JANUARY 29TH-31ST and FEBRUARY 1ST.

- CLOUGHEY, AND DONAGHADEE, CO. DOWN. At 12.50 A.M. information came to the Cloughey station from the coastguard at Tara that the S.S. Alhena, of Rotterdam, of 5,000 tons, laden with government stores and bound from Liverpool for Port Said, was in distress on North Rock, two miles inside South Rock Light-vessel. A S.E. wind of almost gale force was blowing, with a heavy sea. The Cloughey motor life-boat Herbert John was launched at 1.40 A.M., some of the launchers going into the sea up to their necks, and the life-boat found the Alhena in a dangerous position with 61 passengers and crew on board. With difficulty the coxswain took the life-boat alongside and rescued ten passengers and a member of the crew who was sick. She landed them on the beach in the shelter of Slans Point, as she could not get back to her station, and returning to the steamer took off and landed 18 members of the crew. Then she went out a third time.

It was now between ten and eleven in the morning.

Meanwhile at 7.40 A.M. a message from Cloughey called out the Donaghadee motor life-boat Civil Service No. 5, and she left her station at eight o’clock. She reached the Alhena at 10 A.M., while the Cloughey lifeboat was landing the men rescued on her second trip, and after standing by for a time she rescued 15 people. She landed them at Donaghadee at four in the afternoon, and her crew stood by for another hour. They were then told that the life-boat would not be needed again.

Just after the Donaghadee life-boat left the Alhena with the 15 people she had rescued, the Cloughey boat arrived at the steamer for the third time and arranged with her to stand by throughout the night, but this was found later not to be necessary, and she returned to her station at 5.55 P.M.

At 11.30 that night the naval authorities informed both the stations that they would be sending trawlers in the morning to take off mails and that they would be glad of the services of the life-boats. The Donaghadee life-boat put out at 6.15 in the morning of the 30th, and transferred mails, and several cases addressed to “ the King of Egypt “, to the trawler. She then returned to her station, arriving at four in the afternoon.

The Cloughey life-boat put out at 8.15 in the morning, and was employed in taking naval officers, customs officials and others to and from the wreck. In addition she brought ashore an injured sailor from one of the trawlers. Later it was decided that the seventeen men remaining on board the Alhena should be taken off. This the Cloughey lifeboat did, putting them on board the two trawlers. She also put a life-boatman on each trawler to act as pilot, and returned to her station at five in the afternoon.

On the next day, January 31st, the Cloughey life-boat was launched at 2.40 in the afternoon, and was engaged until 6.30 P.M.

in bringing off papers and luggage. Again on February 1st she was out from 9.30 in the morning until 5.30 in the afternoon taking customs officials to the wreck and bringing luggage ashore. - Rewards : An increase in the ordinary money reward on the standard scale was made to each member of the Cloughey crew for the service on 30th January and to the helpers for the service both of the 29th and 30th January.

29th January, standard rewards to crew and helpers, £37 0S. 9d. ; 30th January, standard rewards to crew and helpers, £12 0S. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew and helpers, £22 ; January 31st and February lst, property salvage cases. Total rewards to Cloughey, £71 1s. 3d.

Standard rewards to the Donaghadee crew and helpers for January 29th, £7 1s. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew and helpers, £45s . ; standard rewards to crew and helpers for January 30th, £10 4s. 6d. Total rewards to Donaghadee, £21 11s.

Total rewards for the services, £92 12s. 3d.