THE hundred and thirteenth Annual Meeting of the governors of the Institu- tion was held at the Central Hall, Westminster, at 3 P.M. on Friday, 9th April. Nearly 2,000 people were present.

H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, K.G., the President of the Institution, was in the chair and the other speakers were : The Right Hon. Ernest Brown, M.C., M.P., Minister of Labour, His Ex- cellency the French Ambassador (M.

Charles Corbin), the Right Hon. Lord Stanley, M.C., M.P., Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty, Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., chairman of the Institution, the Hon.

George Colville, deputy chairman, and Lieut.-Commander R. Fletcher, R.N. (ret.), M.P., a member of the com- mittee of management.

The Duke of Kent was supported on the platform by vice-presidents of the Institution, members of the committee of management, the Duchess of Suther- land, President of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, the Lady Magdalene Williams- Bulkeley, a vice-president of the Guild, members of the Central London Women's Committee of the Guild, and honorary life-governors of the In- stitution.

Among those who accepted the invitation of the committee of manage- ment to support His Royal Highness on the platform were representatives of fourteen foreign countries (in addition to the French Ambassador), six Members of Parliament, Mayors and Mayoresses of twenty-five cities and towns, and representatives of the Board of Trade, King George's Fund for Sailors, and the Civil Service Life-boat Fund.

The representatives of the foreign countries were : Their Excellencies the American, Spanish and Portuguese Ambassadors, the Netherlands, Nor- wegian, Estonian, Latvian and Finnish Ministers, a representative of the German Embassy, the Counsellors of the Italian and Japanese Em- bassies, the Counsellor of the Danish Ministry, the Belgian Air Attache" and the Swedish Naval Attache".

The six Members of Parliament were: Mr. Charles G. Ammon, M.P. for Camberwell, Rear-Admiral T. P. H. Beamish, C.B., M.P. for Lewes, Mr. A. C. Reed, M.P. for Exeter, and the Right Hon. F. O. Roberts, M.P. for West Bromwich, all members of the committee of management, and Major A. N. Braithwaite, M.P. for Buck- rose, Yorkshire, and Miss Florence Horsbrugh, M.P. for Dundee.

The Mayors and Mayoresses of the twenty-five cities and towns were: The Lord Provost of Aberdeen, the Mayors and Mayoresses of Westminster, Lewisham, Barnes, Baling, Fulham, Wimbledon, East Ham, Kensington, Lambeth, West Ham, St. Pancras, Bermondsey, Finsbury, Leyton, Stoke Newington, Acton, Southgate, Totten- ham, Salisbury and St. Albans, the Mayors of Holborn, Hythe and Surbiton, and the Mayoress of Greenwich. The Chairman of the Feltham Urban Dis- trict Council also accepted the invitation.

A party of boys from the training ship Arethusa was present.

The President's Address.

The DUKE OF KENT'S address is on page 265.

Presentation of the Report for 1936.

SIR GODFREY BARING, BT., chairman of the Institution, presented the annual report and accounts for 1936, and they were adopted.

Election of Vice-Presidents and Committee of Management.

LiEUT.-Coi,. C. R. SATTERTHWAITE, O.B.E., secretary of the Institution, read the list of those nominated as vice-presidents, treasurer and other members of the committee of management, and auditors for the ensuing year. Those nominated were elected and the list appears in the annual report for 1936.

Presentation of Medals.

THE SECRETARY read the accounts of the services for which medals had been awarded, and the medals were presented by the Duke of Kent as follows :— To COXSWAIN THOMAS SINCLAIR, of Aberdeen, the silver medal for the rescue of the whole crew of seven of the steamer Fairy, of King's Lynn, on 26th January, 1937.

Coxswain Sinclair won the bronze medal for the service to the trawler George Strand on Christmas Day, 1935, and this medal was presented to him by the Duke of Kent at the annual meeting in 1936.To MR. ALEXANDER WEIR, motor mechanic at Aberdeen, the bronze medal, for the same service.

To MR. JOHN MASSON, a member of the Aberdeen crew, the bronze medal, for the same service.

To MR. J. COWPER, second assistant motor mechanic, at Aberdeen, the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum, for the same service. (The thanks on vellum was awarded to each of the five members of the crew who did not receive medals.) To COXSWAIN GEORGE LENG, of Flam- borough, Yorkshire, the silver medal for the rescue of the crew of fifteen of the Grimsby trawler Lord Ernie on March 2nd, 1937.

To MR. R. B. COWIJNG, bowman at Flam- borough, the thanks of the Institution in- scribed on vellum, for the same service.

(The thanks on vellum was awarded to each of the eight members of the crew.) To COXSWAIN WILLIAM MOGRIDGE, of Torbay, Devon, a second-service clasp to his bronze medal for the rescue of 52 men from the London steamer English Trader on 24th January, 1937. The bronze medal he won on 30th December, 1935, for the rescue of the skipper of the French trawler Satanicle, and this medal was presented to him by the Duke of Kent at the annual meeting in 1936.

To MR. F. C. SANDERS, bowman at Torbay, the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service. (The thanks on vellum was awarded to each of the seven members of the crew.) To COXSWAIN HENRY A. GRIGGS, of Hythe, Kent, the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the rescue on 13th December, 1936, of the crew of three men of the Folkestone fishing boat Josephine II. Cox- swain Griggs won the silver medal of the Institution in 1930.

To COXSWAIN JAMES Couzx, of Broughty Ferry, Dundee, the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum, for the rescue of the crew of five of the Abertay light-vessel on 30th January, 1937.

The Right Hon. Ernest Brown, M.C., M.P.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE ERNEST BROWN, M.C., M.P. (Minister of Labour) : Your Royal Highness, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen : It gives me great pleasure to move the following resolution : That this Meeting, fully recognizing 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 Coxswains 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.

Your Royal Highness, I should have counted this a great pleasure at any meeting, but it is for me a happy conjunction that I should move this resolution at a tune when I see two of my friends, Coxswain William Mogridge and the bowman of the crew from the Torbay life-boat, receive awards. I do not pick them out because I desire to make any distinction between any of the brave men who have been here to-day, but because it so happens that my own father was the coxswain of the Torquay-life-boat for more than thirty years, and among my treasures are awards that he received when doing that duty.

(Applause.) It is, therefore, to me a very great joy to move the resolution when my friends from Brixham are here.

In those days there were two life-boats in Torbay ; there were no motor boats. There were days when the sailing boats could'not get out of Brixham, and other days when another boat could not get out of Torbay to go to the rescue of those who were in the grip of a very heavy south-easterly gale.

Now the Torbay life-boat is stationed at Brixham and is representative of the 167 stations all round our 5,000 miles of coast; and the men who are here this afternoon, who have received awards for their grand deeds, know full well, as all of us who have taken a life-long interest in this Institution know also, that there are many men all round the coast who have not been, as we used to say in the army, " lucky." For I have no doubt that the Committee, in doing its work of deciding which of various gallant deeds should have special recognition, has often longed to make its list longer than it is annually ; but, of course, it is right from every point of view that deeds recognized in this way should be of outstanding and particular merit.

It is a very delightful thing for all of us here, coming from all parts of the British Isles, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, to see such a variety of towns round our coasts recognized for gallant deeds. It is, of course, a pleasure for me to be here, too, as it would be for any Minister of the Crown, not on personal grounds alone, but on depart- mental grounds, because those who are Ministers of the Crown and heads of depart- ments often marvel at the amount of volun- tary work done by the Civil Service for every kind of good cause. When I realize that from the foundation of the Civil Service Life-boat Fund'in 1866, the Civil Service of this country has raised over £100,000 for this good work, it is a pleasure for a Minister to say " Thank you," in the name of the Institution and of the country, to those who have done that very fine work. (Applause.) I believe my own Ministry, the Ministry of Labour, raises the largest, or nearly the largest, annual subscription.

On public grounds this resolution should commend itself; for the life-boat service is a wonderful piece of organization. The men who man our life-boats, 2,000 of them, are not like the men in the Navy or the Mercantile Marine, under regular discipline and regular pay; they are volunteers, rewarded by the Institution for work done. It is a magnificent piece of voluntary organization which could not be carried out as it is carried out, success- fully, from year to year, if it were not for the courage, loyalty, and zeal of the crews them- selves, and for the admirable work done by the local honorary secretaries and committees, both men and women, who give devoted service, day in, week in, month in, and year out, to this great cause. (Applause.) It gives me very particular pleasure tomove this resolution, as my earliest memories are of being held at the window while a gale of wind was blowing and the rain was beating on the panes, and knowing afterwards that my own father was out in the life-boat, and to be here when the Torbay men get recog- nition for that great deed outside Checkstone Ledge, and only those who know that part of the country know what that means. I have great joy in moving the resolution.

(Applause.) The French Ambassador.

His EXCELLENCY THE FRENCH AMBASSA- DOR (M. CHARLES CORBIN) : Your Royal Highness, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen : As the representative of France, I beg to second the resolution which has been put to you by the Right Hon.

Ernest Brown, Minister of Labour, and to pay a tribute to the devoted and indefatigable efforts of the Royal National Life-boat Institution.

In so doing, I am indeed paying a debt of gratitude to your Society. For more than a century it has been a pioneer in the fulfilment of the great humanitarian task of saving life at sea. It is on its model that the " Societe Centrale de Sauvetage des Naufrages " was founded in France seventy-two years ago, and, since that time, you have generously permitted us, and other similar foreign institutions, to share the fruits of your im- provements and progress. Thanks to the international conferences established by British initiative in 1924, there now exists between the different life-saving societies a permanent and practical collaboration which is of the utmost value to all the participating countries.

But it is not only technical advice that the Royal National Life-boat Institution has to offer. In the annals of your Society there is a moving record of endurance and courage which illustrates in the highest degree the virtues of a race trained for generations to overcome the terrors of the sea. In this respect, the year 1936 was one of the most active and glorious in your history. It may well fill with pride all those who direct and support the Royal National Life-boat Institution. (Applause.) Personally, I feel that I must emphasize the exceptionally high number of French ships and French sailors saved by your organization during the winter 1935-1936. Six French vessels were helped, and 52 of my country- men were safely brought into port. (Ap- plause ) I am glad to express to-day my gratitude to Mr. A. C. Jones, the honorary secretary at Barry Dock, who, taking command of the life-boat Prince David, succeeded by his remarkable promptness and skill in rescuing the crew of six of the French schooner Goeland, of Paimpol, a minute before she broke up On the rocks. I admire the exemplary devotion to duty of Coxswain William Dass and the crew of the Longhope life-boat, who went out to the help of the trawler Neptunia, of Havre, and, in intense darkness, by a skilful and courageous handling, managed to take off the 41 men of the wrecked vessel.

I also express my warm thanks to Coxswain Mogridge and the crew of the Torbay life- boat, who, on the night of the 30th December, 1935, went out in very heavy seas to the rescue of the trawler Satanicle, of Cherbourg.

In recognition of these splendid achieve- ments, the French Government has awarded silver an*bronze medals to the coxswains and crews to whom I have referred. (Applause.) In the name of all those French families who, but for this, might be mourning to-day, I offer to all the English, Scottish and Welsh rescuers who have distinguished themselves by then- gallantry my profound gratitude.

(Applause.) I hope I shall be forgiven for taking up so much of your time recalling the services rendered to my countrymen. I do not forget that during the year 1936 thirty-one foreign vessels, as I have been told by His Royal Highness, belonging to fourteen different countries were assisted by British life-boats.

In this humane and inspiring work, your people showed themselves faithful to the spirit of that tradition founded as long ago as 1824, when your then President, Sir William Hillary, defined the aims of the Royal National Life-boat Institution as to rescue in war as well as in peace the vessels and the sailors of any country. (Applause.) At the present time with so much unrest in international affairs, it is a consoling thought that life-boatmen, inspired by a constant sense of duty, are always ready to go to the help of vessels in distress, irrespec- tive of the flag under which "they sail.

(Applause.) The help which these brave volunteers are prepared to give at any time and in any place is an imperishable example of human com- radeship. This is why I ask you to pass a unanimous vote of admiration and gratitude for the untiring gallantry of the masters and crews of the life-boats and for the great services rendered by the local committees, and honorary secretaries and treasurers, who work for the Royal National Life-boat Institution. (Applause.) The resolution was carried unanimously.

Presentations to Honorary Workers.

THE SECRETARY : Since the last annual meeting two honorary workers have been appointed honorary life-governors of the Institution. This is the highest honour which it can confer on an honorary worker, and the appointment is accompanied by a vellum signed by the President of the Institution.

One of the new honorary life-governors is present this afternoon to receive his vellum : PAIGNTON : DR. R. JULYAN GEORGE.

H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, K.G., presented the vellum.

THE SECRETARY : Since the last annual meeting ten gold badges, which are given only for distinguished honorary services, have been awarded. Eight of the recipients are present this afternoon to receive them : LONDON, WEST NORWOOD : MR. G. W.

BUGG.

ANGLESEY : CAPTAIN R. R. DAVIES, BELFAST : LADY CLARE.KESSINGLAND : MR. E. WOOLFIELD.

LIMERICK : LADY NASH.

NOTTINGHAM : MRS. L. M. SMITH.

SUFFOLK : MAJOR E. R. COOPER, F.S.A.

(Major Cooper, unfortunately, has been prevented by illness from coming, but his daughter is here to receive his badge.) WlTHERNSEA t MRS. HILDA BROWN.

H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, K.G., presented the badges.

The Right Hon. Lord Stanley, M.C., M.P.

THE RIGHT HON. LORD STANLEY, M.C., M.P., Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty: Your Royal Highness, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen : I have very great pleasure in moving the following resolution : That this Meeting desires to record its sense of the deep obligation of the Institution to the Ladies' Life-boat Guild and its many hundreds of voluntary members for the work which they have done in raising funds for the Life-boat Service.

We have all listened with great interest this afternoon to the account of the work of this Institution, and there is none of us who has heard without pride and admiration the wonderful records of heroism of the men who came to receive their rewards. But we must not forget that there is a more prosaic side to the work of the Institution, and that is the provision of money, which alone makes our work possible. Here, may I remind you that we are entirely dependent upon voluntary efforts. It is in this respect that I would like the meeting this afternoon to place on record its sense of the deep obligation of the Institu- tion to the Ladies' Life-boat Guild and its many hundreds of voluntary members, for the work which they have done in raising funds for the life-boat service. (Applause.) The work of the ladies is so well known to you that it requires very few words of mine in explanation, but I think it is only fair that you should know that out of the contributions of £103,972 made to the Institution's revenues last year by its over 1,000 branches, the greater part is the result of the work of the women. (Applause.) The sum of £42,340 which was collected on flag days was almost entirely the work of the ladies. (Applause.) I am sure that none of the ladies present here this afternoon will take it as an offence if, in expressing to them our most grateful thanks for the work which they have done, I say that when we give them any money to spend they can spend it like greased lightning, but equally they are wizards in collecting money for a good cause. All of us here this afternoon are agreed that there is no better cause in the world than the Royal National Life-boat Institution. (Applause.) We also agree that no Institution is better served by its voluntary workers and collectors than we are ourselves. We warmly thank the ladies of the Guild and all our lady voluntary workers for the wonderful work which they have done during the past year.

We congratulate them most heartily on the success of their efforts, and we hope that they will do even better during the next twelve months. (Applause.) Lieut.-Commander R. Fletcher, R.N. (Ret.), M.P.

LlEUT.-COMMANDER R. FLETCHER, R.N.

(Ret.), M.P. : Your Royal Highness, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentle- men : It is a great privilege to second the resolution which has just been proposed by Lord Stanley. Lord Stanley and myself are rather prone to differ upon nautical matters, but I would defy anybody's ingenuity to differ from him this afternoon, and I am very glad indeed to find myself double-banking his oar. This resolution is no mere matter of form. The committee of management and all connected with the Institution have every reason to feel grateful to the members of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild. It is very often said that nobody is indispensable, but these ladies are indispensable to the Institution, for with- out them we could not raise our funds. We thank them for what they have done, and as is always the case with those who do well, we ask them to redouble their efforts.

Our income from subscriptions and from donations is still below the 1930 level, the highest which it has reached, while at the same time we are faced in the future with yet heavier expenses connected with the mech- anization of the life-boat fleet and replace- ments. So I suggest to the members of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild that they should decide this afternoon to make the Coronation year a record year in their work for the Royal National Life-boat Institution, and put us above the 1930 level.

The work of collecting subscriptions and donations is always arduous, and very often tiresome ; but I think all members of the Guild who are here this afternoon must haye felt very well rewarded indeed for their work when they watched those brave men come up on to this platform to receive their medals and awards. (Applause.) Without the work of the members of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, it would not be possible for those things to happen, and it is no exaggeration to say that the members of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild do indeed assist at every launch and at every wreck service. History shows that ladies have always loved brave men and more especially when the brave men happen to be sailors. These ladies may fairly feel that they do a great thing for these particular sailors, because, thanks to the funds which they raise for us, the committee of manage- ment are able to be extravagant in one direction—if indeed it is an extravagance: They are able to give the men who go out in the life-boats the very best boats that money can buy. (Applause.) When a boat is launched for a. wreck service, it is an anxious time for the wives who are left behind, but at any rate those wives can feel that the men who are away are out in a boat which is the very best boat that money can buy or human ingenuity can devise, and it is because the members of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild help us to do this great service for our life-boat crews that I warmly recommend this resolu- tion of thanks to this meeting. (Applause.) The resolution was carried unanimously. Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt.

SIR GODFREY BARING : Your Royal Highness, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen : All the resolutions which have been passed at this most success- ful meeting have been adopted with great cordiality, and absolutely unanimously, as one would expect; but I venture to think that the resolution of thanks which I now have the honour and privilege of moving to His Royal Highness will be adopted by the governors with very special enthusiasm. In fact, if I may be allowed to use a phrase which, as far as I know, has never been used in a speech before, " very few words of mine are necessary to submit this resolution for your acceptance." It is : That the hearty and respectful thanks of this Meeting be given to His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, K.G., for presiding over this, the Hundred and Thirteenth Annual General Meeting of the Royal National Life-boat Institution.

His. Royal Highness has, for a considerable number of years now, shown the greatest and the most deeply appreciated interest in our work. He has most kindly performed the naming ceremony of new boats on no fewer than nine occasions. He began his much- appreciated services to the life-boat cause by travelling all the way to the Orkney Islands to perform two ceremonies there. (Applause.) We recognize that His Royal Highness's attendances at these naming ceremonies have involved him in long journeys and, I am afraid, serious inconvenience. Last year, we are so glad to think that His Royal Highness, before he became our president, was the chief speaker at our meeting and presented the awards. Therefore, we have to thank him not only for his presence in the chair to-day, and for the speech which he has delivered, but for many past services. May I be allowed very respectfully, on behalf of the Institution, to express the hope that it may be possible for His Royal Highness, in spite of his many engagements, frequently to preside at O H annual meetings in the future. (Applause.) ' His presence in the chair secures two most desirable objects. First of all, it gives the brave men who receive medals and awards for bravery enormous pleasure to receive those medals and awards at His Royal Highness's hands. (Applause.) Secondly, His Royal Highness's presence in the chair secures the utmost measure of publicity for these pro- ceedings. With all our hearts, Your Royal Highness, we pray that you may be long spared to preside over the destinies of this great Institution. We confidently trust that under your auspices the gallant and brave services of our life-boatmen may continue to be performed in the years to come with ever- growing efficiency and success. I beg to move. (Applause.) The Hon. George Colville.

THE HON. GEORGE COLVILLE (Deputy Chairman of the Institution): Your Royal Highness, your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen: I have very much pleasure in seconding the resolution that has been proposed by the chairman of our Institution, and I should like to say that this Institution is very proud to have a sailor Prince at the helm. (Applause.) The resolution teas carried with acclamation.

Entertainment of Life-boatmen.

After the meeting the ten men who had received medals and other awards were taken to tea at the House of Commons by Rear- Admiral T. P. H. Beamish, C.B., M.P., a member of the committee of management of the Institution. In the evening they were the guests of Sir Oswald Stoll at the Coliseum, where they saw a performance of " The Vagabond King." During the interval they were taken behind the scenes and were presented by Mr. George Graves, the comedian, with signed photographs of himself..