Hythe, Rcsslare Harbour, Berwick-on-Tweed, St. Mary's, Campbeltown and TroonBESIDES the four Inaugural Ceremonies, already described, in which members of the Royal Family took part, five Ceremonies of new Motor Life-boats have been held during the summer, at Hythe (Kent), Rosslare Harbour (Co.

Wexford), Berwick-on-Tweed, St. Mary's (Isles of Scilly), Campbeltown (Argyll- shire) and Troon (Ayrshire).

Hythe (Kent).

The new Hythe Motor Life-boat is a gift to the Institution from the City and County of Nottingham. A special Fund was started in 1922, and completed in 1925, by which time £5,588 had been raised, in addition to the annual contributions of the Branch to the general funds of the Institution. The Fund owed much to the late Mr.

Herbert F. Lancashire, a member of the Committee of Management and Chairman of the Nottingham Branch, and to Mr. A. E. HeazelJ, the Hono- rary Secretary of the Branch. The Life-boat is of the light type, which can be launched off the open beach, is 35 feet 6 inches by 8 feet 6 inches, and with all her gear weighs 6f tons.

She has 8 water-tight compartments, and 115 air-cases, and is driven by a 35-h.p. engine, giving her a speed of 7| knots. She carries enough petrol to be able to travel 116 miles at full speed without refuelling. If a wave breaks on board she can free herself in about twelve seconds, and if she were capsized, even with a hole in her bottom, she would right herself in four seconds. In rough weather she can take 30 people on board.

The Hythe Station was established in 1876, and has a record of 41 lives rescued. The present Coxswain, Harry Griggs, jun., won the Institution's Silver Medal for gallantry during the gales last November, when the Pulling and Sailing Life-boat, which has been replaced by the City of Nottingham, rescued the crew of the Rochester barge, Marie May.

The Inaugural Ceremony took place on 21st May. Colonel the Master of Sempill, a member of the Committee of Management, presided, and formally accepted the boat which was presented to the Institution by Lieut.-Col. F.

Rayner, D.S.O., T.D. (Chairman of the Nottingham and District Branch).

The Master of Sempill, after accept- ing the boat, presented her to the Branch, and she was received on its behalf by Brigadier-General G. G.

Cunningham, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., Deputy Mayor. The Rev. Chastel de Boinville, Vicar of Hythe, assisted by Brigadier Boot of the Salvation Army, dedicated the Life-boat; and she was described by Lieut.-Commander P. E.

Vaux, D.S.C., R.N., Inspector of Life- boats for the Eastern District.

The Lord Mayor's Speech.

The Lord Mayor of Nottingham then named the Life-boat City of Nottingham.

In doing so he said :— " We in Nottingham, far removed from the sea coast, can hardly grasp the day by day dangers which the sea-faring folk have 'to face, but we do realise that from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night there is hardly an article we use or enjoy for which we are not indebted to the sailor who has brought ft to us.

" To-day my duty is to ask that not only will you accept the gift of our Life- boat, but that you will allow it to bear the name of the City of Nottingham.

" The name of the City of Nottingham is not an unhonoured name. Like Hythe, we are an ancient city. We boast of a long and honourable historic record. Of late years Nottingham has grown into a great industrial centre, and now I am proud to say that it is looked upon as one of the most attrac- tive of the provincial cities. (Cheers.) " The last ship that bore the name of Nottingham was a war vessel. It was christened with great pride by the City of Nottingham a year or two before the war. During the war it played an honoured part, and finally it went down, honoured, and fighting bravely in the cause. (Cheers.) " Now you can understand with what feelings it is that, as Lord Mayor, I give the name of Nottingham to this new vessel. For while the last was devoted to the destroying of life, this vessel will be devoted to saving it.' (Applause.) We honour the brave fellows who served in the Nottingham and who now lie beneath the sea. They live in our hearts constantly. But we are hopeful that every ship that will now bear the name of Nottingham will be for the saving of life. (Loud applause.) " I name this beautiful ship the City of Nottingham, and I hope you are as proud of its name as the City of Notting- ham is proud of its Life-boat." (Applause.) A vote of thanks to the Lord Mayor was proposed by Major F. W. Butler, M.C., and seconded by Admiral J. P.

Rolleston, D.S.O., and a vote of thanks to the Chairman was proposed by Dr.

C. W. Preston Hillary (Deputy Chair- man of the Nottingham and District Branch) and seconded by Mr. A. E.

Heazell (Hon. Secretary of the Notting- ham and District Branch). The Lord Mayor then launched the Life-boat.

Among those present at the Ceremony were the Sheriff and Town Clerk of Nottingham and Mr. C. H. Niven (Hon.

Secretary of the Hythe Branch). The singing was led by the choir of St.

Leonard's, Hythe, and accompanied by the Hythe Town Band. Before the Ceremony the Lord Mayor of Notting- ham, and the representatives of the Nottingham and Hythe Branches and of the Institution were the guests at luncheon of Major the Right Hon. Sir Philip Sassoon, Bt., G.B.E., C.M.G., M.P. for Hythe, and President of the Branch, who was prevented from being present himself by another engagement.

Rosslare Harbcur (Co. Wexford).

The new Rosslare Harbour Life-boat is of the Watson Cabin type, 45 feet 6 inches long, a sister boat to the new Clacton- on-Sea boat, described on page 126, and was the first Life-boat to be fitted with wireless telegraphy. She has been provided out of four legacies received by the Institution from the late Mrs.

E. P. Kirby, of Richmond, Mr. E.

Kleeman, of Lewisham, Mrs. E. Dudley, of Birmingham, and Miss M. A. Potton, of Dover.

The new boat particularly distin- guished herself in the terrible gales last autumn. During one month she was out on service seven times to the help of ten vessels, rescued 29 lives, and saved five fishing boats from destruction. The finest of these seven services was the rescue of the crew of five of the Plymouth schooner Mountblairy. For this service Coxswain Wickham received a clasp to the Silver Medal of the Institution already awarded him for gallantry, Mr. W. J. B. Moncas, the Honorary Secretary, the Bronze Medal, and each member of the Crew the Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum.

The Station was established in 1838.

It has a record of 469 lives rescued.

Two Gold, twenty-one Silver and one Bronze Medal for gallantry have been awarded by the Institution, and three Silver Medals by the King of Norway.

The Inaugural Ceremony took place on 3rd June, the Mayor of Wexford (Mr. Richard Corish, T.D.) presiding.

Lieut.-Commander J. M. Upton, R.N.R., (District Inspector of Life-boats for Ireland), described the Life-boat, and she was presented to the Branch on behalf of the donors and the Institution by Mr. George F. Shee, M.A. (Secretary of the Institution). Mr. W. J. B.

Moncas (Hon. Secretary of the Branch) received the Life-boat, and the Rev.

Father J. Sinnott, P.P. dedicated her.

She was then welcomed on behalf of the Irish Free State by Padraig Mac- Giolls'gain (Mr. Patrick McGilligan).

the Minister for Industry and Com- merce. Mr. McGilligan apologised for the absence of Mr. W. T. Cosgrave, President of the Executive Council, who was under doctor's orders. He paid a tribute to the Rosslare Harbour Crew, and commended the work'of the Institution to the support of the Irish people. If the people only had impressed upon them the sufferings and the dangers against which the Life-boat Service protected seafarers, they would be more ready in their response to the Institution's appeals. (Applause.) Mrs. Patrick McGilligan then named the Life-boat K.E.C.F. These are the initials of the names chosen by the four donors, the full names being inscribed inside the boat.

The Mayor of Wexford presented the awards made for the service to the schooner Mountblairy on 20th October last, and a vote of thanks to Mr. and Mrs. McGilligan was proposed by Mr.

Shee and seconded by Mr. B. H. Lloyd (Hon. Treasurer of the Wexford Branch).

Berwick-cr.-Tweed.

The new Berwick-on-Tweed Motor Life-boat is a gift to the Institution from the County of Westmorland, having been built out of a special fund amounting to £4,500 which was raised in the county. She is of the light type of Motor Life-boat, being a sister boat to the City of Nottingham, already described. Berwick has had a Life- boat Station since 1835, and its Life- boats have rescued 203 lives.

The Inaugural Ceremony took place on 12th June, with Lady Francis Osborne (President of the Berwick Branch) presiding. Captain R. L.

Hamer, R.N. (Inspector of Life-boats for the Northern District), described the Life-boat, and Mr. R. B. Marriott (the Hon. Secretary of the Westmorland Life-boat Fund), gave an account of the Fund. It had originated in 1924, the Centenary Year of the Institution, and was completed in 1929, when it amounted to £4,500. The originator of the Fund was Mr. W. G. Groves, of Windermere, who had himself given £1,000 as well as acting as the Fund's Chairman. Two other donations of £250 each had been received, one from Mr. Smalley, Hon. Treasurer of the Fund, and the other from his brother. Another £1,500 was collected in varying amounts, and then the Fund had hung fire until it had been com- ; pleted through the kindness of a lady j who wished to remain anonymous.

He had been asked why Westmorland, a county with no coastline, should provide a Life-boat. His answer was that Westmorland was as dependent as other counties on the food supplies brought from overseas, and had an equal duty with them to help protect our shipping and its crews from the perils round our coasts. (Cheers.) Mr. H. L. Groves, the son of the originator of the Fund, then presented the Life-boat to the Branch, and she was received by Commander H. Lillings- ton, R.N. (Chairman of the Branch).

Canon R. W. de la Hay, Vicar of Berwick, dedicated the Life-boat, as- sisted by the Rev. C. Hudson, Vicar of Spittal, and Miss Belk named her Westmorland.

A vote of thanks to Miss Belk and the donors was proposed by Lady Francis Osborne and seconded by Captain H. J. K. Todd, M.P. for Berwick ; and a vote of thanks to Lady Francis Osborne was proposed by the Mayor of Berwick (Councillor J. M.

Dudgeon) and seconded by Brigadier- General W. S. Swabey, C.B., C.M.G.

(Organising Secretary for the North- West of England). At the end of the Ceremony the Life-boat was launched.

The singing was led by massed choirs, conducted by Dr. C. T. Gauntlett.

In the evening a dance was held in aid of the funds of the Branch.

St. Mary's (Isles of Scilly.) The new Motor Life-boat at St.

Mary's, Isles of Scilly, is a gift to the Institution from the Cunard Steamship Company, being one of five Motor Life-boats which have been presented by shipping companies in response to the appeal which the Prince of Wales made to the shipping industry at the Annual Meeting in 1928. The new boat is of the Watson Cabin type, being a sister boat to the Clacton-on-Sea Life- boat, described on page 126. She has replaced another Motor Life-boat, of the Watson type, which was built in 1919. The St. Mary's Station, which was established in 1837, has rescued 230 lives.

The Inaugural Ceremony took place on llth August. Lieut.-Commander H. L. Wheeler, R.N. (Inspector of Life-boats for the Southern District), presented the Life-boat to the Branch, on behalf of the Cunard Line and the Institution, and gave a description of her. Mr. E. N. V. Moyle, Chairman of the Branch, accepted her, and she was dedicated by the Rev. H. Jocelyn Davies, Chaplain of the Isles of Scilly, assisted by the Rev. H. Hill, of the United Methodist Church. Dr. W. B.

Addison, the Honorary Secretary, then called on Mrs. Addison to name the Life-boat, and she named her Cunard.

A vote of thanks to Mrs. Addison was proposed by Mr. F. R. Ward, J.P.

Campbeltown (Argyllshire).

The Inaugural Ceremony of the new Campbeltown Motor Life-boat took place on the 3rd September. The Life- boat, which has been named City of Glasgow as a mark of the Institution's appreciation for the wonderful financial help received from the Glasgow Branch in recent years, was presented by the Lord Provost of Glasgow; received, on behalf of the Institution, by the Duke of Montrose, C.B., C.V.O., V.D. (Chair- man of the Scottish Life-boat Council, and a Vice-President of the Institution), and named by Mrs. Hugh Mitchell, of Campbeltown. A full account of the Ceremony will appear in the next issue of The Lifeboat, which will also contain an account of the Inaugural Ceremony of the new Troon Motor Life-boat, fixed to take place on 27th September..