THE year 1936 was for the life-boat service the busiest in its whole history of 113 years. Life-boats were launched 468 times to the help of vessels in distress. That is an average of nine launches a week. Never before have there been so many launches in one year. It is 88 more than in 1935.

The next busiest year was 1911, when there were 458.J The busiest months were January with 62 launches and February with 53.

During the gales of October, November and December there were 135. During the three summer months, June, July and August, there were no fewer than 98.

The Institution gave rewards during the year for the rescue of 491 lives, 383 by life-boats and 108 by shore- boats.

Life-boats saved or helped to save from destruction 48 vessels and boats, and stood by, escorted to safety, or helped in various ways over 300 more.

Up to the end of 1936 the Institution had given rewards for the rescue from shipwreck round the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland of 64,902 lives.

That is an average of 11 lives a week for 113 years.

Services to Foreign Vessels.

The year was notable also for the larger number of services to foreign vessels and the large number of lives rescued from them. Life-boats helped 31 foreign vessels, as compared with 17 in 1935, belonging to 14 different countries ; rescued 161 lives from them; and saved or helped to save 21 of the vessels. That is 46 more lives than in 1935 and 44 per cent of the total of 383 lives rescued during the year by life- boats. Life-boats were also called out to the help of 18 other foreign vessels, but their help was not needed. Of the 31 vessels to which help was given 7 were French; 52 lives were rescued from 1 The yearly record of launches has been kept by the Institution since 1874. In that year there were 202 launches, less than half the number in 1936. The fleet in 1874 numbered 250 life-boats. That was the largest number of life-boats up to that year, and it had grown rapidly to that number from 30 in 1851. It can therefore be assumed with certainty that during the fifty years from 1824 to 187~3, there was no year in which the number of launches even approached the number for 193(5.

them; and the life-boats saved or helped to save 5 of the vessels from destruction. Two of the vessels were Finnish; 51 lives were rescued from them. Two of the vessels belonged to the United States of America; 33 lives were rescued from one of them. Of the other 20 foreign vessels, 4 were Dutch, 3 Norwegian, 3 Spanish, 3 Latvian, 2 Esthonian. and one each were from Belgium, Denmark, Ger- many, Iceland and Italy.

Services to Yachts and Fishing Boats.

Life-boats went out to the help of 56 yachts (35 of them sailing yachts and 21 motor or steam yachts); saved or helped to save 14 of them ; helped in various ways 18 others ; and rescued 35 lives. They went out to the help of fishing boats on 142 occasions; rescued 127 fishermen; and saved or helped to save 16 of the boats.

Ten Medals for Gallantry.

It was a year also of rescues of great gallantry. Ten medals were won. The outstanding service of the year was by an Irish crew. During the February gales the motor life-boat at Bally- cotton, Co. Cork, went out to the help of the Daunt Rock lightship in a sea so heavy that the spray was flying over the lantern of the lighthouse, 196 feet high. She was out for 63 hours, and during that time her crew had only 3 hours' sleep. They were at sea for 49 hours, and for 25 of them they had no food. They were swept by rain and sleet, and washed con- tinually by heavy seas, In the end they rescued the whole crew of the lightship.

For this rescue, one of the most daring and exhausting in the whole history of the life-boat service, Coxswain Patrick Sliney was awarded the gold medal of the Institution and each of the six members of his crew the silver or bronze medal. Three other bronze medals were awarded during the year, two to Scottish coxswains and one to an English coxswain. Coxswain James Sim, of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, won it in January for the rescue of the whole crew of the trawler Evergreen, wrecked in a snowstorm. CoxswainWilliam Dass, of Longhope, Orkneys, won it in February for the rescue of the crew of 41 of the French trawler Neptunia. He and his crew were also awarded medals by the French Govern- ment. Coxswain Frank Blewett, of Penlee, Cornwall, won the bronze medal in January for the rescue of the whole crew of the steamer Taycraig, which sank in a gale in Mounts Bay.

Diesel Engines and Surf Motor Life-boats.

As recorded in the article below, the first motor life-boat to be built with Diesel engines was sent to the coast. The first two motor life-boats of the new surf type, described in the last issue of The Life-boat, were also completed and sent to the coast.

This surf type is experimental. If it is successful, it will enable the Insti- tution to place motor life-boats at a number of stations where it would be very difficult to launch the heavier types, and, in the course of a few years, to mechanize the whole fleet.

A Line-Throwing Pistol.

It is fifteen years since the Institution adopted line-throwing guns. They have been placed in all the larger motor life-boats, some being mounted and some fired from the shoulder.

They fire a long steel projectile which carries the line, and they have a range of 70 yards. The Institution has now adopted also the Schermuly pistol, firing a rocket which carries the line.

It has a range of 95 yards, and is to be used in those motor life-boats which have not line-throwing guns.

Eleven New Motor Life-boats.

Eleven new motor life-boats were completed and were sent to the coast, seven for England, two for Scotland, one for Wales, and one for the Isle of Man. Six replaced pulling and sailing life-boats, and the other five replaced motor life-boats. They went to Ilfracombe (Devon), Yarmouth (Isle of Wight), Hythe (Kent), Wells and Sheringham (Norfolk), Seaham (Durham), North Sunderland (North- umberland), St. Abb's (Berwickshire), Gourdon (Kincardineshire), St. David's (Pembrokeshire), and Port St. Mary (Isle of Man). At the end of the year ten more motor life-boats were under construction, and there were 131 motor life-boats and 37 pulling and sailing life-boats, making a fleet of 168 life-boats round the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland..