Description

Arthur Lincoln Haydon (1872-1964) was a prolific author of books for young people (mainly boys)- His stories of Robin Hood, King Arhur, V.C. winners and Colonial Police made popular Sunday School Attendance Awards and school prizes. The Pilgrim Press was a subsidiary of the Sunday School Union.Although “printed down to a price” with cheap paper for text pages, a limited number of illustrations, with a sparing use of half tone blocks, they were nonetheless attractive to handle, and made the recipient feel that they had been given something worthwhile.

The book begins with a brief history of the lifeboat, the foundation of the National Lifeboat Institution and its Royal Charter. In 1860 . There follow several chapters dealing wih shipwrecks and gallant deeds of rescue in various coastal areas of Britain, for example the Goodwin Sands, East Anglia, the Yorkshire Coast, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales Ireland and Cornwall.

There are interesting appendices detailing the number of lives saved each year from 1824 to1908, lists of the places in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland having lifeboat stations in 1908 and the names of recipients of the Institution’s Gold and Silver Medals.

Appendix D lists the recognised signals of distress from vessels in trouble.

Finally there is a list naming all the vessels which were given aid, and the number of lives aved in each case, during 1908.