The firing of the lifeboat maroons was stopped during the war. At night, when Dad  ( Walter Cotton, the Coxswain)’s phone  rang, he would answer it and while he was putting his clothes on, he would shout to me to get the men for the boat. So I would get up, put my shoes on, my coat over my nightie, and as I went out the door I’d grab my stick.   I would then run round the men’s houses in the pitch dark and tap on their bedroom windows with my stick and shout “Dad wants you on the boat!” and then go back to bed.  I might occasionally see an ARP man but usually nobody.

The Yarmouth Lifeboat had to take a policeman (a special usually) with them on a call and enquire the nationality of the men needing rescuing. Whether the enquiry was made before or after rescue, I don’t know!  After a while, the R.A.F. Air Sea Rescue boats were used, as most of the calls were for planes ditching and the A.S.R. boat was faster. Joy Lawry nee Cotton b 1922