THE LIFE-BOAT.J O U R N A L

OF THE

IRo^al Bational tfcife^oat Jnstftution,(ISSUBD Q0A.BTBBLT.)

VOL. XXI.—No. 237.] IST AUGUST, 1910. [PEICE 3d!.

DEATH OF KING EDWARD VII.,

The Institution in common with thewhole Empire, mourns the decease ofHis Majesty King Edward the Seventh.First as President and then as Patron,His Majesty took the warmest interestin the affairs of the Institution and was

PATRON OF THE INSTITUTION.

j ever ready to further its endeavours onbehalf of humanity; and the Committee

. of Management have placed on recordj in a very special manner their deepi sense of the loss which the Institutionhas sustained through his death.

OUR NEW PATRON.

His Majesty King George the Fifth and President in 1902, His Majesty hashas graciously consented to become never ceased to lend his powerful andPatron in succession to His late Majesty,and the Committee feel greatly en-couraged by this fresh token of Royalfavour. Elected Vice-Patron in 1890,

sympathetic aid to the Institution, andit will be a satisfaction to all lovers ofthe Cause to learn that he now fills theoifi.ce of Patron.

OUR LATE SECRETARY.

With the deepest sorrow we have toannounce that Mr. Charles Dibdin, theSecretary of the Institution, died, aftera long illness, on the 7th June. Mr.Dibdin was born on the 9th October,1849, and was thus in his sixty-firstyear. He was appointed Secretary onthe 9th May, 1883, and for the periodof twenty-seven years he worked withunremitting zeal, enthusiasm, and suc-cess. He was heart and soul devotedto the Institution; and his last consciouswords had reference to its work andgave evidence of his unabated affectionfor the Cause. Mr. Dibdin was practi-cally the founder of the Civil Service

Life-boat Fund, and from 1870 untilquite recently he was its HonorarySecretary. He was highly esteemedand beloved by the Committee ofManagement and by the Staff whoworked under his immediate direction ;and expressions of regret have reachedthe Institution from its HonoraryOfficials in all parts of the UnitedKingdom bearing testimony to hisworth, as well as to his genial andcourteous bearing. It was with melan-choly satisfaction that we read theintimation that His Majesty had in-tended on his birthday to confer aKnighthood on Mr. Dibdin.

VOL. XXI.—No. 237.—LIFE-BOAT JOURNAL.

250 THE LIFE-BOAT. [1ST AUGUST, 1910.

THE LIFE-BOAT AND ITS WORK.

Paper read by Sir JOHN CAHEBON LAMB, C.B., C.M.G., V.P., Deputy-Chairman of theROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, before the Royal Society of Arts, on the16th February, 1910.

Colonel Sir FrrzRoY CLAYTON, K.C.V.O., V.P., Chairman of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOATINSTITUTION, in the Chair.

THE Council of your Society havethought it appropriate that, in this, thejubilee year of the charter of the ROYALNATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, apaper on the Life-boat and its workmight be offered for your consideration.

It is not to be supposed that liveswere not saved from shipwreck beforethe advent of the Life-boat. From timeimmemorial there had been gallantrescues by all kinds of boats; and theycontinue to the present day. But theLife-boat has saved thousands of liveswhich would otherwise have been lost;and it has led to a concentration ofthought and of effort, both in this countryand abroad, which has radically changedthe character of the service renderedby brave men to their shipwreckedfellow-creatures. No longer does theservice depend on the generous impulseof scattered, irresponsible, ill-requitedmen : it is organised and under control;it has public recognition and support;it is constant in its operation, and itis inspired by as much courage andgenerosity as ever.

It is impossible to assign to anyone per-son the merit of inventing the Life-boat.

As earlyas!777,a Monsieur Bernieres,Director of Roads and Bridges in France,

* " Cheap Magazine," published at Haddington, 1814,

•f A high official in Paris, under date of 24th January,1910, writes as follows : " Dans le grand dictionnaireLarousse, j'ai Men constate que cet ingenieur avait faitdiverses inventions interessantes, mais on ne men-tionne pas celle-la. On trouve aussi, dans ce recueil,a 1'article 'sauvetage,' qu'au 18" siecle, des Anglais etdes Francais ont decouvert des engins de sauvetage,mais il y est ajoute" qu'a 1'epoque on n'y porta pasattention et que rien ne parait en avoir subsiste." Butsee Appendix.

% The invention, principles of construction, and usesof unimmergible boats, stated in a letter to H.E.H.the Prince of Wales, by Lionel Lukin. Printed for theauthor by J. Nichols and Son, London, 1806.

$ " On the advice of the Deputy-Master of the TrinityHouse, Lukin entrusted this boat to a Kamsgate pilotto be tested in bad weather. He never heard fromthis man or saw his boat again, but he learned thatshe had frequently crossed the Channel when no otherboat would venture out, and he surmised that she wasemployed in smuggling, and eventually captured anddestroyed. He then had one like her built for himself,and called her the Witch, because of the prodigiesof sailing which she performed in bad weather. Butshe was not employed as a Life-boat."—Obitiiary in" Gentleman's Magazine," 1834.

invented a boat which, while carryingeight men on board, would not sink whenshe was filled with water, and wouldnot capsize when she was hove down sofar that the top of her mast touched thesea""'; but I cannot find that the inven-tion was ever put to practical use.f

Lionel Lukin, with his plans for in-creasing the buoyancy and stability ofboats, was first in the field in thiscountry. He appears to have had noknowledge of the work of MonsieurBernieres. A coach-builder in LongAcre, he was a very worthy memberof the Worshipful Company of Coach-makers, of which he became Master in1793. Although a landsman, he hadsea blood in his veins, being descendedon his mother's side from LionelLane, one of Blake's captains. Writingto the Prince of Wales J (afterwardsGeorge IV.), whom he had frequently tosee on other business, he described how,in 1784, he was led to study the subject,how his Royal Highness encouragedhim, and how far success attended hisefforts. It appears that, having pur-chased a Norway yawl§ he convertedher into what he called an " unim-mergible boat," tested her on the Thames,and took out a patent. || The name

It Extract from Specification: ... to the outsideof the boats and vessels, of the common or any otherform, are projecting gunnels, sloping from the top ofthe common gunnel, in a faint curve, towards thewater, so as not to interrupt the oars in rowing ; and,from the extreme projection (which may be greater orless, according to the size and use the boat or vessel isintended for), returning to the side in a faint curve, ata proper distance above the water-line. These pro-jecting gunnels may be made solid, of any lightmaterials that will repel the water, or hollow andwater-tight, or of cork, and covered with thin wood,canvas, leather, tin, or any other light metal, mixture,or composition. These projections are very small atthe stem and stern and increase gradually to thedimensions required. . . . In the inside at the stemand stern, and at the sides (where the projecting gun- .nels are not necessary), and under the seats andthwarts, are inclosurcs, or bulkheads, made water-tight, or filled with cork, or other light materials thatwill repel the water : the spaces between the timbersmay in like manner be tilled up. . . . Under thebottom, along the centre of the keel, is affixed a falseone of cast iron, or other metal; this . . . will actas ballast with more power than a much greaterweight in the common situation, and is ... notliable to shift by any sudden motion of the boat orvessel.

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 251

" unimmergible" did not suggest asufficiently philanthropic purpose, andit was not simple enough to be popular.It is evidence indeed that Lukin wasthinking rather of making people in boatssafe than of using those people to saveothers. But some of the essentialfeatures of a Life-boat were there, asmay be seen from the diagram on thescreen.

The larger figure shows the plan of theNorway yawl as converted by Lukin,and the smaller a cross section amid-ships. A is a projecting cork gunwale ;B, B, B, are air-tight cases at the ends ofthe boat, and along the sides above andbelow the thwarts; c is an iron keel.The patent is dated 2nd November, 1785.

By accident Lukin was associated withthe earliest known attempt to establisha life-saving service. Nathaniel, thirdBaron Crewe of Stene and Bishop ofDurham, married the daughter of Wil-liam Forster, of Bamburgh, Northumber-land, and acquired the estates of thatgentleman. Dying in 1721 withoutchildren, he left the estates to trusteesfor charitable purposes. In course oftime the management was undertakenby Archdeacon Sharp, an enlightenedphilanthropist, who not merely adminis-tered the Trust as chairman, but furtheredits objects by contributions out of hisown pocket. It was owing to hisinitiative that the funds were partlydevoted to purposes connected with thesea. He devised schemes under theTrust for the benefit of mariners andshipwrecked persons; and, in 1786, hesent a coble to London to be convertedby Lukin into a safety-boat, which wasafterwards employed for some years atBamburgh in saving life from shipwreck.Thus, although only to the extent ofapplying his ideas to the coble whichwas sent to him, Lukin was concernedin the first life-saving station on thecoast.*

At about the same time, WilliamWouldhave, a house-painter in SouthShields, who taught singing in thecharity school, and eventually became

* The humane plans of Archdeacon Sharp have beenvaried from time to time, but they have never beeninterrupted, and the Life-boat cause now receivesfrom the Trust substautial support in the shape ofcontributions towards the maintenance of Life-boatsin the neighbourhood of Bamburgh.

parish clerk, a versatile and eccentricgenius, was trying to design a boatwhich would neither sink nor remainupset; but his final model was notmade until 1789, between three andfour years after the date of Lukin'spatent.

A third claimant to the inventionwas Henry Greathead, also of SouthShields. This gentleman received £1,200from Parliament, and a gold medal and50 guineas from the Society of Arts,besides other rewards.f

In the Gentleman's Magazine of1806 there is a voluminous correspon-dence on the merits of the claimants,two Tyneside gentlemen taking up thecudgels for Wouldhave, against bothLukin and Greathead, and Lukin defend-ing his own position. The controversyhas been revived from time to time, andSir David Brewster became the cham-pion of Lukin in an article whichappeared in Good Words in 1863.The materials now available are perhapsscarcely sufficient for an unassailablejudgment; but what emerges from theconflicting claims may be stated thus :Lukin, when he took out his patent, hadnot thought of self-righting qualities,and did not propose to construct a boatto be specially employed in saving life ;neither did he propose to establish aLife-boat service. His aim (and heafterwards said he thought it was ahigher aim) was to make all kinds ofboats safe and buoyant. Although heliked the build of the Norway yawl, hedid not attach importance to it or toany particular design, but proposed thathis invention should be applied to anyboat.

Wouldhave, unlike Lukin, thoughtmuch of build or design. He was notinsensible to the value of water-tightchambers and cork; but it was on theshape of the boat that his mind keptworking; and he intended that his boatshould be a Life-boat, and nothing else.He did not suppose that the owners ofthe vessels which frequented the Tyiie

t 100 guineas each from the Trinity House andLloyd's ; 5 guineas from the Literary and PhilosophicalSociety of Newcastle-on-Tyne ; a medallion from theRoyal Humane Society, and a diamond ring from theCzar of Russia. The rewards were all given in 1802,and Lukin remarked that none were applied for untilhis patent had expired.

B 2

252 THE LIFE-BOAT. [IsT AUGUST, 1910.

could be induced to convert their ships'boats into safety boats; he was possessedwith the conviction that if life was tobe saved from shipwreck, it must be bymeans of a boat specially constructed,set apart for the purpose, and alwaysready. The kind of seas encounteredat the mouth of the Tyne made itimportant that a boat stationed thereshould have self-righting qualities, andthis gave direction to his aims. A firmof brewers allowed him to test hismodels in their tanks, but it was anaccident which suggested the solution ofthe problem. In a ramble, early in 1789,he happened to see a woman who hadjust been drawing water from a well.Her skeel was full, and on the surfaceof the water there floated the half of acircular wooden dish. While he chattedwith her before helping to lift the skeelto her head, he tried to make thewooden fragment turn over, but at hisevery attempt it righted, and would notremain upside down. Wouldhave mighthave cried " Eureka," but he probablyused some more homely expression as,with a light step, he went off to continuehis experiments at the brewery. Pre-sently he ran into the office of the firm,saying that he had discovered the prin-ciple he was looking for. Soon after-wards an advertisement appeared in theNewcastle Gourant offering a premium oftwo guineas for a plan or model of aboat capable of living in the stormyseas at the mouth of the Tyne. Would-have was ready, and, on the 10th June,submitted the model,* of which a photo-graph is shown on the screen.

It was made of tin ; and his idea wasthat the actual Life-boat might be madeof iron, or preferably of copper as notbeing liable to tear. She was to havea straight keel, high-peaked ends fittedwith water-tight cases containing cork,cork along her sides within board andabove the floor amidships, and greatshear of gunwale. It has been suggestedthat he must have known of Lukin'spatent, and made use of the knowledge,but the essence of Wouldhave's inventionlay in the shape of the boat, and in the

* Preserved in the Public Museum, South Shields.It is 22 inches long, 9 inches broad, 4i inches deepamidships outside and 3 inches inside.

high ends the value of which he hadlearnt from the broken wooden dish.He was evidently working independently,and he could not have learnt about thehigh ends from Lukin, as that gentle-man never mentioned them. Wouldhaveand Lukin were both men of honour andsingleness of mind. One was poor andthe other well off, but they were both ofthe same mind in desiring to serve theirfellow-creatures and in lightly esteemingmonetary reward.

A careful consideration of the factswill, I think, lead you to the conclusionthat Wouldhave was the father of theself-righting Life-boat, and Lukin of thestaunch non-self-righting sailing Life-boat.

To ascertain Greathead's part it isnecessary to revert to the advertisementin the Newcastle Gourant, and to admitto our minds the testimony of Mr.Nicholas Fairies, a gentleman of SouthShields, who had more to do with thematter than anyone. The advertise-ment originated with a body bearingthe curious name of " The Gentlemen ofthe Lawe House." They met in a housewhich had been built as barracks fora battery, on an eminence called theLawe. From their reading-room theycould look on the entrance to the Tyne,and they must have seen many dread-ful wrecks—among others, that of theAdventure, whose crew dropped off therigging one by one, and perished in thesight of thousands of helpless spectators.

The " Gentlemen of the Lawe House"were not very solemn personages, forthey playfully dubbed their Treasurer"Chancellor of the Exchequer," andthey had a " Sergeant-at-Arms," whowore an imposing badge of office. Butthey had feeling, and they were practicaland prompt. The wreck of the Adventurewas on the 15th March, 1789.J InApril they submitted to the Brethrenof the Newcastle Trinity House a pro-posal to station a boat permanently atthe mouth of the river for the savingof shipwrecked persons, and to erectbeacons for the guidance of mariners.Their proposal was warmly approvedboth by the Brethren, and by that im-portant body known as the " Committee

t XewcaMe Courant, March 21st, 1789.

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 253

of the Coal Trade." * Thus encouraged,the "Gentlemen of the La we House," inMay of the same year, appointed a com-mittee of six, who, under the chairman-ship of Mr. Nicholas Fairies," f drew upa table of what they regarded as theessential qualities of a Life-boat, andissued the advertisement to whichreference has been made. Various plans,models, and suggestions were submitted,including Wouldhave's model and amodel prepared by Greathead. It wasnow (the 10th June, 1789) that Great-head was heard of for the first time.The committee duly met; and we haveit on the authority of Mr. Fairies, theirchairman, that they did not acceptGreathead's model—a model shaped likea raft, which they considered quite un-suitable—and that they did not givehim the premium. J How, then, did hisname become associated with the Life-boat? The answer is, that he was askilled boat-builder, accustomed to thesea as a ship's carpenter and mate, andhe was employed to build the Life-boat.

What happened was this: not satis-fied with any of the models or plans, thecommittee thought enough of Would-have's model to award him half thepremium. There is a tradition thatWouldhave, after addressing the com-mittee in what he deemed appropriatelanguage, flung the guinea down andwalked out. His friends blamed himfor leaving his model in the hands ofthe committee, but his native goodnesscame out in the reply, " Never mind,never mind; I know they have senseenough to adopt the good points of mymodel, and, though I am poor, "if theyrefuse to give me the reward, I shallhave the satisfaction of being instru-mental in saving the lives of some ofmy fellow-creatures." §

Mr. Fairies and Mr. Bockwood, amember of the Committee who had him-self suffered shipwreck and been rescued

* Eventually these two bodies voluntarily bore thewhole of the expenses.

t The other members of the Committee were MichaelKockwood, Henry Heath, Cuthbert Marshall, WilliamHasterman, and Joseph Roxby.

J Mr. G. B. Hodgson's " History of the Borough ofSouth Shields."

$ Mr. Hodgson's History.|| Mr. Hodgson's History.^[ The total bill for boat, boat-house, cork jackets,

and incidental expenses was £149 13ft1. 9d., which sum,

by a Norway yawl, revolving in theirminds the ideas which had been pre-sented to them, went together into abrick-field belonging to Mr. Fairies andmodelled a boat in clay. It bore ageneral resemblance to a Norwayyawl, and it is remarkable that thistype of boat should enter into theearly history of the Tyne Life-boatas well as of Lukin's invention. Aftermaking the model they instructed Great-head to build a boat like it. Hesuggested that its keel should be curvedor "rockered"; and, according to Mr.Fairies, this was the only part Great-head had in the design. || The curvedkeel was adopted, and the boat wasforthwith constructed by Greathead.She embodied some of Wouldhave'sideas, but fell short of his most importantone, namely, that of self-righting power.She was completed before the end of1789, at a cost of £76 9s. 8d.;f and shecontinued to do service until 1830, whenshe was dashed on the rocks and brokenin two. ** Thanks to the skill with

| which she was handled, she never lost asingle hand, and she saved hundreds ofpersons from death. She was the firstboat ever called a Life-boat, and thefirst one expressly built for the savingof life from shipwreck ; and we cannotbut pay a tribute of respect to thememory of the " Gentlemen of the LaweHouse," especially Mr. Fairies and Mr.Rockwood, to whom belongs the creditof having originated at the mouth of theTyne a public, permanent, and organisedLife-boat service—a service which hasnever ceased, which has been the meansof saving more than 4,000 lives, andwhich at this day is in full activityunder the control of the "Tyne Life-boat Society." The society, possessingfour boats ready for service, maintains,with sturdy independence, a separateexistence, is supported by a voluntarytax paid at the Custom House by ships

with a "margin," which may have been intended asa mark of appreciation of the excellent work of thebuilder, was paid by the two bodies at Newcastlementioned in the text.— Ibid.

** Her name was the Original: she was 30 feet by10 feet by 3 feet 3 inches, and at each end she was5 feet 9 inches high. Exclusive of the steam boats, thelargest Life-boat now in the service of the ROYALNATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION is 46 feet by 14.The cost of rowing and sailing Life-boats without gear,ranges from about £800 to about £1,700.

254 THE LIFE-BOAT. [IsT AUGUST, 1910.

entering the river, and seeks no assist-ance from the general public.

The photograph on the screen, takenfrom an engraving in Volume XX. ofthe Transactions of the Society ofArts, may be regarded as a faithfulpicture of the first Life-boat. Her endswere alike: she had no rudder, but along steering oar at each end, and shecould be rowed in either direction. Shewas clinker-built, and where the over-lapping planks ceased to be visible,there was the wale of cork which wasone of her essential features. The corkwas held in position by copper straps.Mr. Greathead, himself, submitted thispicture to the Society in 1802, alongwith an explanatory diagram, which isalso now shown on the screen.

There were no air-chambers, no com-partments at the ends, and no means ofgetting rid of water except by baling.The model on the table correctly showsher general design, but it does notrepresent what she was like inside whenshe first came into use. It shows watertubes and other modifications whichwere introduced at a later date. Asister boat, built in 1800, and placed atRedcar in 1802, performed a service aslate as 1880, when, in the absence ofother Life-boats, she saved the crewof the brig Luna. Rescued from thebreaking-up yard, she is now carefullypreserved as an historic relic. Hername is the Zetland. All the boats ofthis type had the curved, or "rockered,"keel, suggested by Greathead; and theTyne Life-boat Society, for local reasonswhich they deem sufficient, keep it upin a modified degree to this day, but itis not to be found in Life-boats else-where, and is generally regarded withdisfavour. The Bedford is the newestboat of the Society. She has air-casesat the ends but not up to the level ofthe gunwale, air-cases along the sideswithin board, and a closed water-ballasttank in the centre. She is steered byoars, and is fitted for rowing only.With all the modifications which have

* The Tyne, built in 1833 to replace the first Life-boat, was reconstructed in 1845, and was withdrawnfrom service in 1887. She had saved 1,024 lives.t Born 1742, succeeded 1786, died 1817.J The reason lor this gift was no doubt recorded in

the archives of the British Consulate, but they dis-appeared in the siege of Oporto, and a careful search,

been made in internal fittings, it iswonderful to see how closely for 100years the builders of the Tyne Life-boats have adhered to the generaldesign of the "original" boat. Thenext picture shows you the Tyne, builtby Oliver in 1833 *; and if you willglance at the Bedford, built in 1886,you will see how small has been thechange.

Looking to South Shields as the placewhere the word " Life-boat" was firstused, where the earliest boat designedfor the saving of life from shipwreckwas built, and where public spiritedmen did so much to establish a Life-boat service, you will not be surprisedto learn that the town, on receiving itscharter of incorporation, chose the Life-boat for its coat of arms and thewords " Always Ready " for its motto ;or that the townspeople went thelength of placing a model of a Life-boatin their parish church. In France wesee in the churches on the coast votiveofferings in the form of models of fishingboats and other craft; but probablySt. Hilda's Church in South Shields isalone in this country in having a modelof a Life-boat suspended from theceiling in full view of the congregation.It is there as a testimony to the interestwhich the people of the town take inthe Life-boat service; it stirs the mindsof the young; and it helps to keepalive the fame of the men who haveworked and suffered for the cause.

It was not until 1798 that Greatheadbuilt the second Life-boat. She wasordered by Hugh, Duke of Northumber-land, f the father of the " sailor duke,"and he placed her at North Shieldswith an endowment for her mainten-ance. Greathead's third boat went toour old allies the Portuguese, beingpresented in 1800 by the Duke ofNorthumberland to the town of Oporto. :f

In the same year Mr. CathcartDempster, a magistrate of St. Andrews,had a boat built for that place; andGreathead, with a reputation now well

kindly made by High Authorities, has failed toreveal any sign of a record of the Duke's generosity,although, in a pamphlet of 1832 which is preserved inthe public library, it is stated that a Life-boat sent atan early date from England to the care of the BritishConsul, was taken as a model for a new one, built in1828.

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 255

established, found orders pouring infrom all sides. Before the end of 1803he had built 31 boats—18 for England,5 for Scotland, and 8 for foreigncountries.* All were fitted for rowingonly, and were not provided withsails. |

After 1803 there was little or noadvance until 1807, when Lukin, thecoach-builder, again appeared on thescene, and made mankind his debtorby the part he took in designing andconstructing a sailing Life-boat. Con-sulted by the Suffolk Humane Society,he gave them advice and superintendedfor them the building and fitting of aboat which is held to be the true fore-runner of the Norfolk and Suffolk type—a type still most popular with theNorfolk and Suffolk fishermen, andrepresented at this day by 18 exampleson the coast. Admirable under sail,Lukin's powerful boat could search theoutlying sands as no other Life-boatthen in existence could. Here, there-fore, we see Lukin, I will not sayabandoning his overmastering idea ofmaking boats of all kinds unimmergible,but taking a part, a notable part, indirecting the construction of a boatexpressly designed for the saving of lifefrom shipwreck and adapted to the seasin which she was to do her work. Herdimensions were 40 feet by 10 feet by3 feet 6 inches. She was built by Bare-ham, of Lowestoft, at a cost of 200Z.,and she had a life of 43 years, duringwhich she saved 300 lives. Thus Lukinestablished a double claim to be regardedas the father of the sailing Life-boat.

For the next important event wemust look to the year 1824.

But meanwhile the Society of Artshad not been idle. We saw that in1802 it gave a reward to Greathead.In 1807, it awarded a gold medal toChristopher Wilson, of London, for a" neutral-built, self-balanced boat." The

* One built in 1802 was purchased by Lord Crewe'sTrustees for Hamburgh, and it may be gathered thatthe old coble fitted up by Lukin was no longer of anyuse.

t He told the Society of Arts in 1802 that he couldconvert them into sailing boats by fitting them withsliding keels, and in the model which he submitted tothe Society he professed to show how this could bedone. But it may well be doubted whether they wouldhave been of any use as sailing boats in bad weather.

} The outer planking was carvel, and the inner,clinker.

sides of this boat had outer and innerplanking with an air-space befcween.JWilson, like Lukin, intended that hissystem should be followed in the con-struction of " all open boats of whateverform or use "; but a boat to his designhad been specially built and placed atNewhaven, in competition with one ofGreathead's Life-boats, and apparentlyit was her excellent behaviour in aheavy sea which helped to win forWilson the reward of the gold medal.The Society gave three other rewardsin 1810, 1814, and 1817, respectively.The first was one of 20 guineas and thesilver medal to Mr. Bremner, Ministerof Walls and Flota, in the Orkneys, forhis plan of converting any ship's boatinto a Life-boat. § The second was oneof 10 guineas and the silver medal toMr. Boyce, of Dean Street, Fetter Lane,for an elaborate buoy.|| The third wasthe silver medal to Captain GabrielBray for his plan of making ordinaryboats buoyant.^ The inventions wereno doubt put forward in good faith asoriginal, and they were certainly in-genious, but they were not novel inprinciple; and it is difficult to restraina smile at the details of two of them.

What occurred in 1824 was the birthof " The National Institution for thePreservation of Life from Shipwreck,"which now exists in our midst underthe name of "THE ROYAL NATIONALLIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION." No one heardof this event with more satisfaction thanLukin. Greathead had died in 1816,and Wouldhave in 1821; but Lukinwho was 82 years of age, and had stillten years to live, wrote to congratulatethe chairman of the Institution, andsent him a copy of a pamphlet contain-ing a description of the sailing Life-boatwhich he had designed in 1807. Thefounder of the Institution was Sir Wil-liam Hillary, Baronet, a resident of theIsle of Man, whose heart was moved by

0 By means of empty casks lashed inside the boat,one forward and the other aft, and packed in withbundles of cork covered with pitch, the operationbeing completed by the attachment of a bar of iron orlead to the inside of the keel.

|| To be held suspended at the stern of a ship anddropped if a man fell overboard. It carried a mast andsail, which, if set up, would enable it (so Mr. Boycesaid) to follow a ship or reach the shore.

^f By means of wooden air-boxes to be fastened bycopper clasps under the thwarts, and long air-cases tobe lashed fore and aft outside.

256 THE LIFE-BOAT. [1ST AUGUST, 1910.

the terrible loss of life 011 our coasts, andwho roused the public by his appeals.At a preliminary meeting in the City ofLondon. Tavern, promoted by Sir Wil-liam Hillary, and presided over by Mr.Thos. Wilson, one of the members forthe City, it was resolved to convene ageneral meeting for the formation of theInstitution. This general meeting washeld on the 4th March, with Dr. MannersButton, Archbishop of Canterbury, inthe chair. Wilberforce moved one ofthe resolutions, and the Institutionbegan its course under Royal patronage;with the Prime Minister (the Earl ofLiverpool) as President, and Peel,Canning, Lord John Russell, and othereminent men as Vice-Presidents. Mr.Wilson was elected Chairman of Com-mittee, other officers were appointed andoffices taken at 12, Austin Friars. Inthe forefront of the resolutions adoptedat the meeting it was declared that theobjects of the Institution " extend to allwithout distinction of country, in warand in peace"; and the Institutionhas always acted in the spirit of thisdeclaration. For some years its workembraced the care of mariners aftertheir rescue from shipwreck, and theestablishment of mortar and rocketapparatus. But the former was takenover in 1854 by the Shipwrecked Fisher-men and Mariners' Society,* and thelatter was transferred to the Board ofTrade in 1855. From the earliest daysthe Institution cared for the families ofmen who perished in going out in boatsto save life; and in the very first yearthey made grants to widows and orphansat Redcar, Yarmouth, and Carnarvon.In that year they received contributionsamounting to £9,706, and arranged toestablish eleven boats in England, twoin Scotland, and two in Ireland. Twelvewere built by Pellew Plenty, of New-bury, and three by Skelton, of Scar-borough, f The Committee recorded thefact that, before they began operations,

* That society possessed several Life-boats, which ittransferred to the Institution, and the two bodies havealways worked together with the utmost harmony.

+ The latter were probably of the Greathead type.The former were designed by Plenty himself ; theywere of great breadth amidships, had upright stem andstern, straight keel, bilge pieces, a mass of cork onthe bottom for protection from stony beaches, andsmall internal capacity for holding water. Buoyancywas secured by air-cases built along the sides within

there were already thirty-nine Life-boatson the coast. They claimed that inthe first year three whole crews and124 other persons had been saved byexertions which they had re warded, fSubsequent annual reports exhibit afluctuating but diminishing revenuefrom donations and subscriptions. Inthe year 1832-33 it was as low as £319,and in 1837-38 it went down to £254.Deploring the inadequate support ofthe public, and seeing no prospect ofthe establishment of sufficient Life-boatstations, the Institution incessantly re-commended the adoption of methodsfor rendering ships' boats safe, andof appliances for sending lines fromwrecked ships to the shore. The deputy-chairman, Mr. George Palmer, M.P.,an able and devoted friend of the In-stitution, had designed a Life-boat[model exhibited on the table] whichwas superseding Plenty's, and, on hissuggestion, they issued circulars, show-ing how, at small expense, all kinds ofshore-boats could be made safe. Thereis reason to believe that the Society ofArts lent its aid in the distribution ofthese circulars. Mr. Palmer's ideas donot seem to have been in advance ofLukin's, but his position in the In-stitution and his reputation as a sailor§lent authority to his suggestions, andthey met with a favourable reception.From 1841 to 1850 the Institutionpublished no report and made no appealto the public. Various local associations ||helped to keep the cause alive; but in1849 it had reached its lowest ebb, andthere is reason to doubt whether, amongthe Life-boats then on the coast, therewere as many as twenty in an efficientcondition. It may seem strange that acause launched with so much enthu-siasm, and supported by such influentialmen, a cause appealing so strongly tothe feelings of our countrymen, shouldhave languished and almost died. Butthe nation was going through a time of

board. They had good qualities, and were selectedafter careful trials of various types by distinguishednaval officers and other experts.

J By the 31st December, 1909, the number had risento 48,627.

0 He had been a commander in the service of theHon. East India Company.

|| For example, on the Tyue, in Lincolnshire, inNorfolk and Suffolk, and in the Isle of Man where SirWilliam Hillary made his powerful influence felt.

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 257

deep distress and agitation, and manypeople thought the State itself was onthe verge of shipwreck. In 1825, thevery first year after the foundation ofthe Institution, there was a panic, theBank of England refused accommodationto its best customers, and money was soscarce that Mr. Huskisson said: " Wewere within twenty-four hours of barter."Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, writing in Feb-ruary, 1833, to a friend who was on theeve of leaving for India, said : " You aregoing from what bids fair, I fear, todeserve the name of a City of Destruc-tion." Glance at the table of contentsof any history of the period :

1826. Bloody riots. Power loomsdestroyed. Drought.

1829. General .distress.1831. Agitation for repeal of the

Union. Rejection of the Reform Bill.Outrages. Cholera.

1832. Reform Bill. Strike of pitmenand murder of Mr. Fairies, of the TyneLife-boat Society.

1835. Agricultural distress.1836. Paralysis of Trade.1839. Rebellion in Canada. Chartist

riots. Cotton strike and organisationfor murder in Scotland.

1840. War with China.1841-1843. War in Afghanistan.1845. Irish famine.1849. Close of the Corn Law agitation.

In such a period we need not wonderthat the Life-boat Institution receivedlittle public attention. But it kept theflickering flame of pity for the ship-wrecked mariner alive, and in its worsttimes it was the means of encouragingand rewarding heroic deeds. Everynow and then the gloom was relieved bysome act of gallantry or self-sacrifice.Thus, on the 20th of November, 1830,when the Royal Mail steamer, St. George,under the command of Lieut. Tudor,R.N., was wrecked in Douglas Bay, SirWilliam Hillary, the founder of theInstitution, performed a brilliant serviceas leader of a party of rescue. Thevessel arrived on the evening of the19th and anchored in the Bay, theweather being stormy. In the nightthe storm increased in violence ; at5 A.M. her cable parted and she beganto drive in between two dangerous

rocks, on one of which she presentlystruck. The Life-boat (one of Palmer's)was new, and was not ready for service,as she was still without her stern air-case. Nevertheless, Sir William, withthe help of two other gentlemen, and acrew of fourteen men put off and rescuedthe whole company of twenty - twopersons. He and three others werewashed overboard, but were got onboard again, and he stuck to his taskalthough he had his chest crushed and arib broken. This is only a sample of thebrave deeds performed by Sir William.A second gold medal was awarded him,and you will agree that it was wellbestowed. Looking further throughthe records of the Institution, you mayfind the following entry :—"1838. William Darling, Lighthouse Keeper, Silver

Medal.Grace Darling, His Daughter, Silver Medal."

These medals were given for the rescue,in an ordinary boat, of nine personsfrom the wreck of the Forfarshire, anexploit which, as every one knows,gained for Grace Darling a name thatis not likely to die.

The year 1849 closed with a tragedyat the mouth of the Tyne which madea deep impression on the public mind.A Life-boat named the Providence, sevenyears old, went out in a heavy sea tothe brig Betsy of Littlehampton, whichhad stranded on the Herd sand. Shereached the wreck and was lying along-side with her head to the eastward anda rope made fast to the quarter; butthrough some error her bowfast wasnot properly secured and a waverecoiling from the bow of the vesselcaught the Life-boat's bow and threwher on end, causing her crew and thewater she had shipped to fall into thestern sheets. The bowfast not holding,the Life-boat in this condition droveastern of the vessel, and the ebb tidethen catching her, she turned end overend, and drifted ashore bottom up. Outof her crew of 24* of the finest and mostskilful pilots of the Tyne no fewer than20 were drowned; and there can belittle doubt that it was owing to herbeing without the self-righting qualitieswhich Wouldhave had proposed. This

' This was a double crew.

B 3

258 THE LIFE-BOAT. [1ST AUGUST, 1910.

event not only created sorrow for thefamilies of the brave men who hadsacrificed their lives, but directedrenewed attention to the claims of the

think of the wrecks round the coast.Her Majesty Queen Victoria and thePrince Consort came to the aid of theInstitution; and their heartfelt interest,

DIAGRAM 1.

SELF- R I G H T I N G TYPE.

Fig.2.

F.'rf.S. D E C K . P L A N .

Fig.4.

BODY PLAN M I D S H I P S E C T I O N

12/99

A.—Represents the deck.B.—Relieving valves for the automatic discharge of water off the deck.G,—Side air-cases above deck.D.—End air-compartments usually called " end-boxes," an important factor

in " self-righting."K—The "wale" or "fender."F.—Iron keel ballast, important in general stability and self-righting.G.—Water-ballast tanks.H.—Drop keels.

Life-boat service. The nation was nowemerging from the agitation and distressin which it had been plunged ; prosperitywas returning, and people had time to

sustained and steadfast, finds its gene-rous counterpart in that of His MajestyKing Edward and His Royal Highnessthe Prince of Wales, who are now

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 259

respectively Patron and President ofthe Institution. There had been noPresident since the death of the Earlof Liverpool in 1828; but in 1851,Algernon, Duke of Northumberland,the " sailor duke," * became President;and, under the impulse of his powerfuland sympathetic nature, the Institutionbegan a new and uninterrupted careerof usefulness, in the course of whichit has absorbed all the local Life-boatassociations, except those of the Tyneand two or three other places; has in-creased its fleet until it now numbers 282,including a steam-tug; has attracteda large, although I fear I must say in-sufficient, income f ; has left no clearlyindicated danger spot unprotected, andhas become in fact, as well as in name,a National Institution. Time wouldfail me to tell of all that has contributedto this result, but I cannot refrain frommentioning the help given to the In-stitution since 1891 by the Life-boatSaturday Fund, and the unselfish laboursof the late Sir Edward Birkbeck, at onetime a member of Council of the Societyof Arts, who for twenty-five years waschairman of the Institution. He wasconcerned in its management for morethan forty years, and up to within afew weeks of his death he ceased not todevote himself to the promotion of itsaims and the defence of its interests.He was largely instrumental in per-suading the Government to sanctionthe system of Coast Telegraphs, de-signed and carried out by the PostOffice, which affords communicationwith coastguard stations, light-houses,and light-vessels, and adds so much tothe efficiency of the Life-boat service.

* Second son of Hugh, second Duke, born 1792, suc-ceeded his brother Hugh, 1847; died 1865; enteredNavy, 1805 ; Acting Captain Caledonia, Lord Exiuouth'sflagship, 1841; Bear-Admiral, 1850 ; First Lord ofAdmiralty, 1852; accompanied Herschell's scientificexpedition to Cape, 1834 ; supported study of Egyptianantiquities and Lane's gigantic work the ArabicLexicon.

t In 1909 the receipts were £126,215, including£27,318 from investments ; £19,351 from the Life-boatSaturday Fund, and £47,513 from legacies and specialgifts in trust. But for the legacies, the income wouldhave fallen far short of the expenses.

J At the suggestion of the Prince Consort, lectureson the results of the Exhibition were delivered beforethe Society of Arts in the winter of 1851-2. One ofthese, on "Naval Architecture and Life-boats," wasgiven by Captain Washington, and he described thework of the Duke of Northumberland's Committee andthe state of the Life-boat service.

$ Her dimensions were 36 feet by 9J feet by 3t feet,

When the Duke of Northumberlandbecame President in 1851, realising thatthe " first and most obvious step wasto endeavour to introduce an improvedLife-boat," he offered a prize of 100guineas, and appointed a committee ofexperts, under the chairmanship ofCaptain Washington, R.N., to reporton the models which might be sent in.Boat-builders and others in all parts ofthe United Kingdom, and in France,Germany, Holland, and the UnitedStates responded, and no fewer than280 models and plans were received.Fifty of these were sent to the GreatExhibition, and there contributed tothe awakening of public interest. JAfter a patient and exhaustive exami-nation, the committee awarded theprize to Mr. James Beeching, of GreatYarmouth. His model, kindly lent bythe United Service Institution, is onthe table, and a photograph is shownon the screen; also a diagram givingdetails of her construction.

He at once built a boat, which waspurchased by the Harbour Trustees ofRamsgate, and there did splendid workfor many years. She embodied most ofWouldhave's ideas, with improvementsof which that gentleman probably neverdreamt. Coming sixty-two years afterhe sent in his model to the committee atSouth Shields, she was the first genuineself-righting boat ever built. §

The Duke of Northumberland's com-mittee,while giving the prize to Beeching,could not bring themselves to adopt hisdevice of air-chambers and a water-ballast tank in the bottom of the boat.They thought the partitions would becertain to be injured, and that the water-

and she could carry about 70 persons. The cork em-ployed in her construction was confined to the fenderbelow the gunwale. Apart from her general design,her buoyancy was secured by air-tight cases at the ends,along the bottom, and partly round the sides ; and herself-righting power by the height of the end cases, bythe absence of side air-cases amidships, by 2i tons ofwater ballast, and by an iron keel. The Life-boatwhich capsized in 1849, at the wreck of the Betsy, hadwater ballast, but it was in an open tank, and whenshe turned end over end the water ran out, and thetank became an air-space—an air-space in the wrongplace—which simply increased her tendency to remainbottom up. In Beeching's boat the water ballast wasconfined in a closed tank, and could not shift or runout. She had ample means of freeing herself of anyseas that might come aboard, which none of the earlyLife-boats had. There was some controversy as to whofirst thought of closed tanks. Farrow, of South Shields,and Greener, of Birmingham, both claimed to haveproposed them in 1841. Probably they thought ofthem independently.

E 4

260 THE LIFE-BOAT. [1ST AUGUST, 1910.

ballast would make its way into theair-chambers. So they got one of theirnumber, Mr. Peake, assistant master-shipwright of Woolwich Dockyard, todesign a boat with a very heavy ironkeel, cork * instead of air-chambers alongthe bottom, and no water-ballast. Thistype underwent a long series of trialsand alterations, and eventually the self-righting Life-boat of the present daywas evolved.

This boat is practically a reversion toBeeching's ideas. There is no cork abouther except the fender under the gun-wale; and the risk of injury apprehendedby the Duke's committee is guardedagainst by the exceedingly strong struc-ture of the boat, f the use of numerousair-cases J which are fitted into the hold,and the division of the closed water-ballast tank into four compartments.One advantage of water ballast is thatwhen the boat is placed at a stationwhere she may have to be transportedsome distance by road, the water neednot be admitted until she is launched, andshe is, therefore, lighter to transport.[Model of latest type on table.] In somecases, where the boat is never transportedby road, the iron keel is made heavierand water ballast is dispensed with.

Remark the high air-case at each end,and the drop keel which, since 1884, hasbeen adopted for all boats intended tocarry sail.§ The tests which a self-righting boat has now to pass beforebeing sent to her station are of theutmost severity, and they make it certainthat if she capsizes she will self-rightimmediately. ||

* The earlier builders of Life-boats had a greatfancy for cork, but it went entirely out of favour,except for fenders, because it was found that it becamesodden and lost its buoyant qualities.

t Canada elm frame, and double mahogany plankingput on diagonally, and copper fastened.

J The number of separate cases ranges from about70 in the smaller boats to more than 100 in the larger.They are made of white pine, served inside with apreservative against decay, smeared outside withmastic, covered with strong calico, smeared again withmastic, and then painted twice with white lead.

} The larger boats, both of this type and of the non-self-righting types, carry two drop keels.

|[ In 1887, after some serious Life-boat accidents, thewhole subject of the relf-righting power of the Institu-tion's Life-boats was under review, and it was decidedthat all self-righting Life-boats should be proved to"right" with their full crew (represented by deadweights, taking 11 stone as the average weight of aman) on board, in addition to all their gear; andfurther, that they should " right" with their sails set,but the foresheet not belayed. The Life-boats had toanswer this test both with the water ballast tanks fulland empty, and no self-righting Life-boat built in 1887

There are 182 self-righting boats inthe service, which shows how popularthey are with the Life-boat crews, ^fThese men are always consulted as tothe type of boat they would like, andbefore making their wishes known theyare allowed to elect representatives andsend them, at the expense of the Insti-tution, to inspect boats which have towork under similar conditions. Thechoice is naturally governed, to a largeextent, by such conditions, but it is alsogoverned by the likes and dislikes ofthe men. The Institution does not giveany crew a boat with which they do notexpress themselves satisfied.

Non-self-righting boats number 99 **;the most prominent type being theWatson boat, designed by the late con-sulting naval architect of the Institu-tion, Mr. G. L. Watson, the famousdesigner of yachts and other craft.Broadly speaking, it may be said that,with large sailing Life-boats, intendedto go well out to sea, it is better to setaside the self-righting principle and aimat great buoyancy, stability and speed.This is what Mr. Watson did, and hisboats have beautiful lines, are safe,weatherly, quick in stays, and of greatspeed, and they are prime favourites onmany parts of the coast. [Model ontable.] The diagram shows whereinthey differ from self-righting boats (seepage 258). The breadth amidships isgreater; the ends are lower ; the heavyiron keel does not extend so far; andthere are air-cases along the sides, notonly between the deck and the thwarts,but also above the thwarts, so as to give

or since has ever been sent to her station withoutpassing this severe ordeal. This great increase in theself-righting power of the Life-boats involved » con-siderable increase in the weight of the iron keel and inthe capacity of the end air-chambers, these latterbeing made longer, higher, and wider at the tops.The weight of the boat was consequently muchincreased, and the space for the crew considerablyencroached on by the larger end boxes. As great"beam" is a factor against self-righting power, thenew boats were built with beam of less proportion tolength than had hitherto been the rule.

![ This number includes some boats designed byMr. Rubie, the surveyor of the Institution, to meetdemands for Life-boats of specially light weight.

** Non-self-righting boats :—Steam Lite-boats 4Cromer type 1Liverpool type 32Norfolk and Suffolk type . . . 18Tubular 1Watson 41Whale boats ~i

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 261

increase of buoyancy and leave no ledgeor crevice in which water can lodgewhen the boat heels over.

As already stated, the fleet includesa steam tug. Her name is the Helen

to render aid to vessels in distresswhich have no chance of getting privatetugs. [Model on table.]

The Institution also possesses foursteam Life-boats. The first, the Duke

DIAGRAM 2.

WATSON TYPE

BODY PLAN MIDSHIP SECTION.

12/99.

A.—The deck.B.—Relieving valves for the automatic discharge of water off the deck.C.—Side air-cases above decks and thwarts.D.—End air-compartments.E.—Wale or fender.F.—Iron keel ballast.G.—Water-ballast tanks.H.—Drop keels.

Peele, and her station is Padstow. Sheis built of steel, is more than twice aslong as the largest sailing Life-boat,displaces 231 tons, and has twin screws.She is employed to tow Life-boats, and

of Northumberland, was built by Messrs.B. and H. Green, in 1889, and sent toHarwich in 1890. [Model on table.]Her hull is of steel, treble riveted anddivided into fifteen compartments. She

262 THE LIFE-BOAT. [1ST AUGUST, 1910.

does not lose her stability until shereaches an angle of 110 degrees fromthe perpendicular. She is propelled bya water turbine, the idea being thata screw might get fouled by wreckageor sea-weed. She is now stationed atHolyhead. The Queen, built in 1897,has the same means of propulsion. Sheis at New Brighton. The James StevensNo. 3, built in 1898, and the City ofGlasgow, built in 1901, are stationed re-spectively at Angle (Milford Haven) andHarwich. These two are screw steamers,and the risk of fouling is guarded againstby the placing of the screw in a cavity,as shown in the diagram (see page 263).

The steam Life-boats are very usefulat the carefully-selected stations wherethey have been placed, but it does notseem that their number should be in-creased. They are more than twice asheavy as the heaviest sailing Life-boat,they cannot be launched and hauled uplike other boats, they must lie afloat atall times of the tide in safe harbours notremote from scenes of wreck, and theyare expensive to maintain. There arevery few places where the requisite con-ditions obtain.

Four sailing Life-boats have beenfitted experimentally with petrol motorsand screws; and, as the experiment isproving successful, the Institution isproceeding with the building of newboats with a protective cavity in whichthe screw will be placed as in the case

* The main requirements in motors for Life-boatsmay be stated thus :—

1. Simplicity, reliability, and strength in every part.2. The engine should not have more than four

cylinders, to avoid complications and to prevent theparts being too numerous, too small, or too delicate.

3. Accessibility to all parts.4. No aluminium.5. The spread of the bearers which support the engine

to be designed to suit the construction of the boat.6. The engine to work properly when placed on a

permanent longitudinal angle of 1 in 4 on a slipway anda permanent list under sail of 25° either to starboardor port, or a momentary list of 45° either way.

7. The engine to be capable of running 12 hourscontinuously without any attention or any need toopen the casing.

8. In self-righting boats an automatic cut-out switch,to stop the engine when she is thrown over to an angleot about 60° to 70°.

9. A governor (independent of hand control) tocontrol the engine and prevent racing.

10. The carburetter and magneto placed as high aspossible so that they can be easily got at.

11. Two camshafts, one on each side of the engine,so as to distribute the weights.

12. Petrol feed on pressure system with a smallgravity tank inside the motor casing as well.

13. Ignition : one system only, and low tension muchpreferred. Engine fitted with half compression, toenable it to start on low tension.

of the later steam Life-boats.* Threeof these new boats are already on thecoast. The photographs on the screenshow a motor boat under trial.

An important feature of all Life-boatsis the series of self-acting, non-return,relieving valves for getting rid of anywater which may come on board. Theseare the outcome of discussions and ex-periments which followed the Duke ofNorthumberland's prize competition in1851. Before that time the "relievingtubes," which had been introduced earlyin the century, were open at each end,and, although they let the water out,they also let it in, and, even in a slightsea, allowed it to spurt up, to thegreat discomfort of the crew. Nowthey act in only one direction, and theydischarge the water in an incrediblyshort time. |

Every Life-boat carries a stout anchorand cable to enable her to veer down toa vessel wrecked on a lee-shore. Manyof the larger boats are fitted with awheel for steering. All boats carry adrogue or canvas bag, shaped like acandle extinguisher, to be towed asternwith the mouth foremost, its purposebeing to hold the boat's stern back whenshe is running before a sea and preventher from being turned broadside to thesea or broaching to. They are all pro-vided with a compass, ropes of the finestmake, grappling irons, life-buoys, a lamp,signal lights, an axe, two hatchets and

14. Lubrication : Mechanical oil feed to all the mainbearings. A supplementary lubricating system to beembodied whereby the bearings, connecting rods, andpistons may be lubricated by splash.

15. Air pump for pressure feed (plunger pump).Bilge pump continuously running (gear pump). Largesize circulating water pump (gear pump).

16. Inlet for circulating water to be in positionarranged by boat builder.

17. Very large water jacket capacity. (The engine,being in a water-tight casing, is apt to get hot, andthus it is necessary that the cylinders should be wellcooled.)

18. None of the circulating water to be discharged inthe exhaust, so that no water may get back to thecylinders. The exhaust to be water-jacketted and avery effective water-cooled silencer provided.

19. The engine to be fixed in a water-tight casing,and all the reversing gear and other parts to bebelow water-tight hatches, with the exception of thecontrol gear, which is to be in a standard on thedeck.

•f- The principle on which the tubes act is the simpleone that water must find its own level. The boat is sodesigned that, in any trim, her deck is higher than thesurface of the sea. Any water, therefore, that coniesover the gunwale to the deck makes its way down thetubes immediately, and the non-return valves preventit from rising again. The greatest quantity that cancome on board is discharged in less than one minute.

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 263

other tools, and an air-tight case con-taining some chocolate (the gift of awell-known firm), biscuits, and a bottle

always of cork, like the one worn by thefine old coxswain, John Owston, whoseportrait is shown on the screen; but

DIAGRAM 3.

STEAM LIFE-BOAT.

P R O F I L E .

Fig.2.

B O D Y P L A N M I D S H I P S E C T I O N .

A.—Cockpit.a.—Deck.6.—Propeller hatch.c.—Relief valves.

B.—Engine room.G.—Boiler room.D.—-Water-tight compartments.E.—Coal bunkers.F.—Capstan.G.—Hatches to engine and boiler rooms.H—Cable reel.I.—Anchor davit.

of spirits, to be served out to the rescuedor used in emergency by the crew ofthe boat. Every member of the crewwears a life-belt. Formerly the belt was

" Kapok " is now being substituted forcork, and you will presently see a pictureof a whole crew wearing belts of thatsubstance. It comes from a plant which

264 THE LIFE-BOAT. [IsT AUGUST, 1910.

grows in the Malay Peninsula.* Verylike cotton, but with a shorter staple, itis not merely more buoyant than cork,but retains its buoyancy longer, and itmakes the belt warm and comfortablefor the wearer, which is more than canbe said for cork. The Institution hasjust determined, after a prolonged trial,to go still further, and to use it for buoysas well as belts. A buoy stuffed with" Kapok " is more efficient, and, as it islighter and softer than a cork buoy, itcan be thrown farther, and, if it hits aman, it will not hurt him so much.f

There is great variety in the methodsof launching the boats. In the simplestcases men can haul or push them overgreased skids, and on the screen you seea North Deal boat ready to be launchedin this way. If men helpers are notavailable, women come to the fore, andthe next picture shows you the wivesand daughters, and perhaps sweethearts,of the Life-boat men at Runswickbravely helping to get the boat off to awreck. Sometimes a stretch of sand orshallow water intervenes, or a launchingplace to suit the direction of the galehas to be reached by road. The boatmust then be mounted on a carriage anddrawn by horses, which take her intothe sea until she is in deep enoughwater to be launched. Where thereis soft sand or mud, Tipping's wheel-plates { have to be put on the mainwheels. You may see typical cases atWorthing and Port Eynon. Haul-offwarps are used in some cases. Away,in a sufficient depth of water, ananchor or a solid mass of concreteis embedded, with a buoy and blockattached. Through the block a warpfrom the shore is rove, and by thismeans the boat is hauled through thesurf. It is a method which has beenin use since 1829, when it was intro-

* " Kapok " is described in the Journal of the Societyof Arts of July 23rd, 1909, vol. lyii., page 737 ; and itsuse for life-belts is mentioned in the Journal of thatSociety of October 15th, 1909, page 981.t A "Kapok" life-belt returned for examination

after it had been constantly used at Whitby for fouryears, was thoroughly tested, with the followingresult :—Weight before immersion, 3 Ib. 14 oz.,supported 26 Ib. in water 24 hours; weight afterimmersion, 5 Ib. I oz. A comparative test of old corkbelts resulted as follows : Weight before immersion,6 Ib., supported 22 Ib. in water 24 hours ; weight afterimmersion, 6 Ib. 10 oz. A "Kapok" life-buoy, whichwas sent to Moelfre in September 1905, and had beenin service ever since, was recently returned forexamination. It was in excellent condition. It was

duced at Yarmouth by the celebratedCaptain Manby. In many cases a singlerope attached to an anchor is foundsufficient for the purpose. Sometimes apermanent timber launching-place hasto be provided, as at Totland Bay.Where rocks or other obstructions arein the way, a solid slipway has to bebuilt so that the boat may be launchedclear and free. If there are local reasonsagainst a solid structure, the slipway isconstructed on piles, as at Margate.There are some stations, like Cemaes, inAnglesey, • where both boat-house andslipway must be placed on piles. AtAtherfield, in the Isle of Wight, theboat is conveyed from the top of thecliff on ways which slant down a land-slip for 300 feet.

I need not multiply examples, and Imust refrain from telling in detail whatis done at the various stations, but itmay be interesting to describe one casewhich illustrates several features in thework of the Institution. At Newquay,in Cornwall, there is a sandy beach,from which it was possible to launch aboat on a carriage very well, but thebeach being deeply embayed, it wasdifficult and tedious, and sometimes im-possible, to beat out against an adversewind to a vessel in distress in the opensea. It became imperative to devisesome other arrangement. On the westside of the bay lies a rocky headland,which gives protection from westerlygales. Near the end there is a naturaldepression, and beyond this the ex-tremity rises and spreads so as to forma shelter from the north. A site waschosen here, a Life-boat house built, anda concrete slipway constructed, in orderthat the boat might be launched intodeep water within easy reach of theopen sea and in command of the "wholebay. The slipway is little more than

tested along with a new cork life-buoy and an old corklife-buoy which had been on the coast for about 10years. The result was as follows: New cork buay,weight prior to immersion, 9 Ib., supported 31$ Ib. for15 'hours and then sank; carried awash 28 Ib. for 9more hours ; weight after immersion, 13| Ib. Old corkbiwy, weight prior to immersion, 13 Ib. ; supported32£ Ib. for 5 hours and then sank ; carried awash 28 Ib.for 19 hours ; weight after immersion, 15£ Ib. " Kapok "buoy, weight prior to immersion, &i Ib., supported34i Ib. for 24 hours ; weight after immersion, 6± Ib.Although more yielding than cork buoys, "Kapok"buoys can easily be bent back to shape, and they haveborne a severe test for strength.

J Invented by Lieut. Gartside-Tipping, U.N., aMember of the Committee of Management.

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 265

a boat's length from the doors of thehouse. When required the boat isbrought to the edge, and the crew, hav-ing donned their oilies and " Kapok"life-belts, climb in and take their places.The masts are stepped, and, at the wordof command, she is released, shootsdown the slipway, and dashes into thesea in a cloud of spray.* After she hasdone her work she has to be housedagain; but she cannot be brought tothe slipway and hauled up there; shemust be beached; she therefore turnsbefore the gale and makes for the headof the bay; here she is met by willinghands and a team of magnificent horses ;jtackle ia made fast, and she is drawnover skids to her carriage. The eighthorses, trained to obey the whistle ofthe foreman teamster, act as one, and goin. fine style up the beach, through thetown, and away to the house at theheadland, where the boat is promptlymade ready for -further service.

The pictures you have seen are picturesof an exercise on the occasion of a visitlast June of their Royal Highnesses thePrince and Princess of Wales, who wentto Newquay for the express purpose ofseeing the exercise and of encouragingthe crew and local committee. I regretI am unable to show you what the con-ditions areinastorm. ffhere are picturesof rescues in gales of wind, but they aregenerally fancy pictures, and I preferto leave them to your imagination. Iventure, however, in conclusion, to tellthree short, unvarnished tales which mayenable you to carry away some impres-sion of the kind of work which theLife-boat service renders to humanity.

In September, 1906, the Caister Life-boat effected a rescue in circumstancesof great danger. The Russian barque,Anna Precht, carrying twelve hands,under the command of Captain Jansson,and bound to Yarmouth, encounteredan east-north-east gale, and was runningfor an anchorage, when she drove on theCockle sands. Before she could makea distress signal she went to pieces.Three men got into her small boat, and,

* Except near the toe, this slipway has a gradient ofl inS.

•f Placed, without fee or reward, at the disposal ofthe Institution hy a public-spirited merchant of thetown.

without oars, trusted themselves to thewaves. The coastguard had not seenthe wreck, but they descried the smallboat, and at once aroused CoxswainHaylett, who mustered his crew, andthe Life-boat Nancy Lucy (of the " Nor-folk and Suffolk" type) was launched.Meanwhile the ship's little boat wasthrown on the beach, and the threesailors were cared for by the coastguard.There were still nine men to accountfor, and the Life-boat men made theirway out and found Captain Jansson,whom they rescued. Proceeding withtheir search, they discovered on thewreckage a lad, whom they unlashedand saved. Still persisting, they foundfour men clinging to another piece ofthe wreck, and made them safe. Then,although drenched to the skin and suf-fering from exposure, they kept onsearching, but could find no more. Thewreckage was surrounded by loose sparsand pieces of wood, and it was withgreat risk and difficulty that the Life-boat was brought through it and nearenough to the distressed sailors, whilein the case of some of these poor fellows,who were benumbed and helpless, theLife-boat men had to clamber on to thepieces of wreckage to effect their rescue.Coxswain Haylett, Assistant-coxswainPlummer, Solomon Brown, and WalterHayletfc were awarded silver medals,and the whole crew were given anadditional pecuniary reward.

In a dense fog, at 10.30 P.M. on the10th March, 1907, the White Star linerSuevic, with 524 persons on board, ranon the Maenheere Reef, off the Lizard.There was a strong S.W. wind andheavy sea. Her signals of distress werepromptly responded to by the Life-boatsat the Lizard and Cadgwith, and furtheraid was summoned by telephone fromCoverack and Porthleven. Two of theship's boats were filled with women andchildren, but it was fortunate that theyhad scarcely left the ship when the twonearest Life-boats arrived, for the officersin charge had no knowledge of the rocksaround them. The Lizard Life-boattook one in tow to Polpear and returnedto the wreck. The other ship's boat waspicked up by the Cadgwith Life-boat,and the local honorary secretary, theRev. H. Vyvyan, jumped from the Life-

266 THE LIFE-BOAT. [IsT AUGUST, 1910.

boat into the ship's boat, and, slippingthe tow-rope, successfully piloted herashore through the rocky and dangerouschannel. He then returned to thewreck, where he assisted in the savingof the passengers. Meanwhile, the Life-boats from Coverack and Porthlevenarrived, and the work of rescue wascontinued throughout the night. Thedarkness was intense, and between threeand four o'clock the weather becameworse, but by noon every one was insafety. There was not a single accidentor injury to report, although sixty ofthe children on board were under threeyears of age. Two sailors, George Ander-son and William Williams, distinguishedthemselves in the work of carrying thechildren down the rope ladders, andwere each rewarded with a gratuityand the silver medal. The silver medalwas also given to the Rev. H. Vyvyan,Coxswain Rutter, Coxswain W. H.Mitchell, and Assistant-coxswain EdwinMitchell, and a large sum was distributedin rewards to the crews and helpers.Three of the boats engaged were self-righting boats, and one was of theLiverpool type.

There is one story, perhaps the mostthrilling, still to tell. On the 22nd Feb-ruary, 1908, a gale of unusual severityblew over the United Kingdom; andthe Holyhead Steam Life-boat, the Dukeof Northumberland, which had just re-turned from rendering assistance to adisabled steamer, received informationthat another steamer, the Harold, wasin danger. Failing to reach Holyhead,this vessel was drifting with the tidetowards the rock-bound coast of Angle-sey, between the North and South" stacks." Notwithstanding the terribleseas, the Life-boat went out again im-mediately. The wind had been increas-ing, and was blowing with hurricaneforce; but the Life-boat made headwayagainst it, and found the distressedsteamer anchored not far from the cliffsamid such seas that it was impossible toget near her. Huge waves tossed theLife-boat like a cork; but eventually,after two hours' skilful manoeuvringby the coxswain, and helped by theslackening tide, she was able to approachsufficiently near to effect communicationby means of a, rope. Seven of the ship-

wrecked sailors were drawn through thewater to the Life-boat when a heavy seacarried her almost alongside, and thetwo remaining men jumped on board.The rope was slipped, and the Life-boatsteamed clear, and landed the whole ofthe ship's crew safe and sound. Theservice was attended by extraordinaryrisk, as the Life-boat was in imminentdanger of being driven against the dis-abled steamer, which would have beendeath to all on board. The coolness andcourage displayed by Coxswain Owenand his crew were the subject of uni-versal admiration at Holyhead, and werefully appreciated by the Committee ofthe Institution. The slightest error ofjudgment on the part of Owen, or anyhesitation in carrying out his orders onthe part of his crew, could only havebrought destruction upon all. The en-gine-room staff were not less deserving ofpraise than the others. Battened downbelow and not knowing how matterswere going on, they endured suspensewhich it would be difficult to describe.Owen was voted the gold medal, andeach of the deck hands and engine-roomstaff received the silver medal, besidespecuniary rewards. His Royal High-ness the Prince of Wales marked hissense of the importance of the serviceby graciously commanding the attend-ance of Owen at Marlborough House,when, after pinning the gold medal onhis breast, he congratulated him andshook him cordially by the hand. Owenalready held the silver medal for a gal-lant rescue in 1890, as well as the medalof the Royal Humane Society.

Stories of equal heroism in Scotlandand in Ireland might be told, but mypurpose being rather to convey an im-pression of the kind of work done thanto praise, the gallantry of the Life-boatmen, I will now only point you to thewreck chart of the Board of Trade—thelatest chart published—which, with itssinister black marks, tells of the neces-sity for the work of these men all roundour coasts. There, better than in anywords of mine, you will discover whythere must be a Life-boat Institution;there you will see what is the task it iscalled on to perform; and there, may Isay, you will find an invitation to for-get sectarian and party strife, and to

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 267

join in fervent prayer for a blessing onthe Life-boat cause.

NOTE.—I am indebted to Mr. Caveand Mr. Hargood, members of the Com-mittee of the Life-boat Institution, forseveral photographs; and to Mr. G. B.Hodgson, of South Shields, Mr, Malcolmand Mr. Robinson, Vice-President andSecretary respectively of the Tyne Life-boat Society; Mr. Hawkey, of Newquay;Mr. Bayley, Secretary of Lord Crewe'sTrustees; the officers of the Life-boatInstitution and of the Society of Arts,and other gentlemen, for much valuableinformation.

APPENDIX.Since the paper was read at the

Society of Arts, the following extractfrom a book, now out of print, entitled:—

"LE TABLEAU DE LA MER.

NAUFRAGES ET SAUVETAGES.PAR

G. DE LA LANDELLEParis: Hachette, 1867 "

has been received from Monsieur Girdret,who so kindly made the enquiries inJanuary about Monsieur Bernieres. Itseems to show that Monsieur Bernieresinvented his boat as early as 1765 :—

" p. 282 et suiv.:. .. Au mois de juillet1775, on fit sur la Seine 1'essai d'unleger canot insubmersible et inchavir-able, dont 1'invention qui datait dejade dix ans, etait due a M. de Bernieres,Controleur general des Ponts et Chaus-sees, connu d'ailleurs par plusieurs autresremarquables decouvertes.

" Les experiences, qui furent renouvelees a diversea reprises, aotamment le25 juin de 1'annee suivante, a St. Cloud,en presence du Prince de Conti et deMile, de Bourbon, reussirent toujoursa souhait. Elles sent relatees dans lesprincipales gazettes du temps.

" La nacelle matee et munie de deuxponts a la poupe et a la proue, e'est-a-dire de deux grandes boites a air,portrait aisement neuf personnes, dontsix assises au fond, un patron et deuxrameurs. On la remplissait d'eaujusqu'aux bords et on lui imprimaitdes balancements violents sans qu'elleput couler. Une foule de nageurs s'jaccrochaient tous du meme cote, onpesait sur le mat jusqu'a le plongerdans 1'eau. 'Au moment oil le matetait lache, elle se relevait d'elle-meme,avec une rapidite surprenante, commesi un corps etranger, elastique etpuissant, 1'eut relevee avec force. Cesucces a etonne, poursuit 1'auteur dela relation, et a confirme ce queM. de Bernieres avait promis de faire :1'experience d'une chaloupe insub-mersible ; cette nacelle multiplie lessecours contre les hasards de la mer,elle peut sauver non seulement leshommes qu'elle porte, mais aussi ceuxqu'elle traine, et ses cotes deviennentpresque aussi utiles que son interieur.'(L'esprit desjournaux, aout 1775.)

" Faut-il dire que, malgre la publi-cite donnee a 1'invention du controleurgeneral de Bernieres, malgre sa hauteposition et ses protections royales, ilen fut au siecle dernier de sa nacelleinsubmersible comme il en avait ete160 ans auparavant de celle du braveRazilly?"

268 THE LIFE-BOAT. [1ST AUGUST, 1910.

REMEMBER THE LIFE-BOAT!

COME, now, a cheer for the Life-boatAnd its gallant, fearless crew;

Only give them a chance, lads,And you'll see what they can do.

No matter how dirty the weather,Or how fierce the wind may blow,

They're ready enough to face it—They've British hearts, you know!

Perchance there's a wife and children,Or perhaps a mother dear;

But they leave to the women the weeping,And the black foreboding fear.

For them there's the call of duty;There's a man's work to be done,

And with stout hearts—Heaven willing !—A victory to be won.

The foe is the raging tempest —The wild waves mountains high—

While out from the darkness yonderFor help has come a cry.

There's a vessel battling bravelyWith the fury of the gale;

And the shipwrecked crew ? God help them !If the Life-boatmen should fail!

Amid the crash of the thunder,And the lightning's fitful glare,

The stalwart crew of the Life-boatFor the fight with Death prepare;

And there's not a face that blanchesAt the terrors of the night;

Well, they're only fulfilling their duty,And doing the thing that's right!

And see! the boat is launched, lads,By willing hands and strong—

Oh would that I were a poet,I'd sing a stirring song,

That told of the deeds of heroes—Of the men who rescued lives—

Just think of the joy of the children, [wives.And the fervent " Thank God! " of the

Then " Hip hurrah for the Life-boat I"And a cheer for its sturdy crew I

Those warriors of the ocean,With hearts so brave and true.

Their cause to-day I'm pleading—Just a penny—aye, or a pound.

But don't forget the Life-boatWhen the hat is handed round!—Anon.

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 269

.SERVICES OF THE LIFE-BOATS OF THE ROYAL NATIONALLIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION.

LLANDUDNO, CARNARVONSHIRE.—At1.45 P.M. on the 1st January a signalof distress was shown by two men in afishing-boat two miles off from land inLlandudno Bay. The men, father andson, had gone out to their fishing linesand were overtaken by a sudden risingof the wind blowing from the west,which nearly caused the swamping oftheir boat. They fortunately had abucket in the boat and were able tokeep her afloat until help reached them.The Life-boat Theodore Price waslaunched very promptly and the menwere rescued, their boat being towed innearly full of water. In the fresheningwind the sea became very rough, butthe Life-boat behaved splendidly.

CARDIGAN, CARDIGANSHIRE. — TheLife-boat Elizabeth Austin was launchedat 9.15 P.M. on the 1st January inanswer to signals of distress from avessel midway between Cardigan Headand Cardigan Island. There was astrong westerly breeze and a roughsea. On reaching the vessel, whichproved to be the ketch Kattie Darling,of Cardigan, with a crew of three men, itwas found she was dragging her anchorsand drifting towards the rocks. Themen were rescued and conveyed ashore,the vessel being left to her fate. Fortu-nately the anchors held and the vesseldid. not become a total wreck, but wastaken into the river the next day.

SELSEY, SUSSEX.—The Coastguard, at8 A.M. on the 2nd January, reportedthat a vessel was ashore on the westend of the Mixon. Reef, and the crew ofthe Life-boat Lucy Newbon were quicklyassembled and the boat launched. Theyfound the barquentine Waterwitch, ofPortsmouth, loaded with coal and boundfor that port, had stranded in the pre-vailing iog and was bumping heavily.Owing to the strong flood tide and headwind it took the Life-boat some time toget to the vessel, but on reaching her itwas thought prudent to stand by her asshe was in a very dangerous poskion,and with a heavy ground swell running.

Later in the day a tug from Little-hampton was able to tow the vessel offin a leaking condition, and the crewbeing no longer in danger, the Life-boatreturned to her station, arriving shortlybefore 5 P.M.

CAISTER, NORFOLK.—During a verythick fog on the 5th January a messagewas received from the Cross Light-vesselby wireless telegraphy stating a steamerwas ashore on the sand. The crew ofthe No. 1 Life-boat Covent Garden wereassembled and the boat launched. Thesea was smooth at the time, but there•was a heavy swell on the saads. Aftersearching for half an hour in the fogthe Life-boat fell in with the s.s. Orkla,of Leith, bound from that port toAlexandra with a general cargo, on thesand with three tugs in attendance.The captain asked the Coxswain tostand by until high water, when thevessel floated; the Life-boatmen werethen engaged to assist to save the vesseland took her to Yarmouth Road, whereshe anchored.

PALLING, NORFOLK.—In smooth butthick weather on the 6th January atelephone message was received fromthe Coastguard stating that a steamerwas ashore at Horsey Gap. The crewand helpers of the No. 2 Life-boat Heartsof Oak were assembled and the boatsent to her assistance. She found thes.s. Swansea Say, bound for Portugal inballast, in the position described. Bythe request of the master the Life-boatstood by the vessel and her crew assistedto lay out an anchor, by which meansthe vessel was eventually floated. TheLife-boat then returned to her station.

RAMSEY, ISLE OP MAN.—At about4.45 P.M. on the 8th January a flarewas observed E.N.E. of the Harbourfrom a schooner riding about a mile off.The Life-boat crew were summoned andthe Life-boat Mary Isabella was quicklyalongside the schooner, which turnedout to be the Glide, of Belfast, boundfrom Connah's Quay with bricks. Two

270 THE LIFE-BOAT. [1ST AUGUST, 1910.

anchors were out but the cables werefoul, and the men on board feareddragging, as there was a strong galeblowing from S.W. with a heavy searunning. Whilst the crew, four innumber, were being rescued, a steamtrawler fell across the schooner's bowsand carried away her bowsprit, placingthe Life-boatmen in considerable peril.They got clear, and returning to Ramseylanded the rescued men at 6 P.M.

HOLY ISLAND, NORTHUMBERLAND.—At about 1.30 P.M. on the 9th Januarythe Life-boat Coxswain with a largenumber of men witnessed the breakingaway from their moorings of two boatsanchored in Holy Island Harbour, onebeing the cutter Alma, of SouthShields, and the other the ketch Fingal,of Dublin. A very strong W.S.W.gale was blowing, with a very heavysea, and the boats were liable to thedouble danger of collision and strandingon the rocks. The Alma managed tobarely clear the rocks but stranded ona sandy beach, where she was attendedby shore-boats. The Life-boat LizziePorter was smartly launched and in fiveminutes was alongside the Fingal, whichhad been brought up by her anchors.The Life-boat stood by the vessel fortwo hours.

L L A N D D U L A S , D E N B I G H S H I R E . —Shortly before noon on the 9th January,the schooner Gwalia, of Drogheda, boundfrom Liverpool with coal, was observedin the Bay showing signals of distress.The crew of the Life-boat Brother andSister were at once summoned, andalthough they were mostly in theirdifferent places of worship the Life-boatwas promptly launched. In the teethof a westerly gale the boat was rowedto the sinking vessel. The whole of thecrew, six in number, were rescued andbrought ashore, amid much excitementamongst the large crowd assembled onthe beach. The sea was very rough atthe time of the rescue, and after themen were saved the schooner stranded.

POOLE, DORSET.—On the evening -ofthe llth January, considerable anxietywas felt for the safety of fourteen fishingboats belonging to Poole, the south-

westerly wind having suddenly increasedto a whole gale whilst they were out atsea. Many members of the Life-boat'screw were in the boats, but a crew wasobtained and the Life-boat City MasonicClub launched to their assistance. Onreaching the boats she stood by themand accompanied them into port, the lastone arriving at about 10.30 P.M. For-tunately all the boats got in safely, butmany of them had their sails and gearcarried away, and had a very narrowescape.

WALMER, KENT.—At about 9.30 onthe evening of the llth January, signalsof distress were observed from a largeship ashore, or nearly so, on the mainabreast of Walmer Castle. The weatherwas very bad with a rough sea and astrong S.W. by S. gale. The crew ofthe Life-boat Civil Service No. 4 weremustered and the boat launched. Indoing so, owing to the heavy surf, therudder was damaged and rendered use-less, but notwithstanding this the menproceeded to the vessel, steering the boatby means of sweeps and oars. Theyfound the vessel in a very dangerousposition, having lost one of her anchorsand her sails being blown away. EightLife-boatmen were placed on board andsucceeded with the assistance of a tugin. saving the -vessel and her crew oftwenty-two men. It was impossible toweigh the vessel's anchor, as the wind-lass was broken; the cable was thereforeslipped, and the tug having made fast,towed the vessel to the Thames.

The vessel was the barque Formosa,of Glasgow, and was bound from Shieldsto San Pedro with a general cargo.

PETERHEAD, ABERDEENSHIEE. — Thesteamer Lady Bessie, of Aberdeen, whilston her way to Peterhead, stranded inthe South Bay on the evening of the13th January. A strong S.S.W. breezewas blowing and the sea was rough. Inresponse to a telephone message re-porting the casualty and the vessel'ssignals, the Life-boat George Pickard,was sent to her assistance in tow of atug. On nearing the wreck the Life-boat anchored and veered down to her,but the captain of the vessel preferredto land the crew by means of the ship's

IST AUGUST, 1910.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 271

boat, although warned of the danger.He declined the help of the Life-boat;she therefore stood by until all werein safety and then returned to hermoorings.

CLACTON - ON - SEA and WALTON-ON-NAZE, ESSEX.—About midnight, on 14thJanuary, signals of distress were ob-served from a vessel apparently ashoreon the Gunfleet Sands, and a telephonemessage was sent to the Gunfleet Light-house, asking for information. Shortlyafterwards further signals were seen andthe Light-house also fired rockets. Thecrew of the Life-boat Albert Edward, atClacton, and of the James Stevens No. 14,at Walton, were promptly summonedand' the Life-boats proceeded to thesands. They found H.M. tug Diligentwith a lighter in tow, bound from Har-wich to Sheemess, aground on the S.W.part of the sand, and the captain gladlyavailed himself of the services of theLife-boatmen to try and float his vessel.At low water they ran out the vessel'slarge bower anchor with a steel hawserattached, and when the tide made,eventually succeeded in getting thevessel clear.

The Life-boats then returned to theirstations.

P A K E F I E L D , SUFFOLK.—Duringmoderate weather at 5.35 A.M., on the14th January, flares were observed inthe direction of the Newcombe Sands.The crew of the Life-boat The TwoSisters, Mary and Hannah, were promptlycalled out and the boat launched. Thevessel proved to be the ketch Salacia,of Lowestoft, homeward bound fromfishing, but she was hard aground, withher mainmast carried away. At therequest of the master Life-boatmenwere put on board, and later on theLife-boat succeeded in towing her clear,when she proceeded to LowestoftHarbour.

PIEL, LANCASHIRE.—The steamtrawler Dorothea, registered at Thors-haven, Faroe Islands, left Fleetwood forthe fishing grounds early in the morningof the 16th January, but stranded on

the west end of Walney Island, shortlyafter 3 A.M. The vessel was then in noimmediate danger, but she was keptunder observation, and later in the daytugs were ordered to go to her assistance.Shortly afterwards the vessel began tofill with water and hoisted a distresssignal. The Life-boat Thomas Fielden,was promptly despatched to her assist-ance. A strong and squally S.W.breeze had been blowing and this in-creased to a moderate gale, causing veryrough and broken water. A tug towedthe Life-boat to windward of the vesselwhere she anchored and veered down.Considerable difficulty was experiencedby the Life-boat in getting alongsidethe trawler, and just before doing so aheavy sea washed one of the crew outof the Life-boat, but he was fortunatelyrecovered at once.

Ten men were aboard the trawler andall were successfully rescued, the vesselhaving every appearance of becoming atotal wreck.

GOKLESTON, SUFFOLK.—Shortly before1 A.M. on the 23th January the Coast-guard reported that signals of distresshad been fired by the St. NicholasLight-vessel. As quickly as possiblethe crew of the No 1. Life-boat MarkLane were assembled, and the Life-boat,in tow of a tug, proceeded to sea. Fromthe master of the Cross Sand Light-vessel the Coxswain ascertained thattwo steamers had been in collision, andhad steamed slowly away to the south-ward.

The Life-boat and tug proceeded inthat direction, and fell in with thesteamer Helene Lohden, of Stromstad,from Leith to Boulogne with coal, whichhad been in collision with the steamerRestitution, of Liverpool, with sixteenhands on board. As the former wasleaking badly, the Life-boatmen quicklyran ropes from her to the tug, and, withthe Life-boat in close attendance in caseof emergency, the vessel was taken intoharbour and berthed for repairs. Duringthis service a strong N.N.W. gale wasblowing, with a heavy sea, .and, but forthe timely assistance, the vessel wouldprobably have been lost.

272 THE LIFE-BOAT. [Isi AUGUST, 1910.

SUMMARY OF THE MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE OFMANAGEMENT.

THOBSDAY, 13th January, 1910.Colonel SirFiizRoY CLAYTON, K.G.V.O..V.P.,

in the Chair.Read and confirmed the minutes of the

previous meeting.Also read those of the Building, Finance

and Correspondence and Wreck and RewardSub-Committees, and ordered that theirrecommendations be carried into eSect.

Read the report of the Deputy ChiefInspector of Life-boats on his recent visit toFishguard.

Also the reports of the District Inspectorsof Life-boats on their visits to the followingLife-boat Stations:—

Northern District.—Kirkcudbright, Balcary,Ackergill, Wick, Fraserburgh, Newburgh,Gourdon, Johnshaven, Buckhaven, Girvanand St. Andrews.

Eastern District. — Hunstauton, DonnaNook, Grim