St. Helier, Jersey. At 9.30 on the evening of the 16th September, 1961, the harbour office informed the honor- ary secretary that the motor vessel Heron had struck the Paternoster Reef and was sinking fast. A moderate south-south-westerly wind was blow- ing. It was dark, the clouds were low, and there was a heavy swell. At 9.45 the life-boat Elizabeth Rippon put out an hour before high water. The m.v.

Cranbourne and the s.s. Roebuck had gone immediately to the help of the Heron, and the life-boat was in con- tinuous radio communication with both vessels. On reaching the position the life-boat was informed that the Cran- bourne had rescued six survivors, who had got away in one of the Heron s boats. It was decided to transfer them to the life-boat. This was successfully done in spite of great difficulty caused by the heavy swell that was running.

The success of this operation was greatly helped by the master of the Cranbourne, who brought his ship close in under the cliffs near Sorel Point.

The life-boat then took the Heron's boat in tow.

From reports received from the survivors there seemed little hope of picking up anyone else from the Heron, and the Cranbourne and Roebuck went on their way. The life-boat, however, continued to search an area along the line of the tidal drift. A message was then received by the life-boat advising that the six survivors should be landed at the small harbour at Bonne Nuit.

This was done, and they were picked up by members of the St. John ambu- lance brigade and taken to hospital.

They were later placed in the care of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Marin- ers Royal Benevolent Society.

Arrangements had been made for an aircraft to drop flares over the area, but this was not found possible because of the low clouds, and it was decided that an aircraft should be sent up at day- light to help in the search. Soon after eight o'clock a message was received from the tanker Port de Bouc that she had picked up a man and a woman, who were believed to be the captain of the Heron and his wife. The life-boat now went to the Port de Bouc to take off these further survivors, but they were too exhausted to be transferred and the tanker took them to St. Malo. They had been picked up west of Jersey where the tides meet. At the time this area was strewn with thousands of tomato boxes and other floating debris from the wrecked Heron.

The life-boat afterwards picked up the bodies of a man and a woman and also took in tow a small upturned ship's boat. Ten of the eleven persons on board the Heron had now been ac- counted for. The eleventh was con- sidered by the survivors to have been crushed between the side of the Heron and the ship's boat when the reef was struck. The life-boat finally returned to her station at 2.10 in the morning as it was clear that no useful purpose would be served by continuing to search further. A fisherman from Bonne Nuit continued to search the area during the night and after daylight, but without result..