THE annual general meeting of the Governors of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was held at the Central Hall, Westminster, on the 25th of March, 1958. The Earl Howe, Chairman of the Committee of Management, was in the Chair.

H.R.H. The Duchess of Kent, President of the Institution, presented medals for gallantry and other awards and gave an address. The Earl of Selkirk, First Lord of the Admiralty, proposed and Lord Brabazon of Tara seconded the resolution of gratitude to the coxswains and crews of the life-boats, the honorary officers and committees of the stations and the honorary officers and members of the financial branches and the Ladies' Life-boat Guild. Admiral Sir William Slayter and Mr. Roger Leigh-Wood, members of the Committee of Management, proposed and seconded a vote of thanks to the President.

Supporting the Duchess of Kent on the platform were the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, President of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, and Helen, Duchess of Northumberland ; the French Ambassador, Monsieur J.

Chauvel, and Madame Chauvel, and the Irish Ambassador, Mr. H. McCann, and Mrs. McCann ; the Postmaster- General and Member of Parliament for Wallasey, Mr. Ernest Marples, and Mrs.

Marples, and the Member of Parliament for Merioneth, Mr. T. W. Jones ; the Mayor and Mayoress of Westminster ; the Chairman of the London County Council ; the mayors and mayoresses of 48 boroughs ; the chairman of one urban district council ; representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society, and the Ancient Order of Foresters Friendly Society ; the donors of lifeboats or their representatives ; honorary life governors and vice-presidents of the Institution ; members of the Committee of Management ; and the Chairman and Deputy Chairmen of the Central London Women's Committee of the Institution.

Presenting the report of the Institution for 1957, Lord Howe said : Chairman's Address It is my duty as Chairman of the Committee of Management of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to report to you on a year of progress and of success. In the work of the Institution it has also been a year of great demands and great achievements. There have only been two years in the history of the Institution in which life-boats were called out on service in time of peace more than 700 times : one was 1956 and the other was 1957.

This remarkable fact gives you an idea of the demands which have to be made upon the crews of the fleet on the coast. A man who serves in a life-boat to-day is three times as liable as his father or grandfather to be called out on service at any moment.

There is certainly a great difference between the old pulling and sailing life-boats in which our crews served in the past and the modern high-powered variety which we provide to-day, but the dangers still remain, and the call in the night, when other people can remain happily asleep, is three times as likely to occur. In 1957, the year on which I am reporting, these calls were always promptly and willingly answered, and as a result 609 people who might otherwise have lost their lives are alive today.

A feature of the year has been the very large increase in the number of services to yachts. There may be many in this hall who visited the Daily Express Boat Exhibition at Olympia and who will have noticed the enormous interest which was being taken by the general public in the small boats—yachts, dinghies and the like—which were displayed at that great exhibition. For the first time in the history of the Institution the category of yachts, whether under power or sail, gave rise to a greater number of services than any other category of vessel. The number of services to vessels which promote the commerce of the country—the barges, coastal steamers, fishing boats and the like—has not declined, but the proportion has gone down owing to the increase in the number of services to yachts and small boats.

New Type of Carriage It is the constant aim of the Committee of Management to do everything we can to increase efficiency, and in that respect we made considerable progress in the past year ; for example, we have a new type of carriage coming into service. Of the older type of carriage used for our life-boats, the youngest was made in 1921 and some of them are a very great deal older than that. Some may be forty or fifty years old and we have even christened them " Queen Victoria's state coach ".

The first two of the new carriages are now on the coast, three more are being completed, and four more have been ordered. But we shall have to order three or four more during every one of the next five years, and each one costs £3,365. They are required of course.

to take the beach boats to the sea or to the launching point, which in many cases is some considerable distance away and may be as much as three or four miles away or even more.

Another thing that we have done during the past year is to proceed with fitting put our boats with very high frequency radio telephony, and we have equipped no less than 140 boats of our fleet with this device. That has cost us £7,840 a year and may cost more, but of course it make for much greater efficiency : it enables the coxswain of the life-boat to talk to the pilot of an aircraft whether that aircraft is of the Royal Navy, the R.A.F. or the United States Air Force.

Here I would like to pay a sincere tribute to that great force for the way in which its aircraft have assisted us on every possible occasion.

Use of Scotchlite Another thing that we have done is to make use of Scotchlite in our life-boats.

As you know, Scotchlite is a reflecting material, and it can be picked up in the beam of a searchlight so that somebody who is in the water can be found very much more easily than would be possible without it.

We have also carried out a series of most rigorous tests of all our life-belts. We heard rumours of the effects of fuel oil on lifebelts, and so, to try and find out the facts, we carried out some extensive trials and we found that the life-belts we are using are really quite all right.

Those are just a few of the things that have been going on. We also sent nine new lifeboats to their stations last year ; four of them were of the 52-feet Barnett type fitted with twin screws and engines of 72 h.p. each— that is 144 h.p. per boat. They also have a wheelhouse and a double bottom under the engine-room to give them extra security.

We have also tackled the question of Thurso. You will probably remember seeing in the papers that the life-boat house and an almost brand new life-boat at Thurso were destroyed by fire. We have managed to send a new boat to that station, rebuild the boathouse and have everything just as it was before in under the year. It has cost £65,000 to do that, which will give you an idea of the enormous cost involved in some of these things.

Work of Guilds All this, of course, means that the cost of running the service is a very high one. It is going up the whole time, unfortunately, and it has come to very nearly £1 million. Think of it, ladies and gentlemen : £1 million, provided by voluntary contributions and by the devoted efforts of our guilds and branches up and down the country. It is a grand thing that they do as much as they do, and particularly I take my hat off to the ladies' guilds all over the country : the work they do is absolutely superb.

I know that everybody in this hall will agree with me when I say that the achievements of the Institution and all who work for it are inspired and continually helped by Her Royal Highness, our President. It is my proud privilege once again to welcome Her Royal Highness here this afternoon.

We have other distinguished guests here too. Our principal speaker, Lord Selkirk, First Lord of the Admiralty, has only managed to get here with great difficulty this afternoon, at the very last moment, owing to his duties in Parliament. He has honoured the Institution by sparing time from his arduous post as First Lord of the Admiralty to attend this meeting.

I also have to welcome one of the greatest figures in our public life, to whom the country as a whole owes a great debt of gratitude, and that is Lord Brabazon of Tara. It does not matter whether it is the world of sport, business, transport, aviation or what—Lord Brabazon's figure is always in it and he is always there at the head of it.

We also welcome His Excellency the French Ambassador and Madame Chauvel and His Excellency the Irish Ambassador and Mrs.

McCann. Our Postmaster-General, who is the M.P. for Wallasey, and Mrs. Ernest Marples are also here, and we welcome, too, Mr. T. W. Jones, M.P. for Merioneth, Lady Mountbatten and Her Grace the Dowager Duchess of Northumberland.

Before I conclude, I would like to pay a humble tribute to the work of the members of the Committee of Management. They are a body of enthusiasts composed of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, of officers of all the three fighting Services and of the Civil Service, of businessmen and men of affairs. It would be really difficult to find a more representative body to give their time to the work of the R.N.L.I, and to do their best to back up the work of our loyal and devoted staff, to whom we all owe so much.

Report for 1957 The report and accounts for 1957 were adopted and the president and vice-presidents, treasurer and other members of the Committee of Management and the auditors were elected.

H.R.H. The Duchess of Kent, giving her presidential address, said : Two years have passed since I last had the pleasure of addressing this meeting. Since that time the Institution has suffered a great loss by the death of Sir Godfrey Baring. It is for me a sad reflection, as it must be for many others this afternoon, that he is not with us today ; I look back on so many occasions in this hall, and at life-boat stations throughout the country, when he was present as chairman of this great service—a service whose interests were always close to his heart, and for which he did so much during the greater part of his life-time.

In a few moments time I shall be presenting the medals and awards in accordance with the customary procedure on these occasions. I always consider this a great honour, and to-day it is my privilege to present medals to Coxswain Mark Bates, of Kilmore in Co. Wexford, and to Coxswain George Stonall, of New Brighton, for their gallant services to the Institution, details of which you will shortly be hearing.

Unhesitating Goodwill To those who know little of the Institution's record, year by year, who have had no personal chance of learning at first hand about its activities, the brief accounts that appear from time to time in the press may seem unremarkable. No doubt many people must think that such exploits are all in the day's work. And of course—in a sense— this is true. It is, certainly, very much a part of the day's work of a life-boat man to hazard his life to save another. It is very much a part of his work to be on short call ; to be sent for in the wildest of weather ; and to suffer all the terrors of the elements in the service of others. But few of us, I think, would have the courage or the physical strength to endure with such unhesitating goodwill the tests with which our life-boat men are almost daily confronted.

Those who attempt rescues are not in every case members of life-boat crews. One of the earliest tasks which this organization took upon itself was the recognition of those who, without thought of reward, set out in boats of any kind to rescue others in distress. There have been a number of people who carried out such rescues during the past year. Mr. John Crook, who is here today to receive an award, is one ; and amongst others there is Mr.

William Morris of the Barmouth life-boat station, whose prompt action resulted in the saving of four children's lives. These acts of spontaneous gallantry were touched by the same spirit that inspires our life-boat crews along pur coasts.

During the past year I visited a number of life-boat stations, and was greatly impressed by the high standards of efficiency and readiness everywhere apparent. I hope this year to be able to visit several more ; and I am particularly happy to tell you that my daughter was very pleased to be asked by the Institution to name the life-boat at Tprbay in Devon on the 25th of July, and that this lifeboat will bear her name.

As always, it is my privilege to thank all those who have helped the Institution in a thousand ways. Each and every one of them plays an important part in the life of the service, and their contributions, in however humble a form, are of tremendous importance.

But above all, it is to the men of the life-boats that I would like to express my warmest thanks and my best wishes for the year.

Medals for Gallantry The Secretary, Colonel A. D. Burnett Brown, read accounts of services by the life-boats at Kilmore and New Brighton and of shore-boat services at Heswall and Barmouth.

The President then presented : To COXSWAIN MARK BATES, of Kilmore, the silver medal for the rescue of the crew of ten of the French trawler Anguste Maurice on the 19th/20th of December ; To COXSWAIN GEORGE STONALL, of New Brighton, the bronze medal for the rescue of the crew of six of the coaster /. B. Kee, of Castletown, on the 5th of November ; To MR. JOHN CROOK, of Parkgate, Wirral, an inscribed wrist watch for the rescue in a single-seater kayak canoe of a fisherman on the 27th of July ; To MOTOR MECHANIC WILLIAM MORRIS, of Barmouth, the Maud Smith award for the rescue in the motor launch Skylark of four children in difficulties while bathing on the 16th of July.

Lord Selkirk then moved the following resolution : " That this meeting, fully recognizing the important services of the Royal National Life-boat Institution in its national work of life-saving, desires to record its hearty appreciation of the gallantry of the coxswains and crews of the Institution's life-boats, and its deep obligation to the local committees, honorary secretaries, and honorary treasurers of all station branches, and to the honorary officers and thousands of voluntary members of the financial branches and of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild in the work of raising funds to maintain the service." In doing so, he said : I do not think it would really require many words—indeed, any words—of mine to commend that resolution to you today, but there are one or two things I would like to say.

The first is to express on behalf of the Board of Admiralty the deep sense of regard which they feel—indeed, which the Royal Navy feel—for the Royal National Life-boat Institution.

We regard it with a deep esteem, but I think the feeling is more than that, because we as a people in this country are immensely proud of our life-boats. We are grateful to the people who organize them and have a deep respect and admiration for the crews who man those boats and the high traditions which they maintain.

I am sure our admiration is enormously increased by the fact that this is a voluntary institution kept alive by those who freely give to help it. Indeed, it would be a very sad day if the people of this country ever lost interest in the sea which surrounds them or in this service which they freely maintain.

An example of the deep sense of interest in the life-boat service is the magnificent representation we have here today of the boroughs of Greater London. Seldom will any of you have the opportunity of seeing a more magnificent representation of the municipalities of this area ; and, if I may say so, a very fine body of men they are.

But when we talk of voluntary institutions let there be no illusion : it is the ladies who work voluntary institutions, even if it is the men who ultimately pay the bill. In these days we incline perhaps to think over much of the wonders of inventions in science, but the facts of nature are always with us. Our food comes to us over the sea. It is brought by those who go down to the sea in ships and have their business in great waters. It is from the sea that our fishing fleet supply the raw material which, in my opinion, is among the choicest of our dishes, and it is to the sea that many of us go for our health and for our leisure, following the example given a century and a half ago by the Prince Regent when he first went to Brighton.

I do not think we could forget the sea which has meant so much to us. May I quote some favourite words which Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher used to use ? " Time, the ocean and some guiding star in high command have made us what we are ". History would be very different if the waters had not surrounded us and if we had not learned to use them.

Now, the second thing I would like to say is simply this : we are all familiar, from the time when we were in the nursery, with that very old story of King Canute. I do not know whether King Canute wanted to demonstrate a fact or whether he had the fact demonstrated to him, but one thing we all know is that you cannot command the sea.

There is only one thing to do, and that is to understand the mood of the sea. Therein lies the skill and the ability of the constructors of our life-boats and of the coxswains and the crews who man them. To appreciate this you only need to hear the stories read to you today or to read in the Life-boat of the heroism and resolution against almost insuperable hardships which the men of the life-boat service have to face.

Immense Success One thing, however, which did catch my eye is the immense success which attends this service. The figures show that throughout the year on an average the life-boat service saves a life almost as often as a life-boat is launched. I think that is a very remarkable achievement. When we recognize that over the last thirty years launchings have become three times as frequent as they were, the high total is, I think, an indication of the standard of efficiency which has grown up.

Over these same thirty years the cost of maintaining the service has gone up fourfold.

There are many reasons for that. Lord Howe gave us some of them when he spoke of the higher quality of equipment, but this is necessary in order that full use may be made of this great service, and it is our duty to see that this great Institution, with all its tradition, continues on its historic task, the task which it fulfils to our merchant shipping and also to foreign commercial men. I am interested to read of help given to at least nine flags of foreign countries, as well as of the help given to our fishing fleet, to that indomitable breed of seafaring people, who always retain the admiration of the whole country.

With regard to those who seek health and enjoyment, whether by bathing or by yachting in the sea, and who find the perils sometimes too great, it would indeed be intolerable if we were ever in a position in the future of knowing that lives were in danger near, or maybe even in sight of, our coasts, and we were not in a position to take action. But we can only take action with proper equipment and fully trained crews and that is what the Royal National Life-boat Institution makes possible, That is why we are grateful to them, and that is why we should support them today.

Lord Brabazon of Tara Seconding the motion, Lord Brabazon said : You have listened to a most admirable speech by Lord Selkirk, and he has actually read the resolution. I am not going to do it again ; do not be alarmed. And one has to remember it was not just Lord Selkirk speaking, it was the First Lord of the Admiralty, and he is a very big gun in this country. I am a bit nonplussed as to why I am here at all.

Why did Lord Howe ask me ? I think it was because I represent, so to speak, the man in the street. He is not to be despised, you know. It is he who puts the little flag in his buttonhole and gives his half-crown.

As a man in the street, I take a very poor view of the sea : it is nasty, wet, cold, salt stuff, and anybody who is foolish enough to go on it leads a very up and down life. But, what is so extraordinary today is that, due, no doubt, to the congestion of the roads, people are going more and more on the sea, and on a fine day you will see people actually carrying their boats down to the sea where they are going to launch them. They look like human snails, so to speak.

Lord Selkirk has drawn your attention to the fact that the sea is a very uncertain element.

I am an amateur sailor, and I know quite well that sometimes you see great liners rolling and plunging about and behaving in a drunken way while you in a small boat do not take any notice of it, whereas on other days, when you get conditions of wind against the tide in a small boat, you have multiple seas on each side of you and a big boat does not even notice it. Consequently you have got to study this element, and these people who go down and know little about it are really risking their lives.

Rescues in August It is, I think a reflection on the conditions which prevail today when you notice that most of the rescues from the sea take place in August, and of course it is a very odd thing to remind you of, but August happens to be in our summer. There is usually a full gale blowing, but nominally it is meant to be our summer. It is not for me to attack in any way a Government office, but I cannot help reminding the Meteorological Office that they really should keep our seasons in order.

This resolution is a tribute to all those who keep this great organization going, and we have to remember that without the organization it is no use having brave men or trying to to this job at all. It is all founded on the organization, and without it the service would collapse.

What I would now rather like to remind you of is our chief coxswain, Lord Howe. We are extremely lucky to have this man at our head. I have been associated with him for many years. When he was in the House of Commons he was wonderful in defending the Navy and looking after the Navy in every way. He is an international motorist famed throughout the world. If you have a weak heart I do not advise you to go with him in his motor-car—not because he is dangerous ; he is a very safe driver, but he will frighten you. I think we are very lucky to have a man like that with all his many activities, because I know him quite well enough to know that dearest of all to his heart, and what he is chiefly keen on in this world, is the life-boat service. May he long continue to be our chief.

Developments in Life-saving There are one or two new developments in life-saving which interest me very much.

One is the collapsible, inflatable life-raft.

These were started, I think, in the war. I have never been in one. I sometimes rather hoped that the ship I was in would sink in order that I might try one, but perhaps that might not have been a good thing. The advertisements speak very well of them.

Advertisements often do speak well of things.

I notice that the very latest type are not only covered over, they have a supply of food and they have a wireless. The only thing they have not got is a television ; but otherwise you appear to be as snug as a bug in a rug.

Whether these life-rafts are a practical proposition or not, I do not know, but they sound splendid to me.

I mentioned television. Did any of you see last night the detergents in our rivers ? Really, that was a most astonishing phenomenon.

Of course, it is all frightfully funny until you fall in and then you cannot be rescued because nobody sees where you are.

That is a point of view that I had really never appreciated. I do hope you housewives will not be lured by the advertisements on television into going on with these detergents until the whole sea is one foam; we shall not be able to see a boat in order to rescue it.

As an old airman I am very pleased also to notice that the dear old helicopter, which was rather despised and rejected by the aeroplane experts, is coming into its own again and is co-operating nobly with you, helping you in every way it can.

Superhuman Bravery Now, at the end of these few remarks, we come to the question of the men. I speak to you as a natural coward. I have always been a coward, and it is no use changing or trying to change at my time of life. I can perfectly well understand that when they are in a tight corner, in order to save their own wretched lives and skins, many people are prepared to do remarkable things which come under the head of bravery. We are all capable of doing that : myself included. But true bravery is deliberately to take on a job that you know to be dangerous. That is really true bravery. When you are cosily in bed, warm and happy and contemplating how you will spend the £200,000 that Littlewood's will undoubtedly give you on the next Saturday, suddenly to hear the signal and to get up, put on your oil-skins, go out into an icy east wind and put to sea in a gale—oh, boy, that really is to me superhuman bravery.

Yet these great men come up here in such an unassuming way and take their decorations from Her Royal Highness. I myself feel privileged and proud to have been even allowed to see them here this afternoon.

I have been told all my life that one of the things a speaker should do is to try and read the minds of his audience. I have looked at you for a few minutes—well, you are quite an ornamental set—and I have come to the conclusion that this is what is in your minds : " This man is a garrulous old buzzard and it is time he sat down." With those remarks, I propose so to do.

Awards for Honorary Workers The Secretary reported that since the last annual meeting one honorary worker had been appointed an honorary life governor of the Institution.

The President then presented the vellum awarded to an honorary life governor to : MR. BARRIE BENNETTS, PENLEE.

The Secretary reported that bars to gold badges had been awarded to two honorary workers and the gold badge to eight honorary workers.

The President presented a bar to his gold badge to : MR. WILLIAM POWELL, SWANAGE ; and gold badges to : MRS. A. L. WARREN PEARL, CHELSEA.

MRS. W. F. GALE, COWES.

MR. A. M. HAMILTON, DONAGHADEE.

MRS. L. M. CRICHTON, EDINBURGH.

MRS. A. HUTCHISON, LEVEN.

Miss E. C. INGLIS, LEVEN.

MR. 3. M. MACKAY, LEVEN.

Miss D. F. CHANDLER, of Seaford, was unable to be present to receive the bar to her gold badge, and MR. R. ROBERTSON, of Grangemouth, to receive his gold badge.

Votes of Thanks Proposing a vote of thanks to H.R.H.

the Duchess of Kent, Admiral Slayter said : It is my proud privilege to move a vote of thanks to our President. Like all the memof our Royal Family with whom we are blessed, Her Royal Highness is a very busy person ; in fact, I sometimes wonder how she has any private life at all in view of all her public engagements.

There is one point that I want to make this afternoon, and that is that our President is not just the gracious and beautiful figurehead of our Institution : she is very much a member of the team and a very hard-working member too. She is equally well known to our crews and helpers on the coast as she is to us, and wherever she is her presence is a real inspiration to all those who work for our great Institution.

Seconding this vote of thanks, Mr.

Roger Leigh-Wood said : I have great pleasure in seconding this resolution which has been so ably proposed by Admiral Slayter. It is not easy to express adequately to your Royal Highness our gratitude for all the work you do and for the keen interest which you have always taken in the affairs of the Life-boat Institution and for honouring this meeting with your presence here today. I assure you, Madam, how deeply sensible we are of this mark of your favour, and we in this hall are very fortunate to have the privilege of showing our gratitude in person.

In the evening those who had received awards for gallantry and their families went to the Crazy Gang Show at the Victoria Palace.

The arrival of H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent and the departure of the medallists were shown on the Independent Tele- Television newsreel. Extracts from the speeches given at the meeting were broadcast in the B.B.C. programme " Radio Newsreel"..