NOVEMBER MEETING WALMER, KENT. Shortly after 6 in the evening of the 17th August, 1941, a British Beaufort bomber crashed into the sea between Kingsdown and Walmer, some 400 yards off shore. A fresh S.W. wind was blowing, with a choppy sea. The accident was seen by a man who was on his way to church, and he went at once to the beach. There he launched his 9-feet dinghy and rowed out, accompanied by an unknown officer. They found three airmen in the sea, got two into the dinghy and, with the third airman made fast to her, returned to the shore. A fourth airman was lost. A motor boat had also put off, manned by the life-boat coxswain, two men and a boy, but the dinghy had already rescued the men.

- Rewards, £1 2s. 6d. to the men in the motor boat and 2s. for fuel used. The man in the dinghy declined an award.

DRUMMORE, WIGTOWNSHIRE. About 6.35 in the evening of the 3rd September, 1941, a motor cyclist reported to the Drummore coastguard that an aeroplane had crashed into the sea off Terally Point, Luce Bay. A light S.S.E. wind was blowing, with a confused sea, and the weather was misty, with rain. Drummore harbour was dry and the only boat available was a 14-feet rowing boat, which was on the mud. This boat was got on to an R.A.F. lorry, taken three miles by road to the shore, carried over the shingle and launched. She had a crew of six, the station officer of coastguard, the harbourmaster, an R.A.F. corporal, and three aircraftmen who had manned the lorry. They were helped on shore by another airman.

They found nothing, and on the following day the aeroplane, with the body of the pilot inside, was found by divers from an Air Ministry vessel. - Rewards, £3 15s. and 5s. to the man who helped on shore.

ORMSARY, ARGYLLSHIRE. On the morning of the 10th September, 1941, a naval trawler struck on a rock at Knap Point, at the mouth of Loch Killisport, and sank in deep water.

A north-westerly wind was blowing, with a rough sea. Of the trawler’s crew of fifteen, five were drowned ; others got ashore on a raft ; and others were seen by an aeroplane struggling in the water. The airmen flew over Ormsary and dropped messages saying that there were sailors in the water and going ashore on an island to the north. Two rowing boats put out. One of the boats was manned by two men used to boats, and the other by four men, an auxiliary policeman, an airman, a forester and a worker in a saw mill. Two of these men, with the policeman and the airman, were on leave to attend a funeral.

They were actually at the funeral when the message was dropped by the aeroplane, and left at once to help in the rescue.

The two boats searched the island and, finding no one, pulled for the shore of the loch and landed. There they found that some of the trawler’s crew had got ashore, and helped with artificial respiration.

The Port Askaig life-boat was also launched, and reached the scene later. She picked up two bodies and a ship’s boat.- Rewards, a letter of thanks and £1 to each of the six men.

(See Port Askaig, “ Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 69.) BRORA, SUTHERLAND. A b o u t 4 . 3 0 i n the afternoon of the 16th September, 1941, a Botha aeroplane crashed into the sea 2 1/4 miles east of Brora. A light S.S.E. wind was blowing, with a slight sea. Two fishing boats put out, one of them manned by three men aged 74 73 and 66. These men found the aeroplane, with three of the crew on the wings, two of them badly injured. The fourth airman was drowned. They rescued the three airmen, and the other boat took the aeroplane in tow, and handed her over to naval vessels.

Later she sank, but was salved. The Cromarty life-boat and an R.A.F. speed boat also came out to the rescue. Rewards, £1 17s. 6d., £3 for loss of fishing and 19s. for repairs and fuel used.

(See Cromarty, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 71.)

CROMER, NORFOLK. At 5.35 in the evening of the 17th September, 1941, an aeroplane crashed into the sea east of Cromer pier.

The crash was seen by soldiers, who told some fishermen. A light N.W. wind was blowing, with a slight sea. Ten men put off in two motor boats, but found no one, for the aeroplane was a Queen Bee, operated by wireless, and had no crew. One of the motor boats took the aeroplane in tow, but she sank.- Rewards, £3 15s. and 10s. for fuel used.

FOLKESTONE, KENT. About 3.15 in the afternoon of the 27th September, 1941, two airmen baled out from a British aeroplane off Folkestone. One, a Belgian, came down in the sea about half a mile off Copt Point.

and the aeroplane and the other came down on shore near The Warren. Three men who were out in a fishing boat went to the airman in the sea, picked him up, and then put him on board a motor torpedo boat. - Rewards, £1 2s. 6d.

ILFRACOMBE, DEVON. About 6.30 P.M. on the 8th October, 1941, a lady visitor saw a man on Gull Rock, Beacon Point, Hele Bay, waving for help. She told a man who reported to the coastguard. A variable offshort S.W. wind was blowing, and the tide was four hours flood. It would cover the rock at high water. Two men put out in a rowing boat and succeeded in rescuing the man, although there was some ground sea, both at the launching place and the rock.- Rewards, £1.

FOLKESTONE KE N T . At 6.45 in the morning of the 9th October, 1941, a fishing boat could be seen from Folkestone pier on fire. She was about half a mile away. She had three men on board. Three other men were in a boat which was nearby, and within five minutes had rescued them. The burning boat drifted ashore, drifted away again, and then drifted close to the pier. There thefire brigade poured water on her, and, in the end, she sank alongside the pier. - Rewards, £1 2s. 6d.

SOUTHWOLD, SUFFOLK. About one o’clock in the afternoon of the 11th October, 1941, a motor fishing boat was seen flying a flag of distress. Half a gale was blowing from the N.N.E., with squalls and a very heavy sea. The defences across the mouth of the harbour made it impossible for any vessels to go out, and the life-boat station had been closed, but the life-boat coxswain and three other men put out to the rescue in a motor fishing boat launched off the beach. Six other men helped them to launch her, and they ran great risk of their boat being capsized, as a heavy sea was breaking on the beach. As it was, they lost an oar and broke their rudder, but they found the fishing boat half a mile east of Southwold, with her engine broken down, and rescued the two men on board. - Rewards, £4 to the four men, £3 0s. 6d. for repairs to the boat and fuel used and £1 10s. to the six helpers on shore.

WHITBY, YORKSHIRE. About 2.30 in the afternoon of the 21st October, 1941, the motor fishing coble Brighter Hope, with the life-boat coxswain and two other members of the crew on board, was running for Whitby harbour when she saw that the coble Guide Me was in difficulties. A strong N.N.W.

wind was blowing, with a rough sea, and the Guide Me, with the tide and sea against her, had got on the edge of the Whitby rocks.

She made signals of distress. The Brighter Hope got right across the rocks, through broken water, and several times her crew had to bring her up head to the sea. In the end she reached the Guide Me, found that she had a crew of four on board, that her engine had broken down and that she had lost an anchor and was hanging on to her last one. The Brighter Hope towed the Guide Me safely into harbour. - Rewards, £1 10s. and 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

ILFRACOMBE, DEVON. At 10 in the morning of the 22nd October, 1941, the coastguard reported a ship’s boat drifting about three miles N.E. of Widmouth Head. A fresh northerly wind was blowing, with a slight sea.

Mr. T. R. L. Green, the life-boat honorary secretary, went out in a motor boat with three other men. At 10.55 they reached the ship’s boat. She was damaged and partly waterlogged, but had no one on board. They towed her into Ilfracombe harbour. - Rewards, 15s. and 5s. for fuel used.

PAIGNTON, DEVON. About 3.55 P.M. on the 26th October, 1941, a sailing dinghy, with three men on board, capsized a mile east of Roundham Head. A strong wind was blowing from the north, with a choppy sea, and the weather was very cold. A boy saw the accident and told a private of the Buffs and an aircraftsman of the R.A.F. They looked out to sea and could see something floating in the water. They ran at full speed to Paignton harbour, 300 yards away, got two oars from a guard-room, which had to beunlocked, pushed a 12-feet dinghy 30 yards into the sea and started to row to the rescue.

The soldier had some experience of handling boats, but the aircraftsman had not, and as the progress was slow, the soldier took both oars and rowed the greater part of the way.

They found three men clinging to the upturned dinghy and quickly rescued two of them. The third man was much heavier.

They found it very difficult to get him aboard, and in doing so ran a very grave risk of capsizing their dinghy. As it was, water came in over the stern quarter. The rescue had taken twenty minutes. The boat was still in considerable danger, with fire men on board her in the choppy sea. The two men first rescued volunteered to row and the two rescuers sat in the stern, to trim the boat, in itself a difficult operation in the choppy sea with an over-loaded boat. The two rescued men were much exhausted and had frequently to stop rowing and rest, but they succeeded in bringing the boat safely in.

In recognition of their promptitude and courage the Institution has awarded to PRIVATE CHARLES W. F. REEVES and AIRCRAFTSMAN THOMAS ECKERSLEY each the Institution’s thanks on vellum and £2.