AT 6.35 on the evening of the 9th of August, 1958, the honorary secretary of the St. Ives life-boat station, Captain W. H. H. Treloar, learnt from the police that four people needed help in Smugglers' Cave near Hellsmouth. The cave lies some five miles east of St.

Ives.

A party of five people had set out to explore the cave. It consisted of two men. two girls aged eighteen and twelve, and a boy of fourteen. They went through a tunnel some hundred yards in length and then lowered themselves down a rope thirty-five feet to the floor of the cave. They stayed there for about twenty minutes and then decided to return by the way they had come.

In trying to climb up the rope, which had become damp and greasy, one of the men lost his grip on the rope and fell. He injured his head.

At 5.45 in the afternoon, an hour before low water, the other man, who was the leader of the party, realizing that exit by the rope was impossible, decided to swim out of the cave. He climbed the cliff with great difficulty and summoned help.

Dinghy Taken in Tow At 6.56 the 35-feet 6-inches St. Ives life-boat Edgar, George, Orlando and Eva Child was launched. A light wind was blowing from the south-west. It was overcast, misty and drizzling.

The life-boat took a dinghy in tow and reached the entrance to the cave at 7.25. A moderate ground sea was running at the cave's entrance.

Coxswain Daniel Roach immediately sent the dinghy into the cave manned by a crew of four. These were : Bowman Thomas Cocking, Assistant Mechanic Jack Paynter, Signalman Daniel Paynter and Martin Roach, who is a son of the coxswain.

Progress in the dinghy was difficult because of the ground sea and the rocky bottom, and after the boat had gone some thirty yards in the cave she was holed and sank. The four men swam and waded a further seventy yards to the head of the cave, where they found the injured man and the three young people. The inside of the cave was very dark, but the members of the lifeboat crew could be distinguished by the Scotchlite reflecting material on their life-jackets. Communication was difficult because of the noise inside the cave.

Hauled Aboard Exhausted Signalman Paynter came to the conclusion he must inform Coxswain Roach of the position and decided to swim out to the life-boat. The flood tide and ground sea made his task extremely difficult, but once he was clear of the entrance to the cave he was seen by the coxswain, who manoeuvred the life-boat towards him.

The coxswain then threw him a line, but Signalman Paynter was too weak to grab it. Motor Mechanic Michael Peters thereupon jumped overboard, swam to Signalman Paynter and secured the line around him. Signalman Paynter was hauled aboard in an exhausted state.

Motor Mechanic Peters then volunteered to try to reach the seven remaining people in the cave by swimming with a line. Two gun lines were joined together, one end of which was secured to his life-jacket, and he took a breeches buoy and two spare life-jackets with him. In this way and with great difficulty he reached the stranded people.

Anchored on Rocky Bottom Coxswain Roach realised he must allow Motor Mechanic Peters as long a scope of line as possible. He therefore anchored the life-boat on a rocky bottom, which was covered with large shingle, by the mouth of the cave in three fathoms of water. To ensure that the bow was heading seawards, he held the boat in this position both by manoeuvring with the engines and by rigging a line from the stern and securing it to the cable just above the water line.

On reaching the cave Motor Mechanic Peters immediately assumed charge. With the use of the gun line he hauled the end of a heavier line from the life-boat, and the seven people were attached to this, one behind the other. The injured man was put into the breeches buoy, the two girls were given the life-jackets, and the boy was secured to Martin Roach.

All Seven Taken on Board Motor Mechanic Peters then pulled himself out along the line to a position from which he could see the coxswain.

From here he gave the order to haul away and himself kept the line clear of the rocks at the entrance to the cave.

When he was satisfied that all was well, he went ahead along the line in order to help the rest of the people on board the life-boat. All seven were taken on board successfully ; the life-boat weighed anchor at 9.5 and reached St.

Ives at 9.45.

For this service the Institution made the following awards for gallantry :— The silver medal to Motor Mechanic Michael Peters ; The bronze medal to Coxswain Daniel Roach; The bronze medal to Signalman Daniel Paynter.

The thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum were accorded to Bowman Thomas Cocking, Assistant Mechanic Jack Paynter, and members of the crew Richard Lander and Martin Roach.

Scale rewards to the crew, £9 2s. ; rewards to the helpers on shore, £10 17s. ; additional rewards to the crew, £14..