THE LIFEBOAT SERVICE, fire brigade, his family, Southend, the Thames . . .

they are all as much a part of Percy Garon as he is of them; nor would he have it otherwise. Ask him about his life, and he will tell you about the people of Southend; he will tell you about his brothers and sisters; about the volunteers of the fire brigade, '. . . an amazing body of men . . .'; about the lifeboat crews, '. . . with whom I have been privileged to serve ...'', about the two coxswains who have between them spanned his 30 years service with the RNLI, Sid Page and Peter Gilson, '. . . two of the best in the world . . .' Ask him about his achievements and he will soon make it clear that his pride has always been to be one of a good team.

Suggest that he has made outstanding personal contributions and his reply will be, 'I've been lucky.' Perhaps this approach to life is natural for a member of a large, united family. Percy Garon, born in Southend in 1890, was the third of four brothers and three sisters. Their father, Harry, had established in the town a family business with many facets and, on his early death in 1911, his children took over his responsibilities and carried on where he had left off. Harry Garon had also set an example of service to the community which his family was to build into a tradition.

All Percy Garon's full, contented 85 years have been spent in Southend, except for the years of the first world war. A member of the Army Service Corps Motor Transport Section, he first served as a driver for the Army Council and was then drafted to East Africa.

There he joined in the overcoming of what would seem insurmountable obstacles on a slow advance from the area between Mombasa and Kilimanjaro into enemy territory; drought and deep dust roads, shortage of petrol, isolation when the rains came . . . there was even a time when the lorries advanced by rail, railway wheels being substituted for conventional road wheels. Thus to Dar es Salaam. Down the coast by boat, and then came, for Percy Garon, the most testing period. It began with a summons to his commanding officer, Major Dwyer: 'Garon, to the best of my recollection you know a little bit about the sea. You were a member of the Alexandra Yacht Club at Southend? Well, we're beat again by the rains—no vehicle can move—but we've got an idea . . .' A ship's boat was converted to power by fitting a lorry chassis on board, thetyres on the back wheels being replaced with plates to make paddles: 'So, with the engine, gear box and back axle of the lorry fitted into the ship's boat, I was placed on the Matandu River in charge of the transport. Rather a near experience because up to then that river had been enemy preserve—and it was absolutely loaded with hippopotami and crocodiles. And there I was, on a small ship's boat with just enough horsepower to push her with the tide. If I had to go against the tide, well, it was a question of whether the petrol would last. Anyhow, I was able to convey more than 25 tons of goods up to a forward base by going up and back on the tide. The river had a wide estuary, not unlike the Thames, but it soon shallowed and was much overgrown.' It was malaria which beat him. He suffered from all kinds, but when he contracted cerebral malaria he was invalided home. He had received his commission in the field, and was later awarded the Military Cross for his work on the Matandu.

Peace meant a return to his own river, the Thames, where, over the years, Percy Garon has watched the traffic change from sailing barge to commercial steam ship to a vast and varied fleet of pleasure boats. He returned in 1919 to take his place once again in the family business and to resume what was to be a lifetime of voluntary service.

His father, Harry Garon, had been chief officer of Southend Fire Brigade from the time of Percy's birth until 1905, when he had been followed by a brother. The moment Percy Garon got home he once again became a voluntary fireman (this was before the days of a national service). On the death of his uncle in 1934, he was appointed chief officer, a position he held until the end of the second world war, in 1945. So this responsibility had been undertaken by the Garon family for 55 years.

Percy Garon was also to become the fire force commander for the whole of Essex during the war years: '/ was very proud to hold that position because I had an amazing body of men with me and I think we had as much of the punishment as any area, particularly with the oil fires which were very numerous and very persistent on the Thames side.' To control the spread of burning oil he used a method he had worked out himself and practised with the fire brigade before the war: directing a fine spray of water on to the oil so that it is gently dowsed without being further dispersed. It meant walking into the sea of oil directing the hoses on the fire ahead, with the ever-present danger that the flames could outflank and surround the advancing men. For his work he was awarded the George Medal. His comment? 'I got the credit, but the men did the job.' Nevertheless, you cannot get away from the fact that, after fighting the fires, he, like they, arrived home covered in oil from head to foot.

It was now 1945, and Percy Garon had given up his job as fireman and returned to his business. His elder brother, Frank, meantime had been a great supporter of the RNLI, first as chairman of the Southend branch and then as honorary secretary. One day in the Alexandra Yacht Club he turned to Percy and said,'/ haven't got long to go.

I want you to promise me you will look after my lifeboat.' Percy Garon kept that promise. '/ looked after his lifeboat. I have had the privilege of doing so, in one way or another, for over 30 years' At first he helped his brother by taking on the post of chairman of the branch. After Frank had to give up in 1947 there were two other secretaries, Commander R. G. Jackson and J. H.

Perry, but both died in office, so, in 1952, Percy Garon became honorary secretary. He retired last December after 23 years and has since been awarded honorary life governorship of the Institution for his services.

His connection with the lifeboat was, however, much longer than his years of office. There had been considerable liaison between the fire brigade and the RNLI in the 1930s. He had seen a great deal of Sidney Page, who had been in the crew since 1911 and coxswain since 1934, making plans for ways and means of giving immediate protection to shipping in the river, should war be declared and they be attacked.

Fire at sea was not only a hazard of war. On December 8, 1962, the lifeboat under the command of Coxswain Peter Gilson went to the aid of the Dutch coaster Temar, on fire near Sea Reach No. 2 Buoy, in near gale force winds. A tanker, Mobil Enterprise, was already helping the coaster, but as the lifeboat circled Temar a man's head was seen in the porthole of a blazing cabin. While three of the crew of Mobil Enterprise worked from the deck to free the man, two of the lifeboat crew boarded Temar to try to hold his head clear of smoke and the man was able to snatch gasps of oxygen from a mask held up to him by the lifeboat as she rose and fell alongside.

There were floods, too. During the gales of January 31 and February 1, 1953, which caused disastrous floods on the East Coast, the Southend lifeboat launched seven times and was at sea 26J hours: towing in first a motor barge, next a Cornish ketch, then a fishing bawley; standing by a grounded tanker; standing by off Canvey Island; evacuating residents of Foulness Island to Burnham.

During Percy Garon's term of office the Southend lifeboat launched getting on for 300 times. And always he was down at the pierhead to see the boat off; to call out, 'All right, Peter. Good luck!'; to knock out the launching pin.

Getting on for 300 times he had used that hammer, and at the branch's annual dinner which coincided with his retirement Coxswain Peter Gilson presented it to him, burnished and mounted on a stand (the work of Assistant Mechanic Tommy Thornton, junior) '/ was very proud. It is one of the most treasured gifts I have ever received in my life: Looking back over that long life,during which he has met with serenity battle, storm, fire and flood, as well as the unremitting demands of day-byday responsibility, Percy Garon only remembers with pride and affection the men who have walked with him. 'I've been lucky', he says.—J.D..