WITH the conclusion of the Procurator Fiscal's enquiry, which was held at Kirkwall on 10th June, 1969, it is possible for the Institution to publish its own findings on the circumstances leading to the loss of the Longhope life-boat's crew on 17th March. These are set out in some detail on page 662.

The R.N.L.l.'s conclusions are entirely consistent with those reached at the Procurator Fiscal's inquiry, and perhaps the most telling is that which states simply that the Longhope life-boat capsized after being overwhelmed by 'very high seas and maelstrom conditions'. As was made clear by the Sheriff in his summing up, there was no evidence of negligence of any kind, no evidence that the life-boat and her equipment were other than first-class, and no evidence of failure to take any necessary precautions.

Many people have inquired about the future of the Longhope life-boat and of the Longhope station. After a close examination of the life-boat, the Committee of Management of the R.N.L.I, decided that she should be repaired and then re-enter the service of the Institution. Repair work is in hand at Messrs. William Osborne's yard at Littlehampton, and only when this has been completed will a decision be made whether to allocate the life-boat to a particular station or to place her in the reserve fleet.

During the summer months a life-boat, manned by a coxswain and a mechanic on the staff of the R.N.L.I., and local volunteers, has been operating in the Scapa Flow area. The Committee of Management's final decision about the future coverage of the Longhope area will be made in due course.

SOLENT CLASS LIFE-BOATS A new class of life-boat, 48 feet 6 inches in length and with a steel hull, has now been introduced, and the first life-boats of this class are on service at Lochinver on the north-west coast of Scotland and at Rosslare Harbour in Co. Wexford, in Ireland.

The eight boats of this class have been built or are still under construction at yards in Cowes and Southampton, and the new class has, therefore, been given the name Solent. The Solent life-boat is based on the design of the Mark II Oakley 48 foot 6 inch life-boat which has a wooden hull. In re-designing for steel construction the boat was given natural righting capability without the necessity for a transferring water ballast as in the Oakley class. A full description of the Solent type life-boat appears on page 678.

LIFE-BOATS AND FISH FINGERS The 48 foot 6 inch life-boat now stationed at Rosslare Harbour was shown to the press on 17th July, 1969, the showing being immediately followed by a ceremony held on board the motor vessel Cowes Castle in Southampton, at which a new method of raising money for the R.N.L.I. was publicly announced.

This is the campaign known as 'help launch a life-boat' mounted by Birds Eye Foods Ltd. From 18th July to 5th September more than 8J million specially printed packs of Birds Eye fish fingers were on sale. Every one of these carried a message about the life-boat campaign and all had a special token on the back.

The value of these tokens were 4d., 8d., and Is. according to the size of the pack, and Birds Eye Foods Ltd. undertook to pay the money equivalent of all the tokens returned towards the cost of a new life-boat for the R.N.L.I. Immediate support for the campaign came from Tesco, whose chairman, Sir John Cohen, announced that every token left in a Tesco store would be worth double its face value, and they would provide the protective clothing and life-jackets for the crew of the new boat.FURTHER OPERATIONAL CHANGES Further changes in the deployment of the rescue craft of the R.N.L.I, were decided upon at a meeting of the Committee of Management in July. The principal change decided upon was to withdraw the life-boat from Caister in October. The Caister station has a splendid history of life-saving dating back to 1857. Since then Caister life-boats have saved the lives of more than 1,800 people, but with the establishment of a fast 44-foot life-boat at Gorleston it is now considered that there is no longer a need for a life-boat at Caister.

Perhaps the most celebrated incident in the whole Caister history occurred in November, 1901, when the No. 2 life-boat, which had been launched in a whole gale to the help of a vessel ashore on the Barber Sands, ran on the sands herself and turned over. A former second coxswain, James Haylett, who was aged 78 and had two grandsons and one son-in-law in the life-boat, rushed into the surf and at great personal risk succeeded in rescuing two men. Nine of the crew of 12 were drowned. At the inquest which followed the suggestion was put to James Haylett that the life-boat might have been returning after failing to accomplish her mission. In words which suddenly became famous overnight, Haylett replied: 'Caister men never turn back'. Haylett received the R.N.L.I, gold medal for gallantry which was presented to him by King Edward VII at Sandringham.It was also decided to establish a new inshore rescue boat station at Craster in Northumberland. This has brought the number of IRB stations which are operational in the summer months up to 102. The 44-foot steel life-boat, Arthur and Blanche Harris, has completed its evaluation period at Barry Dock and has now definitely been allocated to this station. The two IRBs at present at Weston are continuing in service. At Blackpool trials will be carried out with a fast twin-screw rescue boat, and at Minehead with a standard IRB.

ANONYMOUS GIFTS Two large anonymous gifts or offers of gifts, both of them of a slightly mysterious nature, have been received in recent months. One was for £25,000, and in accordance with the wishes of the donor the gift was acknowledged through the personal column of The Times to Charles Brown. The Institution knows nothing of the donor except that his name is almost certainly not Charles Brown.

A few weeks earlier a man, who wishes to remain anonymous, offered to donate £10,000 to the R.N.L.I. towards the cost of a new life-boat to be named Aberdovey provided three other people could be found who would each give the same amount. His other stipulation was that all three people should have an interest in, or connection with, Aberdovey. Unfortunately so far the three other people have not been forthcoming.

VOLUNTARY SYSTEM IN SWEDEN The question whether the voluntary system is the most efficient way of running a life-boat service has recently been aired publicly in Sweden. Both the Swedish Shipping Gazette and the Navy Gazette published articles on this subject, and an official reply advocating the advantages of a voluntary system was sent by the Swedish Life-boat Society Svenska Sallskapet for Raddning af Skeppsbrutne.

At the annual general meeting of the Swedish Society, Captain Hans Hansson again spoke in favour of the voluntary system, and his opinion was supported by the Directors of the Board of Telecommunications, the Board of Shipping and the Board of Customs as well as by Naval and Air Force representatives.

A representative from the Sailors' Union also stated that if the Swedish Life- boat Society were not a private institution it might not enjoy the excellent international co-operation it at present experienced.

New Member Rear Admiral D. J. Hoare, C.B., M.I.MECH.E., M.R.I.N.A., Headmaster of the United World College of the Atlantic, St. Donat's Castle, Glamorganshire, has joined the Committee of Management of the R.N.L.I.

Admiral Hoare was a specialist engineer in the Royal Navy. After service during and after the last war in H.M.S. Exeter, H.M.S. King George V, H.M.S.

Vanguard and H.M.S. Condor, he was appointed Chief Staff Officer (Technical) to the Commander in Chief, Plymouth. He retired from the Royal Navy in 1962 when he took up his post at St. Donat's Castle.

The United World College of the Atlantic is one of nine IRB stations estab- lished experimentally by the R.N.L.I. in 1963. The rescue boats at St. Donat's are manned by members of the staff and pupils of the College. Experimental work on the development of fast rescue boats for the Institution has been carried out under Admiral Hoare's supervision.NOTICE All contributions for the Institution should be sent to the honorary secretary of the local branch or guild, to Stirling Whorlow, O.B.E., Secretary, Royal National Life-boat Institution, 42 Grosvenor Gardens, London, S.W.I (Tel: 01-730 0031), or direct to the Institution's bankers, Messrs. Coutts & Co., 440 Strand, London, W.C.2, or National Giro account number 545 4050.

All enquiries about the work of the Institution or about this journal should be addressed to the Secretary.

The next number of the LIFE-BOAT will be published in December, 1969.

To Help Kiss of Life A nylon mouthpiece with a surrounding sheet, costing only 3s., which can be of practical use to those applying mouth-to-mouth respiration, has been pro- duced by a firm at Hythe in Kent. It is known as a Resusciade and consists of a nylon mouthpiece incorporating a one-way valve surrounded by a soft P.V.C.

sheet measuring eight inches square. It folds into an area of less than two square inches, and is supplied in a polythene packet. Supplies are available in multiples of 10 from Portex Ltd., Hythe.

Those who feel squeamish about undertaking the operation should be able to do so with its aid without qualms. Nevertheless it must always be remembered that fetching and adjusting any apparatus may waste valuable seconds in what is always a dire emergency.

LIFE-BOAT AT INVESTITURE When the investiture of the Prince of Wales took place in July at Caernarvon, Wales, the Porthdinllaen life-boat was in attendance. The crew were entertained aboard H.M.S. St. David of the Cardiff R.N.R. Division. On the way home the life-boat crew called at Fort Belan, the home of Lord Newborough, where they were given hospitality.

Dog Went As Well When 26 members and friends of the Beckbury Youth Club—Beckbury is a small village of some 300 people near Bridgnorth in Shropshire—organised a sponsored walk on Whit Sunday, Timmy, a local dog, went with them. Alto- gether a total of 741 miles was walked and the proceeds—over £256, or nearly £10 per head for each walker—went to the R.N.L.I. Some of the walkers wore life-boat jerseys and woollen hats, and bunting and flags decorated Beckbury on the day.

Ex-Coxswain Peter McPhee The death occurred on 21st May, 1969, of ex-Coxswain Peter McPhee, who was coxswain of the Islay, Inner Hebrides, life-boat for some 13 years—from 1934 to 1947. He retired because of ill health, and was 76 when he died.

Stamp Sale Benefits Life-boats H. R. Harmer Ltd., the philatelic auctioneers and experts, of New Bond Street, London, this year sold ship stamps and donated a proportion of the proceeds—£400—to the R.N.L.I..