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The S.S. Spero

St. David's, Pembrokeshire.—At about 1.40 P.M. on the 15th January, 1938, coastguard reported that the s.s. Spero, of Newcastle, was drifting towards the shore five" miles north of St. David's Head. She was bound with a general cargo from Liverpool for Barcelona, and carried a crew of twenty. A whole S.W. gale was blowing, with a very rough sea, and the Spero's engine had broken down. The motor life-boat Civil Service No. 6 was launched at 1.55 P.M. and came up with the Spero at 2.50 P.M. She stood by her until about 12.30 A.M. on the 16th, when a tug arrived and took the Spero in tow for Fishguard. As the life-boat had had some trouble with her port engine and was getting short of petrol, she went with them to Fishguard, instead of making for her station, and arrived at about 4 A.M. She had then been on service for fourteen hours. She left again for home at 2.45 P.M., and arrived back at her station at 8.30 P.M., after an absence of over thirty hours. Aletter of appreciation was sent to the branch and an increase in the usual money award on the standard scale was granted to each member of the crew.— Standard rewards to crew, £20 15s. 6d.; additional rewards to crew, £8 ; total rewards, £44 Us. lOd..