THE terrible disaster which overtook one of the Life-boats belonging to the Institution, stationed at Caister on the coast of Norfolk, in November last will be fresh in the minds of our readers.

The expressions of sympathy received from all classes, not only in the British Isles and on the Continent, but even from the United States and India, have been most gratifying, demonstrating again the widespread interest which is taken in the Institution's Life-boat Service throughout the civilised world.

Briefly the circumstances of the acci- dent were as follows :— While the wind was blowing a whole gale from N.N.E. with thick rain, and the sea was very heavy, on the night of the 13th November, flares were seen from a vessel on the Barber Sands, and the Cockle Light-ship fired the recognised signals of distress to indicate a vessel on those sands. This was soon after 11 o'clock. The crew of the Life-boat were promptly assembled and with all de- spatch the No. 2 Life-boat BeaucJiamp was launched, but the heavy seas washed her off the skids and she was cast ashore, necessitating her being hauled up on the beach ready for another launch. It was intensely dark and very cold, and it was not until nearly 2 o'clock in the morning that the efforts to float the boat, with the aid of the warp and tackle, were successful. Sail was then set, and when the boat was last seen from the shore she appeared to be all right and most of the launchers went home to change their wet clothing, but James Haylett, senr., who was for many years assistant coxswain of the Life-boat, although seventy-eight years old and wet through, after assisting for several hours to launch the boat, re- mained without food on watch, having two sons, a son-in-law and two grand- sons in the boat. After the boat was floated and sail made she proceeded out on the port tack towards the sands in the direction of the distress signals, which were dead to windward. On nearing the sands the coxswain wore his boat, as the mizen was not yet properly set, stood ashore and tacked just outside the surf. After making another board, he again tacked and proceeded towards the shore, but on tacking again as they got near to the surf the boat missed stays; he filled again and renewed the attempt to "stay," but she failed a second time to come round and was by that time in the breakers close to the beach. The coxswain, seeing that it was impossible to avoid going on shore, ordered the mizen to be lowered, and put his helm up, but he had only just time to get the boat straight before the sea when her bow struck the sand about fifty yards north of the place of launching, and almost simultaneously a very heavy sea caught her on the starboard quarter and she was keel up in an instant. The masts were broken short off and the crew pinned down beneath the boat, which it should be remembered is one of the Norfolk and Suffolk type, non- self-righting, 36 ft. long, 10£ ft. wide, weighing five tons without gear and requiring thirty-six men on the gunwale to bring it awash with the crew and gear in place and water-ballast tanks full. This happened shortly before 3 o'clock, at which time Frederick Henry Haylett came back to the Life-boat bouse, after changing his wet clothes, when he drew the attention of James Haylett, senior, his grandfather, to criescoming from the water's edge. Both ran down, and to their surprise and horror discovered the Beauchamp bottom up in the surf. There was a tremendous sea and " sweep" on the beach, but not- withstanding old James Haylett dashed at once into the surf and got hold of his son-in-law, Charles Knights, who was struggling to get clear of the boat. Frederick Haylett also ran in and was in time to get hold of John Hubbard. The old man, after assisting Knights on shore, went in a second time and got hold of his grand- son Walter Haylett, and helped him also on to the beach. Both rescuers in- curred great danger, but had it not been for their efforts it is almost certain that no one would have been saved. Subse- quently eight dead bodies were recovered at intervals as they were washed from under the boat, the last being recovered when the boat was righted at 11.30 A.M.

by a large number of men. One body, however, was carried away and not seen again. The names of the nine poor fellows who were lost were Aaron Walter Haylett, coxswain, and James Haylett, junior, brothers ; William Brown, assis- tant coxswain, and Charles Brown, brothers ; William Wilson, John Smith, George King, Charles George and Harry Knights, who was only nineteen years old, and was making his first and, as it unhappily turned out, his last trip on service in the Life-boat. These men left behind to deplore their loss, six widows, thirty-three dependent children, three other dependent relatives and one partly dependent.

The funeral, which was a public one, took place on Sunday, 17th November, when the Institution was represented by the Chairman of the Committee of Man- agement, Sir Edward Birkbeck, Bart., V.P., and the District Inspector of Life-boats, Commander Thomas Holmes, R.N. There was an immense crowd of spectators, and deputations from the neighbouring Life-boat stations attended.

The verdict of the jury at the inquest upon the bodies was practically one of " Accidental Death" no blame being attributed to any one. In giving his evidence, James Haylett, senior, made the following characteristic reply to a suggestion that possibly the Life-boat- men had given up their errand as a bad job, " Caister Life-boatmen," he said, '' never turn back, and would have kept there till now if necessary to save men in distress. It was against the rules to go back when distress signals were shown." The Board of Trade, at the request of the Institution, held an exhaustive in- quiry at the Yarmouth Town H-ill into the circumstances attending the disaster; it was attended on behalf of the Institu- tion by the Deputy Chief Inspector of Life-boats, Mr. Charles E. F. Cunning- hame Graham.

The Committee of Management of the Institution, as soon as they learned the number of the bereaved dependent relatives, contributed the sum of 2,000/.

towards the fund for their relief which was very promptly started by the Mayor of Yarmouth, which fund ultimately reached the munificent amount of 12,OOOZ., notwithstanding that it was proposed to close it when 10,OOOZ. had been received. It is probable that, after meeting the needs of the widows and dependents of the nine men, a sub- stantial sum will be left to form the nucleus of a permanent fund to meet Life-boat disasters involving loss of life in the future. The Institution defrayed the cost of the funerals, etc., and liber- ally compensated the survivors of the disaster.

The Committee also awarded the Gold Medal of the Institution, a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum and framed and the sum of 25 guineas, to JAMES HAYLETT, senr., in recognition of his great gallantry and of the remark- able endurance he displayed at his advanced age, seventy-eight years, in remaining on the beach, for twelve hours, wet through and without food, this being the veteran's crowning act of half a century's life-saving in connection with the Institution's Life-boats, re- sulting in the saving of hundreds of lives: The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum and 5Z. were also accorded to FREDERICK H. HAYLETT.

The valuable co-operation afforded by Captain A. F. CLOWES and Dr. CASE, honorary secretaries of the Great Yar- mouth and Caister Branches, was also specially recognised.

A new Life-boat crew was definitely formed at Caister on the 21st December to continue the noble work left as an in- heritance by the Beauchamp victims, and, strange to say, a few hours afterwards, towards midnight the Life-boat bell spoke for the first time since the disaster, the Coastguards having observed dis- tress flares burning on the Barber Sands. With Jack Haylett as cox- swain, No. 1 Life-boat Covent Garden put to sea. Although hardly recovered, the Beauchamp survivors, Haylett, Hubbard, and Knights, with the veteran James Haylett, assisted to launch the boat. The following morning the Life- boat returned after a fruitless errand, the vessel in distress (a stranded steamer) having got away without as- sistance.

The damaged Life-boat was removed to Yarmouth for repair, but the men ex- pressed a wish not to have her again on j the station, and this desire was at once ' concurred in by the Institution. The Institution arranged for a deputation of three of the men to visit other stations before finally selecting the type for a new boat, but there is little doubt they still, have a strong predilection for the non- righting Norfolk and Suffolk type of boat.

The Beauchamp, the cost of which was presented to the Institution by Sir Reginald Proctor Beauchamp, Bart., was placed on her station in 1892, and up to the time of the accident she had been launched to the aid of vessels in distress on 81 occasions, and saved 146 lives; while the total number of lives which the Life-boats at Caister have saved during the past forty-three years is 1381, a " record" as regards the Life- boat stations of the United Kingdom.

On the 6th January, His Majesty the King, the-Patron of the Institution, did James Haylett and the Institution the high honour of presenting to him at Sandringham the rewards granted him by the Institution.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, as President of the Royal National Life-boat Institution, was present, as well as Dr. W. Case, hon. secretary to the Caister Station. Major-General Sir Stanley Clarke and Commander Sir Charles Gust, R.N., were in attendance.

A Yarmouth Correspondent stated thao after the King had presented Haylett with the Life-boat Institution's gold medal, the old man earnestly ex- pressed the hope that his Majesty would live to be a hundred years old and then die and go to heaven, at which the King laughed heartily. " There ia one thing always gives me courage," Haylett said to the King, " and that is when I see poor fellows in the rigging of a wreck.

I always put myself among them and say, ' What would I give if a Life-boat came to save me ?'" Haylett subse- quently had a long chat with the Prince and Princess of Wales. He discussed with the Prince the respective merits of the self-righting and Norfolk and.

Suffolk types of Life-boats, in which subject his Royal Highness was greatly interested..