WHEN I arrived at Scarborough, on the Yorkshire coast, night was falling. Down on the fish pier lights twinkled as the wind, the restless wind, tugged at lamp fittings. Sand, like powdered snow, drifted along the promenade, and the wind puffed through the narrow alley-ways and swung the signs to and fro and rattled the shutters of locked shops.

Some of the fishing fleet—cobles and keel boats—-were in harbour, and I noticed names like Graceful Lady, Brilliant Star, Caroline, Hyperion, Whitby Rose, Vigilantes, Betty Sheader, Rachael, Sparkling Star and Protect Us.

ONE OF THE OLDEST STATIONS Near the fish pier the 37-foot Oakley life-boat J. G. Graves of Sheffield, which in 1958 was the first of its type to go into service with the R.N.L.I., rested in the quiet life-boat house. Round the walls of the house are service boards showing that, since 1801, Scarborough life-boatmen have been helping those in peril on the sea.

In fact, the Scarborough life-boat station is one of the oldest in the British Isles with a continuous history. Only Montrose, in Scotland, and Sunderland, Co. Durham, are older—by a year.

Apparently a life-boat was built in 1801 at Scarborough from the plans and moulds of Henry Greathead, a South Shields professional boat builder, whodesigned the Original which was launched in 1790 and remained in. service for 40 years. The first Scarborough life-boat was financed by local voluntary subscriptions and donations. On 2nd November, 1801, on her first service, she rescued the crew of seven from the Aurora of Newcastle.

Ever since Scarborough life-boatmen have been going to sea their old enemy has snatched at them from time to time. In 1836 the second local life-boat, which was built in 1822, capsized with the loss of 10 of her crew.

DASHED AGAINST SEA WALL The first of the Institution's life-boats, the Amelia, which was put into service in 1861, was dashed against the Spa Wall on her first service on 12th November soon after being commissioned. At the time she was endeavouring to rescue the crew of the schooner Coupland which had been wrecked in the South Bay.

Unfortunately, two of the life-boat crew, J. Burton and T. Brewster, and three spectators, Lord Charles Beauclerk, W. Tindall and J. lies, lost their lives.

In 1862 the Mary life-boat capsized while on exercise—but the crew survived.

In 1864 a member of the crew was washed out of the life-boat—but he survived.

In 1954—on December 8th—the Scarborough life-boat E.C.J.R. capsized on service with the loss of three of her crew of eight—Coxswain John Sheader, Second Coxswain John Cammish and Signalman Francis Bayes. Their names are commemorated on a plaque by the life-boat house.

Such is the sea around Scarborough where, when the gulls are calling above the fish pier, one is likely to demand: 'What is it you want?'.

LONG CONNECTION I had not been in Scarborough very long before I received a message from Mr. D. B. Atkinson, the honorary secretary, telling me that he would meet me for a chat. And I found him most helpful, for he joined the local committee in 1940 and was closely associated with the honorary secretary, Lieut. L. N.

Sanderson, R.N.V.R., who died in 1956, and has been secretary since that time.

Mr. Atkinson is also a keen yachtsman, and he knows the coast. But he has never been to sea on a life-boat service.

'I believe a secretary's place', said Mr. Atkinson, 'is on the station to receive and pass on messages.' 'What about your relations with the press?' I asked Mr. Atkinson.'The local press clearly understands that, until I have got the boat away, I cannot give them much help. In other words, they leave my telephone free, but I have been troubled at times by press calls from other parts of the country when something big has been on. Press relations, yes, are very good', he added.

TEAMWORK I asked Mr. Atkinson how things worked out with his crew away at sea for so much of the time.

'We work things very nicely at Scarborough', he explained, 'and we do not launch the life-boat unless it is absolutely essential. High launching figures don't always mean what they appear to mean. Our keel boats and cobles look after themselves very well, which is, of course, to the R.N.L.I.'s advantage.' I asked Mr. Atkinson for some background information on the crew of the J. G. Graves of Sheffield.

'I've been here so long now', explained Mr. Atkinson, 'that I find we think the same over life-boat matters. So far as the coxswain goes I find we are able to predict each other's actions.' Back in the life-boat house next day I met local officials and, as they came in from the sea, members of the life-boat crew—men with very cold hands but warm hearts.

A VIKING CLAIM Coxswain William (Bill) Sheader, whose name has a Viking association, eventually turned up in the late afternoon after a hard day at sea. He is certainly a big man and I was struck by the alertness of his eyes which seemed all the time to be searching out over the sea for weather conditions. Then we retired to his friendly little home higher up from the shore where his wife was waiting to greet him, the table spread for the fisherman's return.

Round the walls are photographs and souvenirs of his calling and his family'slong association with the R.N.L.I., as Scarborough has been the home of the Sheaders for a long time—three generations, in fact. Coxswain Sheader's father, Holden, was motor mechanic to Scarborough's first motor life-boat, the Herbert Joy I, which was given by Mr. Alexander O. Joy, of London, in memory of his brother Herbert who was drowned from his schooner yacht in South Bay, Scarborough. And Holden's father was in the pulling life-boats at Scarborough.

It seems as if there is an age-old feud between the Sheaders and the sea.

SEAS UP TO 35 FEET I asked Coxswain Sheader, who has been cosxwain since 1957 and was aboard the E.C.J.R. when she went over in 1954, to tell me what in his view has been his most difficult service to date. Without doubt, he said, their service to the oil rig Neptune I on the night of 16 November, 1966, remains the most outstanding for crude weather conditions, with a record wind of 102 m.p.h.

'The weather', explained Coxswain Sheader, 'sent the seas up to 35 feet—the height of Neptune's platform above sea level. We were out about 12 hours and the rig's position was eight miles north north east of Scarborough. The Oakley never flinched. It was on that night, if you remember, that Coxswain William Carter, of the Teesmouth life-boat, was washed overboard while on the same service. He was very lucky—they managed to pick him up. The Teesmouth life-boat, coming down from the north, took eight hours 50 minutes to cover the 30 miles to the oil rig.' And here Mr. Atkinson added a word: 'The moment the life-boat left the harbour we lost her lights in the spray and the night—her lights just disappeared'.

THE CREW Coxswain Sheader's regular crew are: Second Coxswain Thomas Rowley, Bowman Thomas Towell, Signalman Kenneth Eade, Motor Mechanic Alan Rennard, Assistant Mechanic Cecil Bean, and Crewmen Jack Rowley and Robert Swalwell.

With the history of the Scarborough life-boats one famous name will always be linked—-that of John Owston, who retired in 1911 after being coxswain for41 years. Altogether he took part in the rescue of 230 lives. He won the silver medal for gallantry on 28th-29th October, 1880, when in the course of 24 hours in very bad weather the life-boat was launched five times and rescued every life in danger—28 in all. In 1902 he was presented by King Edward VII with two silver-mounted pipes.

So, quite clearly, today's life-boatmen of Scarborough have a great tradition behind them. That was tested and proved on the service to Neptune I when the /. G. Graves of Sheffield and her crew 'took everything that came'.

I expect Coxswain Sheader and his crew know Scarborough inside out. But just in case they don't I wonder if they know that on the horse-trough on the promenade not far from the life-boat house there is this inscription: As is good news from afar country So is water to the thirsty soul.

One would think that Scarborough has seen all the water anyone would want to see!.