Southend-on-Sea, Essex.—At 7.20 on the evening of the 19th of August, 1952, the coastguard reported that a ship was sinking on the Red Sands, and that the crew had taken to their boats.

Twenty minutes later the life-boat Greater London, Civil Service No. 3, was launched in a rough sea with a fresh northerly breeze blowing. At 8.5 she picked up a wireless message that the boats were drifting one and a half miles north-east of Warden Point, and later red rockets were seen. The life-boat altered course and at 9.35 found two eighteen-feet boats half full of water about two miles west of Whitstable. There were five men in one boat and three in the other. Theywere the crew of the hopper No. 19 of London, and were baling with buckets to keep the boats afloat, as they were in constant danger of being swamped.

As the men declined to leave the boats in the heavy seas, they were towed to Whitstable, where they boarded the life-boat. Two of the men and the boats were left at Whitstable, and the other six stayed in the life-boat, which reached Southend at 1.15 the next morning. On her way back the life- boat passed the hopper with only her bow out of water. She sank later.— Rewards, £15 7s..