IN The Life-Boat for November, 1918, it was indicated that in due course an effort would be made to furnish some details regarding the war services ren- dered by members of the Institution's staff in the Great War. At that time —the month in which the Armistice' was signed—it was naturally assumed that it would not be long before all officers and other ranks whose callings in civil life embraced work of first-rate national importance would be released to take up again the duties they had laid aside in response to the paramount needs of their country's defence. As a fact, however, even more than a year after the signing of the Armistice, there were still members of the Institution's staff whose release from service had not been obtained, despite the urgent repre- sentations that were made to the proper authorities. The claims of commerce and industry were, of course, of great importance, but it was natural to suppose that the claims of a great national life- saving society, such as THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, would certainly have received not less con- sideration than those of business firms and other concerns conducted for profit.

In spite of this it was not until the end of 1919 that full details, could be obtained of the war services of members of the Institution's staff. The record which follows is enough to show that the Institution's noble traditions of peace service have been well maintained during the war by those members of its staff who were eligible for service with His Majesty's armed forces, and the diversity of that service, rendered in many different parts of the world, makes it something of a microcosm of the work of THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION itself.

It was not possible for those offering themselves for service in the war to . pick and choose the exact form of service ; they would render, or even to ensure I that their capabilities should be fully r" used. The point to be remembered f with satisfaction is that the members of the staff who were eligible gave I themselves freely to their country's service in a great national emergency, seeking no personal advantage, shirking no risk or hardship, and making no reservations by reason of whatever special training and abilities they possessed. Full advantage was un- doubtedly taken by the authorities of the qualifications of some, whilst in other, less fortunate, cases men with special qualifications for valuable forms of war service found themselves set to tasks which would have been as well performed by men who had, not 'their training. Theirs not to reason why, but cheerfully and tirelessly to give to the limit of their capacity, whatever the service indicated, and no matter what the rank it carried with it. And that is precisely what these members of the staff of THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION did in their war service! Whether as private or field-marshal, no man can do more, and no Life-boat man has done less.

1. Captain HOWARD F. J. ROWLEY, C.B.E., R.N., then Deputy Chief In- spector of Life-boats, received his call on the outbreak of war, and from the begin- ning was entrusted with the very im- portant task of establishing a Naval Base at Inverness, arid dealing with the distri- bution of officers and ratings, mails and stores to the Grand Fleet in the North of Scotland. At different later stages he was appointed Senior Naval Officer, Divisional Naval Transport Officer, and Naval Representative for the North of Scotland Special Military Area. Apart from the fact that it was heavy and un- remitting, the work involved by these appointments demanded the exercise of great skill in organization, com- bined with complete mastery of' varied and complex detail. Its importance for the welfare, and indeed the working efficiency of the Grand Fleet, could not easily be exaggerated. Joining up as Commander, Captain Rowley shortly afterwards received a step in rank, as Acting Captain, in which rank he was presently confirmed.

He continued to serve right up till April, 1919, and upon demobiliza-tion the special value of his services was recognised by the award to him of the C.B.E. This officer's war service thus proved in every way a fitting prelude to his promotion as Chief Inspector of Life-boats.

2. Commander H. G. INNES, R.N., now Deputy Chief Inspector of Life- boats, was called up on the outbreak of war. He served as First Lieutenant on board H.M.S. Amphirite in the Atlantic, where she was engaged in convoy work, in searching neutral vessels, and in the hunt for armed merchant cruisers. He then took command of H.M.S. Circe, a mine-sweeping gunboat, in the North Sea, arid was promoted Acting Com- mander «in September, 1915. Later, he served as Assistant to the Senior Naval Officer and Extended Defence Officer, Cromarty, and was promoted to the rank of Commander on the Retired List in August, 1916." He served until the end of the war, and was demobilized in 1919.

3. Captain CHARLES H, FORBES, R.N., District Inspector for the Northern District, was also called up at the out- break of war, and posted to Portsmouth, where he was placed in charge of. the auxiliary service there, that is to say, of merchant ships serving with stores and munitions for the fleet. He held this post Until January, 1917, when he was transferred to the charge of the transport, still at.Portsmouth, an onerous post which included the shipping of guns and tanks across the Channel. ' In January, 1918, Captain Forbes went to Salonika as D.N.T.O., and did not return to England until a year later. Men- tioned several tunes in despatches, Captain Forbes was promoted to the rank of Post Captain, at the end of 1918, and was awarded the C.B.E.

Climatic and other conditions in the Salonika theatre of war were far from favourable, and unfortunately led to a breakdown in health. This compelled Captain Forbes to relinquish his appoint-, ment under the Institution, and, we regret to state, resulted in a grave ill- ness, which finally culminated in Captain Forbes's death.

4. Commander V. G. RIGG, D.S.O., R.N., District Inspector for the Eastern District, was called up at the outbreak of war, and, 'as was indicated in the November, 1918 issue of The Life-Boa , was awarded the D.S.O. for his gallant service while in command of mine sweepers in the Dover Patrol. Later on he was transferred to the Inland Water and Transport Service, and appointed Naval Adviser to the Officer in Charge of the great Naval Transport establishment at Rich borough, the famous " mystery port" of the war.

In connexion with his very important duties here he was given the rank of Colonel, R.E., and on demobilization he joined a commercial undertaking in which his energy and ability are likely to prove of great value.

5. Captain BASIL HALL, R..N., the District Inspector for the Southern District, was called up in November, 1914, and appointed to the "Special Service Squadron," familiarly known as the "Dummy Squadron," because it was composed of merchant. - vessels cleverly disguised to look like men-of- war. The duty of these vessels, was to act as decoys to the enemy's fleet, and in this, in a number of .cases, they ' were very successful. Captain Hall served altogether in three of the fourteen ships of the squadron, and in April, 1915, was promoted to Com- mander. When the squadron was paid off he was appointed Coast-Watching Officer for the Norfolk and Suffolk coast, and, on Armistice Day, was pro- moted to the rank of Captain "for services rendered during the war." 6. Commander EDWARD D. DRURY, O.B.E., R.N.R., the District Inspector for the Western District, was called lip in 1914, as Lieutenant, R.N.R.,, and'_' served in the Black Sea, in Syrian waters, Gallipoli, the Grecian Archi- pelago, Gibraltar, Constantinople, and the Sea of Azoff. In June, 1917, he was promoted Commander, R.N.R., and was given command of the Empress, one of the first of the sea-plane ships. For „" his excellent services he was twice: i mentioned in dispatches, and received the O.B.E. i He has now been trans- ferred to the Northern District as Inspector of Life-boats.

7. Commander P. F. M. FELLOWES, D.S.O., R.N., the District Organizing Secretary for the South of England, had previously been invalided out of the Navy owing to a serious accident which had resulted in permanent lame- ness. He was eager, however, to place his services at he disposal of the Admiralty, and, in due course, was appointed Inspector of Steel. Some months later he joined the Royal Naval Air Service, and was placed in charge of the armament of naval aircraft, at the Admiralty. Subsequently, he suc- ceeded in going on active service as an airplane Observer, and while serving in this capacity he was shot down, off Zeebrugge, picked up by the enemy, and kept a prisoner of war in Germany until after the Armistice. Commander Fellowes has now permanently joined the Royal Air Force; but we may be sure that he will remain a sympathetic friend of the Life-boat Service. His former colleagues and Ms many friends in the Southern District will read with interest this brief outline of his war service, as they will rejoice in his fortu- nate escape from death at Zeebrugge, and his well-earned award of the D.S.O.

8. Major A. 'C. CUST,  District Organizing Secretary for Greater London, was, on the outbreak of war, called up as Captain, and joined the depot of his old regiment, the Somerset Light Infantry, at Taunton. In 1915 he was, appointed Assistant Provost Marshal to the 14th Light Division, later on to the 9th Corps, and, finally, to the 15th Corps. After acting for some months as Town Major at Arras, he received an appointment at the War Office, which he eventually resigned to take up an important post in connection with the Ministry of Agriculture. Meantime, -by the death of his brother, the late Mr. H. C. Cust, Major Cust has become the heir to the Barony of Brownlow, the present holder $f which, Earl Brownlow, has always been a constant friend and supporter of the Life-boat cause.

9. Lieut.-Colonel A. S. MURRAY, O.B.E., 'District Organizing Secretary for Greater London, who had served as a regular in the South African War and been wounded at Diamond Hill, re- his old regiment, the Sherwood Foresters, as Captain on the outbreak of war, and was appointed Major to the 9th Battalion (K.I.). He served with it in the Gallipoli Peninsular from the 1st July, 1915, to the 23rd August, being mentioned in dispatches. He was severely wounded at Savla Bay and invalided home. On leaving hospital and returning to light duty he was appointed to the command of the 6th Reserve Battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment, and promoted Lieut.-Colonel in January, 1916. Later in the same year he took command of the 4th Reserve Battalion Leicester- shire Regiment, and in July, 1918, became Commandant of the Officers' Command Depot at Ripon. In- April, 1919, the was released, at his own request, to take up the appointment under the Institution which he now holds, and was awarded the O.B.E. (Military Division) for his services.

10. Major Cecil H. MAPLESON ob- tained a Commission as Lieutenant at the beginning of the war, after a brief course in an Officers' Training Corps, and was posted to the Ordnance. Most of his war service was done in the East; and the consistent efficiency with which his duties were discharged is shown by the fact that in 1919 he was appointed an Assistant Director at G.H.Q., Baghdad, with the rank of Major. As he is medically advised that life in the East will be better for his health than a return to. England, Major Mapleson is resigning his post with the Institution, but his colleagues will follow the further career of this successful young officer with interest and good wishes.

11. Major HENRY WALLINGTON, As- sistant District Organizing Secretary for London, obtained a commission at the beginning of the war, after a brief course in an Officers' Training Corps, and was posted to the Ordnance. He went later to Egypt, and eventually was promoted to the rank of Major. He has now resigned his post with the Institution, in order to remain in the Army.

12. Mr. J. S. P. GRANT, Deputy As- sistant Surveyor of Machinery, joined up in September, 1914, as a private in the . Mechanical Transport Section of the R.A.S.C., and in due course was promoted to the rank of Corporal. His service was in France, and his training and experience in civilian life made his work of the greatest value to the Mechanical Transport. It is one of the many anomalies of the war that a man of Mr. Grant's educational and expert training should have been allowed to remain in the ranks, when his qualifications would have been of tenfold value had he served as a com- missioned officer.

13. Mr. S. BONE, the present Resident Assistant Surveyor of Life-boats, though highly qualified for the appointment which he held before the war, and in spite of several rejections by the medical authorities, made repeated efforts to join the fighting forces, and succeeded, towards the end of 1916, in enlisting as a private in the R.A.S.O. He served through the remainder of the war, and was promoted to the rank of Corporal, despite the fact that he had no opportu- nity of using his special training and abilities.

14. Mr. W. PAYNE joined the 2/3 County of London Yeomanry (Sharp- shooters), and became an Instructor in Lewis and Hotchkiss guns. Early in 1917 he transferred to the Machine Gun Corps Cavalry, and went to Meso- potamia with the 25th Machine Gun Squadron. He was promoted Acting Lance-Corporal in charge of a gun and detachment, and took part in the opera- tions on the Euphrates in 1917-18, and in the Tigris operations in 1918.

Hardly any member of the staff saw more varied and active, service than Mr. Payne, and readers of The Life- Boat will remember his very enter- taining letters, written from Mesopo- tamia, which appeared in the issue for November, 1918. After seeing so much hard service, it was the worst of luck that Mr. Payne should have been sent from Mozulto India after the signing of the ArmLstice, and that he should not reach home and get his release until December. 1919.

15. Mr. RICHARD CHARLES BAVER- STOCK was rejected on medical grounds.

In December, 1915, he attested under the Derby scheme and on the 24th April, 1916, was called up for service as'a Com- pany Accountant. He was promoted to the rank of Lance-Corporal, and served until November, 1917, when he was discharged from the Army as being, on account of ill-health, no longer fit for military service.

16. Mr. C. H. SCOFFIELD tried to enlist at the beginning of the war, but was rejected on medical grounds, and only after several attempts succeeded, in March, 1917, in joining the Motor Transport Section of the R.A.S.C., with which he served in France until the end of the war.

17. Mr. D. W. NISBETT, joined the 2/3 County of London Yeomanry as a trooper, and in. due course earned promotion to the rank of Cor- poral. He transferred to the Pay Corps in August, 1918, and served there until demobilised in March 1919.

18. Mr. L. F. GILDING, who is em- ployed at the Storeyard, enlisted in the 25th (Cyclist) Battalion London Regi- ment on the 9th December, 1914. He was on coast defence until the beginning of 1916, when his battalion went to India.

There he saw service in the Waziristan summer campaign in 1917, in the fighting, with the Afghans in 1919, when he took part in the relief of Thai Fort, and was present at the Amritsar Riots. It was not until December, 1919, that he reached home again.

19. Mr. GEORGE R. SMITH joined the R.A.S.C. in November, 1915, as a Technical Storekeeper in Mechanical Transport, and eventually won promo- tion to the rank of a First-class Warrant Officer, as. Machinist Sergeant-Major, before being invalided out of the service, in which his work had been very satisfactory throughout.

20. Mr. H. G. GILDING enlisted as a trooper in the Middlesex Hussars, and later was sent to Ireland. He became a Sergeant-Instructor in Physical Train- ing and Bayonet Fighting, and in spite of several applications to be sent over- seas he was retained with his drafting unit as an instructor.

21. Mr. JAMES EDWARD MARTIN, the late Chief Rigger, was a First-class Petty Officer, and had already seen twenty-four years' service. He was called up on the outbreak of war, and took up duty on the Baralong. Later, he joined the Ben-My-Chree, the fast Liv erpool-Isle of Man steamer, which was converted into a sea-plane carrier, and which, under the command of Flight Commander Samson, was en- gaged in the Bed Sea, off the coast of Palestine, and with the French ships patrolling the Eastern Medi- terranean. It was on board the Ben- My-Chree that First-class Petty Officer Martin died, on the 25th July, 1916.

22. Mr. JOHN NUNN, a Rigger at the Storeyard, was called up in August, 1914, as an Able Seaman, .B.N., and served throughout the war in the North Sea and on the west coast of South America. Mr. Nunn has the distinction of having served on board H.M.S. Warspite through the Battle of Jut- land, and of having seen a great deal of the naval side of the war. He has now resumed his work as an expert Bigger.

23. Mr. RICHARD HUMPHREYS, As- sistant Storehouseman at the Storeyard, joined up as a Rifleman in the Middlesex Regiment on the 5th August, 1914, and has seen active service in France and Belgium, Italy and Germany. He speedily earned promotion to Lance- Corporal. That his service was indeed " active" is amply proved by the fact that he was wounded on three separate occasions. Mr. Humphreys proved himself a gallant soldier, and returned to his civilian employment with a record of which any man might justly be proud.

24. Mr. L. J. PEACH, employed at the Storeyard, joined the Trawler Section of the B.N.B. as Deck Hand, in November, 1915, and served throughout the re- mainder of the war. At one period he had to be invalided, as the result of an accident, but for the rest served continuously and always with credit.

25. Mr. E. W. CALVER, also employed at the Storeyard, was called up as First- class Petty Officer, B.N., on the out- break of war, and served with credit throughout the war in patrol and mine sweeping in the North Sea, one of the most arduous and dangerous of all the duties of the fighting forces.

26. Mr. S. BEER, of the Storeyard, joined the King's Royal Rifles, as Rifleman, in December, 1915. He served in France, Belgium, and Italy, and was three times wounded.

27. Mr. CHARLES DIXON, the assistant messenger and an. old regular, was called up on the 8th August, 1914, and went to France with the Coldstream Guards.

He was promoted Lance-Sergeant in 1917, and died of wounds in hospital on the 7th July, 1918..