SHORTLY before one o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th of March, 1959, which was Easter Monday, a 30-feet motor fishing boat with three people on board, who were returning from a pleasure trip, capsized at the entrance to Christchurch harbour, Hampshire.

It was one hour before the second high water. There was a heavy breaking ground sea and the weather was showery, although the southerly wind was not blowing strongly at the time.

At 1.5 Mr. Norman Cockburn, who works at the Avon Cafe, which is at the northern side of the harbour entrance, saw the occupants of the boat in the water. They were then about 250 yards from the shore. Mr. Cockburn immediately told the proprietor of the cafe, Mr. Kenneth Derham, who informed the coastguard at Southbourne what had happened and said that he was going to investigate himself and would give any help he could.

Mr. Derham had himself undergone a serious operation only six months before, but this did not deter him. He had more than once rescued bathers and others who were in trouble off the beach and all his life had spent much time in small boats.

Difficulty in Launching With the assistance of Mr. H. Scragg of Mudeford the coastguard at Southbourne made contact with Mr. G. E.

Hall, a boat owner, who put out from Mudeford quay in his 35-feet fishing boat.

Mr. Derham's boat was an 11-feet rowing boat, and although helped by Mr. Cockburn and his son he had considerable difficulty in launching it because of the heavy surf on the beach, which was aggravated by the backwash from the sea wall.

In order to be able to watch the oncoming seas Mr. Derham had to stand up and push-row the dinghy, but he succeeded in getting through the surf at his first attempt. Once he was clear of the beach the sea conditions were better.

After a time he saw two people clinging to wreckage ahead of him, and on reaching them he found that one was the owner of the capsized boat, a young man of nineteen. Mr. Derham told him to stay in the water and to hold on to the transom of the dinghy.

Girl Clinging to Wreckage The other person who was clinging to the wreckage was a fifteen-year-old girl, who was so exhausted that she was unable to help herself and had to be dragged on board Mr. Derham's dinghy.

To haul her over the side of his boat Mr.

Derham had to lay down his oars and could only hope that the dinghy would not broach to in the heavy breaking ground sea. There was a mean depth of seven feet and the height of the swell was some six to seven feet. There must have been a lull at the moment the girl was dragged on board, for otherwise the dinghy would certainly have capsized.

When he had dragged the girl on board Mr. Derham learnt that the third occupant of the fishing boat had been the girl's father, who had drowned.

He therefore decided to return to the shore with the young man holding on to the stern of the dinghy. He approached the beach stern first, keeping his boat head to sea and manoeuvring her between the groynes. The boat was safely beached one hundred and fifty yards to the east of the point from which it had been launched.

Never out in Worse Seas Mr. Hall had not succeeded in locating the two young people and finally returned to harbour, his boat being half-filled with water as she crossed the bar. He stated later that he had never been out in worse seas on Christchurch bar.

There is no doubt that Mr. Derham fully realised when he put out that his chances of returning safely were not high.

For this service the silver medal for gallantry was awarded to Mr. Kenneth Derham. A letter of appreciation was sent to Mr. G. E. Hall, and a letter of thanks to Mr. H. Scragg.

The last service for which so high an award as the Institution's silver medal was conferred on anyone other than a member of a life-boat crew took place on the 27th of November, 1954, when a United States helicopter, piloted by Captain Curtis E. Parkins, rescued the sole survivor from the South Goodwin lightvessel..