Fowey (Cornwall), Weymouth (Dorset), Thurso (Caithness), and Stornoway (Island of Lewis) DURING September four new Motor Life-boats were formally inaugurated, those at Fowey, Weymouth, Thurso and Stornoway. Thus, with the South- end-on-Sea and Humber Life-boats which were inaugurated in July, there have been six Inaugural Ceremonies during the past summer.

Fowey, Cornwall.

There has been a Life-boat Station at Fowey since 1859, and its boats have res- cued fifty-two lives. The boat now with- drawn from the station was a 40 feet Watson Pulling and Sailing Life-boat and she has been replaced by a Watson Cabin Motor Life-boat, 45 feet 6 inches by 12 feet 6 inches, with two 40 h.p.

engines, a speed of 8 knots, and a radius of action at cruising speed of 100 miles.

She has been built out of four legacies, from the late Mr. C. G. Nottage, of London, the late Mrs. A. S. Picking, of London, the late Miss G. E. Moss, of Liverpool, and the late Mrs. J. Liddell, of Wadebridge. The name given her is C.D.E.C., being the initials of the names chosen by the four donors, while the full names are inscribed inside the boat.

The ceremony took place on 4th September, the day of the Fowey Regatta. The Mayor of Fowey pre- sided, and among those taking part in the ceremony were the Bishop of Truro (the Right Rev. Walter H. Frere, D.D.), Colonel and Mrs. Edward Treffry, Lieut.-Col. C. R. Satterthwaite, O.B.E., Deputy-Secretary of the Institution, and the Rev. W. R. Guest, Vicar of Fowey.

Among those present were Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, the writer, Professor of English Literature at Cambridge and Commodore of the Royal Fowey Yacht Club, The Right Hon. Lord Sankey, G.B.E. (Lord Chancellor) and Mr. W. V.

Henry, of Launceston, a relative and executor of Mrs. Liddell. The singing was accompanied by the St. Blazey Town Band.

The ceremony opened with a hymn, and a prayer by the Vicar of Fowey.

Lieut.-Col. Satterthwaite then formally presented the Life-boat to the Branch.

In doing so he gave a history of the station, expressed the gratitude of the Institution to the donors, and paid a tribute to the Cornish Life-boatmen.

The Mayor of Fowey received the Life- boat on behalf of the Branch, and spoke of the importance of Fowey as a Life-boat Station, lying in the middle of twenty- five miles of rock-bound coast. She was then dedicated by the Bishop of Truro.

Lieut.-Commander H. L. Wheeler, R.N., Inspector of Life-boats for the Southern District, described the Life- boat, and following this, Mrs. Edward Treffry named her " C.D.E.C." A Vote of Thanks to Mrs. Treffry and the Bishop was passed.

Weymouth, Dorset.

There has been a Life-boat Station at Weymouth since 1869, and its Life-boats have rescued thirty-eight lives. A Motor Life-boat was first sent to Weymouth in 1918. She was a 40-foot Watson boat. The new Weymouth boat is also a 40-feet Watson, but she is the first of a new and much improved type. The older type, of which the first was built in 1909, had a beam of 11 feet, and a free board of 3| inches in service conditions. She was driven by a 40 h.p. engine, which gave her a speed of 1 knots. The new Weymouth boat is a great advance on this older type.

It has been found possible to give her an extra 8 inches of beam, vhich means that she is more stable, but this increased stability has been obtained without any sacrifice of speed. Her free board is 8f inches, in service conditions—an increase of over 5 inches—and this, combined with higher ends, makes her a much drier boat. She is driven by a 50 h.p. engine, which gives her a speed of 7| knots, and she carries enough petrol to give her a radius of action, at cruising speed, of 117 miles. She is divided into six water-tight compart- ments, and is fitted with 160 air cases.

Her greatly increased stability and buoyancy are strikingly shown by the fact that with the old type of 40-foot boat, 56 men on board would bring the deck awash, while the new type can take 160 men on board before the deck is awash.

The new Weymouth boat is not only the first on the coast of an improved type. She is the first to be inaugurated of those Motor Life-boats which have been presented to the Institution by the leading Shipping Companies in response to the appeal which the Prince of Wales made to them in his Presidential Address at the Annual Meeting of the Institution last year. The new Wey- mouth boat is the joint gift, through Lord Kylsant, of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company, and the name chosen for her by her donors is Lady Kylsant.

The Inaugural Ceremony took place on llth September. Major J. H. C. Devenish, J.P., President of the Branch, was in the chair, and among those taking part in the ceremony were the Countess of Ilchester. President of the Weymouth Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; the Right Hon.

Sir Leslie Scott, K.C., a member of the Court of Directors of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company; the Viscount Cranborne, M.P. for Southern Dorset; the Mavor and Mayoress of Weymouth, the Rev. C. G. Niven, D.D., Vicar of St. Peter's, Dorchester; the Rev. Sidney J.

Rogers, President of the Free Church Council; the Mayors and Mayoresses of Dorchester, Bridport, and Yeovil, the Chairman of the Swanage Urban Dis- trict Council, Mr. Eric Burden, Hon. Secretary of the Branch ; Captain E. A. Betts. R.N. District Inspector of Coast Guard ; and Mr. George F. Shee, M.A.. Secretary of the Institution, who repre- sented the Committee of Management, in the absence of Sir Godfrey Baring. Bt., Chairman.

Major Devenish. in opening the pro- ceedings, referred to the way in which the Shipping Companies had responded to the Prince of W'ales's appeal and expressed regret that Lady Kylsant herself was unable to be present to give her name to the new boat.

Dr. Niven and the Rev. Sidney Rogers conducted a short religious service, and Sir Leslie Scott then pre- sented the new Life-boat to the Institu- tion in the name of the two Shipping Companies. In doing so he said that they were both proud to be associated, through their gift, with the Life-boat Service. Mr. George F. Shee, in accept- ing the Life-boat, expressed the Institu- tion's gratitude to the two Companies, and referred to the fact that the whole cost of the Boat-house had, through the generous help of Mr. Albany Ward, been contributed by the patrons of his circuit of cinemas. Mr. Shee also paid a tribute to the work of Major Devenish, as President of the Branch, and Mr.

Burden as Hon. Secretary. He formally entrusted the Boat to the Branch, on behalf of which she was accepted by Major Devenish.

Dr. Niven then dedicated her to the glory of God and the service of mankind, and Lady Ilchester named her La'ly Kylsant.

A vote of thanks to Lady Ilchester.

Lady Kylsant and the directors of the two shipping companies, was proposed by Captain Betts and seconded by Mr.

Burden. The ceremony concluded with a demonstration by the Life-boat.

Before the ceremony Major Devenish had entertained the principal guests to luncheon at the Gloucester Hotel. At this luncheon the toast of the Institution was proposed by Lord Cranborne, who said that in a country famous for its voluntary institutions, there was none of which Englishmen and women were more proud than of their Life-boat Service. Mr. George F. Shee replied.

The toast of the guests was proposed by the Mayor of Weymouth (Mr. P.

Boyle, M.B.E.) and responded to by Sir Leslie Scott.

The Mayor of Dorchester proposed the toast of the President, Committee and Hon. Secretary of the Weymouth Branch, and paid a tribute to the services both of Major Devenish and the Hon. Secretary, Mr. Eric Burden. Dur- ing the luncheon, Lieut.-Commander H. L. Wheeler. R.N., Inspector of Life- boats for the Southern District, gave particulars of the new boat.

Thurso, Caithness-shire.

There has been a Life-boat Station at Thurso since 1860, and it has a record of 391 lives rescued from shipwreck, the largest number saved by any Scottish Station. Its Life-boat for the past twenty years has been a Pulling and Sailing Life-boat of the 40-foot Watson type. This boat has now been replaced by a Motor Life-boat of the Watson Cabin type, 45 feet 6 inches by 12 feet 6 inches, with twin screws and two 40 h.p. engines. She was completed last year and was sent to Holyhead for temporary service before going to her own station, where she arrived on 25th June last.

She has been built out of a legacy from the late Mrs. Susanna Lynn Stephens, of Reading, a gift from Mr.

John H. Fielden, of Todmorden, and a legacy from the late Mr. H. T. Richard- son, of Pwllheli.

The Inaugural Ceremony took place at the Boat-house, at Scrabster, on 13th September. Among those taking part were the Duke of Portland, K.G., P.C., G.C.V.O., President of the Thurso Branch, the Duchess of Portland, Vice- Patron of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, Sir Archibald H. M. Sinclair, C.M.G., M.P., Lord Lieutenant of Caithness, Commander the Hon. A. D. Cochrane, D.S.O., Vice-Chairman of the Scottish Ltfe-boat Council, the Rev. W. D. A.

Mackenzie, the Rev. George R.

MacLennan, and Major W. M. Binns, Treasurer and Member of the Committee of the Thurso Branch.

Among those present were Lady Titchfield, Lady Davidson. Lord and Lady Temple, Lady Lovat. representa- tives of the other Life-boat Stations on the coast of Caithness, detachments from the Boys' Brigade and Girl Guides, and a party of V.A.D.s, who formed a guard of honour. The Motor Life-boat from Stromness was also present, with Coxswain William Johnston and her Crew.

The shops of Thurso were closed in honour of the occasion, and the greater part of the population were at the Boat- house, besides many visitors from the surrounding country.

A musical programme was given by the Thurso Pipe Band, and the singing was accompanied by the Salvation Army Band of Thurso.

After the opening hymn and a prayer by the Rev. W. D. A. Mackenzie, Com- mander Cochrane, on behalf of the Institution, presented the Life-boat to the Branch. In doing so he expressed the Institution's gratitude to the three donors, and said that the ceremony served a double purpose. It empha- sised both the high state of efficiency of the Service and the need for the public to give it more generous support.

The Rev. George MacLennan dedi- cated the Life-boat to the glory of God and the service of mankind, and Captain R. L. Hamer, R.N., Inspector of Life- boats for the Northern District, gave a full description of her.

The Duke of Portland formally accepted the Life-boat on behalf of the Branch. In doing so he spoke of the Station's splendid record, and the courage and devotion of the Coxswain and Crew. He also spoke of the fine response made by the district to the Branch's appeals, and paid a very warm tribute to Mr. John Miller, the Honorary Secretary.

Sir Archibald Sinclair then called on the Duchess of Portland to name the Life-boat. In doing so he said that as a seafaring people they were all proud of the men who carried on, day by day, the hazardous calling of the sea, a calling which demanded enthusiasm, courage and resource, and which found its highest expression in the Life-boat Service.

The Duchess of Portland, in naming the Life-boat, said : " My friends, I regard it as a great privilege to be here to-day. We are together concerned in a public act which matters greatly to our common life, and you allow me to take an important part in it. It is not a trifling thing to place upon the waters of a storm-swept coast the well-equipped boat which by the generosity of friends is now ours. (Applause.) The H.C.J.

Life-boat, as I shall formally name her, is to serve a very noble purpose. She is not set here for a quiet life on smooth and sunny seas, but for brave service, facing the buffets of roaring winds and stormy waves in order to secure the safety of imperilled lives. That is what the H.C.J. will be henceforth here to do at the hands of brave and devoted men.

(Applause.) May this boat be the means, by the blessing of God, of saving precious lives, and winning thereby the thanks not only of those who will be brought to safety, but of all of us who realise the self-sacrifice, the courage, and the skill of their dauntless task." (Applause.) Breaking a bottle of wine over the stern of the boat, the Duchess con- cluded : " I name you H.C.J. and I wish you every good luck in your life." The Duchess then presented to Cox- swain William Johnston, of Stromness, the Second Service Clasp, which had been awarded him for the service to the trawler Carmania II., on 2nd February last.* A vote of thanks to the Duchess was proposed by Major Binns, and she then launched the Life-boat, rockets being fired as the Boat went down the Slipway.

Storncway, Island of Lewis.

Stornoway, in the Island of Lewis, has had a Life-boat Station since 1887, and its Life-boats, have rescued twelve lives. The old boat was a Pulling and Sailing boat of the self-righting type, 35 feet long. This has now been replaced by a 51-foot Barnett Twin- screw Cabin Life-boat, with two 60 h.p.

* A full account of this service appeared in The Lifeboat for last March.

engines, a speed of 9 knots and a radius of action at cruising speed of seventy- five miles. She has a searchlight and line-throwing gun, and is the first Life- boat to be fitted with wireless telephony.

She has a wireless set for sending and receiving. It is of 100 watts, which should give a range of about fifty miles.

It is an experimental set, and if it prove successful other Life-boats will also be fitted with it, provided that satisfactory communication is available on shore.

The Boat has been built out of the balance of a legacy from the late Mrs.

Harriot Richardson, of Greenwich, and her name is William and Harriot.

Two other Life-boats of the same type have gone to Scottish Stations: to Stromness and Campbeltown, and another to St. Peter Port, in the Island of Guernsey.

The Inaugural Ceremony took place on 19th September. Sheriff J. G. Burns, Chairman of the Branch, presided. Mr.

Ranald Macdonald, C.M.G., O.B.E.; named the Boat, and she was dedicated by the Rev. R. Morrison, Minister of the L'nited Free High Church, Stornoway.

The singing was led by a choir under Bailie H. M. Matheson".

Captain R. L. Hamer, R.N.. In- spector of Life-boats for the Northern District, presented the Boat to the Branch, on behalf of the Institution, and gave a full description of her.

Sheriff Burns received the boat on behalf of the Branch, and said that the name of Mrs. Harriot Richardson, to whom they owed her, would long be remembered in Stornoway and Lewis.

It was an honour to be entrusted with a Life-boat. The fishermen of Stornoway would not fail in their duty aboard her. and she would be an inspiration to carry on the traditions of the great men and women who had built up the maritime Empire of Great Britain.

Mr. Morrison then dedicated the Life- boat to the glory of God and the service of men. and Provost Bain called on Mr.

Macdonald to name the boat. Before doing so, Mr. Macdonald said that the new Life-boat was for service in all the Islands, but Stornoway was the most suitable place for it, and though a Uist man, he admitted that the best seamen were to be found in Lewis. The Life- boat Institution had been very good to them in the West, but he did not know that they had been so good to the Institution. He suggested that a Ladies' Life-boat Guild should be started, and said that if Lewis would lead the way the other islands would follow. Mr. Macdonald then wished the Boat and her Crew the best of good fortune and named her William and Harriot.

Bailie Alexander MacLennan pro- posed and Ex-Provost ilurdo MacLean seconded a vote of thanks to Mr.

Macdonald. Ex-Provost Roderick Smith proposed a vote of thanks to Sheriff Burns, and, in replying, the Sheriff paid a tribute to the work done by Mr. Norman Maclver as Honorary Secretary of the Branch for many years past.

Shoreham, Sussex.

The Shoreham Station, closed in 1924, was reopened in October with a Motor Life-boat, and an account of the ceremony will appear in the next issue of The Lifeboat..