Launches 33. Lives rescued 42.

MARCH 8TH. - MARGATE, KENT. Just after 5 p.m. the coastguard reported that the local fishing boat Water Lily, which could be seen about three miles north of Margate pier, appeared to be in trouble with her engine, and the motor life-boat The Lord Southborough Civil Service No. 1) was launched at 5.30 P.M.

A moderate S.W. wind was blowing, the sea smooth, the tide ebbing. The life-boat towed the fishing boat, with her crew of two, into harbour, arriving at 6.15 P.M. - Rewards, £16 17s. 6d.

MARCH 8TH. - REDCAR, YORKSHIRE.

At 9.8 P.M. the coastguard reported a ship ashore on Redcar Rocks, N.E. of the pier.

A little later it was learned that the vessel was the Admiralty tug Amsterdam. The weather was fine, and the sea smooth, with a light westerly wind blowing. The tide was ebbing. At 9.46 P.M. the motor life-boat Louisa Polden was launched, and found that the tug had run on the rocks and was high and dry. As she was unable to go alongside she returned and landed two men who put out in a small boat to the tug. The lifeboat then returned to her, and stood by until 2 next morning, when she was told that tugs were coming and that her help was no longer needed ; she arrived back at her station at 2.30 A.M. The tug was refloated at 4.30 A.M. - Rewards, £19 14s.

MARCH 10TH. - TROON, AYRSHIRE. At 11.30 P.M. on 9th March, the duty naval officer at Ardrossan reported the S.S. Asteria, of Glasgow, ashore on Eagle Rock, off Ardrossan breakwater, and in need of help. She was a vessel of 694 tons gross, in ballast, carrying a crew of fifteen and bound from Glasgow to Ardrossan. The night was dark with rain squalls, and a fresh westerly wind was blowing with a rough sea. The motor life-boat Sir David Richmond of Glasgow was launched at 12.15 next morning and reached the steamer at 1.30 A.M. She found the Ardrossan pilot boat standing by and the steamer herself lit up by searchlights from the shore.

The coxswain took the life-boat straight up to the steamer. There was a nasty backwash from the rocks, but he got her safely alongside it, and in a short time had rescued the crew of fifteen. The life-boat landed them at Ardrossan, and reached her station again at 3.30 A.M.

The rescue was carried out promptly and skilfully and an increase in the usual money award on the standard scale was made to each member of the crew. - Standard rewards to crew and helper, £13 14s. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew, £4 ; total rewards, £17 14s. 6d.

MARCH 10TH. - ARBROATH, ANGUS.

At 5.5 P.M. the coastguard reported that the local motor fishing boat, Annie Cargill, was in difficulties and drifting rapidly towards the rocks half a mile east of Arbroath harbour.

A fresh W.S.W. wind was blowing, with a rather rough sea. The motor life - boat John and William Mudie was launched at 5.10 P.M. and found that the fishing boat’s engine had broken down. She had a crew of six on board. The life-boat towed her into harbour, arriving at 5.40 P.M. - Rewards, £16 19s. 6d.

MARCH 12TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.

At 5.50 P.M. information was received from the Cromer coastguard that what appeared to be a small white boat could be seen some six miles N.N.E. 1/2 E. Half an hour later the naval authorities at Great Yarmouth asked that the life-boat should go out, and the No. 1 motor life-boat H. F. Bailey was launched at 6.20 P.M. A light easterly wind was blowing, and the sea was smooth.

The life-boat found the object to be a partly submerged barrage balloon, took it on board, made a further search, but found nothing, and returned to her station, arriving at 9 P.M. - Rewards, £19 l6s.

MARCH 15TH - 17TH. - LYTHAM-ST. ANNES, LANCASHIRE. At 9.30 A.M.

information was received from the resident naval officer at Preston, and confirmed by the coastguard, that a vessel was aground, and at 10 A.M. the motor life-boat Dunleary was launched. A moderate S.W. breeze was blowing, with a moderate sea, and the weather was thick. At 11 A.M. the lifeboat saw the vessel lying on the Horse Bank, south of the Penfold Channel. She was the S.S. Empire Bridge, with a crew of twelve, and she had run aground during a fog, while bound with china clay from Cornwall to Preston. Her master expected that she would refloat on the evening tide and asked if the life-boat would return and stand by him then. This she promised to do, put back to her station where she arrived at 2 P.M., refuelled and left again at 3.30 P.M., taking a pilot with her. She passed a cable to the steamer and tried to tow her off, but without success, so she returned to her station again, arriving at 9 P.M. On the following day it was arranged that the lifeboat should go out for the third time at 6.30 in the morning of the 17th, by which time a tug would have arrived from Preston.

This was done. The life-boat passed the tug’s hawser to the steamer and helped to tow her off, and finally returned to her station at 11 in the morning of the 17th.- Property salvage case.

MARCH 19TH. - BRIDLINGTON, YORKSHIRE.

About 12.35 in the morning a message came from the Bridlington coastguard that distress rockets had been seen at Hornsea, eleven miles south of Bridlington, and at 1 A.M. the motor life-boat Stanhope Smart was launched. A fresh E.N.E. wind was blowing, with a swell which caused a certain amount of surf on the beach, and the boat had to be launched through coast defences. The night was cloudy, but there was some moonlight. As the life-boat cleared the land, the wind and sea increased.

She had no difficulty in finding the vessel in distress, as two shore searchlights were trained on her, and she reached her at 2.15.

She was an old wooden drifter, the S.S. Kernoozer, now being used by contractors to the Air Ministry for putting down and taking up moorings. She had lost a blade of her propeller, her engine had stopped, and she had anchored, but her anchor was dragging. She was lying inside broken water, in about three fathoms, was rolling heavily and was leaking badly. Her master said that he wanted to abandon ship, and the lifeboat went straight alongside, under her lee, and made fast.

There were nine men on board the Kernoozer, and they and the cat jumped into the life-boat.

The whole rescue took only a few minutes.

The life-boat arrived back at Bridlington at four in the morning. Later in the morning it was learned that the Kernoozer’s crew were going out to her again in a large fishing boat, to see if she could be towed into Bridlington, and as the weather was still bad it was decided that the life-boat should go with the fishing boat. Both boats left at ten o’clock, but when they reached the Kernoozer they found that she had gone ashore and was breaking up. The life-boat returned to her station at one in the afternoon. A letter of thanks was sent to Mr. C. H. Gray, the honorary secretary, who acted as head launcher, and  an increase in the usual money reward on the standard scales was made to each member of the crew. - Standard rewards to crew and helpers, £30 15s. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew, £8 total rewards, £38 15s. 6d.

MARCH 22ND. - PORT ST. MARY, ISLE: OF MAN. At 7 A.M. the Castletown coastguard telephoned, for information only, that a vessel was ashore at Strandhall, one and a quarter miles E. by N. of Port St. Mary.

Thirty-five minutes later he asked the lifeboat to put out and at 8 A.M. the motor life-boat Sir Heath Harrison was launched.

A fresh easterly wind was blowing, with a choppy sea. The life-boat found the vessel to be the S.S. Nolisement, of Cardiff, of over 5,000gross tons, laden. She carried a crew of fortynine, but they were in no immediate danger.

As a tug was expected the life-boat returned to harbour at 9 A.M., and when the tug arrived at 1.30 P.M., she again put out. The Nolisement had now been carried further ashore and the tug could not refloat her. The lifeboat again returned to harbour, and at 7 P.M.

went out for the third time, taking a government salvage officer with her. She returned at 7.30 P.M., and made a final trip to the steamer at 10P.M, and stood by until 12.30 next morning, when the tug refloated the steamer, and she was able to go on her way. One of the crew of the life-boat piloted the tug out of the danger zone and the life - boat returned to her station at 1.30 A.M. - Rewards, £31 6s.

MARCH 2 3 RD. - NEWCASTLE, CO. DOWN. At 3.45 P .M. information was received that an aeroplane had crashed, and the motor life-boat L. P. and St. Helen was launched at 4.5 P.M. A moderate easterly wind was blowing, with a choppy sea.

Aeroplanes dropped flares to guide the lifeboat and an hour later the life-boat found and rescued the pilot of a Spitfire in a rubber dinghy, nine miles E.S.E. of Newcastle harbour.

His engine had failed and he had had to bale out. He was uninjured, though suffering from shock, and was able to return to his station the following morning. On the way back the life-boat found another and larger dinghy, from a bombing aeroplane, and brought it in. She handed over the dinghies and other aircraft gear to the coastguard, and returned to her station, arriving at 6 P.M. - Rewards, £28 1s. 6d.

MARCH 25TH. - AITH, SHETLANDS. On March 17th a doctor telephoned to the station to ask if the life-boat would be available to bring from the Island of Fouls to the mainland a woman who was expecting a baby.

A strong breeze was then blowing, with a considerable ground swell. Five days later he came personally to the station to explain that if the woman’s life were to be saved she must be removed to the mainland as soon as possible, that it would be fatal to attempt to remove her in the tiny island ferry boat, that no larger boat was available, and that she could only be removed, even by the life-boat, in fine weather. The life-boat was at once put at the doctor’s disposal, but it was not until another three days had past, the 25th, that wind and sea had gone down sufficiently for the journey to be possible for the patient. A moderate wind was then blowing, with a moderate sea running. The life-boat put out at ten in the morning and reached Foula at 2.55 in the afternoon.

She took the patient from Foula to Walls, and returned to her station, arriving at 8.35 that evening. The baby was born at Walls, and for a time the condition of both mother and baby was critical, but the skilled attention which could be given to them at Walls, and would not have been possible at Foula, saved them both. - No expense to the Institution.

MARCH 27TH. - WESTON-SUPER-MARE, SOMERSET. At 8.15 P.M. it was learned from the officer commanding H.M.S. Birnbeck, that the motor vessel with a crew of four was ashore off Howe Rock, in Berrow Bay, and would foul the coast defences if she drove further ashore on the rising tide. A strong westerly wind was blowing with a moderate sea, but the crew were in no immediate danger. The motor life-boat Fife and Charles was launched at 8.55 P.M., found the vessel moving out of the bay, and at her request, escorted her into the River Axe. As the life-boat was returning she saw a tug from Cardiff and signalled her, by morse, that all was well. She arrived back at her station at 10.30 P.M. - Rewards, £13 13s.

MARCH 30TH. - CLOVELLY, DEVON. At 8.55 P.M. the naval authorities at Appledore asked the life-boat to go to a vessel flying signals of distress two miles east of Clovelly.

A moderate W.N.W. gale was blowing, with a rough sea. The motor life-boat City of Nottingham, was launched, with the help of women launchers, at 9.15 P.M. and twenty minutes later found the S.S. Cushendon, leaking badly, with an Admiralty trawler standing by. She asked the steamer to follow her closer in but the master replied that he had no steam. The life-boat stood by until nearly one next morning. By that time things had improved ; the master said that he no longer needed help ; and the lifeboat returned to her station, arriving at 1.15 A.M - Rewards, £27 18s. 6d.

BRONZE MEDAL SERVICE AT HASTINGS MARCH 31ST . - HASTINGS , SUSSEX, AND DUNGENESS, KENT.

At 2.15 in the morning a message came from Dover asking the lifeboat to launch to the help of a vessel 3,000 yards to the south of Jury’s Gap, 10 1/2 miles from Hastings. She was H.M. Trawler Caulonia, with a crew of 24. A fresh to strong westsouth- west wind was blowing, with heavy rain, and during the night the wind had reached gale force. A heavy ground swell was breaking a quarter of a mile off shore. For some time past government contractors had been working on a large defence scheme, and the beach was blocked by obstacles of all sorts which had to be moved.

This, poor visibility, and the heavy sea made the launch long and difficult.

Soldiers took part in it, and the honorary secretary of station, Commander W. Highfield, O.B.E., R.N., the coxswain, who was in command of the boat for the first time, and themotor-mechanic, were conspicuous in the work of launching. But for their skill and knowledge the launch would have taken much longer than it did.

When the boat was first launched a heavy sea, coming from a breach in the old harbour, threw her back on the beach, and she had to be hove up and turned again. She got afloat at 4.30, and made her way to Jury’s Gap. The wind was moderating, but there was a high following sea.

She reached the trawler at 5.50 just as day came. The sea was breaking about a quarter of a mile off shore, and the trawler lay well inside the broken water, broadside on to the sea. Her fore part was under water, and her after gun was just showing. Seven of the crew were gathered round the funnel. The other seventeen had left the wreck on a raft and eleven of them had got ashore.

The coastguard life-saving apparatus had fired eight rockets with 400- fathom lines from the shore, but they had failed to reach the trawler. As the life-boat arrived the whole of the trawler’s bridge was swept away. The coxswain went round the trawler’s stern, but the heavy seas breaking over her, floating wreckage, and a strong tide made it very difficult for him to come alongside her. He handled the life-boat with great skill and coolness, and brought her close to the trawler.

A line was thrown and, with the engines working all the time, he held her alongside for half an hour, and the seven men were rescued. The lifeboat herself was undamaged, except for a few scratches, and reached Hastings again at five past eight in the morning.

Great difficulties had been overcome in the launch, and the actual rescue was due to the splendid handling of the life-boat by the coxswain, the motor-mechanic’s skill with his engines, and the able way in which they were supported by the second-coxswain, the bowman and the rest of the crew.

The Institution made the following awards : To COXSWAIN JOHN E. MUGGRIDGE, the bronze medal for gallantry, with a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To W. R. HILDER, the motor- To COMMANDER W. HIGHFIELD, O.B.E., R.N., the honorary secretary, the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum ; mechanic, the bronze medal for gallantry, with a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To EDWARD F. ADAMS, the secondcoxswain and FREDERICK P. WHITE, the bowman, each the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum ; To the coxswain and each of the eight members of the crew a reward of 15s. in addition to the ordinary reward on the standard scale of £2 7s., making a total reward to each man of £3 2s.

Rewards to crew and launchers on the standard scale, £54 1s. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew, £6 15s. ; total rewards £60 16s. 6d.

Only a few days after the Service Coxswain Muggridge lost his life when his fishing boat was blown up by a mine, and the motor-mechanic, W. R.

Hilder, was killed in an air-raid on Hastings two months later.

Information was also sent to Dungeness and the life-boat was launched and went to the trawler, only to find that the Hastings life-boat was then taking off the last of the survivors.- Rewards, Dungeness, £34 17s.

The following life-boats were launched, but no services were rendered for the reasons given : MARCH 1ST. -WICK, CAITHNESS - SHIRE. An R.A.F. Spitfire aeroplane had come down in the sea, but the pilot was rescued by a trawler and the life-boat was recalled. - Rewards, £6 13s.

MARCH 4TH. - LOWESTOFT, SUFFOLK.

A naval motor gunboat had been reported in need of help, and the life-boat made two searches in bad weather, with enemy aeroplanes about, but the gunboat got in unaided.

The life-boat was thanked by the naval authorities. - Rewards, first launch , £11 7s. 6d. ; second launch, £8 11s.

MARCH 6TH. - RAMSEY, ISLE OF MAN.

An aeroplane had been reported down in the sea, but nothing was - found. - Rewards, £34 18s.

MARCH 7TH. - HOYLAKE, CHESHIRE.

A Tiger Moth aeroplane had been reported down in the sea but nothing was found.- Rewards, £25 2s. 3d.

(See Llanerchymor. “ Services by Auxiliary Rescue-boats,” page 68.)MARCH 9TH. - DUNGENESS, KENT. A Stirling bombing aeroplane had crashed in the sea near Lade. The life-boat found her and searched her, but there was no one on board. She then searched for her dinghy, but could not find it. - Rewards, £22 14s. 6d.

MARCH 12TH. - HOLY ISLAND, NORTHUMBERLAND.

Signals had been reported by the coastguard, but nothing but a convoy travelling north could be found. - Rewards, £16 2s. 6d.

MARCH 14TH. - BUCKIE, BANFFSHIRE.

A Defiant aeroplane had crashed into the sea, but her crew of two were lost. - Rewards, £11 17s.

MARCH 15TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY.

An aeroplane had crashed into the sea, but her crew were rescued by a naval motor launch. - Rewards, £7 10s.

MARCH 27TH. - AMBLE, NORTHUMBERLAND.

A Hurricane aeroplane had crashed into the sea, but only wreckage was found. - Rewards, £11 8s.

MARCH 27TH. - PORT ST. MARY, ISLE OF MAN. A steamer had gone aground, but she refloated before the life-boat reached her and went on her way. - Rewards, £27.

MARCH 27TH. - PWLLHELI, CAERNARVONSHIRE.

A Lightning R.A.F. aeroplane had crashed into the sea, but an R.A.F. launch rescued one airman, and the other could not be found. - Rewards, £7 11s. 6d.

MARCH 29TH. - HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY.

An aeroplane had been reported down in the sea, but nothing could be found.

- Rewards, £9 8s.

MARCH 29TH. - PORTHDINLLAEN, CAERNARVONSHIRE. An Anson R.A.F.

trainer aeroplane had been reported down in the sea, but nothing was found. - Rewards, £20 16s.

MARCH 31ST. ABBS, BERWICK-SHIRE. A trawler had been seen flying a distress signal, but she did not need help and hauled down her signal. - Rewards, £9 7s.

MARCH 31ST. - WALTON AND FRINTON, ESSEX. An aeroplane had been reported down in the sea, but the lifeboat was recalled by wireless. - Rewards, £13 11s. 6d.