THE centenary of the life-boat station at St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly, was cele- brated on 9th August, and a vellum, signed by H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, K.G., President of the Institution, expressing the Institution's apprecia- tion of the voluntary work of the officers and committee of the station, and of the devotion and courage of the life-boat crew, was presented to the station by the Institution. The pre- sentation was made by Commander E. D. Drury, O.B.E., R.D., R.N.R., chief inspector of life-boats.

The station was established in 1837, and has had altogether eight life-boats, two of them motor life-boats. The first of these was the Elsie, which was a gift in memory of his wife from the late Right Hon. Arnold Morley, at one time Member of Parliament for Nottingham, Chief Whip and then Postmaster- General in the Liberal Governments of 1886 and 1895, a noted yachtsman, and for long a member of the committee of management of the Institution.

The Elsie served at the station from 1919 until 1930, rescuing 88 lives. In 1930 she was replaced by the present motor life-boat Cunard, a gift of the Cunard Steamship Company.

Since 1850, the St. Mary's life-boats have been launched on service 107 times and have rescued 240 lives.

Men of St. Mary's have been awarded two silver and six bronze medals for gallantry by the Institution and thirty- eight medals by the Italian Government.

All these medals were awarded for the rescue, in October, 1927, of thirty- two lives from the Italian steamer Isabo, in which the life-boat and three shoreboats all played a gallant part.

Altogether sixty-one centenary veDums have now been presented to life-boat stations..