JUST after two in the afternoon of 22nd April, the Cullercoats motor life-boat Richard Silver Oliver was launched on exercise. She is a boat of the light Liverpool type, 35 feet 6 inches by 10 feet 3 inches, weighing seven tons with her crew and gear on board, with one screw, driven by a 35 h.p. engine.

She went to Cullercoats in 1937.

On board her were: Lieut.-Commander Lionel Edward Robin Blakeney-Booth, R.N., honorary secretary of the station.

Kenneth Leslie Biggar, aged 16, the stepson of Commander Blakeney- Booth and a naval cadet.

Coxswain George Brunton.

Second-Coxswain John Redford Arm- strong.

The motor mechanic, John Leonard Abel.

The assistant motor mechanic, John Heddon Scott.

The bowman, Jacob Chisholm Brunton.

John William Smith, the Institu- tion's district engineer.

Andrew Oliver Tweedy, life-boatman.

James Gilbert Carmichael, life-boat- man.

A moderate north-easterly gale was blowing, with a rough sea, and a spring flood was running.

The life-boat went northwards until she was off St. Mary's Island. She then returned towards Cullercoats, running before the wind with her drogue out.

She passed Cullercoats and made for Tynemouth Pier, where there was a very nasty sea, aggravated by the backwash from the pier and the rocks.

Here the life-boat, turning inshore, made for Cullercoats again, with the wind on her starboard beam. There was a heavy sea breaking and the life- boat was so close in shore that the coastguard believed that she was closing to make a signal. It seems probable however that the honorary secretary and the coxswain, pleased with the behaviour of the life-boat, and certain that she would weather any seas, were deliberately putting her through the very heavy breaking water off Sharpness Point as a final test before they came in.

" Stand by Lads." She was going at full speed about 300 yards from the shore, and was just off Sharpness Point, with the seas abeam, when the coxswain called out: "Stand by lads." An enormous sea had reared up. The coxswain put the helm hard over, but before it could bring the life-boat head on, the sea had struck her on the beam and broken the full length of the boat.

She was thrown right over and drifted towards the shore. It was then just after three o'clock.

Of the ten men on board, all of whom "were wearing their life-belts, only four came ashore alive. The bowman, J. Brunton, was thrown clear and struggled ashore almost unconscious. J. W. Smith, the district engineer, and the two 'life-boatmen,Andrew Tweedy and James Car- michael, were all under the life-boat.

Smith struck out, and came to the surface some five yards to leeward.

He struggled towards the stern of the boat, climbed up over the propeller and tunnel and clung to her bottom.

He was washed off; regained his hold; was washed off a second time; made for the shore; and knew no more until he found himself in the infirmary.

Tweedy was under the life-boat, with ropes round his legs. They dragged him down, but he kicked his legs free, came to the surface alongside the boat, hauled himself aboard and clung there until she was washed ashore.

Carmichael was also under the boat.

He came up alongside; seized hold of two scupper holes; and with a hand from Tweedy climbed on to the boat and came ashore with her.

The bowman, Jacob Brunton, came up to find himself ten feet to the weather side. He could see Tweedy, Carmichael and Smith on the bottom of the boat, but she swung away from him. He took off his oilskins and boots and swam for the beach in King Edward's Bay. He touched bottom and was then hit by a heavy sea, He was brought ashore unconscious.

Rescues from the Shore.

The capsize was seen at once from the shore. Police and ambulances were hurried down, and the police rang up all the doctors in Tynemouth and the Tynemouth life-boat station.

The Tynemouth life-boat was launched at 3.15 and ten minutes later was off Sharpness Point. She cruised round for half an hour, but meanwhile police and others had rescued the four survivors, wading or swimming through the surf towards the life-boat as she drifted in to King Edward's Bay, dragging the men ashore, giving them artificial respiration, and getting them to the ambulances.

The life-boat came ashore in the bay, and the six bodies were all washed ashore in the bay or on the rocks to the south of it. It was then not quite 3.30, less than half an hour after the life-boat had capsized.

The Inquest.

At the inquest, which was held on 4th May, the survivors, except the bowman, Jacob Brunton, who was still in hospital, gave evidence. They were agreed that right through the exercise the life-boat had behaved well, and that the sea which capsized her was of exceptional size, a sea to which no life-boat, of whatever size, could have stood up if it took her abeam.

The survivors, and eyewitnesses ashore thought that the life-boat when she capsized, was dangerously close to the shore; but both the coxswain and honorary secretary were excellent sea- men, men of long experience. In taking her where they did they must have been satisfied that she could safely meet the breaking seas. The only explanation of the disaster—based on the evidence of the survivors—is that the life-boat was caught by a combination of several seas, which built themselves up into a single sea of exceptional size so suddenly that the coxswain had no time to luff up to meet it.

Sharpness Point is normally a dangerous place. In addition to the seas breaking over the point there is a strong tide-rip and a confused back- wash from the rocks and from Tyne- mouth Pier. Even then in the weather on that day, which was not out of the ordinary, there was nothing to make the place exceptionally dangerous for the life-boat. With the building up of that big wave, so near to her that there was no time to meet it head on, she was caught by a sudden combina- tion of circumstances which, with the weather as it was on that day, would seldom occur to a boat going through the surf by Sharpness Point.

The verdict of the inquest was: "Accidentally drowned by the cap- sizing of the life-boat." Institution's Action.

Immediately the news of the disaster reached headquarters, Commander P. E. Vaux, D.S.C., R.N., the chief inspector of life-boats, Colonel A. D.

Burnett Brown, M.C., T.D., the deputy secretary, with the inspector of machinery and a surveyor of life-boats left for Cullercoats. They arrivedthere next morning and were joined by Commander G. R. Cousins, D.S.C., R.N., the district inspector of life-boats.

The life-boat was examined where she lay in the sand in King Edward's Bay, at high water mark. She had already been got on an even keel. She was not much damaged. There was too much sea running that day to attempt to get her back to her station, but on the next day, 24th April, she was cleared of sand and taken down the shore over skids. Anchors were laid out and at flood-tide she returned to her station.

It had been intended that the Tyne- mouth motor life-boat should tow her, but her engine was undamaged, and she returned under her own power with the Tynemouth life-boat standing by.

Meanwhile the chief inspector and deputy-secretary had been to see the four survivors, three of whom were in hospital. They had visited the families of the men who had lost their lives, and had arranged for the immediate payment of pensions to these families, and of weekly allowances to survivors, so that there might not be, even temporarily, any financial distress.

Pensions and Compensation.

There are three widows, and five children under sixteen; and as from the day of the disaster they are re- ceiving pensions and allowances as if the men had been sailors, soldiers, or airmen killed in action. The Institu- tion has also paid all funeral expenses.

To survivors it made allowances, while in hospital, equal to their weekly earnings, and has given them compen- sation for loss of clothes and money for medical comforts.' The Mayor's Fund.

The Mayor of Tynemouth at once opened a fund to supplement the pensions and allowances of the Insti- tution, and that fund now amounts to over £1,100.

The Funerals.

It was the wish of the relatives that there should be no joint funeral or memorial service, and that the separate funerals should be private. These funerals were held on 25th April, three days after the disaster, and were attended by the representatives of the Institution.

Awards.

To those who helped from the shore the Institution has made the following awards: To JAMES W. CARSS. and JOHN F.

MILLIONS, Constables in the County Borough of Tynemouth Police Force, and to MB. J. J. INGLEDEW, of Newcastle- on-Tyne, for their gallantry in swim- ming or wading out, helping two of the survivors, and rescuing several of the bodies, inscribed silver watches and framed letters of thanks.

Letters of thanks were sent to : MR.

C. E. TODD, honorary secretary of the Tynemouth Life-boat Station; THE OFFICER COMMANDING TYNE FIRE COMMAND, making reference to GUNNERS C. H. BOXER, T. E. COOK, G. RYMER, and PRIVATE WHELAN, R.A.M.C.; THE BOARD OF TRADE, thanking the DIVISIONAL INSPECTOR OF COAST- GUARD and all coastguards at the Tynemouth station; THE CHIEF CONSTABLE OF THE COUNTY BOROUGH OF TYNEMOUTH POLICE FORCE thanking ACTING IN- SPECTOR SCOTT, POLICE CONSTABLES BELL, PURDUE, ROBINSON and LINK- LATER, and DRIVER G. THOMPSON; DR. GRAHAM, DR. . STONIER, DR.

WEIDNER, DR. DOUGLAS MARTIN, DR. PHILLIPS, MRS. McCoNNEL, J.P..

MRS. CARRUTHERS, MRS. BERTORELLI, MR. JOHN SMITH, and MR. FRANK CROSSLAND, all of whom helped in the rescue or in reviving and caring for the rescued..