ON the night of the 31st January- 1st February the sea invaded large areas of land in many parts of the east coast, when exceptionally high tides were driven higher by violent northerly winds often reaching gale force. The floods which resulted were worse than anything known in this country within living memory, and 307 people lost their lives. In making an appeal for funds to relieve the dis- tress the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Rupert De la Bere, M.P., declared: "I doubt if in the past century so much devastation and misery has ever fallen on our country in forty-eight hours in peace time as that which has taken place during the past week-end." The work of rescue and relief began at once, voluntary organisations co- operating with detachments of the armed forces and civil defence workers.

As the Prime Minister stated in his first report to the House of Commons on the disaster, "Organisations of all kinds, national and local, military and civil, reacted immediately to the call upon them." Thirty-Six Hours at Sea A number of calls were made for the services of the life-boats, and between nine o'clock on the morning of the 31st of January and four o'clock on the afternoon of the 2nd of February the Southend life-boat, Greater London, Civil Service No. 3, was called out seven times and was at sea for a total of twenty-six hours thirty-five minutes.

The first call came at 8.53 on the morning of the 31st of January. The coastguard rang up to say that a barge two miles south-south-east of the pier was making distress signals and that the pilot boat had put out. A westerly gale was blowing, with a rough sea, and at 9.23 the Southend life-boat was launched. However, the pilot boat took the crew of two off the motor barge Adriatic, of London, and the life-boat was not needed.

She reached her station again at 9.45, and at 2.3 in the afternoon the coastguard telephoned that a Cornish ketch Wanderlust was drifting sea- wards a quarter of a mile north-west of the pier. At 2.29 the life-boat was launched again. The westerly gale was still blowing, and the sea remained rough. The life-boat found that a motor boat had put a man aboard the ketch and taken her in tow, but the ketch had broken loose. A life- boatman was therefore put aboard the ketch, and the life-boat towed her to Southend pier, where she was made fast at three o'clock.

Ten minutes later, at 3.10, an empty fishing boat was seen rolling heavily and drifting in the fairway three quarters of a mile south of the pier.

The gale was still blowing. The life- boat was launched at once and put two men aboard the drifting boat, which was the Patience, of London.

She then towed the boat to the pier, arriving at 4.5.

The next call came at 10.18 that night. The coastguard rang up to say that the tanker Kosmos F, of Sande- fjord, had gone aground on Shoebury Sands two and a half miles east of Southend pier. The life-boat was launched at 10.45. The gale was then blowing from the west-north- west, and the sea remained very rough. The life-boat stood by the tanker until she refloated after about half an hour. The tanker wirelessed her thanks to the life-boat and then anchored, and the life-boat returned to her station, which she reached five minutes after midnight.

Help to Canvey Island She then made for Canvey Island, where it was thought that her help might be needed because of the fast- flowing and extremely high tide, but at 1.5 she received a wireless message that her help was needed at the sewage works at Leigh Marshes. She there- fore immediately altered course and made for the marshes, but she found that the men who had been working at the sewage works had already got away, and she returned to her station, where she was moored at 2.10 early that morning.

At 3.30 in the morning the coast- guard told the coxswain that the Essex County Police had asked for all avail- able boats to help in the evacuation of Canvey Island. At 3.40 the life- boat left her moorings once again in a west-north-west gale with a very rough sea, taking her boarding boat with her. However, she learned that two people who had been in danger on Canvey Island were now safe, and she returned to her station, arriving at 5.55.

At 8.15 that evening a message was received from the Town Clerk of Southend asking if the life-boat would help to take people off Foulness Island. At 9.3 the life-boat was launched once more, taking two small boats with her. She made for Foul- ness in a strong north-westerly wind and a rough sea. Life-boatmen took the two small boats through a gap in the sea wall near a farm on Foulness Island, but the inhabitants of the farm would not leave. The life-boatmen then took the boats further along the sea wall, and the men rowed them amongst a group of houses. Again none of the occupants wanted to leave until daylight, and the life-boatmen asked as many people as possible to be ready to be taken off in the morning.

A Hundred People Marooned When daylight came the two small boats took 22 people to the sea wall, and from there they were transferred to the life-boat. The life-boat took them to Burnham. It was low tide now, and the life-boatmen who were left on the island used the small boats to transport about 100 marooned people to lorries and jeeps. The life- boat returned to Foulness, took three more people to Burnham, and then made for a different part of the island.

When the police stated that everyone had been evacuated, the life-boat returned to her station, which she finally reached at four o'clock on the afternoon of the 2nd of February.

Two of the cases, those of the ketch Wanderlust and the fishing boat Patience, were property salvage cases.

For other services rewards totalling £99 3s. 6d. were paid. The Institution sent a letter of appreciation to the coxswain and crew of the Southend life-boat.

The Clacton-on-Sea life-boat Sir Godfrey Baring was also out on service at the time of the floods. At 1.35 on the afternoon of the 1st of February a message was received from Jaywick that a number of people were marooned on the roof of a bungalow. At 1.45 the Sir Godfrey Baring was launched and took a dinghy with her. A moderate west-north-west gale was blowing with a rough sea. The cox- swain took the life-boat as near to the bungalow as he could. Then, using the dinghy, the life-boatmen rescued five men, a woman, two children, two dogs and a cat. The rescued people were given hot soup and biscuits, and the life-boat took them to Clacton pier. She reached her station again at 4.30. Rewards of £14 19*. 3d. were paid.

Award to 73-year-old Man Six men not connected with the Royal National Life-boat Institution received the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for gallantry in saving, or attempting to save, life during the floods. Three of them were from Vells, Norfolk: Mr. Frank Smith, harbour master, and Mr. Fred Ellender and Mr. George Jay, employees of the Wells Council. Two were from South- wold, Suffolk: Mr. Frederick Mayhew, a 73-year-old long-shore fisherman, and Mr. Ernest Stannard, a 41-year- old disabled master mariner. The sixth was Mr. W. V. Burrell, a fisher- man of Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

On the night of the 31st January in a northerly wind of gale force Mr.

Smith, Mr. Ellender and Mr. Jay launched a fourteen-feet flat-bottomed rowing boat, passed through gaps in the sea defences, and rescued the Station Officer of Coastguard, who was marooned on Wells beach. The opera- tion lasted four hours. Mr. Smith had earlier been awarded the British Empire Medal.

Mr. Mayhew and Mr. Stannard res- cued three American women and a baby, who were clinging to the roof of a floating house on the same night, landed them from a rowing boat, and then returned to the house and rescued three United States servicemen. Mr.

Mayhew had also been awarded the British Empire Medal.

Mr. Burrell received his award for services during attempts to repair the damage done by the floods. On the 17th February seven men were repair- ing breaches in the banks of the River Aide, when the two boats in which they were working were swept through a gap into the river. Mr. Burrell and another man immediately launched a boat and succeeded in rescuing four men who were clinging to an upturned rowing boat. Two of the other men managed to reach an island and were later rescued by a Naval helicopter, but the seventh man drifted away.

Mr. Burrell set off in a dinghy to search for him but failed to find him.

Many Life-boat Stations Damaged The total damage to property caused by the floods amounted to many mil- lions of pounds, and among the owners of property who suffered severe losses was the Institution itself. Repair work, of a greater or lesser kind, had to be carried out at fourteen English and two Scottish stations to put right the damage. At Sunderland, Durham, the main boathouse doors were dam- aged, and there was heavy siltation on the slipway. At Seaham, Durham, there was damage to the boathouse substructure. At Runswick, York- shire, the main doors of the boathouse were badly damaged, and there was some damage to the decking of the slipway. At Whitby No. 1 station, Yorkshire, the main doors were jam- med and severely damaged. At Scar- borough, Yorkshire, the boathouse electrical plant was damaged, and there was severe damage to the boat- house doors. At Humber, Yorkshire, many cottages were damaged and for some time Spurn Point, at the end of which the life-boat station stands, was completely cut off by floods, con- tact with the outside world being maintained by radio link with the Cromer coastguard radio-telephony station.

At Wells, Norfolk, the boathouse doors were washed away and the causeway leading to the boathouse was also breached in several places.

For some time the boathouse could be approached only by boat from Wells village, and at low tide not even this was possible. At Sheringham, Nor- folk, the boathouse doors were washed away. At Cromer, Norfolk, the port side of the boathouse was severely damaged and the main doors were washed away. The decking of the pier was also washed away, and a temporary cat-walk had to be built down the pier. The boat herself was lifted four feet out of her keelway. At Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, Nor- folk, the electric winch and other electric fittings in the boathouse were damaged. At Lowestoft, Suffolk, the storehouse was washed away and all gear was lost. At Margate, Kent, the boathouse was badly damaged and the concrete floor was broken up. The decking of the pier was washed away.

The life-boat was transferred to Rams- gate harbour. At both Walmer and Dungeness, Kent, large banks of shingle ahead of the boats had to be cleared away by detachments of the armed forces.

The two Scottish stations which suffered were Buckie, Banffshire, and Eyemouth, Berwickshire. At Buckie the launching doors and at Eyemouth the main boathouse doors were damaged.

Institution Bears Whole Cost In spite of this extensive damage all boats, except Cromer No. 1, were ready for service by the evening of 2nd February. Cromer No. 1 was ready for service by noon next day, and Cromer No. 2, which is launched from the beach, was available for service throughout.

The cost of repairing the damage has been between £10,000 and £15,000.

The Committee of Management decid- ed at a meeting held in April that the Institution itself should bear the whole of this cost. No appeal is being made either to the Government or to the Lord Mayor's Relief Fund.

The loss of life and damage suffered in the Netherlands as a result of the floods were even greater than those suffered in this country. A letter of condolence was sent by the Secretary of the Institution to the Royal North and South Holland Life-boat Society.

A similar letter of condolence was received by the Institution..