THE LIFE-BOAT The Journal of the Royal National Life-boat Institution VOL. XXXIV MARCH 1955 No. 371 THE LIFE-BOAT FLEET 155 Motor Life-boats 1 Harbour Pulling Life-boat LIVES RESCUED from the foundation of the Life-boat Service in 1824 to 31st December, 1954 79,058 Notes of the Quarter THE year 1954 lias been one on which TRAGEDY AT SCARBOROUGH the Life-boat Service can look back The loss of three fine men of the with pride and deep satisfaction. It Scarborough crew, including the cox- is now 131 years since the Institution swain and second coxswain, followed was founded, yet never before in with tragic suddenness upon the splen- peace-time had life-boats been launched did achievements of the Service in on service as often as they were in November. A tribute to those who 1954. Life-boats went out to the lost their lives and to the Life-boat rescue 668 times, a figure exceeded Service as a whole was paid by the only in the years 19.30, 1940 and 1941. Archbishop of York. This is given in 495 lives were rescued. full on page 12. The year was a busy one through- Scarborough is one of the oldest out. More lives were rescued in the life-boat stations in the country, hav- first nine months of 1954 than in the ing been founded in 1801. Since 1850 whole of 195.'5, and the demands on Scarborough life-boats have been the life-boat crews in the tremendous launched on service 382 times and gales which swept across the country have rescued 396 lives. at the end of November were pro- A major disaster occurred in 1822, digious. A table showing- what the when the second life-boat capsized life-boats did in five days is given on with the loss of ten of her crew, but page 13. The hardships and danger until the recent accident occurred the experienced by the crews, and the last occasion on which a Scarborough responsibilities which fell upon hono- life-boat capsized was in 1862. On rary secretaries and others connected that occasion no lives were lost. For with the stations, were met in the such a busy station this is a splendid best traditions of the Service. 71 record. lives were rescued by life-boats in In spite of the exceptional demands those five days, and the rescue from made on the Service, the three mem- the World Concord, a full account of bers of the Scarborough crew were the which is given on page 2, showed only life-boatmen to lose their lives conclusively that in certain weather on service in 1954. Not a single boat conditions, no matter how many ves- was lost, and no life-boat was out of sels may be near the casualty, a rescue service as a result of damage done at can be effected only by a life-boat. sea for more than 48 hours. THE LIFE-BOAT [MARCH, 1955 AN AMERICAN DISTINCTION Royal National Life-boat Institution was naturally aroused by the rescue by CAPTAIN CURTIS E. PARKINS, of Roy- helicopter carried out by Captain alton, Minnesota, who receives a Parkins and his crew, but there have silver medal for a service described in also been other gratifying examples of full on page 6, is the first pilot of an close association between people resi- aircraft ever to receive a medal for dent in the United States and the gallantry from the Institution. He is Life-boat Service of these islands. A also the first United States citizen to magnificent gift, which will enable a receive a life-boat medal for more than new life-boat to be built and sent to a a hundred years. Three gold medals Scottish station, has recently been were awarded in the past to masters received from Miss Margaret Patter- of American ships: to John Collins in son, who lives in St. Petersburg, 1840; to John Britton in 1845; and to Florida. Miss Patterson has given the Isaac Ludlow in 1854. The nation- life-boat in memory of her brothers ality of these three winners of gold Arch and Alex Patterson, of her uncle, medals cannot be clearly established, Neil Munro, and of her grandfather, but it may be assumed that they were Hugh Graham, who was drowned in United States citizens. the Cook Straits in 1868. Evidence of the truly international A long article on the Life-boat Ser- nature of the Life-boat Service is vice recently appeared in the New York shown year after year, when seamen Times, and a launch of the Dungeness of ships of all nationalities are rescued life-boat was filmed in colour for the by life-boat crews. It is particularly Columbia Broadcasting System. It gratifying to the Institution to be able was intended to show this in Colum- to give such well deserved recognition bia's first coloured television newsreel to the gallant rescue of the life of a to be sent out on the 12th of January, young Englishman by an American but it was eventually shown on the 13th pilot. of January on the C.B.S. network and American interest in the work of the later on many other networks. Forty-Two Men were Saved EARLY on the morning of the 27th of The news that the tanker had broken November, 1954, the 20,125-ton Li- in half reached Dr. Soar at 6.30 and, berian tanker World Concord, which after discussing the matter with the was in ballast and bound from Liver- coastguard station officer, he ordered pool to Syria, broke in two during maroons to be fired at 6.48. He then storms of exceptional violence in the received conflicting messages, one indi- Irish Sea. cating that the life-boat was needed By a lucky accident none of the and one that it was not, but at 7.55 a members of the crew was near the message from H.M.S. Illustrious asked point where the break took place. for the life-boat, and five minutes later Seven men, including the master, were this request was confirmed by the in the fore part when it broke adrift. Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. 35 men were in the after part. Launch in Gale The first ship to answer the World The St. David's life-boat, Civil Ser- Concord's S.O.S. was the aircraft vice No. 6, was launched at 8.28. A carrier H.M.S. Illustrious. At 5.58 in moderate gale was then blowing from the morning the St. David's coastguard the west and the sea was rough. There sent an anticipatory message to the were fierce rain squalls and an over- honorary secretary of the St. David's cast sky. Visibility was about one life-boat station, Dr. Joseph Soar, that mile. the two ships were then some ten At 9.15 the Illustrious signalled the miles north-west-by-west from the life-boat that the World Concord was Smalls Lighthouse. fifteen miles north-north-west of the MARCH, 1955] THE LIFE-BOAT South Bishop Lighthouse. The life- the survivors could not be landed for boat reached the after part of the more than a quarter of an hour. tanker at 11.45. Meanwhile, the fore part of the World Concord had continued to drift Tanker Rolling Heavily with seven men on board. At 1.30 By this time a fresh gale was blowing on the afternoon of the 27th of No- from the south, and there was con- vember the honorary secretary of the tinuous heavy rain. The sea was very Rosslare Harbour station, Mr. Eugene rough, with waves reaching 15-20 McCarthy, was asked if the life-boat feet in height, and there was a long could be launched to go to her help. and powerful swell. The tanker was rolling heavily, her propellers turning Worst Seas for Years all the time. A severe south-easterly gale had The coxswain, Captain William been blowing in St. George's Channel Watts Williams, decided to make a since the day before. The seas had dummy run in on the starboard to been so heavy that the Fishguard- discover the best way of taking the Rosslare mail steamer had taken six men off the stern half of the tanker, hours instead of the scheduled three which then lay athwart wind. After hours and fifteen minutes for the making this run he asked for the crossing. People familiar with weather Jacob's Ladder to be shifted to the conditions in the southern Irish sea well deck forward of the break of the stated that they were the worst for poop. In this way a shorter length many years. of ladder would be needed and the The Rosslare Harbour life-boat, confused water around the stern could Douglas Hyde, was launched at 3.50. be more easily avoided. The task of finding the drifting part of The coxswain stationed five men the tanker in the prevailing conditions forward in the life-boat and came was not an easy one, but at 5.50 the alongside the Jacob's ladder, which searchlight from H.M.S. Illustrious was had been re-rigged as he had asked. sighted on the port bow. After getting He took off the first survivor, and the further information from the tug Tur- life-boat went slowly ahead and then moil the life-boat reached the tanker's astern until she was abreast of the position at 7.10.