Berwick - on - Tweed, Northumberland; and Dunbar, East Lothian.—At 7.35 in the morning on the 31st of January, 1950, the Berwick coastguard telephoned the Berwick life-boat authorities that a railway signalman had reported a vessel sounding her siren ashore at Salt Pan How, Scremerston. Accord- ingly the life-boat J. and W. was launched at 8.4 in a very heavy sea with a fresh south-south-east gale.

She found the motor vessel Rask, of Haugesund, with fifteen persons on board, two and a half miles south of Berwick pier, but could not close her owing to the weather. She therefore stood by for three-quarters of an hour.

The coastguard manned their life- saving appliances and rigged a breeches buoy from the shore. Then the life- boat left the scene. Because of heavy seas she made for Dunbar, wirelessing this fact to Stonehaven radio station, who passed it through the Dunbar coastguard to the Dunbar life-boat authorities. As she was due off Dunbar between two and three o'clock in the afternoon, the Dunbar life-boat George and Sarah Strachan left her moorings at 1.45. She came up with the J. and W. three-quarters of a mile north by east of the harbour, piloted her in and reached her station again at 2.35.

The Berwick life-boa,t was taken back to her station two days later. The crew of the Rask were rescued by the coastguard. — Rewards: Berwick-on- Tweed, £21 2s. 6d.; Dunbar, £7..