THE Annual Meeting was held at the Central Hall, Westminster, on the 26th of April, 1950, with Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., chairman of the Committee of Management, in the chair.

H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent, Presi- dent of the Institution, presented the medals for gallantry and other awards, and gave her presidential address.

His Excellency The Lieutenant •Governor of Jersey (Lieutenant General Sir Edward Grassett, K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., M.C.) proposed the resolution of gratitude to the coxswains and crews of life-boats, the honorary officers of the stations, and the honorary officers of the financial branches and Ladies' Life-boat Guilds.. The Duke of San Lucar La Mayor, Spanish Charge d'Affaires, seconded the resolution.

The Right Hon. Lord Winster, P.C., a member of the Committee of Manage- ment of the Institution, proposed the vote of thanks to the Duchess of Kent, and it was seconded by Lord Saltoun, M.C., a member of the Committee of Management.

Supporting the Duchess of Kent on the platform were the Mayor and Mayoress of Westminster, the Mayors and Mayoresses of over forty other London boroughs, the chairman of the Urban District Council of Holyhead, representatives of the Ministry of Transport, the Coastguard, the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, and the Ship- wrecked Mariners' Society, vice-presi- dents and honorary life-governors of the Institution, donors of life-boats or their representatives, members of the Committee of Management, and mem- bers of the Central London Women's Committee. After the meeting the Com- mittee of Management entertained to tea the speakers and other principal guests.

The Chairman's Address Once again I have the very great pleasure, on this warm, genial spring day, of welcoming Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Kent.

(Applause.) On behalf of the whole Life- boat Service I can assure her how deeply we value her personal interest in our work.

Since our meeting last year Her Royal High- ness has visited the depot at Elstree and has seen every part of the great system of repair and supply which lies behind our life-boat stations.

We also give a very hearty welcome to two very distinguished speakers, General Sir Edward Grassett, the Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Jersey (Applause) and The Duke of San Lucar La Mayor, Spanish Charge d'Affaires.

We welcome them all the more because both of them take a special and personal interest in this meeting. Of the fifteen medals won last year for gallantry no fewer than nine were won by life-boatmen of Jersey, including the first Gold Medal to be awarded since the war. Two of the other medals which Her Royal Highness will present were won for the rescue of the lives of twenty-four Spanish sailors. (Applause.) The presence of the Duke of San Lucar La Mayor is a tri- bute which we greatly value to the help which we are able to give to the ships of other nations and a testimony to the friendship which has always existed between all Life- boat Services.

I want also most heartily to welcome the Mayor and Mayoresses of over forty London and other boroughs who are sitting on the platform. (Applause.) Their presence, I think, shows more clearly than anything else how great is the interest which the British people take in the work of the Life-boat Service.

The report and accounts are before you.

There are two facts in them to which I would call your special attention. The first is that last year the Institution set up a new record.

Its life-boats went out to the rescue more often than ever before in time of peace. The second fact is that last year our income fell.

I will say that again. The second fact is that last year our income fell. Each year for nine years it has been a record. We cannot expect a record every year, but the cost of the Service is mounting and we must feel some concern that last year our income was down by over £100,000. I am sure that, with this figure before them, our branches, with their thousands of voluntary workers, will help us by making a very special effort this year.

I now formally move the adoption of the report and accounts for 1949.

The Report and Accounts and Elections The report and accounts for 1949 were adopted, and the President, vice-presidents and treasurer and other members of the Com- mittee of Management, and the auditors were elected.

Presentation of Medals The Secretary read accounts of services by the life-boats at St. Helier, Jersey; Ilfracombe, Devon; Appledore, Devon; and Holyhead, Anglesey; and the Duchess of Kent presented the medals for gallantry.

To COXSWAIN THOMAS J. KING, OF ST.

HELIER, JERSEY, the Gold Medal for con- spicuous gallantry in rescuing the crew of four of the yacht Maurice Georges of St.

Helier, which he found at midnight, deep among the rocks, where a heavy sea was breaking, on 14th September, 1949.To PHILLIP BOUTELL, ACTING SECOND COX- SWAIN, the bronze medal for the same service.

To KENNETH S. GUBBEY, ACTING MOTOR MECHANIC, the bronze medal for the same service.

To DAVID R. TALBOT, ACTING ASSISTANT MOTOR MECHANIC, the bronze medal for the same service.

To GEORGE STAPLEY, the bronze medal for the same service.

To REGINALD J. NICOLLE, the bronze medal for the same service.

To CHARLES G. KING, the bronze medal for the same service.

To MR. LIONEL P. STEVENS, HONORARY SECRETARY OF THE Si. HELIER STATION, the bronze medal for the same service in which he took part as a member of the crew.

To ACTING COXSWAIN SILVER H. UE RICHE, OF ST. HELIER, JERSEY, the bronze medal for rescuing the crew of three of the ketch Hanna of Poole, in heavy breaking seas on the night of the 19th of November, 1949.

To COXSWAIN CECIL G. IRWIN, OF ILFRA- COMBE, DEVON, the silver medal for rescuing twenty-three lives from the Spanish steamer Monte Gurugu, which had sunk in the mouth of the Bristol Channel in a heavy gale on the 13th of November, 1949.

To COXSWAIN SYDNEY CANN, OF APPLE- DORE. DEVON, a clasp to the bronze medal which he had won in 1944, for rescuing one of the Monte Gurugu's crew after an arduous search.

To COXSWAIN RICHARD JONES, OF HOLY- HEAD, ANGLESEY, a clasp to the bronze medal which he had won in 1943, for the rescue of seven men from the Liverpool steamer May- flower in a whole gale in the early hours of the morning of the 26th of October, 1949.

The Duchess of Kent Last year was a year of the greatest bravery since the war, and I am very pleased that I have been able personally to present twelve medals this afternoon, and that I have had this opportunity of meeting the gallant men, of whose courage in the face of great hazards, the Royal National Life-boat Institution, and all who have its interests at heart, may well feel proud.

It is now five years since, for the first time, I presented awards at this meeting, and during these years men have come to this bail from the coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Sussex, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Anglesey, Argyllshire, and Jersey. As I see new men on this platform each year, and hear the stories of their deeds—unchanged in tradition, however different in their details —I am full of admiration for the bravery which brings them here.

I spoke last year of the clause in the founda- tion of the Institution which enjoined that the subjects of all nations should look to the Institution for help in times of difficulty and distress at sea. I am glad to say that that tradition has been nobly upheld, and that in 1949 no fewer than fifty-six ships and aero- planes, of sixteen different countries, have received our help. (Applause.) You have heard this afternoon how two medals were won in rescuing twenty-four lives from a Spanish ship, and of the long and arduous search, in heavy seas, before these men were found. Soon after this rescue, some very beautiful flowers were sent to me at my home, and with them a message which I would like to read to you: " The survivors of the Spanish ship Monte Gurugu, present these flowers to the President of the Royal National Life-boat Institution, and request you to accept them as an expres- sion of their gratitude for the magnificent behaviour of the crews of the Ilfracombe, Appledore and Colvelly life-boats, thanks to whom we are still alive." I was very deeply touched by this kind message, and I thought it was fitting that the gratitude of the survivors, expressed in this charming way, should be made known to all those who serve the Institution on land or at sea. (Applause.) In our gratitude to the crews who man the life-boats, we should not forget those whose untiring and unselfish help on land, in the Institution's branches throughout the country, enables the Service to continue its work. That the Service is equal to the increasing calls which are made each year upon it is due to the inexhaustible courage of our crews, the devotion of owe honorary workers, and the generous support of the British people. (Applause.) The Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey I regard it as a very great honour to be asked to propose the following resolution which stands in my name: That this Meeting, fully recognising the important services of the Royal National Life-boat Institution in its national work of life-saving, desires to record its hearty appreciation of the gallantry of the coxswains and crews of the Institution's life-boats, and its deep obligation to the local committees, honorary secretaries, and hono- rary treasurers of all station branches, and to the honorary officers and hundreds of voluntary members of the financial branches and of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild in the work of raising funds to maintain the service.

As an old soldier who has served in many parts of the world and seen something of the sea services all over the world, I am delighted to have this opportunity of paying my great tribute to this great service whose reputation is world-wide. In addition I have been a resident of Jersey for some years past, and feel very proud to have been invited to take part in the meeting at which the Life-boat Service, its workers and its guests have given such a warm-hearted welcome to the Jersey life-boatmen. The people of Jersey are naturally very proud of their crew, and that they have been able to maintain the standard of duty which is invariably shown by all the life-boats of the Service. I can assure Your Royal Highness that not only the men who had the honour of being presented to you this afternoon, and who were also presented to you on the occa- sion of your very memorable visit to Jersey two years ago, but all the people of Jersey will be pleased at the honour which you have done them to-day, and they will share my pleasure that I have been able personallyto thank Your Royal Highness and the Life- boat Institution for this honour.

All of you here to-day are associated with the Service and it is difficult for me to say anything that you do not already know, but perhaps I may be permitted to make a brief observation on one or two points. The first is that last year there was a record number of launches. Your boats were called out on an average of not less than twelve times a week throughout the whole year, and twelve times a week is an awful lot. You rescue between 400 and 500 lives every year, again a very high figure. An outsider like myself would have expected that science, which has done so much for navigation and the safety of travel at sea, would have reduced the need for the Life-boat Service and made the calls for help much fewer, but this is not the case.

The Service in all the 120 years of its history is busier to-day than ever before, and I think it is important that the people of Great Britain and, indeed, the outside world, should realise this.

Another point which I think is of particular interest is the position regarding your income.

No one will be surprised that the Service is costing twice as much as before the war.

All of us are very painfully conscious that our money does not go very far these days, but your boats, the finest in the world, have to be replaced and modernised in every way and provide year by year greater safety for the crews and greater efficiency in rescue work.

It is remarkable that your revenue has, until last year, kept pace with mounting expendi- ture, and this is clearly due to the splendid work of your branches and your honorary workers. They do, indeed, deserve the thanks which will be given to them when we pass this resolution.

The demands which the State has made upon us for the last ten years and which it may well continue to impose, do make it remarkable that the Institution is able, simply by asking the public voluntarily to give, to obtain the Increasing income that the Life-boat Service needs. I am told that, during the war, in those towns and areas which were the worst damaged and the worst afflicted, the subscriptions to the Institution were not only maintained but were increased.

I can give you another little example from Jersey: When the Germans occupied the island they took over the life-boat and they used it partly for rescue work and partly for not such creditable work. They misused it. But during the war the people in Jersey who were locked up continued to subscribe to the Institution although with no possi- bility of the money being utilised at that time. (Applause.) I think that those are indications of the generosity of the British people of all classes in adversity.

I have not yet mentioned the courage and the efficiency of the men and their high sense of duty. Like all other brave men, they probably feel that the less said about that from their point of view the better, but you have seen some of the men to-day and heard accounts of what they did. We are all very impressed by the extent of the work of the Life-boat Service, by its efficiency, by its organisation, by the devotion of thousands of over-burdened people who support it, but the foundation of the success of the whole Service is the courage and skill of the crews which, of course, we take for granted.

(Applause.) The Life-boat Service is part of the per- manent structure of Great Britain. It has gained by its long record of duty at sea the admiration of the world and the gratitude and confidence of all the mariners that sail in our waters. This is due to the devoted, unassuming and efficient work by those on land and the courage and skill ot' the crews at sea. In peace and war, in good times and in bad, the work of the life-boats carries on with the same object, in increasing efficiency, as it did when founded 126 years ago. It has a unique position of confidence, respect and affection in the hearts of the people, and I believe that, come what may, there will be no change in the high record of everyone in this very magnificent Service. (Applause.) The Spanish Charge d'Affaires The reason why I am here to-day, and have the honour of addressing you is, indeed, a good one, the best one could ever have for saying a few words in public. On the 13th of November last a dramatic event occurred which called for the services of the gallant men who belong to the Royal National Life-boat Institution. You know what hap- pened and how some of my compatriots were saved by you, the rescuers, who are with us here to-day. I will, therefore, not repeat the story, but what I will repeat, and the more often the better, is the gratitude, the emotion and the deep feeling of those in my country who, to begin with, went through the ordeal, others who heard about it later and, finally, the people of Spain who got to know, as they know to-day, how these Englishmen made every effort, took every risk and strained every nerve to save those men.

(Applause.) If there are virtues in this world which are understood by every man or woman with decent instincts, admired by every people and nation, consecrated by every religion and moral code, they are called courage and generosity. In the present case what oc- curred off the western shores of England during that wild and wintry night was the most straightforward brave and generous act of human companionship that one could hope for, even more than could be expected from the exceptionally brave. In a world riddled by mediocrity, limited by regulations and partial agreements, it is the sort of thing which soars above all contentional considera- tions. It is pure gallantry, the instinctive generosity of strong men, the spirit of com- panionship and mutual help among fellow beings, in two words, comradeship and courage, in the daily battle of life so necessarv to us all, but which require almost super- human strength when danger is upon us.

(Applause.) There are many ways of saying "Thank you" in this world, and when the survivors of the Monte Gurugu recovered from the first shock of their ordeal, though they had only a few hours in this country, before returning to Spain, they found the time tosend me a message suggesting, in the first instance, giving some proof, they knew not what, of their respect and admiration towards you all. At that moment they could merely do something symbolic, and on their own initiative they decided to send a bouquet of flowers to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the President of the Institution.

(Applause.) This was done in the few hours during which they found themselves in Lon- don. It was a small but sincere token of gratitude. When they got back to Spain, however, the whole episode was studied carefully and the Sociedad Espanola da Salvamenta de Naufragos decided that this case of heroic efficiency should receive special recognition, and as a result, the following awards have been given by the Spanish Life- saving Society. I have the honour of announcing the names of those who will later on receive the medals and diplomas which I hope to give them personally on another occasion: SILVER PRIZE MEDAL to Mr. C. G. Irwin, coxswain of the life-boat of the Ilfracombe station; Mr. S. Cann, coxswain of the life-boat of the Appledore station; Mr. G. Lamey, coxswain of the life-boat of the Clovelly station; Mr. P. J. Crummey, Station Officer of the Croyde Coastguard Station.

SILVER MEDAL for co-operation to Captain G. P. J. Burfitt, harbourmaster, Ilfracombe, and Mrs. G. P. J. Burfitt.

DIPLOMA OF MERIT to the crews of the three life-boats of Ilfracombe, Appledore and Clovelly respectively.

OFFICIAL LETTERS OF THANKS to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who put their hotel at the dis- posal of the survivors; the municipal author- ities of Ilfracombe; Dr. A. Mathison, of the Tyrrell Hospital, Ilfracombe; Sister fitton, of the Tyrrell Hospital, Ilfracombe; Dr.

Harper, of the North Devon Infirmary, Barnstaple; Sister Serba, of the North Devon Infirmary, Barnstaple; Mrs. Stevenson, of Westcombe Torrs Park, Ilfracombe.

These awards are the tangible proof of the gratitude so well earned by the persons men- tioned, and I am indeed happy to be able to announce them to-day.

I would like now to say one word about the very special admiration and respect that we all feel for the Life-boat Institution. As a foreigner but also, may I say, as a friend, I am ready to affirm that there are three remarkable characteristics in your organisa- tion: First, efficiency, which is outstanding and recognised by everybody everywhere; secondly, the voluntary contribution which is equally an admirable trait, thoroughly British and in the best tradition of this country; and, thirdly, that very distinctive characteristic which is visible in all your activities, a characteristic at once human, simple and effective, which is to my mind the result of your belonging to a country of sailors. There is much which is peculiar to the inhabitants of an island, and in this case the behaviour and conduct of all those who belong to the Life-boat Institution correspond quite definitely to a people who know the sea, love and fear the sea, having to face it in both calm and stormy days, sometimes as an attractive friend, sometimes as a cruel enemy.

It is to these brave men who are now quietly standing amongst you, it is to your Royal Highness, who has honoured us with her presence here to-day and who has also been so brave in recent years, it is also to the whole Life-boat Institution, it is to the populations of Ilfracombe and Barnstaple, whose kindliness and generosity gave phy- sical and human warmth and moral support to the survivors of the Monte Gurugu, it is to all those I say "Thank you" from the bottom of my heart. Finally, may I say, Madam, what an honour it is for me and the country I represent to be able to second this resolution of hearty thanks so eloquently proposed by the Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey. (Applause.) THE CHAIRMAN: You have heard the resolution been moved and seconded in speeches which, I am sure, have won your real admiration. In a long experience of annual meetings of the Institution I have never heard speeches more perfectly adapted to the resolution which was being proposed.

I will not read the resolution because it was read by the mover, and I absolutely decline to ask if anybody votes against it.

The Resolution was carried by acclamation.

Presentations to Honorary Workers Since the last annual meeting three hono- rary workers have been appointed honorary life governors of the Institution. This is the highest honour which it can confer on an honorary worker, and the Duchess of Kent presented a vellum, signed by herself as President, to the only one of the three who was able to come to the meeting: MR. WILLIAM MARSHALL FRISKNEY, OF TEESMOUTII.

The gold badge, which is given only for distinguished service, has been awarded to thirteen honorary workers, and the Duchess of Kent presented the badges to eight who were at the meeting.

MRS. NOYCE, OF ANDOVER.

MRS. J. CARR, OF HORWICH.

MRS. POPPE, OF ISLE OF SHEPPEY.

MRS. HULTON, OF JERSEY.

MRS. J. F. L. FORMBY, OF FORMBY, LIVERPOOL.

MR. C. E. D. ARCHER, OF NORTHAMPTON.

MRS. EDGAR JENKINS, OF PONTYPRIDD.

MRS. W. J. KLNSEY, OF ROMILEY.

Vote of Thanks A vote of thanks to the Duchess of Kent was proposed by Lord Winster and seconded by Lord Saltoun. Three cheers were then given for Her Royal Highness.

After the Meeting After the meeting the coxswains of Ilfra- combe and Appledore were entertained to tea at the House of Commons by Brigadier C. H. M. Peto, D.S.O., member of Parliament for the Barnstaple division of Devon. In the evening the St. Helier crew appeared in the picture page of the television programme, introduced by Commodore the Right, Hon.

Earl Howe, C.B.E., V.R.D., P.C., R.N.V.R., the deputy chairman of the Institution.

The other medallists were taken to the Victoria Palace to see "Knights of Madness.".