The world's first lifeboat station? Until recently it has been accepted that the world's first lifeboat station was at Bamburgh, Northumberland, where, in 1786, Dr John Sharp, the chief administrator of the Crewe Trust, persuaded Lionel Lukin to convert a small coble, making it 'unimmergible'.

Reports of rescue boats stationed at the mouth of the Yangtse river in the mideighteenth century have never been substantiated, so Hamburgh's claim seemed safe. There is now convincing evidence that a lifeboat station existed at Formby, Lancashire, almost ten years before Lukin's boat was sent to Bamburgh. A minute in the Liverpool municipal records dated March 5, 1777, gave instructions for repairs to be carried out to 'the boat, which was formerly ordered to be built and kept at Formby in readiness to fetch any shipwrecked persons from off the banks'.

Grahame Farr had included a note about the boat set aside for lifesaving at Formby in the 1770s in his Aids to Lifeboat History No. 2, British Lifeboat Stations, published in 1979, and now, after considerable research, an article has been written by Dr and Mrs Yorke on the full history of Formby lifeboat station; it appears on page 156. The evidence for the early lifeboat and a picture of the station isincluded in the new book Lifeboat—In Danger's Hour by Patrick Howarth (see pages 162 and 163).

Thanks to Admiral Hoare The Committee of Management has resolved that the Institution's sincere thanks on vellum be accorded to Rear Admiral Desmond Hoare in recognition of his valuable co-operation and skill as a designer of the rigid-hulled inflatable lifeboat concept and for his services to the Institution as a member of the Committee of Management.

Admiral Hoare was Provost of the United College of the Atlantic at St Donat's, South Wales, when, with the support of the RNLI, he experimented with a boat design based on the combination of a rigid wooden hull with an inflatable sponson. After some seven year's work the early Atlantic 16 and 21 were adopted by the Institution, since which time considerable development work has been undertaken by the RNLI base at Cowes resulting in the highly effective Atlantic 21 we know today. Rigid inflatable boats are now also common in the commercial field as well as in that of sea rescue.

Since Admiral Hoare's experiments in the 1960s, hundreds of lives have been saved by Atlantic class lifeboats.

Indian Chief exhibition The centenary of the Indian Chief rescue carried out by the Ramsgate lifeboat Bradford in 1881, and for which the gold medal was awarded to Coxswain Charles Fish, is being marked by an exhibition in Ramsgate Harbour's oldest building, the Clock House. The exhibition includes the ship's crest, salvaged from Indian Chief, photographs, paintings and medals awarded to the lifeboat crew. A series of six new paintings of the rescue were prepared in the display studio in Poole.

The exhibition is open at weekends until Easter and daily thereafter, from 11.00am to 4.00pm.

Helicopter rescues During 1980, helicopters of the RAF flew over 1,000 rescue missions andrescued or evacuated some 600 people.

A further 200 people were rescued by Royal Navy helicopters. Many of these missions were carried out jointly with RNLI lifeboats and the risks faced by both helicopter and lifeboat crews were, at times, severe. It was with particular sadness that the news of the death of Master Aircrewman David Bullock of RAF Coltishall was received. He was lost last November when attempting to winch the pilot of a ditched aircraft from the sea and was the first man ever to be lost on an RAF air-sea rescue mission. The RNLI extends its sympathy to his family and colleagues in a sister rescue service.

New design The cover of this journal has been re-designed to fit in with new letterheadings, posters and other RNLI material so that a coherent design policy is achieved. The new designs use the RNLI flag, which is already well known, and by constant application every piece of RNLI material will be instantly recognisable. The consistency of design will also save money.

Overnight repairs The dedication of lifeboat crews at sea is well known but less is heard of the back-up service on land which keeps the lifeboats in constant readiness.

Failures of equipment are rare due to careful maintenance but if accidental damage occurs it must be dealt with immediately. Last November a lifeboat's propellers were fouled by a badly laid mooring in a harbour. Chains wrapped around a propeller shaft and bent it so the lifeboat had to be lifted out of the water for repairs. Work started at 5.00 pm and the district engineer, district surveyor of lifeboats and station mechanic worked overnight to replace the propeller and shaft. The lifeboat was lifted back into the water at 7.00 am the next morning and after a sea trial was placed back on service at 9.00 am.Norwegian gift At the request of HM King Olav V of Norway a cheque for £639 was given to Tynemouth lifeboat committee last year. King Olav visited Newcastle in September in connection with the city's 900th anniversary celebrations and asked that the proceeds from a reception, where he met the Norwegian community, be used towards the cost of the new Tynemouth 52ft Arun class lifeboat George and Olive Turner as an expression of Newcastle's seaward link with Norway.

The cheque, which represents more than £4 per head from the Norwegians living in Newcastle, was handed over to Coxswain John Hogg in the presencepresence of Tynemouth station branch officers and committee by the Norwegian Consul General, Mr H.

Hostvedt last December. Mr Hostvedt already knew about lifeboat work as his daughter Elizabeth was the first woman helmsman of an Atlantic 21. While student she served on the lifeboat crew at Atlantic College (see page 147).

During his visit to Newcastle King Olav received the Honorary Freedom of Trinity House, Newcastle.

150th anniversary Fraserburgh lifeboat station has been awarded a vellum on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its establishment in 1831.

American branch For those Americans who are interested in supporting the lifeboat service in the United Kingdom an American branch was formed at recent meeting in London. Information on membership from: RNLI London office, 202 Lambeth Road, SE1 7JW.Steam lifeboats Grahame Fair, who over the years has done much detailed research into lifeboat history, has just published the fifth in his series of historical papers.

Entitled The Steam Lifeboats, 1889-1928, it gives a broad outline of the history of RNLI steam lifeboats as well as notes on earlier projects and overseas examples with tabulated information about the various boats.

Although it was not until 1890 that the first of the RNLI's six steam lifeboats, Duke of Northumberland, went on station at Harwich, the idea of steam propulsion for lifesaving had been considered for many years. The first proposal for a steam lifeboat came from Sir William Hillary himself, the Institution's founder, and one of the 289 entries in the Northumberland Prize design competition of 1851 was for a steam lifeboat.

The Steam Lifeboats 1889-1928 is available from Grahame Farr, 98 Combe Avenue, Portishead, Bristol BS20 9JX, price 75p including p. and p.

Please send cash with order..