THK ton highest remittances received from Branches during the year 1st October, 1919, to 30th September, 1920, are JIB follows:— ±. (/ City of London Liverpool Bradford .

Manchester .

Glasgow .

Leeds Birmingham .

Newcastle 8,020 - - 7,700 - - 5,958 - - 5,230 - - 3,041 - - 2,020 - - 1,969 - - 1,878 - - Edinburgh . . 1,399 - -.

Sheffield . . . 1,203 - - The sums received from Liverpool ami Bradford include the special funds which, without diminishing-their regular remittances, these two Branches are raising for the construction of Motor Life-boats; and the sum received from Newcastle includes a special donation of £500 from the Northumberland Lord- Lieutenant's War Distress Relief Fund, towards the cost of a Motor Lifeboat for one of the Stations on the Northumbrian coast.

Cromer.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch w is held on the 16th November last, Mr. D. Davison, J.P., the Chairman of the Committee, presiding. The Honorary Secretary, Mr. V. H. Barclay, J.P., presented a report, which showed that the work of the previous twelve months had been specially useful and successful.

The number of launches on service— nine in all—had been much above the average; twenty-five lives had been saved and five vessels helped or salved.

Financially, also, the year had been a great success. The total receipts were £389, and the total expenditure £276.

There had been a balance in hand from the previous year, and the Branch was able to remit £100 to Headquarters—a record sum.

The sum collected at the Boat House, £105, was nearly double the previous year's; and there had been a record sale of picture postcards, the number being nearly 5,000.

The report, in fact, showed a greatincrease in public interest in the Station, both among the townspeople and visitors, and it was decided that, for this reason, future Annual Meetings should be open to the general public. Coxswain Blogg and his crew were specially thanked by the meeting for their gal- lantry and fine seamanship, and Mr.

Barclay for his untiring attention to the work of the Station. The meeting also expressed its appreciation of the help which the Life-boat received from Com- mander Chichister, R.N., the Chief Officer Ranger, and from other members of the Coast-guard at Cromer.

Appledore.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held on the 25th November last, the President, the Rev. J. B. White, being in the chair. The report for the year ending the 30th September, 1920, showed that the Branch had raised a sum of £137, and had ended the year with a balance of £57. Jn presenting the report, Mr. Whitehead, the Hono- rary Secretary, said that for eight or nine years the Branch, although it had had two Life-boats to maintain, had been self-supporting. Mr. White was unanimously re-elected President, and Major - General Sir Robert Stewart, K.C.M.G., was elected a member of the Committee. Mr. Whitehead was cordi- ally thanked for his work as Honorary Secretary, and was re-elected for his twentieth year of office.

Llandudno.

On the 17th November last, before a crowded audience, the Rev. John Raymond was presented with the Gold Pendant and the Record of Thanks, which had been awarded to him by the Committee of Management in recognition of his valuable co-operation for thirty years as Honorary Secretary to the Station. Dr. E. R. Wbodhouse, the Chairman of the Urban District Council, presided, the presentation was made by Colonel the Hon. H. Lloyd Mostyn, J.P., and Commander Innes, R.N., the Inspector of Life-boats for the Western District, represented the Institution. Colonel Mostyn also pre- sented Mr. and Mrs. Raymond with a ! Framed Address of Thanks and a cheque j for £120 as a mark of the appreciation ' of their friends in Llandudno. In making the presentation Colonel Mostyn spoke of the devoted way in which Mr.

Raymond had worked, not only to keep the Station efficient, but also to de- velop its financial side. It was in this latter work that Mrs. Raymond had : been of such great service. Whereas in 1890 the income of the Branch was only £28, in 1920 it was over £600, and Llandudno had been able to remit £500 to Headquarters. In returning thanks Mr. Raymond spoke of the zeal which the Local Committee had always shown in the work of the Station, and the great help which he had always received in collecting money not only from his wife and daughter, but also from the Ladies' Auxiliary and its President and Treasurer, Miss Barker.

Maryport.

On the 25th November last a meeting of the Branch was held, presided over by Colonel W. W. Wood, at which the late Honorary Secretary, Mr. Quintin Moore, was presented with the Thanks of the Committee of Management in- scribed on Vellum, which had been awarded to him on his retirement after twenty-five years as Honorary Secretary.

In making the presentation Colonel Wood spoke of the great developments which had been made in the work of the Branch during Mr. Quintin Moore's Secretaryship, and Lieutenant Hayes, R.N.R., the District Inspector, on behalf of the Committee of Management, spoke of the efficient way in which the Station had been administered by Mr Quintin Moore, and of the tact and I judgment which he had always shown in dealing with the crew. Since the | Station was founded in 1865, 106 lives j had been rescued from shipwreck.

Arbroath.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held on the 25th November last, the chair being taken by ex-Provost Rutherford Thomson. The annual report, presented by the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. William Walker, showed that during the year the Branch had raised a sum of £35.

The Chairman made an earnest appeal for increased subscriptions. The Earl of Northesk was re-elected Patron,Provost A. C. Anderson, Chairman, and Mr. William Walker, Honorary Secre- tary and Treasurer.

Poole and Bournemouth.

The Annual Meeting of the Poole, Bournemouth, Wimborne and Christ- church Branch was held at the Guildhall, Poole, on the 29th November last, the Mayor of Poole (Mr. J. C. W. Julyan) in the chair. The report for the year, ending the 30th September, 1920, showed that the Branch had raised £750, and had remitted £700 to Head- quarters. In presenting the report, Mr. Shave, the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, spoke of the excellent work , done by the Lady Collectors, and of the help which the Branch had received from the Bournemouth Section, and from its , Honorary Secretary, Mr. C. Stacey Hall.

Lyme Regis.

The Annual Meeting of the Station ' was held on the 30th November last, and the report, which was adopted, showed that, including a balance of £G9 from the previous year, the income for the year ending the 30th September was £101, while the expenditure for ' the year amounted to £57. The report also spoke with regret of the fact that | Mr. H. O. Bickley, J.P., who for nearly twenty years had been associated with the work of the Branch, had now re- signed his position as Chairman of the Branch, as he had left the town. Dr. H. J. Cooper was elected Chairman in his place.

Bangor.

The Annual Meeting of the Bangor Ladies' Auxiliary of the Anglesey Branch was held on the 16th December last, with Mr. Gower Griffiths in the chair. Eighteen collectors handed in their money, amounting to over £58.

A vote of thanks was passed to the Honorary Secretary of the Auxiliary, Miss Ursula Hughes, for her untiring interest in the work.

Bradford.

The twenty-first Life-boat Matinee was held at the Alhambra on the 17th November last, being organised, as in previous years, by Mr. Francis Laidler, the Managing Director of the Alhambra.

Mr. Laidler not only lent the theatre and arranged the performance, but paid the expenses, so that the whole of the proceeds of the Matinee, amounting to £510, have gone to the funds of the Institution. In the interval of an excellent programme, an interesting ceremony, to celebrate the coming of age of the Matinee, took place. Sir William Priestley, the Chairman of the Committee, presided at it, supported by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress and Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., the Deputy Chairman of the Institution. A resolution, thanking all those who had contributed to the success of the Matinee, was proposed by the Lord Mayor and seconded by Sir Godfrey Baring, who at the same time presented Mr. Laidler with a silver model of a Life-boat, and the Thanks of the Committee of Management inscribed on Vellum, in recognition of the fact that through his generous efforts thousands of pounds had been obtained for the Life-boat Service.

Colwyn Bay.

At a Special Meeting of subscribers and workers, held on the 13th November last, Mr. Thomas E. Purdy, J.P., was presented with the Record! of Thanks and the Gold Pendant which had been awarded him by the Committee of Management in recognition of his valu- able co-operation in the work of the Institution. For a number of years Mr. Purdy has been Honorary Secretary of the Branch, and before that he was connected with the work of the Institu- tion in Manchester. When he became the Honorary Secretary, the Branch was raising a little over £100 a year, whilo in 1920 it remitted £350 to Head- quarttrs. In making the presentation, Councillor David Gamble, J.P., the Pre- sident of the Branch, proposed the follow- ing resolution, which was unanimously passed : " That this meeting, repre- senting iho subscribers to and workers for the Colwyn Bay and District Branch of THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, desires to place on record its high appreciation of the services rendered by Mr. Thomas E. Purdy, J.P., as Honorary Secretary of the Branch for many years, and trusts he may long be spared to continue his greatly valued public work." In returning thanks Mr. Purdy spoke of the help which he received from a very large band of workers, Annual Subscribers, Hotels and Boarding-houses, Places of Amusement, and the Press. 1 n fact, the whole town had co-operated with him in raising money for the Life-boat Service.

Southampton The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held on the 16th December last, the chair being taken by the Mayor (Councillor H. Blatch). Mr. Ingoldly, the Honorary Secretary, presented a re- port which showed that for the year ending the 30th September, 1920, the Branch had raised a sum of over £650, of which it had remitted over £589 to Head- quarters. The officers were re-elected en bloc, Mrs. Walker and Miss Vokes be- ing added to the Committee, while the Mayoress was elected President of the Ladies' Auxiliary, and Mrs. F. Murray a Vice President. It was also decided to invite Lord Montagu of Beaulieu to join the Committee, and he has since con- sented to do so.

Lincoln.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held on the 7th December last, the chair being taken by Mr. William Cottaru, the Chairman and Honorary Treasurer of the Branch. The Balance Sheet showed that the year ending the 30th September, 1920, had been very satisfactory, a sum of £210 having been remitted to Headquarters. The Assist- ant Secretary, Mr. E. W. Potts, gave the meeting an account of the developments which had been made during the year in the work of Life-Saving.

Newcastle-on-Tyne.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held on the 24th November last, the chair being taken by the Duke of Northumberland, who is President of the Branch and a member of the Com- mittee of Management. This is the first Annual Meeting since a separate Branch was formed, Newcastle pre- viously having been part of the Tyne- inouth Branch. The report, which was presented by Miss Irene N. Ward, the Assistant Honorary Secretary, showed that the formation of a separate New- castle Branch had been amply justified During the year ending the 30th Sep- tember, 1920, the total receipts, in- cluding a special donation of £500 from the Northumberland War Distress Relief Fund, was £1,886, while in pre- vious years Newcastle's contributions to the Life - boat Service had only amounted to about £200.

In moving the adoption of the report the Duke of Northumberland said that he thought it reflected the greatest credit on all concerned that nine times as much had been raised as in previous years. At the same time—bearing in mind that Newcastle was a shipping community—he did not think that more had been contributed than they might reasonably expect, and he looked forward to see the work of the Branch still further developed in the future.

The Duke and Duchess of Northumber- land were re-elected Presidents, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress Vice- Presidents, Lady Montgomery Chair- man, and Mrs. Mein Honorary Trea- surer, while Miss Ward was elected Honorary Secretary in place of Mrs. Ornsby, whose resignation was ac- cepted with regret.

Northampton.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held in the Town Hall on the 1st December last, with the Mayor (Coun- cillor W. Harvey Reeves) in the chair.

Mr. Goldsmith, the Honorary Treasurer, submitted the balance sheet, which showed that for the year ending the 30th September, 1920, the Branch had raised a sum of £529, and had remitted £525 to Headquarters. Special reference ! was made to the country collectors, who ; had brought in £164 against £34 in the previous year. In moving the adoption of the balance sheet, the Mayor said that, in spite of the criticisms which had been made, he considered that Flag-Days were an excellent way of raising money, and it was decided that, if permission were given, a Life-boat Day should be held in 1921. On 1 the motion of 'Mr. V. O. Roberts, M.P., Joint - Assistant Secretary to the Branch, a vote of thanks was passed to the ladies who had helped during 1920.

Bath.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch i was held on the 24th November last, the chair being taken by Commander Target, R.N. In presenting the report for the year ending the 30th September, 1920, Captain Laxton, the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, said that the Branch had had one of the most success- ful years in its history. It had raised a sum of £342. The expenses had { amounted to less than £5, and the sum ! of £334 had been remitted to Head- quarters. The report made special reference to the work of Mrs. Allon Tucker, who had again organised the Life-boat Day, which had raised a sum of £145. Captain Laxton announced that, after holding the post of Honorary Secretary for over ten years, he had decided to resign, but hoped still to work for the Branch as its Honorary Treasurer. A vote of thanks to Captain Laxton for his valuable services to the Life-boat Cause was unanimously passed, and Miss Olive Tucker was elected Honorary Secretary in his place. It is announced elsewhere that the Committee of Management have awarded Captain Laxton the Record of Thanks and the Gold Pendant in recognition of his valuable services to the Institution.

Robin Hood's Bay.

On the 30th November last, before a large audience, Coxswain William Storm was presented with the Certifi- cate of Service, which the Committee of Management had awarded him, together with a pension, on his retirement after twelve years service as Coxswain, pre- ceded by nineteen years as Second Coxswain. Altogether he had been connected with the Life-boat Service for thirty-five years. Mr. W. A. Smith, the Chairman of the Committee, presided, and the presentation was made by Com- mander Carver, R.N.R., the Inspector of Life-boats for the Eastern District. At the same time Mrs. Storm -was presented with a silver candlestick by Mrs. Bever- hondt, while the Honorary Secretary of the Station, the Rev. "J. W. E. Walker, presented Coxswain Storm with an oil painting of the Robin Hood's Bay Life- boat going to the rescue of the five- masted schooner the Cap Palos of Van- couver on the 29th October, 1919, this being one of the last services in which he had taken part.* The Honorary Secretary asked the Coxswain to accept this picture " in memory of the time they had spent together in the service of the Institution." Mr. William Storm has been succeeded as Coxswain by his brother, Mr. Thomas Storm.

Birmingham.

A Special Meeting of the Branch was held on the 6th December, at which the Lord Mayor (Alderman W. A. Cad- bury) presided, accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, and supported by the Countess of Plymouth and by Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., the Deputy-Chair- man of the Institution. The Lord Mayor made a special appeal for funds.

He pointed out how strong a claim the Life-boat Service had on the help of all Birmingham citizens, since so much of the city's prosperity depended on its overseas trade. By the Special Effort in 1920 Birmingham had raised the sum of £1,420, which worked out at about one penny per head for every adult of the population. Manchester, on the other hand, had raised over £2,000 by its Special Effort. The Lord Mayor concluded by saying that he felt sure that when the needs of the Service were realised there would be a very generous response, His appeal was supported by Lady Plymouth and by Sir Godfrey Baring.

Lady Plymouth said that she was glad that the street collection had been in- creased. At the same time she felt sure that the sum could be made still larger, and that if, in the house-to-house collec- tion, every ward had its president and every street its collector, it would be possible to raise another £500. Sir Godfrey Baring appealed for still more generous support on the ground of the Service's splendid record in the past, and the growing cost of maintaining it.

Whitby.

The Framed Certificate of Service which, with a pension and a special grant, had been awarded by the Com- mittee of Management to Coxswain Thomas Langlands after forty-three * An account of the later adventures of this unfortunate vessel will be found on page 120.

years service as Coxswain, was presented to him before a large audience at the Coliseum on the 12th December last.

The presentation was made by the Rev.

the Marquis of Normanby, who described some of the famous rescues in which Coxswain Langlands had taken part, while Mr. E. H. Johnson, the District Organising Secretary for the North of England, recalled that Langlands had won both the Gold and Silver Service Medals of the Institution.

Port of Liverpool.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch and of its Ladies' Auxiliary was held on the 6th January. In the absence of the Lord Mayor, the chair was taken by Mr. Harold D. Bateson, the Deputy Chairman, and among those present were the Lady Mayoress, Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Management of the Institution and other well-known people.

The report for the year was presented to the meeting, and in seconding its adoption, Colonel H. Concanon, O.B.E., pointed out that in 1918 the Branch had raised £3,114; in the nine months' year of 1919, £5,498 ; and in the full year ending the 30th September, 1920, no less a sum than £10,310, these last two years including the money raised by the Special Motor Life-boat Appeal.* In proposing a vote of thanks to the Ladies' Auxiliary for the splendid work which they had done, Sir Godfrey Baring said that the Institution ex- pected a great deal from such a Branch as the Port of Liverpool, but what had been done during 1920 had exceeded all expectations. In seconding the vote, Mr. S. S. Jerrett, the Chairman of the New Brighton Committee, said, that every pound of the £1,700 which the Ladies' Auxiliary had raised meant, on an average, calls at forty houses, so that the total collected in this way was the result of between 65,000 and 70,000 calls. The ladies who had made this enormous number of personal visits were the best missionaries that the Institu- tion could have. They were rousing the community to an intelligent appreciation of the work of the Service. The Officers and Committee were re-elected.

* See " Notes and News," page 118.

A Life-boat Branch at Oldham.

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the officers, committee, and sub- scribers of the Oldham Life-boat Fund, was held on the 5th January. Councillor William Buckley was in the Chair, and Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., the Deputy- Chairman of the Institution, was present. The Oldham Fund was started in 1891, £700 was raised, and the object of the meeting was to close the Fund, in order that in its place an Oldham Branch of the Institution might be formed. The Honorary Secretary of the Fund, Mr. Edward Dean, presented a report which showed that the sum of £240 had been collected during 1920, and that there was invested capital amounting to ,£1,050. It was decided that the whole of the Fund should be handed over to the Institution, that all subscribers should be urged to continue their subscriptions, and that the Mayor should be asked to convene a public meeting in order that an Oldham Branch of the Institution might imme- diately be formed.

Sir Godfrey Baring said that when the present Oldham Life-boat was with- 1 drawn, he thought there would very I soon be an Oldham Motor Life-boat, and that this boat would very possibly be placed at some Station on the Lan- cashire coast. Sir Godfrey also proposed a vote of thanks to the officers and committee of the Fund, and to all who had helped to place and maintain the Oidham Life-boat at Abersoch.

On the 24th January a Public Meeting was held, at which the Mayor presided, and the new Branch was formed. The Mayor and Mayoress were elected as Presidents ; Mr. E. T. Parkes, Honorary Treasurer; and Mr. Edward Dean, Honorary Secretary. A Ladies' Aux- iliary was also formed, and it was decided to ask each of the Oldham Spinning Companies to contribute two guineas a year, to organise collections in j the workshops and mills, and to hold a I Life-boat Day. The Oldham Life-boat ' Fund was raised from less than 100 j ' firms and individuals, but the new j Branch hopes to extend its appeal very j widely among Oldham's population of j nearly 150,000 inhabitants.