ANYONE who has studied with care the transcript of evidence before the Sheriff's Court in Aberdeen, which investigated the causes of the capsize of the Fraserburgh life-boat last January, and the findings of the court itself, must be impressed by the thoroughness of the whole procedure and gratified that no blame was placed on the R.N.L.I.

Essentially the investigation was into one specific disaster, but the discretion of the court was large and the R.N.L.I. in a sense came under a microscope. It is questionable whether any other national organisation with such a wide range of duties as the R.N.L.I. would have come out of such an examination so well in spite of the impression which may have been created by a number of newspaper headlines.

COMMUNICATIONS AND CONTROL The court did indeed invite the R.N.L.I. to pursue certain studies in which it is already engaged, both by itself and in consultation with other bodies, particular attention being called to the construction of larger boats and the improvement of communications.

Some confusion has arisen between the related but separate problems of co-ordination of search and rescue operations and the control of lifeboat operations. The Chairman of the Institution, Admiral Sir Wilfrid Woods, pointed out clearly in his evidence that the existing procedures work well provided everyone plays his part.

At the same time Admiral Woods expressed the R.N.L.I.'s readiness to examine any suggestions for establishing some sort of authority to collate all information about a vessel in distress.

The R.N.L.I. is also prepared to examine proposals for setting up one or more rescue coordination centres from which instructions could be given to a life-boat at sea, but a necessary proviso would clearly be that there should be an R.N.L.I. representative, i.e.

somebody with the necessary qualifications, on duty at the centre. Even then the eventual responsibility for the control of a life-boat at sea must be the coxswain's.

Remarks attributed to a Coastguard official may well have led readers of THE LIFE-BOAT to wonder whether any change had been made or was being contemplated in the existing Coastguard regulations. No such changes are being contemplated, and in a written answer to a Parliamentary question on 30th October, 1970, Mr. Anthony Grant, Parliamentary Secretary for the Board of Trade and Industry, referring to the responsibilities of the Coastguard, stated that these were described in the report of the committee which recently reviewed the marine search and rescue organisation. This committee recommended no major changes in the existing system and pointed out that although there might be theoretical objections to divided command they could find none in practice.

SUPPORT OF SUPPORTERS Perhaps the most gratifying aspect to members of the R.N.L.I.'s head office staff of recent discussions and disputes about the life-boat service has been the overwhelming evidence of unqualified support for the Institution's policies from its voluntary workers in all parts of the country, and in particular from members of life-boat and inshore rescue boat crews. A small selection of comments received appears on pages 13 and 14.

It is evident from all the correspondence that those who are actively engaged in the life-boat service in one way or another welcome and respect the kind of thorough examination whichemerged from the Sheriff's Court at Aberdeen, but resentment has been felt at some of the illinformed comments which have been made, particularly conclusions reached before the findings of the court were made known.

NEW FORM OF JOURNAL The R.N.L.I, is much honoured that the first number of the new Journal should contain a message of good wishes from the Prime Minister as well as from a number of other distinguished public figures who are known to have a deep interest in the life-boat service.

Mr. Edward Heath is of course well known as an exceptionally skilled yachtsman. It is not so generally known that at the International Boat Show held at Earl's Court in London in 1968, when Sir Alec Rose formally launched the Yachtsmen's Life-boat Supporters' Association, Mr. Heath visited the R.N.L.I, as a private individual and readily signed the form which made him Y.L.A. member number 165.

The personal support and interest of Prime Ministers is something to which the R.N.L.I.

is entitled to be proud. Some two years ago members of the crew of the St. Mary's life-boat station in the Scilly Isles came to London to receive medals for gallantry. On that occasion they were received with the warmest hospitality at No. 10 Downing Street by Mr. and Mrs.

Harold Wilson.

We hope the new form of the Journal will appeal to our readers and will serve to make the work of the life-boat service more widely known and also attract advertising revenue. Those who receive the journal free of charge in recognition of the services they render to the Institution in one way or another will continue to do so. It may be, however, that a number of our readers would like to help meet increased costs by taking out a voluntary subscription for the Journal. They can do so by filling in the form which has been inserted in this number.

BRITISH LEGION LIFE-BOAT The British Legion has made an appeal to all its members to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Legion by presenting a life-boat to the R.N.L.I, to be named British Legion Jubilee. Every ordinary honorary member of the Legion has been invited to subscribe a sum of not less than Is. and British Legion clubs have been asked to contribute a minimum of £ for every £1,000 of gross turnover.

This is a wonderful gesture which will serve to forge an even closer link between those who serve or have served in the armed forces and the R.N.L.I. Anything which members of the R.N.L.I.'s branches or guilds can do to support the British Legion's life-boat appeal will clearly be welcome.Veteran Box Mrs. R. S. Carman of the Black Lion Hotel, Llanelli, collected over £4,000 in one box for the Royal National Life-boat Institution. The box was sent to the R.N.L.I, head office in London to be placed in a museum as a historic relic, but Mrs. Carman has now come to the conclusion that she can only collect successfully with her veteran box, and this is now being returned to her.

Before being in the Black Lion Hotel, the box was in the Salutation Hotel for nearly 20 years. Mrs. Carman was awarded the gold badge of the R.N.L.I. in 1961.

Luncheon Honour Coxswain Dermot Walsh of the Valentia, Co.

Kerry, life-boat attended the 'Men of the Year' luncheon at the Savoy Hotel, London, in November.

Segregation Girls at Westonbirt School, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, were allowed to invite their boyfriends to stay the night after a charity ball in October in aid of the R.N.L.I. The boyfriends, however, were segregated in a separate wing, but all had been invited with the approval of the girls' parents.

The pop group which kept the dancers whirling called themselves The Wonderful Mission of Earl Lavender.

Dog's Luck The winner of the 'Poole Spratt' dinghy raffled by the Christchurch ladies' life-boat guild—they raised over £350 for the R.N.L.I.— turned out to be none other than a boxer bitch in the family of Miss Diana Hill, of Bradley Road, Slough..