Presentation of Vellums signed by the Prince of Wales.

DURING the present year the Institution has presented Vellums to thirteen Stations which have been in existence for a century and over. Reports of seven of these presentations have already appeared in The Lifeboat.

Below will be found four more, while another two will be published in the next issue of the Journal. Seventeen Vellums were presented last year, so that the total is now thirty.

Each Vellum is signed by the Prince of Wales and bears a record, expressing the Institution's appreciation of the voluntary work of the Officers and Committee and of the devotion and courage of the Life-boat Crew.

The number of lives rescued and of medals awarded (as given in the follow- ing reports) is up to the date of the ceremony, but it is not in every case possible to give the total of lives from the date of the establishment of the Station, as the early records are not always complete. The medals are in each case all medals awarded to Life- boatmen and others from the foundation of the Institution in 1824.

Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Lowestoft is one of the oldest Life- boat Stations on our coasts, and has one of the finest records. In 1801 a Life-boat was placed there which had been built by Henry Greathead, builder of the Original, which was stationed at Tynemouth in 1789. This Life-boat, about which the Institution has no information, remained at Lowestoft until 1807. It was then replaced by the Francis Anne, built for the Suffolk Humane Society by Sparham of Lowes- toft, under the superintendence of Lionel Lukin, the London coach-builder. The Francis Anne comes only second in importance to the Original, for she was the first of the Sailing Life-boats, and is the direct ancestor of the famous Norfolk and Suffolk type of to-day.* The Francis Anne served at Lowestoft until 1850, and, so far as can be ascer- tained, rescued 300 lives. In 1855 the Station came under the control of the Institution, and in 1869 a second Station was established at Lowestoft. This Station was maintained until 1913. The two Stations have had altogether eleven Life-boats, including the present Motor Life-boat. The boats have been launched on service 331 times. They have the magnificent record of 1,073 lives rescued.

One of these eleven boats, which served *For an account of the first launch of this Life-boat on 26th November, 1807, see the article on Lionel Lukin in The Lifeboat for November, 1925.

from 1876 to 1905, was built out of a fund raised in honour of Samuel Plimsoll in Liverpool and Derby, and bore his name. She rescued 165 lives.

Two others, which were in service from 1890 to 1913, were the gift of the Stock Exchange, and were both named Stock Exchange. Two Gold, nineteen Silver and nine Bronze Medals have been awarded to Life-boatmen and others for gallantry.

The Lowestoft Life-boat performed one of the finest services during the War when she rescued nine men from H.M.

Sloop Pomona in September, 1918. Of the eighteen men in the Life-boat's Crew on that occasion, twelve were over fifty years old, and two of the twelve were men of seventy-two. The present Motor Life-boat at Lowestoft carried out one of the outstanding services since the War when, after a long and terrible struggle, she rescued the crew of the Hopelyn, of Newcastle, in October, 1922. Coxswain John Swan, who was in command on both occasions, and who already held the Institution's Silver Medal for Gal- lantry, was awarded a clasp to his Silver Medal for the service to the Pomona and the Institution's Gold Medal for the ser- vice to the Hopelyn. In 1924, the Insti- tution's Centenary Year, he was pre- sented by the King with the Medal of the Order of the British Empire.

The Vellum was presented on 7th August by Sir Gervais Rentoul, M.P., a member of the Committee of Manage- ment of the Institution. In the unavoid- able absence of the Mayor, the Vellum was received by the Town Clerk. Sir Gervais spoke of the splendid history of the Lowestoft Life-boats. He was also, he said, to present a Certificate won in the Life-boat Essay Competition. He had been reading some of the essays, and he found in them a much finer tribute to the Life-boatmen than he could pay himself. As one essayist had well said, " The Life-boatman is the knight errant of the twentieth century, the St. George ever fighting the dragon called Ocean." In accepting the Vellum the Town Clerk said that the Town Council were very proud of Lowestoft's Life-boat record. They would always regard the Vellum as a deserved tribute to the men who had brought so much distinction on the town.

Sir Gervais Rentoul then presented the Certificate, won in the Life-boat Essay Competition by Miss Joyce Browne of the Church Road Girls' School, Lowestoft.

Whitby, Yorkshire.

The Whitby Station has a long and very distinguished record. According to the Whitby historian, Dr. Young, it possessed a Life-boat in 1798. Of this the Institution has no record, but in 1802, Henry Greathead, builder of the Original, stationed at Tynemouth in 1789, built a Life-boat for Whitby.

The Station was taken over by the Institution in 1861. A second Station was established there in the same year, and a third Station in 1919, which was equipped with a Motor Life- boat. In addition to these three Stations, there was a Station at Upgang, which was closed when the Whitby Motor Life- boat Station was opened. Upgang was manned by Whitby men and adminis- tered by the Whitby Branch, so that it is really a Whitby Station. These four Stations have had altogether twenty- two Life-boats ; they have been out on service 291 times and have rescued 561 lives. No fewer than four Gold and eight Silver Medals have been awarded to Life-boatmen and others for gallantry.

Two days stand out conspicuously in the Life-boat history of Whitby. On 9th February, 1861, with a hurricane blow- ing, no fewer than nine vessels were wrecked off Whitby, and except for one man the whole of their crews were rescued. As the Life-boat returned from one service, she was called out on an- other, until at last, on her sixth journey, she capsized, and only one of her ex- hausted crew of thirteen men came ashore alive. Yet when, shortly after- wards, two more vessels were driven ashore, another Crew came forward at once, an old Life-boat was manned, and the men were saved.

The second outstanding day in Whitby's Life-boat history was 30th October, 1914, when the hospital ship Rohilla was wrecked in a terrible gale and broke in half. Twice the Whitby No. 2 Life-boat went out to her and rescued thirty-five men and women. She was then, however, so badly damaged herself that she could not put out again.

Four other Pulling and Sailing Life- boats were launched, but could not get near the wreck, and it was not until the Motor Life-boat at Tynemouth, 44 miles away, was summoned, that the survivors on board the Rohilla were saved. Three Gold Medals were awarded for this great service. Two of these were won by the Tynemouth Motor Life-boat. The other was awarded to Thomas Langlands, the heroic Coxswain of the Whitby No. 2 boat. Langlands is the principal figure in the history of the Station. Born in 1853, he became a member of the Whitby Crew at the age of eighteen. His service continued for forty-nine years.

When he retired in 1920 he had taken part in the rescue of over 200 lives, he had been a Coxswain for forty-three years, and he had won the Institution's Gold and Silver Medals.

The Vellum was presented on 17th August by Sir William Milligan, M.D., LL.D., J.P., a Vice-President of the Institution and Chairman of the Man- chester, Salford and District Branch.

The ceremony took place on board one of the Pulling and Sailing Life-boats, while the other Pulling and Sailing Boat and the Motor Life-boat were launched.

Bunting was flown from the Life-boat Station and by shipping in the harbour, and the Life-boat herself was dressed with flags. Mr. M. Wilson, J.P. (Chair- man of the Urban District Council) pre- sided, and among those present were the Rev. the Marquess of Normanby, D.L., the Marchioness of Normanby, the Earl of Mulgrave, Viscount Cranborne, M.P., and Viscountess Cranborne, Captain Sidney Herbert, M.P., Canon and Mrs. Hone, and Captain K. W. Milburn (Chairman of the Branch).

In making the presentation Sir Wil- liam Milligan gave a brief record of the Station and related the two great events in its history—the disaster of 1861 and the wreck of the Rohilla. It was such deeds as these that made them proud of the consummate skill and courage of their Life-boat Crews. He then pre- sented the Vellum to Captain Milburn as Chairman of the Branch. In accepting it, Captain Milburn said that there were no finer Life-boatmen in the world than those of Whitby. He handed the Vellum to Councillor Wilson, who said that it would hang in a place of honour on the walls of their Council Chamber and be treasured with the same pride which Whitby felt for the Life-boatmen them- selves. Votes of thanks were proposed and seconded by the Marquess of Nor- manby, Canon" Hone, Mr. J. W. Foster (Assistant Secretary of the Branch), and Mr. West Hodgson. Life-boat Day was held in Whitby on the same day.

Ramsey, Isle of Man.

The Life-boat Station at Ramsey was established by Sir William Hillary, founder of the Institution, in 1829. It was the fourth Station to be established in the Isle of Man, and it was taken over by the Institution in 1868. It has had altogether six Life-boats, and since 1868 it has the fine record of 426 lives rescued from shipwreck. The Institu- tion has awarded to Life-boatmen and others four Silver Medals for gallantry.

The Vellum was presented on 17th August by Brigadier-General W. S. Swabey, C.B., C.M.G., C.B.E., District Organising Secretary for the North West of England, the ceremony taking place on board the Life-boat. In making the presentation General Swabey recalled the early days of the Service in the Isle of Man, and the achievements of Sir William Hillary, as the Institution's founder and as one of the most gallant of Life-boatmen. The Vellum was received by the Rev. W. N. Harrison (Chairman of the Branch), who gave a brief history of the Station and paid a tribute to the bravery of the Ramsey Life-boat Crews.

General Swabey then presented the Inscribed Binoculars which the Institu- tion had awarded to Mr. A. H. Teare, J.P., M.H.K., in recognition of his ser- vices as Honorary Secretary for fourteen years. In returning thanks, Mr. Teare said that the Committee of the Branch wished to mark the occasion by making a presentation to the oldest of their Life- boatmen. This was Oscar Corlett, now seventy-four years of age, who became a member of the Crew at the age of twenty. He was a member of the Crew for sixteen years, and Second Coxswain for eleven years. Compelled then to retire owing to injuries, he had become head-launcher, a position which he still held, after fifty-four years of service.

Mr. A. E. Chrystal (Vice-Chairman of the Branch), then handed Corlett a cheque.

Corlett has been awarded a Life-boat- man's Certificate of Service in recogni- tion of his twenty-seven years in the Life-boat.

Ayr, Ayrshire.

Ayr is one of the five oldest Life-boat Stations on the Scottish coast. It was established in 1802, its first Life-boat being one of those built by Henry Great- head, builder of the first Life-boat, the Original, stationed at Tynemouth in 1789. The Station was taken over by the Institution in 1859. It has had altogether seven Life-boats, which have rescued seventy-one lives. Forty of these lives were rescued by the Boat which was at the Station from 1867 to 1886.

She had been built out of a fund raised by workmen of Glasgow, and was named Glasgow Workman.

The Vellum was presented on 14th September by the Earl of Glasgow.

Councillor H. F. Smith presided, and the Vellum was received by Provost T. S.

Stewart (Chairman of the Branch). Lord Glasgow congratulated the Station on its long history, and recalled the fact that his mother had performed the naming ceremony of the present Ayr Life-boat in 1910. In accepting the Vellum the Provost said that it would be hung in a prominent position, and be a permanent and honoured possession of the Burgh. Life-boat Day was held on the same day, and after the ceremony the Life-boat was launched..