Guns of Mumbles Lighthouse Island  and Tutt Head

Header: Mumbles Lighthouse and Fort from the sea, including Bobs' Cave. 

Short history of the artillery at Mumbles Fort:

•  1877 Older cannons were considered obsolete and replaced with new ones.

• 1882 Report that the new 68lb guns had became useless, but site remained active for practice.  The batteries generally became known as  'Lord Palmerston's Follies,'

• 1901 More modern 4.7-inch quick-firing guns were installed.

• 1909 Five cannon were discarded into the sea to avoid moving costs.

• 1914 The Battery was operational again, manned by a Sergeant and Bombardier.

•   Only two decades later during the Second World War,  Mumbles Head was taking its place  once more as a strategic position in the defence of Swansea Bay, The various units under the command of 559 Coast Regiment RA, Mumbles Fire Command, are shown later.

• Mumbles Fort was re-established with two 4.7 inch quick-firing guns and served as an Examination Battery. It was supported by a Coastal Battery on Mumbles Hill, with two 6inch guns.
  In addition,  The Royal Navy, Port War Signal Station took over the old Coastguard station on Tutt Head and played an important part in our story. 

The Examination Battery

During the Second World War, 559 Coast Regiment RA Mumbles Fire Command and the units under its command  -

The Gunners' from the Royal Artillery manned the defences in two shifts, each of fifteen men,  along with twenty-eight men from the Home Guard. Additional specialists manned the two searchlights (SL) which were mounted in emplacements on either side of the island, although there is a record that this task was also undertaken by the Home Guard.

All vessels entering Swansea Bay had to stop and state their purpose to the Port War Signal Station which worked with the Examination Battery, before being allowed to proceed.
Any unauthorised entry to the bay would result in the guns being given permission to fire a sand filled practice shell across the vessel’s bows.
In his article about his army life,  Bill Morris >, a gunner in the Royal Artillery serving on 4.7 inch guns on the Fort, commented that ‘this usually had the desired effect and they very soon stopped for checking!’

Note: # Whitehaven (Bransty) Coastal Artilery website records that 'the 4" BL MkVII french naval guns on this site were sent to the Port Talbot battery on 1st December 1941 - later to be sent on to the Mumbles.' 
NB. Despite this record, the guns were installed at the Port Talbot battery.

The two searchlight emplacements on Mumbles Lighthouse Island were positioned in front and lower down of the quick firing guns, so that they could sweep the surface of the water and are marked SL on the earlier collage. One of the two cliff top searchlight emplacements faces the Bristol Channel with the second emplacement facing Swansea Bay. 

 There were also two searchlight emplacements on Tutt, but these have been demolished, only the bases remain and these are pictured  later.

The battery was declared surplus to requirements in 1956 upon the dissolution of the UK's coast artillery. The guns were dismounted and the battery disposed of. (Ref: Mumbles Battery, Wikipedia).

The Coastguard Lookout at The Tutt On the west side of Bracelet Bay is Tutt Head coastguard station where, during the war, there were two searchlights operated by specialists and other local defences manned by forty men of the Home Guard. 

Mumbles Coastguard collection>

For more information 

Overview

The port of Swansea served the heavy industrial area of South Wales and was the nearest of the large Bristol Channel docks to the Atlantic. Because of its importance Swansea had been included in the pre-war list of ports where fixed defences would be essential in the event of war, although there were none in place when war did break out. By the summer of 1940 the need for defence against both sea and air attacks had become critical. 

 BATTERY OBSERVATION POST  

The battery observation post (B.O.P.) was in an elevated position behind the guns and housed the depression rangefinder, used to calculate the range and bearing of a target. The information was then passed on to the gun emplacements. From the Post, Alarm gongs could be sounded at the war accommodation, the searchlights, and the engine room. The Battery Commander had a private direct-line line telephone link to headquarters and with all parts his command, with the Battery on Mumbles Island and with the Navy at the Port War Signal Station, who would identify all vessels steaming into Swansea Bay and signal to them with any orders.

Decommissioning: used by homeless families

After the end of the war, guns and other equipment were removed from both the Coastal and Anti-Aircraft Batteries. (The examination battery on the lighthouse island had already been disbanded.) Mumbles Head was finally decommissioned in 1957 and the six-inch gun battery bunkers and gun emplacements were either removed or covered over. 

Somerset House, later renamed Mumbles Hill House, used as the Officers Mess and by the two carecaters, (one of whom, Mr Morris wrote about his time in the Army and on the Hill ) was also decommitioned and sold.

Today, only markers and information boards indicate what was once there. The searchlight emplacements and the engine house on the lighthouse island still exist and remains of the concrete causeway going out to the island can be seen at low tide. Nissen huts at both Bracelet Bay and Mumbles Hill were used for a while as temporary accommodation for homeless families.

Postwar, a friend of Ronald Studden named Christtancock lived in one of the Nissan huts at Bracelet Bay and noted that in the early 1950s they had prior warnings, which arrived in the post twice a year, 'we were warned that the guns on the hill would fire twice a year for testing, usually January and July  and as a security measure we should tape up our windows.' 

This type of gun was developed in Britain in the 1930s and helped to defend Britain from aerial attack throughout the Second World War. This example was made in Canada by General Electric, to a design patented in England. It was bought from an arms collector in Ruthin, Denbighshire, and towed to Swansea by a Territorial Army unit. A time capsule was placed in the barrel.

Cast copies of 3.7-inch shells are mounted on each corner of the brick-faced plinth. Plaques on the plinth represent services which helped during the air raids including the Home Guard, fire brigade, British Red Cross, St John’s Ambulance, Salvation Army and Women’s Voluntary Service.

Acknowledgements

Swansea branch of the Royal Artillery Association and West Glamorgan Archive

ARCHIVE 

Toilet facilities may be found at Bracelet Bay, adjacent to Castellamare Cafe & Restaurant.

Publications Many leaflets including:- Mumbles at War, 623 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery and Mumbles at War, Coastal Defences 299th Battery, are available to order at Oystermouth Historical Association meetings.

An edited version of this article was previously published in The Swansea History Journal 2012-13.

 Acknowledgements :

 City and County of Swansea; The National Archives; West Glamorgan Archives; Guns Across the Severn, R.C.A.H.M.W. 2001; Mumbles Development Trust; Oystermouth Historical Association; Bill Morris; John & Carol Powell; Gareth Ellis; Kate Elliott.

Photo- At Lighthouse Island -WW2X-Gun - 4_7_inch_gun_crew_SS_Duntroon_1942_AWM_025314 wikapedia commons

Contact the Website Editor  

Part of this article was published in The Swansea History Journal

Guided Talks and Walks onto the hill have been held held as a part of the- The Gower Walking Festival > and Oystermouth Historical Association >

Mumbles Hill Local Nature Reserve,

Contact: Sean Hathaway 01792 635749 or 07974 760980.

Nature Conservation Team > Environment Department, City and County of Swansea, The Guildhall, Swansea SA1 4PH

This City & County of Swansea project is under the supervision of 

Glamorgan Gwent Archaeology Trust Ltd., 

with assistance from Mumbles Development Trust 

and Oystermouth Historical Association.

OHA - Publications >

Many leaflets are available to order including:- Mumbles at War, 623 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery and Mumbles at War, Coastal Defences 299th Battery,
Available at monthly meetings to order