DURING 1934 services were rendered off the shores of foreign countries to 34 British vessels in distress, and 69 lives were rescued from them. Of these lives 22 were rescued off the Danish coast and 44 off the coast of Iceland.

The following is the record of these services, with particulars of the life-boat fleets of each country : Belgium.

There were no services to British vessels.

The Belgian life-boat service has 7 life-boat stations, equipped with 3 motor life-boats, 9 pulling and sailing life-boats and a tug. Its 7 stations are also provided with life-saving apparatus, and it has 2 stations with this apparatus only.

Denmark.

In the early morning of the 9th of June the steamer Sprightly, of New- castle, stranded near the life-boat station at Lyngby, on the west coast of Jutland. A moderate gale was blowing from W.N.W., with a rough sea. The life-boat went out, but the Sprightly's captain refused to leave his vessel, as he hoped to refloat her when the tide rose. The life-boat returned ashore, but remained ready to put out again.

In the evening she put out, stood by nearly all night, returned to her station, and again put out the following morning. It was then blowing a strong gale, with a heavy sea, and she had a hard pull to reach the steamer, over which the waves were now breaking heavily. This time she took off 13 men, but the captain and 8 men decided still to stand by the vessel, although the life-boat coxswain warned him that it might be impossible to put out again.

The rocket apparatus was now got ready. The gale increased and the coastguard reported the steamer as in a very bad way. It was impossible to launch the life-boat again, but at the third attempt her crew succeeded in firing a line over the wreck, and the 9 men were, with difficulty, dragged through the seas and all brought safely ashore. The report from the Lyngby life-boat station concludes: " As the captain came in the last from the ship he thanked the life-boat crew very cordially for their good help." The Danish life-boat service has 65 stations, and a fleet of 20 motor and 40 pulling and sailing life-boats. Ten of its stations have both a motor and a pulling and sailing life-boat; 10 have a motor life-boat; and 30 have pulling and sailing life-boats. Nearly all the 50 life-boat stations have rocket ap- paratus and there are 15 more stations with rocket apparatus only.

France.

In the early morning of 3rd May the motor life-boat and the pulling and sailing life-boat at He Molene, Finis- tere, went out to the help of the British fishing boat Olive, which had gone ashore on an island. The pulling and sailing life-boat found the wreckage of a small boat on the reefs, and then saw three men signalling from an island. They were the Olive's crew, who had abandoned her shortly after she struck and had got ashore safely, although their boat had been smashed.

With great difficulty, in the heavy surf breaking among the rocks, the three men were got into the life-boat, three of the life-boatmen going overboard into the surf to help them. Meanwhile the motor life-boat went out to the wreck. Two of her crew boarded her and found that she had been aban- doned. After two hours of struggle against the heavy seas the motor life- boat succeeded in towing off the Olive and brought her safely in, although she was leaking badly.

The French life-boat service has a fleet of 40 motor life-boats and 69 pulling and sailing life-boats. In addition it has 72 stations provided with rocket apparatus and 350 other stations with other types of life-saving apparatus.

Germany.

There were no services to British vessels. The German fleet consists of 30 motor life-boats and 73 pulling and sailing life-boats. There are also 75 rocket apparatus, of which 61 are at life-boat stations and 15 at stations which have only this apparatus.

In May of this year the German life-boat service celebrated its seventieth birthday, with a record of over 5,000 lives rescued.

Holland.

Dutch life-boats went out to the help of 4 British vessels during the year. On 4th January a motor life- boat of the North and South Holland Life-saving Society stood by the s.s.

Waterland, of London, which had gone ashore near Ymuiden, and helped a tug to get her afloat. On 17th January the s.s. Oakford went aground on the sandbanks between Texel and Vlieland.

A beach motor life-boat went out to her, but her crew refused to leave her.

The life-boat stood by for some time, but was compelled by the falling tide to put back. When the tide rose again the 58-feet motor life-boat Brandaris went out and found that the crew,of the Oakford had left in one of the ship's boats. She informed the coastguard of this by wireless and two other motor life-boats went in search of them. They found the whole of the Oakford's crew of 10 men drowned.

They must have left the steamer when the sea to leeward had gone down and was quite smooth ; have underestimated the dangers of the coast; got among breakers ; and been capsized.

On 12th June the British yacht Lizzy lost her way among the sand- banks at the mouth of the Scheldt and was piloted in by a motor life-boat of the South Holland Society for the Rescue of the Shipwrecked, and another motor life-boat of the same society stood by the motor barge Johnny, of Rochester, in the mouth of the Scheldt, on 7th October, while she repaired her engine.

The North and South Holland Society has a fleet of 11 motor life-boats and 23 pulling and sailing life-boats. It also has 19 rocket apparatus. The South Holland Society has a fleet of 7 motor life-boats and 4 pulling and sailing life-boats.

Iceland.

On 24th February the steam trawler Kingston Peridot, of Hull, went ashore near Hafnaberg, on the Reykjanes peninsula, in a westerly gale, with a very heavy sea and snow. The whole crew of 13 were rescued from the shore by a party from the National Safety Association of Iceland, who fired a line over the trawler and hauled the men ashore in a breeches-buoy.

On 25th October the fishing boat Holborn, of Grimsby, went ashore in a snowstorm near Asar, in Medalland, on the south coast. A heavy surf was breaking. With the help of people on shore the whole crew of 15 were rescued, but the ship became a total wreck.

Four days later the steam trawler Macleay, of Grimsby, went ashore in a snowstorm, with a very heavy sea, at Ytrivikur, on the east coast. The Icelandic steam trawler Gardar, with the help of peasants, rescued the whole crew of 16, but the trawler became a total wreck.

The Association has 2 pulling and sailing life-boats, 1 British and 1 Danish, and 2 surf-boats. It is now having a cruising life-boat built on the Norwegian and Swedish models.

Japan.

There were no services to British vessels. The Japanese fleet consists of 52 motor life-boats and 218 pulling and sailing life-boats.

Latvia.

There were no services to British vessels. Latvia has 2 motor life-boats, 7 sailing life-boats, 7 pulling life-boats, and 2 rocket apparatus.

Norway.

There were no services to British vessels.

The Norwegian life-boat service has 9 motor cruising ketches, 16 sailing ketches, 2 pulling surf boats and 32 stations with rocket apparatus or line- throwing guns.

All these stations are maintained by the Norwegian Society for Saving the Shipwrecked. At one time there were several stations maintained by the Government, but since 1933 the whole Norwegian service has been under the control of the Society.

Portugal.

There were no services to British vessels.

The Portuguese fleet consists of 4 motor life-boats and 39 pulling and sailing life-boats.

Spain.

There were no services to British vessels. The Spanish fleet consists of 18 motor life-boats and 27 pulling and sailing life-boats. There are also 15 life-saving stations with line-throwing apparatus, either guns or rockets.

Sweden.

There were no services to British vessels.

The Swedish Society for Saving the Shipwrecked has 18 stations, 3 with cruising motor life-boats, 7 with motor life-boats, 5 with pulling and sailing life-boats and rocket apparatus and 3 with rocket apparatus only.

The Government, through the Royal Pilot Board, maintains 18 stations, 12 having pulling life-boats and 6 rocket apparatus, making a total Swedish fleet of 10 motor life-boats and 17 pulling and sailing life-boats.

Turkey.

There were no services to British vessels.

Turkey has 9 pulling and sailing life-boats.

United States of America.

United States life-boats went out to the help of 25 British vessels. In one case no help was needed. In another, a member of the crew was taken ashore to hospital, and in another the body of a man who had fallen overboard was recovered.

In the other cases life-boats stood by one vessel which was in the tow of tugs; helped to clear one which was ice-bound; helped to refloat and towed 5 which had gone aground ; and took in tow 15 which were disabled. In addition to the=e British vessels, help was given to 62 Canadian vessels.

The United States fleet consists of 136 self-righting motor life-boats, 179 motor surf-boats, and 301 pulling surf-boats, a total fleet of 616 life-boats.

British Services to Foreign Vessels.

British life-boats stood by, or helped in various ways, 11 vessels, belonging to 7 different countries d ,'ring 1934.

Four were Dutch, 2 Greek, and the other 5 were from Belgium, Denmark, France, Norway and Spain. In only one case was it necessary to rescue the crew—the crew of 5 men of the Dutch motor vessel Titia, of Dordrecht. The vessel too was saved when in danger of being driven ashore. Life-boats were also called out to 8 other foreign vessels, but their help was not needed..