EYEMOUTH, BERWICKSHIRE. About 11.30 in the morning of the 26th of May, 1944, the motor fishing boat Cecil Rhodes, with six men on board, caught fire while fishing some nine miles north-north-east of Eyemouth. A light westerly wind was blowing. Five men in another motor fishing boat, the White Heather, were about a mile away. They saw the smoke and a distress signal, went to the Cecil Rhodes and took off her six men and some of her gear. Shortly afterwards there was an explosion on the Cecil Rhodes. She burned to the water’s edge and foundered.- Rewards, £15 for loss of fishing and £1 2s. for fuel used.

BRIDLINGTON, YORKSHIRE. O n t h e evening of the 5th of June, 1944, the British steamer Chant 63, a new vessel of 390 tons gross, with 500 tons of water ballast, capsized five miles east-south-east of Bridlington.

A strong westerly wind was blowing, with fresh short seas. The fishing boats Express and La Mariole went to her help, but before they reached her she had turned turtle and her crew of fourteen had been rescued by a minesweeper. The Bridlington life-boat had also gone out. She took the rescued men from the minesweeper, and the fishing boats returned to harbour. - Rewards, £5, with 10s. for fuel used. (See Bridlington, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 24.) EASTBOURNE, SUSSEX. At 9.12 in the morning of the 11th of June, 1944, the coastguard asked the honorary secretary of the life-boat station to launch the life-boat to an aeroplane down in the sea two miles southsouth- east of the lookout. The sea was slight, with a west-south-west wind blowing.

To save time in launching the life-boat, the coxswain put out with the motor-mechanic and four other men in his own motor fishing boat. At 11.5 they returned, bringing with them one injured airman whom they had rescued from a Walrus amphibious aeroplane.

- Rewards, £3 15s. to the crew, £2 0s. 6d. to the helpers, with 2s. 6d. for fuel used.

BLACKPOOL, LANCASHIRE. At four in the afternoon of the 20th of June, 1944, a woman came running to the life-boat motor-mechanic and told him that two men bathers were clinging to life-belts under the jetty. The tide was ebbing, the weather fine, and the sea calm. The mechanic was working on his own rowing and sailing fishing boat. He, the life-boat coxswain and two other life-boatmen rushed the boat 500 yards to the water, launched her and reached the jetty in time to rescue the two exhausted men. They were taken to hospital and later thanked their rescuers for the promptness with which they had come to their help. - Rewards, £2.moderate, but the sea rather rough. After an hour’s search, the men found a rubber dinghy two and a half miles south-east of Rathlin Island, with two men on board.

They were the crew of a Beaufighter aeroplane and had baled out some considerable time earlier. In that wind and sea it was not easy to get them on board the rowing boat, but the fishermen succeeded without mishap and landed them at Rathlin Island, where they were given food and clothing.- Rewards, £5.

PORTHCAWL, GLAMORGANSHIRE. At 9.5 at night on the 11th of April, 1944, a watchman saw an American soldier and a girl walking along Porthcawl pier. A rough sea was running and they had not gone very far when a sea washed them off the pier. The airsea rescue base was informed and their launch was away in about five minutes. A rowing boat was also launched. This boat was manned by two leading aircraftsmen belonging to the R.A.F. Marine Base, Porthcawl. They recovered the body of the girl. The body of the American soldier was washed up on the following day. The two men incurred considerable risk in the broken seas which were sweeping against the pier. It was too rough a sea for such a boat. Only very strong men could have kept the boat from being swamped or driven against the pier. - Rewards, £1, accompanied by a letter of appreciation to both L.A.C. G. Ash and L.A.C. D. Shackle.

LOSSIEMOUTH, MORAYSHIRE. At 9.50 in the morning of the 26th of May, 1944, a Wellington aeroplane made a pancake landing on the sea off Lossiemouth. The motor fishing boat May Lily was nearby. She picked up five airmen, and landed them at Lossiemouth. - Rewards, a letter of appreciation to Skipper William Smith.

PORTLAND, DORSET. At 9.30 in the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, D Day, the opening day of the invasion of Normandy, a U.S.A. Liberator aeroplane, returning from Normandy, crashed on Chesil Beach at Langton Herring. Seven airmen baled out and came down in the sea. Three remained in the aeroplane and were unhurt. A westerly wind was blowing and there was a heavy swell on the beach. The Weymouth motor lifeboat was launched, but was recalled by the naval authorities. She might have rescued all the men had she been allowed to go on.

At Wyke Regis Mr. W. Tod, partner in a firm of boat-builders, with the help of a dozen men, removed the engine and other gear from a 15-feet boat which they were building, and at considerable effort took her over the beach and launched her. Mr. Tod and three of his men went out in her, but only one knew much about handling boats off the beach, nor was this boat - the only one available - suitable for such work. They got her off the beach, but she shipped a lot of water, and they were compelled to return.

In the meantime eight Portland fishermen launched two rowing boats from Chesil Cove.

They were all elderly men. One was seventythree. With that gale blowing it was a difficult and dangerous task to launch small boats off Chesil Beach and the eight men risked their lives in doing it. They got safely away, and three of them in one boat returned at 10.50 with two airmen whom they had picked up about a mile west of the coastguard lookout at Fortuneswell. They put out again and picked up another airman.

The five men in the other boat picked up another man. Soldiers at Wyke Regis found a body. Nothing was found of the other two airmen. - Rewards, £14 15s., and a letter of appreciation to Mr. Tod. (See Weymouth, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 25.) NEWCASTLE, Co. DOWN. At 8.55 in the morning of the 9th of June, 1944, the Ardglass coastguard saw an aeroplane down in the sea three miles away to the east-northeast and sent out a man in a fishing boat, the Spitfire. A light westerly wind was blowing, with a slight sea. The aeroplane had come down near the motor fishing boat Miranda, off Portavogie, and her crew of five quickly picked up the crew of five of the aeroplane before the Spitfire arrived, and landed them at Ardglass. She then returned to the fishing ground. - Rewards, £3 and 5s. for fuel used.

NORTH BERWICK, EAST LOTHIAN. A t 1.15 in the afternoon of the 15th of June, 1944, an R.A.F. Beaufighter aeroplane, with two men on board, crashed in the sea a mile and a quarter south-west of the North Berwick coastguard lookout. A light northwest wind was blowing, with a slight sea.

The owner of the motor fishing boat Caithness Lass put out to the rescue. With him were his wife, a police constable and a chemist’s apprentice. A fisherman, a coastguard and a grocer’s assistant put out in the motor fishing boat Ray Alex. The boats found a lot of wreckage and salved some gear. They saw nothing of the airmen. - Rewards, £3 10s. and 6s. for fuel used.

ILFRACOMBE, DEVON. At 4.40 in the afternoon of the 3rd of July, 1944, the coastguard informed the honorary secretary of the lifeboat station that two men were cut off by the rising tide on a rock off Haggington Beach, Hele Ray. A light west-north-west wind was blowing, with a slight sea. The honorary secretary sent out a man in a rowing boat and he, with some difficulty, got the two men on board his boat, landed them at Hele Bay and then rowed back to Ilfracombe Harbour. He had slightly damaged his boat. - Rewards, 7s. 6d., in addition to 5s. from the rescued men, with £1 for repairs to his boat.

SHERINGHAM, NORFOLK. About eight in the morning of the 5th of July, 1944, the Sheringham fishing boats Edna and Liberty were out fishing two miles off Sheringham, when, two or three miles to the north-northwest they saw an aeroplane from which smoke was coming. A light south-west wind was blowing. The sea was smooth. One boat, which had the life-boat motor-mechanic and the second-coxswain on board, came in toreport. The life-boat crew and helpers were assembled, but it was learned from the coastguard that the aeroplane was all right ; the smoke was from two rocket bombs which she had dropped. The life-boat launch was cancelled and the fishing boat which had come in went out again to haul up the pots belonging to both boats. Meanwhile the other fishing boat had searched for nearly two hours.

Finding nothing she went back to her fishing. - Rewards, £3, with 11s. 6d. for fuel used.

CARDIGAN. On the evening of the 14th of July, 1944, four men were fishing in the motor boat Bronwen, off Poppits Sands, at the estuary of the Teify. At 8.30 they were told that a burning aeroplane had crashed and that the crew had baled out between Cardigan Island and Mount. A moderate south-southwest wind was blowing, with a choppy sea.

The men searched the area between Cardigan Island and Mount and found wreckage, which appeared to be part of the aeroplane, but no sign of any of the crew. As the boat was short of petrol and her engine not running well, they left an air-sea rescue boat and aircraft to continue the search and returned, arriving at 9.50 that evening. One badly injured man was rescued by the launch and four others came down on land. - Rewards, £2, with 4s. 3d. for fuel used.

FILEY, YORKSHIRE. At 5.9 in the afternoon of the 15th of July, 1944, the coastguard telephoned the life-boat coxswain that the Filey police had reported that about 4.45 a Polish soldier, who was bathing in Filey Bay, had been seen to disappear, and had not reappeared. A light west-south-west wind was blowing, with a slight sea. The coxswain launched his fishing coble Edward and Muriel, and with four other men, searched, but found nothing. - Rewards, £2 10s., with £1 for helpers on land and horses which hauled up the coble, and 4s. for fuel used.

RHYL, FLINTSHIRE. On the evening of the 17th of July, 1944, an Anson aeroplane came down in the sea several miles to the northwest of Rhyl. The Rhyl and Llandudno life-boats went out. The weather was fine, with a fairly smooth sea and a slight westerly wind. Directed by aircraft the Rhyl lifeboat reached the position about ten o’clock and found three men in the motor fishing boat Hard Lines, of Fleetwood, picking up three of the air crew. One of the three was unconscious and one was dead. They transferred the unconscious man to the life-boat. It was reported that the body of the fourth member of the aircrew was picked up by an air-sea rescue boat. - Rewards to the three fishermen, £3 15s., and 5s. for fuel used. (See Rhyl, and Llandudno, “Accounts of Services by Lifeboats,” page 26.)

WITHERNSEA, YORKSHIRE. About 10.45 in the morning of the 26th of July, 1944, a Mustang aeroplane crashed in the Humber.

The pilot baled out and dropped into the sea two miles south of Withernsea. The sea was smooth, the wind light from the south-southeast.

At 11.10 the coastguard told the owner of the rowing fishing boat Harriet Thompson, and he, an auxiliary coastguardsman, and three other men put out in her. They found nothing, and returned at 1.30 that afternoon.

An air-sea rescue boat picked up a parachute, but saw nothing of the airman. - Rewards, £2.

HASTINGS, SUSSEX. About 11.20 in the morning of the 29th of July, 1944, a Mustang aeroplane came down in the sea off Hastings. A light south-west wind was blowing, with a slight sea. Two local fishing boats which were out fishing two miles away saw the accident and at once made for the spot. They arrived at the same time as the Hastings life-boat. No survivor was found. The fishing boats remained for only a few minutes and then made for Hastings, arriving at 12.20. - Grant of 5s.

made for fuel used. (See Hastings, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 27).

NEWQUAY, CORNWALL. At 9.30 in the evening of the 1st August, 1944, an airport informed the honorary secretary of the lifeboat station that it had received a wireless report from a patrol launch, which had picked up two people and wished to land them. The life-boat crew and helpers were assembled, but it was decided to send out a rowing boat.

Four men manned it and got it away through breaking water. They returned in forty-five minutes with the bodies of two women, who, while bathing farther up the coast, had been carried out to sea. - Rewards, £5.

BLACKPOOL, LANCASHIRE. About 10.30 in the morning of the 2nd of August, 1944, the life-boat coxswain received a telephone message from a private hotel on the promenade that a sailing boat was in difficulties opposite Woodfield Road. The police also gave the same information. The sea was calm, the weather fine. The life-boat coxswain, motor-mechanic and assistant motor-mechanic put out in the mechanic’s boat, and rowed to the sailing boat, which was half a mile from the boathouse and three hundred yards off the shore. She was a licensed sailing yacht with the owner and sixteen rather scared passengers on board. She was fast on an invasion pile with a hole in her side. A bucket was being used to bale her but the passengers were standing in water up to their knees. The rescuers took off ten women and children. Returning they took off six men, and putting out again towed in the yacht and her owner. - Rewards, £1 17s. 6d.

THE LIZARD, CORNWALL. At 1.42 in the afternoon of the 6th of August, 1944, Lloyd’s signal station reported to the honorary secretary of the life-boat station, through the Cadgwith coastguard, that the small boat Lily was a mile south of the station and that the four people aboard - they were visitors from London - were waving and shouting for help. The sea was calm, with a light southwest wind, but the boat was rapidly drifting seawards. The honorary secretary was considering sending out a motor boat, but a member of the Royal Observer Corps, with the station officer of coastguard, had put out inhis rowing boat. They had to row about three miles against the tide, but they reached the drifting boat, took her in tow and brought her safely to land. - Rewards, £1 5s.

SCARBOROUGH, YORKSHIRE. At three o’clock in the afternoon of the 7th of August, 1944, the coastguard reported to the honorary secretary of the life-boat station that an R.A.F. Halifax aeroplane had crashed in the sea about two and a half miles north-by-east of Long Nab. The weather was fine, the sea smooth and a light south-east wind blowing.

The honorary secretary decided to send out two motor cobles, and the Rainbow, with a crew of five, and the Moreen, with a crew of two. put out. They searched, but without success, and returned at 5.45. The fishing boat Thankful, with a crew of five, which was fishing near the scene of the accident, picked up one body and landed it. - Rewards, £7 10s. and 9s., 7s. 6d. and 3s. for fuel used.

PENMON, ANGLESEY. On the evening of the 10th of August, 1944, the sailing boat Margaret Elizabeth, of Beaumaris, capsized one mile north-north-east of Puffin Island.

She had four people on board. They had been fishing. A strong south-west breeze was blowing, with a choppy sea. The owner of the capsized boat and another man put out in a small rowing boat, and with some difficulty rescued two exhausted people, who were clinging to the upturned boat. The Beaumaris life-boat was launched and took the other two people off Puffin Island, which they had reached by swimming. - Rewards, £2 10s.

(See Beaumaris, “Accounts of Services by Life-boats,” page 29.)

LLANDUDNO, CAERNARVONSHIRE. On the night of the 14th of August, 1944, the coastguard telephoned to the life-boat coxswain and asked him to go out in a rowing boat as a woman was in danger of committing suicide by jumping over Great Orme’s Head. This he did and reached the place at about 1.30 next morning. There he was told to return as the woman had been persuaded to go home.

When he got back to the beach he learned that she had broken from her escort and had thrown herself over the cliff into the sea.

With a police officer and a coastguard he went out again. After an hour’s search they found the body of a young woman. They returned to the beach at 4.30. - Reward to coxswain, £1.

STAITHES, YORKSHIRE.. On the 26th of August, 1944, the fishing boat Silver Line, with a crew of six, put out at two in the afternoon to haul lines. She had not returned by 8.45 that evening, and as it was very foggy it was decided to send another boat out to look for her. Three men went in the Star of Hope. They found the missing boat, and the two boats arrived back at 11.20.- Rewards, £1 1s.