Letters...

tion by the Institution, i.e. medals, vellums and letters of thanks, but when there is extra space we will always try to include additional stories.

Unsung praises I refer to the News Point on page 258 in the spring edition of The Lifeboat.

Without diminishing at all from the recognition given, may I remind you that both Shoreham and Newhaven lifeboats were also launched into severe conditions during the hurricane of October 16, to assist a trawler with flooded engine room.

The list of services shows that other stations were also called on this date.— PETER EVERARD, Mile Oak, Sussex I was very disappointed not to see a report in the winter edition of The Lifeboat of the service rendered by the Lowestoft lifeboat during the early morning of October 16, 1987, when the hurricane was at its fiercest.

When the call was made at 0710 the seas were rolling right over Lowestoft's South Pier, a sight I have never, until that morning, seen before.

Undaunted by the force of the wind and the state of the sea, the lifeboat slipped her moorings to go to the aid of the coaster Gino. The coxswain, John Catchpole, when talking to a local reporter, said conditions were atrocious and that he could not see the Pier heads because of the water breaking over them.

Later, in conversation with some crew members, it was learned that when the lifeboat approached the Gino it was noted that the casualty was in a very dangerous position, getting quite close to the shore and having difficulty with her steering gear.

John Catchpole put the lifeboat alongside the Gino to give verbal information on the dangerous position of the vessel.

The lifeboat escorted the vessel to a point just north of Lowestoft and stood by until the winds abated, when a pilot was able to bring the Gino into Lowestoft escorted by the lifeboat.

The service lasted 6'/2 hours and illustrates the dedication, courage and skill of the Lowestoft lifeboatmen in the true tradition of the lifeboat service.— R E FRENCH, Lowestoft, Norfolk.

Note by editor: There were, in fact, thirteen services by lifeboats during last October's hurricane.

Last autumn and winter were particularly bad for gales and there were many services by lifeboats all around the coast besides those on October 16, all of which brought great credit to our lifeboatmen.

We wish we could recount them all but there is simply not enough space. Priority has to be given to those services which receive special recogni- Lusitania sinking In the spring issue of The Lifeboat (page 269) you refer to the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. You mention that Des Bateman's father reported seeing a submarine lurking in the bay two days before. Of course the authorities contradicted him.

In 1940 I had a chat with Mr Tom Hodgson who had been a chauffeur/ gardener to a business man in Cork in his younger days. One of his regular jobs was running his master into Cork every morning and he often stopped for a chat with the harbour master on his way home.

On the day the Lusitania was sunk, the harbour master told him that two German submarines had been "playing about in the bay" in the early morning.

He had notified the coastguards and had expected our navy to have been alerted because they were "expecting something big coming from America".

Hodgson went back to his master's residence and had just put the car into the garage when he heard the first torpedo explode in the Lusitania. He was confident that our navy had not taken any action, probably because the report of submarines had not been passed on.

In view of this I think it is very likely that Bateman senior's report was accurate.

—w LIGHTFOOT, Raunda, Northants.

Paying for rescue? Major Case's letter under the heading "Paying for Rescue?" on page 177 of your spring 1988 issue intrigues me. He seems to be having a dig at those who use pleasure craft, but I hope not, for the reason that these are largely crewed by keen adventurous young people, the cream of the up and coming generation.

He quite rightly asserts that any sort of compulsory fee for the service of a lifeboat would be contrary to RNLI policy and, in any case, the amount suggested by him of £1,000 would be beyond the means of most young people.

Whether insurance companies could help at a reasonable cost I do not know, but there is the other possibility mentioned by him, namely publicity.

This certainly worked in my own case. Until advancing years forced me to discontinue I had been "messing about in boats" for about 60 years, for part of this time in a seagoing yacht crewed by Sea Scouts. We had our adventures and with the thought that one day we might need the help of a lifeboat, from an early stage I contributed to the Institution's funds.

Although I have not kept a record, I think that by now I must have given well over £1,000.

RNLI publicity takes many forms but if it is not already being done I suggest that all sailing clubs and other organisations involved in maritime activity should be canvassed with the theme "You never know when you may need us".

Coming back to my point about keen adventurous young people, subject to the convenience of the crews the more opportunities that can be provided for them to experience a trip to sea in a lifeboat, the better. Today's decent young people—and there are plenty of them—are generous in respect of what they deem to be worthwhile projects.

—A T WINDER, Guildford, Surrey.

Welly helpful I can't see your boys going out to sea any longer without boots. Herewith £6—please buy a pair of boots.—SPIKE MILLIGAN, London W2.

Note by editor: This was Spike's reaction to our well known advertisement: "£6 buys him a pair of boots"! The French connection When J M Thompson, the distinguished Oxford historian, died in 1956 he left the royalty earnings of his books during the legal term of copyright to the RNLI. Although the books were written in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, they remain in demand.

J M Thompson specialised in the French Revolution and we are just about to reissue his Robespierre. I am arranging for you to be sent a copy of the former, and this should follow in a few days.

As it is the anniversary of the French Revolution I expect there to be something of a resurgence in the sales of Thompson's books, especially his complete history of the Revolution, which is still regarded as the finest book on the subject.

Every time anyone buys a copy of one of Thompson's books they are in effect contributing to your funds. In the case of Robespierre the sum of £2 per copy.

It occurs to me that readers in the United Kingdom might like to be aware of this.

With all very best wishes.—JOHN DAVEY, editorial director, Basil Blackwell, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF..