A FEBRUARY gale swept the Lytham St. Anne's life-boat Sarah Townsend Porritt from her moorings and eight of her crew had to set off in pursuit in the boarding boat. After a chase for a mile and a half towards Freckleton Marshes they were able to manoeuvre their craft alongside the drifting lifeboat and clamber aboard. The engine was started and the life-boat taken to the quieter waters of Dock Creek.

"If she had gone adrift a bit later she might have been smashed against the wall near the life-boat house," the life-boat mechanic, Mr. George Harrison, told the Lancashire Evening Post. "If that had happened she could have been very badly damaged.

I should say the wind was blowing force 10, and stronger in gusts." A Testimonial on parchment has been awarded by the Royal Humane Society to Mrs. Jane Petty, of Wells, Norfolk, for her rescue of an n year-old girl at the Quay, Wells, last Whit Monday.

The girl had fallen into the water, fully clothed, and Mrs. Petty realising that she wasjn difficulties, dived in from the quay, also fully clothed, and rescued her. After taking the child from the water Mrs. Petty drove her to the hospital for a check-up.

Mrs. Petty is a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. E. W. Hicks. Dr. Hicks is honorary secretary of the Wells life-boat station.

Many precautions have to be taken when the crew of a life-boat go to church together. When the Mutley Baptist Church, Plymouth, held a service for the city's emergency and special services a telephone link to the church was laid on and a fleet of cars were ready to speed the crew to the life-boat if a call came during the service.

Medal For Scottish Skipper (continuedfr0 The James's reached a position about 50 yards off the entrance. Then in mid channel a big lump of sea caused by the interaction of the incoming waves and the backwash rose up under her and threw her up and over. She came down bottom up. Her skipper jumped clear and his two sons were thrown out of the boat.

The skipper and the elder son, John, scrambled on to the bottom of the boat. John then began to take off his oilskins to allow him to swim more easily.

He had only got one arm out when the boat broke up under them and left them in the water. Meanwhile, the younger son, David, had begun to swim towards the Branch.

Mr. Innes immediately put his engine full ahead and turned to starboard, where the wreckage of the James's was being washed out of the channel.

Regardless of the safety of his own vessel in the extremely shallow water he reached a position to leeward between the three survivors and the shore. He then shouted to his crew to throw all the buoyant gear overboard and to throw the ropes.

Both the father and the younger son reached the ropes, the father getting a turn round himself. The younger son was also holding on to a life-buoy.

The elder son, John, was well to windward and was being carried in by the flood tide. Although he estimated that he had only a foot or two of water under his keel Mr. Innes put his engine slow astern with the object of towing the survivors clear of the shallows. He lashed the wheel hard to starboard to try to counteract the strong kick to port of his propeller and then ran to the bows to help pull the father and the younger son inboard on the lee bow, where the freeboard was about 8 feet. The two men were hauled aboard safely, and the skipper then returned to the wheel and put his engine full astern to reach John MacKay, who could be seen well out in the channel. Several seas broke over the stern as the fishing vessel swung into the wind.

SAW A HAND Mr. Innes stopped his engine as he neared the third survivor, but the men on deck then called out that the survivor had gone down, and Mr. Innes left the wheelhouse to see what had happened. He suddenly saw a hand break surface close under his starboard or weather quarter. Telling his men to hold on to his ankles, he threw himself head downwards over the quarter at full length while his crew and David MacKay, Jnr., lay across the net platform in the stern and held on to him.

He just missed the hand as the stern lifted to a sea, but in the trough which followed he managed to grab it and to get a locking finger hold. The men on deck then hauled their skipper and the survivor inboard. The freeboard at the quarter was 6 feet.

Mr. Innes returned to the wheelhouse and took the Branch into harbour.

John MacKay had collapsed, although he was still breathing, and he was given first-aid treatment. He soon recovered, and when they landed all three rescued men were found to be in fairly good condition..