In March 1999 the RISILI celebrated 175 years of service to those in peril on the sea. March 2002 marked another historic milestone - 150 years' continuous publication of the Lifeboat, the magazine of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. This is a remarkable achievement - even during the Second World War a quarterly bulletin was produced. RNLI honorary librarian Barry Cox reports on what must surely be one of the oldest of in-house publications.THE LIFE - BOAT, JOUHNAL OP THE NATIONAL SHEPWBECX INSTITUTION.

No. 1.] IST MARCH, 1852. [PRICK I!D.

INTRODUCTION.

Ir there b* on* wbjrct mm than another that might be (ipecfcd to commud the atUnUon and «nlut ib* aympalhy of i maritime country like Great Britain, it aurely mint b* the «ftty aiu! weliare of thoae of her Kin " wboM botuttM 1* in Ibe gnu num." ml i bow imperfectly informed, how mpmclj indifferent, li the (prat bulk of our population u to the cauatt, th purtnlion, or ll» mitigatim of thebofToriofahipwrackl Kmm official returns it appean, Ibit in tbi tonne of tin year IBM then were 602 faMtJi, of 127,188 tout buriln-u, wrecked belonging to dw United Kingdom, or nearly two »-d*y. Of lb*M, only four were iMiiwn. By i rafrranre to tl«' wreck chut, for the yi*i I SAO ilono, annoo! to the Xorthumberland Lil'v-tutt H.-|»III. it will be KVB that 681 Btitiah tod Foreign marft wen wrecked on the coutt ant witbiD the m of the British I b». Of thM reatela. 277 wen total wncki, 84 wm null by laak* or colliatoni, 10 were abandoned, ml 304 w«n Mranded anJ damaged » u to require Ann lo diicbarge mrgo; making • total of 681 wncka. Al i«rlr a ran b* jodgR), 780 live* were loat.

Howtrcr Urge it nut »ppo«. thli la not tu* my nnuaual nmnbcr. a nearly tlmilar •mount ii annualt)' lo»t, loaring a pmnornurabtr of vidou-i and orphan..

f wind to E«W the ooaat with wncki. In thrw upmta gitei which occurred in the y«n 1821,1824, and 1B20, then were loat on the «U cuut of England, bftwiwn th« Humber and the Te», IBS Teaaeta. In the angle gale of the 31 t Anguat and lit September, 1833, no ItM than 81 Bricuh v*at*li wen lotl on the ondi m the North Sea and on the «att coaal of Lngland. In the diauirau* gale of the 13lh January, 18*3, 103 i«el wen wrecked on the uuti of the United Kingdom.

In the gala of 1846 u many at 36 vuaeeli got aabore in Hartlepool Kay alone.

In tb* month of March, 1850. not leu than 134 renck were wrecked on our own coaM, or an mngi of more than 4 a day. In In* aingle gale of the 25lh and 26tli Svplembtr bat, not leaa than 112 veueli wrre stranded, cam« into colluion.or wink within the aeai and along the ahorea of the United Kingdom; and daring the month of Jtnaarr rf thu pnaeot year, ISO wredu more have been added to the number. Tbeae iuttancet, many of which happen to haie U*n made public by Iciog but befere PvliameDt, are only a few ixi t of the number that might be cited, and erra tbeat probably &|| ahort of tho nal numbn*. No complpto rnurd of h pwrecki.li kqlti Llord*' Lut, bowewrfnll, i coofraaedly imp «i*rt. But the facia quoted arc nimdent ID proTe an appalling amount of k» of life, and ibt abaolut* n«eaaity that eiiita for Htablithing around OU1 OOUU the mote m«uu in our power fbt th* pfiaataof lib from ihipwndt.The idea of a lifeboat magazine was first put forward by Captain John Washington to the Committee of Management on 8 January 1852, when he produced a specimen of what he proposed. At the next meeting, on 5 February, approval was given 'provided its cost to the Institution did not exceed E50 a year'. Captain Washington was given the job of finding publishers. He was certainly a fast worker to get the first edition out on 1 March - luckily 1852 was a leap year, so he did at least have an extra day! Although the format of the Lifeboat may have changed over the years, its purpose has remained unaltered - to 'advance the great cause we advocate, namely, the improvement of lifeboats, their management and all the means for the preservation of life from shipwreck'.

Correspondence from the public was invited and details of services and rewards granted by the Institution were published.

The course of the Lifeboat over the last 150 years has followed advances in printing technology. Issue No.1 was a simple 16 page, black and white production, with no cover, priced at 11/2d. Although intended to be monthly, early sales were not encouraging. The Committee of Management decided on 3 March 1853 'to continue the publication once a quarter' - and so it has continued to this day. In 1853 the print run was fixed at 750 - today it is some quarter of a million.

Although Washington was the first editor, in March 1853 Richard Lewis, the Institution's secretary, assumed the duties of editorship. It remained a duty of the secretary until 1931 when,for the first time, a trained journalist filled the post of editor for the first time. It has remained such ever since - a specialist appointment within the public relations department.

Early editions had no illustrations. In issue No.7 (December 1852) a simple woodcut of the crosssection of a lifeboat appeared. Later, reproductions of engravings were popular, particularly those full ofVictorian sentimentality. The development of economic photography and reproduction changed the style of the illustrations, the quality improving over the years until they reached the standards we take for granted today. Colour did not make a permanent appearance until well into the 20th century but the Lifeboat would not now be complete without the excellent .shots of all aspects of the lifeboat service's activities.

Today's readers may well find the early editions somewhat dull, both in look and in content. Issue No.2 (April 1852) included an article on the 1849 Fishing Statistics on Herring and Cod Fisheries. On the other hand, this well illustrates the change in demand on the RNLI from the early days, when most of the lifeboat services were to fishing vessels, to the present, where it goes out to more leisure craft than working vessels. In 1849 there were 14,692 fishing vessels with 59,792 men and boys working the boats. In contrast, the 2000 UK fishing fleet comprised 7,242 vessels and employed 15,121 fishermen. In 2000 there were 3,244 lifeboat launches to leisure craft and only 848 to fishing vessels.Over the years, the Lifeboat has kept supporters informed of all the major events in the RNLI's history. The Lifeboat of July ,1854 records a meeting of the Committee on 1 December 1853, where a decision vital to the country's lifeboatmen was made. The magazine records 'After the receipt of a further explanation of trial of the life-belts, by Mr Forward, Commander of the Revenue Cruizer, Sylvia, it was resolved that Capt. Ward's cork life-belts be supplied to the crews of the life-boats, in connection with the Shipwreck Institution.' The cork lifebelt became standard issue and was responsible for the saving of many lives well into the 20th century.

Sadly, even the best lifejacket cannot save men when the sea is at its most fierce. The Lifeboat of February 1887 opened in sombre fashion with the heading 'The Life-boat disasters at Southport and St Annes'. It continued with the official report of the Mexico disaster, when 14 of the 16 Southport crew, together with all 13 crew of the St Annes lifeboat were lost on a service to the barque Mexico, of Hamburg, which was in distress south-west of Lytham. The Lytham lifeboat then managed to go alongside the Mexico and rescued 12 men.

Coxswain Thomas Clarkson received the Silver Medal for this service.

This terrible disaster led to unprecedented support from the public. 'Her Majesty The Queen, the Patroness of the Institution, graciously contributed £100 to the special fund,' the Lifeboat reported. 'His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Germany sent £250 The Daily Telegraph appealed to its readers to give their aid, with the result that the munificent sum of £6,646 was contributed through the medium of that newspaper.' This tragic loss inspired the Chairman of the St Annes branch, Charles Macara, to come up with a plan for the first street collection in aid of the lifeboats. The Lifeboat of November 1891 reports, 'In April last we suggested to ail our Branches and to the Public Press that a "Lifeboat Sunday" should be established and we are glad to know that the proposal has been well taken up in many parts of the United Kingdom, more particularly on the coast.' The editorial went on to urge that 'everybody can do something. Those who can only afford the "widow'smite" can use their influence with those who can give "of their abundance," while others can by means of lectures, entertainments, collecting boxes, &c., bring "grist to the mill."' In 1924 the RNLI celebrated its 100th anniversary; an occasion marked by the magazine with its firstever colour edition. As well as a selection of paintings and illustrations of lifeboats in action, the centenary issue featured contributions from popular cartoonists of the day W Heath Robinson and HM Bateman. Those who had contributed articles included Joseph Conrad, an ardent supporter of the lifeboat service. In a stirring tribute to all lifeboatmen, written shortly before his death in 1924, he recalled his time in the British Merchant Navy: 'I can bear witness to our unshakeable belief in the Life-boat organisation and to our pride in the achievements of our fellow-seamen, who, husbands and fathers, would go out on a black night without hesitation to dispute our homeless fate with the angry seas.' The editor of the day was George Shee, who made the valid point then, which is still relevant today, that he wished to include in the magazine 'everything that should be of interest to life-boat workers throughout the country, whether their work is in connection with the administration of the service on the coast or the no less important work of raising the funds necessary for its maintenance'.

Although the current magazine is aimed mainly at lifeboat supporters rather than the volunteer crews and fundraisers, the sentiment is no less true today than it was then.

It was 47 years later before colour reappeared in the Lifeboat but this time it was here to stay. Only the cover was in colour and this change came at a time when the RNLI was suffering from a period of low public confidence. The Fraserburgh disaster of 21 January 1970, with the loss of five lives, had come less than a year after the Longhope disaster, when eight men were lost. Despite a formal investigation by the Sheriff Principal finding no fault attributable to the lifeboat service, the RNLI's Chairman, Admiral Sir Wilfred Woods GBE KCB DSC, announced in the Lifeboat that 'it is the duty of the Committee of Management to do everything possible to speed up the existing programme of modernising the life-boat fleet, by replacing the older non-self-righting boats by new construction; by improving the sea-keeping qualities of the later nonself- righting boats and by giving them a self-righting capability where possible.' He appealed to the public for their support and commended the magazine's new look. 'We anticipate that the new-style Journal will help to tell more people about the RNLI's work,' he concluded.

Fortunately, the lifeboat service's fortunes improved over the following years. In 1974 the Institution celebrated its 150th anniversary. Dubbing 1974 The Year of the Lifeboat, the magazine notedtheLifeboat that it would be 'an occasion for everyone connected with the lifeboat service to feel both pride and humility.' Many articles over the coming year paid tribute to the RNLI's great history, including a piece by the author Jilly Cooper. She recorded her impressions of a visit to Hastings lifeboat station in her own inimitable way, quickly alluding to what the coxswain wore in bed and commenting on the 'kinky-looking thigh boots'. Perhaps not many people would consider a lifeboatman's kit to be raunchy but it has come a long way since the days of Captain Ward's cork lifebelts, as have the lifeboats themselves.

In the years since 1974, the lifeboat has continued to inform its readers of every aspect of the lifeboat service, including detailed accounts of rescues, improvements to the fleet, fundraising and more.

The current editor, Jane Smythson, continues to advance the publication and has received widespread praise for the redesign that has brought the Lifeboat into the 21st century.

The appearance of hovercraft, coordinated lifeguards on our beaches and lifeboats on the Thames and inland waterways ensures that the Lifeboat will be an informative source of information and debate for many years to come.

Covering our coasts.