AT eight o'clock on the evening of the 30th January, 1962, the coastguard in- formed the honorary secretary of the Stornoway life-boat station in the Outer Hebrides, Captain Alexander Mackay, that a fishing vessel was aground off Battery Point in Stornoway Bay. She was the motor fishing vessel Maime of 14 tons and had two men and a woman on board.

Injured Hand Badly She had left shortly before from Stornoway and had broken down about one mile north of Arnish Point and drifted on to the rocks, but no distress signals had been seen or heard. A wind of storm force was blowing from the south-south-west, and there was a very rough sea. The weather was overcast with showers of rain and sleet. It was nearly low water.

The Stornoway life-boat, The James and Margaret Boyd, which is one of the 52-foot Barnett type, left her moorings at 8.25. She reached the casualty ten minutes later, and Bowman Malcolm MacLeod fired a parachute flare. In doing so he injured his hand badly, and Coxswain Malcolm MacDonald decided his first duty was to land the bowman at Stornoway for treatment. He did so, and the life-boat immediately returned to the fishing vessel, which she reached for the second time at nine o'clock.

Coxswain MacDonald anchored a few yards to the southward and two rocket lines were fired over the Maime.

Both lines missed, partly because of the strong wind and partly because the life- boat was lying end on to the casualty.

Clambered on to Rocks The coxswain then weighed anchor and made for a position to the east of the fishing vessel, which now offered a better target. He anchored again and four more lines were fired. The last of these fell across the vessel.

There were rocks between the life- boat and the fishing vessel, and these made it impossible to use a breeches buoy. Coxswain MacDonald therefore told the fishing vessel's crew by loud hailer to clamber over the rocks with a line secured to each of them; it would then be possible to pull them aboard the life-boat.

One of the men did in fact clamber on to the rocks several times, but he seemed unwilling to leave his com- panions behind, and repeatedly re- turned when he saw that they were making no attempt to follow him.

Unfortunately he had no life-line and was washed away and drowned. Had he obeyed the coxswain's instructions he would possibly have been saved.

By this time the tide had risen con- siderably and the fishing vessel was being washed high on to the rocks, but despite repeated efforts Coxswain Mac- Donald was unable to bring the life- boat in closer to her. H.M.S. Malcolm was at anchor in the bay at the time and helped to illuminate the scene by search- light.

Drifted Raft Down About two o'clock in the morning, when it was high water, the life-boat went alongside H.M.S. Malcolm and borrowed a raft. She then returned to the position in which she had first anchored, and succeeded in drifting the raft down on to the fishing vessel. The two people remaining on board the vessel made no attempt to climb on to the raft, and it seemed that they were unable to do any- thing to help themselves.

Coxswain MacDonald decided that the only chance of a rescue lay in manoeuvring the life-boat close enough for the two survivors to jump on board.

He appreciated that there was a serious danger that the life-boat would be severely damaged.

Once again he anchored close to the southward and then veered down on to the fishing vessel, closing the raft which was still alongside.

Jumped Across Raft Coxswain MacDonald and the assist- ant mechanic, John MacDonald, then jumped across the raft and dragged the two survivors into the life-boat. The mechanic took charge in the absence of the coxswain, as the usual second cox- swain was not present. While she was alongside the fishing vessel the life-boat touched bottom several times, but she was not seriously damaged. Her port propeller was fouled by a fishing net, which had floated off the casualty, and the port engine stopped.

With the survivors on board the life- boat went ahead on her starboard engine and the anchor was weighed by hand.

The life-boat finally reached her station at 3.40 in the morning.

For this service the silver medal for gallantry has been awarded to Coxswain Malcolm MacDonald.The bronze medal has been awarded to Mechanic John MacLeod and Assistant Mechanic John Macdonald. Medal service certi- ficates have been issued to the other members ofthecrew:Murdo MacLean, M. Campbell, William MacDonald and H. MacAngus..