The loss of a comrade It is almost 10 years since RNLI Coxswain Hewitt Clark and Coastguard Winchman Billy Deacon attended the Green Lily, struggling in ferocious conditions off the Shetland Isles. Only one of these two brave men was to return When the Green Lily suffered engine failure and began drifting towards the cliffs of Bressay Island, she was slowly but surely heading towards catastrophe. It was 19 November 1997, and the 3,600 tonne vessel was being ravaged by force 11 winds and 14m waves.

Lerwick’s Severn class Michael and Jane Vernon and a Coastguard Sea King helicopter were both requested to launch and stand by at around 12.45pm. A tug had already tried to tow Green Lily, but the line had parted.

They waited while a second tug passed a tow line – but a large swell pulled the craft apart.

Edward Wake-Walker, former RNLI Head of PR, takes up the story. ‘It was quite obvious from the Green Lily’s violent motion and the seas breaking over her that a helicopter rescue was out of the question. Hewitt Clark began to weigh up whether his chances were any better. Any approach would have to be on the lee side of the ship, even if that meant manoeuvring in the ever-decreasing space between the casualty and the shore.

‘Clark and Second Coxswain Richard Simpson moved from the shelter of the wheelhouse up to the flying bridge above. Meanwhile, Crew Members Brian Laurenson, Ian Leask and Michael Grant made their faltering way forward to the starboard shoulder of the lifeboat while Peter Thomson took up a position amidships on the same side. The Green Lily’s skipper was urged to get his crew ready for evacuation.

‘The lifeboat moved gradually to within 10m of the ship’s port side.With utmost concentration, Hewitt Clark held the lifeboat in that position as the very confused seas lifted her high above the freighter’s deck, then plunged her 17m into a trough, deep below the waterline. Eventually, half a dozen men appeared in lifejackets and carrying suitcases. The lifeboat moved in without further delay. Not every approach Hewitt Clark made was successful; sometimes he had to pull away because the two vessels threatened to collide; at other times, just as he got close, the lifeboat would surge heavenwards, putting her crew at the level of the ship’s rigging.

‘Then, near disaster: the lifeboat became trapped underneath the ship and, fearing that they would be rolled over, Clark went full ahead port, full astern starboard to wrench himself clear. It tore away a stanchion, the forward toe rail and a piece of the fendering, but it probably saved the lifeboat. Michael Grant had been attached by his lifeline to the guardrail, which was now hanging over the side, but he and Ian Leask managed to grab the fallen stanchion, haul it onboard, unclip the lifeline and resecure it further aft.

‘Among these abandoned attempts, there were occasions when the two decks came level long enough for a man to be dragged onto the lifeboat. Five were pulled aboard before Hewitt Clark noticed that the ship’s bow was beginning to turn into the wind and he was losing the lee on her port side. He and his crew had not been aware that the third tug to reach the scene had driven close to the Green Lily’s bow and grappled her anchor cable. The tug held the freighter away from the rocks, now only 200m away.

‘With the ship’s head to wind, it would have been suicidal to keep trying to get the lifeboat alongside, so the Coxswain steered clear. The helicopter, however, now had a better chance of getting its winchman, Billy Deacon, down as the ship was rolling much less. The pilot and his crew worked fast. Ten men still had to come off the ship.

Billy Deacon was lowered to the deck where, two at a time, he loaded them into the strop and prepared the next ones for the lift.

‘During this operation, which took little more than 10 minutes, the ship’s anchor cable parted, her bow swung to starboard, and she began to drift rapidly towards the cliffs. By now all 10 remaining seamen were aboard the helicopter and it only remained to lower the wire one last time to collect the winchman. The ship was back broadside to the sea and, to their horror, the helicopter crew saw a massive wave break over the Green Lily just as the wire descended.

Billy Deacon was swept into the sea and then the ship rose and fell heavily on her port side, seemingly on top of the winchman.

Almost immediately, her stern hit the rocks.

‘As the helicopter hovered above, her crew scouring the water for a sign of their colleague’s orange overalls and yellow helmet, the winch wire snagged on the rigging of the wrecked ship. Only the winch operator’s swift action to cut the wire saved the helicopter, her crew and the survivors from plummeting to their deaths. Hewitt Clark took the decision to land his survivors rather than to risk them any longer. Thanks to the speed of the lifeboat, they were put ashore at 3.20pm, 40 minutes after the last one had come off the ship.

‘Without hesitation the Coxswain and his crew headed back to the scene of the shipwreck. The weather was no better and the light was beginning to fail. An RAF helicopter from Lossiemouth had joined in the search. Now Hewitt Clark went as close in as he dared to the shore. Already, the Green Lily was disintegrating, making it all the more dangerous for the lifeboat. While she was searching close to the cliff, one huge wave broke over the lifeboat from astern, almost pitch-poling her upside down.

Hewitt Clark took that as a signal that he had taken enough risks for one day and pulled away from the shore.

‘Billy Deacon’s body was found the next day having been washed some seven miles up the coast of Bressay. His widow later received his posthumous George Medal and the RNLI awarded its Thanks on Vellum to him and the rest of the helicopter crew. The RNLI’s Gold Medal for Gallantry was awarded to Hewitt Clark, and the Bronze Medal to each of his crew.’ The awful loss of the Coastguard Winchman led to the establishment of the Billy Deacon Search and Rescue Memorial Trophy. See News, page 2, for more details of the latest award and page 8 for a feature on how today’s lifeboat and helicopter crews work together. .