IN the Life-boat Journal for November, 1895, the development of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION'S fleet is traced for the twenty-two years which elapsed between 1850, when the Society had got into regular working order, and had begun to build its own boats and place them on the coast, until 1872, when we found that the fleet had increased to 233 Life-boats, and that in that year there was a total of 261 boats on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland; consequently there were but 28 which were not under the management of the Institution.

The fleet had reached such proportions that it was hardly to be expected that it would continue to increase by leaps and bounds as it had been doing, and the " Annual Report" published in May, 1873, shows no addition to the number of the Life-boats—a check, 233 Lifeboats. no d°t—but the places requiring the presence of a Life-boat were getting few and far between. However, 5 new boats were built, and sent to the coast to take the place of old ones since the last Report.

The year 1872 had been one of ex- ceptional severity for gales. Three accidents to Life-boats are recorded. The first at Montrose, where a heavy sea broke over the boat when out rendering service to a vessel, washing four of the crew overboard ; they were recovered, but unfortunately one died a few days after from the effect of the exposure. The second case was of a very serious nature.

The Skerries (Ireland) boat was com- pelled to anchor in broken water, and the tide sheering the boat broadside on, she capsized several times, six of her crew being drowned: this boat's pro- portions were 32 ft. X 8 ft. The third accident was to the Ramsgate boat, one of her crew being washed overboard at night, and nothing more was seen of him. This boat had for twenty years been employed in Life-boat work, and this -was the first life lost from her; she was a self - righting boat measuring 40 ft. X 10 ft. 4 in. The terrible disaster to the Northfleet occurred in January.

As many will remember, she was an emigrant ship, and was run into whilst at anchor near Dungeness, and nearly 400 1874.

210 Life-boats..

lives were lost.

The list of stations in the " Annual Report" published 1st May, 1874, shows an increase of 7,bringing the total to 240. The following are the newcomers:— Dunwich.

Brancaster.

New Romney.

St. Mary's (Scilly).

Douglas (Isle of Man), 1 additional.

Longhope (Orkneys).

Kogerstown (Ireland).

The " Northumberland Report" shows that at St. Mary's, Scilly, there-was in 1850 a Life-boat which was built in 1828 by Mr. Plenty, and whose dimensions were 26 ft. X 8 ft. 6 in., still in good condition, but no mention is made of a station there between 1850 and 1874.

The other stations are all new ones.

A very efficient-sized self-righting boat was adopted in 1873, viz., 37 ft. x 9 ft., proportions which have given great satisfaction at those places where there are sufficient men to work so large a boat.

They are a sort of happy medium between the small boats which have to rely almost entirely on their oars and the large boats which rely entirely on sail as their motive power.

Four lives were lost through the upsetting of the Stonehaven Life-boat on the bar, and the boat was seriously damaged by being dashed against the pier.

In addition to the new stations 7 new boats were also sent to replace old ones at 12 other stations.

The Annual Report which was Published 15th Mar 1875, shows the fleet in- creased from 240 to 250.

Cresswell.

Hartlepool (3 boats).

Staithes.

Hythe.

Watchet.

Seascale.

Balbriggan (Ireland).

A very large addition, considering how well the coast was now protected. And all the above, excepting Hartlepool, were new stations.

In addition to the above, 7 new boats were built and sent to replace old ones, but no great departure was made as to new dimensions.

One accident took place entailing the loss of one man. This occurred through the upsetting of the Shoreham boat on the dangerous bar of that harbour, but against this single and sad loss it is pleasing to record that 713 lives were rescued.

The list published for 1876 is in- 1876. creased by four new stations, 254 Life-boats. Tjz . Harwich.

Torquay.

Cruden.

Eyemouth.

It is curious to note that such an important station as Harwich, with all the outlying sands in its neighbourhood, should until this year have been with- out a Life-boat. The "Northumberland Report" shows that in 1850 a Life-boat, 28 ft. X 7 ft., maintained by the Admiralty, existed. This boat was built in 1845 by Mr. Thompson of Rother- hithe. Harwich is now (1895) so im- portant that a steam Life-boat is kept there. The wreck of the Deutschland in 1875 on the Kentish Knock, 24 miles from Harwich, of course emphasised the necessity of placing a boat at Harwich; it will be remembered that 57 lost their lives on that occasion.

Another frightful catastrophe in the same year, was the wreck of the Schiller, another German vessel, on one of the rocks of the Scilly Islands, when no less than 331 of the passengers and crew perished. These two wrecks gave rise to a vast amount of correspondence urging the necessity of connecting light vessels and outlying lighthouses by telegraph with the shore. A movement only now being really carried out into practice.

Seventeen new Life-boats were sent to the coast to replace old ones. So 1875 was evidently a very busy year.

1877.

256 Life-boats.

An addition of two in the list, published in "Annual Report" of May, 1877, shows the fleet'as numbering 256.

Dartmouth.

Cemlyn. Dartmouth apparently entered the field as a Life-boat station for the first time, but the often quoted "Northumberland Report" shows that Cemlyn as far back as 1828 was a Life-boat station, possess- ing in 1850 a boat of 26£ ft. x 6 ft.

dimensions, built by Harton after Palmer, and maintained by the National Ship- wreck Association.

Eleven new boats were despatched to replace old ones.

Three distressing accidents entailing loss of life occurred, viz., one at Kingstown, the Life-boat (32 ft. X 7 ft. 6 in.) with the crew of a brig on board, making 19 all told in the boat, was capsized whilst under sail, three of the brig's crew were lost and the 2nd coxswain was severely injured and died shortly afterwards.

At Whitby the Life-boat broached to and upset, and three of the crew perished presumably through their life-belts com- ing off. This led to an improvement in the belts by substituting buckles instead of trusting to tying the strings of the belts.

The third case was at Bude, where perhaps the heaviest broken water on the coast of England is to be found.

Here the boat was capsized, and although 11 out of her crew of 12 regained her when she righted, the other was drowned; he was the coxswain. Against these accidents the list of saved for the year appears as 600.

The 1878 " Report" shows 268 Life-boats.that the P*8* year had been one of exceptional activity on the part of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE- BOAT INSTITUTION, for we find the fleet augmented by no less than 12 new stations:— Clacton-on-Sea. Ackergili.

Hope Cove. Nairn.

Yealm River. Whitelink Bay.

Rhyl Newburgh.

(1 additional). Gourdon.

Port Patrick. Tralee Bay (Fenit).

Huna.

All (with the single exception of Rhyl, where a second boat was placed) entirely new to Life-boat work. In addition to these stations, 2 new boats were sent to supersede old ones.

The list of persons rescued by the Life- boats and shore boats for 1877 amounted to no less than 1,048, the third occasion since the foundation of the Society that " four figures had been reached." A very large self-righting boat measur- ing 44 ft. X 11 ft. 1 in. was sent to Ramsgate; this boat, though having very poor sailing qualities, was very much liked at Ramsgate, and for thirteen years did excellent work.

A boat whose dimensions were 37 ft. X 8 ft. 6 in. was sent to the newly-formed station, Port Patrick, where she still is, and remains a great favourite.

After such an increase in 268 Life-boats.the fleet as was shown by the last "Report," it was hardly to be expected that the list pub- lished in 1879 would be much added to, and in fact it records the same number of boats, namely, 268. However, 10 new boats were built and sent to replace old ones.

The past year had not been one of special results as to the number rescued by the Institution's boats, but it was remarkable for three terrible calamities.

First, the loss of the training - ship Eurydice and 366 lives, a disaster of a peculiarly distressing nature, seeing the greater part of the crew were young men just beginning their career, and also that the ship was lost almost within sight of many of their homes, to which they were just returning after a foreign cruise.

Second, there was the loss of the German ironclad- Grosser Kurfiirst and 284 lives. This disaster, as may be remembered, was the result of collision with one of her consorts, and took place in sight of Folkestone. Lastly, was the awful loss of the Thames river steamer Princess Alice and no less than 600 lives.

Although none of the above cases in any way had any bearing on Life-boat work, yet they had great bearing on the question of life-saving apparatus carried by vessels.

The " Annual Report" published 1880, ggo shows the list increased by 270 Life-boats.two an * tlle eet numbering 270. As a matter of fact the following new stations were added :— Winterton Dundalk (1 additional), (1 additional), Southend (Essex), but Gorton disappears, and the boat which was there was transferred to Winterton.

Twelve new Life-boats took the place of old ones on the coast. There was no special departure in the design or pro- portions of the new boats with the single exception of the boat sent to Southend; she was what is known as a " Wolfe's insuhmergible Life-boat," and was 25 ft.

long by 7 ft. 3 in. bsam.

Two unfortunate accidents occurred to Life-boats in the past year. At Bacton in Norfolk the boat was upset and 4 lives were lost; and at Ardrossan the Life- boat was upset whilst being towed before a heavy following sea, and out of the 25 persons on board 4 lost their lives.

A step of the utmost importance was taken by the Committee in 1879 : namely, the appointment of District Inspectors. Hitherto the work of in- spection had been carried out by a Chief and three other Inspectors. Now the Coast was divided into five districts 11 and an inspector appointed to each, '! whose business it was to pay peri- ji odical visits to each station, exercise ;' the boats no matter what the weather ! was (unless very extreme), confer with jj the coxswains and men that man the boats, and report on each station. There was no step taken by the Institution since its foundation that has led to such an increase of efficiency as the appoint- ment of these inspectors. They were in a position to introduce more discipline among the crews, a thing sadly needed then, and by no means to be neglected no if, and also they had the advantage of gaining an enormous amount of useful knowledge from the coxswains and crews which would be used for the benefit of the Institution. Also the fact that their duties obliged them to be out in Life- boats most days in the year, and to superin- tend the launching and working of them in every conceivable way very soon put these officers in possession of Life-boat knowledge which not even the best cox- swains had the opportunities of gaining.

Life-boat work is a speciality, and the aspects under which it is carried out vary almost at every station.

In 1881 we find two new names added to the list, but we lose 1881 271 Life-boats. Chapmans Pool in the Isle of Purbeck. The newcomers are :— Robin Hood's Bay. St. Anne's.

What led to the establishment of the Robin Hood's Bay station was an extremely arduous service performed by the Whitby boat which was summoned to render assistance to the crew of a vessel in distress off Robin Hood's Bay, the 6 miles of road between the two places besides being very hilly were covered with very deep snow. However the efforts of the Whitby boat were successful; but it was considered advisable to place a boat at Robin Hood's Bay.

This was not actually a new station as far as Life-boat work is concerned, for they had a boat there as far back as 1839 ; she was built by Gale, of Whitby, was 28 feet long by 10 feet beam. This boat in 1843 upset and drowned 12 men.

As many as 17 new boats were sent to the coast since the last report.

Three accidents occurred, namely, to the Wells, Harwich and Yarmouth Life- boats ; in the case of the former of these 11 lives were lost, the greatest disaster sustained since the re-organisation of the Society in 1850, although an accident unfortunately greater in loss to a private Life-boat at Gorleston occurred in 1866, by which 13 lives were lost through the boat capsizing on the bar.1882 finds the fleet of Life-boats still numbering 271. Two new 271 Life-boats. names aPPear and two boats are removed.

Bamburgh Castle, Littlelmven, are the new stations, and Bacton, and 1 boat from Lowestoft are the removals from the list. The boat at Cleethorpes is transferred to Grimsby.

Eleven new Life-boats were sent to replace old ones ; a Life -boat whose dimensions were 37 ft. X 8 ft. was used for the first time and has sub- sequently proved herself to be a good pulling boat.

1881 had been a terribly stormy year, and the Institution claims having paid rewards for the rescuing of 1,121 lives, the greatest number in one year with the exception of 1869, when 1,231 were rescued. Among many splendid services done was one by the Ramsgate boat to a vessel called the Indian Chief, which was stranded on the Long Sand, one of that network of shoals at the mouth of the Thames. This service has been fre- quently referred to by those interested in Life-boat work.

On referring to the " Annual 273 Scats.

ETrt " Published In 1883' again a small increase to the fleet is seen, for it now numbers 273.

Aranmore, Westoa-super-Mare, Llanaelhaiarn, go to swell the total, but we lose Kogers- town from our list. The Theddlethorpe Life-boat station is transferred to Mable- thorpe. Nine new boats were sent to the coast.

An accident occurred to the Life-boat stationed at Swansea through being swept over a reef of rocks, on which occasion four of her crew perished. Also one man was lost out of the New Brighton tubular boat.

In 1882 the Society, hoping to en- courage carefulness in owners of fishing and small coasting vessels, instituted a scheme for assisting them to procure aneroid barometers at a very small cost, the Institution making it possible for the owners to procure these instruments at one-third their retail cost.

1884.

274 Life-boats.

In the 1884 "Report" we find one more addition to the number of Life-boats on the coast :•— Gorleston (1 additional).

Gorleston had always been an active Life-boat centre, for long before the Institution had a footing there, Life- boats were owned and worked by the beach companies. The boat which was transferred from Yarmouth was a very powerful one of the Norfolk and Suffolk type, 42 ft. 3 in. x 11 ft. 9 in. In addition to this boat, 4 other new boats were built, and sent to replace old ones.

1883 saw the opening of the Fisheries' Exhibition, the forerunner of a series of Exhibitions at South Kensington, but the only one of importance to the Life-boat Institution, for it is needless to say the Society was well to the fore in its exhibit; and besides that the thoughts of the thousands of people who visited it were naturally directed towards the sea coast and the perils entailed by fishermen in their ordinary avocation, and from that to life-saving is a natural sequence.

1885.

234 Life-boats.

Our next "Annual Report," namely, that published in 1885, shows an extra- ordinary increase. The Life- boat fleet has been raised from 274 to 234, and this at a time when it was considered the guard- ing of the coast for life-saving purposes was almost complete. The new stations are:—• Barmston.

Kessingland (1 additional).

"VValton-on-the- Nuze.

Port Eynon.

Newport.

New Brighton (1 additional).

Port Erin (Isle of Man).

Balcary.

Crail.

Dunmore.

Chichester Harbour boat is moved to Littlehampton, the Alderney boat trans- ferred to Jersey, and the Cruden Life-boat Station is henceforth known as Port Erroll.

In every respect was 1884 an active year, for in addition to the above new stations, 28 new boats were built to replace old ones, this being greatly in excess of any year since 1866.

We now come to a point in the history of the Institution's Fleet where it will be convenient to stop for the present and reserve the last ten years for another and concluding article on this subject.

It is interesting to note, and is a sign of the great activity of the Society, that between 1865 and 1885 the entire fleet with the exception of 5 boats was re- placed, and that out of the 322 Life-boats shown to be on the coast in the wreck chart for 1884-5, 284 were under the management of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION.

(To be continued.).