THE LIFE-BOAT the Journal of the Royal National Life-Boat Institution
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THE LIFE-BOAT The Journal of the Royal National Life-boat Institution VOL. XXXIII SPRING, 1951 No. 357 THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET 153 Motor Life-boats 1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat LIVES RESCUED from the foundation of the Life-boat Service in 1824 to May 31st, 1951 - 77,369 Mr. Anthony Eden on the Life-boat Service* OUR British race loves the sea. It is a voluntary service. Its crews Throughout the length and breadth of are volunteers. It is administered by the land, whether on the moors or in voluntary committees, and the whole the valleys, however far from the sound of its revenue comes from voluntary of the sea, in every corner of the country, gifts collected by voluntary workers. are men and women who love the sea. There is no State contribution They may not see it very often; they (Applause); surely a remarkable may not know it very well; but the phenomenon, but again one on which allegiance is there all the same. Our I do not propose to dilate at all this whole history and national tradition afternoon. is an ocean story. This Institution, we are reminded, An Amateur Service was 127 years old this month, quite a In this professional age this remains considerable age. It is indeed the largely a service of amateurs, in the oldest Life-boat Service, and its work best sense of the word, its work given goes on unchanged in a changing world. freely from a sense of devotion and It has seen sail give place to steam, and loyalty. I am entirely convinced that petrol engines follow the steam engine. no work is as well done, and no money Whether or not all those are very good so well and wisely spent, as that which things would not be for me to say this is provided by willing hearts and hands. afternoon. Whatever our views on (Applause.) that topic, we shall discuss them a Political changes have made little little further down the road. This difference. For instance, the Institu- Institution has made use of every new tion remains responsible for life-boats, invention, and the men who designed not only in England, Scotland, Wales and built the first life-boat would and Northern Ireland, but in the indeed be amazed at the life-boat of Republic of Ireland also. We are very to-day. glad of that, and it is interesting to The Institution has changed with note that of the four medals which the times, and yet it has remained the Your Royal Highness has presented same. It is as its founder planned it. today, three of them have been won *A speech delivered at the annual meeting of the by men from the Republic of Ireland Institution, see page 164. and one by an English coxswain. You 158 THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1951 may also note that while one of the two again and again, life-boats come tri- Irish services was to an Irish fishing umphantly through them it is very easy boat, the other was to a Scottish to forget them. steamer, and the medal won by the I have to say just two sentences English coxswain was for rescuing the about finance. The Institution is now crew of a schooner from the Republic rebuilding its fleet after the losses and of Ireland. There indeed is inter- delays of the war, and is spending on national co-operation at its best, not this something like one and a half as iii my experience from the Foreign million pounds. Before the war the Office windows we always see it. I Service cost £400,000. Last vear it could wish that there were more of such cost £800,000. Fortunately, as the international co-operation in the world cost of the Service has increased, so to-day. (Applause.) has its income. In 1950 the income You do not have to be a member of rose to the record total of £750,000, any particular church or party or but, as your chairman has told you, it union to receive aid from the crews was still £70,000 less than the year's of the life-boats. If you need help, expenditure. The Institution owes a you get it. This is a principle, very deep debt of gratitude to the men idealistic maybe, but certainly practi- and women (many of them in this hall cal in the fullest sense, which could today) who, as honorary workers for be called the watchword of the Insti- over a thousand branches, help to tution. collect its funds, as well as to the thousands of all classes in all parts of A Remarkable Increase Great Britain and Ireland who con- It might be thought that, while so tribute to them. (Applause.) much is being done to make travel by sea and air, not only more com- " This Gallant League of Men " fortable, but safer, the work of the Let me then put my message to you: Life-boat would be decreasing. But the We at home sometimes hear on our contrary is the case. The work is radio of gale warnings and other fore- increasing. Its expansion during the casts of the menaces to shipping around past thirty years has been remarkable. our coasts, and as a result we may I do not want to weary you with figures, perhaps shiver a little more deeply but one contrast will suffice. In 1921- into our armchairs. But not many of 25 the average number of launches on us recall that each of these warnings service was 234. In the six years of may mean for others a call to action, the last war it was 617. Those were an invitation to danger, and maybe a the busiest and the most dangerous threat of death. No words of ours years in the whole history of the Ser- can exaggerate the gallantry of this vice. Yet since the war the average league of men. They face constant number of launches has fallen very peril because they have dedicated little, which is rather surprising. themselves to serve others on the sea. Altogether this Institution has, as your Today we thank and we salute them. report tells you, given rewards for the As a meeting we pledge ourselves to saving of over 77,000 lives, an average stand by them, proud at this moment of 50 lives a month. (Applause.) to form part of a gallant community Not only does the work go on, and ready at all times to work and to save increase, but the dangers remain. their fellows who go down to the sea They are always there, but when, in ships. (Loud Applause.) A Gallant Young Corporal THE Institution has sent a framed letter Glasgow Jewish Lads' Brigade Cadets, of thanks and £1 to Corporal David for bravely helping to save a woman Aitken, a 15-year-old member of the who fell into the Tweed last November. SPRING, 1951] THE LIFE-BOAT 159 The Life-boat Service and Salvage ALTHOUGH, in the course of its 127 "The Institution would like to make years of work the Institution has saved, it clear to all yachtsmen: or helped to save, thousands of vessels "1. That it is not the duty of a from destruction, it makes no claims life-boat to save property. for salvage. Its sole purpose is the rescue of life. When, however, life- "2. That in the case of any help boats are able also to save property, which yachtsmen ask of a life-boat their crews are allowed to claim salvage to salve their yachts—or of any help exactly as they would claim it if they which a life-boat's crew offers them had done the work in their own boats. to salve their yachts—they are deal- This has always been the practice ing with the crew as individual of the Institution, but as many people, fishermen. and in particular yachtsmen, do not "3. That if such help is asked seem to have understood it, Sir Godfrey for, or accepted, the men are entitled Baring, Bt., the chairman of the Com- to make the same claims for salvage mittee of Management, wrote last as if they were in their own boat. March to all yacht clubs to explain it "Though the crews are free to make to them, and the reasons for it. He their own claims, yet in many cases wrote both as chairman of the Institu- where they have saved, or helped to tion and as a member of the Royal save, a vessel, they make no claim at Yacht Squadron. all. In the three months of June, The letter was sent also to all yacht- July and August, 1950, life-boats ing papers with a request that they carried our services to forty yachts, would publish it. Here is the letter: motor boats and sailing boats. In only six of these forty services the life- Letter to Yacht Clubs boatmen claimed salvage. In another "During the past year there have twenty-three there were bases for such been several cases of claims for pro- claims, but none was made. In fact, perty salvage against yachts from in the great majority of cases, where which it appears that there are yacht- life-boatmen have helped to save small owners who do not understand what is yachts, they ask for no salvage. —and has always been—the attitude "There are two other points on of this Institution towards property which there is often misunderstanding.