Blyth, Northumberland.—At 2.35 on the afternoon of the 13th of December, 1953, the coastguard rang up to say that the fishing coble Mavis, with a crew of two, was overdue, and at three o'clock the life-boat Winston Churchill, Civil Service No. 8, was launched.

The sea was rough, with a fresh south- south-east breeze blowing. The life- boat found the Mavis three miles south-east of the pier. Her engine had broken down, and the fishing boat Sceptre, which had reached her at the same time as the life-boat, took her in tow. The life-boat escorted both the boats to Blyth, reaching her station again at 4.15.—Rewards, £8 12s..