Newcastle-on-Tyne.

The Annual Meeting was held on 15th March, Lady Montgomery, the Chairman of the Committee, presiding.

The annual report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, -which was pre- sented to the meeting by the Honorary Secretary, Miss Irene Ward, expressed the regret of the officers that the income during the year amounted to only £412, as compared with £1,386 in 1920, the decline being due to the abnormal industrial depression. The report was adopted, and the officers and Committee were re-elected.

AInwick.

A large public meeting was held on 23rd March for the purpose of forming a Branch of the Institution and an Alri- wick Ladies' Life-boat Guild, with the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland as their Presidents. The chair was taken by Colonel G. Reavell, O.B.E., who was supported on the platform by the Rev.

Canon Mangin, the Rev. James Payne, the Rev. J. Hamilton Campbell, County Councillor A. T. Robertson, Councillor J. Armstrong and Mr. John Archbold, who had been acting as Honorary Secre- tary. The Chairman pointed out that though AInwick itself had not, up to the present, been associated with the Life- boat Cause, the Institution had had no greater friends, since its foundation, than the Percy family, with which AIn- wick was so closely associated. Because of this and because of the great part which Northumberland had played in the history of the Life-boat Service, he appealed with the greatest confidence to this meeting of Northumbrians to give the Service their help. A resolution approving the formation of a Branch was moved by Canon Mangin, seconded by Mr. Robertson, supported by the Rev. J. Hamilton Campbell, and carried unanimously. The Duke of Northum- berland was elected President, Sir Francis Walker, Bt., Chairman, Colonel G. Reavell, O.B.E., Treasurer, and Mr.

John Archbold Honorary Secretary.

It was then decided to establish a Ladies' Life-boat Guild, with the Duchess of Northumberland as President, Mrs.

Leather-Culley as Treasurer, and Miss Walker as Honorary Secretary. A dis- cussion took place on various methods of raising funds—special postal appeals, a Life-boat Day, a house-to-house col- lection, collections in places of worship and a Ladies' Life-boat Guild collection, and it was decided to refer the matter to the Committee. It was decided to invite the co-operation of the Rev. L.

Gethen, Vicar of St. Paul's, who had had great experience in such work, and Mr. Gethen at once accepted the invita- tion. It was also decided to appoint an Executive Committee of ten to carry out various suggestions which had been made. In May the Duke of Northum- berland issued an appeal to the residents of AInwick, and the last Sunday in May was observed as Life-boat Sunday, an appeal being made in all the churches on behalf of the Service.

Preston.

The Annual Meeting was held on 27th March, the chair being taken by the Mayor, Mr. H. Astley-Bell. The report for the year ended 30th Sep- tember, 1921, was presented by the Honorary Secretary, Mi. J. G. Bradshaw, and showed that a sum of £403 had been raised as compared with £413 in 1920.

Of the total, £110 was the result of a house-to-house collection, while £130 had been received flora the Life-boat Day. The Mayor congratulated the Branch on having sent so large a sum as £360 to the Institution and made a special appeal to the general public, who, he thought, still did not fnlly under- stand the importance of the work carried on by the Institution. The officers were re-elected.

Southport.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held on 31st March, the chair being taken by Mr. T. H. Gregson, J.P., the Chairman of the Branch. The financial statement for the year ended 30th Sep- tember. 1921, which was presented to the meeting by Mr. W. H. Shaw, the Honorary Treasurer, showed that the sum of £671 had been raised as compared with £253 in 1920. The report for the year, which was presented by the Honorary Secretary, Mr. George Cock shott, referred in particular to the worl of the Ladies' Auxiliary Committee which, during the year, had been re-organised as the Southport Ladies Life-boat Guild. It organised the most successful Garden Party, including i sports gymkhana and side shows, which after all expenses had been paid, realisec a sum of £475. The Committee of the Branch expressed special appreciation of the way in which the effort had been carried out. Sir James Paton, J.P., was elected Chairman and the other officer; were re-elected.

On the previous Friday, 24th March the Annual Meeting of the Ladies' Life- boat Guild had been held, the chair being taken by the Mayor, Councillor Miss Hartley. It was decided that the Mayor, as President, should issue an appeal for subscriptions, that there should be an appeal in all places of worship asking for an offertory or retiring collection, and that a Life-boat Day should be held.

The Mayor was elected President of the Guild, Lady Paton its Honorary Secretary, Mrs. Dudley Coddington its Honorary Treasurer, and Miss Doris McKerrow its Assistant Honorary Secre- tary.

Kensington.

A concert was held in Kensington Town Hall on 31st March, with the object of forming a Kensington Branch. The chair was taken by the Mayor, Dr. (now Sir James) Rice-Oxley, C.B.E., who was supported by Sir William Davison, K.B.E., one of the Members of Parlia- ment for Kensington, and Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Management. Lieut.-Col.

Alan Burgoyne, M.P., the other Parlia- mentary representative of the Borough, was unable to be present. The Mayor made a special appeal for support, and announced that H.R.H. Princess Louise Duchess of Argyll had consented to become the President of the Branch.

The appeal was supported by Sir William Davison and Sir Godfrey Baring, and as a result a Branch has now been formed, with Sir James Rice-Oxley as Chairman of the Committee and Miss Phyllis Husey as Honorary Secretary.

Hull.

The Lord -Mayor (Councillor G. F.

Wokes) presided at the Annual Meeting, which was held on 3rd April, among those present being the Lady Mayoress and tie Sheriff (Councillor T. McLeod).

A report which was presented by the Honorary Treasurer, Mr. T. G. Milner, showed that, since the close of the financial year on 30th September, 1921, £115 had been raised by the Life-boat Day, £118 by a special matinee promoted by the Lady Mayoress, and £62 by sub- scriptions. The Lord Mayor made a special and earnest appeal for a larger subscription list, and said that he thought that a sum of only £62 was a disgrace to a city of the size and impor- tance of Hull. In seconding the adop- tion of the report the Sheriff said that the amount collected by the Branch was small when it was remembered that Hull was to a very large extent dependent on its shipping and seamen. He pointed out that when the seamen were paid off from the shipping offices it was rare for them to leave without putting something into the Life-boat box, and he hoped that shipowners would lift Hull from the very poor position which it at present occupied among the supporters of the Institution. Since this last meeting was held Commander M. A. Reegan, O.B.E., R.N.V.R., has accepted the office of Honorary Secretary.

Peterborough.

The Annual Meeting was held on 4th April, the chair being taken by ;he Mayor, Councillor Tom C. Lamp- augh, who was accompanied by the Mayoress. Tie report for tie year :nded 30th September, 1921, which was jresented by Miss Annie Swallow, showed that, as a result of holding a Tjife-boat Day, there had been a substan- ial increase in the amount remitted to ;he Institution. The total receipts for the year amounted to £142 as compared with £41 in 1920. The Mayor paid a jibute to the excellent work of the iranch Committee and of the Honorary Secretary, and said that many as were he appeals made, the one which could not be passed over was the appeal of the life-boat Service.

Actcn.

A Drawing-room Meeting was held on 5th April at the house of Mrs. E. C. P.

Monson, among those present being Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Deputy Chair- man of the Committee of Management, the Mayor and Mayoress of . Acton, Alderman and Mrs. Baldwin, Alderman Miss Smee and Councillor Mrs. Barnes.

The Mayor, who presided, spoke of the value of the Service from his own personal experience of Life-boat launches on stormy nights at Deal, and Sir Godfrey Baring gave a general account of the Institution's history and present requirements. It was decided to form a Ladies' Life-boat Guild at Acton, and Miss J. C. Graham undertook to organise the Life-boat Day.

Douglas, Isle of Man.

The Annual Meeting was held on llth April, the chair being taken by His Excellency the Governor. The report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, was presented to the meeting by Mr. R. H. Milner and showed that alto- gether a sum of £624 had been raised, as compared with £792 in 1920. In moving the adoption of the report the Governor pointed out that, though the sum raised was less than in 1920, which was a record year for the Life-boat Day, this was only to be expected in view of the smaller number of visitors to the Island. It was, however, very en- couraging to see that the income from subscriptions and donations was greater than in 1920, being £200 instead of £190.

His Excellency also reminded the meet- ing that in 1924 the. Institution would celebrate its Centenary and said that he hoped that, as the birthplace of the Institution, the Island would take a most prominent part in the celebrations. In moving the adoption of the report Mr C. W. T. Hughes-Games, V.G., the Chairman of the Branch, said that one of the features of the years work had been the establishment of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild in Douglas. He ex- pressed the deep indebtedness of the Branch to the members of the Guild for the work which they had done, and looked forward to seeing its membership greatly increased in the future. In his opinion the Branch had not nearly nough annual subscribers, and he hoped that the ladies who helped with the Life-boat Day might also be prepared to work for the Cause by visiting people with a view to increasing the number of subscribers. This was done with success in the case of other charities. The officers of the Branch were re-elected as follows :—Patron, His Excellency the Governor (Major-General Sir Wm. Fry, K.C.V.O.); President, his Honour the Deemster Callow ; Chairman. Mr. C. "W.

T. Hughes-Games, V.G. ; Vice-Chair- man, Mr. J. E. Everad; Honorary Treasurer, Mr. R. H. Milner ; Honorary Secretary, Colonel H. W. Madoc; Assistant Secretary, Mr. R. G. Shannon.

The Committee for the year was elected, and in replying to a vote of thanks, the Governor specially welcomed the elec- tion to the Committee of Lieutenant May and Commander Parkes. He thought that the success of the Life-boat Service in the Island was largely due to the fact that so many members of the Committee had been at one time con- nected with the sea.

Newport, Monmouthshire.

The Annual Meeting was held on 12th April, the chair being taken by Mr. A. J. Phillips, Chairman of the Local Committee. He pointed out that in spite of the depression in the coal trade the Branch had raised a sum of £231, as compared with £153 in 1920. At the same time he did not think Newport was doing all that it should for the Institution when one considered that it was a big centre of shipping. He said that he hoped that in the near future they would be able to persuade the Deputy Chairman, Sir Godfrey Baring, to pay a visit and deliver an address.

The officers were re-elected, and a hearty vote oi thanks -was passed to the Chair- man, who had been connected with the Branch either as Chairman or as Honorary Secretary for the past thirty- two years.

Kessingland.

On 1st May Mr. E. Woolfield, the Honorary Secretary of the station, was presented by Commander Carver, the Inspector of Life-boats for the Eastern District, with binoculars in recognition of his valuable co-operation during ten years. Among those present were Com- mander Dundas, Divisional Officer of Coastguard, Mr. A. Gouldby, Chairman of the Kessingland Beach Company, the Coxswain and crew of the Life-boat and a number of men of the Coastguard. In making the presentation Commander Carver expressed the Committee of Management's appreciation of Mr. Wool- field's valuable services and their hope that he would long continue as Honorary Secretary of the Branch. In reply Mr.

Woolfield spoke of the splendid and cordial relations which have always existed between himself and the Insti- tution. At the close of the ceremony there was a special demonstration launch of the Life-boat, which took three minutes from the time the signal was given until the Boat touched the water.

Perth and District.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held on 3rd May, the chair being taken by the Rev. P. R. Landreth, the Chairman of the Branch, who was sup- ported by the Duchess of Atholl, Sheriff Boswell, Bailie Hunter and Bailie Ross.

The Annual Report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, which was pre- sented to the meeting, showed that the sum of £360 had been raised, as com- pared with £368 in 1920. The Chairman congratulated the Branch on such an excellent result in a year of many diffi- culties, and on the proud position which it held as fourth in the list of Scottish Branches. He spoke of the excellent work done by Mr. William Strachan, the Honorary Secretary, and by Mr. J. T.

Douglas, the Assistant Secretary, and of the Branch's great indebtedness to its many lady collectors throughout the county. In moving the adoption of the Report the Duchess of Atholl warmly congratulated the Branch on its work, and said that, at the same time, when one read of the great needs of the Life- boat Service, and of the wonderful work which it was doing for the nation, one felt that the Branch might still further increase its efforts. Owing to the multi- plicity of war charities much money had gone elsewhere which would otherwise have been given to the Life-boats, and for that reason it was their duty to support more than ever a service characterised by heroism which she did not think was approached by any other service in times of peace. The motion was seconded by Sheriff Boswell, and the Report was adopted. The office-bearers were re-elected.

Kilmarnock.

The Annual Meeting was held on 9th May, the chair being-taken by Mr.

James Manson, J.P. The report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, was submitted to the meeting, and showed that a sum of £56 had been raised, as compared with £83 in 1920.

The office-bearers of the Branch were re-elected, with Lord Howard de Walden as President. It was decided to hold a Life-boat Day in September, and it was proposed to try and hold a gymkhana as well.

Truro.

The Annual Meeting was held on 10th May, the chair being taken by the Mayor, Mr. N. B. Bullen. The report for the year ended 30th September, L921, which was presented by the Honorary Secretary, Mr. Gervase Wheeler, showed that the Branch had raised £93 as compared with £36 in the previous year. The Honorary Secretary stated that it was hoped to do even better in 1922, and to be able to send to Headquarters a sum of not less than £100. Reference was made to the special help which had been received from schoolmasters and mistresses, and to the loss which the Branch had sustained by the death of Sir George Smith and Mr. S. P. Trounce. Some difficulty had been experienced in getting the Committee to meet and it was decided to elect a new Committee with power to add to its number.

Rotherham.

The Annual Meeting was held on 12th May, the chair being taken by Councillor J. Dickinson, who pointed out that, in spite of unemployment, the Branch had raised only £39 less than in the previous year. The accounts for the year ended 30th September, 1921, which were presented by Mr. C. N.

Hodgson, the Honorary Treasurer, showed that the sum of £266 had been collected, as compared with £305 in 1920. Councillor J. Dickinson was re- elected President, the Mayoress Presi- dent of the Ladies' Committee, the Mayor (Alderman K. W. Fieldsend) and Mr. C. R. Adams Vice-Chairmen, Mr. C. N. Hodgson Honorary Treasurer, and Mrs. Hams Foster Honorary Secre- ' tary.

Waterford.

On 27th May a Special Meeting was held at the Waterford Branch of the National Seamen's and Firemen's Union, at -which. Mi. H. M. Mason, of the Crew of the Fishguard Motor Life-boat, was presented with the Bronze Medal awarded to him by the Institution, and the Silver Watch awarded to him by the Netherlands Government, in connexion with the service of the Fishguard Boat to the Dutch schooner Hermina on 3rd December, 1920. The other medals ior this service, "which was described in the Life-Boat Journal for February, 1921, were presented to the Coxswain and Crew by the Prince of Wales at the Annual General Meeting of the Institu- tion in 1921, but Mr. Mason was not able to be present on that occasion, as he was at sea. The presentation was made by Mr. Thomas McGrath, the Secretary of the Waterford Branch of the National Seamen's and Firemen's Union.

Glasgow.

The Annual Meeting of the Branch was held on 31st May, the chair being taken by the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Paton Maclay, Bt.* The Report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, was pre- sented by Mr. Leonard Gow, J.P., the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, and showed that a sum of £2,894 had been raised during the year, as compared with £3,361 in 1920. In addition to this legacies had been received amount- ing to £1,052. Sir Joseph Maclay, in moving the adoption of the Report, said that he had been very surprised to read the statement made by Mr.

Stanley Baldwin, the President of the Board of Trade, at the Annual Meeting of the Institution, that, in 1921, ship owners had contributed less than £2,000 to the Institution, and that this sum had come from no more than 290 firms, the rest giving nothing. There was no body of people, he thought, who gave * Now Lord Maclay, of Glasgow.

more freely to calls for assistance in any direction whatsoever than those connected with the shipping trade, and he thought the statement made by Mr. Baldwin should be brought home to the minds of the shipping community.

If this were done, he believed they would make the full provision necessary to carry oil this great and important service. There was a suggestion that each firm should be asked to give £1 per annum per ship. Personally, he thought it was not sufficient, and that they would receive a suggestion of two guineas per steamer as readily.

He knew there were some people who thought that work such as the Institution carried on should devolve upon the State, but those who had had a great deal to do during recent years with matters of State had no desire to see any more burdens put upon it. It was not for him to criticise the manner in which work was done by the State, but he was quite certain that where they could get real voluntary effort, where they could get men thoroughly interested in the work to undertake it, they would get it better done than by a State department.

In seconding the adoption of the Report, Ex-Provost Perry pointed out that though the Branch had raised a smaller sum in 1921, the decline was much less than the general decline in cha.ritable giving. The office-bearers of the Branch were re-elected.

Leyton.

A meeting was held at Leyton Town Hall, on 31st May, for the purpose of forming a local Branch of the Institu- tion. Councillor Cobb, J.P., was in the chair, supported by Sir Godfrey Baring, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Management. The Chairman pointed out that, in Mrs. Clewer and the ladies who worked with her, Leyton already had the nucleus of a splendid band of charitable workers, and, through them, had already helped the Life-boat cause.

What was now desired, however, was that the Life-boats should have a per- manent organisation in Leyton. Sir Godfrey Baring, in the course of an address explaining the work and needs of the Institution, spoke of the sub- stantial help which it had already received from the Leyton Life-boat Day. Lieut.-Colonel A. S. Murray, O.B.E., the Organising Secretary for Greater London, appealed to ladies to join the Ladies' Life-Boat Guild, and to undertake the work of getting annual subscribers and carrying out house-to- house collections. Captain Smith, J.P., was elected President of the Branch, Councillor Cobb Vice-President, Mrs.

Clewer Chairman, and Miss Morris Honorary Secretary.

Reading.

A matinee, under the patronage of H.H. Princess Helena Victoria, was held on 31st May, at the Royal County Theatre, in aid of the Life-boat funds.

In spite of the hot weather the theatre was nearly full, and an excellent pro- gramme was played. Among those who generously gave their services were the Reading Branch of the British Empire Shakespeare Society, the " Rustics " Concert Party, Madame Walker's " Little Kiddies," Miss Edna Martin, Mrs. Gallagher, Dr. Sanders Jones, Mr.

J. West and Mr. E. 0. Daughtay, who carried out the orchestral arrangements.

The theatre was very kindly lent by Mr. Milton Bode, and Mrs. Bode and Miss Sybil Abram, the Honorary Secre- tary of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild at Reading, made all the arrangements for a most successful performance, which raised a sum of £60. During the interval Sir Henry McMahon, on behalf of the Committee of Management of the Insti- tution, presented Mr. Stanley Hayward with the Gold Pendant and Record of Thanks on his retirement after twenty years' service as Honorary Secretary of the Branch.

Sheffield.

The Annual Meeting was held in the Town Hall on 12th June, the chair being taken by Alderman Charles Simpson, the Lord Mayor and President of the Branch.

The Annual Report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, was presented to the meeting, and showed that, excluding a legacy of £1,000 from Sir F. Mappin, Bt., and a legacy of £408 from Mrs. A.

Longden, the Branch had raised a sum of £515, as compared with £1,265 in 1920, the great decrease being due to the unexampled trade depression. Mr.

T. Skelton Cole, the Chairman of the Committee, expressed his disappoint- ment at the result of the year's work, and made an earnest appeal for increased support.

Gateshead.

The Annual Meeting was held on 16th June, the chair being taken by the Mayor and President of the Branch, Sir John MacCoy, who said what a fine thing it would be if they .could raise the money to build a Life-boat of their own to bear the name " The Gateshead." The financial statement for the year ended 30th September, 1921, was pre- sented to the meeting by Mrs. Thubron, the Honorary Secretary, and showed that the subscriptions and donations received during the year amounted to over £55, an increase of nearly £14 on 1920, but that no Life-boat Day had been held. Mrs. Thubron said that Mrs.

J. T. Lunn had offered the use of her grounds for a summer fete, and she appealed to other ladies to come forward and help the Institution in this or other ways. A number had already done very successfully with collecting books.

Ramsey.

The Annual Meeting was held on 21st June, the chair being taken by Mr.

T. H. Midwood, J.P., the President of the Branch. The Annual Report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, was presented by Mr. A. H. Teare, M.H.K., one of the Honorary Secretaries, and showed that, so far as the station was concerned, the year had been uneventful.

Financially there had been a falling off, the total receipts for the year amounting to £192, as compared with £204 in 1920.

Mr. Teare also pointed out that the station had been offered, by the Insti- tution, a Motor Life-boat of the Watson type, provided with cabins, and, after consultation with the Coxswain, they had decided to accept one of these Boats. He also referred to the approach- ing Centenary of the Institution, which will be celebrated in the Isle of Man in a very special way, as the Institution's founder, Sir William Hillary, had lived and was buried in Douglas. The Report concluded by expressing the thanks of the Committee to the members of the Ladies' Committee, Mrs. Harrison, Mrs.

Callow, Miss Paton and Miss Garrett, for the devoted work which they had done, and to the proprietors of hotels, boarding-houses and lodging-houses for their valuable help in making collections.

The officers of the Committee and Ladies' Committee were unanimously re-elected.

Col wyn Bay.

The Annual Meeting was held on 24th July, the chair being taken by Mr.

David Gamble, J.P. The report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, which was presented to the meeting by the Honorary Secretary, Mr. T. E. Purdy, J.P., C.C., showed that subscriptions had amounted to over £70 and the special effort to £270, making a total of £340 for the year, as compared with £362 in 1920.

The report expressed the thanks of the Branch to the President and Lady Pre- sident, Mr. and Mrs. Gamble, who had occupied these positions for many years, to the enthusiastic body of workers, and also to the proprietors of the places of entertainment, hotels and boarding- houses, who gave their generous support by allowing collections to be made on their premises. The officers were re- elected, and Mr. Purdy was specially thanked for his services to the Branch.

Larg .

The Annual Meeting was held on 26th July, the chair being taken by the Rev. Robert Oswald, B.D., the Chair- man of the Branch. The report for the year ended 30th September, 1921, which was presented to the meeting by the Honorary Secretary, Mr. Robert Wood, showed that the Branch had raised a sum of £122, as compared with £118 in 1920. The Chairman expressed his pleasure at the satisfactory result of the year's work, and thanked the Honorary Treasurer, Mr. Jeffrey, and Mr. Wood for all that they had done in making the Branch a success. The office-bearers were re-elected.

LIFE-BOAT WORKERS AT SANDOWN, ISLE OF WIGHT.

NOTICE.

Owing to lack of space reports of many meetings of Branches have been held over until the next number of The Life-Boat, which will be published in February, 1923..