The following address was given by the Archbishop of York at the funeral of three members of the Scarborough life-boat on 3th December, 1951.

WE have assembled this afternoon to pay a tribute of honour to the three brave members of the Scarborough life-boat who last week lost their lives in the great storm which lashed the sea into fury. It is not only you who live in Scarborough who felt deeply moved when the news of this tragedy was made known; all over England there was an expression of sympathy with the men of our life-boat service.

It is a service of which the nation is proud. As islanders we know well how the sea is a great highway for traffic, and how in its days of calm and quiet it can bring comfort and recreation to the tired in body and the troubled in mind. But we also know that in certain moods the sea is still untamed and challenges man to control it. Much has been done in recent years to make for the greater safety of those who cross the seas, or whose work takes them upon its waters. But the sea has not yet been tamed, and in its wilder moods life is imperilled by it.

We who are Landsmen We who are landsmen, however great our sympathy may be with those whose work is on the seas, are unable to help them in their hour of great danger. But the Life-boat Service does this for us and is a practical expression of our responsibility for those who risk their lives on the seas, in crossing them for our benefit, or in toiling to reap from them their harvest for our food. Thus it is natural that we should look upon the Life-boat Service as a national organisation, and those who serve in it are acting1 as our representatives. We are thankful for all they have done to rescue those in peril from storm and wind. We are proud of their courage and endurance, and when, therefore, lives are lost in this service we have a sense of personal loss.

But with sorrow there is admiration, for they died in the service of others.

We admire our life-boatmen for their purpose is to help and to rescue those in danger, and to do this they must be prepared to face great risks, and, if need be, to lay down their lives. There is nothing greater than this, "that a man lay down his life for his friends/' Tribute of Honour So today we pay this tribute of honour to the men of your Scarborough life-boat who faced the storms of last week, and who are prepared to face them again when need should come, for your life-boat is again ready for service. We honour especially the three who lost their lives—Jack Sheader aged 63, coxswain of the Scarborough life-boat for ten years, and who had been serving in life-boat crews for forty years; Jack Cammish, aged 55, had been second coxswain for ten years; and Frank Bayes, a younger man, had been a member of the crew for two and a half years.

With their families we have profound sympathy in their great loss.

We pray that God may comfort them.

We commend the souls of those who lost their lives to the keeping of their Father in Heaven, and we pray that there ever may be found a succession of men who here and elsewhere will be ready to risk their lives to serve their fellows..