IN order to be ready for any emergency on the coast the Institution keeps at its Storeyard at Poplar, on the Thames, a Eeserve Fleet of Life-boats. One of these Boats can be sent at a moment's notice to any place on the coast where the Station Life-boat has been damaged.

All the Boats in the Reserve Fleet have already seen service on the coast, and have been withdrawn either because of the closing of a Station, or to make way for Motor Life-boats.

Owing to the fact that the Reserve Fleet was increasing beyond the- accom- modation of the Storeyard, it has been decided to keep at Poplar a First Reserve Fleet of ten Life-boats, and to form a Second Reserve Fleet at Cowes with the remainder, bringing up Boats from Cowes to Poplar as they are re- quired to take the place of Boats sent from Poplar to the coast. The Second Reserve Fleet will, to begin with, number nine, and at the beginning of June eight of these nine Boats were sent down to Southampton by road, and then towed to the dockyard at Cowes. The ninth went straight from her Station. Altogether these nine Boats have a record of 145 years' service, and have rescued 701 lives..