THE Inaugural Ceremony, on 12th July, of the Plymouth Motor Life-boat, the third Life-boat to be built of the 60- feet Barnett Twin Screw type, was one of the most successful ever held. It took place in Plymouth's Civic Week, for which seven ships oi the Atlantic Fleet visited the port. These ships were the Third Battle Squadron consisting of the Iron Duke (Flagship), Marlborough and Emperor of India, and the Second Cruiser Squadron consisting of the Curacoa (Flagship), Cambrian, Canterbury and Oomus, The City authorities and the Royal Navy joined whole-heartedly with the Institution in giving this new Life-boat a most impressive and solemn inauguration.

The Mayor of Plymouth, Alderman J. J. Hamyln Moses, one of the Vice- Presidents of the Branch, presided; the Countess Jellicoe of Scapa performed the naming ceremony, and the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt. Rev. Lord William Gascoyue Cecil, D.D., dedicated the Life-boat. Among those who also took part in the ceremony were Admiral John de M. Hutchison, Chairman of the Branch, Vice-Admiral Sir Rudolf Bentinck, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., Commander- in-Chief at Plymouth, the Viscountess Astor and Sir Arthur Shirley Benn, two of Plymouth's three members of Parliament, Mr. George F. Shee, M.A., Secretary of the Institution, and Captain H. F. J. Rowley, C.B.E., R.N., Chief Inspector of Lifeboats.

Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Chair man of the Committee of Management, who was to have presented the Lifeboat to the Branch, was prevented at the last moment by the death of a near relative from being present.

The presence of a large number of the officers of the Fleet in uniform made the east side of the Pier, which formed the " platform," a brilliant sight. Moreover, the weather was perfect, a fact which deserves special mention in a summer of phenomenal gloom.

The singing was led by a choir conducted by Mr. David Parkes, Mus. Bac. (Oxon), F.R.C.O., accompanied by the Commander - in - Chief's Band.

Thousands of people thronged the Promenade Pier, where the ceremony was held, and the slopes of the Hoe; and the speeches and singing were not only broadcast but also made audible by loud speakers, so that all present were able to take part in the ceremony.

The proceedings were opened by the Mayor in an admirable speech, and Mr.

Shee, in the absence of Sir Godfrey Baring, then formally presented the Lifeboat to the Branch. She was, he said, one of three Life-boats of the same type, and he had no hesitation in saying that those three were the finest Life-boats in the world. She had been provided out of a legacy which the Institution owed to the generosity of the late Mr. Robert Alexander Beck, of Worthing. In accepting the boat on. behalf of the Branch, Admiral Hutchison said that, so far as was humanly possible, she should at all times be ready for service. She had already been well tested in a south-westerly gale and Coxswain and Crew had every confidence in her. The Bishop of Exeter then dedicated the Life-boat to the service of God in eloquent and solemn language.

Captain Rowley gave the following description of the Life-boat. She is 60 feet long with 15 feet beam, draws 4 feet 4 inches and displaces 44 tons of water. She is driven by two 76-h.p.

petrol engines, which give her a speed of §•5 knots. It may not seem a high speed, but such is the engines' reserve of power that the Life-boat can maintain this speed under practically any conditions of "weather; whereas, at a higher speed, the crew would simply be swept out of her in bad weather.

She is built of two thicknesses of teak and has 15 main and 100 minor watertight compartments, so that even if severely damaged she would remain afloat and be manageable, while her engines would continue to work although otherwise entirely submerged, provided that the air-inlets were above water.

She has two cabins with accommodation for between 50 and 60 people, and in a calm sea could take 300 people on deck. Under the worst conditions of weather she could in safety carry 150 people in addition to her crew.

She carries 500 gallons of petrol, which.

at a cruising speed of 8 knots enable her to travel 500 miles. She is fitted with jets in alt compartments, by which' an outbreak of fire can be smothered by pyrene fumes, and has oil-sprays in her bows for spraying oil on heavy seas. She carries a line-throwing gun with a range of 80 yards, is lit by electricity, and has an electric searchlight, an electrically driven capstan, and a life-saving net into which the shipwrecked can jump as the Life-boat lies alongside their vessel.

When this description of the Life-boat had been given, Lady Jellicoe named her Robert and Marcella Beck, asking God to bless her and all who sailed in her.

It was an inspiring moment when the Life-boat, named and dedicated, moved out into the harbour to the noise of sirens and hooters from the ships and boats in the Sound and amid the loud cheers of the great crowd. As these sounds died away the voices of the choir were heard singing a sea-chanty.

Mr. Scantlebury then presented to Lady Jellioce a handsomely bound album of photographs, showing the history and development of the Station, to be completed later with photographs of the ceremony itself.

Mr. Shee, in the absence of Sir Godfrey Baring, presented to Coxswain Henry Hockaday, of the Yealm River Life-boat, the Certificate which, with a pension, had been awarded to him after 30 years' service, on the closing of the Statioa; and to Mrs.

G. H. Philips, of the Plymouth Ladies' Lifeboat Guild, the Framed Photograph of a Life-boat going out to a vessel in distress, which had been awarded her in recognition of long and valuable services.

Sir Arthur Shirley Benn proposed, and Admiral Bentinck seconded, the vote of thanks to Lady Jellicoe; and Mr.

Shee proposed, and Lady Astor seconded, the vote of thanks to the Mayor.

After the ceremony the Life-boat took Lady Jellicoe out to the Flagship of the Third Battle Squadron. By a happy coincidence, quite unexpected by her or anyone else, it was the Iron Duke, which had been the Flagship of Lord Jellicoe at the Battle of Jutland.

In writing of the ceremony afterwards the Mayor said, " It was one of the most thrilling and impressive ceremonies in connexion with the great week which was held at Plymouth and has done more to revive interest in the Life-boat Institution in Plymouth than any happening of recent years." This account would be incomplete without a warm tribute to the admirable way in which Mr. Scantlebury, the Honorary Secretary, had organised a very splendid and important function, his work having been so complete that everything went off without a hitch from start to finish, the success being of course ensured by the generous and spontaneous help of the Commanderin- Chief and the naval authorities..