IN July, 1948, Coxswain Frederick Upton, of Walmer, recorded a talk for the National Broadcasting System of Ke y York, to be broadcast in America.

"Hullo, America! "This is Freddy Upton, coxswain of the Walmer life-boat in England. As I speak I look over the waters of the Downs and remember the exciting times the Walmer life-boat had in the first eighteen months after the war.

My crew and I were able to help Ameri- can shipping quite a lot in those days, and our life-boat was kept mighty busy then. I must say your captains were always pleased to have us around. To be piled up on the Goodwin Sands, 'the graveyard of a thousand ships' as they call them, is no joke, I can tell you.

"It was about the middle of May, 1945, when American shipping bound for German ports, began to come through the English Channel into the Downs again for route instructions. There were uncleared minefields to be warned about. I've piloted numbers of Ameri- can ships through to safe anchorage here. You can't take risks with the Goodwins, although some stout Ameri- can ships tried it on—and I can see from here what is left of some of them.

" Our life-boat assisted seven Ameri- can ships in 1946 alone. The Luray Victory was the first—that was early in January. The North Eastern Victory was the last; still a visible hulk, broken and torn asunder by heavy surf, on the Goodwins. She nearly lost us our Christmas dinner. We spent Christmas Eve on the Sands with her and early Christmas morning as it was.

"Born and bred in the sight of the Sands, we men of Deal and Walmer know the Goodwins like the backs of our hands, and we have a life-boat which can live in seas which would be certain death to any ship's boat out there. Her cost was provided, like the rest of the Royal National Life-boat Institution's fleet, entirely out of the voluntary contributions of the public and we are very proud of her and of the Institution.

"Altogether we have saved 92 lives from American ships that were stranded on the Sands in the wildest weather and became wrecks, and we have helped to save many other American vessels and their crews. We are very proud of that record.

"To all who remember us, the Walmer life-boat crew say, 'Good luck to you—come back some time.' ".