DURING the evening of the 21st of October. 1951, a very sudden gale blew up from the north on the Yorkshire coast, and just after 6.30 next morning the coastguard at Staithes rang up the Runswick life-boat station. A ship could be seen firing red rockets five miles north-north-east of the coastguard station. At 7.10 the Whitby coastguard informed the Whit- by life-boat station, which lies five miles south-east of Runswick. By this time a very heavy sea was running on the bar across Runswick Bay and into the narrow harbour mouth at Whitby.

The ship was the Pandora, of Beau- maris, a steamer of 203 tons, with a crew of six men. Her rockets, which had been seen by the coastguard, had been seen also by the steamer Gripfast, of Xewcastle-on-Tyne, three miles away. The Gripfast made at once for the Pandora. She found her lying very low in the water, rolling slug- , gishly. with seas breaking over her. '' Her steam whistle was blowing con- i tinuously. The master of the Gripfast saw a small boat floating, capsized, two cables from the Pandora. The steamer's port davits were swung out and empty. Six men were trying to launch the boat on the starboard side.

He took the Gripfast right alongside the Pandora. His crew stood ready with ropes and ladders, lining the ship's side; ropes were thrown and seized; the Pandora's men could be seen wait- ing to jump. But the Pandora slid slowly aft along the Gripfasfs side, round her quarter and astern of her, and no one jumped. The Gripfast backed towards her, but while she was still 150 yards away, the Pandora sank. Men could be seen floating in 1 the wreckage. The master attempted j to turn the Gripfast to go to their help, but she would not answer her rudder and drifted before the gale towards the shore. Her master let go both anchors and sent out a wireless call for a tug.

Impossible to Launch At Runswick and Whitby the life- boat crews had assembled, but at each station the coxswain had decided that, with the sea what it was, the life-boat could not get out.

At 7.20 the coastguard had informed the Teesmouth station, seventeen miles to the north-east of Runswick, that the Runswick life-boat was being launched. An hour later Teesmouth learnt that neither she nor the Whitby boat had been able to go, and at 9.13 the Teesmouth life-boat John and Lucy Cordingley was launched. She reached the scene of the sinking just after eleven o'clock. There she found the Gripfast at anchor, but in no immediate danger. She searched for men of the Pandora, but found nothing. Then, as a tug had arrived to help the Gripfast, she returned to Teesmouth, where she arrived at 3.30 that afternoon.

At 3.30 the Gripfast signalled for help on her siren. The tug had not succeeded in passing a line to her, and one of her cables had parted. By that time the sea had moderated. At ten minutes to four the Whitby No. 1 life-boat Mary Ann Hepworth was launched, and at four o'clock the Runswick life-boat Robert Patton— The Always Ready. The Runswick life-boat reached the Gripfast at 4.20, the Whitby life-boat at 5.10, and the W'hitby boat stood by until tugs had taken the steamer in tow. Runswick arrived back at her station at 5.30 that evening and Whitby at 6.26.

The Institution made rewards to the crews and helpers at the three stations: Teesmouth, £29 18s.; Whitby, £17 18,9.; Runswick, £32 11s. 6d.

Strong Division of Opinion A ship had been sunk, with all on board, within sight of land, and two life-boats had been unable to go to her help. The following day the Institu- tion sent the district inspector of life- boats, Commander H. L. Wheeler, R.N., to Runswick and Whitby to hold an inquiry. He found that there was a serious division among the crew of the Runswick life-boat. The coxswain, second coxswain and motor mechanic •—all men of Runswick—held that it would have been useless to launch the life-boat because she could not have crossed the bar at the mouth of the bay. The other five members of the crew, men from the neighbouring village of Staithes, held that the attempt should have been made. In view of this division of opinion the Institution temporarily closed the station.

At Whitby the life-boatmen were much concerned by local comment and criticism; they were concerned also that it had been thought necessary to close the Runswick station; and the coxswain and second coxswain of the No. 1 life-boat—the larger of the two Whitby life-boats—resigned. The In- stitution then sent down its deputy chief inspector of life-boats, Comman- der S. W. F. Hennetts, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N., on the 1st of November. Meet- ings were held, but the coxswain and second coxswain remained of the same mind and the crew supported them.

They had no complaint against the Institution, but they would, they said, "resign." It would be from the 30th of November in order to give the Institution time to find another crew.

Even after the 30th of November, they would still man the boat, if a call for it came.

On the 8th of November the Com- mittee of Management of the Institu- tion considered the whole matter and made a public statement. They con- sidered the coxswain at Whitby had acted rightly in not attempting to put to sea. They affirmed their complete confidence in him and his crew. The gale was from the north. Very heavy seas were sweeping straight into the harbour mouth, which is only 200 feet wide. No boat could have gone out through that narrow exit in those seas.

Of the Runswick coxswain the Committee said that he was the man in command on the spot. They could not dispute his judgment that the bar could not be crossed. At the same time they felt that he should not have decided from the shore, but should have launched into the bay, examined the seas on the bar from close to, and waited in the hope of an opportunity to go through them. They felt too that it would be very difficult satis- factorily to man the life-boat in the immediate future, because of the division of opinion among the crew, and they decided to keep the station closed.

Criticism by Press and Public Before this statement was issued strong criticisms had begun to appear in the press and to come from the public. The criticisms were not that a ship had been lost, with all her crew, and no attempt been made to rescue them, but that any doubt should have been expressed of the correctness of the decision of the Runswick coxswain.

The criticisms continued. Embarrass- ing though they were, the Institution did appreciate them as a signal proof of the public confidence in its crews.

At Whitby the feeling among the fishermen was in support of the Runswick coxswain. When the In- stitution's statement was published the men said that he should have been "exonerated" in the same terms as their own coxswain. The feeling was so strong that on the 22nd of November the chief inspector of life-boats, Com- mander T. G. Michelmore, R.D., R.N.R., went to Whitby. He attended a meeting of the fishermen, discussed the whole matter with them, and proposed a resolution which was unanimously accepted. It was that the Institution would re-open the Runswick station, should this be feasible, and re-appoint the coxswain, should he be elected by the crew, and the Whitby No. 1 crew, on their part, would carry on until the 31st of January, 1952.

Runswick Station Re-opened WThen the Ruiiswick station was closed the life-boat was taken away for a routine overhaul at a shipyard.

She returned on the 31st of January, 1952. Meanwhile the future manning of the boat had been discussed. The chief inspector attended a meeting at Runswick in December at which all the members of the old crew were present, three from Runswick and six from Staithes. The old coxswain did not at first wish to stand for election, but then agreed that his name should be proposed. The nine men voted, and the votes were given to two Staithes men. Their election as cox- swain and second coxswain was con- firmed by the Institution. The old coxswain, second coxswain and motor- mechanic, all Runswick men, did not wish to serve any longer in the boat, as they were all working away from Runswick. They would, however, help in launching. The driver of the launching tractor, a Runswick man, continued to serve. One of the Insti- tution's reserve mechanics acted temporarily as the boat's motor me- chanic and later his place was taken by another Runswick man. On these terms the station was re-opened, on the 31st of January, 1952, with a coxswain and second coxswain chosen, according to the invariable practice of the Institution, by the crew themselves.

The life-boatmen of Whitby were very disappointed that the Runswick coxswain had not been re-elected, but the crew of the No. 1 life-boat again said that they would "be prepared to man the boat if an emergency arises." They have done so. In fact the Whitby station was busier during 1952 than any other station in Great Britain and Ireland. Its two life- boats went out on service 26 times.

A Formal Inquiry On the 30th of September, 1952, and the three following days, the formal investigation into the loss of the Pan- dora was held at the County Court, Xewcastle-upon-Tyne, by Mr. Richard F. Hayward, Q.C., M.C., as wreck commissioner, with two assessors.

The honorary secretary of the Runs- wick life-boat station said in his evidence that the feeling of the men generally was that the life-boat should have been launched. The coxswain and the second coxswain said in their evidence that though she could have been launched into the bay it would have been utterly impossible to take her out of the bay to sea. Both the coxswain and second coxswain were asked by the commissioner if they had any complaint about the way in which the affairs of the life-boat were handled in Runswick. The coxswain answered: "No, nothing to say, sir"; the second coxswain: "No, none whatever, sir." The commissioner himself said about the division of opinion: "It is fairly common knowledge that there has been local feeling about that, and it appears to be highly desirable that any misunderstandings should be cleared up, because it would be just unbearable to the shipping community and those who have this grand country at heart that anything should be done to militate against the happy relation- ships, the co-operation and the splendid work of our National Life- boat Institution, of which there is no finer in the world, I am satisfied." The finding of the commissioner about the life-boats was: "The court is satisfied that the crews of the nearby life-boats were ready and willing, as always, to do what was in their power to save life in accordance with the very high standards which have made the Royal National Life-boat In- stitution so widely and much ad- mired." He also said: "Weather conditions were such that the Whitby life-boat could not be launched. Although the Runswick boat could have been launched into the bay, conditions were such as to preclude her from going to sea over the bar." Pensions for the Retired Men When a life-boat station is closed the officers of the life-boat are given annuities, according to the length of their service, as if they had reached the retiring age of 60. On the closing of the Runswick station annuities were given to Coxswain Thomas Patton (aged 42) who had served as assistant motor mechanic for 13 years and then as coxswain for 5| years; to Second- coxswain Robert Taylor (aged 46) who had served for 3 years as bowman and 18 years as second coxswain; and to Thomas Taylor (aged 42) who had served for 15 years as part-time motor mechanic and a year as full- time motor mechanic. WThen the station was re-opened, as the three men did not wish to serve again in the life-boat, the annuities were con- tinued, and will continue for the rest of the men's lives..