On Station The following lifeboats have taken up station and relief fleet duties: ALL-WEATHER Ramsey - Mersey 12-14 (ON 1171) Ann and James Ritchie on 12 July 1991.

North Sunderland - Mersey 12-16 (ON 1173) Grace Darling on 7 August 1991.

INSHORE Relief- D417 on 3 July 1991.

Relief-D418 on 10 July 1991.

Luck of the Draw Russ Abbot was playing it straight for once when he drew the twenty winners of the 54th national lottery on Wednesday 31 July at RNLI Headquarters in Poole.

Nevertheless, this popular comedian and man of many guises couldn't resist cracking the odd joke or two to keep the large audience in attendance laughing.

Russ, who was appearing in his Summer Show at the Bournemouth International Centre, is well-known for his TV show 'Russ Abbot's Madhouse'.

Lt Cdr Brian Miles, the RNLI's Director, and Anthony Oliver, deputy head of fund raising and marketing supervised the proceedings.

Between the jokes, Mr Anthony Oliver announced that for the first time in the RNLI's history the lottery had raised over £100,000 -£102,119 to be exact. Thanks are given to all who supported the lottery and helped to achieve this record total.

Prizewinners of the 54th national lottery are: £2,000: Mr and Mrs P.M. Merritt, Preston, Lanes. £1,000: Mrs H. Charity, Northwich, Cheshire. £500: Mr A.

Flockhart, Edinburgh. £250: Mr Roscoe, Nr Dartmouth, Devon. £100: Mr H.

Bishop, Upper Belvedere, Kent; Mr Hicks, Sheffield, South Yorks; Mr A. Piper, Hastings, East Sussex; Mr A.M. Hayward, Wakefield, Yorks; Mr J.A. Boston, Kings Norton, Birmingham; Miss P.M. Walton, Walthamstow, London; Mr and Mrs T.

Hobday, Clevedon, Avon; Mrs J Harris, Birkenhead, Merseyside. £50: Mr J.V.G.

Hawkes, Liss, Hants; Mrs E. Bennett, Stanmore, Middlesex; Mr B. Bertlin, Leatherhead, Surrey; Mrs J. Pearson, Redcar, Cleveland; Mrs O. Evans, .Falmouth, Cornwall; Mr R. Grant, Redhill, Surrey; Mr T.V.A. Mursell, Ryde, Isle of Wight; Mrs V. Leggett, Gidea Park, Essex.

One of the £50 winners has kindly donated the prize money to the RNLI, the third prize winner donated £25 and the fourth prize winner was none other than Mr Roscoe of the RNLI's PR committee! Second prize winner Mrs Charity - a most appropriate name - wrote to say she was forever grateful to the RNLI, as the Institution was responsible for rescuing her husband and son when they were in trouble off the north Wales coast some years ago.

Surprise, surprise] The Rotary Club of Southend-on-Sea (East) played host to members of Southend- on-Sea lifeboat station crew on 21 June 1991 - and surprised one of the guests with the highest honour that the Rotary Club can award! Seven crew members, the deputy divisional inspector of lifeboats for the south east division Colin Williams and regional organiser (eastern) George Price joined the Rotarians and Ladies for their weekly meeting.

During the evening, Southend-on-Sea's honorary secretary Colin Sedgwick was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship award in recognition of his 32 years of service to the RNLI and the community. Mr Sedgwick is a rare recipient of the award, not often presented to non-Rotarians.

Mr Sedgwick started service as a Watson class lifeboat crew member at 17.

Schpoj pla-ytime After a fund raising effort which raised £25,000, the children of a London school are now the proud owners of William Henr and Mary King.

The Oakley class lifeboat, which saw service at Cromer (1964-1967), Bridlington (1967-1988) and North Sunderland (1989-1990) and which saved a total of 84 lives, is now on permanent station as the centrepiece of Drayton Park School's playground.

The school intends to build a play structure all around it with ropes and ladders and keep a permanent exhibition of the RNLI's work and history inside the lifeboat.

The scheme was a joint venture between the Drayton Park School and Islington Schools Environment Project.

Win a Volvo in the next lottery! The 56th national lottery will he drawn on 31 January 1992. The national lottery has been running with cash prizes for 14 years, during which time the ticket price has remained 25p.

The 5f th lottery, with itsfirxi prize of a 'olvo 440 car.

together with cash prizes, marks a turning point and the cost of the ticket is now 50p.

Long service badges The Long Service Badge for crew members and shore helpers who have given active service for 20 years or more has been awarded to: Aberystwyth - Crew Members G.J.

Edwards and R.J. Gorman Calshot - Coxswain J. Horton Clacton - Crew Member T. Bolingbroke Hastings - Crew Member P. Thorpe Porthdinllaen - Crew Member J.B.

Hughes St Davids - Coxswain D. Chant, Second Coxswain M.C. Gray Thurso - Second Coxswain J.D. Manson, Second Coxswain W.D. Munro West Kirby - Crew Member J.

Hopkinson.

Snapshot of the past Readers may be interested in these two photographs sent to THE LIFEBOAT by Frank Kilroy, station honorary secretary of Lytham St Annes station branch.

They show the St Annes Ladies guilds in 1922 and again, 69 years later, in 1991.

The original picture was taken outside the lifeboat house in Eastbank Road, St Annes.

The lady in the centre in black with the large floral hat is Lady Marion Macara. In 1891, Lady Macara started the Ladies' Auxiliary Committees of which St Annes was one of the first and which later became the foundation stone of the Ladies' lifeboat guilds.

The boat in the background is the James Scarlett. This was the last lifeboat to be stationed at St Annes as the station closed in 1925.

In 1924, the towns of Lytham and St Annes were amalgamated.

When in 1931 the Lytham station received its first motor lifeboat, the J.HrW., the Institution directed that the station be named Lytham St Annes. However, the St Annes and Lytham Ladies' guilds both opted to remain as separate fund raising bodies, as they still are to this day.

Presentation of Awards The entry for Mrs M. Wentworth in the list of awards (THE LIFEBOAT, Summer 1991) should have read: Mrs M. Wentworth, Harrogate Ladies' lifeboat guild: chairman 1950-1960. Central London Branch: committee member 1961 to date, vice chairman 1975-1976.

Birthday Honours Two RNLI coxswains and a mechanic were awarded the British Empire Medal for their services to the Institution in HM The Queen's Birthday Honours list: Bruce Brown BEM, mechanic at Walmer lifeboat station. Mr Brown served as mechanic from 1962-1973, acting coxswain/ mechanic from 1973-1974, coxswain/ mechanic from 1974-1982, and has been mechanic at Walmer since 1982. He was awarded the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum in 1969, a Bronze medal in 1977 and a Long Service Badge in 1982.

Bruce Herbert BEM, coxswain of Rhyl lifeboat. Mr Herbert joined the crew in 1952 and the shore crew in 1956, becoming a deckhand in 1959. He was a member of the inshore lifeboat crew from 1970-1974 and appointed coxswain in 1973. Mr Herbert was awarded a Long Service Badge in 1982.

William Lennon BEM, coxswain of Donaghadee lifeboat from 1983 until his retirement this year. He joined the crew in 1954 and was second coxswain from 1981- 1983. Mr Lennon was awarded a Long Service Badge in 1982.

Other awards for achievements not directly connected with the Institution's work have gone to: CBE Arthur Booth CBE, chairman. South and East Cheshire Training and Enterprise Council and chairman. Refuge Group. Mr Booth is the vice president of Manchester branch.

John Laing CBE, chairman of John Laing H B (contractors for new headquarters building).

The Countess Mountbatten of Burma CBE, chairman joint committee, Order of St John and British Red Cross Society and vice president British Red Cross Society.

KCB Sir John Bourn KCB, Comptroller and Auditor General and deputy chairman of CISPOTEL.

BEM Mrs D.K.P. Dennis BEM, for services to the community in Godstone. Mrs Dennis is a member of Godstone branch.

R.G. Jago BEM, for service with the Ministry of Defence at Devonport" Naval Base. He is also a member of Plymouth lifeboat crew.

O.A. Harbour BEM. for services to the community in Bembridge. He is also a winchman at Bembridge lifeboat station..