Longhope IN Kirkwall Town Hall, in the Orkneys, on 22nd July, with the Provost in the chair, Captain J. D. Daintree, C.B.E., R.N. (Inspector-General of Coast Guard), presented to Second Coxswain W.

Mowat and the Crew of the Longhope Life-boat inscribed Silver Cups of Honour, which had been awarded them by the King of Sweden and the Swedish Government, in recognition of their courage and seamanship in rescuing the master and seven members of the crew of the s.s. Citos, of Helsingborg, on 12th September, 1923. The Citos had lost her propeller, and was helpless in a whole west gale with a very heavy sea, drifting towards a dangerous reef which she actually touched. When the Life-boat arrived she found the vessel on her beam ends, with a destroyer standing by her.

Fifteen of the crew hadalready attempted to make for land in the ship's boat, but she had capsized and six of the men were drowned, nine being rescued by the destroyer. The remaining eight of the crew were still on board and were taken off by the Life-boat.

After the presentation of the cups, the Rev. L. C. D. Douglas, Chairman of the Branch, presented a Barometer to Coxswain Swanson, from the members of the Committee, to mark their apprecia- tion of his forty years of service with the Longhope Life-boat, and their great regret that he did not share in the honour which the Swedish King and Government had conferred on his Crew.

He had been asked by the District Inspector of Life-boats if he would like to accompany him to Stromness in the New Brighton Motor Life-boat, then on her tour round the British Isles and was away on this Boat on the day of the service to the Citos.

North Deal.

At Deal Town Hall, on 9th August, in the presence of a large gathering, Mr.

Arthur J. Matthews, J.P., Chairman of the Branch, presiding, Captain Gr. A.

Raineri-Biscia, Naval Attache to the Italian Embassy, presented the Italian Silver Medal for bravery at sea, to ex- Coxswain William Adams, and the Bronze Medal to each of the fourteen members of the North Deal crew, who took part in the service to the Italian steamer Val Salice, in November, 1916.

These medals had been conferred on Coxswain Adams and his crew by the Superior Council of the Italian Navy.

On 17th November, 1916, a terrible gale sprang up on the Kentish coast, which lasted for four days, with moun- tainous seas breaking on the Goodwin Sands. On the evening of the third day, when the gale was at its height, an Italian steamer, the Val Salice, ran on the Goodwins. The Deal Life-boat was launched at ten at night, and reached the steamer at midnight. There were blinding rain storms, and the seas were so tremendous that at times the Life- boat was lifted as high as the steamer's mastheads. Yet the whole crew of thirty were got safely into the Life-boat and brought ashore. It was described at the time as a rescue " little short of miracu- lous." In making the presentation, Captain Biscia said that his Government had asked him to express its heartfelt appreciation of the services of the Royal National Life-boat Institution, and its gratitude to the Life-boatmen of Deal, who, by saving these Italian lives had added another link to the golden chain of friendship which had long connected Great Britain and Italy.

Altogether since 1873, on sixty-eight occasions decorations or special records of thanks have been received by our Life-boat crews from foreign Govern- ments or Life-Saving Societies..