SILVER MEDAL SERVICE AT FRASERBURGH SEPTEMBER 2 4TH. - FRASERBURGH, ABERDEENSHIRE. Just after two in the morning the coastguard told the life-boat station that a vessel was ashore on the Cairnbulg Briggs, a reef of rocks about two miles away. She was the trawler Northward, of Grimsby, with a crew of ten. At 2.30 the motor life-boat John and Charles Kennedy was launched. Coxswain David Hay, who had won the bronze medal of the Royal National Life-boat Institution in February for the rescue of the crew of a Danish motor vessel, had been called up to the Navy the day before, and Captain Andrew Stephen, the honorary secretary of the life-boat station and harbour master of Fraserburgh, took command of the life-boat.

A fresh north-westerly gale was blowing, with a very heavy sea. It was raining hard, and the night was very dark. Twenty minutes after launching, the life-boat reached the reef. The trawler was lying on the reef far inside the broken water, and her stern was to the seas, which were breaking right over it and sweeping all her length. But those on board the life-boat could not see on which side of the reef she lay. They signalled by morse to the coastguard, who were on the shore abreast of the wreck, and the coastguard signalled back that the trawler was on the north-west side.

Captain Stephen anchored to the north-west of the wreck, and dropped down towards her, stern first. In the darkness and the rain, with no lights to guide him, in the shallow water and breaking seas, it was a difficult opera-tion. It was made doubly so by an outlying rock and by the tide, which was at half flood and running very strongly across the seas.

As the life-boat dropped down the tide caught her, swept her past the wreck, and carried her broadside on to the seas. They broke right over her, filling her after-cockpit. She was hauled back to her anchor, the anchor was weighed, and she anchored again, further to the westward. Again she dropped down, again the tide caught her, swept her past the wreck and brought her broadside on to the seas. This time her stern struck the bottom. She hauled out, anchored once more, still further to the westward, and dropped down for the third time. Again she was swept away from the wreck.

WAITING FOR DAY With that tide running, and in the shallow water, it was impossible to get near the wreck, and Captain Stephen decided to wait until daylight when the tide would have risen. He signalled this to the wreck and to the coastguard on shore, and weighing anchor lay off to wait for the day.

At 6.30 in the morning the life-boat again stood in towards the wreck, anchored for the fourth time in the broken water and dropped down. The tide was now slack, and no longer carried the life-boat away from the wreck ; but wind and sea were rising ; it was raining more heavily than before ; and since the last attempt to reach her the trawler had been washed further in over the reef. The life-boat veered out about 100 fathoms of cable, but when she was still fifty feet from the trawler her stern was again striking the bottom. She could go no further.

Captain Stephen decided to use the breeches buoy. By megaphone he told the trawler’s crew to be ready and to pay strict attention to his orders, for the sea was coming in very heavy runs. The line-throwing gun was fired, but the first line broke. The second fell across the wreck. It was then about 6.45 in the morning.

water to the life-boat. The third man to be rescued fell out of the buoy ; but fortunately the next sea flung one of the veering lines across him ; he seized it ; held on tight ; and was hauled into the life-boat. The fifth man was unconscious when he was got aboard, but the motor-mechanic used artificial respiration at once, and in a few minutes had brought him round. In half an hour the ten men had all been rescued, and the life-boat was hauled back to her anchor. Then the anchor was weighed it was found to have been so badly bent under the strain put on it that it was useless.

Half an hour after weighing anchor the life-boat reached her station again.

It was then 8.20 in the morning, six hours after she had put out. When she was housed it was found that her stern had been damaged by the severe bumping.

THE REWARDS It was a very difficult service; carried out with courage, determination and splendid seamanship, and the Institution made the following awards : To CAPTAIN ANDREW STEPHEN, acting-coxswain, the Institution’s silver medal for gallantry and a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To GEORGE F. DUTHIE, motormechanic, who worked his engines while at times nearly up to his waist in water, acted as signaller, and revived the unconscious man, the bronze medal for gallantry, and a copy, of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To JOHN DOWNIE MAY, a member of the crew, who was in charge of the “ upper deck “, tended the anchor cable and worked the breeches buoy, the bronze medal ior gallantry and : copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To each of the other five members of the crew, ROBERT STRACHAN, assistant motor-mechanic, JOHN BUCHAN, ANDREW RITCHIE, JAMES MAY and WILLIAM NOBLE, the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum ; to the acting-coxswain and each of the seven members of the crew, a reward The breeches buoy was rigged, and of £3 in addition to the ordinary scale one by one the trawler’s crew were reward of £1 17s. 6d. Standard hauled through fifty feet of broken rewards to crew and launchers,£14 9s. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew, £24 ; total rewards, £38 9s. 6d.

On the 2nd of October the life-boat was launched at noon to stand by while an attempt to refloat the Northward was made. This was unsuccessful, and the life-boat returned at 2.45 On the following day the life-boat again put out at two in the morning. This time the trawler was refloated. Guided by the life-boat she came into harbour. The life-boat returned to her station at four in the afternoon. Both launches were in fair weather. - Property salvage cases..