The Annual Meeting
THE hundred and fifteenth annual meeting of the Governors of the In- stitution was held at the Central Hall, Westminster, at 3 P.M. on Wednesday, 26th April. Over 2,500 people were present.
H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, K.G., President of the Institution, was in the chair.
The other speakers were: Commodore the Right Hon. the Earl Howe, P.C., C.B.E., V.D., A.D.C., R.N.V.R., a vice- president of the Institution; the Ven.
Archdeacon Thomas Crick, C.B.E., M.V.O., M.A., R.N., the Chaplain of the Fleet; Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., chair- man of the Institution and Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Francis Oliver, G.C.B., K.C.M.G., M.V.O., a member of the committee of management of the Institution.
The Duke of Kent was supported on the platform by vice-presidents of the Institution, members of the committee of management, members of the Central London Women's Committee of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, and honorary life-governors of the Institution.
Among those who accepted the invitation of the Institution to support His Royal Highness on the platform were representatives of ten foreign countries, the High Commissioner for Eire, nine members of Parliament for constituencies from which life-boatmen had come to the meeting to receive awards for gallantry, the Mayors and Mayoresses of forty-nine cities and towns, and representatives of the Board of Trade, the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Bene- volent Society, King George's Fund for Sailors and the Civil Service Life-boat Fund.
The representatives of foreign countries were: Their Excellencies the Turkish Ambassador and the Ministers for the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Finland and Latvia, the German Charge d' Affaires, and the Secretary to the Italian Embassy.
The Mayors and Mayoresses of the forty-nine cities and towns were: The Mayors and Mayoresses of Westminster, Wanstead and Woodford, Greenwich, West Ham, Wallington, Wandsworth, Watford. Lewisham, New Maiden, Romford, Chelsea, Hackney, Baling, St. Albans, Holborn, Hammersmith.
Islington, Lambeth, Kensington, Stoke Newington, Bexley Heath, Twicken- ham, Woolwich, Dartford, Paddington, Wembley, Finchley, Epsom and Ewell, Wood Green, Finsbury, Leyton, Totten- ham, Barnes, Ilford, Gravesend, Great Yarmouth, Droitwich, Worthing, Hythe, Wallasey, Conway, Wrexham, and St. Ives, the Mayors of Bromley, Aldeburgh, and Brighton, the Provost of Nairn, and the Mayoresses of Ber- mondsey and Dagenham. The Chair- men of the Urban District Councils of Ruislip—Northwood, Brixham. Clacton, and Holyhead also accepted the in- vitation.
A party of boys from the training ship Arethusa was also present.
The President's Address.
THE DUKE OF KENT'S address is on page 73.
Presentation of the Report for 1938.
SIR GODFREY BARING, BT., chairman of the Institution, presented the annual report and accounts for 1938, and they were adopted.
Election of Vice-Presidents and Committee of Management.
LIEUT.-COL. 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 1938.
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:— NEW BRIGHTON, CHESHIRE.
COXSWAIN WILLIAM H. JONES. The silver medal for the rescue of three of the fishing boat Progress and the crew of four of the schooner Loch Ranza Castle on 23rd November, 1938.
MR. JOHN R. NICHOLSON, second coxswain.
The bronze second-service clasp for the same service. Mr. Nicholson won the bronze medal in 1928.
MR. WILFRED GARBUTT, motor mechanic.
The bronze second-service clasp for the same service. Mr. Garbutt won the bronze medal in 1928.MB. JOHN E. MASON, second motor mechanic.
The bronze medal for the same service.
MR. WILLIAM S. JONES, bowman. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
MR. HARRY STONALL, a member of the crew.
The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
MR. WILLIAM DOUGLAS, a member of the crew.
The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK.
COXSWAIN GEORGE E. CHATTEN. The bronze medal for the rescue of the crews, four in number, of the sailing barges Astrild and Grecian on 23rd November, 1938.
GREAT YARMOUTH AND GORLESTON.
NORFOLK.
COXSWAIN CHARLES A. JOHNSON. The bronze second-service clasp for going to the help of seven barges, Ailsa, Britisher, Raybell, Royalty, Cetus, Decima and Una on 23rd November, 1938, and rescuing ten men. Coxswain Johnson won the bronze medal in 1922.
TORBAY, DEVON.
COXSWAIN WILLIAM H. H. MOGRIDGE. The silver medal for the rescue of the crew of two of the motor crabber Channel Pride on the 9th December, 1938. Coxswain Mogridge won the bronze medal in 1935, and the second-service clasp to the bronze medal in 1937.
MR. WILLIAM PILLAR, second coxswain. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service. Mr. Pillar won vellums for the services in 1935 and 1937. Holder of the Albert Medal for res- cuing survivors of H.M.S. Formidable on New Year's Day, 1915.
MR. FREDERICK C. SANDERS, bowman. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service. Mr. Sanders won vellums for the services in 1935 and 1937, and a vellum for a cliff rescue in 1921.
MR. RICHARD T. HARRIS, motor mechanic.
The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
MR. EDWIN LAMSWOOD, assistant motor mechanic. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
MR. FRED R. TUCKER, a member of the crew. The thanks of the Institution in- scribed on vellum for the same service.
Mr. Tucker won vellums for the services of 1935 and 1937.
MR. CHARLES BICKFORD, a member of the crew. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service, MR. FREDERICK LAMSWOOD, a member of the crew. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, ESSEX.
COXSWAIN SIDNEY H. B. PAGE. The bronze medal for the rescue of the crews, seven in number, of the yacht Wimpie and the barges Glenrosa and Audrey on 2nd June, 1938. Also the second-service clasp to the bronze medal, for the rescue of the crews, six in number, of the barges T.F.C., Glenmore and Lord Roberts, on 26th November, 1938.
MR. WILLIAM A. DEER, second coxswain.
The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the service on 26th November, 1938.
MR. HERBERT G. MURRELL, bowman. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the service on 26th November, 1938.
MR. REGINALD H. SANDERS, assistant motor mechanic. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the service on 26th November, 1938.
CLACTON-ON-SEA, ESSEX.
COXSWAIN CHARLES R. ELLIS. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the rescue of the crew of seven of the German sailing yacht .Dos Wappen von Bremen on 2nd June, 1938.
GOURDON, KINCARDINESHIRE.
COXSWAIN GEORGE MILNE. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for a courageous launch on 17th December, 1938.
NAIRN, NAIRNSHIRE.
MR. GEORGE A. RALPH, skipper and owner of the motor boat Barbara. The bronze medal for the rescue of three of the crew of the Russian steamer Kingissepp on 27th January, 1937.
MR. GEORGE RALPH, son of Mr. George Ralph. The thanks of the Institution in- scribed on vellum for the same service.
MR. GEORGE RALPH GRENIER, grandson of Mr. George Ralph, senior. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY.
COXSWAIN RICHARD JONES. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the rescue of the crew of nine of the s.s.
Kyle Prince on 8th October, 1938.
MR. GILBERT E. BARRS, motor mechanic at Holyhead (now at New Brighton). The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
GALWAY BAY, Co. GALWAY.
COXSWAIN JOHN GILL. The bronze medal for the rescue of sixteen men belonging to the trawlers Hatano and Nogi on the night of 16th-17th August, 1938.
MR. JOSEPH DOYLE, motor mechanic. The bronze meda! for the same service.
i MR. PATRICK FLAHERTY, bowman. The j bronze medal for the same service.
I MR. PETER GILL, a member of the crew.
! The bronze medal for the same service.
MR. WILLIAM GORHAM, a member of the crew. The bronze medal for the same service.
MR. JOSEPH FLAHERTY, a member of the crew. The bronze medal for the sameMB. THOMAS FLAHERTY, a member of the crew. The bronze medal for the same service.
MR. MICHAEL HERNON, second coxswain.
The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
MR. MICHAEL DIRRANE, assistant motor mechanic. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
MR. COLMAN FLAHERTY, a member of the crew. The thanks of the Institution in- scribed on vellum for the same service.
MR. THOMAS BEATTY, a member of the crew.
The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
ROSSLARE HARBOUR, Co. WEXFORD.
COXSWAIN JAMES WICKHAM. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the rescue of the crew of four of the motor schooner M. E. Johnson on 20th December, 1938. Coxswain Wickham won the silver medal in 1914, the second-service clasp to the silver medal in 1929, and a vellum in 1936.
BETTYSTOWN, Co. MEATH.
MR. MICHAEL GIBSON, bank clerk, of Drog- heda. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for rescuing a bather at Bettystown on 21st June, 1938.
MR. PATRICK HOGAN, army cadet, of Tip- perary. The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for the same service.
ST. IVES, CORNWALL.
MR. WILLIAM FREEMAN. The bronze medal.
He was the sole survivor of the crew when the life-boat capsized on 23rd January, 1939. The bronze medal has also been post- humously awarded to the seven men who lost their lives.
Commodore the Right Hon. The Earl Howe, P.C.
COMMODORE THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL HOWE, P.C., C.B.E., V.LX, A.D.C., R.N.V.R.
(a vice-president of the Institution): Round the 5,000 miles of the coast of the British Isles there are, I believe, about 2,000 men just like the ones whom we are all delighted to honour here to-day, who have been standing by, night and day, for the whole of the last year—in fact, for the whole of the last 115 years, as Your Royal Highness has reminded us. I am sure you will have gathered from the records of their gallantry to-day that last year was indeed a memorable year and that we owe perhaps an especial debt of gratitude to all our coxswains, our crews, the honorary secretaries, the local committees, and last but certainly not least to the devoted efforts of all the ladies who have contributed to make such wonderful things possible. (Applause.) Your Royal Highness has told us that last vear was a record year for services. It was.
It was an absolute record in the whole of the Institution's history. Four hundred and eighty-five times were the life-boats called out last year. The previous best was 468, so you will see that we have beaten the record last year by nearly twenty. (Applause.) You must remember also, the circum- stances under which those boats had to go to sea. Remember what you have been told about boats going to sea at two or three or four o'clock in the morning.
Think of it! It is blowing a howling gale, with sleet and snow, so that you can hardly see your hand in front of your face, yet you have to go to sea to rescue somebody you do not know. You do know who it is. You do not know whether you will ever get back. It is easy enough to do wonderful things -when there is a cheering party at the back of you and your pals are all alongside of you, but it takes real courage, as we all know, to go and perform such services as these men perform. On fifty per cent of those 485 occasions, the services were carried out at night. (Applause.) You have heard the wonderful record of what happened at New Brighton, at Torbay, in fact, all round our coasts. Perhaps some of you will remember only three years ago when that brilliant service of the Ballycotton life-boat was honoured in this same hall.
(Applause.) You will remember, perhaps, what that service meant. The life-boat was away on service for sixty-three hours. She was actually at sea for forty-nine hours of those sixty-three, and during the whole of that time her crew only had three hours' sleep.
They were wet through the whole time, and when they came back they were half blind and burnt from the sea, and suffering severely from exposure.
Remember also that there are not only the demands for assistance from ships and vessels, but that the development of aviation has made fresh demands upon the life-boat ser- vice. Only the day before yesterday the Jersey life-boat was out for hours looking for a bomber which had been reported to have come down at sea somewhere near the Channel Islands. Actually it had managed, I believe, to make a safe landing on another island, but all the same the service was carried out.
What I am coming to is this: What a really magnificent service it is; with what wonderful boats and equipment; and what implicit trust their crews must have in them to be able to go and do things like that which, for instance, the Torbay life-boat did! In performing a service like that, which was carried out within a few yards of the cliffs, when it was touch and go whether they hit the rocks or not, only the most perfect training, the most absolute co-operation between the motor mechanic and the coxswain, and indeed the excellence of the engines and everything con- tributing to it, could have saved that boat and her crew on that occasion. (Applause.) Our policy in the Institution is: " Nothing but the very best for the life-boat service." (Applause.) Endless care is devoted by the officials of the Institution, who are technical officers of years of service, to seeing how the fittings of the boats, the equipment of the boats, their design and so forth, can be improved. But that is not all. On the committee of management, the names of which you have heard this afternoon, there are no less than nine Admirals serving, ofwhom I will just mention one, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Oliver, who is here this after- noon. He is, perhaps, one of the greatest navigational experts the Navy has ever had.
(Applause.) There are also five distinguished seamen from the Merchant Navy, including Sir Bertram Hayes, who, as you will re- member, was Commodore of the White Star Line. There are technical experts, including Sir Robert Dixon, who was Engineer-in-Chief of the Navy. I mention that, Ladies and Gentlemen, because in view of these terrible disasters people may be inclined to wonder whether the Institution devotes enough care and attention to the matter and whether it is run by competent people.
I must say a word about these disasters.
They both took place in the case of small boats; one, the St. Ives boat, was a self- righting boat, and the other one, which met disaster the other day at Cullercoats, was a non-self-righting boat. The Institution wel- comes criticism as long as it is fair.- There is nothing to be said against fair criticism. We can all benefit by it. I have heard the criticism passed in the case of St. Ives: "Why was so small a boat stationed there? Surely you ought to have had a larger boat? " The answer to that is that the boat we stationed at St. Ives was the biggest boat that we could possibly put there. The har- bour there dries out at low water and there- fore you have to launch your boat from a carriage, and only a boat that is within the capacity of the carriage can be handled.
Therefore, the St. Ives boat had to be a small one. It is noteworthy that the boat was chosen by the crew and that there are twenty of those same light, self-righting motor life-boats stationed all round the coast.
The Institution has promised to station at St. Ives one of its largest boats, if only the harbour can be improved and a breakwater built. It will cost the Institution at least £30,000 to do this. That will be the cost of the boat and of the house and slipway. We have promised to do it, and we intend to do it, if we possibly can. (Applause.) You must remember another thing with regard to St. Ives. The vessel to which the life-boat was called out was some miles up the coast, and, if the St. Ives boat had been one of the old type (the pulling and sailing type of boat), I doubt if they would have attempted the service; it could not have been done. It shows you the extraordinary gal- lantry of that coxswain and the devoted gallantry of the crew that they took the job on. They went out into the teeth of a full Atlantic hurricane in order to try to go to the rescue of people whom they did not know anything about. (Applause.) There is one other thing I want to say with regard to St. Ives. We have had boats at that station for nearly a hundred years and during that time they have rescued no less than 434 lives. (Applause.) And so we come to Cullercoats. Culler- coats station was established eighty-seven years ago, and during that time they at Cullercoats have rescued 280 lives—a mag- nificent record for a small station. Last year this very boat was launched on service three times. She landed three people on one occa- sion, but I cannot say that she actually saved any lives; but she was there and ready to do the service had she been called upon.
The Cullercoats boat was of the non-self- righting type. There are twenty-one of that type round the coast, and it is noteworthy, I think, that they have been launched on service on 162 occasions, and have saved altogether 131 lives.
I do not know whether I need explain to so expert an audience the difference between a self-righter and a non-self-righter; but per- haps it would be better if I did. The self- righter is a boat of smaller beam. She is not so stable as the non-self-righter, but if she capsizes she rights herself quickly. She is equipped with an engine which has a special switch so that, when the boat goes over, it stops the engine and the engine has to be started again when she rights herself. You have heard the story of the St. Ives disaster.
It is possible, I think, that, if the men had been able to re-start their boat a good many might have been saved. It is possible that she might not have capsized a second and a third time. But the propeller was fouled.
The non-self-righter is a boat of rather larger beam and more stability, and sailors themselves often differ (I have heard them many times differing) upon the respective merits of these two boats. I have often imagined which I would choose if the choice were ever left to me. I think on the whole it would be the non-self-righter; but I do not know.
I noticed on Monday in the Evening Standard that an interview had been sought by that paper with two of our most distin- guished coxswains. One was Coxswain Blogg whom I am sure everybody here must know —Coxswain Blogg of Cromer. This is what he says with regard to Cullercoats: " I have been a seaman all my life, and forty-five years of it have been spent as a life-boatman.
From that experience I say it is impossible to guarantee any boat against disaster. I have been lucky—never been in a disaster to a boat myself. One of our Cromer life-boats is the non-self-righting Liverpool type, the same type as the Cullercoats one that cap- sized. The St. Ives boat was a self-righter.
That capsized, too. So what can you say? It does not matter what the type of boat is, you cannot insure against accidents. All de- pends on the force of the storm and the judgment of the crew." Then Coxswain Richard Stephens, of the life-boat station at The Lizard, another most distinguished man; said: " I have just retired after forty years with the life-boat and we have often been out to The Manacles, as wicked a bit of coast as you will find any- where. I do not think the type of boat has anything to dp with it. Every life-boat station chooses its own type according to the sort of launching place it has and the character of the sea. The self-righter capsizes easier, whereas the non-self-righter is steadier in the water. So opinion is divided, and I do not see that the Life-boat Institution can do more than they have done." (Applause.) That is the considered opinion, apparently,of two of our most distinguished coxswains, and I think we must leave it at that. But it is a disaster indeed of which we feel the full import to-day.
The Institution has, as you know, a tre- mendous programme of construction. His Royal Highness told us of it just now. We are building at this present time no less than eight different types of boat. The reason why we have to build so many types is be- cause of the very varying conditions under which they have to operate, and we have no less than fifteen different types on service.
I think, too, it is noteworthy that the last pulling and sailing boat has left the Irish coast. The Irish fleet is now completely mechanized. (Applause.) The advance in our construction has also entailed another thing. There is the difficulty of twin-screw versus single-screw. I am on the side of twin-screw all the time. I do not like all the eggs being in one basket. That means that we have had to design new boats with twin-screws as against single-screws, and it means also, of course, an added cost. That is one of the reasons why mechanization has added so greatly to the cost and has entailed such demands upon the Institution.
It is a fact that to-day, in order to provide for our life-boat service, we are compelled to draw rather heavily upon our reserve funds.
All this entails a greater effort on the part of everyone, and I only wish I were gifted with an eloquence which could adequately convey the thanks which I would like to express to all the ladies who have done such magnificent work for the Institution.
(Applause.) I say emphatically, in the light of such knowledge as I have of these matters, that it would not be possible to run a life- boat institution in this country were it not for the ladies and the work of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild and of the thousands of workers all up and down the country.
(Applause.) These disasters have brought the dangers home to us all. They have underlined the necessity for further effort to spur us on. I appeal to all to see to it that we can continue to give nothing but the very best that money can buy and that skill can devise.
(Applause.) Sir, I beg to move the resolution standing in my name: That this Meeting, fully recognizing the important services of the Royal National Life- boat Institution in its national rcorfc of life- saving, desires to record its hearty appreciation of the gallantry of the coxswains and creu-s of the Institution's life-boats, gratefully to acknowledge the valuable help rendered to the cause by local committees, honorary secre- taries and honorary treasurers, and to express 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. (Applause.) The Ven. Archdeacon Crick.
THE VENERABLE ARCHDEACON THOMAS CRICK, C.B.E., M.V.O., M.A., R.N., Chaplain of the Fleet: One of my earliest recollections is that of a figure carved in granite, the figure of a life-boatman in his sou'wester and cork jacket, gazing out over the waters of the Irish Sea. It was a memorial to the coxswain and the crew of a life-boat who had all perished together in the attempted rescue of a ship in distress. I grew up in sight of that inspiring figure in granite, so eloquent of unquenchable courage and resource. It has inspired in me from those very earliest days a deep veneration for the life-boat service, and this afternoon I stand here sincerely appreciating the honour of seconding the resolution which to-day is before this meeting.
As the Chaplain of the Fleet, I am proud to be able to say that last year no less than ninety ships of the Royal Navy, and naval barracks and shore establishments, readily and gladly subscribed to the funds of the Royal National Life-boat Institution, and I can say without hesitation that in the great brotherhood of the sea the coxswains and the crews of the life-boats around our shores have no more sincere admirers than their fellow seamen in the Royal Navy. (Applause.) In that expres- sion of gratitude I include also, of course, those workers ashore who year after year so faithfully, so consistently, labour in this cause and who, by those labours, have made the life-boat service the great national in- stitution that it is to-day.
May it please Your Royal Highness, I beg to second the resolution. (Applause.) The resolution was put to the meeting and carried unanimously.
Presentations to Honorary Workers.
THE SECRETARY: Since the last annual meeting four 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.
Two of the new honorary life-governors are present this afternoon to receive their vellums: DUNBAR AND SKATERAW: MR. WlLLIAM BERTRAM, O.B.E., J.P.
SOUTHAMPTON: MR. CHARLES J. SHARP, J.P.
H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, K.G., presented the vellums.
THE SECRETARY: Since the last annual meeting twelve gold badges, which are given only for distinguished honorary services, have been awarded. Ten of the recipients are present this afternoon to receive them.
BEAUMARIS : MRS. MAY BURTON.
BLACKPOOL: MR. LIONEL H. FRANCEYS.
CLACTON-ON-SEA : MRS. MAUD E. FENTOX- JOXES.
CULLERCOATS: MRS. TOM LlSLE.
HYTHE : MAJOR H. R. HILDYARD.
KINGSTON-ON-THAMES : MRS. COOPER- TURNER. Mrs. Cooper-Turner, unfortun- ately, has been prevented by illness from coming, but her daughter is here to receive her badge.LIMERICK: MR. CHARLES DOWNEY.
LLANELLY: MRS. K. SEVAN JOHN.
PORTSMOUTH: SIR HAROLD PINK, J.P.
SUTTON COLDFIELD: Miss ANNIE TONKS.
H.R.H. The Duke of Kent, K.G., presented the badges.
Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt.
SIR GODFREY BARING, Bt., chairman of the Institution: It is to me a very, very great honour to have the opportunity of moving: 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 fifteenth annual general meeting of the Royal National Life-boat Institution, (Applause.) We desire to thank Your Royal Highness for having found time in the midst of your manifold activities to preside here once more at our annual meeting. We wish to express our gratitude for the admirable speech which you addressed to us at the commencement of the meeting and, above all, for your con- tinued and deeply appreciated interest in the welfare of the Institution. I am sure the thing which will give Your Royal Highness the greatest pleasure is the satisfaction which you have given to the splendid men who have received awards at your hands to-day. I am certain that they will go back with the honour which has been conferred upon them doubled and trebled by the fact that they received the presentations at Your Royal Highness's hands. (Applause.) We know that in the early autumn Your Royal Highness is going to take up the most important position of Governor-General of Australia. (Applause.) Your temporary absence from this country will be the home- land's great loss: it will be Australia's great and conspicuous gain. (Applause.) We should wish to offer to Your Royal Highness our most earnest wishes for a prosperous voyage to Australia, a brilliant, successful and fruitful term of office, and, above all, a safe return. (Applause.) Sir, how delightful it would be if during your Governor-Generalship of Australia the Australian people thought that it would be a graceful act to present a life-boat to the Institution (and, may I add, to endow it) in commemoration of Your Royal Highness's Governor-Generalship. I only throw that out as a respectful suggestion for your con- sideration. (Laughter and applause.) I have the honour to move the resolution which stands in my name. It will be seconded by Sir Henry Oliver.
Admit al of the Fleet Sir Henry Oliver ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET Sm HENRY FRANCIS OLIVER, G.C.B., K.C.M.G., M.V.O., a member of the committee of management: I have the honour to second the resolution before the meeting.
SIR GODFREY BARING : Let that be carried by the loudest applause that has ever been heard in this hall.
The resolution was carried by acclamation.
The proceedings then terminated..