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, 1950 No. 353 THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET 154 Motor Life-boats 1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat LIVES RESCUED from the foundation of the Life-boat Service in 1824 to May 31st, 1950 - 76,899 Twenty-Four Spanish Sailors Rescued A Service by Ilfracombe, Appledore and Clovelly Ox the night of Saturday, the 12th of about the position of the Monte Gurugu, November, 1949, a full north-westerly and the Clovelly life-boat was sent to gale was blowing on the north coast of search to the south-west of Hartland Devon. It was the worst sea that had Point. Then she was directed north- been seen on that coast for years. eastwards to Morte Point. She That night a Spanish steamer, the searched for over two hours in that Monte Gurugu, of Bilbao, bound from gale, but found nothing, and at 9.30 Newport for Genoa, with 5,000 tons of she was recalled to her station. She Welsh coal, was making her way down arrived back at 10.45. the Bristol Channel. She was labour- ing heavily in the huge seas. They broke off her rudder, she began to Two More Life-boats Put Out founder, and just before five o'clock Meanwhile the Croyde coastguard on the Sunday morning she sent out had telephoned to the Appledore life- an SOS call. She was then sinking boat station at 6.32 that flares had fast, and her captain wirelessed that been seen fifteen miles north-east of he was abandoning ship. At five Hartland Point, that is in the neigh- minutes past five the Hartland Point bourhood of Woolacombe Bay, and ten coastguard rang up the life-boat station minutes later the Ilfracombe coastguard at Clovelly, and told the honorary had telephoned a similar message to the secretary that the Monte Gurugu was Ilfracombe life-boat station. in distress between Lundy Island and The Appledore life-boat Violet Arm- Hartland Point. The life-boat's crew strong left her moorings thirteen minutes were called out at once, but it was low after the message was received. She water; the gale had piled up a bank of had a perilous crossing of the bar, stones across the gap through which in very heavy broken seas, but she the life-boat was launched; and it came safely through and set her was two hours before the William and course for Baggy Point and into Cantrell Ashley was afloat. Unfor- Woolacombe Bay. Tremendous seas tunatelv there was some confusion were running. The life-boat searched THE LIFE-BOAT [SPRING, 1950 off Woolacombe Bay, and at 8.45 she Spanish boat was now in the breakers. found a ship's life-boat, badly broken He tried again, this time driving his and empty. A quarter of an hour boat up on her weather side. The later she picked up a body. She con- grapnel was thrown. It caught, and tinued her search, and found four more the life-boat was able to turn the bodies and one man alive. By this Spanish boat's head to the seas, and time her crew were exhausted by draw her clear. When she was out of the fight to cross the bar and by the her immediate danger, the coxswain toil of hauling the bodies aboard in took the Spaniards on board the life- such seas. To cross the bar again boat. There were twenty-three of would have been very dangerous. The them. They were all utterly exhausted. coxswain would not attempt it. He They had then been fighting the gale made instead for Ilfracombe where the in their small boat for over four hours. life-boat arrived at 11.45. She had The coxswain's one thought was to then been out for five hours. It had get them ashore as quickly as possible. been a most arduous service. He turned for Ilfracombe and there the The Ilfracombe life-boat, Richard life-boat arrived at 10.30. As soon as Silver Oliver, which had received the she had landed the rescued men she message ten minutes after Appledore, put out again and continued her search was launched at 7.18. The seas were until 3.30 in the afternoon, but she breaking over the pier, and twice before found nothing more. she left the harbour they had filled So ended this long, arduous and gal- her to the gunwale. She passed round lant service, in weather as tempestuous Bull Point and through the race off as could be remembered on that coast. Morte Point and into Woolacombe Bay. Twenty-four lives had been rescued Her coxswain kept her close inshore. but thirteen of the Monte Gurugu's His plan was to watch for, and to crew had perished. intercept, anything that was coming towards the shore, before it reached the breakers. If he saw nothing then The Gratitude of Spain he would move out to sea. It was a bold plan, possible only for a fisher- The warmest expressions of gratitude man who knew every rock on the were received from Spain. The owners coast. of the Monte Gurugu, the Naviera Aznan S.A., telegraphed: "We have followed with immense Something Ahead interest and emotion the vital and risky part taken by the personnel of your It was also a most fortunate plan, Association in the search and rescue of for just before nine o'clock one of the members of the crew of our steamer, life-boat's look-outs called out "some- Monte Gurugu. Allow us to express thing ahead " only about twenty yards to you personally and convey to your from the breakers. The life-boat made courageous men the testimony of the for it. That "something" was one profound and unextinguishable grati- of the Monte Gurugu's boats. As the tude." life-boat came near her, the life-boat's The Duke of San Lucar La Mayor, crew could see that she had two oars charge d'affaires at the Spanish Em- out on each side. The men were trying bassy in London, wrote to the secretary to keep her head to wind and sea, but of the Institution: they could not do it. In a very little " I wish to express my deep gratitude while they would have been carried to the Royal National Life-boat Insti- into the breakers, and that would have tution, a gratitude which I should been the end of the boat and all on appreciate your conveying as well to board. the crews concerned at Ilfracombe, The coxswain took the life-boat be- and surrounding districts, for the mag- tween the boat and the breakers, where nificent efforts which they made to the life-boat herself was only ten yards save my compatriots on board the ill- from them. He threw a grapnel, but fated vessel Monte Gurugu. The gal- it missed, and he thought that the lantry of the life-boat crews and their SPRING, 1950] THE LIFE-BOAT wonderful seamanship are beyond The Institution's Awards praise." The Institution made the following Even more touching than these awards: messages of thanks was the action of To COXSWAIN CECIL G. IRWIN, of the twenty-four rescued men them- Ilfracombe, the silver medal, with a selves. They sent a gift of flowers to copy of the vote inscribed on vellum the Duchess of Kent, as President of and framed ; the Institution, with this message: To the coxswain and each of the six "The survivors of the Spanish ship men of the crew a special reward of Monte Gurugu present these flowers to £5 in addition to the reward on the the Duchess of Kent, President of the ordinary scale of £2 15s.; ordinary Royal National Life-boat Institution, rewards, £38 14s. Qd.; special rewards, and request Her Royal Highness to £35; total rewards, £73 14*. Qd.; accept them as an expression of their To COXSWAIN SYDNEY CANN, of gratitude for the magnificent behaviour Appledore, a clasp to the bronze medal of the National crews of Ilfracombe, for gallantry which he won in the war, Appledore and Clovelly, thanks to with a copy of the vote inscribed on whom we are still alive." vellum and framed; The Spanish Society for Saving the To the coxswain and each of seven Shipwrecked awarded silver prize me- men of the crew a special reward of £5 dals to Coxswain Cecil Irwin of Ilfra- in addition to the reward on the ordin- combe, Coxswain Sydney Cann, of ary scale of £2 10s.; ordinary rewards, Appledore, and Coxswain GeorgeLamey £27 6s. Qd.; special rewards, £40; total of Clovelly, and diplomas to the crews rewards, £67 6s. Qd.; of the three life-boats. It also made a To the coxswain and each of the six number of awards to those on shore men of the Clovelly crew, a special who had cared for the men when the reward of £2 in addition to the reward life-boats brought them ashore, and on the ordinary scale of £1 10s.; the owners of the Monte Gurugu sent ordinary rewards, £25 2s.; special £1,000, in gratitude for this care, to rewards, £14; total rewards, £39 2s. the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society. Total rewards for the service, £180 3s. Disaster to the Submarine Truculent ON the 12th of January, 1950, H.M. escaped from her, the two life-boats submarine Truculent, with about were asked to stay over the sunken seventy-nine men on board, and the submarine. Again they found no one, Swedish motor tanker, Divina, collided and after being at sea for twenty- in the Thames Estuary; the submarine one hours, they returned to their sank at once.