Southend-on-Sea, Essex.—At 6.30 on the evening of the 1st of September, 1956, the coastguard telephoned that a flare had been seen off Grain Spit.

At 6.45 the life-boat Greater London II (Civil Service No. 30) was launched.

The sea was rough, there was a fresh north-easterly gale blowing, with rain squalls, and the tide was flooding.

The life-boat found the motor barge Maria, of Rochester, with a crew of two. She was not making any head- way because of the heavy seas, and the life-boat put a tow rope aboard.

Keeping her head to the wind and the sea, the life-boat towed her to Sheer- ness harbour and on to Queenborough, where the barge was made safe. This was the second time the barge cap- tain had been rescued by a Southend life-boat. The earlier rescue was from the barge Claxfield in 1934. The crew expressed their thanks to the life-boat crew.—Property Salvage Case..