THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET 153 Motor Life-boats 1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat LIVES RESCUED from the foundation of the Life-boat Service in 1824 to June 30th, 1952 77,747 A Long Search on the Goodwin Sands AT 10.53 on the night of the 13th of January, 1952, the coastguard rang up the Walmer life-boat station to say that a ship was aground on the South Goodwin Bank.. She was the French steamer Agen, of La Rochelle, of just over 4,000 tons, bound from Dakar to Hamburg with a crew of thirty-eight.

She was asking for help.

At ten minutes past eleven the life-boat Charles Dibdin, Civil Service No. 2 was launched. The night was very dark, with rain squalls and mist.

A gale was blowing from the south- west. The sea was very rough, the tide one hour before high water.

The life-boat made for the South Goodwins, but just as she picked up the South Goodwin Lightvessel, about a mile away, she received a message by radio telephone that the Agen was six miles to the north-east. The gale was now blowing with violent gusts and there was a very steep confused sea on the sands. The life-boat altered course, travelling along the western edge of the sands, and at 12.30 was approximately where the message had said that she would find the steamer.

The night was now clearer and it was obvious that the steamer was not there.

The coxswain returned on his course, but keeping closer to the sands, and when he had gone two miles he saw a red flare on his port beam. The flare was rather less than a mile away on the other, or eastern, side of the sands. It was then 1.30. On that western side, where the life-boat was, the seas were so heavy that it was impossible to attempt to cross the sands, and the coxswain decided to go round their southern end and up the eastern side, a distance of four miles, instead of the short mile across them.

Broken in Two Parts It was 2.45 in the morning when at last the life-boat reached the Agen and by the light of her searchlight saw that she was broken in two parts.

About thirty feet of water was between them. The seas were breaking right over them. The crew were all on the forward part.

The Agen lay close to the remains of three other wrecks, only from 400 to 500 yards away. From all three the Walmer life-boat had rescued the crews, 115 men in all, during the past six years. Close to her on the north and west were sand-banks with very little water on them. The tide was ebbing fast. In the darkness, with the heavy confused seas, the swift tide, and the jagged metal of the broken hull of the Agen, it was very dangerous to attempt to get along- side. The coxswain did attempt it, several times, but failed. He then decided to wait for the conditions to improve.

Sometime after three o'clock the wind veered to the westward and blew less fiercely, and at 6.15 the coxswain made another attempt. It was now low tide; there was only a foot of water on the banks to the north and west, and they gave the life-boat some shelter; but it was still dark and the seas still heavy.

The coxswain took the life-boatthrough the thirty feet between the two halves of the wreck, brought her alongside the forward half, and by continuous manoeuvring with his engines held her there while thirty- seven of the Frenchmen slid down ropes into her. One missed her, and was injured, but the crew hauled him aboard. The captain was still on board. He would not leave his ship.

The life-boat had to come out stern first, for ahead of her, where one of the two sand-banks lay, was not enough water. Then three times she went in again for the captain, but each time he refused.

Tide Running Like a Mill Race The rescued men were suffering from their long exposure and the life-boatreturned to Walmer. She arrived at a quarter to eight and landed them.

Then she refuelled, put out again, and was back at the Agen at a quarter to nine. The captain waved the life- boat away several times, but at last he was persuaded to leave his ship. The tide was making again, and this time the coxswain approached the wreck from the other side, with the tide behind him. It was running like a mill race and swept the life-boat through the gap, but the coxswain brought her alongside and took off the reluctant captain. At 10.15 she reached Walmer again. She had then been out for eleven hours.

Rewards It had been a difficult and hazardous service, a severe test both of courage and seamanship, and the Institution made the following awards: To COXSWAIN FREDERICK UPTON a bar to the silver medal for gallantry which he won in 1948 for the service to the Silvia Onorato, and a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum.

To C. PERCY CAVELL, the motor mechanic, a bar to the bronze medal which he won for the service to the Silvia Onorato, and a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum.To each of the other seven members of the crew, the thanks of the Institu- tion, inscribed on vellum.

To the coxswain, motor mechanic and the seven men, a special reward of £4 each in addition to the reward on the ordinary scale of £3 10*.; additional rewards, £36; scale rewards, £31 10*.; total rewards, to crew and launchers, £67 10s.

The French Life-boat Society award- ed silver gilt medals to the coxswain, second coxswain and motor mechanic, silver medals to the other six members of the crew, and a diploma to be placed in the boathouse..