About eleven o'clock on the morning of the 7th of September, 1957, Mr.

Harry Wilman, the borough engineer and surveyor of Colwyn Bay, learnt at his office that a boat was in distress in the bay. He arranged for a message to be passed to the Llandudno life-boat and then with one of his clerks, Mr.

Leslie Hill, fetched his 12-feet aluminium dinghy and outboard motor from his home and took it to the beach.

A fresh gale was blowing from the south-west directly off shore, and beyond the pier the water was very rough.

The boat in trouble was a 12-feet wooden dinghy, in which there were two young men and two girls, who were unable to row back to the beach against the strong wind.

Line Made Fast Mr. Wilman and Mr. Hill immediately launched the aluminium dinghy and started the outboard motor. They threw a line to the wooden dinghy and at the second attempt the line was made fast and towing began. The wooden dinghy was half full of water and steering was difficult.

About half way to the shore the wooden dinghy suddenly went under and the four young people were thrown into the water. Mr. Hill cut the tow rope and at that moment the outboard engine failed.

Mr. Wilman and Mr. Hill tried to row back to the four young people, who were scattered in the water, but they lost a rowlock. With some difficulty they restarted the engine, whose plugs were wet, but they saw one boy throw up his hands and sink. They picked up one of the girls at the first attempt and a quarter of an hour later they rescued the second girl. They continued to look for the other boy until the engine ran out of petrol.

Life-boat's Part The 35-feet 6-inches self-righting Llandudno life-boat Tillie Morrison, Sheffield, was launched at 11.35. She reached the aluminium dinghy and took Mr. Wilman, Mr. Hill and the two girls on board and then carried out an unsuccessful search for the boys. An account of the part played by the lifeboat appeared in the December, 1957, number of the Life-boat on page 560.

For this service the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum have been accorded to Mr. Harry Wilman and Mr. Leslie Hill..