APRIL 6TH - 7TH. - CLACTON, ESSEX. At 12.55 in the afternoon the coastguard reported that a barge was showing signals of distress about five miles off Clacton, and the Clacton motor life-boat Edward Z. Dresden was launched at 1.15. A north-westerly gale was blowing, with a very rough sea. The lifeboat found the barge an hour later, the Tam o’ Shanter, of London, anchored one and a half miles east of the Swin Bell Buoy. She was loaded with brick rubble and bound for Maldon. Her crew consisted of a man and a boy. The skipper said that she was leaking, but refused to abandon her and asked the coxswain to tow him to Brightlingsea. He also asked for two or three life-boat men to be put on board to help him weigh anchor.

This was done. The men were the secondcoxswain, Frank Castle, the assistant motormechanic, A. Liddiard, and the bowman, A. Griggs. In forty minutes they had got the anchor up and the life-boat took the barge in tow. After she had towed her for one and a half miles, to the Swin Bell Buoy, the tow parted, and at 4.45 P.M. the barge anchored for the night to wait for a more favourable tide. The life-boat lay astern of her all night, secured to her by a line.

Through the night, wind and sea fell, giving prospect of a fine day, but on the morning of the 7th the wind increased again to an exceptionally strong gale from the west, with a heavy sea. Again the coxswain tried to persuade the skipper of the barge to abandon ship, but again he refused and, on account of the change of wind, asked the coxswain to towhim to Harwich. The life-boat and barge waited for a favourable tide, and it was not until one in the afternoon that the barge again weighed anchor. The life-boat then towed her through the Swin Spitway but after she had been towing for about three miles, in very heavy seas, the tow again parted.

The wind and sea were now almost abeam, so the barge hoisted a sail and went on her way with the life-boat escorting her. Both the barge and the life-boat were rolling heavily and shipping a good deal of water, and they had only gone a short distance when suddenly, at 2.50 P.M., the barge capsized, throwing the skipper, the boy and the three life-boatmen into the sea. The life-boatmen were wearing life-belts, but the other two were not. The life-boat went at once to their rescue, but the boy had sunk almost immediately, and though the crew were able to get hold of second-coxswain Castle with a boathook, he appeared to be either dead or unconscious. They lost hold of him and could not find him again. They then went to the help of the other men, who were seen to be alive. They rescued the bowman, and then the assistant motor-mechanic.

The latter had been supporting the skipper of the barge, but before the life-boat’s crew could get hold of the skipper, he had loosed his hold and disappeared The life-boat searched for over an hour, but found nothing of the three who had been lost and returned to her station, arriving at five in the afternoon.

She had then been at sea for 28 hours.

The assistant motor-mechanic was suffer- ing from shock and exposure, and the bowman from a slight injury to his wrist. The coxswain and motor-mechanic were also suffering from injuries, the coxswain with badly bruised hands, and the motor-mechanic with a sprained muscle in his back. As neither of the motor-mechanics was fit for duty and the coxswain had no strength in his hands, the boat was off service for a day or two. The second-coxswain, Frank Castle, who lost his life, was nearly 50 years old.

He was unmarried and left no dependants.

His body was never recovered.

In view of the exceptionally bad weather and the hardships endured, a reward of £3 in addition to the ordinary reward on the standard scale of £2 10s. was made to each member of the crew. Standard rewards to crew and helpers, £16 11s. 6d. ; additional rewards to crew, £24 ; compensation for injuries, £1 5s. ; total rewards and compensation, £41 16s. 6d..