By C. V. FABRICIUS, Manager of the North Jutland Life-Boat Institution.

THE Danish Life-Boat Institution, as at present organised, was established by the Act of 26th March, 1852.

It is an institution maintained and administered by the State within the jurisdiction of the Royal Navy Department.

The following is a brief account of the earlier history of the Danish Life-Boat Institution, and of the events which gave the impulse to the creation of an organised life-saving establishment on the Danish shores.

The earliest reliable records of shipwrecks date from the commencement of last century.

On the night of the 24th December, 1811, two British men-of-war, the St.George and the Defence, were carried on to the banks off the west coast of Jutland. The ships were knocked to pieces within the next twenty-four hours. The crews, which are thought to have consisted of between 1,300 and 1,600 men, were all drowned, with the exception of eleven men who were brought ashore.

Thirty-two years later, on the night of the 23rd to 24th November, 1843, twenty-four men belonging to the west coast of Jutland were surprised by an on- shore gale, and perished in the attempt to reach the coast in their own boats from a drifting ship which they had boarded.

Later on, when the ship drifted ashore, five men of the ship's crew and some from the shore who had remained on board were saved by the aid of fishing boats.

The event which most particularly gave the impulse to the organisation of a Life-Boat Institution for saving ship wrecked people took place on the night of the 12th to 13th April, 1847. That night the British bark Volumnus was wrecked at Harboore, on the west coast of Jutland. The ship struck about 220 yards from the shore, but by degrees, as it was broken up, it drifted closer in-shore. Nine of the crew were washed overboard, one by one, as they became exhausted from cold and want, and all of them were drowned. The last four men on board were ultimately saved by the aid of a fishing-boat.

On that occasion it became evident that others of the crew of the Volumnus would have been saved if proper life-saving apparatus had been available.

Mr. Claudi, Sand-drift Commissioner at that time, had, when a boy of twelve years old, been present at the wreck of the above-mentioned British men-of-war, and personally assisted in the rescue of the four men from the Volumnus. He had thereby got deeply interested in the rescue of shipwrecked people, and under took a journey to England on his own account in order to study the life-saving institutions of that country. After his return, he placed proposals before the Government for the establishment of a Life-Boat Institution for the rescue of shipwrecked people on the coast of Jutland. The Government granted 16,000 kroners for that purpose, and next year Mr. Claudi was sent on a second journey to England for the purpose of making purchases of saving apparatus, and a further study of the British Life-Boat Institution. On his return the rocket apparatus which he had purchased in England were distributed on the coast of Jutland, and they formed, together with two Life-boats presented by " Foreningen til Sofartens Fremme " and the Freemasons' Lodge at Copenhagen, the first commencement of a Life-boat Institution in Denmark.

In 1849 the Government appointed a commission for the further development and organisation of the Life-Boat Institution. The said commission in the year 1850 submitted a proposal for the establishment of twelve Life-boat stations supplied with rocket apparatus and insubmersible Life-boats, besides eight stations supplied with rocket apparatus alone. This proposal was adopted by the Government, and the necessary funds were granted on the two succeeding Annual Budgets. It was, moreover, found that the time was ripe for regulating the Life-Boat Institution by law, and an Act was accordingly passed on the 26th March, 1852. This Act still forms in all essentials the basis of the organisation of the Life-Boat Institution.

In accordance with the said Act, the supervision of the Life-Boat Institution of Jutland is vested in a manager, who is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry.

In the case of Bornholm, where there are also some Life-boat stations, the supervision is likewise carried out by a manager under similar conditions.

At each station there is a superintendent, who is appointed by the Ministry on the nomination of the manager.

This superintendent, who must be thoroughly acquainted with the conditions of the coast at the station he is supervising, looks after the life-saving appliances and is responsible for their being kept in a proper state, while it- is his duty to conduct the actual work of life-saving whenever the need arises.

At stations where there are both Life-boats and rocket apparatus twelve men are employed for serving the life- saving appliances. (In some Motor Boats and large Row Boats there are, however, fourteen men). The Boat crews elect amongst themselves a Coxswain, who steers and commands the Life-boat. The superintendent is not allowed to go out with the Boat during life-saving enterprises.

At stations where there is only the rocket apparatus one superintendent and five men are provided for the service. The men are engaged and discharged by the manager of the station, and the election of Boat foreman has got to be sanctioned by him.

For transportation of the life-saving appliances contracts are made with various horse owners, who, for a stipulated payment, appear at the stations with the horses required as soon as they get notice thereof.

Quarterly exercises with the life-saving appliances are held to keep the men in training. Special 'pay is given for each separate exercise,  For life-saving services rewards are given, the amount of which is fixed according to the time and the degree of danger incurred.

The men receive fixed annual wages, and when they are discharged on account of age and infirmity, a pension according to their length of service. Widows of pensioned men receive one-third of the pension that was granted their late husbands. In case of accidents the crews come within insurance. A great many legacies representing a capital of 20,000 kroner have been made for the Lifeboatmen.

Watch is kept on the coast by the Life-Boat crew from sundown to sunrise in foggy or rough weather. The men are paid by the hour for coast watching.

In the day-time the watch is kept by the receiver of wreck (Coastguard), who immediately notifies the superintendents when a wreck occurs, or if there is any danger of such.

In order to enable the coast watch to give the State accident A JUTLAND LIFE- speedy notice to the superintendent of wrecks or dangers of such the Life- Boat Institution has got its own telephone circuit along the coast. The telephone apparatus is installed either with the superintendents and in the light establishments, or in alarm houses placed as near the beach as possible.

The watch is nowhere more than two miles distant from the nearest telephone station. In Jutland alone there are, at present, 181 life-saving telephone installations.On 31st March, 1922, there were sixty-two life-saving stations in Denmark.

At these stations are placed sixty-two Life-boats (fifty-eight in Jutland and adjoining islands, and four on the islands of Bornholm and Moen).

Of the Boats eight are supplied with 12-h.p. motors. They are, as far as is known, the only existing Motor Lifeboats transportable on carts along the beach. They are 10.2 m. long, while the type of Life-Boats now in use has a length of 9.5m and a proportional beam and depth. A single Motor Life-boat of the English Watson type, 12.2m long with 44 h.p., is stationed on the Scaw.

The rocket appliances have in the course of time undergone various improvements.

There are now on hand single, double and treble rockets, with ranges of respectively about 350 m., 430 m. and 500 m.

The Life-Boat Institution in LIFE-BOATMAN.

Jutland, with adjoining islands, is in charge of a head manager with necessary office staff. Further, one acting manager at Esbjerg, fifty-one superintendents, forty-five Coxswains, and 545 Boatmen and men by rocket stations. For transportation of the life-saving appliances contracts have been made with owners of an At the Life-Boat Institution of Bornholm are employed, besides the manager, nine superintendents, three Coxswains, and 63 Boatmen and men attached to Rocket Stations, and contracts have been made with owners of forty-two pairs of horses.

The Life-boat Service in Denmark has cost the State respectively 854,000 and 792,000 kroner in the two last financial years. The price of a common row-boat is now 25,000 kroner. Motor boats which can be transported on carts, cost 50,000 kroner, and heavy Motor boats with a port as basis, 75,000 kroner.

Houses for Life-boats cost in these days 12,000 kroner to construct.

The following gives an account of three of the most remarkable wrecks since the establishment of the Institution :— The most sensational wreck in the history of the Danish Life-Boat Institution took place on the 25th September, 1868, when the Russian frigate Alexander Newsky ran on shore at Harboore, on the west coast of Jutland.

The wreck happened at 3.30 A.M., when the ship, before a fresh W.S.W. breeze with a headway of 11 knots, ran on to the reefs. On board were a crew of 695 men and thirty-five officers, among whom was the Grand Duke Alexis.

Shortly after the stranding of the frigate, and before the arrival of the Life-boat, the shipwrecked crew made attempts at carrying a line ashore in one of the boats of the frigate. The attempt miscarried, as the boat capsized in the surf. Its crew, two officers and two men, were drowned, while a fifth man got hold of a piece of wreckage, by the aid of which he succeeded in keeping afloat. By a rocket line thrown out from the shore he got safely ashore, and soon regained his strength after his hardships in the surf. From the frigate was next thrown a live bull with a line tied to his tail. The bull, however, quickly perished in the surf and the body was carried away by the current.

In the meantime the Life-boat had arrived, accompanied by a number of fishing boats, and by their joint exertions the whole of the crew were successfully taken ashore before night.

On the 3rd August, 1873, at 2 A.M., the brig Ruth, of London, stranded off Lokken, on the west coast of Jutland.

The vessel was on a voyage from Pernambuco with a cargo of sugar, bound for Stockholm.

The sea broke with great force over the ship, and the crew had to seek refuge in the rigging. At 3 am. the Life-boat appeared on the spot. It was now blowing a heavy gale with a high sea, so that the Life-boat crew had great difficulty in launching the Boat.

At last, however, they succeeded and reached the wreck, where the whole of the crew, in all seven men were successfully taken into the Life-boat.

The sea was now so high that a landing with the Boat was very difficult. Every precaution was taken, but on the inner bar a heavy sea broke over the Boat, which was filled and then capsized, so that all on board were thrown into the sea. This happened, however, so near land that people from shore saved six of the shipwrecked crew and eleven of the Boat crew, while one English sailor and two Boatmen were drowned. The Boatmen left behind them widows and a large number of children. The widows received from the State an annual pension besides a sum of money from the English Government. All surviving Boatmen were decorated with the English medal for saving life.

One more life-saving service, in which the men displayed uncommon perseverance and great personal courage, is worthy of mention.

On the 7th February, 1894, at 8 A.M., a ship was observed wrecked on the Kandestederne, not far from the Scaw on the north point of Jutland. The ship subsequently proved to be the Swedish bark Erato, of Solvitsborg. on a voyage from Helsingborg to Liverpool, with a cargo of timber. The weather was stormy with a rough sea. In the course of half an hour the Life-boat from Kandestederne arrived and went out about three miles to windward of the stranded ship. With great difficulty the Boat was rowed out over the bars and reached the wreck, which was about 500 yards from land. Almost at the same instant that the Boat reached it the deck-load was washed overboard, and balks and timber surrounded the Life-boat on all sides; it consequently had to turn towards the shore to escape crushing. The landing was effected a long way to the leeward of the wreck on account of the strong current.

The Life-boat from GI. Skagen (the old Scaw) had now arrived, and went out as soon as the sea in the proximity of the wreck was tolerably clear of driftwood. After great exertions, this Boat succeeded in reaching the wreck, and saving twelve men of the crew who had sought refuge in the rigging.

The ship was now on her beam ends, and was lying with her lee yard-arms a little above the water.

In the meantime the Boat of Kandestederne was again ready and got out to the wreck, where six men were still lashed to the rigging. Four of them were taken on board the Life-boat, but the last two were so exhausted that they were unable by their own efforts to loosen themselves from the rigging. One of the Boat's crew, Christoffer Dalsgaard, got hold of a trailing rope's end, by the aid of which he climbed up in the rigging and carried the two exhausted and almost senseless men, one after the other, down into the Life-boat, which eventually reached land safely at 6 pm.

Christoffer Dalsgaard was, for his heroic conduct, honoured by the King with the Silver Cross of the Order of Danebrog.

Since its establishment in 1852, up to the 31st March, 1922, 10,229 people have been saved by the Danish Life-Boat Institution, of whom one-third were rescued by the rocket apparatus, while the remainder were taken ashore in Life-boats.

The various managers of the North Jutland Life-Boat Institution have on several occasions visited England to make purchases of life-saving appliances and to study the English system. They have during these visits met with great courtesy and helpfulness from the English Life-Boat Institution and its prominent men.

When next year the English Life-Boat Institution celebrates its hundred years' jubilee, Danish life-saving men will remember their English colleagues with high esteem and great thankfulness..