WITH deep regret we have to announce the death, on active service, of Lieut.- Commander H, T. Gartside-Tipping, R.N., a member of the Committee of Management, who was killed in action while in command of the armoured yacht Sanda, on 25th September, 1915. We ; have been precluded from giving an | account of the circumstances attending \ his death earlier by the fact that the Admiralty did not wish the details to be known until they had been publicly announced, as was done in the official despatch from Vice-Admiral Sir R. Bacon, K.C.B., C.V.O., D.S.O., com- manding the Dover patrol, which appeared on the 13th January, and from which we quote the following passage:— " It is with great regret that, among others, I have to report the death of Lieutenant-Commander H. T. Gartside Tipping, R.N., of the armed yacht Sanda, who was the oldest naval officer afloat. In spite of his advanced age, he rejoined and, with undemonstrative patriotism, served at sea as a Lieu- tenant-Commander." Lieut. -Commander Gartside-Tipping was born in 1848 and joined the Navy in 1860. He was three years on the Japan station, where, at Kagaseima, his captain was killed at his side on the bridge. Later he went to the West Indies with H.M.S. Doris. He then served as lieutenant aboard Queen Vic-oria's yacht Victoria and Albert, from which he went to the training-ship Ganges at Falmouth as instructor. There he was given command of the Dapper, the tender to the Ganr/es, and in this position he came into close contact with H.M. King George and the late Duke of Clarence, who were both cadets under him. In 1879 Lieut. Gartside-Tipping was appointed District Inspector of Lifeboats, and in that capacity showed the zeal, efficiency, and professional knowledge which characterised him throughout. He held this important post, which afforded ample opportunity for the exercise of the qualities of fine seamanship in which he excelled, until 1892, when he retired. In 1894 he was elected a member of the Com- mittee of Management, and remained an active and keenly interested member until his death, placing his exceptional knowledge at the service of the Institution and being ever ready to undertake any work which could further its interests. His exceptional skill as a yachtsman, coupled with his signal ability as a yacht-designer, made his advice invaluable to the Institution. One of the most valuable services which he rendered was the invention of Tipping's plates, named after him. These plates enable a heavy Life-boat to be transported on her carriage over deep mud and soft sand which would otherwise form an almost insuperable obstacle, as the heavy carriage would sink into the sand over its axles. Tip- ping's plates have since been extensively adapted to the needs of artillery. At the outbreak of war, Lieut, (as he then was) Gartside-Tipping was 66 years of age. In spite of this fact he at once volunteered for service and was given command of the armoured yacht Aries, in which he did invaluable work all through the winter of 1914-15. During that time he went through a period of hardship and exposure which would have shaken the constitution of many a younger man. The Weekly Dispatch of 16th January quotes an ex-H.N.R. officer as saying that the work in the North Sea during the long winter months " is the most exacting naval work that has been performed during the War. It is least understood and appreciated. Officers and men are as wet below deck as above ; it is scarcely an uncommon thing to have one's blankets wrung out before turning in. It is wonderful ho\v Lieut.-Commander Gartside-Tipping stuck it through." Shortly afterwards he was transferred to the yacht Sanda, a small unarmoured craft. It was while in command of this little vessel that Lieut.-Commander Gartside-Tipping met his death, and we cannot do better than publish here a letter written by Commander W. G. Rigg, D.S.O., R N., himself a District Inspector •of Life-boats and a colleague and friend of Lieut-Commander Gartside-Tipping, and an officer who earned high praise from Admiral Bacon, who, in the report referred to above, says, " The minesweepers under Commander W. G. Bigg, R.N., hare indefatigably carried out their dangerous duties." It is a great satisfaction to us to state that Commander Rigg's excellent services in this •capacity have been recognised in the award of the D.S.O. His letter, which is addressed to Lord Waldegrave, the Chairman of the Institution, is as follows :—• "21, WATERLOO CRESCENT, " DOVER. " llth Oct., 1915. " MY LORD,—You are by this time aware that Lieut.-Commander Gartside Tipping, R.N., ia command of the yacht Sanda, met his death on the morning of the 25th September, 1915. " As he was a member of the Committee of Management of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION I thought that perhaps an account of the disaster, by one who saw it, might interest both you and the members of your Committee. " I am therefore writing an account for you, but must beg of you to keep it as strictly private and confidential amongst the members until such time that such letters can be published. •" The Fleet were in action off a certain port * of the Belgian coast on the morning of the 25th September, 1915, and up till nine o'clock were entirely unmolested. " At this time a very hot fire was opened on us from the shore batteries. "The yacht Sanda was slightly in- shore of the monitors, and at 9.20 A.M. I suddenly observed a huge flame and column of dense black smoke emerging from the fore part. " By the time the smoke had cleared away, the fore part of the vessel had disappeared, and in less time than it takes to write, the after part rose up in the air, so that in the space of less than three minutes the whole vessel, with the exception of the funnel and one mast, had totally disappeared. " What actually happened was that a high-explosive 8-in. shell from one of the shore batteries had hit her right under the fore bridge, with the result told above. " At the time I was in command of the paddle mine-sweepers, and was about three-quarters of a mile away from the yacht. " I immediately steamed at full speed i to the vessel and lowered my two boats, but owing to the heavy gun-fire we were I subjected to, I was obliged to leave j them there and take my vessel out of j the danger zone. " A steam-drifter was also on the spot, and two boats later on arrived from two destroyers, but unfortunately of the crew of 28 only 13 were saved. "All were saved who could be saved, as I am sure all the others were killed instantly. " I eventually took all the survivors aboard and returned to port with them, medical assistance being rendered on the way back. "It was only two days before this disaster that His Majesty the King inspected Dover and, seeing Lieut.- Commander Gartside-Tipping, stopped and had a long conversation with him, congratulating him on being the oldest officer afloat. " Lieut.-Cornmander Gartside-Tipping was held in very high esteem in Dover, and we all mourn his loss here very much. " I am sure he died the death he would have asked for, for he fell without knowledge in the height of our action. " No words of mine can pay sufficient tribute to him, but the words of one of the survivors are worthy of note, viz. : ' And so dies a very gallant officer and perfect gentleman.' " I have the honour to be your Lordship's most obedient servant, " W. G. RIGG, " Commander. " THE RIGHT HON. " THE EABL WALDEGBA.VE, P.O." It is pleasant to know that the King never forgot the relations which had existed between himself and Lieut.- Commander Gartside-Tipping in the old I days when he was a cadet under that j officer aboard the Dapper. Country Life, of the 22nd January, contains a vivid impression of the gallant man by one who met him in January, 1915, when he was in com- mand of the armed yacht Aries. Struck with the fact that a man of his age had left his pleasant home in Norfolk to face the arduous duties and real hardships of the North Sea service in a small yacht, Miss E. _L. Turner, the writer of the article in question, said to him, pointing to the breakers as they rolled in at the foot of Lindisfarne : "You have left all that for this." To which Lieutenant-Commander Gartside- Tipping replied, with a sunny smile : " Of course, I couldn't stay at home while there was an ounce of work left in me." As the sun set he held out his hand and said : " Good-bye; we will meet at Hickling (in Norfolk) after the War, if I don't foul a mine or some- thing." The writer continues: " I watched the tall, spare figure disappear through the low doorway and down the long gallery, its frail aspect accentuated by the naval frock coafc. A strange thrill of exultation choked all utterance. Here was a man, and a hero, one of many, thank God ! Yet distinct from all others, since he was ' the oldest naval officer afloat.' No one would have called him a shirker had he stayed at home. All this came home to me in that brief interview, though the rapid steps and erect, alert bearing gave one the impression at first of a much younger man. " I was at Hickling when the ' some- thing ' happened. It was a calm, still day, and what wind there was blew from the east. Far away from over the sea came the dull thunder of guns, faint at first, but regular and persistent. Of course, on the east coast we often hear guns firing, but this was different from ordinary target practice. Its sullen roar made us restless, and we asked one another: ' What can it be ?' and ' Where is it ? ' It was the bombardment of Zeebrugge. The ' something ' had happened."