosebud artificial respi-ration was given to one of the rescued men,while the boats were making for Portreath.Here the airmen were at once sent to hospital.- Rewards, £2, and 6s. 3d. for fuel used.

CEMAES , ANGLESEY . About 5.50 in theevening of the 15th of April, 1943, the coast-guard saw an aeroplane crash about threemiles north-by-east from Cemaes coastguardstation. A motor launch was sent out by thenaval authorities, and an auxiliary coast-guard at Cemaes was told of the crash. Heenlisted the help of three other men and theyput off in a rowing boat. They could see thetail of the aeroplane clear of the water. Theyfound no one on board her and made towardsa rubber dinghy which they could see aboutone and a half miles to the eastward. Themotor launch was making for it, and as it wasobvious that she would reach the dinghy firstthe rowing boat put back to Cemaes. Theaeroplane sank at 6.45 P.M. - Rewards to thefour men who manned the rowing boat, £2 10s.

60 SERVICES 1943

BRIDLINGTON , YORKSHIRE . Early in themorning of the 10th of May, 1943, the motorfishing coble Rosamund, with a crew of three,put out to her crab pots about twelve milessouth of Bridlington. By noon a gale wasblowing from the south, causing a dangeroussea at the entrance to the harbour, and it wasdecided to send out the motor fishing vesselLa Mariole. She left at about one o’clock. TheRosamund had been shipping heavy seas, andwhen La Mariole found her she put a man onboard her to help in pumping out the water.She then escorted her back to the harbourentrance, and, after pouring oil on to the sea,brought her safely in. - Rewards, £3 2s. 6d.,and 3s. for fuel used.

JUNE MEETING

W H I T B Y , Y O R K S H I R E . A t 1 . 2 5 i n t h emorning of the 22nd of May, 1943, the coast-guard telephoned to the life-boat station thata vessel was ashore at Kettleness. A lightnortherly wind was blowing, the weather wasfine and the sea was smooth. As the tide wastoo low for the motor life-boat to be launched,the coastguard asked that a coble should besent out. The coxswain asked if the Runs-wick life-boat could not go, and the coast-guard said that there also, owing to the verylow tide, there might be difficulties in laun-ching . At two in the morning CoxswainMurfield and three other men put off in themotor fishing coble Margaret. They arrivedat Kettleness to find that the Runswick life-boat was already alongside the vessel, whichwas the steam trawler Cynthia, of Grimsby,and that she had run out a kedge anchor forh e r . T h e c o b l e a r r i v e d b a c k a t 5 . 3 0 . -Rewards, £5, and 10s. for fuel used. (SeeRunswick, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 27.)

JULY MEETING

FE R R Y S I D E , C A R M A R T H E N S H I R E . About7.30 in the morning of the 26th of April, 1943,a dinghy belonging to the R.A.F. RescueService (Maintenance and Repair) Unit, withseven men on board, capsized in deep waterbetween 20 and 30 yards from the shore. Amoderately strong off-shore wind was blowing,the sea was moderate, and there was a fog.Coxswain David Arthur of the Ferryside life-boat, and an airman, whom he did not know,put off in a 10-feet boat, which was leaking,and found the seven men struggling in thew a t e r . T h e y r e s c u e d s i x o f t h e m . T h eo t h e r o n e s w a m a s h o r e . T h e c o x s w a i nreceived a letter of thanks from the R.A.F.-Reward to coxswain, 10s.

SALTCOATS, AYRSHIRE. About 2.30 in themorning of the 2nd of May, 1943, a Whitleybombing aeroplane, with engines not workingp r o p e r l y , p a s s e d o v e r S a l t c o a t s . A f e wminutes later she crashed into the sea andexploded. The sea was calm and the surfacetook fire over a large area. A voice could beheard calling for help, and the police knockedup a man, Mr. Shedden. He put out in asmall motor boat and at some risk rescuedone a i rman, the on ly surv ivor . The Ard-

rossan pilot launch also put out and pickedup a body. Two naval vessels also went tothe scene. - Rewards, £1.

FARR , SUTHERLAND . About 10.20 in themorning of the 21st of May, 1943, the RoyalObserver Corps, Bettyhill, reported throughthe Wick police and the coastguard, that araft with two men on it was half a mile fromthe shore between Bettyhill and Farr Point.There was a slight sea and some fog.

The Thurso life-boat was launched andthree small boats manned by twelve men putout from Skerray, Armadale and Kirtomy,but the “ raft ” was found to be a tree trunkand the “ two men ” projecting branches.-Rewards, £6 15s., with 6s. each to two boatsfor fuel used. (See Thurso, “Accounts ofServices by Life-boats,” page 28.)

PA I G N T O N , D E V O N . About 6 .30 in themorn ing of the 22nd of May, 1943 , twofishermen were on their way to haul crab potsin Teignmouth Bay, when they saw a splashin the sea, followed by a glimpse of a para-chute. A light north-west wind was blowing,with a slight swell. The men took a compassbearing and made for the spot. Twenty-fireminutes later they picked up an airman. Ontheir way back to Teignmouth, six milesaway, they were met by an R.A.F. rescuelaunch , which took the a i rman aboard . -Rewards, £2, and 2s. for fuel used.

BIRSAY, ORKNEYS. At 8.30 on the night ofthe 6th of June, 1943, the honorary secretaryof the Stromness life-boat station received atelephone message that a soldier had slippedover the rocks into the sea near MarwickHead. A modera te south-eas t wind wasblowing, with a moderate sea. As the Strom-ness life-boat was having her annual overhauland the Longhope life-boat was too far away,the honorary secretary telephoned to Birsay,and a sailing boat with a crew of four wasl a u n c h e d f r o m t h e r e . M r . R a e , o f t h eStromness life-boat committee, with his wife,a qualified nurse, and the life-boat coxswain,went by car to the scene of the accident.Unfortunately the soldier had been drownedbefore the boat arrived. - Rewards, £2 10s.to the crew of the boat and 5s. to the cox-swain.

WESTON-SUPER-MARE, SOMERSET. About3 in the afternoon of the 12th of June, 1943, asailing boat capsized in broken water inWeston Bay, in a fresh westerly wind. Twoyoung men and two young women were in theboat, and they were all thrown into the sea.The two women and one man clung to the keel,but the other man was drowned. The acci-dent was seen by the life-boat coxswain,second-coxswain and mechanic, who werereturning to harbour with their nets in amotor boat. They rescued the three people,and gave first aid and artificial respiration toone of the women. - Rewards, £1 10s.

ST. ANDREWS, FIFESHIRE. On the morn-ing of the 13th of June, 1943, two men in amotor boat going from St. Andrews to Crail,with a launch in tow, passed a dinghy with a

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man in it. A freshening westerly wind wasblowing , wi th a choppy sea . La ter theywere returning from Crail to St. Andrews,with two visitors on board as passengers,when they again saw the dinghy. This timeit was empty. They looked round and sawa man’s head above water, picked him up,and found him to be a Polish soldier, verymuch exhaus ted . One of the two v is i torswas a doc tor and he rev ived the so ld ie r .Meanwhile the owner of the dinghy had seenit in the bay, apparently out of control, andhad gone after it in a sailing boat. Withboth boats to manage, he got into difficulties,and the motor boat took them both in towand brought them into St. Andrews harbour.The Polish soldier was landed and sent tohospital. - Rewards, £1, and 3s. for fuelused.

PO R T S O Y , B A N F F S H I R E . A t 4 .28 in thea f t e r n o o n o f t h e 1 4 t h o f J u n e , 1 9 4 3 , aR.A.F. fighter aeroplane was seen to crashinto the sea about 2 1/2 miles from the look-outat Portsoy East Head. A light north-westwind was blowing, but the sea was smooth.Three small motor fishing boats left harbourto the rescue as soon as they beard the crash.They were the Look and See, with a crew ofthree, the Mint, with a crew of three and theSweet Promise, with one man on board. Theysearched but found noth ing except someequipment of the aeroplane. - Rewards, £310s. and 10s. for fuel used.

HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY. At about 5.15 inthe afternoon of the 19th of June, 1943, thecoas tguard saw a boy s tanding on whatappeared to be a door drifting off shore nearthe coastguard station. A strong southerlywind was blowing with a choppy sea. Beforehe could send help a pilot and his sister, agedfifteen, who had seen the boy’s plight beforehe came in view of the coastguard lookout,put out in a small rowing boat and rescuedthe boy. - Rewards, letters of thanks to Mr.William Jones and Miss Glenis Jones.

SEPTEMBER MEETING

CROY , DUNURE, AYRSHIRE . While work-ing on Croy shore about 12.30 in the after-noon of the 20th August, 1942, two men sawan aeroplane crash into the sea about half amile from the shore. The weather was fineand the sea calm. The pilot got clear of hismachine and was seen swimming in thewate r . The two men pu t ou t in a rowingboat, accompanied by a visitor who was adoctor, and saved the airman. - Rewards, £15s.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICE ATPORTHLEVEN

PORTHLEVEN, CORNWALL. On themorning of the 23rd of March, 1943,heavy seas were breaking on thebeach, and an army sergeant, who hadgone in to bathe, was seen to be in

difficulties. An officer, LieutenantKenyon, went in to his help. On-lookers saw that he too was in diffi-culties and called out Mr. T. HendyMatthews, the harbour pilot , wholived close by. It was then 7.30. Mr.Matthews at once took charge. He gotout a life-buoy and life-line and direc-ted how they should be used if themen were washed ashore anywherewithin reach. With the extraordinaryrun and crash of the breakers it wasimpossible to do more on the spot, andMr. Matthews then went to the har-bour where two men, Mr. W. H.Williams and Mr. J. Williams, offeredtheir help in an attempt at rescue byboat. No rowing boat could havelived in the seas and it was decided touse the 18-feet motor pilot boat. Butheavy baulks had been put across theinner harbour the evening before to pro-tect the shipping in it from attack. Tolift them would take three-quarters ofan hour and to save time it was decidedto hoist the pilot boat over them. Mr.Matthews and his helpers improvisedslings of rope and chain and with theseand the man-power crane they hoistedthe boat and slid her down into a heavyrun of sea, which was dashing againstthe wall. Two of her three oars werebroken and they were left dependententirely on the engine. Fortunatelyit was running perfectly. They nowhad the difficulty of steering the boatdown the middle of the outer harbourthrough the breaking seas. The greatdifficulty was that there is a bend inthe harbour, and at the entrance aheavy sea was running across i t .There the boat was in great danger ofbeing swamped, but they brought hersafely through it to the smooth seabeyond the breakers. They turnedalong the shore. The sergeant wasalready dead, killed, it was thought,by the tremendous force of the seas,but Lieutenant Kenyon was s t i l lswimming, though very feebly. Theyturned shorewards again towards him.They had now to watch very carefullyto keep the boat clear of the brokenwater and Mr. Matthews swung herround and moved her slowly sternfirst. When they were near enough,they flung a rope to him, but heseemed not to notice it. They tried

62 SERVICES 1943

again and this time it struck his chest.He grasped it, but was too exhaustedto do more. Mr. Matthews continuedto back the boat slowly towards himuntil they were near enough to grasphim. Fortunately the sea on whichthey were riding was smooth, and theywere able, without mishap, but withgreat difficulty, to lift him into theboat. They were only just in time tosave him. Returning, they had thesame danger with the breaking seas atthe entrance to the harbour, but theycame safely through them. The wholerescue - so promptly had they carriedit out - had taken, from the momentwhen they started to get the boatready, only 35 minutes. The threerescuers were agreed that it was theworst sea that a Porthleven boat ofthat size had ever attempted.

ARBROATH, ANGUS. At 12.3 in the after-noon of the 17th of July, 1943, the coastguardtelephoned to the life-boat station that theBell Rock had reported that a Walrus aero-plane had crashed into the sea five milesnorth-west of the Bell Rock at 10.30 thatmorning. Four minutes later it was reportedthat a fishing boat which was at sea hadrescued two men. She was the Girl Mary, ofArbroath, with a crew of three. The remaininga i rman was los t . The rescued men werelanded over to a Fleet Air Arm rescue boat.- Rewards, £1 10s.

The Institution awarded its bronzemedal for gallantry to Mr. T. H.MATTHEWS, the harbour pilot, and toeach of the other two men, MR. W. H.WILLIAMS and MR. J. WILLIAMS, theInstitution’s thanks inscribed on vel-lum. To each of the three men theInstitution also awarded £2. Lieu-t e n a n t K e n y o n , f o r h i s g a l l a n tattempt to rescue the sergeant, wasawarded a medal and £10 by theCarnegie Hero Fund.

SCRATBY , NORFOLK . About 8.50 on thenight of the 26th of June, 1943, the pilot ofan American Thunderbolt aeroplane baledout and came down in the sea about one mileeast-north-east from Scratby. The owner ofa boat and another man, who were nearly twomiles away in the country, saw the airmancoming down. They cycled as quickly aspossible to the boat, to find other men alreadytaking her down to the water. A fresh north-eas t wind was b lowing and the sea wasbreaking heavily on the beach. Three menmanned the boat - two fishermen and a soldier.She was a 14-feet rowing boat and in gettingoff they shipped a good deal of water. Theyrescued the airman and handed him over toa rescue launch. Coming ashore, like pullingout, was difficult, and not without risk. Twoof the men damaged their best boots and theowner of the boat lost two oars, three lines.a rope and other gear. - Rewards, £4 10s..with £5 for loss of gear, 10s. for use of boatand 10s. for damaged boots. The Caister life.boat also put out, but was not needed.

(See Caister, ” Accounts of Services by Life.boats,” page 30.)

KEISS , CAITHNESS-SHIRE . At 1.34 in themorning of the 17th of July, 1943, the coast.guard reported a steam trawler ashore about

O V E R S T R A N D , N O R F O L K . About th reeo’clock in the afternoon of the 26th of July,1943, an American Fortress bombing aero-plane landed in the sea about 500 yards offOverstrand beach. There was a light south-east wind and the sea was smooth. Mr JW. Betts, a young man, discharged from thearmy on account of ill-health, was engaged inlaying fishing lines between a quarter to halfa mile way. He cut away his gear and rowedwith all speed to the rescue. He found eightof the aircraft’s crew of ten in two largerubber boats, another was struggling in thewater and another alone in a smaller rubberboat. Betts succeeded, not without risk, inrescuing the man in the water, and then tookon board the man from the smaller rubberboat, which almost immediately sank. Withthese two men on board and with one of thelarge rubber boats containing four men in tow,he rowed to the beach. Meanwhile anotherfisherman, Mr. Dick Davies, the only manashore at the time, with three men from theSeaforth Highlanders, stationed at Over-strand, launched his own dinghy and rowed

a mile south of Keiss Harbour, making dis-tress signals by siren. She was the Serapion,of Grimsby, bound for the Faroe fishinggrounds. The weather was calm but foggy.A motor boat, manned by three auxiliarycoastguardmen, put out and brought two ofthe trawler’s crew ashore. Later, these twomen were taken back to the trawler and themotor boat stood by until another trawlera r r ived , r e tu rn ing ashore a t 8 .50 . Thestranded trawler was refloated the followingday. - Rewards, £3, and 10s. for fuel used.

PORT ST . MARY , ISLE OF MAN. About7.30 in the morning of the 21st of July, 1943,an aeroplane came down in the sea two milessouth-east of Scarlet Point, some five or sixmiles from Port St. Mary and a mile fromLangness Lighthouse. The weather was fine,with a light easterly wind and a calm sea.The life-boat crew were assembled, but as itwas realised that with shortage of help and avery low ebb tide it would take some time toget the life-boat away the honorary secretarysent off the motor boat Penelope with a crewof four. Meanwhile, two of the keepers atthe Langness Lighthouse had put out in arowing boat and rescued two airmen whowere in their rubber dinghy. They handedthem over to an Air Sea Rescue launch,which arrived shortly afterwards. The Pen-elope arrived just after the rescue launch.-Rewards, £3 15s., and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

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out. The stopper had been taken out of thedinghy to drain her, and there was no timeto replace it before launching. The watercame in fast, and the three soldiers were busybaling, one of them holding his hand over thehole all the time. The dinghy took on boardone of the four airmen from the second of thetwo rubber boats, took the boat in tow, withthe other three men in her and returned tothe shore, the water still coming in and thesoldiers baling. The gear, which Mr. Bettshad cut away, was recovered. - Rewards, £2and £2 10s.

SHERINGHAM , NORFOLK . About 3.40 inthe afternoon of the 26th of July, 1943, anA m e r i c a n F o r t r e s s b o m b i n g a e r o p l a n ecrashed into the sea about two miles north-by-east of Sheringham. The sea was calm, butthe For t ress sank in seven minutes . Thelife-boat crew were assembled, but mean-while six men had got away in a motor fishingboat . They found the whole c rew of tenAmer ican a i rmen, some in the i r rubberdinghy, others clinging to it, and rescuedthem. On their way back they met the life-boat. - Rewards, £3 15s. ; and 2s. 3d. for fuelused. (See Sheringham, “Accounts of Ser-vices by Life-boats,” page 32.)

P O R T H D I N L L A E N , C A E R N A R V O N S H I R E .About nine on the night of the 30th of July,1943, the life-boat head launcher was out ina rowing boat, accompanied by four visitorson a fishing trip. The weather was fine andthe sea smooth. When about half a mile outi n P o r t h d i n l l a e n B a y h e s a w t w o b o y sswimming between 400 and 500 yards fartherout. They were swimming hard, but werebeing carried out by the current. He rescuedthem just in time, for they were nearly ex-hausted. - Rewards, 12s. 6d.

N E W Q U A Y , C O R N W A L L . Abou t 12 .30 inthe afternoon of the 9th of August, 1943, itwas learned from Perranporth, through thecoastguard, that a Hawker Handley targettowing aeroplane had crashed into the sea offCar te rs Rock , nor th of Penha le Poin t . Al igh t nor ther ly wind was b lowing and amoderately heavy sea running. The life-boatand two motor boats put out. One of thesewas manned by the late honorary secretary,Mr. H. P. Thomas, the other by two fisher-men. These men acted promptly and madea thorough search, found no one, and returnedt o h a r b o u r j u s t b e f o r e t h r e e o ’ c l o c k . -Rewards, Letter of Thanks to Mr. Thomas and£1 5s. to the other two men. (See Newquay,Cornwall, " Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 33).

SELSEY , Sussex. At 6.30 in the eveningof the 9th of August, 1943, the coastguardtelephoned the life-boat coxswain that a boyhad telephoned that his brother was on anisland in Pagham Harbour, where he hadbeen bathing, and could not get ashore owingto the rising tide. A light west wind wasblowing, with a slight sea. The coxswainarranged for two men to put off in a motorfishing boat and himself cycled to the shoreopposite the island, a distance of two miles.

The men found that the boy had cramp andbrought him ashore. - Rewards, £1 5s. and7s. 6d. to the coxswain, with 2s. 6d. for fuelused.

N E W B R I G H T O N , C H E S H I R E . A t 2 .15 inthe afternoon of the 20th of August, 1943, thepolice reported that a woman was drowningoff Harrison Drive and asked that a boat besent. A strong south-west wind was blowing,with a moderate sea. The coxswain, second-coxswain and motor mechanic pu t ou t a tonce in the motor dinghy. They picked upthe woman, who was unconscious and floatingup wi th the t ide . They appl ied a r t i f i c ia lrespiration and this was continued on thelanding stage until the ambulance arrived,but no sign of life was seen. Whilst theywere on the stage another police message camethat a policeman who had jumped in aftert h e w o m a n h a d d i s a p p e a r e d . W i t h a nadditional man on board they put out again,but found nothing. - Rewards, £2 5S., and £1for damage to clothing.

SC A R B O R O U G H , Y O R K S H I R E . A t 6 .40 inthe evening of the 22nd of August, 1943, thecoastguard telephoned the life-boat coxswainasking him to search for an object floating outto sea a mile from Cayton Bay. The sea wassmooth with a light north-west wind. Fourmen put out in a motor coble, found a treetrunk, two miles east-north-east of Yon’sNab, and brought it into harbour. It lookedvery much like a man on a float. - Rewards,£2 10s. and 8s. 6d. for fuel used.

ILFRACOMBE, DEVON. About noon on the26th of August, 1943, the honorary secretaryof the life-boat station, who was at the har-bour, received a message, originating from anambulance driver, that someone had fallenfrom the cliffs at Hillsborough and that aboat was needed to help from below the cliff.The weather was moderate. The honorarysecretary sent out two men in a rowing boat.On arrival they found that it was a boy ofabout seventeen, who had fallen over thec l i f f s , and tha t he was dead . They tookon board the body and a po l iceman, andb r o u g h t t h e m t o I l f r a c o m b e H a r b o u r . -Rewards, £1.

OCTOBER MEETING

NEWHAVEN , SUSSEX . Four men were outfishing in the motor fishing boat Little OldLady on the 14th of July, 1943, and at about8.30 in the morning saw a parachute from aThunderbolt aeroplane floating down abouttwo miles south of Peacehaven. They madeat once for it but it hit the water before theycould reach it. An airman in a “ Mae West ”life-belt was attached to the parachute. The seawas smooth but a fair westerly breeze was caus-ing the parachute to drag him roughly along.He was badly injured. The men lifted himaboard, gave him first-aid treatment and setcourse for Newhaven. - Rewards, £2 10s.,with £1 8s. for loss of time, £1 10s. forfuel used and £1 10s. for a blanket and first-aid kit.

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s m o o t h . F i v e m e n p r o m p t l y m a n n e d amotor boat and put out from the harbour.They picked up the airman, but he was dead.The Margate life-boat was also launched, butreached the scene after the body had beenpicked up. - Rewards, £3 2s. 6d. and 2s. forfuel used. (See Margate, “Accounts ofServices by Life-boats,” page 40.)

NEWTON-BY-THE-SEA, NORTHUMBERLAND.At 9.35 in the morning of the 8th Septem-ber, 1943, a British Hurricane aeroplanecrashed into the sea, two miles east of thecoastguard look-out at Embleton Bay. Theweather was fine and the sea smooth. Thecoastguard called out the motor boat RoyalDiadem, and she left with a crew of three.They found an airman floating in a life-jacketand rescued him. There is no doubt that hislife was saved by their promptness, for he wassuffering from shock when they rescued him.The Boulmer life-boat arrived after the rescueand picked up a rubber dinghy and somewreckage. - Rewards, £1 17s. 6d. and 2s. 6d.for fuel used. (See Boulmer, “Accounts ofServices by Life-boats,” page 38.)

T R E V O R , C A E R N A R V O N S H I R E . About 5in the afternoon of the 9th of September,1943, an Anson aeroplane was seen to crashinto the sea fifty yards from the shore offTrwyn-Ta1 Point, Trevor. The weather wasfair, with a light south-east wind and a slightsea . A p i lo t and a member of the RoyalObserver Corps at once put out in a rowingboat . Af te r a hard pu l l they reached theaeroplane and rescued three men who wereo n t h e w i n g s . T h e s e t h e y l a n d e d . T h e ythen returned to the aeroplane as three othermen were trapped inside. They recoveredtwo bodies and put them on board a rescuelaunch, but the third body they could notreach. They had incurred some risk and hadbeen engaged for about 3 1/2 hours, and the pilotin his determined efforts to save the men inthe aeroplane had damaged, beyond repair,his suit and boots. - Rewards, £2 and £9 5s.for damaged su i t and boots . (See Por th-dinllaen, Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 40.)

HOPE COVE:, DEVON. About 5.30 in theafternoon on the 16th of September, 1943, anAmerican Fortress aeroplane crashed into thesea four miles north-west of Bolt Tail and hercrew of ten took to their dinghy. The seawas rough, with a moderate south-west windblowing . Ex-coxswain I saac Jarv is , nowaged 78 years, and his grandson, aged 20,were returning from fishing in their motorboat. They rescued the ten airmen at somerisk, for their boat was overloaded, and one ofthe men was badly injured. The Salcombelife-boat was launched, but was recalled. Asilver cup was presented by the crew of theaeroplane to their rescuers. - Rewards, £4and 3s. for fuel used. (See Salcombe, “Ac-counts of Services by Life-boats,” page 40.)

T ENBY , PEMBROKESHIRE . On the 16th ofSeptember, 1943, four boys in an open boatwere blown away to sea by a strong south-west wind. The sea was rough. A 29-feetmotor fishing boat was at anchor in the roads,and when her crew of two saw the boys in

danger they put out. They did not reach andrescue the boys until they were two miles outand their boat half full of water. - Rewards,15s. and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

NEWBIGGIN, NORTHUMBERLAND . At 2.30in the afternoon of the 20th of September,1943, the fishing boat Two Sisters, which waswithout her engine, as it was under repair,was seen drifting out to sea. She had a crewof four on board. They had taken the boatout under oars, but were unable to regain theharbour in a rough sea, with a strong, squally,westerly wind blowing and an ebbing tide.The motor fishing boat Sylvia put out with acrew of five, picked up the drifting boat threequarters of a mile east-by-south of NewbigginPoint, took the four men on board and towedthe Two Sisters to the shore. - Rewards, £210s. and 4s. 6d. for fuel used.

SO U T H W O L D , S U F F O L K . A t 1 .25 in theafternoon of the 4th of October, 1943, a para-chute was seen coming down from a FlyingFortress aeroplane, which was in difficulties.Her crew had baled out over land ; the pilothad taken her over the sea and then hadbaled out himself. A strong south-west windwas blowing, with a very choppy sea. Twom e n p u t o u t i n t h e 1 9 - f e e t m o t o r b o a tExcelsior, launching her at some risk of beingswamped in the heavy surf. One mile fromthe shore north-east of Southwold they foundthe pilot, with his parachute harness entang-led round his legs, and rescued him. He wasin a very d is t ressed condi t ion . A secondmotor boat the 16-feet Golden Dawn also putout with a crew of four to help in the search.- Rewards, £3 15s. and 5s. for fuel used.

WATCHET, SOMERSET. At 5.10 in the after-noon of the 8th of October, 1943, the honorarysecretary of the life-boat station was asked bythe R.A.F. camp to send a boat to the help oftwo men whose aeroplane had come down inthe sea about a mile and a half north by eastof Watchet. A light south-east breeze wasblowing, with a smooth sea. He went to thelife-boat station and saw a boat already on theway. She was a rowing boat manned by acrew of five, the life-boat head launcher, amember of the life-boat crew and three menfrom the Bideford ketch Ade. With the ebbtide the boat reached the scene in a quarterof an hour, but could find no survivors. Themen had a hard pull back against the ebb tide.- Rewards, £3 2s. 6d. (See Minehead, “Ac-counts of Services by Life-boats,” page 43.)

NOVEMBER MEETING

BEXHILL , and PEVENSEY , SUSSEX . About12.45 in the afternoon of the 6th of Septem-ber, 1943, a Fortress aeroplane crashed in thesea about half a mile off Bexhill and twoothers came down in Pevensey Bay. Theweather was fine, with a moderate south-westwind, but the rollers were too big for smallboats. The crew of ten of the Fortress downoff Bexhill got away in their dinghies, fivemen in one, and five men in the water clingingto the other dinghy. Two men put off in al5-feet rowing boat and picked up the fivemen clinging to the one dinghy. The other

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f ive a i rmen paddled ashore in the o ther .Two other 15-feet rowing boats had also putout, manned by soldiers from 301 Battery,Royal Artillery. The first, manned by twomen, was at once washed ashore. The other,with a crew of three, broke both oars anddr i f ted ashore . When the two For t ressescame down in Pevensey Bay the 28-fee tmotor fishing boat Eva put out with a crewof four . They rescued s ix a i rmen f rom adinghy, another who was hanging to it, andthree from the wings of the aeroplane. Theyalso brought in the dinghy. This accountedfor the whole crew of one aeroplane. To theother of these two aeroplanes the 20-feetmotor f i sh ing boat N.N .60 , put ou t . Shehad a crew of two and with them went Assis-tant Chief-Constable A. G. Cargill . Theyrescued eight airmen, the assistant chief-cons table jumping on to the wing of theFortress and helping an injured man from itinto a dinghy which the N.N.60 towed ashore.Another 20-feet motor fishing boat put outwith a crew of two and three soldiers, andrescued two airmen, thus accounting for thewhole c rew of th i s , the th i rd aeroplane .Among the men who took par t in theserescues besides the assistant chief-constableand the soldiers were an auxiliary coastguardand a ca fe p ropr ie to r . The Has t ings andEastbourne life-boats were out. They res-cued no lives but Hastings salved some gear.- Rewards, £15, with £3 for damaged winchwire and 7s. 6d. for fuel used, Letters ofThanks to Assistant Chief-Constable A. G. Car-gill, the Bexhill and Pevensey Police and 301Battery, Royal Artillery, through the Com-manding Officer. One of the men returnedhis reward as a donation to the Institution.(See Hastings and Eastbourne, “Accounts ofServices by Life-boats,” page 37.)

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICE ATBARROW

B A R R O W , LA N C A S H I R E . On theafternoon of the 27th of September,1943, a small fishing boat, the Seabird,took shelter off Pie1 Island for thenight from a rising wind and sea. Bythe time it was dark almost a gale wasblowing from the west-south-west anda heavy sea was coming in as the floodtide made. The Seabird dragged heranchor and drifted into mid-channel.The seas were carrying her towards theshore. Soon after ten o’clock sheflashed signals of distress. They wereseen by James Orr Moore, the motormechanic of the Barrow life-boat. Hesaw that the Seabird was in greatdanger, and that there was not time toman the life-boat, so he called his sonFrank, the assistant motor mechanic,and with the help of two other menthey tried to launch a 12-feet puntwhich was lying on the life-boat slip-

way. At the first attempt the punthalf-filled with water, and they had tohaul her up again and bale her out.At the second attempt James Moore,at great risk to himself, jumped intothe punt as she took the water, andthen, with an oar, put her round to thelee side of the slipway where his sonjoined him. They then rowed outin the pitch darkness into the gale.It was blowing harder than ever. Aheavy sea was running. It was rainingheavily. In that sea, in a punt, theyran great risk of being swamped orcapsized, but they rowed on until theyfound the Seabird which was now about400 yards from the shore. There weretwo men on board her, and it was onlywith great difficulty that the twoMoores got them into the punt. Theybrought them ashore. Soon after-wards the Seabird herself came ashore,was flung against the concrete piles ofthe slipway and quickly sank. At thepoint where she struck, the water wasdeep and broken, and it would have beenimpossible for the men, had they stillbeen on board, to get on to the slipwayexcept by climbing up the mast. Infact they would almost certainly havebeen battered to death as soon as theship struck.

It was a very prompt and gallantrescue and the Institution awarded toJAMES ORR MOORE and to FRANKMOORE bronze medals for gallantry,with copies of the vote inscribed onvellum and £2 each.

H E R N E B A Y , K E N T . A b o u t 4 i n t h eafternoon of the 10th of October, 1943, boysheard a call for help from the sea. This theyreported, and through the police and thecontrol centre the information reached Mr.Press ley , a f i sherman. The weather wasvery foggy, with a slight sea and an easterlywind. He put out in his motor boat at 4.18and found the fishing boats Stanley and Selmastranded on a sandbank opposite the Mira-mar Hotel, Beltinge. The men in the boatshad lost all sense of direction in the fog andMr. Pressley towed their boats to Herne Bay.- Rewards, £1 and 5s. for fuel used.

WICKLOW. About midday on the 12th ofOctober, 1943, the station master at New-castle, five miles from Wicklow, reported arowing fishing boat in difficulties and indanger of being blown out to sea. A strongsouth-west wind was blowing, with a choppysea. The Wicklow life-boat was off-service,and six Wicklow men put out in a 30-feetmotor boat. They found the boat, with a

SERVICES 1943 67

crew of four, to the north of Wicklow andtowed her into harbour. The Dun Laoghairelife-boat also put out, but her services were notneeded. - Rewards £6, with 5s. for a man onshore and 7s. 6d. for fuel used. (See DunLaoghaire, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 43.)

PORTSOY , BANFFSHIRE . On the night ofthe 12th of October, 1943, a Sunderlandflying boat was reported missing betweenBanff and Kinloss. The sea was calm, with alight southerly wind. A rescue launch putout from Buckie at 10.34. The Buckie life-boa t was no t ca l l ed ou t . About 8 .30 thefollowing morning the small fishing boatWhite Wings, with a crew of two, one a manof eighty-four, picked up the dead bodies offive airmen about 200 yards north of Portsoyharbour. This was seen by the coastguard,who sent out the boat Nellie, but she foundnothing. Shortly after noon a third boat -the Ivy - brought in one more body, whichshe had picked up at 11.30 that morning, offRedhythe. - Rewards, £8 and 4s. for fuelused.

NEW QUAY, CARDIGANSHIRE. At 12.45 inthe afternoon of the 18th of October, 1943, twomen were ou t sa i l ing in the smal l boa t

Atlanta. The sea was rough, with a strong,squally south-south-east breeze. In a squallthe boat capsized, throwing the two men intothe water. The coastguard called out therowing boat Betty and, manned by three men,members of the crew of the fishery patrol boatAlpha, she found the two men fifty yardseast of New Quay Pier hanging on to theirboat, rescued them and took their boat in tow.- Rewards, £3.

DECEMBER MEETINGH A R T L E P O O L , D U R H A M . A t abou t 3 in

the afternoon of the 19th of September, 1943,the 18-ton motor fishing boat Alexandra,with a crew of five, was fishing some 10 mileseast-north-east of Heugh Light in HartlepoolBay, when the men saw an object one and ahalf miles away. They slipped their gearand made for it to find that it was a dinghywith three men of the Royal Canadian AirForce in it. They said that they had crasheda s h o r t t i m e b e f o r e a n d t h a t a f o u r t hman was in the water . The f i sh ing boa tsearched and found him, but he was alreadydead from head injuries The rescuers werethanked by the R.A.F. station to which theaeroplane belonged. - Rewards, £5 and £1 forexpenses.

Services by Auxiliary Rescue-boats


I N I S H B O F I N , C O . G A L W A Y . Dur ing themorning of the 4th of January, 1943, theValentia radio received a message that theS.S. Barrister, of Liverpool, was ashore offSkird Rocks. Later the position was givenas Inishshark Head. The news reached theauxiliary rescue station just before noon andthe motor rescue-boat put out, manned by acrew of five. A moderate south-west windw a s b l o w i n g . T h e s e a w a s r o u g h . S h ereached the steamer as her crew were aban-doning her ; stood by ; and then, with anothermotor boat, towed the ship’s life-boats ashore.In this way the steamer’s crew of 73 reacheds h o r e . T h e r e s c u e - b o a t g o t b a c k t o h e rstation at 7.30 that evening. - Rewards, £142s. 6d. and £4 8s. 2d. for fuel and otherexpenses.

The Galway Bay life-boat received thenews and was launched at 1.30 P.M., but whenshe found the steamer her crew were alreadyashore . (See Galway Bay , “Accounts o fServices by Life-boats,” page 14.)

LLANERCHYMOR, NEAR HOLYWELL, FLINT-SHIRE . About 3.30 in the afternoon of the7th of March, 1943, a Tiger Moth aeroplanewas reported to have crashed into the RiverDee some three miles from the air observercorps post at Mostyn, in the direction of Caldy,on the Cheshire coast. Visibility was poor,with a smooth sea and light east-south-eastwind. The auxiliary rescue-boat put out tosearch the Welsh side of the channel and theHoylake life-boat launched to search theEnglish side. No sign of the aeroplane was,seen by the rescue-boat in a search extendingfrom Greenfield to Mostyn, nor by the life-boat, and with the coastguard’s approval thesearch was abandoned at seven in the evening.Rewards, £7 1s., with 4s. 3d. for fuel used and1s. for telephone calls. (See Hoylake, “Ac-counts of Services by Life-boats,” page 21.)

A R D F E R N , A R G Y L L S H I R E . D u r i n g t h eafternoon of the 3rd of April, 1943, an aero-plane, obviously in difficulties, was seencircling low round the sea and hills, and atone o’clock next morning a message wasreceived by telephone that an aeroplane wasdown in the Sound of Jura and her crew nearthe Island of Gigha, at the entrance to WestLoch Tarbet, thirty-seven miles away, withintwenty miles of the Port Askaig life-boatstation, and the life-boat was launched. Theauxiliary rescue-boat was also launched at1 .45 in the morn ing and reached DannaPoint, off Eilean Mor, at 4.30. Neither boatfound anything, and the rescue-boat returned,arriving at 7.25. - Rewards, £3 3s., with 4s.3d. for telephone calls and 8s. for fuel used.(See Port Askaig, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 25.)

D INGLE, Co. KERRY . At midnight on the14th of April, 1943, the coast watchers atSybil Head reported that one of the mackerel

boats was in distress in the Blasket Sound.A strong south-west wind was blowing andthe sea was rough. The auxiliary rescue-boatM a r y B e r n a d o t t e put ou t and found thefishing boat Mary, of Dingle, with a crew off ive . Her engine had broken down. Shewas then about a mile from the rocks. Therescue-boat took her in tow. On the wayhome the tow rope parted, and while it wasbeing replaced part of the after rail of theMary and a stanchion was carried away, butthe rescue-boat brought her safely in. Theservice had taken six hours. - Rewards, £6 5s.and £1 4s. for fuel and oil.

V A L E N T I A , C o . K E R R Y . W h e n a t s e aabout midnight on the 16th - 17th of April,1943, the crew of the auxiliary rescue-boatSt. Bernard saw signals of distress from afishing boat some four miles north of theSkilligs Rock and eight miles south-west ofBray Head . The n igh t was c lea r , wi th alight southerly wind, but a heavy sea wasrunning. The rescue-boat found the motorfishing boat Tigileen, of Portmagee, with acrew of four. Her engine had broken down.The rescue-boat, took her in tow, but the ropebroke several times and it was not until ithad been trebled that it would hold. Therescue-boat then towed the Tigileen to apoint two miles west of Bray Head, whereshe was ab le to re -s ta r t her engine . Therescue-boat had been engaged for four hours.- Rewards, £5, and 11s. 9d. for fuel.

BLACKSOD, CO. MAYO. About four in themorning of the 25th of May, 1943, informa-tion was received through the coastwatchersthat a Sunderland flying boat had fallen intothe sea west of Clare Island in Clew Bay.The auxiliary rescue-boat put out at fiveo’clock and searched for several hours, butfound nothing. She returned to her stationat three in the afternoon. She then learnedthat a boat which had put out from Curranehad picked up some bodies. - Rewards, £316s. and £2 1s. 9d. for fuel.

ISLE OF WHITHORN, WIGTOWNSHIRE. At3.20 in the afternoon of the 2nd of July, 1943,the coastguard saw an object fall into the seaabout four and a half miles north-north-eastfrom Stein Head. A light north-north-westwind was blowing, with a slight swell. TheWhithorn auxiliary rescue-boat put out atfour o’clock and searched, but returned at7.30 without having seen anything. The objectwas also seen by the Garlieston police. Itwas thought to be a parachute, but as nothingwas found it may have been a drogue targetwhich sunk on striking the water. - Rewards,£2 17s. and 3s. for fuel.

M ILLOM , CUMBERLAND . At 2.40 in themorning of the 18th of July, 1943, the skipperof the auxiliary rescue-boat, an auxiliary

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coastguard, while on patrol, saw a fire on thesea about five miles west of Haverigg Pointand thought it must be that an aeroplanehad crashed . A l igh t eas te r ly wind wasblowing, with a westerly swell. He put outwith two other men in the rescue-boat Heartsof Oak at three o’clock and searched, in com-pany with aeroplanes, for some hours, butwithout result. The boat returned at noon.- Rewards, £5 12s. 6d. and 14s. 6d. for fuel.

ISLE OF WHITHORN , W IGTOWNSIIIRE . Atone in the afternoon of the 16th of August,1943, the auxiliary rescue-boat, while outfishing with a crew of four, saw a smallrowing boat in difficulties three-quarters of ami le f rom Ste in Head Look-out . A l igh teasterly wind was blowing, with a choppysea. She went to the boat ; found on boardthree engineers from Cairn Head militarycamp, who were exhausted ; took the boatin tow and brought her to the Isle of Whit-horn at 2.50 P .M . But for the timely helpgiven , the rowing boat would have beencarried away by the strong tide. - Rewards,£2 10s. and 4s. 2d. for fuel.

M I L L O M , C U M B E R L A N D . A t 1 .30 in themorning of the 22nd of September, 1943,information was received through the residentnaval officer at Barrow and the Millom coast-guard that an Anson aeroplane had crashedwest of S i lecrof t . A l ight nor th-eas ter lywind was blowing, with a westerly swell. Asthe auxiliary rescue-boat was not availableher sk ipper went to S i lecrof t by car andthere, with another man, launched an R.A.F.12-feet dinghy, with only one oar and norowlocks or scull hole. They found the aero-plane but no sign of life, and at three o’clockcame ashore . La te r the Bar row l i fe -boa tarrived and at 5.30 the body of the wirelessoperator of the aeroplane was found on theshore. - Rewards, £2 10s. and 7s. 6d. for carhire. (See Barrow, “Accounts of Services byLife-boats,” page 39.)

MALIN HEAD, CO. DONEGAL. At 12.55 inthe afternoon of the 30th of October, 1943,the coast life-saving service, Dublin, tele-phoned that a British aeroplane had beenreported down between Malin Head and Inis-haven Head. A strong south-easterly windwas blowing, with a rough sea. The auxiliaryrescue-boat Jane put out at 1.30 and made athorough search, but found nothing. Twoaeroplanes were patrolling overhead and whenthey left the boat returned, arriving at 5.30.- Rewards, £5 14s. and 17s. 11d. for fuelused.

TORY ISLAND, CO. DONEGAL. During theafternoon of the 26th of November, 1943, anaeroplane dropped a flare about three milessouth of Tory I s land . The wea ther wasgood, with a southerly wind. A convoy had

passed earlier, and it was thought that theaeroplane might belong to one of her aircraftca r r ie r s . At th ree o ’c lock the aux i l i a ryrescue-boat put out, but her search was with-ou t r e su l t , and she re tu rned a t 8 .30 tha tevening. - No rewards desired, but £2 0s. 8d.allowed for fuel used and other expenses.

MALIN HEAD , CO . DONEGAL . At 6.25 inthe evening of the 5th of December, 1943, amessage was received from the Malin HeadLookout post that a fishing boat was in diffi-c u l t i e s f i v e m i l e s t o t h e w e s t w a r d . Awest-by-south wind was blowing and the seawas calm. The auxiliary rescue-boat was notavailable, as her engine had been dismantledfor cleaning, but a 33-feet fishing boat, witha crew of four, happened to come to the pier.The skipper of the rescue-boat boarded herand, with her crew of four, put out. After anunsuccessful search the fishing boat returnedand learned that the boat which had been indifficulty had taken shelter in a creek on thewest side of the headland, but was in a verydangerous pos i t ion . She pu t ou t aga in ,found the fishing boat Pride of Inisfree, witha crew of three, and towed her in, arrivingafter midnight. - Rewards, £9 7s. 6d. and £11s. 6d. for fuel.

VALENTIA , CO . KERRY . While returningfrom fishing at 10.30 on the night of the 9th ofDecember , 1943 , the motor f i sh ing boa tNaomh Sean was disabled by the breakdownof her engine, when five miles north-west ofValentia Radio Point. A strong south-eastwind was blowing, with a fairly rough sea.The auxiliary rescue-boat St. Bernard, whichwas also at sea, went to her help, and towed herinto harbour. She had been engaged for twohours. - Rewards, £7 10s. and 10s. for fuelused.

ISLE OF WHITHORN , W IGTOWNSHIRE . At11.35 in the morning of the 28th of December,1943, the police reported that a seaman fromthe Dutch tug Ebro attached to Cairn Headmilitary camp had fallen from the pier about10.30 the previous night. Late though thereport was, it was decided to send out theauxiliary rescue-boat as it was possible thatthe tide had washed the man on to the rocks.She searched from noon until 5.30 in theevening, but without result. - Rewards, £514s. and 6s. 6d. for fuel.

G O L A I S L A N D , C O . D O N E G A L . O n t h emorning of the 30th of December, 1943, a raftwas sighted off the west coast of Gola Island.A strong north-west wind was blowing, witha rough sea . The aux i l i a ry rescue-boa tGreen Isle was launched at ten o’clock, foundthe raft, towed it in, arriving at four o’clocktha t a f te rnoon, and repor ted to the c iv icguard. - Rewards, £3 16s. and £1 13s. 8d. forfuel.

Documents

RNLI Services 1943...Services by the Life-boats of the Institution, by Shore-boats and by Auxiliary Rescue-boats during 1943 During the year life-boats were launched 411 times. Of