THE annual general meeting of the Governors of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was held at the Central Hall, Westminster, on the 3rd of March, 1959. The Earl Howe, Chairman of the Committee of Management, was in the Chair.

H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester presented medals for gallantry and other awards and gave an address. Lord Birkett proposed 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' Lifeboat Guild. Air Vice-Marshal Sir Geoffrey Bromet and Mr. Raymond Cory, members of the Committee of Management, proposed and seconded a vote of thanks to the Duchess of Gloucester.

Supporting the Duchess of Gloucester on the platform were the Counsellor to the Soviet Embassy, Mr. L. S. Tolokonnikov, and Mrs. Tolokonnikova ; the Member of Parliament for Orkney and Zetland, Mr. Jo Grimond, and Mrs. Grimond, and the Member of Parliament for Barrow-in-Furness, Mr.

W. Monslow ; the Mayor and Mayoress of Westminster ; the mayors and mayoresses of 47 boroughs ; the chairman of one urban district council and the vice-chairman of another ; representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society, the King George's Fund for Sailors, the Red Cross Society, the Ancient Order of Foresters Friendly Society ; the donors of life-boats or their representatives ; representatives of charitable trusts which have actively supported the lifeboat service ; honorary life-governors and vice-presidents of the Institution ; members of the Committee of Management ; and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Central London Women's Committee of the Institution.

Before making his report on the work of the life-boat service in 1958 Earl Howe informed the meeting that H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester had had to attend the memorial service to the late Princess Arthur of Connaught, but that she would be coming to the Central Hall as soon as the memorial service was over. For this reason certain changes had had to be made in the order of items on the agenda. He then said : Chairman's Address My first duty today is to report to you on the work of the life-boat service during the year which has just passed. For the third year in succession life-boats were launched on service more than 700 times. That is really a remarkable thing. Between the wars lifeboats were never launched more than 500 times, but since the last war the figure has gone up and .up, and for the last three years it has exceeded 700. The only other two occasions on which that figure has been exceeded were in 1940, the year of the Battle of Britain, when there were 1,081 launchings, and in the year following when there were nearly 750. So you will see that the service has been pretty busy. During last year the life-boat service was able to rescue 459 people.

I am happy to be able to report to you that no member of a life-boat crew lost his life on service, but there was one most unfortunate accident, when our Eastern District Inspector, Lieut. Stogdon, fouled a wire hawser and suffered a compound fracture of the leg when the life-boat at Hastings was being launched.

I am glad to say that he is improving, but a compound fracture is rather a serious injury, which takes time, and he is still not able to be on the active list.

Last year was an interesting year and might be considered an outstanding year, particularlyin one respect. A new life-boat was completed to an altogether new design produced by one of our own staff, Mr. Oakley.

In memory of that outstanding achievement we have called the boat after him the Oakley life-boat, and successive boats of the class will be known as the Oakley class. A feature of this life-boat is that she is self-righting. If she is capsized she will right herself, and she does this in six seconds. As you know, we have had self-righters in the service for a long period, and about the middle of the last century the Institution started to build all its boats as self-righters. One of the features of those boats and the ones that succeeded them was that they were built with rather a narrow beam, with the result that they were apt to capsize rather more easily than non-selfrighting boats. We found that the crews, when we questioned them, preferred for the most part to go to sea in difficult conditions in a non-self-righter rather than a selfrighter.

In fact there were only six crews who preferred the self-righters to the non-selfrighters.

Great Advance in Design This new boat has been through a most exhaustive series of trials and has come through with flying colours, and we have sent her to Scarborough. If any of you find yourselves at Scarborough this year, do go and have a look at her, because she really is worth seeing and she represents a great advance in design. The self-righting is achieved by the transfer of water ballast from one compartment to another, and this is done quite automatically.

Another thing which we have been able to do during the past year has been to complete our programme of fitting the selected boats in our fleet with very high-frequency radiotelephones.

The reason why we have done this is to enable complete co-operation to be achieved between aircraft with fixed wings or helicopters and life-boats. When a casualty takes place and there is an aircraft near by, the coxswain can talk to the pilot, and they can decide between them which can best go in and do the job. We have fitted about 140 boats of our fleet with very high-frequency radio-telephones ; we have carried out regular trials, and we have had reports from the Fleet Air Arm and the R.A.F. to say cooperation is most satisfactory.

We have continued with our progress, which I mentioned last year at this meeting, of providing more and more stations with new tractors and new carriages. You cannot do that for nothing. The tractor that two years ago cost about £6,000 costs £8,000 today, and in the effort to try to keep pace with rising prices we have to be all the more active and do all we can in order to pay the bill.

New Station at Selsey Then there are other important questions which come before us in the Institution. I remember in the 1920's being down at Selsey.

I had only just joined the Institution then and was very interested indeed in its work, as I have been ever since, and I was taken to see a new station at Selsey on the foreshore.

During the first world war you may remember that a lot of so-called blocks were laid at Spithead—great, big concrete blocks which I imagine were part of the anti-submarine defences. Whether they did something to the tidal stream or not I do not know, but almost at the same moment the coastal erosion in Selsey started in a big way. When you build a pier you usually start from the shore and build it out to sea, but in our case the shore started coming nearer at the rate of twentyone feet a year, with the result that today that same life-boat station that I saw on the foreshore is 300 yards out to sea. The West Sussex County Council have gone in for a great programme of coast defence and have stabilised the position, so that now it is possible for us to build a station, as we shall have to do, on the foreshore with very good access. But all this constructional work is going to cost the Institution upwards of £70,000.

Then we have a life-boat station at the Lizard. Some of you may have seen it. The slipway goes straight into the prevailing wind, and when a call comes for the life-boat the coxswain has to make up his mind whether it is safe for him to take a chance and launch the boat. If he fails, there may be a disaster and the crew may be lost and the boat too. On the other hand, if he decides not to go, there may be people on shore who will say that if the coxswain had been more tough he could have done it. That is a very wrong decision to place upon a cosxwain if it can be avoided.

Now we have found a cove near the Lizard which is almost completely sheltered. We have carried out many tests and have measured the height of every single wave in order to be certain of our facts, and as a result we shall probably build a new life-boat station there.

Cost of Administration You have the accounts in front of you and you will have noticed that receipts have reached an absolute record, upwards of one million pounds. Just think of that ! There is not one farthing of Government money in that directly or indirectly. It has all come entirely from voluntary contributions.

We have a most vigilant Committee. They go through the accounts with a fine comb, month by month, and nothing escapes their steely vision, and I think you may be encouraged when you are told that the cost of administration of the funds of the Royal National Life-boat Institution is 4.4 per cent.

That is a great deal lower than the cost of administration of any other charity in this country.

Our receipts, which come from many sources, including legacies, have kept pace with the payments. I think it is a wonderful thing that so many people in this country remember the work of the Royal National Life-boat Institution when they are making their wills. God bless them for what they do.

I hope I shall be forgiven by the people in this great hall this afternoon if I mention one particular fund because I think it is so remarkable. I refer to the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund. In a few days' time, on London Life-boat Day, the Walmer life-boat is coming up the Thames. This life-boat is very frequently in the news : she works on the Goodwin Sands and when I tell you that, you can imagine what it means. The Walmer boat was provided by the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund, and the fund has provided no less than thirty-two boats from the collections made among members of the civil service.

Distinguished Guests As I have already told you, in a few minutes' time I shall go down to receive Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester, and I am sure that when she comes you will all welcome her heartily. It is grand of her to come here this afternoon, and we are very grateful.

Her Royal Highness is not the only distinguished guest we have here today. I am very glad to say that we have here this afternoon as our principal speaker Lord Birkett.

It is a great thing when a busy man like his Lordship is able to pause in his busy life and come to such a meeting as this and address us. His presence here is a real encouragement to a devoted service.

We are also glad to welcome here this afternoon the Counsellor of the Soviet Embassy and Mrs. Tolokonnikova ; Mr. Jo Grimond, Member of Parliament for Orkney and Zetland, and Mrs. Grimond ; Mr. Monslow, Member of Parliament for Barrow-in- Furness, and Mr. Greville Howard, Member of Parliament for St. Ives, and Mrs. Howard.

All of these Members of Parliament's constituents have distinguished themselves during this past year, as you will hear when the services are read out to you.

Now I want formally to move that the report and accounts for 1958, which are before you, be adopted. I am told that no seconder is necessary, and therefore I will put the motion to the meeting.

Report for 1958 The report and accounts for 1958 were adopted and the president and vice-presidents, treasurer and other members of the Committee of Management and the auditors were elected.

Lord Birkett 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 : The first thing I want to do in moving this resolution is to express the pleasure and the pride which I feel in being invited for the second time to this rather memorable gathering. I hold it to be a comparatively easy thing to be invited anywhere once, but I think it is quite an achievement to be invited to another place twice. I well remember a notorious figure in London who once boasted in company by saying, " I have been invited once to every house in London ", and a member of the group said, " Yes, but only once ". So you will appreciate how much I enjoy the privilege of being here for the second time.

There is just this note of warning that I would utter. There is a danger when invited for the second time that you will say something you said on the first occasion. A friend of mine is so careful to avoid that that he begins by saying, " I have delivered this address twice before, once to a dining club in the City of London and once to the prisoners at Her Majesty's prison at Dartmoor. I therefore take this opportunity of apologising in advance if any of my hearers have heard me before" ; and then he adds " on either or both of those occasions ". There is no need for that this afternoon, and I am sure that if I repeat myself I shall be forgiven.

Two Great Causes To speak the truth, the speech we have just listened to with such pleasure reviewing the activities of the year fully apprehends everything which ought to be said on a great occasion of this kind. I am afraid that all I shall be able to do will be to endorse and support the plea which your Chairman put forward upon all the various grounds.

Before I came here this afternoon I was speaking to an ex-Lord Mayor of London, and he made a very wise observation, as I thought.

He said, " There are two great causes which ought never to fail in this country of ours.

The Royal National Life-boat Institution is one and the British and Foreign Bible Society is the other ". As a matter of fact that very wise observation really might serve as a little text for me this afternoon because both of those great causes make a very sure and deep appeal to the hearts of the British people.

Just let me say this about the Royal National Life-boat Institution. It is not so much a matter that lives are saved, as indeed they are, and it is not so much a matter that men risk their lives to save others, although those are most laudable and admirable things which strike deep into our nature, but one of the reasons why the Royal National Life-boat Institution makes such a sure appeal is this, that the effect upon our national life and individual characteristics of being in the geographical position that we are, an island race with a heritage of the sea, makes all the difference in our case. If we stop to think about it, it was by the sea that the successive invasions came which meant in the long run benefits to our island people. The very words we use in connection with the Royal National Life-boat Institution, the words like " sea ", " the mast ", " the ship ", " the strand ", " the beach ", the points of the compass, north, south, east and west—all those words that we employ daily come to us from the Angles and Saxons who were at that time the invading pirates of our coasts.

Waves of Invasion Similarly there is evidence of the waves of invasion of the Normans in the words we employ. " Venison " is a Norman word and " deer " is a Saxon word, and therefore this wonderfully flexible language of ours, using the language of the sea, owes more than you can ever measure to the fact that we are an island people and the mere accident of our geographical situation. It also taught the people of these islands to be brave and courageous because danger came from the sea at that time, and then the idea slowly grew and percolated that the sea could be made a bulwark and a defence. Therefore not only was the fleet created but also the great merchantmen so that they could go out to every part of the world spreading, as we think, the ideas which have been so fruitful in the four corners of the earth.

It was no accident that one of our famous folk songs which we still sing, " Rule Britannia ! Britons never, never shall be slaves ", arises out of that same fact, that we coupJe with our sea heritage those ideas of liberty which we cherish wherever we may dwell.

Therefore I think that that observation made by the ex-Lord Mayor was compact of wisdom and insight.

The second ground, I think, for the surety of the appeal is this. There are so many things in this world at the present time which make an appeal to greed and self-interest, and it is a wonderful thing to think that there is still in the world something that can evoke an unselfish response ; a cause to which people can give their time and money and leisure, not for themselves or for any benefit that they may have, but for the benefit it may bring to other people. Therefore I want to emphasise what the Chairman said about the use of this word " national "—Royal National Life-boat Institution. The use of the word conveys to most people in the ordinary way that there is some kind of support from the State or some subsidy, which in proper cases is all to the good. As you know, our political history for centuries has really been a battle between maintaining the right of the individual and balancing it with the right of the community, and making those two things harmonize for the benefit of the community and the individual. But in the ordinary way the use of the word " national " does convey to most people that somewhere the Royal National Life-boat Institution is being supported by the State.

Grant from the State It is quite true that for about fifteen years, ending in 1869, there was a grant made from the State to the funds of the organisation we now know as the Royal National Life-boat Institution, but it was hedged about by certain conditions. Those in control of the Institution in those days felt it right and wise to say, " We will no longer have this contribution but we will stand on our own feet and we will make this an entirely voluntary organisation ".

So ever since 1869 this very great Institution, which makes this very sure appeal to the hearts of all British people, has been a voluntary institution. It depends entirely upon generosity and goodwill and unselfishness.

When the Chairman mentioned the enormous figure that it takes, that £!,000,000 a year is needed for this great work, it is a wonderful and most encouraging thing to feel that there is never any danger, as 1 think, that that money will not be forthcoming. I believe for my own part that if ever the situation arose, which I do not think it ever will, that this Institution was in danger financially I believe there would be such a wave of response from people in all parts of Britain that the danger would be averted and its successful career would still be carried on. So it is a very great thing, as I think, that there should be an Institution like this great Institution which makes the appeal that it does make, and that you find the support and response in all sorts of conditions of men and women the world over.

You have heard the fine record of the Institution during this last year. You know, it is so easy to sit here in the calm and pleasant place that we are in and speak about life-boats going out 700 times during the year.

But some of you read the literature of the Royal National Life-boat Institution and you think of what it means. When there are gales, and high seas and danger, there are the men ready to go because there is need. When one thinks of 700 calls, not all in imminent danger but many in circumstances of great danger, one's heart thrills with pride that this Institution should be supported by the kind of men who make up the coxswains and crews of the life-boats.

Cause of Pride This afternoon we shall see, and it is a pity in a way that we have not seen it before I spoke to you, some of the awards given and the grounds upon which those awards are in fact given. If I may say so with Mr. Monslow by my side, it is a cause of pride to me that there should be one from Barrow-in-Furness.

I cannot claim that I was born at Barrow but at a place existing before Barrow was born, at Ulverston, but I went to school at Barrow, and anything concerning it is close to my heart and I am glad to see that one of the awards this afternoon goes to Barrow.

There it is—£1,000,000, I am told. 1 gather that there are 1,000 financial centres all over the country and the people working in those particular centres give their services, and so it comes about by this efficient service at low administrative cost, as the Chairman quite rightly pointed out, that there is this kind of thing to which people can give their services and money and talents, feeling that it is all very well worth while. Therefore a meeting like this, I think, has this supreme advantage.

It proclaims the value of the life-boat service.

The life-boats are so efficient now that it has been possible to reduce the number of stations round our coasts. There are now about 150 of them, but there used to be more. These modern life-boats, I was astonished myself to read and I expect you were too, can carry 100 people. You think what it means for 100 people to be rescued, if the circumstances warrant it, from dreadful danger, and all done by means of this great Institution.

I think it is a wholly good thing that at a meeting of this kind, where the work of the year is reviewed and the needs of the Institution are set forth, that those who have properly carried through the work are praised and encouraged, and I think it is a wholly good thing that we should, for a few moments, reflect upon it. One of our great English writers, George Eliot, said, " Nothing in this world is worth while for long unless there be some eye that kindles in harmony with our own, some words spoken now and then if only to suggest that these things that are infinitely precious to us are likewise precious to another mind ". So here we meet with a like mind to pursue the aims of this association.

If I divine aright, a message has just arrived, and if I may say so in the presence of Mr. Monslow and Mr. Howard, when I was in politics I frequently had to speak, but I had to be ready to sit down when the candidate came. So let me stop at once and do it gracefully by thanking you for the opportunity of speaking here in support of this great Institution, to acknowledge and proclaim our gratitude to all those at sea and in the office at home who have done so much to make this a successful year, and to wish for everybody a long continuance of those conditions.

The resolution was carried with acclamation.

H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester then gave her address, in which she said : When your president, the Duchess of Kent, asked me to come and take her place, owing to her absence and that of Princess Alexandra, I immediately told her how proud I would be to do so, and I am so very glad to be here with you all today.

I have always felt the deepest admiration for the Royal National Life-boat Institution and for the wonderful courage and selfsacrifice shown by the boats' crews in their exacting task. I have had the honour of naming two of your boats—the Ramsgate boat in 1954, and the Cromarty boat in 1956.

I have thus had the pleasure of meeting some of you already and of hearing of some of your exploits.

I have been studying the citations for the medals I am being asked to present today, and they indicate in themselves the variety of services performed by the life-boats. The services for which medals are awarded are, of course, the most outstanding and spectacular ones, but we must not forget that everywhere round the coast voluntary crews are constantly ready to answer the call. I think Lord Howe has told you what a busy year this has been for the crews in every area.

Sooner or later to every life-boat station the great challenge comes, and the manner in which that challenge is always met is beyond praise.

I feel sure that it is owing to the fact that the Royal National Life-boat Institution is an entirely voluntary service that it has proved itself to be of such outstanding quality.

We have with us today, not only those gallant men who have served and are still actively serving in the boats, but also many of their families, friends and workers for the Institution.

Our gratitude goes out to those who work so tirelessly towards the raising of funds for this great cause, as well as to those brave men who spare themselves no danger or hardship in the performance of their self-imposed duty.

The Secretary, Colonel A. D. Burnett Brown, read accounts of services by the life-boats at St. Ives, Barrow and Lerwick.

H.R.H. the Duchess of Gloucester then presented : To MOTOR MECHANIC MICHAEL PETERS OF ST. IVES the silver medal for the rescue of four people marooned in a cave on the 9th of August, 1958 ; To COXSWAIN DANIEL ROACH OF ST. IVES the bronze medal for the same service ; To SIGNALMAN DANIEL PAYNTER OF ST.

IVES the bronze medal for the same service ; To COXSWAIN ROLAND MOORE OF BARROW the bronze medal for a service in which a sick man was taken from the Morecambe Bay lightvessel on the 24th of September, 1958 ; To COXSWAIN JOHN SALES OF LERWICK the silver medal for the rescue of the three survivors from the Soviet trawler Urbe on the 17th of October, 1958 ; To MR. ANDREW DUNCAN MOUAT OF BALTASOUND the bronze medal for the same The Secretary reported that since the last annual meeting Mr. John S.

Duncan, former honorary secretary of the Wick life-boat station, had been appointed an honorary life-governor of the Institution, but he was not able to be present to receive his award.

The Duchess of Gloucester then presented bars to their gold badges to : Miss G. B. ELLIOT, COLNE VALLEY.

VICE-ADMIRAL A. KEMMIS BETTY, SEAFORD, who was represented by his son, Commander F. A. Kemmis Betty.

The Duchess of Gloucester then presented gold badges to : MRS. G. ADAM, CRIEFF.

MRS. E. A. HARRIS, HAWARDEN AND DISTRICT.

MRS. H. MARSHALL, INVERGORDON.

MR. D. CORMACK, LOCKERBIE.

MRS. J. JENKINS, NEATH.

MRS. M. T. R. PEARCE, ST. IVES, CORNWALL.

MR. TREVELLICK MOYLE, ST. MARY'S.

MRS. M. L. LAWSON, STRABANE.

MRS. D. LANYON, WELLINGTON, SALOP.

MRS. T. J. ROWLAND, OF BARRY, was unable to be present to receive the bar to her gold badge and CAPTAIN A. M. FINLAYSON, OF STORNOWAY, and Miss M. M. BRUNTON, OF BIGGAR, to receive their gold badges.

The Duchess of Gloucester also presented a book token and a certificate to Miss GILLIAN ELLIOTT, of Palsgrave County Modern School, as the first prize in the Institution's national essay competition.

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

the Duchess of Gloucester, Air Vice- Marshal Sir Geoffrey Bromet said : Your Royal Highness, this is a pleasing and sincere task for me because I have been a member of the Committee of Management of the Institution for some time, and I am a member of the Royal Air Force Association, whose patron you are, and we know how freely you give of your time and how much your interest and encouragement are appreciated.

Today we have had yet another example of your willingness to serve and your eagerness to support great institutions. By your gracious presence and your generous words you have paid tribute to all our lifeboat men, and by your charm and interest this afternoon these proceedings must Jive long in the memories of those who have received awards at your hands.

For the staff of the Institution and all the voluntary workers throughout the land who raise funds for the Institution, the unfailing interest of members of the Royal Family is a constant source of inspiration and encouragement.

Your presence here this afternoon, I think, may also be taken as a gesture of thanks to the British public and those particular individuals who by their generosity enable this great national life-boat institution to continue its work.

Seconding the vote of thanks, Mr.

Raymond Cory said : On this occasion, with so many life-boat supporters here, I can only echo and support the words of Sir Geoffrey Bromet. I have very great pleasure in seconding the resolution before the meeting.

The vote of thanks was carried by acclamation.

In the evening those who had received awards for gallantry and their families went to " Salad Days" at the Vaudeville theatre, where they were entertained after the show by the company at a party in one of the dressing rooms..