IN 1894 the Committee of Management decided to take over control, upkeep and maintenance of ail the Life-boat stations in Liverpool Bay which had hitherto been under the management of the Mersey Dock Board, the latter corporation undertaking to pay an annual sum of £1,000 towards the cost. Formby was one of the stations thus taken over.

In 1895 the Committee decided to supply a new Life-boat for this station, which was forwarded in January, 1896.

The station is in a very isolated position, and launching is rendered difficult by the softness of the sand, which also shifts its position from time to time, causing accretion in some places and erosion in others. The coxswain lives at the boathouse, and the crew are much scattered. Up to the commencement of the War the horses required for launching had been obtained from a contractor in the neighbourhood, but those horses having been requisitioned it would have been necessary to close the station had not General Sir D. Kinloch offered to place some of the military horses at the disposal of the Institution. We take the opportunity of expressing our thanks to General Sir D. Kinloch, while pub- lishing an illustration showing the o o horses at work as voluntary war workers.

Since the station was taken over the coxswain's house has been rebuilt, and extensive alterations have been made to render the boathouse more efficient.

The boat has been launched on 61 occasions, and has saved 27 lives.