ON January 5th, 1847, Lieut.-Col. Sir William Hillary, Bt., the founder of the Life-boat Service, died in the Isle of Man at the age of seventy-eight. He was not only the founder of the service, but one of the greatest of its life-boatmen, helping to rescue over 300 lives from shipwreck, and three times winning the Institution's gold medal for great gallantry. The lines from James Thomson on his memorial tablet fitly sum up his work for the Life-boat Service.

For what his wisdom planned and power enforced More potent still his great example showed.