APRIL 5TH. - SHERINGHAM, NORFOLK.

During the morning, four of the crew of the minesweeper Port Rose, which was anchored two or three miles to the north of Sheringham, came ashore in a rowing boat. The weatherwas fine with a westerly wind. At noon the men put off to return to their ship, but within a little while the wind veered to the north, increasing in force, and the sea became very choppy. Mist also came on. After an hour the Port Rose could see that the men in the boat were unable to make headway and that they were exhausted, so she weighed anchor and went towards them, but owing to the coast defences she could not get to the boat.

She anchored again and sounded the distress signal on her siren. At 1.55 P.M. the motor life-boat Foresters Centenary was launched, in charge of the second-coxswain, the coxswain being at sea, fishing. The mist had now begun to clear, and it could be seen that the men in the small boat had been able to get farther out to sea. They were now where the Port Rose could reach them, so she weighed anchor again and picked them up about two minutes before the life-boat arrived. As she was not wanted, she went in search of Coxswain Dumble and his two partners, who had gone out fishing in a rowing boat earlier in the day. They could not be found; it was concluded that they had gone ashore, and the life-boat returned to her station. Shortly afterwards news came that Coxswain Dumble’s boat, was off Cromer, h e a d i n g f o r h o m e . I t h a d a s t r o n g t i d e against it, and as the weather was rapidly getting worse, the life-boat again went to sea at 3.25 P.M. She found the boat about two miles off Runton. Just before the lifeboat arrived a big sea had struck and nearly capsized it, and had broken two of the four oars. The life-boat took the boat in tow, and r e t u r n e d t o h e r s t a t i o n a t 4 . 1 0 P .M. - Rewards : first service, £16 6s. 6d. ; second service, £10 6s. 6d..