THE Hundred and Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Governors of the Institu- tion was held at the Caxton Hall, West- minster, on Monday, 7th April, at 3 p.m.

The feature of the meeting was the presence of Coxswains from English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish Stations to receive Silver and Bronze Medals for gallantry during the gales of last winter.

Of the seven Medallists, three were from English Stations : Newhaven (Sussex), Hythe (Kent) and Dungeness (Kent); two were from an Irish Station: Ros- lare Harbour (Co. Wexford) ; one was from a Scottish Station: Longhope (Orkneys) ; and one from a Welsh Station : Angle (Pembrokeshire).

Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Chairman of the Committee of Management, pre- sided, supported by the Mayoress of Westminster, Vice-Presidents of the Institution and Members of the Com- mittee of Management.

The speakers were the Right Hon.

William Graham, M.P. (President of the Board of Trade), Admiral Sir Roger Keyes,- Bt., K.C.B., K.C.V.O., C.M.G., D.S.O., D.C.L., His Excellency the Danish Minister (Count Preben Ahle- feldt-Laurvig), The Bishop of Ports- mouth (the Right Reverend Ernest Neville Lovett, C.B.E., D.D.), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry F. Oliver, G.C.B., K.C.M.G., M.V.O., Sir John Cumming, K.C.I.E., C.S.I., the Hon. George Col- ville (Deputy Chairman of the Com- mittee of Management), and Major- General the Right Hon. J. E. B. Seely, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.

Among those who accepted the invita- tion of the Committee of Management- were representatives, including the Danish Minister, of twenty foreign countries. They were: Their Excel- lencies the Ambassadors of Germany, Portugal, Belgium and the Argentine ; the Ministers of Norway, Sweden, Greece, Latvia, Mexico and Siam; representatives of the Ambassadors of Spain, France, United States and Italy ; and representatives of the Ministers of Esthonia, Bulgaria, Peru, China and Roumania.

The following Mayors and Mayoresses accepted the invitation: The Mayors and Mayoresses of Fulham, Leyton, Lewiaham, Bermondsey, Finsbury, Greenwich, Acton and Southampton; the Mayors of Stoke Newington and Chelsea.

Among others who accepted the invitation were : Sir Robert Hamilton, M.P. for Orkney and Shetland, and Lady Hamilton; Sir George McLaren Brown, K.B.E., European General Manager of the Canadian Pacific Rail- way ; representatives of the Royal Humane Society, the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Bene- volent Society, the Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich, the National Union of Sea- men, the Marine Engineers' Association, the National " Safety First" Asso- ciation, the Mercantile Marine Service Association, and the Orkney and Shet- land Society in London; an Officer and party of fifty boys from the training- ship Arethuaa, and an Officer and party of twenty boys from the training-ship Stork.

There were also present Honorary Life Governors of the Institution; holders of the Institution's Gold Badge ; members of the Central London Women'a Committee of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, and representatives of Branches and Guilds.

The following is a report of the meeting:—Sir Godfrey Baring.

The CHAIRMAN : Your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,—We are privi- leged to welcome as our chief speaker this afternoon the President of the Board of Trade, the Right Hon. William Graham. (Applause.) He has, unfortunately, to leave this meeting early owing to the unceasing curiosity of our legislators at Westminster. He will have to go, to be precise, at 3.25. The Royal National Life-boat Institution is nothing if not re- sourceful, so we shall adopt on this occasion a novel procedure. I am going to ask Mr.

Graham to be kind enough to move a resolu- tion which stands in his name, and then after he has contributed his much-appreciated quota •—an expression not unknown to the Bight Hon.

gentleman, I think (Laughter)—to our meet- ing, I will then go back to the beginning of the agenda and we will go on with the rest of the proceedings. I will ask Mr. Graham to address the meeting at once.

The Right Hon. William Graham.

The RIGHT HON. WILLIAM GRAHAM : Sir Godfrey Baring, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,—The resolution which you have kindly asked me to move this after- noon is in the following terms : " That this Meeting, fully recognising the important services of the Royal National Life-boat Institution in its national work of life-saving, desires to record its hearty appreciation of the gallantry of the Cox- swains and Crews of the Institution's Life- boats, and gratefully to acknowledge the valuable help rendered to the cause by the Local Committees, Honorary Secretaries and Honorary Treasurers." May I say that I greatly appreciate the kindly words of introduction of our Chairman this afternoon, and especially the kindness of your office-bearers in arranging that I may leave this meeting at an early hour, due, as the Chairman has quite rightly indicated, to the unceasing calls of Parliamentary duty.

It is, I think, in every way appropriate that one who is, for the time being, at the Board of Trade should attend a meeting of this kind to pay a tribute on behalf of the Government, and, so far as he can, on behalf of the public, to the admirable work in which this Institution is engaged. (Applause.) The elementary figures which lie behind this effort this after- noon are themselves in many ways impres- sive. We have rather more than 5,000 miles of coast, and in spite of all the vicissitudes of industry and commerce and the depression of recent years, we are still a great maritime country, engaged or interested in the markets which are to be found in every part of the world, and therefore dependent to a very large extent on our overseas trade.

To that enterprise, for more than a hundred years, this Life-boat Service has made its con- tribution, and in all the technical documents of recent times I have found nothing so interest- ing, if I may say so, as that little leaflet which describes the foundation of the Life-boat Ser- vice 106 years ago. During that time we can trace a very remarkable record. In a period of rather more than a century 62,000 lives have been saved from shipwreck—(Applause) —and, as these reports properly point out, the lives, in the vast majority of cases, were those of men engaged in the mercantile marine ser- vice of this country, and therefore engaged in very important tasks of bringing commodities, raw materials and foodstuffs to these shores, or in conveying to other shores the goods which this country produces from year to year.

That in itself is a very remarkable record.

Then during the past year, the year which is under review in this Report, 363 lives were saved from shipwreck, or almost one per day.

A very large proportion were saved by the Life- boats themselves, the remainder being saved by vessels from the shore. That is again a very remarkable record. Apparently very much of that beneficent enterprise was neces- sary during the exceptional gales of December last year and the early months of the present year. Altogether the past year has added its quota (if I may use that word which the Chair- man quite properly recalls) to the very great record which the Institution enjoys. (Ap- plause.) An enterprise of this kind calls, of course, for adaptation from time to time to new technical developments for the greater effi- ciency of the Service. I understand that from 1908 there has been a process of transforming these vessels from rowing or pulling beats to the new motor type : that even during the dis- location and the crisis of the war this technical development made progress, and that cer- tainly since 1917 this progress has been accelerated, so that a very large proportion of the more than two hundred Life-boats which are available around these shores are Life- boats containing the latest technical and other devices for saving life at sea. That itself must have contributed very largely to the efficiency of the fleet.

I am also reminded this afternoon that this effort relates to the saving of life particularly among men of our mercantile marine : that is, saving the lives of men of wide experience and of great training, indispensable to the com- merce of this country, and indispensable, I think we may assert without lack of modesty, to the commerce of many other countries, because all commerce is, of course, mutual and interdependent in character.

This Service is national in its scope. Those tales of heroism which add lustre to the pages of the Report are not confined to any part of these shores. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland have all made their contribution to deeds which deserve to rank with the proudest of the efforts which have been made by this Service since its foundation in these islands.

(Loud applause.) Beyond that, this Service is international in character. I think a similar Service has been established in fifteen other countries. I under- stand, too, that there is correspondence between this country and other countries about the Life-boat Service relating to its international co-operation and efficiency, and especially to the perfecting of those technical and other devices upon which from time to time it must rely. So that from every point of view—first of all from the very strong human appeal which this Institution makes, and in the second place from the point of view of its contribution to efficiency and safety in our commerce—this Institution has every right to look ior widespread public support. (Ap- plause.) I am reminded that this is one of the in- numerable services in this country in which we rely not upon the cold technicalities of an Act of Parliament, but rather upon the volun- tary effort of large numbers of our fellow- citizens. Scattered over 1,000 cities, towns and villages there are men and women who year by year are prepared to take a definite interest in this work, and to see that on the financial side and on the human side it succeeds around these shores. This is a reason which of itself would entitle the Institution to an enthusiastic response to any popular appeal. Then I think also that this is an Institution which unites men and women of all political and economic faiths in the State. We meet here under any and every Government to pay our tribute to this Institution and to wish it well in its bene- ficent enterprise. With those words, and with the warmest commendation which I can give you in all your work, I beg to move the resolu- tion standing in my name. (Loud Applause.) The CHAIRMAN : I am sure that this meeting would wish me to express to Mr. Graham our cordial and grateful thanks for the inspiring words which he has addressed to us, and also our gratitude that he has found time amidst his innumerable engagements to come and address us this afternoon, and we will make the best return we have in our power. We will release him now from this meeting, and wish him God-speed in the House of Commons.

(Applause.) (The Right Hon. William Grah'jm retired from the Meeting.) Sir Godfrey Baring.

The CHAIRMAN : Your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,—Under this peculiar procedure we are now going back- wards to the beginning of the agenda ; and if you will look at your agenda you will see the rather menacing words, " Address by the Chairman." I will try to make that address as brief as I possibly can, but it has been thought well—not by myself, may I say, but by my colleagues—that I should offer some explanatory remarks with regard to the Annual Report and the Accounts which are presented to the Governors at this Meeting.

The Report is, I think, a full and clear record of the activities of the Institution during last year, and the Accounts present in an under- standable form the financial position of the Institution. May I say just one word, and one word only, with regard to the accounts. I should have thought it unnecessary to say it if it were not for a personal experience which I had the other day. I met a gentleman who was very hard pressed to give some excuse why he should not subscribe to the Institution, and he said that he regretted to find that it never published its accounts. He was inaccurate to the extent, I think, of 106 years. (Laughter.) For 106 years the Institution has published its accounts. They have been audited by one of the most eminent firms of chartered accoun- tants in London, and they have been presented, for the criticism and remarks of the public.

I wonder, ladies and gentlemen, whether you quite realise—I know that although I have been associated with Life-boat work for a long time it is difficult for me to realise—that our Life-boat Institution, our Life-boats and men, are responsible for guarding no less than 5,000 miles of coast, and that coast-line is really the centre of the world's shipping. At every point of danger, there you will find a Life-boat and a Crew of brave Life-boatmen ready to put out to sea at a moment's notice. Mr. Graham said just now that we have saved in the long and glorious history of the Institution 62,000 lives from shipwreck. All human lives are valuable, but I venture to say that the large majority of the lives which are saved by our Life-boatmen are of special value, because in most instances they are the lives of men in the prime of life, breadwinners upon whom women and children depend for their subsistence; and if you think of how much misery, how much grief, and how much destitution have been saved by the intervention of our Life-boatmen, I am sure you will agree with me that our Institu- tion is worthy of the support of every good citizen of this country. (Applause.) It is one of our proud boasts also that our Life-boatmen have been instrumental in saving the seafaring citizens of every country which possesses a mercantile marine; and that is why we welcome with such especial pleasure the representatives of many foreign countries at our meeting here this afternoon.

(Applause.) In the Report you will find an account of the progress of our Motor-boat construction. It has made great strides during the last few years. In 1910 we had only nine motor-boats.

Now, in 1930, twenty years afterwards, we have 87 motor-boats on our coasts, and we have a large number of slipways for launching round our coasts, provided with every up- to-date equipment to make them efficient.

Equipment of that kind is very tedious to describe in a speech, but it is absolutely neces- sary if our Life-boat work is to be really efficient.

I should like to say, as I am sure the Governors remember, that we are still respon- sible for Life-boat work in Ireland. At the special request of the Irish Free State Govern- ment and of the Northern Ireland Government we have gone on with our Life-boat work in Northern Ireland and in the Irish Free State.

The most anxious consideration has been given to the needs of the Irish coast by the Committee of Management, and, as usual, Ire- land has come off very well in that respect.

(Laughter and Applause.) May I read you some rather interesting figures. Figures are tedious at meetings, I know, but it is no good being a chairman of a meeting if one cannot be tedious. England has 73 Fulling and Sailing Life-boats and 46 Motor Life-boats. Scotland has 22 Pulling and Sailing Life-boats and 17 Motor Life-boats. When we get to Ireland we find that Ireland has 10 Pulling and Sailing Life-boats and 13 Motor Life-boats; and Wales has 13 Pulling and Sailing Life-boats and 11 Motor Life-boats. That is another injustice to poor old England, and another triumph for our Celtic neighbours. (Laughter.) In our Annual Report we have tried to give general expression to the gratitude which we feel for the great munificence of the great shipping companies throughout the country who have recently made presentations of boats to the Institution. (Applause.) We are deeply grateful for that generosity, and we are, of course, like all charitable institutions, always asking for more. Therefore may I suggest very respectfully that perhaps the great trawler-owners in this country might give a little further financial support to the funds of the Institution. The present support of trawler-owners is just a little disappointing, having regard to the fact that our Life-boats are often instrumental in saving the lives of fishermen and in standing by fishing vessels.

May 1 make this suggestion to the trawler- owners of this country: that they should see their way to contribute 5s. per trawler to the funds of the Institution each year. That is not very much to ask, and I hope that Grimsby and Lowestoft papers will please copy. (Laughter and Applause.) Some of the support which we have received is really extraordinary in its generosity. I should like to mention one instance, for, though it may seem invidious to pick out any individual contribution, yet it is such a wonder- ful contribution that I am sure the Governors will allow me to mention it. The employees of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway actually contributed last year a sum of £893.

(Applause.) There was another incident to which I should wish to refer. Owing to the kindness of the British Broadcasting Company, ex-Cox- swain Swan was allowed to make an appeal by wireless to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The response to that appeal from the public came to over £750. (Applause.) We received hundreds of contributions of 1*.

and 6d. from working men and working women all over the country; and thoso small sub- scriptions are specially welcome to and specially appreciated by the Committee of Management.

(Applause.) That brings me to this: that it would be a very evil day indeed for the Institution—and I am sure the Governors will agree with me when I say so—if flag days were abolished.

There are some persons so curiously con- stituted as to say that they do not like flag days. I cannot understand an opinion of that kind. I have never been in any town on any flag day without buying a flag. Often I have not known what the cause was for which the flags have been sold, but I have invariably bought a flag (Laughter and Applause); and I believe the only way to secure the support of all classes of the community for a great charity like the Life-boat Institution is by means of flag days. When I have the honour of speak- ing for the Life-boat Institution, I always quote an experience of my own in the inland town of Leicester. On a peculiarly odious April day, four or five years ago, I was standing outside one of the chief works in that town when the men were coming out for their dinner interval.

It was Life-boat Day in Leicester, and we had four ladies selling flags at the gates. Of the first 100 workmen who came out on that day —and it was blowing and raining, an appro- priate day for Life-boat Day—eighty-nine mea bought Life-boat flags. (Applause.) Surely it cannot be contended for one moment that we should have received that most welcome sup- port by any other means than a flag day. And may I venture to commend to your most cor- dial and enthusiastic support the London Life- boat Day, which is going to be held on the 20th May next, and which we hope to make a very great success.

Mr. Graham mentioned the international character of Life-boat work. That has been very much accentuated in recent years. Dur- ing our centenary year, in 1924, we had an International Life-boat Conference in London, when nine nations were represented. In the year 1928, in Paris, we had a second Inter- national Conference, when seventeen nations were represented; and on that first occasion I think I am right in saying that Count Yoshii, the representative of the great Japanese nation, actually travelled about 3,000 miles in order to be present. (Applause.) Only one word in conclusion; and I must apologise for having kept you so long. I have spoken of our boats, and of our generous sub- scribers, and of our efficient equipment; but all this organisation of boats, committees, workers, inspectors, organisers and subscribers would be a mere organised hypocrisy if it were not based on the constant vigilance and the unyielding, steadfast courage of our splendid Life-boatmen. (Loud Applause.) For 106 years those Life-boatmen have faced every peril, have surmounted every difficulty, and have endured every hardship in the sacred service of humanity. For 106 years these men have never failed, and, God willing, they will not fail in the future, to do their duty. That word " duty " is ever engraved on their hearts, if it is not often uttered by their lips.

" Not once or twice in our rough island story The path of duty was the way to glory." (Loud Applause.) Before I pass to the next item on the agenda, Ladies and Gentlemen, would any Governor like to ask any question or to make any remark on the Annual Report and Accounts 1 If anyone desires to ask any question, we will do our utmost to answer it.

. . . As there appear to be no questions or remarks I will go to the next business on the agenda.

In the name of, and on behalf of, the Com- mittee of Management of the Royal National Life-boat Institution I hereby nominate the following noblemen and gentlemen as suitable persons to fill the various posts and offices in connection with the Institution during the period dating on and from the 7th April, 1930, until the date of the Annual Meeting of the Governors of the Institution in 1931, and also Messrs. Price, Waterhouse & Co. as Auditors for the same period.

President.

H.E.H. The Prince of Wales, K.G.

Fice-Presidenta.

The Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Duke of Atholl.

The Duke of Montrose.

The Duke of Portland.

The Duke of Northumberland.

The Marquis of Ailsa.

The Marquis of Aberdeen and Temair.

The Earl of Derby.

The Earl of Albemarle.

The Earl Waldegrave.

The Earl of Lonsdale.

Admiral of the Fleet the Earl Jellicoe of Scapa.

The Viscount Burnham.

Commodore Sir Richard Henry Williams - Bulkeley, Bt., R.N.R.

Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt.

Sir W. E. B. Priestley.

Mr. Harry Hargood.

Miss Alice Marshall.

Mr. Noel E. Peck.

Treasurer.

The Earl of Harrowby.

Other Members of the Committee of Management.

Mr. Charles G. Ammon, M.P.

Mr. Ernest Armstrong.

Mr. H. Arthur Baker.

Rear-Admiral T. P. H. Beamish, M.P.

Lieutenant-Colonel J. Benskin.

Mi. Frederick Cavendish Bentinck.

Major Sir Maurice Cameron.

Captain Charles J. P. Cave.

Colonel Lord William Cecil.

Mr. Kenneth M. Clark.

The Hon. George Colville.

Sir John G. Gumming.

Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Robert B. Dixon.

Vice-Admiral Sir A. A. M. Duff.

Commander Herbert G. Evans, R.N.R.

Captain Guy Fanshawe, R.N.

Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson.

Mr. K. Lee Guinness.

Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey.

The Hon. Esmond C. Harmsworth.

Commodore Sir Bertram F. Hayes, R.N.R.

(retired).

Captain G. C. Holloway, R.N.R.

Sir Frederick Thomas Hopkinson.

Captain the Earl Howe, R.N.V.R.

Mr. J. F. Lamb.

Colonel Sir A. Henry McMahon.

Commander Sir Harry Mainwaring, Bt., R.N.V.R.

Mr. Algernon Maudslay, Sir Frank C. Meyer, Bt.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Francis Oliver.

Sir Gervais S. C. Rentoul, K.C., M.P.

The Right Hon. F. O. Roberts, M.P.

The Right Hon. Walter Runciman, M.P.

Major-GeneraY the Rt. Hon. Jotei E.

Colonel the Master of Sempill.

The Lord Southborough.

Commander F. F. Tower, late R.N.V.R.

The Lord Tredegar.

The Right Hon. William Dudley Ward.

And ex-officio.

The Lord Mayor of London.

The Admiral Commanding Reserves.

The Deputy Master of the Trinity House.

The HydrographeT oi the avy.

The Chairman of Lloyd's.

I declare these noblemen and gentlemen duly elected.

¥ mentation oi Medab fat GdboAr?.

We now come to the presentation of Medals for gallantry in saving or attempting to save life from shipwreck. In the absence of Mr. Graham, those Medals will be presented by Admiral Sir Roger Keyea. A.p9la.use. I mil e&k. tha Secretary to read out the services for which the Medals have been awarded.

The SECRETARY then read the accounts of the services for which the Medals and other Awards had been given, and the Medals were presented y Adrrnrai Sir Roger X.eyes as follows:—

To COXSWAIN JAMES WICKHAM, of Rosslare Harbour, Co. Wexford, a Second Service Clasp to the Silver Medal, which he won in 1914, for the rescue on 20th October, 1929, of the crew of five of the schooner Mountblairy, of Ply- mouth.

To MR. W. J, B. MONCAS, Honorary Secre- tary at Rosslare Harbour, the Bronze Medal for the same service.

To COXSWAIN HARRY A GRIGGS JUN. of Hythe, Kent, the Silver Medal for the rescue on 12th November, 1929, of the crew of three of the barge Marie May, of Rochester.

To COXSWAIN DOUGLAS OILIER, of Dun- geness, Kent, the Bronze Medal for the same service.

To COXSWAIN JAMES WATKINS, of Angle, Pembrokeshire, the Bronze Medal for the rescue on 26th November, 1929, of twenty- eight lives from the s.s. Molesey, of London.

To COXSWAIN RICHARD PAYNE, of New- haven, Sussex, the Silver Medal for the rescue on 7th December, 1929, of the crew of ten of the Danish schooner Mogens Koch. Coxswain Payne already holds the Institution's Bronze Medal.

To COXSWAIN JOHN SWANSON, of Longhope in the Orkneys, the Silver Medal for the rescue on 5th January, 1930, of eight men from the steam trawler Braconmoor, of Aberdeen.

(A full account of these services appeared in the last issue of The Lifeboat.) The CHAIRMAN : I will now ask Sir Roger Keyes to second the resolution which Mr.

Graham moved before he left the meeting.

Admiral Sir Roger Keyes.

Admiral Sir ROGER KEYES : Mr. Chairman, your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,— I have very great pleasure in seconding—and it is a very great honour to me to be asked to second—the resolution which has been so ably proposed by the President of the Board of Trade. I think there can be few Naval officers who during the late war had more to do with both the deep sea and longshore fishermen of Great Britain, who form the backbone of the men from whom the Life-boat Crews are drawn, than I. When I came here this afternoon I intended to tell you some of my experiences of their great gallantry, apart from their life- saving, and their great value to the country during the war ; but when I looked round and saw my friend the German Ambassador, 1 said to the Lord Bishop of Portsmouth, in whose diocese I live, " I think that has rather taken the wind out of my sails, because I cannot possibly talk about the war " ; and he said to me, " Well, we didn't ask you to come and talk about yachting." (Laughter.) So I think I will get on with it. Then I looked down again, and I remembered (and I hope the Ambassador remembers, too) how very soon after the war, when the King of the Belgians came to pay a visit to England, I was attached to him, and at a party at Bucking- ham Palace we talked a good deal about what we had done in the war; and someone said to me, " Go and talk to the German Ambassador; he looks rather down on his luck." I did so, and I remember how we made friends then, and T am sure he will bear with anything I say, and will feel as proud of the fishermen of whom I am going to speak as I do.

When I went out to the Dardanelles our sweeping fleet in the Dardanelles was made up of trawlers whose speed was about seven knots, and as the current ran at about three knots, it meant that the mines had to be swept down the current, which again meant that the trawlers had to go through a score of search- lights and heavy fire in order to get into the position to sweep the mines. It would be diffi- cult to imagine anything more formidable and terrifying than that; and I think few who were out there will ever feel anything but the greatest pride and admiration for those fisher- men who, in the early days of the war, came straight from their fishing-grounds to sweep mines under those terrible conditions. (Ap- plause.) Later on in the war, when I was Admiral at Dover, I had some 300 vessels under my orders, and I suppose about 150 of them were fishing vessels, and they were employed in every sort of work in connection with keeping the seas swept clear of mines, patrolling and so on. At that time there was the very serious menace of German submarines, which were streiming through the Straits, and there was an enormous mine-field laid which was kept as light as day from darkness until dawn, and on that mine- field about 100 fishing craft were incessantly patrolling. Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, you can imagine that a patrol of that sort invited attack, and when you have a worthy and gallant enemy you are sure to get attacked. I think there is no finer page in the history of the fishing-fleet of the British Isles than the atory of what happened on the night when that patrol was attacked. It suffered terrible losses, losses which were enough to dismay anybody, but the next night, although some 80 fisher- men had been killed, that mine field was lit and patrolled ; it was even more brightly lit, and we had more fishing-boats on patrol, and from that day onwards that patrol was never challenged. (Loud Cheers.) That had a very great effect in stopping our great losses in the Channel from the enemy's sub- marines.

I am so tremendously interested in these people that I was very proud when I was asked to speak here to-day and to be given the opportunity to tell you of the splendid gallan- try of the fishermen in those anxious and ter- rible days. For those are the people who man the Life-boats. (Applause.) It is a very great honour to me to have pinned those Medals on the breasts of these gallant men, and in these materialistic days it is a great satisfaction to know that we in these islands have this enormous reserve of gallant men, who will go out and risk their lives, and display most magnificent seamanship, steadfastness and courage, in order to save their comrades, of whatever nation they may be, who are in dis- tress. (Applause.) However important machinery is, it is the man that really matters, and surely it is up to us, who live sheltered lives on shore, to see to it that the machinery, the boats and the materials they have are the very best in the world. That, Ladies and Gentlemen, is what we are here for to-day. We are here to appeal to you to help the Life-boat Institution to provide them with the best equipment and the best boats in the world. In seconding this resolution, I am sure I can confidently appeal to you to subscribe generously to this splendid Service. (Applause.) The CHAIRMAN : Ladies and Gentlemen,—I will now put the resolution to the Meeting : " That this Meeting, fully recognising the important services of the Royal National Life-boat Institution in its national work of life-saving, desires to record its hearty appreciation of the gallantry of the Cox- swains and Crews of the Institution's Life- boats, and gratefully to acknowledge the valuable help rendered to the cause by the local Committees, Honorary Secretaries and Honorary Treasurers." (The Resolution was put to the Meeting and carried unanimously.) Presentation* to Honorary Life-Governors.

The CHAIRMAN: I will now ask the Secre- tary to give you particulars of the work for which Awards have been granted to honorary workers.

The SECRETARY : An Honorary Life- Governorship is the highest honour which the Institution can confer on its honorary workers, and is given only for long and distinguished service as a Station Honorary Secretary or in furthering its appeals for financial support.

Since the last Annual Meeting four honorary workers have been appointed Life-Governors, and I will give their names in the alphabetical order of the Branches with which they are associated.

APPLEDORE (DEVONSHIRE).

Mr. H. C. WHTTEHEAD has been appointed an Honorary Life-Governor in recognition of his long and valuable services as Honorary Secretary of the Appledore Station Branch.

COLWYN BAT (DENBIGHSHIRE).

Mr. T. E. POBDY, J.P., C.C., has been appointed an Honorary Life-Governor in recognition of his long and distinguished ser- vices as Honorary Secretary of the Colwyn Bay Branch.

COVENTRY (WARWICKSHIRE).

Alderman A. H. DRTNKWATER, J.P., has been appointed an Honorary Life-Governor in recognition of his long and distinguished ser- vices as Chairman of the Coventry Branch.

DUBLIN.

Major ARTHUR WHEWELL has been appointed an Honorary Life-Governor in recognition of his long and distinguished services to the Life- boat Cause in Dublin.

A copy of the Vote, inscribed on Vellum and signed by His Royal Highness the Prinae of Wales, as President of the institution, is pre- sented to each Honorary Life-Governor. Of these four gentlemen, only Mr. Purdy, of Colwyn Bay, is able to be present this afternoon to receive his Vellum.

(The Chairman then presented the Vellum to Mr. Purdy.) Presentation of Gold Brooches and Pendants.

The SECRETARY : The Gold Pendant or Gold Brooch also is awarded only to honorary workers who have given distinguished service.

Since the last Annual Meeting eighteen have been awarded. I will read out first the names of those who are not present to receive their awards. The Branches with which they are associated are given in alphabetical order.

BARMOUTH (MERIONETHSHIRE).

To Mrs. J. E. HEATH, in recognition of her valuable co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild.

BATH (SOMERSET).

To Mrs. G. GOLDIE, in recognition of her valuable co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Branch.

CHIPPERFIELD (HERTFORDSHTBE).

To Mrs. LATHBUBY, in recognition of her valuable co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Branch.

CORK (co. CORK).

To Mr. H. P. F. DONEGAN, in recognition of his long and valuable co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Branch.

EXETER (DEVON).

To Mrs. ABTHUB REED, in recognition of her valuable co-operation as Chairman of the Branch and Ladies' Life-boat Guild.

HOLYWOOD (BELFAST).

To Mrs. F. L. HEYN, in recognition of her long and valuable co-operation as President of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild.

LLANDUDNO (CAERNARVONSHIRE).

To Mrs. E. M. MARKS, J.P., in recognition of her valuable co-operation as Vice-President of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild.

LONDON.

To the Lady FLORENCE PERY, in recognition of her long and valuable services, latterly as Honorary Secretary of the whole Ladies' Life- boat Guild of Great Britain and Ireland.

TENBY (PEMBROKESHIRE).

To Miss HABVEY, in recognition of her valuable co-operation for many years in raising funds.

The following are present this afternoon to receive their awards :— CLEVEDON (SOMERSET).

Miss A. EDWABDS, in recognition of her long and valuable co-operation as Honorary Secre- tary of the Branch.

COVENTRY (WARWICKSHIRE).

Mr. WILLIAM LIGGINS, in recognition of his long and valuable co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Branch.

KESSINGLAND (SUFFOLK).

Mrs. B. WOOLFIELD, in recognition of her long and valuable co-operation, latterly as Honorary Secretary of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild.

LARNE (co. ANTRIM).

Miss L. MORROW, in recognition of her valu- able co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Branch.

LEAMINGTON (WARWICKSHIRE).

Mrs. B. A. HOLDING, in recognition of her valuable co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Branch.

LOWESTOFT (SUFFOLK).

Ex-Coxswain JOHN SWAN, in recognition of his valuable co-operation in raising funds, in particular by his wireless appeal from London, which brought in nearly £750.

Coxswain Swan, who in his retirement is giving this valuable help to the Institution on its financial side, is one of the most distin- guished of our Life-boatmen. He was Cox- swain at Lowestoft from 1911 to 1924. He holds the Institution's Gold Medal—the Vic- toria Cross of the Life-boat Service—and has twice won its Silver Medal. In 1924, the Institution's Centenary Year, he and the other Gold Medallists were received at Buckingham Palace by the King, and His Majesty presented to each of them the Medal of the Order of the British Empire.

PORTRUSH (Co. ANTRIM).

Mrs. J. G. McMorris, in recognition of her long and valuable co-operation in raising funds.

SHEFFIELD (YORKSHIRE).

Mr. JAMBS HENDERSON, in recognition of his long and valuable co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Branch.

SOUTHAMPTON (HAMPSHIRE).

Mrs. WALTER, for her long and valuable co-operation as Honorary Secretary of the Branch. Mrs. Walter's son has been at sea since he was fourteen years old, and was serving on board the Vestris as assistant surgeon when she sank in a gale in November, 1929, with heavy loss of life. Mr. Walter was in the water for seventeen hours before he was picked up, and then went overboard again and rescued three lives. (Applause.) (The Chairman th$n presented the Gold Brooches and Pendants.) The CHAIRMAN : I will now call upon His Excellency the Danish Minister to move the next resolution.

.The Danish Minister.

The DANISH Minster (Count Prebea Ahle- feldt-Laufvig): Sir Godfrey Baring, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,—It is often said that the sea divides, but that is not the case with Denmark and Great Britain. Sea-borne trade and shipping is every day creating new and strong links between our countries. Great numbers of Danish seamen are serving in the British mercantile marine and the British fishing fleets, and the language our seamen speak, when they are not using their own tongue, is English. No links of friendship, however, are stronger than those which have been cemented in moments of distress.

(Applause.) Great dangers for shipping lurk on both sides of the North Sea. In Denmark we have the treacherous sand-bars on the coast of Jut- land, and on the English side the cliffs and the constant fogs, but we have also on both sides of the North Sea the National Life-boat Insti- tutions of England and Denmark, which have rendered valuable services to life and property during a period of more than a hundred years.

The examples where Danes have assisted Eng- lish and English have assisted Danes in distress either on the high seas or on the* coasts of the two countries are innumerable. I will only quote a few examples : On 12th September, 1919, Silver Medals for Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea were awarded by His Majesty the King of England to several of the crew of the Danish steamship Mary, to- gether with Silver Cups, awarded by the Board of Trade, in recognition of their services in rescuing Mr. G. H. Hawker and Commander Kenneth M. Mackenzie-Grieve in the Atlantic Ocean on the 19th May, 1919.

On 27th June, 1922, His Britannic Majesty's Government expressed its thanks to several Danish fishermen of the Skaw in Jutland for services rendered to the British steamship Monkatone, which had become icebound south of the Skaw from the 2nd to the 7th February, 1922.

On 9th December, 1924, His Britannic Majesty's Government expressed its apprecia- tion for the services rendered by the Captain and Crew of the s.s. Lexa Maersk for rescuing in the North Atlantic Ocean the crew of the British s.s. River Dare. (Applause.) Now I should like to quote some English examples: On the 4th January, 1804, the Claoton Cox- swain received the Silver Medal from His Majesty the King of Denmark in recognition of the service in which seven were rescued from the brigantine St. Alexei.

On 31st January, 1911, the Coxswain of the Ramsgate Life-boat received the Silver Medal from His Majesty the King of Denmark in recognition of his services in rescuing the crew of seven from the schooner Danmark.

On 21st December, 1920, the Johnshaven Life-boat Crew received Silver Cups from His Majesty the King of Denmark, and a gratuity was given to the widow of one of the Life- boatmen, in connection with the rescue of seven front the schooner Fredenaborg. On this occasion, unfortunately, two of the rescued men and one of the Life-boatmen lost their lives on the return from the wreck to the shore.

There is, however, one special example of a later date which I will emphasise by reading a whole paragraph of the Annual Report of the Royal National Life-boat Institution for 1929.

(The Minister then read the account of the service of the Newhaven Motor Life-boat to the Danish schooner, Mogens Koch, on 1th Decem- ber last, and, after referring to the Awards made by the Institution, continued as follows :) Those brave deeds of British seamen have also crfeated a wave of enthusiasm in my country, and I am glad to say that my Govern- ment has recognised these English heroes of the sea by awarding a Gold Watch with in- scription to Coxswain RICHARD PAYNE; and Silver Cups to each of the members of the Crew: WILLIE CLARK, Second Coxswain; FREDERICK PAYNE, Bowman ; ERNEST CAN- TELL, Motor Mechanic; CHARLES HOLDER, Assistant Motor Mechanic ; FREDERICK JONES, RICHARD LOWE, and BENJAMIN JACK CLARK.

Coxswain Richard Payne, will you kindly step forward.

(The Minister then made the presentation to Coxswain Richard Payne amid applause.) Now I have talked a long while about our men-heroes, but I think it would be most appropriate, too, to say a few words about the women-heroes who stand behind the Royal National Life-boat Institution. I offer my thanks to the seamen's and fishermen's wives, who often in times of distress have helped their fathers, brothers and husbands to launch the Life-boat into the raging sea ; but I must also make myself a spokesman of the many voices who wish to accord the Ladies' Life-boat Guild their heartfelt thanks for all their exertions to keep the Institution financially afloat. It is a hard and thankless job in these depressed and difficult days to collect money, and so much the more I must admire our brave ladies who have made it possible to balance the Institu- tion's big budget. (Applause.) I will there- fore propose the following Resolution : " That this meeting desires to record its sense of the deep obligation of the Institu- tion to the Ladies' Life-boat Guild and its many hundreds of voluntary workers for the Life-boat Cause, and its conviction of the increasing importance of the part which the Guild is destined to play in educating public opinion with regard to the value of the Life- boat Service, and in raising funds therefor." (Loud Api'laune.) The Bishop of Portsmouth.

The BISHOP OF PORTSOMOUTH the Right Rev. Ernest Neville Lovett): Sir Godfrey Baring, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,—I feel it an extraordinary honour to be allowed to second a resolution proposed by His Excellency the Danish Minister. As he talked I was thinking of how a thousand years ago his countrymen landing quite successfully on a very dangerous part of the coast of Kent, without the need o1 any light-houses or Life-boats, trounced to death with beef-bones a member of the Epis- copal Bench. I am quite sure that his Grace Alfred, Archbishop of Canterbury, before he passed from this sphere of life, hardly knew which to admire most, th« skill of the Danes in landing on the coast or their remarkable effi- ciency in disposing of an Archbishop in thai way. Anyhow, the great traditions of the sea maintained by the Danish- people from the time when they were our fear and dread up to this present time, and no doubt for the future make it a great privilege for me to be allowec to second a resolution proposed by the Danish Minister. Otherwise I am bound to say I have wondered why I was asked to come here to speak to you this afternoon. I came to the conclusion that it was because I am the only Bishop in England, I think, who very often, two or three times a week, crosses the ocean to an adjacent island. Perhaps you do not recognise the Isle o! Wight under that description, but let me tell you that any native of the Isle of Wight would recognise this land as an adjacent island. (Laughter.) The Isle of Wight has its own splendid records of Life-boat work. The three boats of Brooke, Atherfield and Brighstone have, in th» last forty or fifty years, saved nearly 1,000 lives—(Applause)—and it is an honour to me to have been sitting at a Life-boat meeting with the stroke of the Brook Life-boat (General Seely) on my right hand. It is always splendid when gallant men support gallant causes, and having Sir Roger Keyes here this afternoon and General Seely, whose gallantry in the field in only equal to his gallantry with the Life- boats, and being able to claim both of them as being in the Diocese of Portsmouth, I feel that, after all is said and done, I have a right to say a few words. (Applause.) What I want to say is this, that I do think that we owe a very great debt of gratitude to the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, which does so much to provide the necessary funds and to spread the news to the country of the Life- boats and their gallant crews by whose means life is saved all round our coasts. Those are the two things it does and both are of first-rate importance.

The members of the Guild enable us, who have no special, direct contact with the sea, to express our sympathy; and their activity as women is an expression of their sympathy with the mothers and wives of the seafaring folk along our shores, and especially of the Life-boatmen. I think we often forget the desperate strain and the hardness of the life of a woman whose husband is constantly going forth to stormy seas, and I should like to remind you of couplets from opposite ends of the country which suggest the thought. You remember : " Men must work and women must weep, And there's little to earn and many to keep, And the harbour bar is moaning." That is from Devon. Then you have another from Edinburgh : " Wives and mitherg maist despairing call them lives of men." That is said about herrings—" Lives of men." That expresses what is going on in the homes round the coast; and that the women -who are i ot living under those conditions, who, by their activities in connection with the Life-boats, do all they can to further the cause and to spread the interest, is a constant witness to those " wives and mithers " often " maist despair- ing." Very often the women have to go out and help to launch the Life-boat which is to carry their husbands into danger on an errand of mercy. It must be a desperate thing to have to do. I ask any of the women here to realise what it must be to wake up in the night with a tremendous gale raging and see your husband getting up and going to the work of rescue, perhaps himself not to return.

It is well that we should show our sympathy with the ladies who devote themselves to this cause, and •whose work, is to help to obtain more efficient Life-boats round our coasts. We owe a very great debt of gratitude to them, and I hope they realise that we appreciate the work that they do. I beg to second the resolution. (Applause.) The CHAIRMAN : The resolution, which has been moved by His Excellency the Danish Minister and seconded by the Bishop of Ports- mouth ia as follows : " That this Meeting desires to record its sense of the deep obligation of the Institu- tion to the Ladies' Life-boat Guild and its many hundreds of voluntary workers for the Life-boat Cause, and its conviction of the increasing importance of the part which the Guild is destined to play in educating public opinion with regard to the value of the Life- boat Service, and in raising funds therefor." (The Resolution wot put to the Meeting and carried unanimously.) The CHAIRMAN : I will now ask Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Oliver to move a formal resolution.

Sir HENRY OLIVER : Your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, — I beg to move the following resolution : " That this Meeting do approve and ratify the sale of the old Life-boat Houses at Clactou-on-Sea and Bye, which are no longer required for the purposes of the Institution." Sir JOHN COMMIN : Mr. Chairman, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, — I have much pleasure in seconding this formal resolution.

(The Resolution was put to the Meeting and carried unanimously.) The CHAIRMAN : I will ask the Deputy Chairman of the Institution to move a vote of thanks.

The Hon. George Colville.

The DEPUTY-CHAIRMAN : Mr. Chairman, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, — The resolution which stands in my name on the paper is one which I shall now have much pleasure in proposing, and I know it will be accepted by you in a very hearty manner. The Committee of Management appreciate very greatly the presence on these occasions of a Cabinet Minister, to-day the President of the Board of Trade, with which Department the Life-boat Institution is very intimately associated.

Again, we have the presence of His Excellency the Danish Minister, who has very kindly pre- sented to the Coxswain of the Newhaven Life- boat a valuable present from His Majesty the King of Denmark. I would formally ask him, on behalf of this meeting, to convey to His Majesty our humble thanks for the very kind thought which has prompted this presentation.

(Applause.) Again, we have had a sailor to address us in no less a person than Admiral Sir Roger Keyes.

It is unnecessary for me to eulogise him, nor could I find the words to express his great deeds of gallantry—familiar to you all—at Zee- brugge and other places during the war. We have also here the Bishop of Portsmouth, whom we are very glad to see. The kind words which these speakers have said are a source of very great encouragement to the Committee oi Management; to the many honorary workers throughout the country who help us ; and, above all, to the brave men and the women, of whom we have had specimens before us here to-day—the men who man the Life-boats without thought of the danger that they incur, who do their gallant work and who come home and say nothing about it. (Applause.) The Admiral referred to the expenditure which we incurred and the necessity for good gear and good boats. I think I might almost say that it is the motto of the Committee of Management that nothing in the way of gear or boat is too good for the Life-boat Crews. I have much pleasure in pro- posing that the hearty thanks of this Meeting be given to the speakers at this, the Hundred and Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Royal National Life-boat Institution. (Applause.) The CHAIRMAN : I will ask General Seely to second the resolution, in the absence of the Right Hon. F. 0. Roberts, M.P.

Major-General Seely.

Major-General SEELY : Mr. Chairman, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentle- men,-—It is with great pleasure that I second this vote of thanks to our speakers here to- day. I am sorry that Mr. Roberts cannot be here, but he, like Mr. Graham, is a Member of the House of Commons. But I have it from Mr. Roberts and Mr. Graham that they are heart and soul with the Life-boat Cause, and that there is nothing they will not do which they can do to forward it. (Applause.) We are grateful to the speakers; we are grateful to you, your Excellency, for coming here to-day. It is quite true, as you said, that the Life-boat knows no difference among the nations. You, my Lord Bishop, made refer- ence to my connection with a Life-boat. My service for the last thirty or forty years is nothing compared with the services that we have heard of to-day. But I have had a good deal of experience, and that experience is that you never know what sort of ship is coming ashore. Even in my own experience I have seen ships of five nations whose crews needed to be rescued in the region where I live. There- fore I welcome the presence of representatives from so many of the nations in the world.

I am glad, too, to see Sir Roger Keyes, who, I see, is described as an Admiral, and quite properly, because he is and will be for another few weeks, but we all know that in about an- other six weeks he will become an Admiral of the Fleet—(Applause)—the highest rank to which any sailor of this kingdom can aspire.

We rejoice that it has come to him so young.

I suppose he is the youngest brat of a boy who has been made an Admiral of the Fleet in peace-time for as many years as anyone now living can remember. (Applause.) I gathered from your speech, Admiral of the Fleet, that you swear by the Life-boatmen and fishermen as you used to swear at them when required in the breezy days gone by. I happen, as I told you, to live in a place where I meet a great number of fishermen and Life-boatmen and sailors of all sorts, and this is what they tell me : they say, " Well, he used to swear at us and to swear by us, and, by God, we swear by him "; and Of all the sailors in the Fleet he has earned the affection and respect of the sea- faring population in almost the highest degree.

(Applause.) Last, but not least, we have to thank the Lord Bishop of Portsmouth. We are grateful to you, my Lord Bishop, because you made a first-class speech for us, as I am sure everyone here will agree. (Applause.) A great speaker, and a great Bishop, representing the greatest naval port in the world—what more worthy man could be found to make an appeal at this meeting. (Applause.) The Bishop has made an eloquent appeal for Motor-boats. There are five Motor Life-boats for which we want gifts—for Clactou-on-Sea, £8,500; for Courtmacsherry, also £8,500; and again the same sum for the Cromarty boat. For Campbeltown we want £11,000; and for St. Peter Port, Guernsey, also £11,000.

Those are the particular boats, just built or building, for which we urgently need gifts, and if you can influence one of your wealthy friends to come forward and help us to provide one of those Motor Life-boats, which may enable us to save lives which otherwise would be lost, you will be doing a very valuable work.

I am sura that you will all agree that we owe a hearty vote of thanks to our speakers to-day.

(Loud Applause.) The CHAIRMAN : Shall we carry that vote of thanks by our hearty and enthusiastic ap- plause ? (Prolonged applause.) (The Meeting then terminated.) Entertainment of Medallists. r After the Meeting the Medallists were enter- tained to tea at the House of Commons by the Right Hon. F. O. Roberts, M.P., Minister of Pensions, and in the evening they were the guests of Sir Oswald Stoll at the Coliseum.