THE barges Esterel and Yampa, of London, were on their way from London to Norwich with cargoes of maize on the 4th November, 1939.

When nearly opposite Orfordness they were caught by an easterly gale. Both barges turned back. They struck the Cork Sands. The Esterel succeeded in getting off, with her sprit carried away.

She was out of control; the heavy seas stove in her hatches; she was driven ashore east of Walton Pier. It was then nine in the morning, and the tide was at half flood.

The barge was lying 100 yards from the shore, aground in about six feet of water. She was surrounded by heavy breaking seas, which were smashing the bathing huts on the shore. The Board of Trade life-saving rocket apparatus was quickly on the scene, and managed to send a line to her, but she swung round, and the line got under her bottom and was useless.

At 9.50 the Walton and Frinton motor life-boat E.M.E.D. was launched and a quarter of an hour later she reached the barge.

A Clever Manoeuvre.

The coxswain anchored to. windward and dropped down stern first towards the bow of the barge. When he was off her bow he moved the cable from the forward post of the life-boat to the starboard after bollard and then steamed in under the lee side of the barge. By this manoeuvre, which brought his cable tight round the barge's bow, he drew the stern of the life-boat against the barge. Lines were thrown from the life-boat to the barge, fore and aft, and by keeping the boat still steaming ahead, the coxswain held her long enough alongside for the master, his wife, the mate and the dog to jump aboard her.

A Dangerous Moment.

Now came the most dangerous moment. The life-boat was not more than fifty yards from the rocks, and the water was so shallow that she struck the bottom several times. The coxswain dared not risk going any nearer the shore, and with so small a space in which to manoeuvre it was most difficult and hazardous to get clear of the wreck. He moved the life-boat carefully astern, hauling on his cable at the same time, and thus brought her clear of the bows of the barge. Heavy seas were breaking over her the whole time. The slightest mistake would have put her ashore. When the lifeboat, going astern, was far enough from the shore, the coxswain shifted the cable again from the after bollard to the forward post, went ahead on his engines, and picked up his anchor.

The Jife-boat arrived back at her station at 11.30, an hour and forty minutes after putting out. As soon as she had landed the rescued she put out again for, fifty minutes before, the coastguard had received from the Cork Light-vessel a signal that a vessel was in distress. The honorary secretary of the station, Captain William J. Oxley, went out with her. There was a very big swell running, with a confused sea, and the gale was blowing fresh from the north-east.

A Long Search.

The coxswain made straight for the Cork Sands, as he could see a barge ashore there. He reached her in an hour and twenty minutes and found her completely submerged. She was the Yampa, the sister barge to the Esterel, which had been with her when she put back off Orfordness.

Nothing could be seen of her crew.

Very heavy seas were running on the sands, and to make certain that no one was in the rigging, the life-boat made two complete circles of the barge.

Then she made a call on the light-vessel, rke a mine-sweeper, and searched Wallet, the channel between the mainland and Gunfleet Sound, for six miles, but she could neither learn nor find anything of the men. Finally, the coxswain spoke the Walton coastguard, but they had no information to give.

It was clear that the men were drowned, and the life-boat returned to Walton arriving at three in the afternoon.

This was a very fine service, carried out under very difficult conditions, and it was only through the great skill and fine seamanship of Coxswain T. H.

Bloom that the crew of the Esterel were rescued and the life-boat brought out again from her perilous position practically undamaged. The coxswain's manoeuvre in shifting his cable was a clever idea very skilfully carried out.

The assistant motor mechanic, F.

Bacon, who was in charge of the engines in the absence of the motor mechanic, managed them very skilfully, and the signalman, F. Williams, kept in touch with the coastguard throughout the rescue by means of the searchlight, a very difficult thing to do in the heavy seas.

The Rewards.

The Institution has made the following awards: To COXSWAIN T. H. BLOOM, the silver medal for gallantry, accompanied by a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum; To SECOND COXSWAIN WALTEE J.

OXLEY, the bronze medal for gallantry, accompanied by a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum; To ASSISTANT MOTOR MECHANIC F.

BACON, the bronze medal for gallantry, accompanied by a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum; To BOAT SIGNALMAN F. WILLIAMS, the bronze medal for gallantry, accompanied by a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum; To each of the other five members of the crew, E. OXLEY, A. HALLS, G.

ALDKICH, A. E. COOK and G. SHAKMAN, the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum; To the coxswain and each of the eight members of his crew a reward of £3 in addition to the ordinary scale reward of 19*.—Standard rewards, £10 16s.; additional rewards, £27; total rewards for the service to the Esterel, £87 6s.; rewards for the launch to the Yampa, £10 16s..