FOR the third year, in the seven years since the war ended, the Life-boat Service set up a new record. In 1952 its boats went out to the rescue 657 times. That is more than ever before in time of peace, and though the figure is considerably below the busiest years of the war, yet it is well above the yearly average of launches—617—during those six years of the war. In the course of these launches life-boats rescued 346 lives.

In addition the Institution gave rewards for the rescue of 103 lives by shore-boats. In nearly half the cases the boats were manned by life-boat- men, often with the help of other men, but in rather more than half they were manned by people who were not members of life-boat crews, and who put out on their own initiative in whatever boats were at hand. In all these cases the Institution rewarded the rescuers.

The grand total of lives rescued by life-boats and shore-boats was 449.

Life-boats also saved from destruction 65 boats, and helped in various ways 320 more.

From its foundation on the 4th of March, 1824, to the end of 1952, the Institution has given rewards for the rescue by life-boats and shore-boats of 78,051 lives.

1932 and 1952; A Comparison An analysis of the figures for 1952 and the figures for 1932 shows the chief reason for the great, and increas-ing, work of the Service. In 1932 the total of launches was 337. That is to say, the launches in 1952 were nearly double what they were twenty years ago. But during the six months of gales, January, February and March, October, November and December, they were only a little more than a third as many; and during the two spring months of April and May, they were not quite twice as many. It is during the four summer months that the chief increase has come. In those months there were three times as many launches in 1952 as in 1932—297 as compared with 99. Over 30 per cent of the total launches were to holiday makers and small craft in difficulties.

The second cause of increase has been the number of calls reporting aeroplanes in distress. In 1932 the number of launches to aeroplanes was six. In 1952 it was 87. The great majority were to service, not passen- ger, aeroplanes. In 79 of the 87 launches either the calls had been false alarms, or the life-boats could find nothing, or their help was not needed.

Loss of Life One life-boatman was lost at sea, the bowman of the Bridlington life- boat which capsized in a very rough sea. She righted herself, and her crew either got aboard again or swam ashore, but the bowman had been injured, and though he swam ashore he died almost at once. The Institution pensioned his widow—his only depen- dent relative—as if he had been a lead- ing rating in the Navy, killed in action.* Services to Foreign Vessels Life-boats went out to the help of 61 ships and six aeroplanes belonging to 18 different foreign countries and rescued from them 106 lives. Fifteen of the ships were from Holland; six from France; six from Sweden; six from Norway; five from Germany; four from Denmark; three from the United States; three from Panama; three from Greece; two from Finland; one each from Belgium, Spain, Iceland, Turkey, Argentine, Liberia, and Estonia, and one was Swiss. The six * A full account will be found on page 474.

aeroplanes were aeroplanes of the Air Force of the United States with head- quarters in Great Britain. Besides the lives rescued, life-boats saved three of the ships.

Medals for Gallantry Two silver and four bronze medals were won by life-boatmen for gallan- try. Coxswain Frederick Upton, of Walmer and Coxswain Denis R. Price, of Margate, won silver medals, and Coxswain Henry O. Thomas, of Torbay, Coxswain Douglas Kirkaldie, of Rams- gate, Coxswain Malcolm Macdonald, of Stornoway, and C. Percy Cavell, motor mechanic at Walmer, won bronze medals. Coxswain Upton and Percy Cavell had previously won, respectively, the silver and bronze medal. A bronze medal was also won by a fifteen-year-old boy of Sidcup, Tony Metcalfe, for a shore-boat rescue.

Thus, of the seven medals, five were won by men of Kent.

New Life-boats Ten new life-boats went to the coast.

Expenditure and Income The total expenditure was £744,226, an increase of over £26,000 on the previous year, but nearly £70,000 less than in 1950.

The total income was £739,708, an increase of over £83,000 on 1951, and only £2,154 less than the record income of 1950.

The increase in expenditure was due to the large sum spent on the construc- tion and repair of life-boats, which was over £91,000 more than in the previous year. The total cost of administration during the past ten years has been only 3.76 per cent of the total cost of providing and maintain- ing the Service.

Second largest item in the expendi- ture was the payments to coxswains, crews and launchers, and their families —to those engaged in the actual work of rescue. It was £114,708, a slight increase on the previous year.

The full statement of accounts will be published in the next number of The Life-boat..