• Published to coincide with the Institution's 150th Anniversary, The Life-boat Service by Oliver Warner (Cassell, London, £4.50) is the authoritative account of the RNLI. Mr Warner has had access to all of its papers, and has collected information from a host of people who have had something interesting to say about lifeboats. In the hands of such a person the book was bound to be both accurate and highly readable; what is more it is extremely interesting both to the lifeboat enthusiast, in which category I feel I must class myself, and I would have thought to the less committed.

We are taken through the history of the RNLI from its foundation in 1824, when it was known charmingly, if unfortunately, as the Ship-wreck Institution, to its place among the rescue organisations of this country today. Of course many of the well-known incidents in the Institution's history are described, such as the wrecks of Indian Chief and the Daunt Rock Lightship, but many lesser-known rescues are also detailed, all of them illustrating either the extreme courage and self-sacrifice required from lifeboatmen, or some unusual facet of the lifeboat's work.

To balance this we are told of the Institution's troubles: the financial crisis of the late 1850s and '60s and the events leading up to the Parliamentary Report of 1897. This was one of the most exhaustive Parliamentary enquiries ever undertaken; the report consisted of over a thousand closely printed pages, dealing with every facet of the Institution's work and finances. The committee was chaired by C. J. Darling, QC, and although it was only appointed on March 17, it had its report ready by July 15, thanks largely to the energy of its chairman: Victorian industry is well known, and this must certainly be a shining example of it. Its one main conclusion was, 'Your Committee are of the opinion that the charges of mismanagement brought against the Institution are entirely without foundation'. Many of its observations are of interest 75 years later, especially its faith in the efficiency and desirability of the voluntary system.

This brings me on to the praise which Mr Warner rightly gives to the fundraising side of the Institution's operations; being a wise man he lays great emphasis on the part women play in this work. Too many books about the RNLI are inclined to forget this in the excitement of describing heroic rescues.

Mr Warner does not fall into this trap; we are told how the Institution was originally financed almost entirely by donations from a few wealthy people, compared with today when over £3J million are raised in a year, part of it from large numbers of not particularly well-off people who feel that whatever other charities they may support, 'the lifeboats' is one they cannot miss out.

I also much appreciated the appendices: they contain a vast amount of interesting information, from those who have won gold medals, to the Institution's annual receipts since its foundation in 1824 and on to a list of presentday officers; the latter is particularly useful to someone like me who is incapable of remembering any name.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated by the sea, or who wants to know more about the inside workings of a large charity. It answers many questions, including the one most frequently asked, 'Why should sea rescue not be a Government service?' and it answers them all extremely well.—THE DUKE OF ATHOLL, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Management.

• That the lives of seafarers were fraught with danger in the days of sail needs little confirmation, but that sudden and complete disaster can overcome a great steamship or motorship is not so easy to accept. In Great Sea Rescues of the South-west (Heritage Publications, 35p) R. L. Elliott has vividly described some 28 wrecks and rescues which have occurred during the 19th and 20th centuries around the coast of the West Country. In Part II of the same book J. P. Morris tells the impressive story of the Plymouth lifeboats from 1815 to the present day.

From the loss with 120 lives of HMS Anson in 1807 to the messy end of the Torrey Canyon on the Seven Stones reef in 1967 (fortunately without loss of any of her crew), the hazards of the sea, the fortitude of the victims and the courage of the rescuers are portrayed with unemotional clarity. In view of the many instances of religious intolerance today it is not surprising to learn that at one time the bodies of the drownedwere buried in unmarked, unconsecrated graves close to where they came ashore.

The reason was that the ocal inhabitants would not agree to interment in their own churchyards without knowing the faith of the dead person. An Act of Parliament was necessary to overcome this prejudice.

The twin tragedies of the St Ives lifeboats which capsized in succeeding years and the loss of the steam lifeboat James Stevens No 4 at Padstow still strike a chill of horror, as do the many stories of men, women and children being washed away from doomed vessels by huge, angry seas, often in full view of helpless onlookers.

The account of the unheroic end of that great naval veteran,|HMS War spite, will produce mixed emotionsjn those who served in that gallant vessel under Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in the Mediterranean battles. But perhaps it was a more fitting end than gradual degradation in a knacker's yard.

The story of the Plymouth lifeboats is intensely interesting, but it may be remarked that there is no mention of A. S. Hicks who, for so many years, was a devoted honorary secretary and untiring supporter of the RNLI. It is surprising that even in the days of sail, when a shift of wind could put ships in sudden and inescapable danger, years could go by without the lifeboat being called upon to perform an effective service. It is one of the most impressive facts of the lifeboat service that after as many as ten or a dozen abortive launches in succession crews still turn out as quickly and keenly as ever. Nor do they complain at being plucked from a warm bed into a wild winter's night for what is bluntly recorded as 'No service'. The story of the Plymouth lifeboats shows clearly that the crews responded nobly to all demands made upon them, in the best traditions of the service.

In this 'Year of the Lifeboat' lovers of the sea and ships will find much to admire and ponder in this saga of seamen and the rescue services.—E.W.M.

0 Past and present both have their due place in Life for Life, the story of Rye Harbour lifeboat station, by Sidney Horniblow. The tragic loss of the pulling and sailing lifeboat Mary Stanford with her crew of 17 in November 1928 is vividly recalled; and there is also a lively description of the station as it is today and of the variety of calls made upon its fast inshore lifeboat and her crew.

Available from R. J. Bloomfield, honorary press officer, Rye Harbour ILB Station, 1 Inkerman Terrace, Rye Harbour, Sussex, price 33p including postage.

% A second edition of the History of the Penlee and Penzance Branch is now available from K. Withers, assistant treasurer, c/o A. Smith and Son, 31 Clarence Street, Penzance, Cornwall, price 20p post paid..