The Loss of The Mumbles Lifeboat and The SS Samtampa, 23 April 1947 by Kate Jones

Heading: Edward, Prince of Wales Lifeboat,  arriving, 1924

On 30 April 1947 James Kluge, the Honorary Secretary of The Mumbles Lifeboat Station sadly made the following bleak entry on the RNLI Lifeboat Service Report for the previous week: ‘All lives lost on lifeboat and SS Samtampa’. There was no counter-signature from the lifeboat coxswain.

Shortly before 6pm (British Double Summer Time) on Wednesday 23 April 1947 William Gilbert Davies, the Mumbles Lifeboat mechanic, fired the maroons from the lifeboat cottage at Southend. A merchant vessel, SS Samtampa, was in grave danger in storm-force winds in the Bristol Channel, not far from Porthcawl. Members of the lifeboat crew dashed down to the boathouse, struggling to stand upright in the strong winds and rain gusting across the pier gangway.

The Lifeboat Edward, Prince of Wales had been at The Mumbles since 1924 during which time she and her crew had helped to rescue over 190 men. The crew knew and liked their lifeboat. When, in November 1946, the RNLI had promised a new boat for the station, the then Bowman, Tom Ace, remarked: ‘If she is as good as this one we will be satisfied. We could go to America in this one!’ But Edward, Prince of Wales was just an open boat fitted with an engine but no radio.

The SS Samtampa, a 700 ton Liberty ship built in 1943, was on her way to Newport from Middlesbrough. Her captain was a New Zealander, but nearly three-quarters of the crew of 39 were from north-east England. Battling the storm in the Bristol Channel the Samtampa, in ballast and difficult to handle in the strong winds and rough seas, became unmanageable and drifted towards Nash Shoal near Porthcawl. Putting down anchors Captain Sherwell sent several increasingly urgent messages for assistance and the coastguard requested the launch of The Mumbles Lifeboat.

The Last Signal: Ten Minutes after the lifeboat had launched the coastguard received Samtampa’s latest position. Auxiliary Coastguard Eric Michael signalled to the lifeboat using an Aldis lamp. But despite being: ‘123 feet above sea level in the coastguard station we were losing the lifeboat in the troughs of the waves.’ Unsure of the signal Coxswain Gammon turned the lifeboat around and headed back to the boathouse slipway to hear the information shouted via a loud-hailer. The crew set off once more into the storm. Soon Edward, Prince of Wales was no longer visible from the shore at Southend. Nothing more was seen or heard of the lifeboat and her crew that night.

At Sker Point: Off the Glamorgan coast Captain Sherwell and his crew were unable to prevent the Samtampa from going ashore. The ship’s anchor chains parted and she was driven by the violent winds and rough seas onto the rocks of Sker Point - a jagged, rocky plateau that rose sharply 25 ft. from a small beach. The plateau was only covered by the sea when very high tides combined with rough weather.

Pounded by 30 ft. waves of what was to be an exceptionally high tide, the Samtampa broke into three. The bow and stern sections were thrown up onto the plateau; the middle section with engine room and crew remained on the beach - in deeper water.

Throughout the stormy night, illuminated by car headlights, the police, coastguards, ambulance crews and many helpers watched in vain for any survivors from the wrecked ship only 300 yards away. They knew the Edward, Prince of Wales was on her way so they watched out for her too. In Mumbles those waiting anxiously all night in the empty boathouse feared the worst when, by dawn, there was no news.

Dawn: By 3am the tide at Sker had ebbed sufficiently and rescuers scrambled over the slippery, oil-coated rocks, twisted spars and steel hawsers searching in vain for survivors. When light came they discovered Edward, Prince of Wales upside down on rocks 500 yards away. Later that day the bodies of the lifeboat crew were found - their lifejackets correctly fastened. All 39 men of the Samtampa had been lost and the eight men of the Mumbles lifeboat had given their lives attempting to save them. 

Communities in Mourning: 

Mumbles was stunned. Hundreds of miles away the people of Middlesbrough, Whitby, Stockton-on-Tees, Staithes and Redcar were devastated by what the Middlesbrough Gazette called: ‘One of the worst disasters within living memory for the seafaring community of North Yorkshire and South Durham.’ Disaster funds were immediately opened to help families of both crews and a huge wave of sympathy brought donations from all over the world.

What happened to Edward, Prince of Wales on her final service could not be known for certain, but RNLI inspectors concluded an exceptionally big sea around high water had capsized her throwing the crew overboard. The lifeboat was driven by the high tide, bottom upwards, over the submerged rock plateau where she remained when the sea receded.

The Funerals: On 29 April, undeterred by relentless rain, thousands lined the streets of Mumbles to pay their respects. Schools, shops and businesses were shut, curtains drawn and flags were at half-mast on buildings and boats anchored in the bay. After the church services the flag-covered coffins were placed on a tender provided by RAF St. Athan. Led by Swansea Police and Salvation Army bands the funeral cortège of Mumbles lifeboatmen supported by colleagues from Tenby and Ferryside, coastguards, representatives from the RNLI, Merchant and Royal Navies, the British Legion, Glamorgan Police, local authorities and many other organisations and individuals, moved slowly up Newton Road to Oystermouth Cemetery. The eight men were solemnly laid to rest, the Last Post sounded, poppies were cast into the graves and people went sorrowfully home.

Photographs:

William John Gammon; RNLI. Crew: William Ronald Thomas, Ernest Griffin, Richard Smith, William R.S. Thomas, William Gilbert Davies, William Noel and William Howell; South Wales Evening Post, 24 April 1947. The funeral, 29 April 1947; South Wales Evening Post, 30 April 1947; Memorial Service sheet; Oystermouth Historical Association Archive.

Acknowledgements:

RNLI/The Mumbles, Lifeboat Return of Service, 23 April 1947; City and County of Swansea, West Glamorgan Archive Service. Report of the Court of Inquiry into the loss of SS Samtampa; HMSO, October 1947 The Journal of the RNLI; September 1947 All Saints’ Church, Oystermouth, Parish Magazine, May 1947; Oystermouth Historical Association Archive South Wales Evening Post; Western Mail; Middlesbrough Gazette, April 1947. Mumbles Lifeboat; Carl Smith, 1989 The words of Tom Ace and Eric Michael