Carried out to sea IN THE EARLY HOURS of Thursday August 14, 1980, a 999 call to Great Yarmouth Coastguard reported a woman calling for help from the river near the North Pier opposite the Coastguard lookout. Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station and the Police were alerted immediately. It was dark and the tide was ebbing, and although coastguards scanned the water with an Aldis lamp right away, they could not see anyone.

The lifeboat station's Atlantic 21 rigid inflatable lifeboat was launched at 0310 under the command of Helmsman H. E. 'Dilly' Appleton; his crew were Paul Mitchell and Richard Bell. It was a clear night with a gentle breeze blowing from the south west and a slight sea.

Low water would be at 0536.

Initially the Atlantic 21 was asked to search the river in the area of the Coastguard lookout, but almost immediately she was asked to return up river to Spending Beach to search and to meet an informant. Then someone on the quay told the lifeboat crew that cries for help had been heard 15 to 20 minutes earlier in the river. As the tide was ebbing the Atlantic 21 searched downstream to the harbour entrance on the west side of the river before returning to Spending Beach on the east side, but nothing was found.

Helmsman Appleton returned to the harbour entrance and, using parachute flares to illuminate the water, carried out a zigzag search three quarters of a mile north of the harbour, but nothing was found. He made a similar search back to the harbour entrance; still nothing. The search north of the harbour mouth was repeated further off shore, but still there was no sign of the missing woman.

The lifeboat crew decided to extendthe search area and returned north along the beach, where they saw a Police car which attracted their attention to tell them that cries had been heard earlier off shore.

In view of this report and the falling tide, the search area was extended even further. All the lifeboat's available parachute flares had been used by now, and so the search continued in the dark, the engines being stopped intermittently while the crew hailed and listened.

Ultimately, an hour after the search was started, the woman was heard and found about 1 'A miles north of the harbour entrance and a quarter of a mile off the beach. She was taken on board, a request was made for an ambulance and the woman was given first aid for exposure as the Atlantic headed for station.

She was landed at 0420 and the lifeboat was back on station and once more ready for service at 0430.

For this service a letter expressing appreciation to Helmsman H. E. 'Dilly' Appleton and Crew Members Paul M.

Mitchell and Richard F. Bell and signed by Commander Bruce Cairns, chief of operations RNLI, was sent to Dr C. H.

Brookings, the station administration officer of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston..