MARCH 21ST. - PLYMOUTH, DEVON.

At 4.3 in the afternoon a message was received from the king’s harbour master that a vessel was sinking five miles north-east of Eddystone, as the result of enemy action.

A southerly wind was blowing, with a moderate sea. There was fog and visibility was poor. At 4.23 the motor life-boat Ministre Anseele was launched and found the U.S.A.

Liberty ship James Eagan Layne being towed by a tug ; other tugs and naval vessels were also in the neighbourhood. The lifeboat spoke the towing tug and was told that all the crew had been accounted for, and that the captain of the James Eagan Layne was on board the tug and thanked the lifeboat for the prompt offer of help. There were two fully-equipped rafts, undamaged, floating nearby, and these the life-boat towed into port, returning to her station at 9.20 that evening. The James Eagan Layne was eventually beached. - Rewards, £16 9s..