SPITHEAD, TUESDAY, JUNE 28: When her Majesty The Queen, aboard HMY Britannia, reviewed the Fleet as part of the celebrations marking her Silver Jubilee, three lifeboats of the Royal National Life-boat Institution were proud to take their place in company with ships of the Royal Navy, ships from Commonwealth and Foreign Navies, support ships and representatives of the British Merchant Fleet and of such other diverse maritime bodies as HM Coastguard and the Sail Training Association: some 180 vessels, ranging right down from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

The three lifeboats, on station at the western end of the Review lines and just south of the eastern tip of The Brambles, were the 70' Clyde City of Bristol from Clovelly; the 52' Arun Joy and John Wade, completing her trials before going on station at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight; and the 48' 6* Oakley Mark II Charles Henry from Selsey. Manned with crew members from their home stations and members of staff, their complements were augmented for the traditional 'manning and cheering ship' as Her Majesty sailed past by 23 lifeboatmen who had come from all over Britain and Ireland to take part, and who between them hold three British Empire Medals and no less than 26 medals for gallantry—• eight silver medals and 18 bronze—-as well as a number of other, lesser, awards. Never can there have been a more distinguished band lining the rails of three small boats, waiting to pay their homage to their Queen.

And never has there been such a gathering of lifeboat crew members and supporters as there was at Calshot, the RNLI base for the event, in the days leading up to the Review.

Preparations, in which the RNLI had taken its part, had of course begun many months before. Now the time had come for the fleet to assemble. By Friday, June 24, the ships of the Royal Navy were already anchored on their stations, with other contingents gradually moving in to take up their positions.

It was that Friday afternoon that the three lifeboats and their crews sailed in to Calshot with Lieut. Alan Tate, operational assistant to the Chief of Operations, as officer in charge of the flotilla, Tom Nutman, DI (Scotland, North) in command of City of Bristol, Captain Roy Harding, trials officer, in command of Joy and John Wade, and Lieut-Commander Michael Woodroffe, DI (South East), in command of Charles Henry.

The three lifeboats were to be supported afloat by Calshot lifeboat, the 40' Keith Nelson Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde, and by two Atlantic 21s, for which crews were provided by Eastney and Lymington ILB stations. They were to have the support ashore of helpers from head office and the southern district office.

And, indeed, they were to be backed up, helped and cared for in a hundred and one ways by the host station.

Colonel Philip Keymer, Calshot honorary secretary, is also warden of the Calshot Activities Centre, and he made available accommodation and excellent messing for all members of the RNLI contingent and also offered them the run of all the Centre's facilities.

Calshot crew room was handed over to become not only the RNLI administrative and information office, but also its communications base (the crew moving temporarily into a caravan).

Communications were of first importance, not only because of organisational needs during the Review, but also because, while taking part in the ceremonial of the day, the lifeboats still retained their primary responsibilities.

The waters of Spithead, The Solent and Southampton Water could be expected to be crowded with boats of all sorts and sizes and all search and rescue units were ready for action, if need be.

Calshot lifeboat was, in fact, to be called out on the night which followed the Review, when hundreds of small boats were making their way home in the dark after the fireworks display.

Lieut. Ernest Gough, aboard City of Bristol, was in charge of communications and Les Vipond, inspector mobile training unit, was on board Joy and John Wade. All boats kept continuous radio and visual watch during the day, and the RNLI had its own 'domestic' channel: apart from anything else, the event provided a first class opportunity for concentrated practice in all forms of communications afloat.

When the three lifeboats arrived, a member of Calshot crew was there to pilot them in to the CEGB dock at Calshot power station, where berths had kindly been provided, and bring the crews back to the Centre by road.

Saturday morning started with a general briefing, then it was 'all hands' to the dock, to practise dressing overall (the Navy would be performing all such operations with its usual quiet precision and the RNLI must not fall short of the required perfection) and 'clean ship', with everyone taking a share of washing down paintwork and polishing brass fittings, before the main activity of the day began.

On both Saturday and Sunday afternoons the whole RNLI contingent, City of Bristol, Joy and John Wade, Charles Henry, Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde and the two Atlantic 21 ILBs, set out in line astern on a cruise around the fleet, showing the flag. And what a splendid progression it was! Each of the offshore boats was allowed to embark 12 passengers, the numbers being made up of members of the Committee of Management, representative fund-raisers from all areas, lifeboat enthusiasts, senior members of staff and one or two more junior members lucky enough to have drawn a place; so the boats, with their passengers and crews,formed a complete microcosm of the Institution's life. With their dark blue hulls, orange superstructures and distinctive ensigns, and with the attendant, vivacious ILBs, the lifeboats formed a colourful flotilla passing between the lines of grey warships, and they attracted a great deal of friendly attention in the holiday atmosphere of those June afternoons when all the world and his wife were, it seemed, afloat. On Sunday, as close an approach as possible was made to Southsea front, in support of that town's flag day.

While the lifeboat flotilla was at sea on Sunday afternoon, the medallists were beginning to muster at Calshot; excitement was building up, and so was the pure pleasure of the occasion. The meeting of old, perhaps distant, friends; the exchange of news; the opportunity to mull over those all-absorbing topics raised by lifeboats and the sea; the fun; the laughter.

Monday was the day for the full scale rehearsal of the Review, but without, of course, Britannia. Before then, however, there had to be as much practice as could be fitted in both ashore and afloat of the drill for 'man and cheer ship'. Once again, the RNLI was determined to match naval smartness. Alan Tate, in command, would be giving the necessary orders over the RNLI's 'domestic' channel, so that all three lifeboats would salute the Queen in unison. Well, the practice of this unaccustomed drill had its moments, too. One left-handed lifeboatman found the clockwise circle of the cap which accompanies each cheer unnatural and, so, hard to remember; before the next practice his pals had drawn a large arrow and fitted it into the inside of his cap! That morning, too, there was the pleasure of seeing the Fleet Air Arm Fly Past rehearsal, postponed from Saturday because of bad weather; a most impressive display of helicopters, including, of course, the RNLI's friends, Wessex and Sea Kings, followed by the fixed wing fly past in the formation of an ER and an anchor; it was sad that Her Majesty was not to see the latter, but this flight of high speed jets was made impossible by the very low cloud which had settled in again by late Tuesday afternoon.

All went well on Monday afternoon's rehearsal, and after it was over the Arun and Oakley Mark II returned once again to dock, leaving the Clyde on station.

At 2200 a wave of light swept over the water: the Fleet was illuminated. For the crew of City of Bristol, out on the water in the quiet of the night, among these magical lights, it was a profound experience, and one of their number, Basil Adams, recorded the moment thus: Quiet on the anchor watch, Naught our thoughts to disturb, We lay at peace amongst the lights, Part of this fairy tale world.

Tomorrow she comes, our Queen so fair, To view her ships and men.

All around the shores will sound To the cheers of scores and ten.

We are doing what others have done So many times before, And let's hope will do again Before the final score.

Back on shore, younger members of the party wiled away the early hours of the evening trying their hand at archery or playing tennis and badminton on the Activities Centre's indoor courts, marked out in the enormous hangars first built in 1918 and in which have since been housed all types of RAF seaplanes, including the Schneider Trophy High Speed Flight. Gradually, as the evening advanced, everyone began to gather in the clubroom. And then one of the Welsh medallists started, quietly, to sing . . . the 'baton' was passed from group to group until full-hearted songs were raising those lofty hangar roofs! By 0900 next morning the Arun and Oakley Mark II were back at anchor in the Review lines, and all three lifeboats dressed overall, lying in company with HM Coastguard's Miranda, with sail continued on page 57.