Dungeness, Kent. At 12.30 on the afternoon of the 24th of October, 1958, the coastguard at Lade informed the honorary secretary that wreckage of an aircraft had been seen four miles south of Varne lightvessel. At 12.50 the life- boat Charles Cooper Henderson, on temporary duty at the station, was launched in a calm sea. There was a light easterly wind and an ebb tide.

An aircraft dropped a smoke flare to indicate the position and the wreckage was recovered and handed over to a Royal Air Force air-sea rescue launch.

A search was carried out for the pilot of the aircraft without success, and the life-boat returned to her station, arriv- ing at six o'clock. Rewards to the crew, £14 ; rewards to the helpers on shore, £21 5s..