IN pointing out at the annual meeting in London on 8th April, 1970, that the operational record of the life-boat and inshore rescue boat crews had been a triumphant one, the Chairman of the Royal National Life-boat Institution, Admiral Sir Wilfrid Woods, G.B.E., K.C.B., D.S.O., said: 'We have recently been considering our estimates for 1970. We face another year of heavy capital expenditure on new life-boats. We can expect this to reduce in 1971, but this will only be a temporary respite because we will then be facing a building programme.

I do not, I am sure, need to remind you that prices and wages are rising rapidly, and these affect the R.N.L.I. as much as anyone else. We can, therefore, expect a sharp rise in our recurrent expenditure.

'Looking at the prospects prudently I think we must be prepared for a sub- stantial deficit this year. I can assure you that we are doing all we can to keep our expenditure down. We have various irons in the fire, and these include a newly formed central advisory fund-raising committee with the task of raising new money (see THE LIFE-BOAT, April, 1970, page 82), either by means of national campaigns or by means of country-wide campaigns in coordination with our existing branches and guilds—new money essential to supplement the splendid efforts of the branches and guilds—but of course many of these irons in the fire themselves involve expenditure. I am certain we must raise more in order to spend more. May I appeal to you and your supporters to continue your valiant efforts? I hope it will encourage you to know that in fact we expected a deficit in 1969, but it did not materialise.' FOREIGN VISITORS Admiral Woods, at the start of his address, said the R.N.L.I. welcomed Rear-Admiral B. Yashin and Captain L. Kousmin from the Soviet Embassy in London and Mr. Hans Kuhne, Minister at the Danish Embassy, representing their respective Ambassadors. He also welcomed the Director and Inspector of the Portuguese Life-boat Institution, Captain Carreira and Captain Pinto, who were in the course of visiting life-boat stations and the depot at Boreham Wood (see page 151).

The Chairman continued: 'My primary task today is to report on the work of the life-boat service in 1969. As at last year's annual meeting, however, I must first refer to a tragic event which is strictly outside the scope of my report, since it took place on 21st January. I refer, of course, to the capsize of the Fraserburgh life-boat while standing by a Danish fishing vessel. There was one survivor, who was rescued by a Russian ship, but his five shipmates were drowned. Here I would like to pay tribute to the courage, determination and fine seamanship displayed by the captains and crews of the two Soviet fishing vessels which rescued Mr. Jackson Buchan, the survivor, and did all that was humanly possible to rescue the others. Our President, His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, walked at the head of the mile long funeral procession which included the crew of the fishing vessel.' The meeting was asked to stand in silent respect in memory of the five Fraser- burgh life-boatmen.

Admiral Woods said that after the Longhope disaster in 1969 a fatal accident inquiry was held, and in his summing up the Sheriff stated that there was no evidence of negligence of any kind, no evidence that the life-boat and her equip- ment were other than first class, and no evidence of failure to take any necessary precautions. Nevertheless, this and then the Fraserburgh disaster had caused ANNUAL MEETING (continued) the R.N.L.I. to look critically at the types of boat concerned.

The Chairman went on: 'These are the 52 ft. Barnett class, and the 46 ft. 9 in.

and 47 ft. Watson class boats with midship steering, which are similar in design.

Analysis has revealed that over a period of some 20 years boats of this type, of which we have nearly 60, had been launched on exercise or service well over 10,000 times, and in all varieties of weather. There have been two capsizes: one at Longhope and one at Fraserburgh. As a prerequisite of making these boats self-righting, we concluded, again not for the first time, that this could not be done without completely redesigning and rebuilding the boats.

'GUINEA PIG' 'After Fraserburgh we considered the practicability of making the after cabin watertight, with the aim of making it more difficult to capsize this already very stable boat, and as a bonus of giving the crew a better chance of survival in the event of a capsize nevertheless occurring. The ex-Longhope life-boat, chosen because she happened to be in a boatyard under repair, is being used as the guinea pig for this modification.

'The work will pose a number of problems, such as the ventilating of the cabinand the resiling of the drogue and drogue lines. When we know the outcome of these experiments and are able to assess their cost and effectiveness, we shall be able to decide whether they warrant more general application.' During the year three 48 ft. 6 in. Solent class self-righting life-boats with steel hulls were completed. So were two Oakley life-boats of wooden construction, both of them self-righting—one 48 ft. 6 in. and the other 37 ft. Important progress was made too with re-engining and the installation of radar in life- boats.

FASTER BOATS Admiral Woods went on: 'Looking ahead to the future, our studies have con- vinced us that the life-boat fleet should eventually include a larger number of faster life-boats than we deploy at the present, backed up by a variety of small fast boats, really variations of the inshore rescue boat theme, for estuary and other inshore operations. With this matter in view, the Committee of Manage- ment has, in the course of the last year, accepted a design for a new type of boat for use at stations where the life-boat lies afloat. This is to be a 52 ft., self-righting boat, with a service speed of about 18 knots.

'This will eventually be built in glass-reinforced plastic—more commonlyknown as fibre glass. A prototype of this boat is being built in wood, but our aim is to produce hulls to this design in fibre glass, as I say, which will greatly reduce maintenance costs. As soon as we have something physical to demonstrate we shall, in accordance with our regular practice, show it to the press and through the press to our supporters throughout the country. If operational evaluation of the new life-boat fulfils our hopes we shall embark on a building programme, and it is relevant to note here the fact that these boats will be built in glass- reinforced plastic which will very substantially reduce the building costs.' The speaker paid tribute to the splendid support given by the people of Britain and Ireland. There were 1,500 voluntary branches and guilds working to raise funds. Last year the R.N.L.I. ended on the right side and had a surplus of nearly £200,000. That they did so was very largely due to the splendid efforts of the branches and guilds. Total receipts rose by 19 per cent, and exceeded £2 million for the first time. The proportion of the total for which the branches and guilds were directly responsible rose by 31 per cent.

APPEAL TO YACHTSMEN Admiral Woods referred to the measures taken to invite greater support from a section of the community who make increasing calls on our boats and crews—namely those who put to sea for their own pleasure. At the beginning of the year the Yachtsmen's Life-boat Supporters' Association formally came into being, and by the end of the year it had over 3,000 members. This was a beginning, and they looked forward to the time when every yacht or small boat sported the Y.L.A. flag.

The first member of the Y.L.A. was the man who launched it—Sir Alec Rose.

Sir Alec consented, in the unavoidable absence of the President of the R.N.L.I., the Duke of Kent, to present the awards.

Sir Alec, the round-the-world sailor and navigator, moved the following resolution: 'That this meeting, fully recognising the important services of the R.N.L.I. in its national work of life-saving, desire to record its hearty apprecia- tion of the gallantry of the coxswains and crews of the Institution's life-boats, and its deep obligation to the local committees, honorary secretaries, and honorary treasurers of all station branches, and to the honorary officers and thousands of voluntary members of the financial branches and of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild in the work of raising funds to maintain the service.' The speaker said that as a boy he had read of the stories of great big square- rigged ships and the many stories of the heroism of the life-boatmen. Many times he had stood and looked across the water from the downs to the Good-win Sands. Sir Alec knew of the terrible tidal currents of the Goodwins and knew that to take a life-boat there in a storm needed great courage.

'A HIGHER BEING' Sir Alec, like the true sailor he is, spoke with reverence of the power of the sea: 'No one knows the sea, which is a great leveller that soon cuts the big- headed sailor down to size. In the tremendous gales I have experienced round the world I was often frightened as I set my course, but I did feel at those times that there was another hand on the tiller, and it was a great comfort. One cannot go to sea in those conditions without being aware of a higher being watching over us, and sailors are invariably God-fearing types. I have said this before, but they who go down to the sea in ships, they see the works of the Lord, and it is really true.' Sir Alec referred to 'murmurs of nationalisation', saying: 'It would be a sad day for the R.N.L.I. if it ever came to that. We would indeed hold our heads in shame, I think, and look and tremble at what it would be. Our present ad-ministration at head office would quickly treble or quadruple in size with people going about being answerable to ministers and whatever government was in office, and it would not be the same at all; our life-boatmen would come under this canopy and would feel different about the whole job, I am sure. The whole essence of this is voluntary work and we are extremely lucky in having the ladies' guilds all over the country. . . .' AWARDS Sir Alec presented awards for gallantry to the following life-boatmen: Coxswain William Sheader (Scarborough), silver medal for service on 23rd November, 1969, to capsized ship's life-boat Sheena; Coxswain William Henderson, bronze medal, Crew Member James Stewart, bronze medal, Crew Member Robert Stewart, bronze medal, Crew Member Andrew Scott, bronze medal (all of Amble), for service on 29th September, 1969, when R.A.F. pinnace No. 1386 capsized; Coxswain John Bryan (Great Yarmouth and Gorleston), bronze medal, for service on 9th November, 1969, to Danish mv. Karen Bravo; Coxswain Eric Offer (Dun Laoghaire), bronze medal, for service on 5th June, 1969, when two men got into difficulties in the harbour.

It was announced that, since the last annual meeting, two honorary life governorships, three bars to the gold badge and 15 gold badges had been awarded to honorary workers for long and distinguished services. The following were present to receive their awards: Honorary life governor—Sir Philip Hay, K.C. V.O., T.D.

Bar to gold badge—Mrs. E. A. Harris, M.B.E., Hawarden; Mrs. G. F.

Newman, Heston and Isleworth.

Gold badge—Miss D. F. Capes, Lewisham; Mrs. J. Carter, Carshalton; Mrs, E. Chester Hillman, Eastbourne; S. Coles, Esq., Poole; Miss J. A. James, Paignton; Mrs. D. F. Johnston, M.B.E., J.P., Glasgow; Mrs. J. Gray Kilgour, Abderdeen; Geo. Ralph, Esq., Forest Row; Lady Sally Stafford King-Harman, North Kildare; Mrs. R. A. V. Maughan, Wimbledon; Miss E. M. Moberky, Appledore.

In proposing the vote of thanks, Lt.-Cmdr. Jeremy Tetley, R.N.(retd), a member of the Committee of Management, said: 'Sir Alec has, as we all know, proved his extreme bravery, he has proved himself as one of the greatest navigators and seamen of all time, and having done this he works tirelessly for the life-boats in particular as far as we are concerned, and seems to take life so completely in his stride and is still so sprightly that it would not surprise me, at any rate, to see him setting out on some other near impossible adventure.

Yesterday I drove all the way up from Cornwall to this meeting, but I am sure you will appreciate the fact that I would have driven twenty times that distance to move the last minute of the meeting.' Byron Family Appeal Mr. L. A. Byron, of P.O. Box 26, Weatherford, Texas 76086, U.S.A., recently visited the R.N.L.I., London, seeking information about an ancestor who was believed to have been connected with the Scarborough life-boat. It was not possible, however, to get a lead on this during Mr. Byron's visit.

Mr. Byron, who had also made inquiries during a visit to Scarborough, said that he was the son of Mr. Charles W. Byron who was the son of Mr. John(?) Byron, coxswain, who had two sons, George and Sam.

'They are thought', Mr. Byron said, 'to have been members of the Scarborough boat and all were lost at sea between about 1885 and 1895 in a rescue effort.' Local records at the moment do not link the family with Scarborough and it is thought that possibly they were involved in an accident at another station..