The Naval Review The copyright of this article rests with the author, or the author's estate.

HIS MAJESTY'S COASTGUARD IN WAR TIME.

WHEN the Coastguard Service was under the Admiralty the principal duties involved were :-

Signalling between ships and shore,

The protection of the revenue by the checking of smuggling,

The enforcement of the fishery regulations, and

The carrying out of life-saving service in the event of ships coming to grief, the latter being a Board of Trade commitment so far as the provision of gear and direction of general policy were concerned.

In 1923, after many commissions and enquiries, it was considered economical and desirable to divorce the Coastguard Service from the Navy, to establish a special R.N. Shore Signal Service, to place the responsibility for the life-saving completely under the Board of Trade and to entrust the protection of the revenue to a small preventive force under the. Customs authorities.The outbreak of war in 1939 thus found the reorganized Coastguard Service firmly established and building up good traditions all round the coast, its primary duty being that of life-saving; but it was on a much smaller scale than had been the case under the Admiralty, and this, combined with the absence of the familiar figures patrolling the cliff paths with telescopes under their arms, led the general public to believe for some time that the coastguard had been abolished altogether.

Such, however-, was not the case; and a sound nucleus had been. built up so that all the dangerous parts of the coast were under constant watch, and arrangements were made for such posts to be supplemented and additional ones manned in the event of thick weather. The personnel manning these posts were all ex-naval ratings of the seaman or signalling branches who, with their previous training and experience, were rendering valuable service under the new conditions and who, owing to .the comparative permanence of their employment, were able to acquire an extensive and detailed knowledge of the stretch of coast under their control and to establish connection with the local authorities and inhabitants in such a way that they very soon made for themselves a somewhat undefinable but definitely useful place in the community among which they found themselves.

From about eighteen months before the war broke out it became clear that the coast watching service would have to be extended very considerably in order to deal with all the eventualities which were likely to occur under modem war conditions; i.e., the detec­tion of U-boats and unidentified surface craft in the neighbourhood of the coast, the presence of mines, crashed aircraft, etc.; and, to this end, a number of auxiliary coast­guards, mostly men with a nautical background, had been established under the auspices of the coastguard when war was actually declared.

But in the early days the coastguards were still civilians, were unarmed, and the auxiliaries had no uniforms. Accordingly, when in May, 1940, it became apparent that the prospect of an enemy invasion of this country was considerable, it was decided to arm all the coastguards and to place them under the Admiralty for operational purposes; and, in the ensuing months, a considerable increase in the number of auxiliary coastguard stations was made all round the country, so that look-out stations now exist in some form or another, i.e., regular coastguard stations, auxiliary coastguard stations, signal stations and .lighthouses, at every two or three miles round the coast; . but, for administrativereasons, the auxiliary coastguards were not recognized as armed forces of the Crown until December, 1941, and during the following year they and the regular coastguards were put into khaki battle dress. Taken all round these auxiliary coastguards are a grand lot of veterans; they range from retired officers in the Navy and Army to odd dug-outs found in remote fishing villages; they have a high sense of duty though varying considerably in intelligence, but one and all live for the day when they may have an opportunity of opening fire on a genuine enemy who may be prowling round their sphere of activities.

Thus there is now a considerable force stretched round the coast with the regulars as a backbone supported by the various grades of auxiliaries; and this force, besides being responsible for normal maritime life-saving, forms the coast intelligence service and keeps a constant and vigilant look-out for all happenings within its arc of vision, making the necessary reports to the responsible authorities; this entails the closest liaison being maintained with the naval, military and RAF. commands, the Royal Observer Corps, police and regional headquarters.The time is not appropriate for any account to be given of the coastguard's contribution to the "security" of the country; but when the censor's ban is finally lifted there will be some strange tales to tell in which ingenuity and resource have not been lacking on the part of those concerned. In peace-time, the stories of the saving of life from stranded ships make headlines and stirring reading; but such cases now go unrecorded, although the war years have brought their quota of such disasters.

For saving life from shore there are a number of life-saving appliances located all round the coast, the equipment varying in pattern according to the nature of the coastline but having the object of establishing communication with the stranded ship by means of a rocket line, and thence by a whip and hawser on which a breeches buoy on a roller block is operated and the marooned parties in the wreck are hauled ashore. It can be appreciated that such operations can be very complicated according to the state of the weather, nature of beach and cliffs; and great ingenuity is sometimes required to effect a successful rescue, Such life-saving apparatus is manned and worked by volunteer companies under the direction of the coastguard, such companies being exercised when possible during the course of the year.

Wreck service and all connected with it has a peculiar fascination of its own; the coastguard is armed with great authority under the Merchant Shipping Act on such occasions, but rarely has to exercise it, as the operations for the saving of life seem to bring to the surface a latent talent from all concerned and to show up the coast folk in their very best light. At a bad wreck all who can lend a hand, from the properly constituted companies down to the womenfolk; all are ready when the time comes to deal with those rescued, who are frequently in a bad way; the coastguard is the expert; what he says goes; so that a high degree of efficiency in this class of work is required.Amongst the records of wreck services during recent years the following are good examples of the nature of the task that has to be performed

On a dark night in November, 1941, with a south-easterly gale blowing and in very poor visibility, a medium-sized vessel was attacked by enemy aircraft and damaged off the east coast of Scotland; several of the crew were wounded and the ship drifted ashore near the mouth of a river at about 2100. The country on both sides of the river was a morass of bog, pools and burns owing to spate, and access to the beach was particularly difficult; but the life-saving company turned out with their equipment and pushed the lorry and trailer as far as possible, the last half mile having to be accomplished by hand transport. At 2315 the company arrived at the wreck, which was found to be 300 yards from shore; it was almost low water and the situation was very bad, a full gale was blowing, the night was pitch black and the searchlight revealed that the beach was covered with obstructions. It was not possible to establish communication by line owing to the distance of the ship from the shore, and it was decided to await higher water in the hope that the vessel would be carried closer in. At 0400 the ship reported "position very precarious, can assistance be sent?" This was a difficult question to answer, as seas were breaking right over the vessel, which appeared to be heeling over.

At 0700 the ship was driven closer inshore and a signal was made that it might be possible to start operations at 0900. After a further failure to establish contact the rocket machine was taken right into the surf and at 0950 success rewarded the efforts of the company and a line was got across. At 1030 the first man was brought ashore; during the course of the rescue work there were frequent foulings of the whip which is used for hauling the breeches buoy to and fro, and these necessitated men wading into the surf up to their necks in order to clear the obstructions. At 1500 there were five more men to come ashore, the situation was deteriorating and the wreck was working badly; seas were sweeping right up the beach and in a last effort the company volunteered to work in the water where large seas frequently took them off their feet and at 1605 the Captain (forty-third and last man) was brought safely ashore. This service lasted nearly twenty-four hours and demanded great powers of endurance on the part of all concerned.

At about 1130 on a cold day in January, 1942, when a full gale was blowing, a trawler was reported to be ashore off a remote part of the Argyllshire coast. The life-saving company was called out and some of the gear had to be carried a distance of over three miles, over moors and arduous country, until the vessel was located lying under a cliff which rose almost perpendicularly and then sloped back to a ridge about 800 feet above sea level. There was a ledge, however, about 40 feet up from which it was possible to work the apparatus. The first rocket fired fell within two feet of the crew, who were huddled up in the bow, but they were too cramped with cold to hold the line. Another rocket was fired and the line lodged under the bridge abaft the funnel and the shoreline was taken along the rocks and manoeuvred until the crew could secure a hold on it, the whip being then sent out. There was a very heavy sea running and, owing to the exhausted state of the crew and their reluctance to sit in the buoy, it was necessary to attach the breeches buoy by an unusual method, which proved successful. Owing to the swell; members of the life-saving company had to be stationed to assist the crew to leave the buoy. The first man was landed at 1455, and the seventh at 1525; the men had then to be got over the top of the ridge, rising to about 800 feet, and this was done by hauling them up with cliff lines; a long and laborious process owing to the state of exhaustion of the rescued.

In all cases of marine casualties the coastguards keep in the closest touch with the lifeboat authorities, whose war record is a fine one, who are always keen for action and whose radius of usefulness has increased so much during the last twenty-five years with the placing in service of so many seaworthy and efficient motor boats; it is the business of the coastguard to direct the lifeboat as much as possible when a vessel is in distress and to pass any messages which may assist in the location of such craft.

Such is H.M. Coastguard in 1944. The coming of peace will introduce new problems and every advantage will have to be taken of the various scientific developments of the last few years which relate to the location of unseen craft. But science will not solve every problem and, so long as ships pass round these coasts, so will there be required a capable body of men prepared to deal with any emergency at all times. For the elements do not change and frequently require all the effort that is possible to prevent mariners from being overcome thereby.

C. G.