HM The Queen visits Fraserburgh station Monday 22 June was a proud day for Fraserburgh as HM The Queen toured the town's lifeboat station.

In her capacity as Patron of the RNLI, she received a cheque for £305,613, representing the total raised to date from the Police Appeal which officially closed on 31 March this year.

The money raised will help fund a Mersey class lifeboat to be named Her Majesty The Queen which is to serve in the Institution's relief fleet. The name has been chosen by the police to mark the 40th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

Duke of Kent at HQ A planned visit by HRH The Duke of Kent, the RN LI President, to Pooleon 9 July had to be hastily rescheduled at the eleventh hour when mechanical problems delayed His Royal Highness'sdeparturefrom London by helicopter.

It had been planned for the Duke to take a trip afloat in the new FAB 4 lifeboat and then visit the new extension at Headquartersand the depot with its electronic workshop and new lift-out dock.

Regrettably, the delay meant that the Duke was unable to tour the new Headquarters extension.

Nevertheless, he was able to take the opportunity of his visit to Poole to tour the depot and inspect FAB 4 at close quarters.

Royal visit to Walmer The weather was kind when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother made a special visit to Walmer lifeboat station onMonday 20 July to meet the crew, shore helpers and their families.

She also took the time to meet, informally, members of the local branch committee and the ladies lifeboat guild.

During the course of her visit Her Majesty also took the opportunity to view the newly refurbished boathouse and the station lifeboat, the Atlantic 21, named James Burgess on Saturday 5 September.

Her Majesty has been a Patron of the RNLI since 1937 and last visited the Walmer station in May 1956 to present a vellum commemorating the station's centenary.New lifeboats Girvan'scurrent Bredeclass lifeboat Amateur Sicimnting Associations is to be replaced with a 12m Mersey class in 1993.

The announcement was made following a coast review led by Air Vice Marshall John Tetley, a member of the committee of management and deputy chairman of the search and rescue committee.

Also in 1993, Swanage station will be allocated an inshore lifeboat for evaluation during the summer season in addition to its allweather Mersey class lifeboat.

The 16ft D class inflatable will initially be on trial from March-October.

A new 30-knot Atlantic 21 class rigid inflatable lifeboat is to replace the 8-knot Oakley class currently on station at Flamborough.

The move is part of the RNLI's long-term plan to complete the introduction of fast lifeboats at every one of its stations by 1993.

The new lifeboat is expected to enter service at the beginning of the 1993 summer season when the current Flamborough lifeboat Tin- Will ami Fanny Kirbi/, built in 1963, will be withdrawn. A new station for the Atlantic 21 will be established at South Landing, considered a more suitable launching site on Flamborough Head for the new lifeboat than the existing North Landing station.

Duke of Kent, E a s t b o u r n e ' s Rother class lifeboat is to be replaced by a 12m Mersey class boat towards the end of next year.

The new lifeboat will have a speed of 16 knots, almost double that of the lifeboat she will replace.Services recognised David Wells, helmsman of the Clacton lifeboat, together with crew members Terry Bolingbroke and Thomas Ridley, have been selected to receive the 1991 Ralph Glister Award for the most meritorious service carried out by the crew of an inshore lifeboat.

In addition, the Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge Award for the most meritorious service carried out by a crew member of an Atlantic 21 lifeboat has been awarded to David Wells.

Both awards have been made for a service on 1 November when the Clacton lifeboat towed the yacht Two Nincr off Buxey Sands, saving six yachtsmen.

Coxswain Kieran Cotter of the Baltimore lifeboat has been awarded The Maud Smith Award for the most outstanding act of lifesaving by a lifeboatman during 1991 following a service lasting 26 hours in which 20 crew were saved from a trawler and a sailing vessel on 30 and 31 October.

Full accounts of the Clacton and the Baltimore services are given in THE LIFEBOAT of summer 1992.

MEDEX '92 This year's MEDEX - an exercise simulating a medical emergency - was staged by the RNLI in the northern approaches to the Menai Straits on Tuesday 14 July.

The exercise, held at a different location around the coast each year, was organised to test the reactions of local lifeboat crews in handling casualties in a complex scenario.

Lifeboats from Llandudno (Mersey class), Moelfre (Tyne), Beaumaris (Atlantic 21) and Conwy (D class) all took part, with involvement from the coastguard at Holyhead and a helicopter from RAF Valley.

Participants were not told exactly what kind of emergencies to expect, except that angling boats and a chemical spillage were involved.

Actions were monitored closely by members of the RNLI's medical and survival committee.

As usual, the situation was handled with great skill, and those involved declared that, once again, MEDEX had proven an extremely valuable exercise for all concerned.Play a-ground Children from the Drayton Park Primary School are pictured celebrating the relaunch of the Oakley class William Henry and Mary King - in their playground! Nearly 1.000 people turned up to the school summer fair on 27 June to hear Brian Cundall.

Bridlington's assistant mechanic, perform the'launching ceremony'.

Brian, with fellow crew members Paul Humphries and Alistair Turnball. joined in the fun of the fair, even volunteering to be on the receiving end of wet sponges on the 'Soak-a-Bloke' stall. They also spent much of their time explaining the functions of the lifeboat to many interested children.

The relaunch was the highlight of a long campaign to raise over £25,000 for a suitable setting for the lifeboat in the playground.Oil painting unveiled The oil painting of retired Moelfre coxswain Richard Evans BEM, which featured in last issue's News pages, was unveiled by Sir John Batten KCVO, a member of the committee of management, at Oriel Ynys Mon, Anglesey on 13 July.

Dick Evans himself, one of the RNLI's most decorated lifeboatmen and now 87, the artist Jeff Stultiens and Ray Kipling, Deputy Director of the RNLI, were among the guests.

Christmas card James Garwood, 8, of Trellech, Monmouth visited London in July to collect his prixe for Winning the RNLI's 'Design a Christmas Card' competition for Storm Force members aged 5-16.

James attended the show 'Joseph and his Amazing T e c h n i c o l o u r Dreamcoat' and was invited backstage afterwards to meet the star of the show, Philip Schofield.

Then, after a night at the Marriott Hotel in Mayfair, James visited Hamley's, the toy shop, and chose a remote- control hovercraft and a Delta kite as part of his prize.

James' design of a modern lifeboat in rough seas impressed the judges with its detail and bold use of colour.

The RNLI sells an average of five million Christmas cards each year, and this is the first time a card designed by a child has been included in its selection.

James' Christmas card designGraham Newman 1 When reporting the death of Graham Newman, a Life Vice President of the RNLI and long-serving member of the Committee of Management, in the Summer issue of THE LIFEBOAT Mr Newman's sterling service on the Institution's Search and Rescue Committee was omitted.

Graham Newman was a member of the SAR committee from 1981, deputy chairman from 1984 to 1989 and then chairman until his death.

During this time he played a very active role in the various Coast Reviews, spending a considerable time reviewing the RNLI's coverage in a period in which a number of new lifeboat stations were opened.

Mr Newman also left a substantial bequest to the Institution.NewRO The RNLI has appointed a new regional organiser for the North East region following the tragic death of Brian Stevenson in a road accident last February.

Christine Goodall, who has had more than 13 years experience in fundraising, has already assumed her duties and can be contacted at the North East regional office on (0423) 711667.

Garden party A party of RNLI volunteers from Eastbourne, Exmouth, Fleetwood, Harwich, Lowestoft, Mablethorpe, Port Erin, St Agnes, St Davids, St Peter Port, Scarborough, Sheringham, Southend and Yarmouth stations, together with their wives and daughters, were selected to attend a royal garden party at Buckingham Palace in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen on Thursday 23 July.

The group of some 40 lifeboatmen, station personnel and RNLI staff were chosen to attend the garden party in recognition of their long and devoted service to the RNLI. During the course of the afternoon, the RNLI contingent was introduced to HRH The Duke of Kent, President of the Institution.

Gift Aid scheme The Gift Aid scheme is the most beneficial way for a charity to receive a gift, and there is also a benefit for higher tax paying donors using this scheme.

On 7 May, the minimum gift qualifying for the scheme was reduced from £600 to £400.

If you are thinking of making a gift to the RNLI of £400 or more, please consider the Gift Aid scheme which provides tax refunds on such gifts at no extra cost to the donor. If the donor is a higher rate taxpayer, then the difference can be reclaimed on the donor's tax return.

In this scheme, a gift of £400 benefits the RNLI by a further £133.33 and the higher rate tax paying donor could reclaim £80.

If you would like further details of the Gift Aid scheme, please write to Gill Cull, Fundraising Department, RNLI, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1HZ.

A station for North Kessock A lifeboat station is to be established at North Kessock, Inverness in 1993 for evaluation during the summer season. The new station will operatea 16ftD class inflatable lifeboat.

The decision has been taken to extend lifeboat cover in the area due to the number of search and rescue incidents occurring within the capabilities of the D class.The RNLI's latest lifeboat prototypes have been on trials around the coast as part of their evaluation and development.

The 17m FAB 3 completed a month-long circumnavigation of the mainland in mid-July, having provided a number of lifeboat crews around the coast with an opportunity to experience the new, 25- knot lifeboat.

As this issue went to press the 14m FAB 4 set out on a similar trip.

The new rigid inflatable Atlantic 22 also underwent evaluation at lifeboat stations during the summer, and is pictured off Lymington, alongside the station's Atlantic 21.

As was to be expected experienced crew members had their own suggestions to make, but generally all three boats have been very well received by those who will be using them.Newspoint The bad weather over the August Bank Holiday period led to a rash of lifeboat activity the length and breadth of the country, with nofewerthan 194 lifeboat launches between Friday and Monday.

As usual there has been criticism in the media of the competence of some of those involved, and while it is obvious that lack of competence did lead to some of these services the RNLI would not want to be drawn into such a debate.

The Institution is committed to rescuing anyone in danger at sea, and while it wholeheartedly endorses the safety message it would never seek to make a judgement on those it saves. The sea is a hostile environment and even the most competent sailor in a well-found vessel, commercial or pleasure, can meet trouble through genuine and totally unforeseeable accidents.

Although care, skill and experience can reduce the number of calls the Institution's lifeboats will always be ready to launch to anyone in distress..