JULY 16TH. - ANGLE, PEMBROKESHIRE.

At 11.10 in the morning the Tenby coastguard telephoned that the naval authorities at Milford Haven had reported a vessel ashore on Grassholm Island and in need of help. It had been blowing hard all night from the west-northwest, and rough seas were running, with a dangerous ground swell. The motor life-boat Elizabeth Elson was launched at 12.20. She found the ex- German steamer Walter L. M. Russ, manned by seventeen men from South Shields, about fifty yards from the western extremity of Grassholm Island.

The heavy seas were making a clean sweep over her and only her bridge, the upper part of the funnel and the two masts could be seen above the sea. The life-boat could also see two men clinging to the funnel ladder and another in the main top. Damaged rigging and gear hanging loose made approach very difficult, but the coxswain succeeded in anchoring to seaward of the wreck and in dropping down close enough to fire a line. He fired a line first to the two men on the funnel ladder, for the funnel might have been washed away at any moment.

Exhausted though they were, they were able to fix the tackle of the breeches buoy to the funnel and were hauled to the life-boat in the buoy. Several times a line was fired to the man in the main top before he was able to seize it. Then he, too, was hauled to the life-boat. The rescue of the three men had taken two hours.

From them the coxswain learnt that other men of the steamer’s crew were on Grassholm Island. There he searched and saw six clinging to rocks, where the seas were breaking heavily.

It was too risky to anchor near that rocky shore and drop down on his cable, so he took the life-boat as near as he could six times, threw a line and each time hauled a man on board.

The rescue of these six men took another hour. Eight other men of the steamer’s crew were still unaccounted for and the life-boat searched, but could not find them. The nine rescued men were in much need of attention, and the life-boat took them to Milford Haven. She then returned to her station, at 10.30 that night. It was a difficult service, very skilfully carried out, and the life-boat was at sea for over ten hours.

The Institution made the following awards : To COXSWAIN JAMES WATKINS, a clasp to the bronze medal for gallantry which he already held, with a copy of the vote inscribed on vellum ; To the coxswain and each member of the crew a special reward of £1 in addition to the usual reward, on the standard scale of £1 17s. 6d.

Standard rewards to crew and helpers, £18 ; additional rewards to crew, £8 ; total rewards, £26..