• The Flamborough lifeboat swimming club was formed about a year ago as a result of three crew members wishing to qualify as official swimmers on our lifeboat. We found it was easier and cheaper to take the Royal Life Saving Society's awards if members of an affiliated club.

Having formed the club and attended regular weekly training sessions of about two hours, our three 'founder members' soon qualified as swimmers by gaining the ASA gold award for personal survival and the RLSS bronze medallion. We have now had two regular qualified swimmers on our boat for about nine months.

Since this achievement three of our men have reached honours standard in ASA personal survival and bronze cross in RLSS. Two of these have gone on and have attained the RLSS distinction award, the highest practical award of the Society.

We now continue our training and also find time to encourage crew members' children and usually have eight or nine children between 4J and 14 years attending our sessions. Some are learning to swim, while others have already reached quite high standards.

Two of our 12/14-year-olds entered a sponsored swim in March and 'earned' £31 between them! Our two distinction holders formed a combined life-saving team and entered in a life-saving competition at York in April. We have discussed the possibilities of arranging demonstrations locally which could raise funds for the RNLI.

Although our efforts have not as yet put money directly into RNLI funds I am sure, judging by local response, that they have given a good impression and activities of this sort are of great value both for publicity and benefit to young people.—J. ANDREW CORY, The Green, Flamborough, Yorkshire.

The writer is mechanic of the Flamborough lifeboat and secretary of the local lifeboat swimming club—EDITOR..