Wartime lifeboat heroes remembered.

A VOLUNTEER lifeboat crew who staged a dramatic wartime rescue of 42 Canadian seamen, is set to be remembered at a service to mark the 60th anniversary of the event.

In October 1944 the frigate HMCS Chebogue was escorting an Atlantic convey when she was torpedoed by a U-boat, an attack which killed eight men and caused major damage.

After being towed for 900 miles, a journey which took a week, the frigate finally arrived in Swansea Bay, south Wales, on October 11.

But the weather there deteriorated.

The Mumbles RNLI motor lifeboat, Edward, Prince of Wales, was launched in a bid to save the officers and crew on board.

An RNLI spokeswoman said: ``An hour and a half later, after 12 hazardous circuits of the wreck, Coxswain William Gammon and his crew had rescued all 42 aboard the Chebogue by taking the lifeboat right into the surf, close enough for the men to jump to the safety of the Edward, Prince of Wales. ''

Now a service of thanksgiving is set to be held today at All Saints Church in Oystermouth, South Wales, to mark the anniversary of the rescue.