AT 7.8 on the evening of the 24th of September, 1958, the honorary secretary of the Barrow, Lancashire, lifeboat station, Mr. T. Downing, was told by the Superintendent of the Trinity House Depot at Holyhead that a member of the crew of the Morecambe Bay lightvessel needed hospital treatment urgently. The Superintendent asked if the life-boat could land the man, as no other vessel was available.

Twelve minutes later the Barrow life-boat Herbert Leigh, which is one of the 46-feet 9-inches Watson type, was launched. A west-south-westerly gale was blowing, and there were frequent heavy rain squalls, which reduced visibility. The tide was halfflood.

The Morecambe Bay lightvessel is sixteen miles from Barrow life-boat station and eleven miles west-by-south of the Lightning Knoll buoy. When the life-boat reached Barrow Bar buoy, some two miles from the boat-house, she met exceptionally rough conditions.

These continued for the next three miles while she was making for the Lightning Knoll buoy.

There were short steep seas in the channel, where the depth of water was never more than five fathoms, and the life-boat pounded heavily in the shallow water. At times she was out of the water as far aft as the steering position, which in this life-boat is amidships, and she would then fall ten or twelve feet down into the sea.

Coxswain Roland Moore decided to reduce speed, but he soon found that he had to increase speed again, as he was losing steerage way.

Sea conditions improved somewhat in the deeper water after the Lightning Knoll buoy was passed, but there were from time to time gusts of wind up to Force 11, which is little less than hurricane force.

The life-boat reached the lightvessel at 10.5. It was then high water. The lightvessel was pitching violently and offered no lee.

The sick man, who was wearing a life-jacket and had a life-line round him, was held at the doorway in the bulwarks on the upper deck of the lightvessel.

The second coxswain and another member of the crew stood by on the starboard side of the life-boat, where the upper chain guard had been let go.

Coxswain Moore approached at slow speed from the stern of the lightvessel and came up on her port side. At the first attempt the life-boat took a sheer and Coxswain Moore made a second run in at half speed. He considered this would give him better control of the life-boat and allow him to go alongside on the top of a sea.

As he brought the life-boat along the port side of the light-vessel the sick man was grabbed and hauled on board without injury to himself or damage to the life-boat.

This operation had lasted ten minutes.

There was no sign of any improvement in the weather, and Coxswain Moore decided to make for Moelfre, where he would have a good lee to land the patient. It happened that the patient himself was a native of Anglesey.

The life-boat reached Moelfre at 5.10 on the morning of the 25th of September, having covered 41 miles from the lightvessel at an average speed of six knots. The sick man was immediately transferred to an ambulance and taken to Bangor hospital, where he made good progress after undergoing a major operation.

As a result of the heavy pounding the life-boat sustained some damage to both bilge keels.

For this service the bronze medal for gallantry has been awarded to Coxswain Roland Moore.

Rewards to the crew, £27 3s. ; rewards to the helpers on shore, etc., £4 4s. Additional rewards to the crew, £18..