DECEMBER 24TH. - WALMER, KENT.

At 12.30 in the afternoon the Deal coastguard reported that a vessel had been seen at noon heading towards the Goodwin Sands.

It was misty, and she had not been seen since.

A north-westerly breeze was blowing and the sea was smooth. The life-boat coxswain put out in his motor boat to investigate and found the S.S. Northeastern Victory, of San Francisco, of 7,600 tons, bound for Antwerp, stranded on the South Goodwin Sands. The motor boat returned and the motor life-boat Charles Dibdin (Civil Service No. 2) was launched at five o’clock. She found that the Northeastern V i c t o r y had broken her back and that her engine-room was flooding. A wireless message from Lloyd’s agent at Dover advised the master to land the crew. He decided that he and six officers would stay, but that the remaining thirty-six men should leave.

The life-boat took them on board, and arrived back at her station with them at 8.35 that night. The weather quickly got worse and it was thought advisable for the life-boat to go out again to stand by the steamer. She was launched at nine o’clock and stood by until daylight. The steamer was then listing and beginning to break up. A gale warning had been received and the master decided to abandon ship. The life-boat took off him and his six officers and returned to her station, arriving at 9.15 in the morning of the 25th. Later the steamer broke in two.

- Rewards : first service, £32 9s. 6d. ; second service, £47 18s. 6d..