THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET 156 Motor Life-boats 1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat LIVES RESCUED from the foundation of the Life-boat Service in 1824 to June 30th, 1949 - - 76,495 The First Quarter of the Second Century On the 4th of March the Life-boat Service completed the first twenty-five years of its second century.* They were full years. Thousands of lives were rescued; many difficulties were met and overcome; many developments made; and, in the six years of war from 1939 to 1945, the Service encountered the busiest and most dangerous years in its history. But in spite of the very great changes made in the structure of society and the life of the British people, during those years, the Life- boat Service is still, in the essentials of its organization, afloat and ashore, what it was when its second century began.

When the first century ended the fleet was still mainly a fleet of pulling and sailing life-boats. Of these there were 184. There was one steam life- boat. There were then only 43 motor life-boats. In the next twenty-five years those 184 pulling and sailing life-boats and the steam life-boat disappeared and to-day the fleet con- sists of 156 motor life-boats, f * The day was remembered on the other side of the world, and the Johannesburg Star published a leading article on life-saving at sea which began, "To-day is a notable anniversary in the history of shipping—the 125th birthday of the Royal National Life-boat Institution." t To be strictly accurate one pulling life-boat remains at Whitby. It is for use only in the harbour entrance where a boat under oars can work more easily and turn more quickly than a motor boat. Whitby has also a motor boat for work out at sea.

The last years of the first century had been very busy with experiments.

The first of a new type of light motor life-boat had been built, and the first life-boat with twin screws and a cabin.

A launching tractor had been tried in place of horses, a line-throwing gun in place of the old leaded cane thrown by hand. During the next twenty- five years these new and tentative designs were vastly improved. At the same time new types of boat were designed, and a new type of engine.

New materials were successfully intro- duced, and more inventions adapted to the needs of the Service.

The heavy-oil engine was introduced, removed nearly all risks of fire, and nearly doubled the life-boats' range of action. Aluminium alloy, with its great saving of weight over wood and steel was introduced, and made possible deck cabins. Radio-telephony was adapted to the very difficult conditions of life-boat work and gave instant and constant communication between life- boats at sea and the shore. Loud hailers were introduced, and made speech between life-boat and the ship in distress much easier and more certain.

At the end of the first century the 43 motor life-boats (with the one excep- tion mentioned) were all open boats.

They all had (again with that oneexception) single screws and carried full sets of sails. Their fuel was petrol.

They communicated with the shore and with ships in distress by flag, signalling lamp and megaphone. Twenty-five years later of the 156 motor life-boats in the active fleet on the 4th of March, 1949, 74 had cabins, 85 had twin screws, 27 had heavy-oil engines, 95 had radio telephony sets, for receiving and sending messages,* 61 had loud hailers.

16,807 Lives Rescued Those.are the most important changes which have been made. What has this better equipped and more powerful fleet done? In the twenty-five years its boats have been launched to the rescue 11,069 times. They have rescued 13,687 lives.

If to those lives rescued by life-boats are added the 3,120 lives rescued by men in other than life-boats, who were rewarded by the Institution, the grand total of lives is 16,807. That is ,an average of nearly 13 lives a week.

During the first century the weekly average was eleven.

Travel by Air The twenty-five years saw travel by air become a regular, daily and normal thing, but this has not added as much to the work of the Life-boat Service as might be supposed. During the war of 1939, life-boats went out to aeroplanes 1,050 times, but in 1948, out of 503 launches to the rescue, only 39 were to aeroplanes, and most of those were to service aeroplanes.

Increasing Work Even when the aeroplane is added to the ship, it might reasonably be sup- posed that with all that has been done in these twenty-five years to make travel by air safer, to improve com- munications, to give warning to ships at sea of changes in the weather, the need for the Life-boat Service would be growing less. That is not so. During the past three years life-boats were called out to the rescue more often than ever before in time of peace.

The Cost in Lives In the course of those 11,069 services six life-boats capsized, with the loss of • Seven others had sets only for receiving messages.

38 of the 48 life-boatmen on board them, and altogether in the twenty-five years 47f life-boatmen lost their lives at sea or died on their return. During the last quarter of the first century, there were 3,000 fewer services. In the course of them 11 life-boats capsized, with the loss of 57 of the 146 life-boat- men on board, and altogether 80 lives were lost.

In those 11,069 services, in the past twenty-five years, approximately 96,000 life-boatmen took part, so that one life was lost out of every 2,042 life- boatmen afloat. When one puts beside those lives lost the 13,687 lives rescued, and the risks encountered and sur- mounted in rescuing them, all has been said that need be said of the quality of the crews and of their boats.

The Cost in Money The twenty-five years have seen a great increase in the cost of the Service.

In the last year of the first century motor life-boats cost from £8,250 to £15,000. To-day the smallest costs £13,000 and the largest £28,000. In the last year of the first century the Institution spent in rewards, pensions and other payments to its crews and launchers under £87,000. Last year it spent over £106,000. In the last year of the first century the whole annual cost of the Service was under £235,000. Last year it was over £670,000.

But that increase in cost has been matched, and more than matched, by the generosity of the British people.

In the last year of the first century the Institution's income was just under £230,000, nearly £5,000 less than the expenditure. Last year it was over £689,000, over £18,000 more than the expenditure.

International Amity The relations between Life-boat Ser- vices have always been helpful and cordial, and the spirit of them was expressed by the Service in the United States of America, at the time of the Institution's centenary, when it wrote: "The sister service on this side of the t The total of 47 does not include the coxswain and shore signalmen at Minehead who went out in the war In their own boat, as the sea was calm, to examine some wreckage and were blown up by a mine.Atlantic always has enjoyed the most happy relations with the Institution and has deeply appreciated the friend- ship and concern which the Institution has in the work of the American Ser- vice." The relations could hardly have become more friendly, but the oppor- tunities for .help and consultation have increased. Twenty-five years ago the Institution held in London the first international life-boat conference.

Since then conferences have been held in France, in Holland, in Sweden, and, as soon as the war ended, in Norway.

But for the war one would also have been held in Germany.

Joseph Conrad and Sidney Webb Twenty-five years ago two famous men paid very notable tributes to the Service, Joseph Conrad and Sidney Webb (Lord Passfield).

In a foreword to Britain's Life-boats: The Story of a Century of Heroic Service Joseph Conrad wrote: "It is only those who have followed the sea for their livelihood that know with what confidence the Life-boat Service is looked upon by those for whose benefit it has been founded by the generosity of people who live ashore.

Myself a British seaman, with some- thing like twenty years' service, I can testify to that feeling and to the comfort the existence of life-boat stations, with their ever ready crews, brings to the hearts of men on board ships of all nations approaching our shores in dangerous weather. I can bear witness to our unshakable belief in the Life- boat organization and to our pride in the achievements of our fellow seamen, who, husbands and fathers, would go out on a black night without hesitation to dispute our homeless fate with the angry seas." Sidney Webb, who was then Presi- dent of the Board of Trade, presided at a dinner which the Government gave to the delegates at the first international life-boat conference. At that dinner he said: " One of the glories of the Institution is that it is entirely voluntary, carrying on its work without Government assist- ance. One of the advantages of volun- tary organization is that it can initiate and experiment, which is very difficult for a Government Department. But there are drawbacks. It is difficult for a voluntary association to have con- tinuity—but the Institution has man- aged to do it. It is another of the draw- backs of voluntary associations that they seldom manage to be equal to the whole of their tasks—but here again the Institution has succeeded." Joseph Conrad and Sidney Webb have died since they paid those tri- butes to the Life-boat Service twenty- five years ago, but their words are recalled now in the belief that nothing in the record of the Service during those twenty-five years would make them wish to alter what they'then said..