A Lifeboat Tractor Christened by a Princess.
Page 65
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
AN INTERESTING ceremony took place a few days ago when H.R.H. Princess Victoria performed the naming ceremony of the E.W.D.-Roadless Traction lifeboat tractor, built by the Four Wheel Drive Lorry Co., Ltd., and recently described in the columns of The Commercial Motor. The Princess was received at the Slough works of the Pour Wheel Drive Lorry Co., Ltd., by Sir Godfrey Baring, chairman of the Lifeboat Institution, who introduced her to Mr. H. Nyberg, the managing director of the company, and Mr. C. P. Clever, director and works manager.
The lifeboat was manned by a crew of lifeboat men, and the tractor, towing the lifeboat, was driven up to the platform upon which the Princess stood, when she named it the Princess Victoria, at the same time smashing a bottle of Champagne over the radiator.
A description of the tractor was given by_Ca pt. Howard F. X. Rowley, C.B.E., R.N., Chief Inspector of Lifeboats. T h e tractor and lifeboat were manceuvred over sand heaps, the tractor driven slowly while a powerful jet, of water from a fire hose was played over it to show its invulnerability to water, and a display made of how the lifeboat is launched from its cradle. The tractor and lifeboat , are now undergoing tests.