Tynemouth, and Culler-coats, Northumberland.

—At 11.43 in the morning of the 9th of February, 1952, the coastguard telephoned that the motor vessel Hans Hoth, of Hamburg, of 370 tons, with a crew of nine, had wirelessed that she was listing and needed a lifeboat.

She was fifty-six miles eastnorth- east of the Tyne. At 12.15 that afternoon the Tynemouth life-boat Tynesider was launched in a rough sea with a strong northerly wind blowing.

The tug Hendon also put out and passed the life-boat, but the weather got worse, the seas-increased, and she reduced speed. The life-boat maintained full speed, overtook the tug and passed her. Guided by an aeroplane and a flare burnt by the Hans Hoth, she found the motor vessel eighty-eight miles north-north-east of the Tyne.

It was then 12.38 in the morning of the 10th. The master said that the list was less than it had been and asked the life-boat to stand by. This she did, and two hours later the tug arrived. The tug had already arranged with the Hans Hoth by wireless to take her in tow at daybreak, so at 2.30 in the morning the life-boat made for her station.

As she was approaching Tynemouth at nine o'clock that night, a wireless message came from the tug that the crew of the Hans Hoth wished to abandon ship and had asked the lifeboat to return. She replied that she would put into Tynemouth to refuel and return immediately to the Hans Hoth's help, but shortly afterwards she picked up a message from the Cullercoats station to the tug which said that the Cullercoats life-boat was launching. The Tynemouth life-boat continued on her way and moored at 9.55. She had then been out for 33 hours 40 minutes.

Meanwhile the Cullercoats life-boat Isaac and Mary Bolton had launched at 9.35, in a moderate breeze, with a swell, but when she was fourteen miles out a message came from the tug that she herself had taken off the Hans Moth's crew, and she made for North Shields where she arrived at 12.15 next morning the llth. There her crew left her, as the weather would have made it difficult to rehouse her, and returnedto Cullercoats. Just after nine o'clock a message came through the Tynemouth coastguard that the tug now wanted a life-boat to take over the rescued crew from her, so that she herself could try to salve the Hans Hoth. At that the Cullercoats men returned to North Shields and the life-boat put out again at 9.20. -The tug and the Hans Hoth were now only twenty miles from the Tyne, but the sea was rough, and the life-boat arrived to find only the tug. The Hans Hoth had foundered. She returned to North Shields, arriving at two in the afternoon. There she remained until the morning of the 13th when she was taken to Cullercoats and arrived at 11.40.—Rewards, Tynemouth, £77 3*.; Cullercoats, first service, £30 10*., second service, £18 8s..