H.R.H. PRINCESS MARINA, DUCHESS OF KENT, President of the Institution, attended the annual general meeting of the governors of the Institution on the 6th March, 1962. Reporting on the past year's work, Earl Howe, Chairman of the Committee of Management, said : " My first duty to-day is to report to you on the work of the Royal National Life-boat Institution in 1961, and a very remarkable year it was. Last year our life-boats were called out more than 960 times. That is a record in peace time and it has only once been exceeded, and that was during the war in the year of the battle of Britain. I would ask you to consider the fact that life-boats put out to vessels in distress at sea more often in 1961 than in any other year since this Institution was founded 138 years ago.

It is true that the figure was exceeded once, as I say, in 1940, but then the life- boats were continually being called out to go to the rescue of aircraft and their pilots.

" There were, of course, frequent gales at all seasons of the year and that, to a large extent, accounts for the tre- mendous demands upon our life-boat crews. But it is a fact that year after year life-boats tend to be called out more often. In other words, the work of the life-boat service is continually growing, and its needs become cor- respondingly greater.

Death of a Shore Helper " The number of people whose lives were saved by the direct action of our life-boats last year was 416, and I am glad to be able to report that in spite of the huge number of calls no member of a life-boat crew lost his life on service last year. There was, however, one very sad event. Mr. James Pentreath, at Penlee, was killed on the slipway as the life-boat was returning after a service. Mr. Pentreath was a shore helper. That is to say, he was one of those who help to launch the life-boats and to bring them back again when their service is completed. Sometimes I am inclined to think that not enough credit is given to those who serve ashore.

Public admiration can be stirred by the action of crews who put out in force 10 gales, who stand by vessels in distress through a winter's night or carry out a dangerous and difficult rescue. It is very right that this should be so, be- cause no praise is too high for the men who man our life-boats, but we must also pay a fitting tribute to our shore helpers, who also turn out at a moment's notice, perhaps in the middle of the night. Mr. Pentreath, who lost his life last year, was one of a number of invaluable voluntary workers for the life-boat service all round the coast.

" During the year we took a number of important decisions to provide new forms of equipment and new devices for the help of our crews. Some of the details appear in the report, of which you all have a copy. We sent six new life-boats to their stations during the year, two of them being the new Oakley life-boats, which are com- pletely self-righting. Our expenditure on the construction and repair of life- boats amounted, in fact, to more than £300,000.

Institution's Finances " This brings me to a consideration of the state of our finances as a whole.

Last year, and the year before when I stood on this platform, I had to report that in the preceding years our expendi- ture was greater than our income. In fact, we were slightly in the red. I am happy to say that I do not have to make the same statement this year. Last year there was, as the accounts before you will show, a surplus. At first sight this looks very gratifying, but the fact is that the great bulk of the increase in our revenue came from legacies. We are deeply indebted to those who have pro- vided for the life-boat service in their wills, but one point we must remember, and that is that the receipts from legacies inevitably fluctuate year by year. Our revenue from the living, as opposed to the dead, showed in fact that there was only a small increase, and we have no ground for complacency.

Indeed, the opposite is the case and our needs will continue to grow.

" We did have a successful year, and it was largely due to the tremendous efforts made by our voluntary workers all over Britain and Ireland, those mem- bers of branches and guilds on whom the whole success of the life-boat service really depends and to whom it is due.

We cannot thank them too highly for what they have done.

Inspiration from President " The full report of the year's work is in front of you. I have mentioned only a few special points, and I will shortly propose that the report and accounts be adopted, but before I do so there is one, at any rate, very pleasant and gratifying task I have to perform.

That is—and I know you will all join with me enthusiastically in my task— to welcome once more to this meeting our Royal President, Her Royal High- ness Princess Marina. To all of us in the life-boat service, whether we serve on the Committee of Management, as crews, shore helpers or workers round the coasts, as members of branches and guilds or as members of the staff, Your Royal Highness's constant, close and personal interest in the service is a continual inspiration to us, and we are particularly happy at this meeting, which is held to record the work of such an outstanding year in the annals of the Life-Boat Institution, that Your Royal Highness should be present.

" I also want to say how delighted we are to welcome as our guest once again Lord Brabazon of Tara. A few years ago he addressed this meeting, and so truly did he catch the spirit of the life- boat service and so happily and in- spiringly did he address us that we all felt we should like to have him back with us again. We are indeed privi- leged that he has been able to come." Presidential Address The report and accounts for 1961 were adopted and the president, vice- president, treasurer and other members of the Committee of Management and the auditors were elected.

The President then gave her address.

After thanking the Chairman for his welcome she said : " I always consider it a privilege to be on this platform and to take part in this meeting, which provides, as you have just said, an opportunity for re- viewing the work of the life-boat service during the past year. And 1961 was certainly an outstanding year in the history of this Institution.

" This meeting is also an occasion for conferring awards on certain people who have given outstanding service.

They may be coxswains or other mem- bers of life-boat crews, who have won medals for gallantry. But awards are also made to those who have no direct connection with the life-boat service but who, inspired by the same spirit, put out in their own boats to the rescue of those in difficulties or danger. This afternoon, for example, a boy of thirteen will be rewarded on this platform for his remarkable courage and presence of mind in saving the life of a girl at Appledore ; I am sure you will join me in congratulating him.

Devotion and Public Service " And then there are those who have worked for twenty or more years on behalf of the Institution ; just think what that means in terms of devotion, of hard work and of public seivice. In honouring these particular individuals we recognise, through them, the thousands of people all over the country who give up their time voluntarily to help the life-boat cause. Down the years it has been a very real pleasure for me to meet many of these wonderful people ; we cannot express sufficient gratitude to them.

" Last year, as some of you will know, I named the new life-boat at Broughty Ferry which replaced the one lost so tragically in the disaster of 1959. There I had the chance of meeting the new crew ; the men who volunteered so readily and promptly to replace their comrades who had given their lives.

This is typical of the wonderful spirit of Broughty Ferry and, may I say, of many other life-boat stations along our coasts.

This year, I look forward to my visit to Sheringham, to naming the new boat there, and to meeting the members of her crew.

" Now I should like to finish these few words with a special announce- ment which, I know, will be of interest and pleasure to you all. Lord Howe, our Chairman, has been connected with the Life-Boat Institution for forty-three years ; for all this time he has been a member of the Committee ; for ten of those years he was Deputy Chairman, and for the last six our Chairman. His colleagues on the Committee of Management have decided to recognise the great contribution he has made to the work of the Institution, in which he has been joined by his wife—herself an honorary life-governor.

Life-boat Named After Chairman " I am therefore delighted to be the first to tell you that a new life-boat is to be named The Earl and Countess Howe. I am sure you will all agree that this is a fitting recognition of their magnificent services to this Institution.

" It remains for me, as in former years, to send every possible good wish to the crews of life-boats throughout these islands, and to express our con- tinued support for all those who work on the local committees and the many volunteer members of branches up and down the country." Princess Marina presented: To COXSWAIN JOHN STONEHOUSE of Tees- mouth the bronze medal for gallantry for the rescue of the crew of three of the yacht Sybil Kathleen on the 1st June, 1961 ; To RICHARD SIDNEY BOWDEN of Appledore an engraved wristlet watch for the rescue in a 9-foot dinghy of a girl swimmer on the 18th July, 1961.

LORD BRABAZON OF TARA, the guest speaker, then said : " We are now passing from the sublime to the ridiculous. There is a story told of a traveller who was going out west among a lot of the Comanches, and they asked him to make a speech.

He did his best to make a speech and it was not going very well and he got very nervous. However, the man on his right said : ' Don't be alarmed ; we're not gunning for you but for the man who asked you to come.' Well, in this case, it is Lord Howe. And this is the second time he has done it, but I beg for your mercy towards him be- cause he is a very old friend of mine.

" Now he has told us about what this remarkable Institution has done during the year, and how wonderful it is to think that with all the efforts put in, no lives were lost among the life-boat crews. That is, first of all, something to congratulate ourselves upon. Then I do not think that people in general realise that this service averages fifty lives a month saved. That is some- thing I never knew and I consider it nothing short of wonderful. Reading through the report, I see that your organisation since it started has saved 83,000 lives from the sea. That is also very wonderful.

" Then, of course, apart from the brave people who indulge in rescue work, there is the organisation, and it is very gratifying to find that you had a surplus last year. Lord Howe did draw attention to the fact that you have got half a million from legacies. It is really a matter of whether you subscribe when you are alive or when you are dead, but I recommend you to do it while you are alive because you will not pay so much to the Government in tax. You might remember that.

Hear Two Maroons " I have got a new idea for collecting money. I, like many who live in this country, spend part of my holiday by the sea, and everything is lovely when it is lovely, but then a day will arrive when the temperature goes down and the house is rocked by wind and you say to yourself, as you are cosily in- stalled in front of a fire, probably look- ing at the television and eating chest- nuts : ' I am delighted that I have not got to go out to-night.' Then sud- denly you hear two maroons and you realize that some of your fellow men committed to the job are going out on the sea in that weather to try to rescue people in distress, and you say to your- self : ' Thank God it isn't me.' In those circumstances there is not a man or woman, I believe, who would not empty their pockets into a collecting box if they had got it by the side of their bed, and I suggest that such collecting boxes should be distributed to all visi- tors to the sea.

" In these days of dangers it has al- ways seemed very remarkable to me that any of us are alive at all. What with the atom bomb, the plastic bomb, all the traffic accidents, smallpox and aero- planes falling every day out of the sky, this is very remarkable. A thing which always surprises me is that although a tremendous fuss—quite rightly—is made about the 6,000 people who are now killed on the roads, 7,000 people are killed in the home. How they manage to kill themselves is very re- markable. I suppose that people fall downstairs, that young people electro- cute themselves in the bathroom—and, as you know, all children have suicidal tendencies ; they either walk out of the window or into the fire. But it is a very remarkable death roll, and when you look at this death roll and assess the hazards of this world there is undoubt- edly one place which is safe, and that is a British liner. If you are a passenger in a British liner you are about as safe as you ever will be in this life, because they have lost no lives in the last two years, and I hope if you are in a liner you will remember those remarkable figures while you are being seasick.

Sailing Small Boats " I cannot help saying a word about seasickness. All my life I have been a terribly bad sailor. One year after the first war my wife insisted that I should go to the Isle of Wight, and being an obedient husband I went down there, and everyone was indulging in the absurd practice of sailing small boats.

I was pushed into doing it finally. I started sailing small boats and I en- joyed it very much and, most extra- ordinary, the rougher it was the more I enjoyed it. Having spent a very pleasant summer at Bembridge I left with the firm conviction that this idea of being seasick was purely psychological and that I had cured myself of it. I had to go north by road to get to the west coast, and, would you believe it, I was seasick on the ferry between Birkenhead and Liverpool. I must say that that put me firmly in my place, but how the crews of life-boats stand the bouncing about in a heavy short sea in the middle of the night and are not ill, is beyond me.

They must be very remarkable people indeed.

Rescues in August " Looking through your figures, I see that most rescues take place in August.

There is a popular idea that August is a fine month for weather, but it is rapidly being displaced. What is interesting is that though you have to pass a test and be examined if you want to drive a motor-car, you can go on the sea with- out any form of knowledge or training, and I am glad to see that this organisa- tion is trying to do its best about that.

But do not let me discourage anyone from going on the sea because you will get as much enjoyment out of it as you ever will from anything in your life.

It is a real holiday ; it is a new world and, indeed, it has its own language and jargon, and that you ought to under- stand, although it takes a little time to acquire. I well remember a young friend of mine thinking he would go out in a club boat. They were trying to haul up the mainsail and got into a.

most frightful tangle, and on seeing this a well-wishing friend said : ' You had better belay the halyards.' That is absolutely pure Greek to anyone who does not know the jargon of the sea.

" There was another thing which amused me. I was sailing in a race and was on the starboard tack and my son was about to ram me, and his crew shouted at him ' Ware ship!' That does not mean anything to anybody, does it ? I sail every year in a small boat, and I have been used to public life, and you know what public hfe is like : you are called every name under the sun and no one ever pays you a compliment.

Well, I had the greatest compliment ever paid to me, this year. The wind had got up to 6 or 7 when we were out, and it was a nasty blow. In these small boats there is no time to reef and we were being knocked about and the sea was very short. It was not just spray, but buckets of it hit you in the chest, a form of torture which comes with that kind of amusement, and luckily I got round the windward mark first. My crew stood up—a splendid young man— shook himself like a terrier and turned to me and said, if I may slightly para- phrase it in view of the presence of Her Royal Highness : ' I consider you are a ruddy wonderful old beggar.' That was the finest compliment I have ever had paid to me.

In Sight of Bembridge Life-boat " Now in case you consider that I am reckless, I am not at all. I always sail within sight of the Bembridge life-boat, a very wise thing to do, and one of these days they will rescue me. Well, I want on behalf of all those people who sail ships, or small ships, to say that thanks from them go to all in your organisa- tion—all those who go down to the sea in ships and have their business in deep waters. Not only do I want to do that; I want to convey the thanks of all those lesser folk who go out in dinghies and have their business in very shallow waters. I hope they will be seen in in- creasing numbers ; they will find the sea very lovable but rather cruel.

"I have the greatest pleasure in mov- ing the resolution standing in my name." The resolution was: "that this meet- ing, 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." Awards to Honorary Workers The resolution was carried unani- mously, and Princess Marina then pre- sented the certificate of an honorary life governor to : MR. WILLIAM JAMES, former honorary secretary of the Runswick station branch.

Her Royal Highness then presented a bar to the gold badge to : MRS. A. G. DOGGART, Selsey: and gold badges to : Miss H. M. MOIR, Edinburgh; MR. J. R. WISEMAN, Filey; MR. R. T. INNES, Kirkcaldy; MR. G. S. STORM, Nairn; MRS. T. C. RAINFORD, Preston; MR. J. SHARPLES, Rishton; MRS. J. F. UNDERWOOD, St Andrews; MRS. J. B. COULTHURST, Skipton; MRS. D. SOWDEN, Southampton.

Field-Marshal Sir Francis Festing, a member of the Committee of Manage- ment, moved a vote of thanks to the President, saying : " It is a great privilege for me, as a very recently elected member of the Committee of Management, to propose this vote, which I am sure will be carried with enthusiasm and acclaim. It is, of course, a vote of thanks to Her Royal Highness the President of the R.N.L.I.

If I may say so, what she has done for us this afternoon is to transform what would otherwise have been, perhaps, a somewhat routine record of the activ- ities of the R.N.L.I. into something which is an inspiration to us all. I feel that it is a great inspiration to all of us; on the one hand to those who spend th£ir lives helping in the great work of the Institution and, for instance, at the other extreme, to the lad Richard Bowden from Appledore. It is a memor- able function for all of us and one that we shall not easily forget, in fact that we shall not forget. I would also say how particularly delighted we are that our President should have made the very happy announcement that a life- boat is to bear the name of the Earl and Countess Howe." Debt of Gratitude Grows Seconding the vote, Captain Lord Ailwyn, a vice-president and a member of the Committee of Management, said: "It is a great honour to be allowed to second the vote of thanks which has been so eloquently moved by the Field- Marshal. Those of us who have, through the years, been associated closely with the work of the Royal National Life- Boat Institution are supremely con- scious of the great benefit we have always had in having you, Madam, as our President. There are, in public life, active and working presidents and there are passive and figurehead presidents.

Your Royal Highness has never allowed yourself to be one of the latter category.

You have never hesitated to answer any call made upon you, whether here or on the coast. Each year our debt of gratitude to your Royal Highness grows greater, as do our respect and admira- tion for your indefatigable work and your inspiring example, and it is with genuine feeling and great sincerity that I beg leave to second this vote of thanks.'' The vote of thanks was carried with acclamation.

Supporting Princess Marina on the platform were the Mayor and Mayoress of Westminster ; the member of Parlia- ment for Cleveland ; the mayors and mayoresses of forty-two towns and boroughs; the chairmen of two urban district councils; representatives of the Ministry of Transport; donors of life- boats or their representatives, including the Civil Service Life-boat Fund and the Canadian Pacific Steamship Com- pany; representatives of charitable trusts which have actively supported the life-boat service; honorary life-govern- ors and vice-presidents of the Institu- tion; members of the Committee of Management; the President of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, and a vice- chairman of the Central London Women's Committee of the Institution.

In the evening those who had re- ceived awards for gallantry and their families saw the Crazy Gang show at the Victoria Palace and in the interval went on the stage to meet the principal members of the cast..