Launches 41 Lives rescued 97 APRIL 1ST. - FALMOUTH, CORNWALL.

About six o’clock in the morning the officerof the watch of H.M.S. Forte III telephoned that a vessel was ashore at Pendennis Castle Point. The tide was low, with a strong southeast wind blowing and a rough sea. The motor life-boat Crawford and Constance Conybeare was launched at 6.50 and found the U.S. naval landing barge No. 527 with a crew of four.

She passed a hawser to the barge, and, as the tide made, she towed her off and brought her into Falmouth at 9.30. In that bad weather barge and crew would have been lost but for the prompt help of the life-boat. - Rewards, £4 12s.

APRIL 1ST. - PORT ASKAIG, HEBRIDES.

At 12.30 in the afternoon the Kilchoman coastguard reported distress signals between Islay and Colonsay. A strong southeast breeze was blowing, with a heavy swell.

The motor life-boat Charlotte Elizabeth was launched at one o’clock and, six miles north of the Rhu Vaal Lighthouse, she picked up an airman’s boot and a first aid outfit. The Scalasaig auxiliary rescue boat, which had also been called out, picked up a body, but no survivors were found and the life-boat reached her station again at seven o’clock that evening. - Rewards, £7 7s. (See Scalasaig, “Services of Auxiliary Rescue-boats,” page 66).

APRIL 2ND. - BARROW, LANCASHIRE.

At five o’clock in the morning the naval base telephoned the life-boat station that a small vessel was ashore. A strong southsouth- east wind was blowing, with a nasty swell and heavy rain. The motor life-boat N.T. was launched at 5.45, and three-quarters of a mile south of Seascale found the auxiliary schooner Happy Harry, of Arklow.

She had a crew of five aboard and was bound, with a cargo of burnt ore, for Silloth. As she was not only aground but leaking the master asked the life-boat to take off the crew, which she did, landing them at Barrow at 1.15 that afternoon. Three days later the schooner was refloated and, with her crew on board again, was towed to Silloth. - Rewards, £7 1s.

APRIL 4TH. - SCARBOROUGH, YORKSHIRE.

During the early afternoon a heavy ground swell was running from the north-east. Incoming fishing cobles reported that the seas were growing, with broken water at the harbour entrance. A light north-east wind was blowing. At 4.15, as two cobles were still at sea, the motor life-boat Herbert Joy II was launched. About a mile northeast of Castle Hill she found the cobles the Gratitude and Evelyn and Margaret, passed life-belts to the crew of the Gratitude and escorted both boats into harbour at 5.15.- Rewards, £13 7s. 6d.

APRIL 9TH. - RHYL, FLINTSHIRE, AND LLANDUDNO, CAERNARVONSHIRE. At 4.30 in the afternoon a report was received through the Abergele police and the Rhyl coastguard that people had seen an airman come down by parachute into the sea off Llandulas.

A moderate west-north-west wind was blowing, with a choppy sea. The Rhyl motor life-boat The Gordon Warren waslaunched at 4.30 and found a sleeve target, which an aeroplane had reported as having lost about this time. She returned at 9.30 that evening. The Llandudno life-boat was also launched. - Rewards, Rhyl, £16 14s. ; Llandudno, £19 9s. 9d.

APRIL 15TH. - PETERHEAD, ABERDEENSHIRE.

At 9.10 at night on the 14th of April the Peterhead coastguard reported a vessel in difficulties at Craigwan, two miles north of Peterhead. Later he reported that no help was needed as the vessel should be able to get off at high water. At 4.20 next morning he reported that the vessel was making SOS signals by siren. She had developed a list. She was the S.S. Magician, of Liverpool, of over 3,000 tons, carrying a crew of 80, and bound, laden, from the West Indies for London. The motor life-boat Julia Park Barry of Glasgow was launched at 5.20, in a dense fog with a light south-south-east wind and a ground swell. She had considerable difficulty in finding the steamer, but succeeded at 6.30, took off her whole crew and landed them at Peterhead at 8.30. She put out again at 11.30, at the request of the naval authorities, taking with her the master and first officer, to salve 150 bags of mail. She returned at one o’clock that afternoon.- Rewards, first service, £7 3s. 6d. ; second service, no expense to the Institution.

APRIL 16TH. - DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN.

While out fishing the fishing smack Fisher Lass, of Douglas, broke her engine shaft, about nine miles south-east-by-east of Douglas Head. The sea was smooth, with a light wind blowing. The motor life-boat Manchester and Salford was launched at 10.30 at night. She reached the Fisher Lass an hour later and towed her in at one o’clock the next morning. - Rewards, £11.

APRIL 17TH. - NEWQUAY, CORNWALL.

Early in the morning a crash was heard by the coastguard, but the weather was foggy and he could see nothing. He made enquiries but learnt nothing. At 9.33 the life-boat honorary secretary heard from the flying control officer at St. Mawgan Air Port that wreckage and a dinghy could be seen off Watergate Bay. The weather was fine, but still foggy, with visibility about three-quarters of a mile. At 9.50 the motor life-boat Richard Silver Oliver was launched and found the wreckage of a British Warwick aeroplane.

Her crew of four and twelve passengers had all been killed. She picked up eleven bodies, and took in tow some wreckage in which another body was entangled. She also picked up a quantity of mail, including a packet of one-hundred-dollar bills worth approximately £45,000. She then made a careful search, but found neither survivors nor bodies, and returned to her station at 1.45 that afternoon. - Rewards, £14 14s.

APRIL, 22ND. - THE HUMBER, YORKSHIRE.

At 10.55 at night the life-boat watchman reported a vessel aground on the Binks. Shortly afterwards she signalled SOS by whistle. The weather was fine, with a light variable wind and a smooth sea.

At 11.20 the motor life-boat City of Bradford II was launched, and at midnight found the steam trawler Chandos, of Grimsby, with a crew of nine. She had run aground while returning with fish from the North Sea fishing grounds. She was lying close to a wreck and in danger of driving on it when the flood-tide made. Two life-boatmen went on board the Chandos. At low water the life-boat had to stand off, but as the tide made she returned alongside again and ran out an anchor. With this help the trawler eventually refloated.

When the trawler had come into the river the life-boat took off her two men and reached her station again at 6.15 next morning.- Property salvage case.

APRIL 2 5TH. - WALMER, KENT. At 11.39 in the morning the naval authorities at Dover asked, through the coastguard, that the life-boat should be launched to an aeroplane north-east of the South Foreland. A moderate north-west wind was blowing, with broken water near the Goodwin Sands. The motor life-boat Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No. 2) was launched within a quarter of an hour, and while on her way was directed to the exact position, six miles east of the life-boat station, by a Walrus amphibious aeroplane.

She found the entire crew of seven of a Lancaster bombing aeroplane in their dinghy, took them, and the dinghy, on board and landed them at 2.5 that afternoon. As the rescued men were not only wet through but only partly clad they were taken to the house of the life-boat honorary secretary. Here they were looked after until an ambulance came for them. A letter of appreciation was sent to the station by the Chief Inspector of Coastguard. - Rewards, £9 19s.

APRIL 25TH. - ROSSLARE HARBOUR, CO. WEXFORD. At 2.40 in the afternoon the Greenore military look-out post reported that an aeroplane had crashed in the sea about a mile north of Tuskar Rock Lighthouse.

Messages were also received from the Life- Saving Service, Dublin, and the Air Defence Department. After the first message a fishing boat was seen going in the direction of the accident. The weather was clear and the sea calm, with a light north-west wind.

After the second message the motor life-boat Mabel Marion Thompson went out, leaving at 3.25, with the secretary, Mr. W. J. B. Moncas, on board. She met the fishing boat and took on board a dead body, which the skipper said was the only one to come to the surface after the crash, and landed it at Rosslare pier at five o’clock. - Partly paid permanent crew. - Rewards, £1 6s.

(See Rosslare Harbour, “Services by Shore-boats,” page 57).

APRIL 29TH. - EYEMOUTH, BERWICKSHIRE, AND BERWICK - ON - TWEED, NORTHUMBERLAND. At midnight on the 28th of April information was received that a small boat with one man in it, and only one oar, had been swept out of the harbour by the ebb tide. The sea was smooth, with a light north-westerly wind blowing. At12.5 the Berwick-on-Tweed motor life-boat J. and W. was launched, and later she was joined in the search by the Eyemouth motor life-boat Frank and William Oates, which put out at 2.50. The Berwick life-boat searched to the south of the pier and Eyemouth to the north, and the latter found the boat at 6.30.

The man was none the worse for his experience, and the Eyemouth life-boat took him into Berwick. The Berwick life-boat reached her station again at 7.30 that morning, and the Eyemouth life-boat at nine o’clock.- Rewards, Eyemouth, £25 1s. ; Berwick-on- Tweed, £12 14s. 3d.

The following life-boats were launched, but no services were rendered for the reasons given : AP R I L 5 T H - SHERINGHAM, NORFOLK.

The life-boat was launched and stood by while American aeroplanes were returning from operations, but her services were not needed. - Rewards, £17 7s.

APRIL 6TH. - MARYPORT, CUMBERLAND.

A vessel had been reported in distress but after the life-boat had left it was learnt that the report was incorrect, and that an aeroplane was down in the sea. But nothing was found. - Rewards, £6 7s. 6d.

(See Maryport, “Services by Shore-boats,” page 56.)

APRIL 7TH. - THURSO, CAITHNESSSHIRE.

An aeroplane had been reported in distress and a white flare seen, but while searching the life-boat was recalled by the naval authorities. - Rewards, £8 18s.

APRIL 7TH. - FOWEY, CORNWALL.

Two R.A.F. men had been reported stranded on Chough Rock, near Looe, but the life-boat was recalled as the men had been saved.- Rewards, £4 7s. 6d.

APRIL 9TH. - CROMER, NORFOLK.

Three airmen had baled out from an aeroplane, but nothing could be found. - Rewards, £11 18s. 6d.

APRIL 1 0TH. - MARGATE, KENT. A waterlogged boat had been reported, but no one was on board. - Rewards, £4 7s. 6d.

APRIL 11TH. - BARRA ISLAND, HEBRIDES.

A motor boat was late returning from a trip to Mingulay Island, but she had only been delayed owing to difficulties in landing her passengers. - Rewards, £8 8s.

APRIL. 12TH. - ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK.

An object resembling a rubber dinghy had been reported, but nothing could be found.

- Rewards, £16 9s. 6d.

APRIL 13TH. - BARROW, LANCASHIRE.

An aeroplane had been reported down, but a high-speed launch from Fleetwood picked up the five survivors. - Rewards, £13 19s. (See Millom, “Services of Auxiliary Rescue-boats,” page 66.)

APRIL 14TH. - LONGHOPE, ORKNEYS ; THURSO, AND WICK, CAITHNESS-SHIRE.

A Spitfire aeroplane had been reported down in the Pentland Firth, but there was a dense fog and nothing could be found - Rewards : Longhope, £9 13s. 9d.; Thurso, £12 13s.; and Wick, £6 13s.

APRIL 14TH. - MARYPORT, CUMBERLAND.

Two aeroplanes had been reported down in the sea, but only wreckage could be found. - Rewards, £16 18s. 9d.

APRIL 15TH. - BARRA ISLAND, HEBRIDES.

An aeroplane had been reported down in the sea, but nothing was found and later it was learned that the aeroplane had been taken in tow for Stornoway by a trawler.- Rewards, £4 19s.

APRIL 19TH. - NEWBIGGIN, NORTHUMBERLAND.

A fisherman had reported what he believed to be a parachute coming down into the sea, but nothing could be found. - Rewards, £12 13s.

APRIL 20TH. - WALTON AND FRINTON, ESSEX. A report had been received that some airmen were in a dinghy, but the lifeboat and her motor boarding boat, which both went out, found some soldiers fishing from a dinghy. - Rewards, £13 12s.

APRIL 22ND. - THURSO, CAITHNESSSHIRE, AND LONGHOPE, ORKNEYS.

Seven men had been washed overboard from a destroyer at night in a whole gale, but they could not be found. - Rewards : Thurso, £13 18s. ; Longhope, £14 4s. 3d.

APRIL 23RD. - SALCOMBE, DEVON. A trawler had been reported ashore, but nothing could be found. - Rewards, £9 19s.

APRIL 25TH. - WICK, CAITHNESSSHIRE.

A fishing boat had been reported in difficulties, but she got under way again and did not need help. - Rewards, £3 15s.

APRIL 26TH. - CLACTON - ON - SEA, ESSEX. Two aeroplanes had been reported down in the sea and what appeared to be a submerged aeroplane was found, but there was no sign of survivors. - Rewards, £4 9s.

6d.

APRIL 26TH. - ABERYSTWYTH, CARDIGANSHIRE.

A British aeroplane had been reported down in the sea, but nothing was found. - Rewards, £19 3s. 3d.

APRIL 27TH. - MARGATE, KENT. A Liberator aeroplane had crashed at Westgate, but was found to be high and dry. Another had struck the cliff and blown up and two men had baled out, but they were saved by another boat. - Rewards, £8 15s.

APRIL 28TH. - BARMOUTH, MERIONETHSHIRE.

A Typhoon aeroplane had crashed in the sea, but only wreckage and oil were found. - Rewards, £6 12s. 6d.

APRIL 30TH. - BROUGHTY FERRY, ANGUS. An aeroplane had crashed in the sea, but only oil and wreckage were found.

- Rewards, £4 13s.