Presentation of Vellums Signed by the Prince of Wales.

TEN Centenary Vellums were pre- sented to Stations during the year 1931, and two more presentations were made in 1930 in addition to the ten previously reported in The Lifeboat.

This makes a total of fifty-five pre- sented since the Committee of Manage- ment decided in May, 1928, " that Life- boat Stations be presented with a Vellum on completion of a hundred years, this Vellum to be hung in the Town Hall, or other public building." 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.

Boulmer, Northumberland.

The Boulmer Station was established by the Institution in 1825 in response to a request from the Newcastle Ship- wreck Association. It has had seven Life-boats, including the present Motor Life-boat which went there last year.

Its second Life-boat was a gift, in 1852, from the fourth Duke of Northumber- land, who was at the time President of the Institution. The Boulmer Life-boats have been launched on service eighty- two times and have rescued 200 lives.

One Gold and three Silver Medals have been awarded by the Institution for gallantry. In addition awards have been received from the German and French Governments and La Soci&e des Hospitaliers Sauveteurs Bretons.

Boulmer celebrated its Centenary in August, 1925, before the Centenary Vellums were instituted. Three thou- sand visitors came from all parts of Northumberland, and a centenary address was delivered by the Right Hon. the Viscount Grey of Fallodon, E.G.* It was Lord Grey, now a Vice- President of the Institution, who pre- sented the Vellum on 12th September, 1931, at the Inaugural Ceremony of the new Motor Life-boat. The Vellum was received by Colonel the Hon. Harold Robson, Chairman of the Alnmouth and Boulmer Branch.

Donna Nook, Lincolnshire.

The year of the establishment of a Life-boat Station at Donna Nook is not * See The Lifeboat for November, 1925.

known, but that there was a Station there in 1829, maintained by the Lincolnshire Coast Shipwreck Associa- tion, appears from the report of the Association for 1845, which gave a list of services performed from 1826 to 1844, Among these is a service by the Donna Nook Life-boat in December, 1829. In 1864 the Lincolnshire Asso- ciation came into union with the Institution, which placed new Life-boats at its four Stations, including Donna Nook. The Association, however, re- mained in existence until 1911. In that year it came to an end, and its property was transferred to the Institution.

The Donna Nook Station was closed in the spring of 1931. It had had five Life-boats. They were launched on service eighty-five times and rescued 172 lives. One Silver and one Bronze Medal were awarded for gallantry.

The Vellum was presented to the local Council on 3rd August, 1931, by the Rev.

H. L. Fosbrooke, Chairman of the North Somercotes (Donna Nook) Branch.

Eastbourne, Susiex.

There has been a Life-boat Station at Eastbourne since 1822, and from 1903 until 1924, Eastbourne had two Life- boats, but one was withdrawn in 1924, as a Motor Life-boat had been sent to the Station in 1921. Altogether East- bourne has had eleven Life-boats, in- cluding the present Motor Life-boat.

They have been launched on service eighty-seven times and have rescued 132 lives. The Institution has awarded one Gold and two Silver Medals for gallantry. The Vellum was presented by the Chairman of the Branch to the Mayor of Eastbourne in 1930, and has been hung in the Town Hall.

Ilfracombe, Devon.

A Life-boat Station was established at Ilfracombe in 1828. The Institution contributed to the cost of the first boat, and took over the Station in 1866.

There have been altogether five Life- boats there, two of these, both named Go-operator No. 2, which served from 1886 to 1921, being two of the six Life- boats which have been presented to the Institution by the Central Co-operative Board, Manchester. Since 1866 there have been seventy-five launches on ser- vice and ninety-one lives have been rescued. One Silver Medal has been awarded for gallantry. The Vellum was presented at a concert held in August, 1930, and hangs in the Life-boat Houset A centenary Life-boat service was held the following Sunday in the grounds of St. James's Church, and was attended by the Life-boat and the Crew.

The Humber, Yorkshire.

This Station at Spurn Point was established in 1810, being the fourth opened on the Yorkshire coast. It was maintained until 1908 by the Hull Trinity House. In that year it passed under the charge of the Humber Con- servancy Board, and then, in 1911, it was taken over by the Institution. No complete records of its work appear to exist before 1911, but an entry in a record book of Hull Trinity House refers to -a letter of 18th October, 1854, in which it is stated that upwards of 760 lives had been rescued at Spurn Point from 1810 to 1854. When the Humber Conservancy Board took over the Station in 1908, it was stated that during the previous ten years twenty- five lives and twenty-two vessels had been saved. Since the station was taken over by the Institution in 1911 it has had four Life-boats, two of them being Motor Life-boats, both gifts from Bradford, and bearing its name.

Both these boats are now stationed there, one being an emergency boat.

Since 1911 there have been 114 launches on service and 107 lives have been rescued. Coxswain Robert Cross, who was appointed in 1912, has twice won the Institution's Silver Medal for gallan- try, and once the Bronze Medal. The Vellum was presented to the Station by Sir William Priestley, the Chairman of the Bradford Branch and a Vice- President of the Institution, on llth July, 1931, on the occasion of the un- veiling of the memorial tablet on the Boathouse.* * An account of this Ceremony appeared in The Lifeboat for October, 1931.

Penlee, Cornwall.

There has been a Life-boat stationed in the Penzance district since 1803, when a Station was established at Penzance itself. It remained until 1917. In 1908 a Station was established at Newlyn, but was closed in 1913. The present Station at Penlee was then established.

The three Stations between them have had fourteen Life-boats, including the present Motor Life-boat which went to Penlee last year. These Life-boats have been launched on service 125 times and have rescued 324 lives—167 by the Penzance Station, 72 by the Newlyn Station and 85 by the Penlee Station.

Two Gold Medals and twenty-six Silver Medals have been awarded'foi- gallantry.

In addition, three Silver Medals have been received from the Norwegian Government and a Gold Medal from the French Government. The Vellum was presented by Mrs. Molyneux Fa veil on 15th August, 1931, at the Inaugural Ceremony of the new Motor Life-boat and was received by Alderman Charles Tregenza, J.P., C.C.

Ramsgate, Kent.

The Ramsgate Station was estab- lished in 1802, its first Life-boat being built by Henry Greathead, who, in 1789, had built the Original for Tynemouth, the first Life-boat to be stationed on our coasts. In 1863 the Institution sta- tioned a Life-boat at Ramsgate, and from then until 1922 the Station was managed jointly by the Institution and the Board of Trade, the Institution supplying and maintaining the Life- boats, while the Board of Trade bore the cost of maintaining the Station and rewarding the Crew, and placed a tug at the disposal of the Life-boat for tow- ing her out to vessels in distress. In March, 1922, the Institution took over full financial responsibility for the Station, but the Ministry of Transport, which at the same time relieved the Board of Trade of its other duties in connexion with harbours, continued to supply a tug until the end of 1925, wbjen the Institution placed the present Motor Life-boat, Prudential, at Ramsgate.

Altogether Ramsgate has had eight Life-boats. Three of them, which were at the Station from 1877 to 1905, were gifts from the City of Bradford. Since 1865 the Ramsgate Life-boats have rescued no fewer than 1,346 lives. Two Gold Medals and thirty-six Silver Medals have been awarded for gallantry. In addition, Ramsgate has received awards from the President of the United States and the thanks of the German Govern- ment.

The Vellum was presented on 17th September, 1931, by Major R. J. P.

Wyatt, M.C., the District Organising Secretary, at a special meeting at the Town Hall. The Mayor (Alderman H.

Terry) presided, supported by the Mayoress and members of the Council, and personally received the Vellum.

Anglesey Branch.

Following the wreck of the sailing packet Alert off Cemlyn on 26th March, 1823, with the loss of 140 lives, efforts were made to establish a Life-boat Service in Anglesey, and in December, 1828, at a meeting at which Mr. R. B.

Williams- Bulkeley presided, the Anglesey Shipwreck Association was formed.

Until 1853 it maintained the Life-boat Stations in Anglesey, receiving some help from the Institution, but at the same time contributing to the Institu- tion's funds. There have been Life- boat Stations at eleven places on the coast of Anglesey, at Beaumaris, Holyhead, Moelfre, Cemaes, Bull Bay, Cemlyn, Llanddwyri, Penmon, Porth Rhuffyd, Rhoscolyn and Rhosneigir.

To-day there are Life-boats at the first four in the list. Beaumaris, Holyhead and Moelfre have Motor Life-boats and Cemaes a Pulling and Sailing Life- boat.

The records show that nearly 1,700 lives have been rescued from shipwreck by the Life-boats of the island, and this figure would, no doubt, be considerably increased if all the early rescues could be traced. No fewer than seventy Medals have been awarded to Anglesey men for gallantry, five Gold Medals, fifty-three Silver Medals and twelve Bronze Medals.

The Vellum was presented on 17th July, 1931, at the Inaugural Ceremony of the new Motor Life-boat at Moelfre, by Commodore SirRichard Henry Williams- Bulkeley, Bt., K.C.B., R.N.R., Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey, a Vice-Presi- dent of the Institution and the grandson of Mr. R. B. Williams-Bulkeley, who presided at the meeting at which the Anglesey Shipwreck Association was founded.

Moelfre, Anglesey.

This Station was established in 1830.

It has had eight Life-boats, including the Motor Life-boat which was sent there in 1930. Since 1850 its Life-boats have been launched on 108 services and have rescued 309 lives. Two Gold, three Silver and twelve Bronze Medals have been awarded for gallantry. The two Gold and twelve Bronze Medals were awarded in 1927 for one of the finest Life-boat services in the history of the Institution, the service to the ketch Excel in October, 1927, when the Life-boat was sailed right over the sinking ketch, was badly damaged, and beat home against the gale in a wa.ter- Iqgged condition, with a hole blown in her mainsail, her jib in ribbons, and two men on board who had died during the night. The Vellum was presented at the Inaugural Ceremony of the new Motor Life-boat, on 17th July, 1931, by Commodore Sir Richard Henry Williams- Bulkeley, Bt., K.C.B., R.N.R., Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey and a Vice- President of the Institution.

Broughty Ferry (Dundee), Angus.

The Broughty Ferry Station was established in 1830. Another Station on the Firth of Tay was also established in the same year, at Buddon Ness. Both Stations were taken over by the Institu- tion in 1861. In 1894 Buddon Ness was closed. Broughty Ferry has had seven Life-boats, including the present Motor Life-boat which went to the Station in 1921. Buddon Ness had three Life- boats. The record of the two Stations is: Broughty Ferry 100 launches on service; 129 lives rescued. Buddon Ness seventeen launches on service; forty-seven' lives rescued. So that be- tween them the two Stations on the Firth of Tay have rescued 176 lives.

One Gold Medal, two Silver Medals'and one Bronze Medal have been awarded by the Institution to Life-boatmen and others for gallantry in saving life.

The Centenary was celebrated by a civic reception at the Victoria Art Galleries, Dundee, on 25th March, 1931.

Lord Provost G. A. Johnston presided, supported by the Lady Provost, the Duke of Montrose, C.B., C.V.O., V.D., a Vice-President of the Institution and Chairman of the Scottish Life-boat Council, Harriet Lady Findlay, D.B.E., Honorary Secretary of the Council and President of the Edinburgh Ladies' Life- boat Guild, ex-Lord Provost Longair, J.P.,D.L.,andMrs. Longair, Presidentof the Dundee Ladies' Life-boat Guild.* The Duke of Montrose presented the Vellum, which was received by Mr. B. L. Nairn, J.P., Vice-President of the Dundee Branch, in the absence of the President.

Mr. Nairn then handed the Vellum to the Lord Provost, who gave it into the custody of Mr. W. H. Buist, Convener of the Free Libraries Committee. Lady Findlay presented the Certificate of Service awarded by the Institution to ex-Coxswain Charles Gall on his retire- ment after thirteen years as Coxswain.

In the evening a Centenary Concert was held at which the Duke of Montrose moved a vote of thanks to the artistes, who had given their services, and made an appeal on behalf of the Institution.

On the following Sunday evening, 29th March, a special service of thanks- giving was held in the Dundee Parish Church. It was attended by the Lord Provost and Magistrates, a Company of the Dundee Boys' Brigade, Sea Scouts, Sea Rovers, representatives of the naval branch of the British Legion and representatives of the Life-boat Station.

Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.

The Station was established in 1831, being maintained by the town, which made a charge of sixpence per man on all seamen entering the harbour. The Institution had already placed a Life- saving Apparatus there in' 1824. In 1858 the Institution sent a Life-boat to Ffaserburgh, at the request of the town, and took over the Station. . Altogether * Mrs. Longair died on 1st July, 1931.

it has had nine Life-boats, including the present Motor Life-boat which went there in 1915. There have been 118 launches on service and 170 lives have been rescued. Two Gold and six Silver Medals have been awarded by the Institution for gallantry. The Station has suffered one disaster, the loss, in 1919, of Coxswain Andrew Noble (who had twice been awarded the Silver Medal) and Andrew Farquhar, Acting Second Coxswain when the Life-boat capsized in a whole gale with a very heavy sea. She righted herself at once, and the rest of the Crew were able to get aboard again or to cling to the life-lines, but the Coxswain and Second Coxswain were swept ashore and died shortly afterwards. The Vellum was presented at a special meeting on llth August, 1931. Mr. J. Wallace Tarras, Honorary Secretary of the Station, presided. Colonel Ian Forbes, D.S.O., presented the Vellum and it was received by Provost Walker. On the morning of the same day Life-boat Day was held, and after dark thousands of people watched, by the light of the Motor Life-boat's searchlight and floodlights in the harbour, a life-saving demonstration carried out by the Life-boat and the Life-saving Apparatus. An orchestra and a pipe band played during the demonstration.

Newburgh, Aberdeenshire.

Newburgh first had a Life-boat in 1828. In 1877 the Station was taken over by the Institution and re-estab- lished. It has had altogether five Life- boats. Since 1877 they have been out on service thirty-two times and have rescued eighty-one lives. Three Silver Medals and one Bronze Medal have been awarded by the Institution for gallantry.

The Vellum was presented on 6th February, 1931 by the Duke of Montrose, C.B., C.V.O., V.D., a Vice-President of the Institution and Chairman of the Scottish Life-boat Council, who was accompanied by the Duchess of Mont- rose. Mr. A. J. Falconer, Chairman of the Branch, presided, and among those present were the Earl and Countess of Caithness and Mr. J. Bryce Allan, a member of the Committee of Manage- ment. The Vellum was received by the Chairman and handed over to the custody of the Honorary Secretary of the Station. The meeting was followed by a fancy-dress ball..