JANUARY 11TH - NORTH SUNDERLAND, NORTHUMBERLAND. At 4.42 in the morning the coastguard reported that signals of distress could be seen three miles east of the harbour and at 5.15 the motor lifeboat W.R.A. was launched. A moderate S.E. gale was blowing, with a heavy sea, and rain squalls. The tide was at half flood.

Half an hour later the life-boat, with the help of her searchlight, found the motor vessel Empire Ford, of Hull. She was laden with cement, bound for Macduff, and had a crew of nine men. She had anchored, and was helpless on a lee shore. She was straining on her cable, with heavy seas sweeping over her deck. and her engineroom was flooded. Her crew had huddled together on the bridge aft. She was lying across the wind and sea, and the life-boat’s coxswain, coming close, hailed her master, and asked him if he thought that his cable would hold and if he could wait until the tide slackened. The ship would then turn to the wind and sea, making it easier for the lifeboat to come alongside and rescue the crew.

The master replied that he thought that he could wait, and the lifeboat stood by. She kept very close to the ship, and in touch with the master, in case she was suddenly needed, for the weather was becoming worse. The rain squalls were more violent, and the temperature had fallen below freezing point.

For two hours the life-boat waited, and then she went close. The Empire Ford threw her a line and she drew alongside. It was still dark and the life-boat was pitching heavily in the seas, but she hung on, and the men of the Empire Ford, watching their opportunity, jumped aboard her. Six were rescued in this way. The master, mate and one able-seaman remained on the ship, in the hope that a tug might be sent to their help.

With the six rescued men the life-boat returned to North Sunderland harbour and landed them, and the chief engineer of the Empire Ford tried to get a tug to take her intow ; but no tug was able to go in that weather. The life-boat’s crew had returned wet through and numbed by the great cold.

They hurried to their homes for a hot drink and returned immediately to the harbour.

At nine o’clock the life-boat put out for the second time. The wind had now increased to a whole gale, the sea was heavier, and the Empire Ford was in extreme danger. Violent seas were breaking over the life-boat as she put out, but day had now come, and she had no difficulty in picking up the Empire Ford again. The coxswain told the master that no tug would come and that he must leave his vessel at once. The life-boat again went alongside, a line was made fast, and the three men jumped into her. She returned to harbour, arriving there at 10.30 in the morning. Half an hour later the Empire Ford’s cable parted and she was swept ashore on the Wide Open Reef of the Farne Islands.

But for the life-boat the whole crew of nine would have been lost.

The coxswain had handled his life-boat with courage and fine seamanship, and had wisely used his knowledge of the tides and the coast, for had he gone in at once to the rescue, when the seas were running heavily over the Empire Ford, instead of waiting for the tide to slacken, lives would probably have been lost.

The Institution awarded to COXSWAIN GEORGE N. DAWSON its thanks inscribed on vellum, and to him and to each of the six members of his crew a special reward of 30s.

in addition to the ordinary reward on the standard scale of £1 8s. 6d. Rewards on the standard scale to crew and helpers, £16 11s. 3d. ; additional rewards to crew, £10 10s. ; total rewards, £27 1s. 3d..