WHFN HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH named Hartlepool's new 44' Waveney lifeboat on Thursday, July 14, it was an historic moment for both the RNLI and the Scout Association; for the RNLI it was the first time a reigning monarch had ever named a lifeboat at her own station, and for the Scout Association it was the crown of its efforts in its unique countrywide fund-raising campaign, 'Operation Lifeboat'.

The story had begun back in 1974, when, to mark the 150th anniversary of the lifeboat service, the Scout Association set out to fund a new offshore lifeboat by raising £100,000, at that time, before the onset of the worst of the inflation, roughly the cost of a Waveney.

It was the first time that Scouts throughout Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England had combined on a united enterprise such as this. With seemingly unbounded energy and enthusiasm they engaged in a great diversity of sponsored activity, much of it taking place over one October weekend—and much of it in itself performing a service to local communities.

They not only reached their target, but passed it by more than £1,000.

Major-General Ralph Farrant, Chairman of the RNLI, when accepting the lifeboat at Hartlepool on behalf of the Institution, recalled this great and generous effort, and recalled, too, the outsize cheque four young Scouts had carried through the Royal Festival Hall at the AGM of 1975 to present to our President, the Duke of Kent.

And now it was 1977, a year dedicated by the Queen's own wish to youth. The Waveney lifeboat had been launched from Bideford Shipyard, had completed her trials and had sailed to take up her station, carrying among her crew on the last leg of the passage Michael Hegarty, patrol leader of the 55th Hartlepool Scout Group and a holder of the Chief Scout award. Now, during her Silver Jubilee visit to Hartlepool, Her Majesty, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, was coming down to Harbour Terrace to honour the RNLI and the Scout Association, to both of which she is Patron, by performing the naming ceremony of the new lifeboat.

A great gathering was waiting at the dockside to greet the royal visitors: coxswain and crew, manning their new boat, their wives and families, the station branch officials and supporters, lifeboat people from the immediate area and representing many inland fundraising branches and guilds, and no less than 1,500 Scouts, from all parts of the country; Guides were there, too, acting as stewards, for Hartlepool's ILB is one of three Atlantic 21s donated to the lifeboat service by that organisation; and the music was played, appropriately enough in an area where police and RNLI co-operation is close, by the Cleveland Constabulary Band.

Before the arrival of Her Majesty, the ceremony of handing over and acceptance of the lifeboat from the Scout Association to the Institution, and from the Institution into the safe keeping of Hartlepool station, had been completed. Welcoming all their guests, James E. Atkinson, chairman of the branch, recalled the port's long history of lifesaving and told of the station's pride that once again there was an offshore as well as an inshore lifeboat at Hartlepool.

Presenting the lifeboat to the RNLI, Sir William Gladstone, BT, The Chief Scout, spoke of his Association's wish to encourage young people to help others by giving service, and of the RNLI as ''the most celebrated example of giving service in the country'. He went on to make the point that in these difficult days, those voluntary associations which are based on service and which work within a disciplined framework are growing stronger all the time: associations like the Scouts—already in the first six months of this year 19,000 new Scouts had been enrolled—and the RNLI. ' Your crews are your spearhead', said Sir William. 'What splendid teams of happy people they are!' The presentation of this lifeboat was, he concluded, one of the proudest moments in Scout history.

When Captain Alexander Kirk, honoary secretary of Hartlepool, accepted the new Waveney lifeboat on behalf of the station, he extended an invitation to both Scouts and Guides to keep in touch with the station. To a fanfare by the trumpeters of the 13th Coventry Scout Band he presented a picture of the lifeboat to four Scouts.

Up to that time, it must be admitted, the weather had not been all that could have been wished: it had been overcast with a cold north-east wind blowing off the sea. But, as the royal car approached, the sun broke through, bright and warm, matching the happiness and warmth of the waiting welcome.

A fanfare from the Scout trumpeters, the Royal Standard was broken out above the platform, and HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh were escorted through a Scout guard of honour by General Farrant, who presented Sir William Gladstone and one Scout representing all the Scouts of the United Kingdom, Kenneth Anderson, a patrol leader, 14th Seaton Carew Scouts, who holds the Chief Scout's award.

The service of dedication, traditional in form, was conducted by the Reverend Canon John R. Bullock, Rural Dean of Hartlepool, assisted by the Very Reverend Canon Patrick Lacey, Parish Priest of St Joseph's, Hartlepool, and the Reverend David Johnson, President of the Hartlepool and District Free Church Federal Council.

Now came the time for Her Majesty The Queen, escorted by General Farrant, to walk forward to the dais and name the lifeboat The Scout. 'May God bless her and all who sail in her. . . .' Champagne breaking . . . cheers for Her Majesty and for the lifeboat . . . The Scout slips . . . 'On the Crest of the Wave' from the band . . .

While the boat was brought alongside the quay and before the royal visitors were invited to inspect The Scout, there was an opportunity for the Queen and the Duke to meet the wives of the crew then crew members themselves, with Coxswain Robert Maiden at their head.

Back on shore again to meet the chairman of the three local ladies' guilds, Mrs Audrey Woore (Hartlepool, Headland), Mrs Edith Derbyshire (Hartlepool, West) and Mrs Mary Murdy (Seaton Carew), and for the presentation by Robert Maiden, son of the coxswain, of the Institution's Jubilee tribute—a photographic record commemorating occasions when members of the Royal Family have been involved with the RNLI during the reign of HM The Queen.

And so it was time for Major-General Farrant and James Atkinson to take their leave; time for everyone to wave farewell to the Queen and the Duke; for the Royal Standard to be struck..