SILVER MEDAL SERVICES AT BLACKPOOL AND LYTHAM - ST. ANNES Nov. 26TH. - BLACKPOOL, AND LYTHAM - ST. ANNES, LANCASHIRE; NEW BRIGHTON, AND HOYLAKE, CHESHIRE ; RHYL, FLINTSHIRE. At noon on November 24th the pilot boat Charles Livingstone, belonging to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, left Liverpool to cruise on the second pilotage station. She was a steamer of 434 tons gross. She carried a crew of twenty, and there were also on board her eleven pilots and two examining officers, 33 men in all. She was fitted with wireless telephony and carried two motor and two pulling boats, with accommodation in them for 55 men.

At midnight on the 25th she was about a mile from the Liverpool Bar Light-vessel, to the south and east of it. The weather was bad and a strong breeze was blowing from the westsouth- west, with squalls and rain.

The sea was rough.

Shortly after midnight the pilot boat lost sight of the light-vessel.

With her engines at slow she headed west by south into wind and sea, and for the next three and a half hours her course was changed from time to time with the view of keeping her in her station, close to the light-vessel. At 3.30 she went astern to take soundings.

She was found to be in 3 1/2 fathoms and then in 2 1/2. The engines were put full speed ahead, and the helm hard over, but the boat failed to answer the helm and touched bottom. She began to bump heavily. Both anchors were let go, but they could not hold her and she continued to drive ashore before the seas.

Flares and rockets were sent up ; maroons fired ; the whistle sounded ; and a message sent by the radio teleatphone asking for help. This message gave the boat’s position as ashore between the Bar Lightship and Great Orme’s. Head on the north coast of Wales. It was then 3.42 in the mornlaunched.

ing of the 26th. This message was passed by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Boad to the life-boat station teleat New Brighton at four in the morning, and the No. 2 motor Life-boat, Edmund and Mary Robinson, put out.

An hour later the Rhyl motor life-boat, The Gordon Warren, also put out, and an hour later still, at 6.40, the Hoylake motor life-boat, Oldham.

All three searched the north coast of Wales.

MEN SWEPT OVERBOARD Meanwhile the pilot boat had launched her boats, but they had all been carried away, with five men on board. The weather was getting worse.

The wind had increased and the tide was rising. The seas were sweeping right over the pilot boat. They flooded her, through the engine-room skylight ; battered to pieces her superstructure ; and swept overboard many of her crew. Others of the crew climbed for safety into the rigging.

Four of those swept overboard were washed ashore alive.

All this time those on board were under the belief that their boat was ashore somewhere near Great Orme’s Head. It was not until after eight o’clock in the morning that they discovered that they were, in fact, ashore on Ainsdale beach. That is to say, instead of being on the north coast of Wales they were on the Lancashire coast, over twenty miles away from their supposed position.

When the boat first struck, her flares had been seen by a watchman at Ainsdale and he had reported them to the Southport police. The Southport police informed New Brighton at 5.30 in the morning that a ship appeared to be ashore at Ainsdale, but the message did not reach the honorary secretary of the life-boat station. It was not until 7.20 that he heard of a ship ashore at Ainsdale showing distress flares, and not until 8.20 that he learnt that this ship at Ainsdale was in fact the pilot boatfor which the New Brighton No. 2 life-boat had been searching since five in the morning on the Welsh coast.

After receiving the message at 7.20, he telephoned to the honorary secretary of the Lytham-St. Anne’s station and found that the flares at Ainsdale had been reported to him and that his life-boat had been launched twenty minutes before in answer to them.

Then, after the message saying that the ship in distress was the pilot boat, the honorary secretary at New Brighton decided to send his No. 1 life-boat to her help. At the same time he passed on the information to Lytham-St.

Anne’s.

WRECK UNSEEN IN BREAKING SEAS The No. 1 New Brighton life-boat, William and Kate Johnston, had returned from a service just after noon on the previous day, 25th November.

She had then been out for 14 hours and had rescued 103 lives from the liner Pegu, of Glasgow. She now set out again. at nine o’clock in the morning of the 26th, and searched the coast from Formby Point to Southport pier, but owing to the heavy breaking seas, the spume and the height of the tide, she could see nothing of the wreck. From the deck of the life-boat the whole coast was smothered in mist and spray.

The coxswain decided to return to New Brighton. On the way he met the New Brighton No. 2 lifeboat, and the Hoylake life-boat. They were both making for Ainsdale. Hoylake, after searching the Welsh coast, had returned to her station at 10.20 ; had learnt there that the pilot boat was ashore at Ainsdale ; and at once had set out again The New Brighton No. 2 boat, after finding nothing on the Welsh coast, had made for the Bar Light-vessel ; had there got into communication with New Brighton at eleven in the morning ; had been given the correct position of the pilot boat ; and had also set out for Ainsdale. As New Brighton No. 1 had found nothing between Formby Point and Southport pier all three boats returned to their stations, arriving about 3.30 that afternoon.

The Rhyl life-boat had returned to her station from her search of the north coast of Wales just after one o’clock.

While the life-boats had been searching miles away from the place of the wreck, desperate efforts had been made. from the shore at Ainsdale itself to rescue the crew. They had begun before six o’clock in the morning.

Shoreboats were repeatedly launched.

They were very small, and several times they capsized, but the attempts went on until the rising tide compelled the rescuers to stop.

A conspicuous part was taken by Mr. J. J. W. Buckley, of the Reliance Garage, in the work of launching and relaunching the boats and in bringing ashore the four men of the pilot boat who were washed up alive.

Two MORE LIFE-BOATS PUT OUT All these efforts had failed, but now two more life-boats, both of which had been given the correct position, were on their way to the rescue, the Sarah Ann Austin, of Blackpool, and the Dunleary of Lytham - St. Anne's.

Blackpool had put out just after eleven o’clock and Lytham-St. Anne’s an hour later. A gale was now blowing, with very heavy seas and driving rain and hail.

The Lytham-St. Anne’s boat had already been out for the greater part of the previous night. At 11.30 on the night of the 25th she had gone to the help of H.M. Trawler Gaul, which had stranded on Foul Naze. She had rescued the trawler’s crew of fifteen and had returned to her station at 2.45 in the morning of the 26th.

Four and a half hours later, at 7 . 1 5 , s h e p u t o u t a g a i n , a s t h e coastguard had reported rockets to the south. There seems little doubt that these rockets were from the Charles Livingstone. The life-boat took with her the naval officer in command of the Gaul and the Gaul’s skipper.

They wished to see if the Gaul could be salved. The life-boat could find no trace of a ship which had fired the rockets so she made for the Gaul, and put on board the naval commander and the skipper. She then stood by while a tug attempted to tow off the Gaul.

Meanwhile the news that the Charles Livingstone was ashore at Ainsdalehad reached Lytham - St. Anne’s at fast. The life-boat went alongside, 9.45 in the morning by telephone from and this time the six survivors decided the honorary secretary of New to leave the pilot boat. The life-boat Brighton, and Lytham-St. Anne’s took them on board, and, perfectly passed it on to Blackpool. Then at handled by her coxswain, made 10.30 the coastguard at Hoylake asked straight for the beach. There hun- Lytham-St. Anne’s to recall its life- dreds of people were waiting, and as boat at once to go to the help of the the life-boat grounded on the sands, Charles Livingstone. Rockets were many of them waded out waist deep.

sent up to recall her, but the life-boat and carried the six exhausted men did not see them. However, as ashore. Two of them had to be taken attempts to tow off the Gaul had failed away on stretchers.

and as she was ashore in a safe place, As soon as the men were landed the the life-boat returned of her own Blackpool life-boat set out again.

accord, reaching her station at 11.25. She had a very rough journey home.

She refuelled at once. Five minutes Two of her men were thrown overlater the coastguard reported that the board, but both were rescued, and the Blackpool life-boat had passed St. life-boat reached her station at 4.45 Anne’s pier going south-west. A in the afternoon.

quarter of an hour later he reported An inquiry into the wreck of the her near Peat’s Light “ making heavy Charles Livingstone was held by the weather.” The honorary secretary Ministry of Shipping at the end of at Lytham-St. Anne’s then instructed April, 1940. It lasted five days.

his boat to set off at once and “ to go The court severely censured the second all out ” across the banks to Ainsdale. master of the pilot boat who had been She took two extra men with her. on watch when she went ashore.

THE. RESCUE The Lytham-St. Anne’s life-boat, the larger and more powerful of the two, passed the Blackpool boat. When she reached Ainsdale Point she could see the mast and funnel of the pilot boat. She was lying broadside on to the breaking seas ; embedded in the sands ; her decks awash ; two men in the rigging and others in the cabin.

The life-boat ran in ; got under the lee of the pilot boat ; and made fast.

The water was so shallow that the life-boat was striking on the bottom.

The tide was ebbing. At any moment the life-boat might remain hard and fast on the sands. But the men of the pilot boat refused to leave. They preferred, they said, to wait until the tide ebbed and they could walk ashore.

The coxswain saw that they could do this safely, so he cut the rope and the life-boat made for home, arriving at 5.15 in the afternoon. Her crew had then been on duty continuously for 24 hours.

Shortly after the Lytham-St. Anne’s life-boat left the wreck the Blackpool life-boat arrived. It was then two in the afternoon. The tide was ebbing With regard to the six life-boats which had taken part in the search and the rescue, the court found as follows : “ The Life-boat Service did everything that was possible under very difficult circumstances. Every effort was made by the life-boat stations round the coast to come to the assistance of the Charles Livingstone, and there is no doubt that these efforts in the earlier stages miscarried solely because wrong information. as to the position in which the vessel was ashore was given by the vessel herself.” The Institution made the following awards BLACKPOOL To COXSWAIN WILLIAM R. PARR, the silver medal for gallantry and a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To T. E. RIMMER, the motor mechanic, the bronze medal for gallantry and a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To the coxswain and each of the six members of the crew, a reward of £3 in addition to the ordinary scale reward of 19s. Standard rewards to crew and launchers, £13 3s. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew, £21; total rewards, £34 3s. 6d.LYTHAM-ST. ANNES To COXSWAIN JOHN J. PARKINSON, the silver medal for gallantry and a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To G. HA R R I S O N , t h e m o t o r mechanic. the bronze medal for galwas lantry and a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum To the coxswain and each of the nine members of his crew a reward of £3 in addition to the ordinary scale reward of £6 2s. 6d. a man. Standard rewards to crew and launchers, £50 11s. 3d. ; additional rewards, £30 ; total rewards, £80 11s. 3d.

NEW BRIGHTON No. 2.

A reward of £1 to the coxswain and each of the seven members of the crew in addition to the ordinary scale reward of £2 16s. 6d. a man. Standard rewards to crew and launchers, £22 11s, 9d. ; additional rewards to crew, £8 ; total rewards, £30 11s. 9d.

NEW BRIGHTON No. 1 A reward of 10s. to the coxswain and each of the seven members of his crew in addition to, the ordinary scale reward of 19s. a man. Standard rewards to crew and launchers, £7 17s.; additional rewards to crew, £4 ; total followrewards, £11 17s.

RHYL A reward of £1 10s. to the coxswain and each of the five members of his crew in addition to the ordinary scale reward of £1 8s. 6d. a man. Standard rewards to crew and launchers, £14 9s. 9d. ; additional rewards, £9 ; total rewards, £23 9s. 9d.

HOYLAKE A reward of 15s. to the coxswain and each of the eight members of his crew in addition to the ordinary scale reward £1 8s. 6d. a man. Standard rewards to crew and launchers, £16 15s. 6d. ; additional rewards, £6 15s; total rewards, £23 10s. 6d.

The rewards paid to the six stations for this service amounted to £204 3s. 9d,.