Clovelly, Devon.—At 9.40 on the night of the 30th of August, 1948, the Croyde coastguard rang up to say that two men had been cut off by the tide and were on a ledge near Seal Rock, Baggy Point. He said he would guide the life-boat to the spot by searchlight.

Five minutes later the motor life-boat City of Nottingham was launched, with a dinghy in tow. A light southerly wind was blowing. The sea was mod- erate, but close inshore among the rocks it was very confused. The tide was rising. The coastguard had already gone to the men's help with the life- saving rocket apparatus, and had fired ropes to them. These they had tied round themselves, but there was no way of hauling them to safety, and they waited for the life-boat. When she arrived the second coxswain and the third mechanic volunteered to go in the dinghy to investigate. They came back in eight minutes to say that it would be very difficult to reach the men.

The coxswain had then to consider whether he should fire a line to them or, as a last resort, take the life-boat among the rocks. In the darkness and that confused sea she would certainly have been damaged. Then the bow- man and the second mechanic asked to be allowed to make a second attempt in the dinghy. At considerable risk— for at times the seas among the rocks were like a whirlpool—they got right up to the ledge where the two men were trapped and brought one of them out to the life-boat. They went in again and rescued the second man.

Shortly afterwards the rapidly rising tide covered the ledge where they had been waiting for over two hours. It was now close on midnight. The two rescued men had nothing on but bathing shorts and the life-boatmen took off their own clothes to give them, and then fed them with hot tea, rum and biscuits.

The life-boat reached Clovelly again at 1.45 next morning. The two rescued men were Americans. One was the son of Mr. Negley Farson, the author, who sent a gift to the Institution, and the other was a photographer on the staff of the American Services' news- paper Stars and Stripes.—Rewards, £23 6s. 6d..