AT 9.20 on the night of the 30th of January, 1952, the Brixham coast- guard saw flashing signals outside Torbay about four miles north-east of Berry Head. They were unread- able, but they seemed to come from a vessel which was making no headway.

A whole gale was blowing from the south - south - west, with frequent squalls of rain and sleet, which made visibility very poor, and a very heavy sea was running. The coastguard rang up the Torbay life-boat station and the life-boat George Shee was launched at 9.45. She went to the position which the coastguard had given and by her radio telephone got in touch with the motor vessel Speciality which was also searching, more to seaward. Neither found any- thing.

The coxswain of the life-boat con- tinued the search, first to the south- east, then to the north-east in which direction the floodtide was setting, and an hour and a half after the life-boat had set out he saw a light flashing ahead. He made for it. The light might well have been on shore, but he held boldly on, close to a lee shore, in shallow water, with a heavy breaking sea, and a full gale behind him.

There, off the mouth of the Exe, about a mile from Straight Point, as he estimated, and eight miles north- east of the position at which the light had first been seen, he found a tug riding to a sea-anchor. She was the Royal Engineer's tug Trieste. She had gone from Brixham to South- ampton, and while she was on her way back her main steam-pipe had burst.

Yawing Violently The spray from the breaking seas was blowing to a height of six feet, and the tug was yawing violently. At the moment she was lying with her bows to the north-west, and the coxswain steered to come alongside her starboard, or lee side, but she yawed again and lay with her bows pointing north-east. At that the cox- swain went astern, a heavy sea break- ing over the life-boat's stern as he did so, and then took the life-boat along- side the tug's port side, which • was now her lee side. As he held her there his crew dragged four men aboard. Two more men were on the tug's deck but they went below. Thecoxswain took the life-boat astern and as he once more ran her alongside, the two men were bringing up five men from below who were prostrate with sea-sickness. All seven were helped or lifted into the life-boat, and she made for Brixham. It was then just after half-past eleven. She now had to fight her way against the gale and it was two o'clock next morning before she made Brixham Harbour.

The Trieste did not go ashore. She was saved from it by the strong stream running out from the River Exe, and later was picked up by another tug and towed to Dartmouth.

COXSWAIN HENRY O. THOMAS had acted with great courage and handled the life-boat very skilfully, and the Institution awarded him the bronze medal for gallantry and a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum.

To DAVID W. O. THOMAS, the assistant motor mechanic and son of the coxswain, it awarded its thanks inscribed on vellum in recog- nition of his skill in navigating the life-boat.

To the coxswain, the assistant motor mechanic and each of the other six members of the crew it made a special reward of £3 in addition to the reward on the ordinary scale of £1 15s.

Ordinary rewards to the crew and launchers, £13 4s.; additional rewards, £24; total rewards, £37 4s. The Royal Engineers sent a donation from regimental funds and then a second donation from special collections made within the regiment..