LAST spring, when the Motor Life-boat Princess Mary was sent to Padstow, the larger of the two Pulling and Sailing Life-boats at that station, and the Steam Tug, Helen Peele, were withdrawn from service, while the smaller Life-boat will, later on, be replaced by a light Motor Life-boat. With the Helen Peele, the last of the steam-driven boats in the Institution's Fleet has gone.

For nearly forty years steam has played an important, though restricted, part in the Life-boat Service, and now that it has given way entirely to petrol, it should receive its valedictory notice in the Institution's Journal.

The first Steam Life-boat, the Duke of Northumberland, was completed in 1890, being stationed first at Harwich, then at Holyhead, and then at New Brighton, returning later to Holyhead.

Altogether six Steam Life-boats were built, although there were never more than four in service at the same time, for the size and weight of these boats necessarily confined their use to those Stations where they could be safely kept at moorings.

The last of these Life-boats was the James Stevens No. 3, built in 1898.

She remained on service at Holy-head until the autumn of last year, when she was withdrawn to make way for a Motor Life-boat. Thus for thirty-eight years there were Steam Life-boats in the Institution's Fleet. They went out on service 468 times. They rescued 673 lives. These figures show the Xame.

Duke of Northumberland.

City of Glasgow Queen James Stevens So. 3 City of Glasgow Xo. 2 James Steren-s Xo. 4 Period of Service. Stations.

1890-1923 Harwich, Holyhead, New Brighton.

1894-1901 Harwich, Corleston 1897-1924 New Brighton 1898-1928 Grimsby, Gorlcston, Angle, Totland Bay, Dover, Holyhead . . . .

1901-1917 Harwich .

1899-1900 Padstow . . . .

(wrecked) Launches.

175 26 81 83 99 4 468 Lives Rescued.

295 32 196 54 value of their work, restricted though it was, in the years before the coming of the internal-combustion engine gave the Life-boat Service mechanical power in a form which could be adapted to its general needs. The table on page 310 shows their individual record.

The Steam Tug, Helen Peele, remained in the Service some months longer than the last of the Steam Life-boats, leaving it at the end of last April. She was built in 1901, specially for the conditions of Life-boat work at Padstow. The year before, the new Steam Life-boat at Padstow had capsized on service, with the loss of eight of her crew, and it had been decided not to replace her with another Steam Life-boat. At the same time some special provision had to be made for the dangerous, rockbound coast between Land's End and the Bristol Channel. There are few places on it where Life-boats can be stationed, and it was essential that the Life-boats at Padstow should be able to cover a big stretch of coast. This, with the help of the Helen Peele, they have been able to do. Padstow has had two Pulling and Sailing Life-boats, both of the self-righting type, and the Tug has worked with the larger of the two, the Edmund Harvey. During their twenty-eight years of joint service they have rescued 78 lives, while working by herself the Helen Peele has rescued 10 lives. From December, 1917, to January, 1919, she was on war-service as a rescuetug with the Grand Fleet, and during that time rescued another 11 lives— 99 lives in all.

A Medal Service.

She ended her long Life-boat career with one of the finest services in her record. In the early morning of 27th November, 1928, when a gale was blowing with a very heavy sea, it was reported that a Port Isaac motor fishing boat was at sea. The Helen Peele went out in search of her. With the help of her searchlight she found Our Girlie anchored close to the shore near Port Quin, and in great danger, for if her cable had parted the heavy seas would have flung her at once on the rocks.

The Master of the Tug ordered the oil to be turned on, and this smoothed the seas considerably. He then stood boldly in to within 200 yards of the rocks, in only two or three fathoms of water, and by manoeuvring the Tug skilfully rescued the crew. In the darkness and shallow water, with the heavy sea running, it was an operation of great difficulty and danger, for had the tug touched the rocks, it would have been fatal. The rescue was i completed only just in time. Immedi- ; ately afterwards the cable of the fishing j boat parted, she was carried on to the j rocks, and became a complete wreck. [ For this gallant service the Master of ! the Tug, Mr. J. Atkinson, was awarded | the Institution's Bronze Medal, which j was presented to him at the Annual : Meeting held in London last spring.

The 'Helen Peele is classed 100 Al at Lloyds, and has probably many years of useful service before her. She has now become a tender to the big yachts on the Clyde, but her Life-boat work will not be forgotten, nor has it entirely come to an end, for she carries a brass plate with the record on it of her Lifeboat work, and also, by the kindness of her present owner, a Life-boat collecting box. By going to Scotland after nearly thirty years' service on the English coast, she is returning home. For she was designed by the late Mr. G. L. Watson, of the Glasgow firm of yacht-designers, who was the Institution's Consulting Naval Architect, and she was built at Leith. Her bell remains at Padstow, where it will hang in the Institute.

The Helen Peele left Padstow for the Clyde on 2nd May last, and the Honorary Secretary of the Station wrote : " I, with a large number of other people, gave her a good send-off, and as she proceeded down the river it was to many a very sad occasion, like losing an old friend. All the trawlers had their whistles going as well as the Helen Peele, and we watched the procession of the six trawlers, headed by the Helen Peele, out to sea, until she was only a speck on the horizon." As the Helen Peele put to sea from Padstow for the last time, with her escort of six trawlers, steam passed out of the Institution's Fleet..