MR. JAMES PENTREATH, a shore helper at the Penlee life-boat station, was killed in an accident when the Penlee life-boat was being rehoused on the 30th Decem- ber, 1961. Mr. R. W. Blewett, another helper, was injured at the same time.

The accident occurred after the Penlee life-boat had put out on the receipt of a report during the afternoon that there was a sick man on board the tanker Varicella of London, which was ex- pected to arrive at Mounts Bay at five o'clock.

The life-boat Solomon Browne was launched at 4.10 in the afternoon in a light north-easterly breeze and a slight sea. It was low water at the time. The life-boat made for Newlyn to embark a doctor and ambulance crew. She arrived alongside the tanker at 5.10 some six miles south of Penzance. The sick man was suffering from appendicitis. He was taken on board the life-boat, which landed him at Newlyn at 6.15. From there he was taken to hospital. The life- boat then left Newlyn to return to her station, which she reached at 6.30.

As she was about to be hauled up into the keelway of the slip a heavy swell carried the life-boat broadside to the north for about ten feet, pulling the winch wire with her. One of the helpers on the northern side managed to jump over the wire, but two others were struck on their legs. One of them, Mr.

Blewett, fell into the water; the other, Mr. Pentreath, was knocked on to the rocks before he too fell into the sea.

The other helpers quickly reached the two men and hauled them on to the rocks, but it was found that Mr. Pen- treath had been killed and Mr. Blewett had a number of ribs broken. Mr.

Blewett was taken to hospital, where he made a good recovery.

An inquest was held at the County Chamber, Penzance, on the 10th Janu- ary before the Penzance Borough Coun- cil and a jury of nine. A verdict was returned of death by misadventure, but the jury added a rider that "considera- tion should be given for some limitation of age for members of slip crews".

In fact the Institution's regulation No.

40 states: "Shore attendants, shore signalmen, head launchers, winchmen and lightmen must be relieved of their duties if they become incapacitated owing to age, infirmity, ill-health or any other cause; and no person so incapaci- tated may be employed as a helper." The honorary medical adviser had confirmed that both Mr. Blewett and Mr. Pentreath, who were aged 72 and 78 respectively, were extremely fit and well able to carry out the work involved in rehousing the life-boat At a meeting of the Penlee branch held on the 10th January it was agreed that anyone over the age of sixty-five who wished to volunteer as a shore helper must apply through the coxswain to the branch committee annually, and that the decision to allow the applicant to be a shore helper should rest with the committee..