THE first organisation for rescuing those in danger at sea to come into being in Sweden was established by the Swedish Government in 1854, when a life-boat station was set up in the south of Sweden. The service was under naval control until 1870, when it was taken over by the Royal Board of Pilotage.

In 1903 a series of disasters occurred which led to a re-examination of the existing arrangements for rescuing the shipwrecked. In that year there was a series of severe storms, many ships were wrecked, and many lives were lost. It became clear that the fifteen life-boat stations then in existence were insufficient, and the Swedish Shipping Society made plans for establishing a voluntary organisation comparable with that of the Royal National Life-boat Institution. A committee was formed to assess public response to this proposal, and it soon became clear that contributions would be forthcoming. The committee began the construction of more life-boat stations, and on the 1st of June, 1907, the new society formally came into being.

This was the Svenska Sallskapet for Raddning af Skeppsbrutne (Swedish Society for Rescuing the Shipwrecked).

Fiftieth Anniversary This society has just celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation, and an account of the manner in which the occasion was celebrated appears on page 515. During these fifty years it has established more than thirty new life-boat stations.

A few years ago a committee was appointed in Sweden to consider whether all services to shipping should be put under the general supervision of one board. The same committee also had to consider if the sea rescue service in Sweden was organised in the best way. As a result a new board, known as the Royal Board of Shipping, came into being on the 1st of January, 1956. Among other tasks this board was given the general responsibility for rescue work near the shores, where the Board helps pilot and lighthouse stations in service. Rescue work further out at sea has remained the primary responsibility of the Svenska Sallskapet for Raddning of Skeppsbrutne.

The Svenska Sallskapet for Raddning af Skeppsbrutne continues to be responsible for rescue work where there are no stations controlled by the Board of Shipping; it also undertakes certain duties in the field of ice-breaking and in transporting sick people in the archipelagoes. The division of duties is not a rigid one, for clearly any boat belonging to any organisation will go out to the rescue when its help is needed.

Network of Radio Stations All along the coast of Sweden there is a network of coastal radio stations which receive distress messages from sea, and are in communication by telephone overland with the various rescue organisations. Although the coastal radio stations have no authority to order boats or aircraft to go to the rescue, they are able to ask for help from the life-boat stations, from the pilot boats of the Royal Board of Shipping, from naval vessels, customs vessels and aircraft of the Swedish Air Force. The radio stations are also in contact with coastal radio stations in other countries, and the close and swift co-operation between various rescue organisations of different countries in the North Sea and in the Baltic is a continual source of encouragement. The Svenska Sallskapet for Raddning af Skeppsbrutne has at present nine 20-metre patrolling rescue cruisers and ten 13-metre rescue cruisers which are launched down slipways. Smaller boats of the 10- metre class are under the control of the Royal Board of Shipping. The Svenska Sallskapet for Raddning af Skeppsbrutne expects within the next few years to have a dozen patrolling rescue cruisers and a dozen rescue cruisers of the 13-metre class.

The patrolling and rescue cruisers are all fitted with radio and most of them have radar. They will also be fitted with homing instruments when the SARAH system or a system of a similar kind is more widely adopted internationally.

Another development of the future will be the growth of a helicopter service controlled by the Swedish Navy. This is expected to co-operate closely with the other sea rescue services, but the Svenska Sallskapet for Raddning af Skeppsbrutne is not contemplating buying its own helicopters..