THE total number of launches by life- boats on service in 1960 was 714, the lives of 367 people being saved thereby.

The number of launches was appre- ciably less than in 1959, which had been a truly remarkable year, with a record number of launches for any one year in time of peace. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable fact that last year's figure of 714 was nearly 300 more than the average number of launches in the last five years of peace before the last war.

It was also higher than the average number of launches during the war years. These facts give some im- pression of the tremendous increase in the number of calls made on life-boat crews in the post-war era, an increase which is necessarily reflected in the annual cost of maintaining the service.

Both the services by life-boats for which medals for gallantry were awar- ded in 1960 took place off the coast of Ireland. Accounts of these services appear on pages 3 and 5. In 1959 it was a Welsh life-boat station which had the distinction of the award of a gold medal, and members of both English and Scottish life-boat crews won silver and bronze medals.

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS AND RECEIPTS For the second year running the Institution's payments exceeded its receipts in 1960. The gap between the two was happily narrowed, and com- pared with the deficit of £27,753 in 1959, the deficit was only £11,615.

This narrowing of the gap in spite of increased expenditure can be attributed largely to the remarkable efforts of the branches and ladies' life-boat guilds, who raised more than £50,000 more in 1960 than they had done the year before.

There were also two substantial indi- vidual gifts from Scotland, which were particularly welcome. Nevertheless, the Institution, whose total reserves would not in themselves provide enough for two years' running of the service, must necessarily regard any deficit as a serious matter.

SHORE-BOAT RESCUES On pages 6 and 7 accounts appear of rescues carried out by men who are not members of life-boat crews. One took place off the east coast of Scot- land, where three men effected a rescue from a capsized whaler. Each of them was accorded the thanks of the Institu- tion inscribed on vellum. Off the west coast of England a remarkable act of gallantry on the part of two men, who carried out a rescue after two tankers had collided and caught fire, has been recognised by the Institution by the award of two silver medals for gallantry.

The provision of life-boats and the maintenance of a life-boat service are, of course, the principal concerns of the Royal National Life-boat Institution, but since its inception it has also accep- ted as one of its very important tasks the encouragement and rewarding of rescues by boats of different kinds putting out from the shore. The Institution's charter indeed specifies that " the Committee of Management of the said Institution shall have power to grant pecuniary rewards not only to the persons who man the life-boats or otherwise assist in saving life from shipwreck but also to persons who use a life-boat or any other boat for the pur- pose of rescuing the lives of those in danger from any cause on or near the coasts of the British Islands and Ireland or otherwise assist towards the same ends and of conferring any medals or other honorary awards for distinguished gallantry in such services." The most famous of all shore-boat services was, of course, that by Grace Darling and her father in 1838, but since then there have been innumerable cases of recognition by the Institution of such acts of gallantry. Clearly the Institution can carry out this part of its task only if information is brought to the notice of the Committee of Manage- ment by all those who have first-hand knowledge of shore-boat rescues.

A NEW VOLUME With the March 1961 number of the Life-boat a new volume of the journal opens. This is the 36th volume to appear. The journal was first published in 1852, at a time when, following the acceptance by the fourth Duke of Northumberland of the post of President and the appointment of a new and able Secretary named Richard Lewis, strenuous efforts were made to revive public interest in the work of the life-boat service, an interest which had for some time been flagging. The original plan was to publish the journal " monthly, or occasionally as circum- stances may seem to point out." In the first editorial it was stated : " Many an act of gallantry and heroism, we believe, is only noticed in the local papers published near the place at which it may have occurred, instead of being made known, as it deserves to be, all round the coast, as an example and encourage- ment to others " 'to go and do likewise.'" Other tasks which the first editor of the journal set himself were to report examples of successful use of the line- throwing mortar developed by Captain Manby and of the rockets of Carte and Dennett ; the publishing of a register of wrecks ; and the encouragement of correspondence. On the subject of correspondence it was stated :—" Much valuable information will probably be received in this manner which can thus be circulated to all our life-boat stations, and at once be turned to account if found useful.".