AT 3.49 on the afternoon of the 8th of November, 1956, the honorary secre- tary at St. David's, Dr. Joseph Soar, learnt from the coastguard that a vessel was being towed into Milford Haven and might need help. The Angle life-boat at the time was off service for repair.

At 4.17 the coastguard told Dr.

Soar that the vessel had now made a distress call and that her position was six miles west of St. Ann's Head or some thirteen miles from St.

David's. The maroons were fired at 4.30, and the St. David's life-boat Svm-y-Mor (Civil Service No. 6) was launched at five o'clock.

A moderate gale was blowing from the south-south-west, and there was a very rough sea which was aggravated by the tide. The sky was overcast, there were fierce rain squalls, and visibility was poor. After clearing the turbulent waters of Ramsey Sound Coxswain D. J. Lewis set a course to pass one mile west of Skomer Island and two miles west of Skokholm Island light. After this he made directly for the vessel in distress, which was clearly marked by flares dropped from a Shackleton aircraft.

The tide was now setting to the north-west.

In Tow of Trawler At 7.30 the life-boat reached the vessel, which was the French trawler Noire Dame de Fatima. She had been in tow of another French trawler, the Jean Jeanelte, but had now parted from her. The coxswain made a circuit to assess the problems and noticed that the towing hawser was still over the bow of the Notre Dame de Fatima and was apparently acting as a sea anchor, as it was holding her head up to windward. The trawler was rolling heavily and sheering wildly so that there was no chance of finding a lee. The trawler's crew were shout- ing and clearly wanted to be taken off.

Attempt to Make Lee The S.S. Clan Campbell, bound from Birkenhead to Milford Haven, was near the scene, and she closed the trawler in an attempt to make a lee for the life-boat, but the wind and sea prevented her from coming close enough to be of real use.

Coxswain Lewis brought the star- board bow of the life-boat close up to the port quarter of the trawler, the crew being ready to put out fenders.

The sea was causing both the trawler and the life-boat to rise and fall some ten or twelve feet, but two of the trawler's crew managed to jump aboard the life-boat as she approached.

Coxswain Lewis brought the life- boat up on to the trawler's quarter a second time, and the six remaining men jumped into the life-boat, show- ing marked agility in doing so, The life-boat struck the side of the trawler but was damaged only slightly. No lines were used and the life-boat was controlled entirely by the helm and the engines.

By eight o'clock in the evening all eight members of the crew of the Notre Dame de Fatima had been taken on board the life-boat, and the cox- swain set a course for Milford Haven.

He decided it would be too dangerous to try to enter the small, unlit harbour of Solva, and it would clearly have been impossible to rehouse the life-boat at St. David's in the conditions prevailing.

Very Heavy Seas The course the coxswain set was now an easterly one, and this brought the wind of gale force just abaft the starboard beam with the ebb tide on the starboard bow. As the life-boat was approaching St. Ann's Head shortlv before nine o'clock she met very heavy seas aggravated by the strong tide setting out of Milford Haven against the wind and converg- ing on the main ebb tide out of the Bristol Channel. The life-boat was sheering wildly and labouring heavily when a large sea struck her on the starboard side. It filled her with water and made her roll heavily over to port, where for a moment she hung.

Before she could recover a second sea hit her, driving her over on to her beam ends. Water poured down the funnel, even making the noise of the exhaust almost inaudible. The after cockpit was filled completely, and those members of the crew and the survivors from the trawler who were on the port side were submerged.

The life-boat quickly righted herself, and Coxswain Lewis asked if all was well and was assured that it was.

Nearly a quarter of an hour elapsed before it was discovered that one of the crew, leuan Bateman, was missing.

Coxswain's Decision Coxswain Lewis was now faced with an extremely difficult decision. He knew that to return and search for the missing man in those conditions would mean hazarding the other mem- bers of his crew and the survivors in what would certainly have been a hopeless quest. He took the decision to make for Milford docks, a decision in which he was fully supported by the Committee of Management of the Institution after a close investigation of the service.

The life-boat reached Milford docks at ten o'clock, when the survivors and one member of the crew, Percy Williams, who had been injured, were landed. Steps were immediately taken to organise a search at daylight for the body of leuan Bateman. By the next morning the sea had1 moder- ated considerably, and a fast air-sea rescue launch, accompanied by aircraft of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, carried out an extensive search of the area while coastguards searched the shore. The search was unsuccess- ful. The life-boat returned to St.

David's, arriving at 11.17 on the 9th of November.

The following day the body of leuan Bateman with the life-jacket still attached was found on the western shore inside the entrance to Milford Haven.

Bronze Medal Awarded For this service the bronze medal for gallantry was awarded to Coxswain D. J. Lewis.

Rewards to the crew, £16; rewards to the helpers on shore, £5 12s.; additional monetary rewards, £40; total rewards, £61 12s.

leuan Bateman was aged twenty- two. In recording a verdict of acci- dental death by drowning the South Pembrokeshire coroner, Mr. J. F.

Johnson, stated: "This young man lost his life in saving life. My sympathy is very genuine, and my admiration unbound- ed for the crew of the life-boat." The funeral service took place at St. David's Congregational Church on the 14th of November, when a letter of sympathy from H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent. President of the Institution, was read out. Captain Guy D. Fan- shawe, a vice-president and member of the Committee of Management, represented the Institution. Lieut.

Commander W. L. G. Dutton, Western District Inspector, and members of the Tenby, Fishguard, Angle and Mumbles crews were also present.

Members of the St. David's crew bore the coffin. Tributes to the man who lost his life and to the rescue carried out by the crew were paid by the Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire and the Chairman of the Fishguard Council.

Medals Within Two Years For the rescue of thirty-five men from the tanker World Concord on the 27th of November, 1954, members of the St. David's life-boat crew were awarded one silver and two bronze medals. The last station to win medals for gallantry for services carried out within two years was Margate, Kent, to which a bronze and a silver medal were awarded for services in September 1951 and November 1952..