The ninth international life-boat con- ference was held in Edinburgh from 4th to 6th June, 1963. Apart from the British delegation there were repre- sentatives of sixteen nations present. Of the European countries there were delegations from the life-boat societies of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal German Republic, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the U.S.S.R. There were also representatives of the Governments of Ireland and Portugal. Life-boat soci- eties outside Europe represented were those of Japan and the United States of America, and there were Government representatives of Chile and India.

The Finnish life-boat society had intended to send a delegation, but on the opening day of the conference a telegram was received stating that Captain U. Lindqvist, the managing director of the society, had recently been killed in a motor accident and the delegation would not therefore attend.

A message of sympathy to the society was sent on behalf of the delegates.

Ten Life-saving Vessels Ten life-saving vessels assembled at Leith docks. There were life-boats of both the Dutch life-boat societies in addition to rescue cruisers from Ger- many and Norway, and a Swedish fast rescue boat. Five of the Institution's life-boats were also on view. One was the recently completed 48-foot 6-inch prototype life-boat now stationed at Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight; the others were the Aberdeen, Arbroath, Boulmer and Dunbar life-boats.

The delegates first met at a tea party on the afternoon of 3rd June, when Consul H. Helms, the head of the German delegation, who had acted as hosts at the eighth international confer- ence, formally handed over this duty to Earl Howe, Chairman of the Committee of Management of the R.N.L.I. In the evening the delegates were the guests of the Edinburgh Corporation at a dinner at the City Chambers.

Songs by Fisherwomen's Choir The formal opening of the conference took place at noon on 4th June, when Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, the President of the Institution, welcomed the delegates and inaugurated the con- ference. While the delegates, the crews of the visiting life-boats and repre- sentatives of the City of Edinburgh and of the Scottish branches of the Institu- tion were assembling, the Newhaven Fisherwomen's Choir dressed in their traditional costume sang a number of Scottish songs ending with the well known Caller Herriri1. Miss Faith Davidson, daughter of the Kirkcud- bright coxswain, then presented a bouquet to Princess Marina, who, in welcoming the delegates, said: "We in this country have found by experience over very many years that whenever you have discovered new methods of design or construction, new equipment or other devices you have shared them with us, and with others for our mutual benefit. That is why we are meeting today; there is so much that we can learn from each other, and so much that can be contributed to the common cause of saving life at sea." Lord Howe then spoke, and after stating that he had attended several of the earlier conferences he added: "I have seen their value increase over the years.

We have all of us been continually engaged in the task of improving and modernizing our life-saving vessels and equipment, and a study of the papers submitted to this conference shows particularly the many advances in recent years in nearly all countries." St. Peter Port Gold Medal Mr. Stirling Whorlow, the Secretary of the Institution, read the citation of the service carried out by the St. Peter Port life-boat on 5th February, 1963, for which Coxswain Hubert Petit was awarded the gold medal for gallantry, and Princess Marina then presented the medal to the coxswain.

Vice-Admiral d'Harcourt, President of the French Central Life-boat Society, proposed a vote of thanks to Princess Marina, in which he said that the delegates all knew of the splendid work Her Royal Highness was doing in bringing so many people in the British Isles to contribute to the work of life- saving at sea. In an eloquent speech seconding the motion Lord Saltoun, Convener of the Scottish Life-boat Council, said that there were very few things that he knew of on which all Scotsmen were agreed but that Her Royal Highness had a whole nation in her service and united. He ended: "In the name of the Royal National Life-boat Institution and in the name of the whole people of Scotland I thank you." Film of U.S. Coast Guard Boat Conference sessions were held both in the morning and in the afternoon of the 4th June. The first session was devoted to the subject of boat design and construction. Papers were discussed on new life-saving vessels now in service in the Netherlands, in Norway, in the United States and in Great Britain. The British boat described was the new 48-foot 6-inch prototype life-boat. A film was shown of the new U.S. Coast Guard 44-foot life-boat, which aroused great interest, and a model of the boat was also shown to the delegates.

In the afternoon the main theme of discussions was that of inshore rescue work. Papers were considered on the subjects of inflatable life rafts used by the Icelandic Society, Japanese inflat- able life rafts, the inflatable rescue craft used by the Breton Life-boat Society, a jumping-net used by the Swedish Soci- ety, United States amphibious heli- copters and co-operation between Polish rescue vessels and tugs. A proposal put forward by Captain Hans Hansson of the Swedish Life-boat Society on the subject of radio communications be- tween protected vessels and armed forces during armed conflicts was also considered.

On the evening of the 4th June the delegates dined as guests of the Glasgow Corporation.

Discussions on First Aid The first hour and a half of the morning of 5th June were given up to discussions on first aid and the pro- tection of crews, papers on first aid submitted by the Dutch and Breton Life-boat Societies and the R.N.L.I.

being considered. The protective cloth- ing provided for life-boat crews by the United States Coast Guard was also discussed at length, and a paper was considered on the protection of life- boats and crews from fire on board tankers which had been submitted by the Royal South Holland Society.

The delegates then visited Leith docks, where Princess Marina person- ally inspected all the life-boats on view and spoke to the crews. A capsizing demonstration was given of the 37-foot self-righting Oakley life-boat stationed at Boulmer.

Oldest Life-boat in Existence A buffet luncheon was held in a marquee alongside the docks. In this marquee an exhibition arranged by the Scottish Daily Express in conjunction with the R.N.L.I. was staged. One of the principal attractions was the oldest life-boat in existence, the Zetland, built in 1800, which had been specially brought from Redcar by permission of the Redcar Town Council and under the personal supervision of Mr. Tom Picknett, a former coxswain of the Redcar life-boat, who was a member of the Redcar crew for more than twenty years. The various life-boats and other rescue vessels then put to sea, the delegates choosing the boats in which they wished to embark.

In the evening a reception given by Her Majesty's Government was held in Edinburgh Castle and was graced by the presence of Princess Marina. The delegates and their ladies were greeted by Vice-Admiral John Hughes-Hallet, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, and Mr. R. C. Brooman- White, Joint Parliamentary Under Sec- retary of State for Scotland, and Mrs.

Brooman-White. The delegates then watched the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders beat retreat on the esplan- ade of Edinburgh Castle.

The final day, Thursday, 6th June, was given up to conference sessions both in the morning and in the after- noon. The first papers discussed were on a Norwegian proposal for a rescue and weather ship in the North Sea and a recommendation put forward by the Swedish society that more concerted efforts should be made to chart the world's rescue services. The R.N.L.I.

undertook to do its best to obtain the information required.

New French Life-boat Stations Four papers on the subject of com- munications, two from Sweden and one each from Germany and Norway, were then discussed. These were followed by papers on the establishment of the new life-boat stations at Etel and La Continiere in France and at the Lizard- Cadgwith in Britain.

The final session dealt with a number of varied subjects. A proposal put for- ward from the Netherlands that all life- boat societies should contribute to the cost of preparing the reports by pur- chasing the number of papers they required was agreed, but Lord Howe stated that the R.N.L.I. would be financially responsible for the produc- tion of the reports on the present con- ference. Lieut.-Commander H. Th. de Booy, Director of the Royal North and South Holland Life-boat Society, also proposed a vote of thanks to the Postmaster-General for honouring the conference by the issue of special postage stamps.

Experiences in Typhoon Among other subjects discussed were the experiences of the Japanese Rescue Society in the typhoon of 1959 and rescue problems specifically affecting the Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish Life-boat Societies.

In the evening the delegates were the guests of the Scottish Shipowners' Association at a cocktail party and of the R.N.L.I. at a farewell dinner and dance. At this dinner Lord Howe announced that it appeared to be the general feeling of the delegates that the tenth international life-boat conference should be held in France, and this sug- gestion met with the warm approval of the delegates.

On the afternoon of the 6th June a number of demonstrations were held in Leith docks in conjunction with the exhibition staged by the Scottish Daily Express and the R.N.L.I., both the exhibition and the demonstrations being open to the general public. The demon- strations included a capsize of the Boulmer life-boat, the launching and recovery of the daughter boat from the German rescue cruiser and the Swedish use of the jumping-net.

New Forth Bridge Entertainment provided for the ladies who accompanied the delegates included visits to the new Forth bridge and to the Trossachs, a sight-seeing tour of the City of Edinburgh and a visit to Munro Spun Factory. Members of the crews of the life-boats witnessed the ceremony of beating the retreat, were taken on a tour of the border country and were guests at two dinners at which members of the Committee of Management of the R.N.L.I. acted as hosts.

Of the five visiting life-boats the Norwegian and Swedish vessels made direct passages to and from their countries. The life-boat Koningin Juliana of the South Holland Life-boat Society called at Gorleston and Teesmouth on her way to Leith and at Tynemouth on her return. The life-boat Carlot of the North and South Holland Life-boat Society called at Tynemouth and Gor- leston on her return journey, and the German life-boat Georg Breusing called at Dundee, Aberdeen, Dover, Shoreham and Ramsgate after the con- ference. On 13th June she took part together with the Walmer and Dover life-boats in a search for survivors after a collision in fog. An account of the service appears on page 546.

Before the conference was opened a service was held in St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh on Sunday the 2nd June, when prayers were said for the work of the life-boat services of all countries.

On the 4th June, to mark the open- ing of the conference, a ceremony took place at Douglas in the Isle of Man at which Air Vice-Marshal Sir Geoffrey Bromet, a Vice-President of the Institu- tion, laid a wreath on the tomb of Sir William Hillary, the founder of the Institution, and called attention to Hillary's precept that "the people and vessels of every nation, whether in peace or war" should be "equally objects of this Institution.".