The 60th Anniversary of the Loss of the Mumbles Lifeboat by Kate Elliott Jones

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The anniversary of the loss of the men of the S.S. Samtampa and the Mumbles Lifeboat was commemorated with two church services. The first was on Saturday 21st April at Porthcawl and the second was on Monday 23rd April (exactly to the day) in Mumbles. The two days could not have been more different in terms of the weather. On Saturday afternoon Porthcawl, where 12 merchantmen of the Samtampa have their final resting place in Nottage Cemetery, basked in warm sun. Two days later, 12 miles across Swansea Bay, where on a clear day you can see Porthcawl from Oystermouth Cemetery where the 8 Mumbles lifeboatmen are buried, Mumbles was shrouded in a thick wet mist. It seemed as though, after 4 weeks of beautiful sunshine, the weather had decided to replicate the day of the funeral of the lifeboatmen almost 60 years before when the entire village came to a standstill as thousands of mourners stood for hours in pouring rain to pay their last respects to the crew of the Edward, Prince of Wales who had made the supreme sacrifice and laid down their lives for others.

          The two churches, both named All Saints, were full with those coming to remember. Along with relatives of those who lost their lives there were lifeboatmen and coastguards (past and present), representatives of the Merchant Navy Association and other maritime organisations, the British Legion, local councillors, people from the communities so deeply affected by the loss of their men, and, at Mumbles, the Lord Lieutenant and the Duke of Kent as President of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Some had made the long journey from north-east England (from where so many of the Samtampa’s crew had come) for what might well be the last major commemoration of one of the worst maritime disasters on the Welsh coast. Those unable to attend had sent wreaths, some of which were taken to Sker Point on Monday afternoon.

Both churches echoed with the words of the hymn, “For Those in Peril on the Sea”. The names of the dead of both vessels were read out for all to hear and to remember. Prayers were said for the souls of those departed and for the comfort of the bereaved. Tributes were paid to the bravery and courage of the 8 lifeboatmen who put out to sea in that terrible storm and who were never seen alive again. The singing of hymns was augmented by the wonderful choir of All Saints Oystermouth and the spine-tingling voices of the Porthcawl Male Voice Choir.

The two services emphasised the courage of those who “go down to the sea in ships” and who brave its unpredictability. Emerging into the sunshine of Porthcawl and the wet mist of Mumbles one felt the strength of local communities who continue to grieve and who will never forget the 47 men who lost their lives on 23rd April 1947.

S. S. SAMTAMPA

CREW CASUALTY ROLL

Captain H. Neal Sherwell (Ship’s Master) from New Zealand

W.A. Atkinson, Chief Engineer, from Swansea

Patrick Douglas Allam, Chief Steward, from Burnham-on-Sea

James John Bell (29) Boatswain of 3 Lane Ends, Staithes. He had lost 2 brothers at sea during the war.

Arthur Callaghan (30) Donkeyman Greaser of 27 Tunstall Street, North Ormesby, in Merchant Navy during the war.

Francis Cannon (30) Donkeyman Greaser of Feversham Street, Middlesbrough, the son of a sailor. A brother had been lost at sea during the war.

Ralph Chester (17) Deck Boy of 59 Palliser Avenue, Brambles Farm, Middlesbrough, on his 3rd trip since joining the Merchant Navy. He had been at home for his 17th birthday and his brother’s wedding on Easter Monday 1947.

Joseph Croft (19) Assistant Steward of Ashbourne Road, Stockton- on-Tees. He went to sea straight from school. His mother had thought he would give it up after the war but “it was in his blood.”

Stanley Dartis (19) Ordinary Seaman of 37 Station Road, South Bank, Middlesbrough.

L.F. Davidson (24) Able seaman of 15 Abbots Road, Whitby. He had been in the Merchant Navy since the age of 15. Unmarried.

William John Davis (53) Able Seaman of 83 Durham Street, Middlesbrough.

John B.D. Ellis, Apprentice of Stockport

P. Ferns

Harry Garside (23) Westbourne Street, Stockton-on-Tees, youngest son in a family of five, on his first voyage in the Merchant Navy less than a year after leaving the Royal Navy. Married with no children.

Joseph Gilraine (22) of Ernest Street, Middlesbrough. He had just recovered from Jaundice and his widowed mother did not want him to make the trip.

Joseph Griffiths (24) Assistant Cook of 96 Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough, on his second trip since his return to the Merchant Navy. He had been a prisoner of war in Japan for 3½ years and married for seven weeks to a South Bank girl.

Donald Hill (26) Able seaman of 7 Wards Yard, Whitby. He had served throughout the war in the Royal Navy and had been in the first flotilla of minesweepers which swept the way for the D- Day invasion force.

C. Jackson (32) Ship’s Carpenter of Upgang Lane, Whitby.

B. Jones, Chief Cook.

Herbert Lees (24) a ship’s engineer of 16 High Street, Skelton, formerly from Birkenhead, came from a seafaring family. His father was killed in an enemy air raid during the war. Married with 2 children. His brother now lives in British Columbia.

Isaac Longster (35) Able seaman of Church Street, Staithes. He had lost 2 brothers at sea during the war.

D. Lowe, First Officer.Reginald N. Lythel, Second Steward, from Park Road, BatleyP. Marshall, Third Officer.B. McDonald, Fourth Engineer.Patrick McKenna (47) Donkeyman of 169 Marton Road, Middlesbrough. His first voyage back at sea after an absence of 20 years because he could not get over the death of his wife.William Mensworth (35) Ship’s Fireman, son of Mrs M. Mensworth of Hardwick Street, Blackhall, served in the war on a munition ship torpedoed in a Russian convoy.

Gordon L. Murray (Second Officer) from Crayford, Kent

Arnold Nicholson (19) Galley Boy of 32 Thrush Road, Redcar. A well known member of Redcar Literary Institute, he had been at sea for nearly 4 years and this was his 4th trip.

K.K. Richardson, Second Engineer of Westbrook Grove, West Hartlepool.

J. Riley (Third Engineer)

John T. Souter Jnr. Ordinary Seaman of 69 Redcar Road, Thornaby-on-Tees

Charles Frederick Shinner (20) of 74 West Dyke Road, Redcar, on his 5th voyage. He had previously worked at Dorman Long’s and taken a prominent part in local athletics.

John Strangeway (22) Assistant Steward of 42 Hunter Street, Middlesbrough. He had been at sea since the age of 15.

J. Thompson (32) of 21 Anne Street, Middlesbrough.

W.E. Thompson (Radio Officer)

Robert Weatherill (29) Donkeyman of Sayers Yard, Whitby, married with two children, Petty Officer in Royal Navy during the war.

George Webster (21) Fireman of Lancaster Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough. He had made his first sea trip, to Normandy, on D-Day.

J. Wilson

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