ALTHOUGH 1956 was by far the busiest year the Life-boat Service has known in time of peace, in the first three months of the present year even greater demands were made on lifeboat crews than were made in the corresponding months of 1956. By the end of March 1957 life-boats had been launched on service 118 times and had rescued 151 lives. By the 81st of March, 1956. they had been launched 100 times and had rescued 66 lives. Indeed the figure of 151 lives rescued was not reached in 1956 until early in June.

Life-boats in Scotland were particularly busy during the early months of the year, and they were responsible for the rescue of 92 out of the total of 151 lives. The Islay life-boat was launched no fewer than six times and rescued 35 lives.

AWARDS FROM THREE FOREIGN COUNTRIES A number of European countries have given generous recognition to services by life-boats of the Roval National Life-boat Institution in recent months. The Swedish life-boat society, Svenska Sallskapet for Raddning af Skeppsbrutne. has awarded a commemorative plaque to be placed in the Lerwick life-boat station in recognition of the rescue of the crew of five of the Swedish motor vessel Samba by the Lerwick life-boat on the 28th of December, 1956. The full account of this service appears on page 426.

His Majesty the King of Norway has awarded the Norwegian medal for heroism to Coxswain Daniel Kirkpatrick.

of Longhope, and Coxswain Neil Stewart, of Wick, for their part in the rescue from the Dovrefjell, of Oslo, on the 3rd of February. 1956.

An account of this service appeared in the June 1956 number of The Life-boat on page 245.

The French life-boat society.

Societe Centrale de Sauvetage des Naufrages, has awarded a medal and diploma to the parents of the late leuan Bateman, who lost his life when the St. David's life-boat rescued the crew of eight of the French trawler Notre Dame de Fatima on the 8th of November, 1956. A full account of this service appeared in the March 1957 number of The Life-boat on page 384.

The Institution, for its part, has recognised the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Swedish lifeboat society by the award of its silver medal.

PENSIONS TO DEPENDENTS OF FIREMEN The Royal National Life-boat Institution is to pay pensions to the widows and dependents of four part-time firemen of the Silloth (Cumberland) fire brigade, Stanley Graham. Alexander Ramsay, Joseph Bell and John Johnstone, who lost their lives when trying to reseue a man on Skinburness Marsh on the 10th of December, 1956.

The four men put out in a 14-feet aluminium boat, which was kept at the Silloth fire station for rescue purposes, in a south-westerly v. ind of gale force and did not return. The pensions, which are the same as those paid to members of life-boat crews who lose their lives on service, are based on the Royal Naval scale.

The Working-ton life-boat put out later that night, but although she found the upturned boat she could find no trace of the four men who lost their lives. An account of this service appeared in the March 1957 number of The Life-boat on page 411.

URUGUAYAN LIFE-BOAT DELEGATION Two delegates from Uruguay, Mr.

Nelson Ogando and Mr. Constantino Ogando, paid a visit to the headquarters of the Institution in March, 1957. Mr. Nelson Ogando is a consulting naval architect and one of the prime movers in a plan which is now well advanced to establish a life-boat society in Uruguay. The delegates had lengthy discussions about the work and organisation of the Institution, and later visited the building yards of Messrs. William Osborne Ltd., at Littlehampton, the life-boat station at Selsey and the life-boat station at Walton-on-the-Naze. The Uruguayan society is contemplating an organisational structure similar to that of the Institution, and the delegates entered into negotiations for the purchase of a British life-boat.

"THE STORY OF THE LIFE-BOAT 1957" The 1957 edition of The Story of the Life-boat has now been published. In addition to the usual English and Scottish editions there is this year, for the first time, a special Welsh edition. Among the features of the Welsh edition are short histories of the life-boat stations at the Mumbles and at St. David's, and an article on raising funds for the Service in Wales.

In all three editions there are a number of articles showing the development of life-boats in recent years, and all three editions are fully illustrated.

They can be obtained from branches or from Life-boat House (Is. 6d. each, Is. lOd. post free)..