THE STORY OF 'The Year of the Lifeboat', 1974, was one of a triumph of faith: faith in a service of 150 years' standing and of the voluntary principle which is its essence, faith in the capacity of the voluntary workers of the RNLI to meet the demands put on them, faith in the people of Britain and Ireland to give the service the support it needs. The triumph was achieved in a year of such widespread gloom that towards the end of it the Queen in her Christmas broadcast aptly commented that 'the trouble with gloom is that it feeds upon itself and depression causes more depression'.

In such an atmosphere a story of unqualified success must be a gratifying one.

The operational record of the service speaks for itself, Never before have so many calls been made on RNLI lifeboats as happened last year, when the total number of launches on service was 2,858.

Through much of the year, particularly in the spring and the autumn, there were gales of exceptional violence continuing over abnormally long periods. A few services carried out last autumn are reported in this number of THE LIFEBOAT.

From these it will be seen, for example, that on September 27 the Hastings lifeboat had to put out in the worst conditions in which a carriage launch from the station had ever been attempted.

In spite of the demands made on this and so many other occasions not a single man was lost on service or on exercise. This is the kind of 'nil return' which does not attract public attention.

It is not one which ought to be overlooked or taken for granted.

Surplus achieved In THE LIFEBOAT last year something was told of the extraordinary efforts made by the branches and guilds of theRNLI to match the importance of the 150th anniversary by new and enterprising methods of raising money and increasing public interest. Like another of our Queens, Queen Victoria, on a celebrated occasion, they were not interested in the possibilities of defeat and, as a result, in a year of grave financial difficulty, a gratifying surplus was achieved which can be put towards the construction of new lifeboats.

The whole programme of 'The Year of the Lifeboat' began to be planned nearly four years ago. Its culmination was the spectacular success of the International Boat Show at Earls Court in January of this year when a lifeboat station and village sponsored by the Midland Bank was the central feature.Wall Street comment In the present economic climate it would be unwarrantable to regard the RNLI's financial outlook with complacency.

With short-time working in factories, with the savings of the retired slashed by inflation, with large concerns having to turn to the Government for financial help and numerous small ones facing the possibilities ol bankruptcy, support for the service must continue to be achieved by much hard voluntary work. But the standing of the RNLI was never higher than it is today, and it is significant that on the front page of The Wall Street Journal of December 12, 1974, there appeared the headline In These Dark Days in Britain, Lifeboats Are a Source of Pride. There followed an article by Neil Ulman, who had visited the lifeboat stations at Cromer and Sheringham. Describing the assembly of the Cromer crew he wrote: That the crew should have assembled and put to sea so quickly in bad weather is remarkable, many seamen think. But such standard procedure on the RNLI's 253 volunteer lifeboats around Britain's coast is a source of national pride in a country where little joy or unanimity is found on much of any subject these days. Hundreds of thousands of Britons drop coins in model lifeboats at their local pubs and leave millions of dollars every year to the lifeboat service in their wills. Many say they do so because the RNLI represents Britain at its best.'Two great supporters The year's end was unhappily marked by the death of two great supporters of the RNLI. One of these was the former chairman, Admiral Sir Wilfrid Woods, who died on January 1 at the age of 68.

After an exceptionally distinguished career in the Royal Navy, in which his last appointment had been Commanderin- Chief, Portsmouth, and Allied Commander- in-Chief, Channel, he served as Chairman of the RNLI from 1968 to 1972. When he took office the RNLI had the year before had a deficit of some £400,000: a deficit soon made good.

During Admiral Woods's chairmanship the two tragic disasters at Longhope and Fraserburgh took place. The strain of these and of the huge programme of re-construction on which the RNLI was launched during his chairmanship undoubtedly affected his health, and he was obliged to relinquish the chairmanship earlier than he had intended.

A few days earlier Major Osman Gabriel, whose gifts to the RNLI amounted to some £200,000, died at sea on his way to South Africa. He was the donor of the Hoylake and Port Erin lifeboats and, if changes in the value of money are disregarded, he can be described as the greatest benefactor the RNLI has known.

1975 and after After all the exertions of 'The Year of the Lifeboat' and the spotlight of publicity which the RNLI has enjoyed, some people have felt inclined to wonder whether there might be a sense of anticlimax and a slackening of the efforts of those working for the service. All the indications are that nothing of the kind is intended or even seriously considered by the overwhelming majority of the RNLI's supporters. This was made encouragingly clear at the last conference of organising secretaries held towards the end of 1974, when one after another of them stated that all the evidence from his or her area showed a determination to carry on in 1975 and in the future with all the vigour shown last year..