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. XXIX. JUNE, 1933. No. 314. THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET Motor Life-boats, 114 :: Pulling & Sailing Life-boats, 62 LIVES RESCUED from the foundation of the Institution in 1824 to May 31st, 1933 63,299 Annual Meeting. THE hundred and ninth annual meet- the French, German and Belgian ing of the governors of the Institution embassies and of the Norwegian lega- was held at the Mansion House, at 3 tion, and the Swedish naval attache. p.m., on Friday, 21st April. The mayors and mayoresses of the The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of following boroughs also accepted the London (Sir Percy Walter Greenaway) invitation: Baling, Highgate, Hamp- presided, supported by the Lady stead, Stepney, Barnes, Holborn, Chel- Mayoress, vice-presidents of the Insti- sea, Fulham, Walthamstow, Lambeth, tution and members of the committee Woolwich, St. Pancras, Greenwich, of management. Hammersmith, Hendon, Leyton, East The speakers were Sir Godfrey Ham, Islington, Bermondsey, St. Baring, Bt., chairman of the committee Albans, Margate and Folkestone. of management, Sir Percy Mackinnon, Among others who accepted the chairman of Lloyd's, Mr. Robert invitation were: The Duchess of Suther- Boothby, M.P., Mrs. Astley Roberts, land, president of the Ladies' Life- president of the Eastbourne Ladies' boat Guild, the Lady Florence Pery, Life-boat Guild, Mr. Walter Riggs, a honorary secretary of the guild, the member of the committee of manage- Viscountess Astor, M.P., and repre- ment and honorary secretary of the sentatives of King George's Fund for Aldeburgh life-boat station, and the Sailors, Missions to Seamen, the Im- Hon. George Colville, deputy-chairman perial Merchant Service Guild, Green- of the committee of management. wich Hospital for Seamen, and the The Lord Mayor presented medals Royal Alfred Aged Merchant Seamen's and other awards for gallantry, and the Institution. Lady Mayoress awards to honorary The Lord Mayor. workers for distinguished services. THE CHAIRMAN : My Lords, Ladies and Among those who accepted the Gentlemen : First of all, on behalf of the Lady invitation of the committee of manage- Mayoress and myself, I should like to bid you all a very hearty welcome to the Mansion ment were representatives of six foreign House. countries: His Excellency the Minister I should like just to read you a little of the of the Netherlands, the counsellors of early and late history of the Royal National 50 THE LIFE-BOAT. [JUNE, 1933. Life-boat Institution, to show its association Panama. Early this year a service was with the City of London. rendered to a Greek vessel. Representatives The first life-boat station in the British from six of these ten countries are present Isles was established at Tynemouth. The at this meeting. appeal which led to the founding of the Royal I am very happy to welcome to the Mansion National Life-boat Institution was made from House to-day the mayors of the metropolitan the Isle of Man, but the meeting at which the boroughs and also the mayors of Margate Institution was actually founded was held in and Folkestone; men and women from the City of London, on the 4th March, 1824, Cromer in Norfolk, Plymouth in Devon, at the City of London Tavern. It was Dungeness in Kent, Boulmer in Northumber- summoned by Mr. Thomas Wilson, a London land, and Peterhead in Aberdeen, who are merchant, and a Member of Parliament for present to receive awards for gallantry in the City, and Mr. Wilson was the chairman saving life (Applause); and honorary workers of the committee of management of the of the Institution from Chelsea, Southampton, Institution for its first twenty-eight years, Bembridge (Isle of Wight), Birmingham, until his death in 1852, at the age of eighty- Folkestone and Perth, who are present to five. receive awards for distinguished services in The last occasion on which the annual raising the Institution's funds. (Applause.) meeting of the Institution was held in the City was in 1924—the centenary meeting. Such a meeting as this, held in the Mansion It was held on March 4th, the Institution's House and so well attended, shows the long, birthday, and the Lord Mayor presided. close and generous association between The Prince of Wales presented the awards, London and the life-boat service ; tfie share and the Archbishop of Canterbury moved which every part of the British Isles, inland the principal resolution, as his predecessor as well as on the coast, takes in the work of had done at the first meeting just a hundred the service; and the recognition by all years before. maritime countries of the value of the The close association of the City of London British life-boats as a great international with the life-boat service, begun at that first service—a service existing for the succour of meeting, has continued to the present. The seafarers of all nations, and knowing no City has its own branch of the Institution. frontiers. (Applause.) Year after year, until 1931, it stood at the I read to-day in the News-Chronicle a very head of the branches. In that year and in interesting tale of the wreck of the Forest the following year the Glasgow branch Hall, which I will read to you ; I think you contributed more than the City, but last will be interested to hear it. To sum it up : year, I am glad to say, the City again returned It was in January, 1899 ; a fierce gale was to the head of the list, contributing no less a raging on the Devon coast, and a Liverpool sum than £6,241. (Applause). steamer, the Forest Hall, was rudderless and driving on to the coast near Lynmouth. It Among the names in the first list of sub- was impossible to launch the Lynmouth scribers in 1825 appears " Lloyd's Committee life-boat, for the front had four feet of water •—£200." That generous support was con- over it, and with a fierce wind off the sea she tinued year by year, and last year Lloyd's would have been smashed to pieces. The contributed £1,408. (Applause.) The inter- life-boat might be launched if it were taken est of Lloyd's in the life-boat service had overland to Porlock. I do not know whether begun over twenty years before the Insti- any of you ladies and gentlemen know the tution itself was founded. Lloyd's voted no district, but if you do you will realize what a less than £2,000 in 1802 for the building tremendous task this was. In an eighty- and equipping of life-boats, and when the mile-an-hour gale the life-boat was put on a Institution was founded there were already low truck, taken up the long and steep thirty-nine on our coasts, of which twenty-six Countisbury Hill by sixteen farm horses had been provided by Lloyd's. Before 1824 helped by all the village men and women, Lloyd's was virtually the Institution. and taken down Porlock Hill, with its fear- This was commemorated last year by giving some gradient, to Porlock, where she was the name of Lloyd's to a motor life-boat built successfully launched after her thrilling land for a new station at Barra Island in the adventure. (Applause). Hebrides. The annual contributions received from Lloyd's in future will be allocated to maintaining this life-boat, and to replacing Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt. her, so that there will always be a life- boat in the fleet bearing the name of Lloyd's. SIR GODFREY BARING: My Lord Mayor, I am very pleased to see here to-day Sir your Excellencies, my Lords, Ladies and Percy Mackinnon, the chairman of Lloyd's. Gentlemen : The report for the last year of (Applause). the work of the Royal National Life-boat One of the chief features of the work of the Institution is in the hands of the governors, life-boat service during 1932 was the number and in that report you will find a full and, I of lives rescued from foreign vessels. Life- hope, an accurate account of our activities boats rendered services to fifteen foreign during the last year. There are, therefore, vessels in distress, belonging to nine different very few remarks with which I need trouble countries, and rescued from them 111 lives, the meeting of the governors this afternoon. well over a quarter of the total of 395 lives With regard to the technical side of our rescued round our coasts. The nine countries work, I should like to say that our technical were France, Germany, Italy, Holland, advisers are busy at the present moment Belgium, Spain, Norway, Sweden and experimenting in order to see if heavy-oil JUNE, 1933.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 51 engines can be adapted to be placed in our command. Our results of flag days in larger life-boats. They are also making London have perhaps been a little dis- experiments in order to secure that we shall appointing in the past, not through any lack have a class, which we hope will be very of interest on the part of the public in our useful to us, of specially light motor boats cause, but simply and solely because we which we shall be able to launch in places cannot secure sufficient sellers to make the where, up to now, we have only been able to day a success. I hope that if any ladies or launch pulling and sailing boats. There are gentlemen are inspired and encouraged by many places on our coasts where we should the speeches this afternoon, and if they have like to have motor boats, but where the a few hours to spare on the 23rd of May, they difficulties of launching heavy motor boats will kindly give their names to the organizing have up to now precluded us from being able secretary for Greater London, who will be to use motor power.