tonybarebones
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SOME BRISTOL CHANNEL SHIPPING ACCIDENTS
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1703 - The Richard and John & her prize the Bandera from Virginia were both lost with all hands
at the entrance to the river Avon.
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1705 - Two customs boats wrecked t the entrance to the river Avon with the loss of 22 officers.
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1737 - The snow Pye and the brig Priscilla carrying tobacco from Virginia, both went aground at
Nash Point. Some 300-400 people stripped the ships of their cargo ! They even burnt the hulls to
get the ironwork.
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1752 - The Indian Prince, of Bristol, with a cargo of sugar, rum, cotton, ebony and ivory, from
Guinea, went aground at Stout Point, Llantwit Major. The cargo was looted freely by the local
people.
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19 September 1757 - the collier Marie wrecked at Lundy with the loss of all hands.
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28 November 1760 - Admiralty tender Caesar (Captain Adam Hood) with a smaller tender named
Reeves were lying at anchor in Mumbles Roads waiting to set sail on a Press Gang mission along
the coast. The Caesar set sail for Carmarthen Bay but the weather was severe and he told his
pilot to take the boat back to Mumbles. The pilot made an error and mistook Pwlldu Head on the
Gower for Mumbles Head and as a result the ship hit the rocks near the headland. Some of the
crew got ashore and climbed the cliffs, but during the night the ship broke up and the 68
pressed men already taken aboard, who were locked in the hold, all died. The place on the
headland where the bodies were buried is known as Gravesend.
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January 1769 the French ship La Concorde carrying rum and brandy capsized near Aberthaw,
Glamorgan. It is said that before the officials were able to get to her some 2000 people had
gathered and were attacking the wreck with hatchets to "save" the cargo. 35 people are said to
have died on the beach from excessive drinking ! and were buried there.
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On 3 June 1770 the Dutch West India-man Planters Welvard on passage from Surinam to the
Netherlands was blown off course and into the Bristol Channel where she was blown ashore at
Porthcawl Point. Amongst those killed were three brothers named Jackert on their way to school
in the Netherlands.
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On 10 February 1799 HMS Weazle, a sloop of war, (Commander the Hon. Henry Grey) was at
Appledore, Devon, waiting to go out anti-privateering along the Cornish coast. Leaving port that
evening she cleared Bideford Bar only to hit severe weather conditions in the Bristol Channel.
The commander decided to shelter under Baggy Point near Braunton, Devon. The weather worsened
and the sloop was driven aground just short of the Point with the loss of all 106 officers and
crew. A memorial service was held at Northam Church, Devon.
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In February 1802 the Spanish ship Nuestra Senora del Carmen, fron Bilbao for Bristol, was lost
with all hands on the Scarweather Sands.
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In June 1806 the sloop Hope, of Bridgwater, was lost with all hands on the Mixon Sands.
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On 10 December 1806 the Trelawny, a Bristol West Indiaman bound for Jamaica, was driven ashore
on Nash Point and was smashed to pieces. The captain was killed by the fall of the mainmast, but
the mate, pilot and 15 to 20 others escaped in the ship's boats. Eleven other crew and
passengers were lost.
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In Sptember 1810 the West Indiaman Mary, from Demerara to Bristol, was lost on the Scarweather
Sands but all except three of her crew were saved.
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In October 1810 the Union on a voyage from London to Cadiz was blown off course and wrecked on
Cefn Sidan Sands, Carmarthenshire, with the loss of all hands.
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In December 1810 the snow Teresa, of Bristol, returning from Trinidad, was wrecked near
St.Donats, Glamorgan. All but two of the crew were saved.
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On 8 February 1813 the schooner Delfin bound for Bristol was lost on the Black Rocks near
Porthcawl.
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On 28 October 1817 the William & Mary, a Bristol to Waterford sailing packet suddenly struck the
rocks known as the Wolves off Flat Holm and sunk within minutes. 54 passengers were lost,
including 22 women and children. Only one person survived. 50 bodies were recovered and buried
on Flat Holm.
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On 30 December 1818 the Victory bound from Newport to Ireland with a cargo of coal was wrecked
on the Monkstone.
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In July 1819 the brig George, of Ulverston, was wrecked on Scarweather Sands with the loss of
eight crew.
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On 21 November 1821 the Cardiff brig Marianne, bound for London, was driven ashore on Nash
Sands. She quickly sank but the Revenue Cruiser Harpy rescued the crew.
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On 21 December 1821 the Bideford brig Hebe on passage from Waterford to Bristol with eight crew
and three passengers was partly wrecked off Porthcawl and then finally wrecked at Dunraven near
St.Bides Major. According to the contempoary account by Colonel Knight of Tythegston there were
no boats suitable to put to sea in the severe conditions and the gale was such that not even the
local rocket apparatus could be used. When the brig was finally wrecked some local people were
not averse to stripping her cargo, although the Revd. Morgan of St.Brides Major and others tried
to stop the looting. The body of the captain of the brig, Captain Thomas Carder, was found next
day stripped by looters. He was buried at Wick church.
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In 1824 the Portuguese schooner Sandica Connica bound for Bristol was wrecked on Sker Point,
near Porthcawl. Fortunately the crew were saved.
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On 21 November 1828 a French ship, La Jeune Emma (Captain de Chatellan) was on a voyage from
Martinique in the West Indies to Le Havre, when, in a dense fog, he mistook Land's End for Cape
Finisterre and the Lundy Island Light for Ushant Light. As a result he headed northward thinking
he was heading for the Lizard, when he grounded on Cefn Sidan Sands, Carmarthenshire. Thirteen
crew and passengers were washed overboard and drowned, including Colonel Coquelin of the French
Marine and his daughter who was niece to the Empress Josephine of France. Nine of those who died
were buried in Pembrey Churchyard, including Coquelin and his daughter. The day after the wreck
looters stole not only the ship's cargo of rum, sugar, spices, coffee, cotton and ginger, but
also the personal posessions of the crew and passengers.
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In December 1830 the Falmouth brig Larch was wrecked on the Cefn-y-Wrach bar between the rivers
Ely and Taff.
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On the night of 16 March 1831 the Frolic, a schooner-rigged paddle steamer owned by the Bristol
General Navigation Co., on the last part of a regular journey from Haverfordwest to Bristol,
struck the Nash Sands, Glamorgan, with the loss of all 80 passengers and crew, which included
General MacLeod and several other army officers as well as several Pembrokeshire merchants.
It was as a result of the outcry following this disaster that Trinity House provided two
lighthouses in 1832 to mark the safe channel between the sands and the mainland.
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In October 1833 the brig Ann and Margaret was wrecked at Aberavon near Port Talbot. Captain John
Bevan of the Copper Company schooner Gower and four of his men went to the rescue, partly using
a small boat which they dragged to the area, and partly by swimming or wading out to the wreck
with a line. They managed to save all six crew. Captain Bevan received the Silver Medal and his
men got cash rewards.
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In December 1833 the brig Amethyst, bound from Liverpool to Quebec, was driven into the Bristol
Channel, and wrecked off Swansea. Her crew of eleven were saved by pilot John Mitchell and his
crew.
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On 1 November 1834 the Maltese barque Margaret sailed from Swansea with coal destined for
Alexandria. On her sixth day out a violent change in the wind caused considerable damage to her
hull, and she lost her fore and main yards and main topsail. The master decided to try to make
Milford Haven but a thick mist caused him to change his mind and head for Mumbles Roads off
Swansea. The barque made it to a point just off the Mumbles lighthouse where she anchored in the
dark of night, with her crew continuously manning the pumps. When the tide fell, however, the
barque struck the Mixon Sands. Fortunately she was able to get off into deeper water but was in
such a damaged condition that the master decided to take four men in the ship's boat and head
for Swansea to find help. This they did and twenty men set out in two steam tugs. The extra men
were able to relieve the crew. Manning the pumps, raise the anchor and safely beach the barque
on Mumbles Flats where she was unloaded and patched up.
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In November 1834 the Wexford schooner Mary Ann, from Cardiff for Wexford with coal, struck the
Mixon Sands where she was lost, the crew and passengers being saved by the Coastguards.
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On 26 October 1835 the sloop John, of Chepstow, from Swansea, sank at the mouth of the River
Neath. One of the crew tried to swim ashore but was drowned, whilst the other two clung to the
mast. William Evans, a pilot, told the Revd. Edward Thomas of Briton Ferry that it was "a shame
to see our fellow creatures perish before our eyes" and, against advice from other pilots,
took his small boat, William, with a crew of four, out to the wreck and saved the two remaining
crew members. He was awarded the Silver Medal and he and his crew received monetary awards from
the RNLI, The Swansea Harbour Trust and the River Neath Trustees.
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In September 1838 the sloop Feronia, of St.Ives, Cornwall, was wrecked in Swansea Bay. The crew
of three were saved by pilot John Reece who was awarded the Silver Medal.
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On 7 January 1839 the London brig, Thomas Piele, bound from Swansea to Dublin with coal,
stranded in the shallows some way out from the shore. One of her crew who was an excellent
swimmer reached the shore and said that the brig was fast breaking up. Captain Thomas Jones of
the ship Two Sisters which was in port at Aberavon, along with Captain John Howell, Captain
Charles Sutton and pilot Lewis Jenkins took the boat of the Two Sisters and rowed out through
heavy seas to the wreck. Several times the onlookers on the beach thought the little boat had
herself been lost and just when she reached the wreck a sudden breaker washed all four men
temporarily overboard, broke most of the oars, and then washed the small craft back to the
beach. Captain Jones changed his clothing, had a short rest, and then, again with the help of
pilot Jenkins, plus Arthur Rees, mate of the Galatea, and Thomas Lewis, a seaman, rowed out
again. For second time, however, the sea washed all four overboard, and clinging to the boat
and the oars they were sent back onto the beach badly bruised. Captain Joseph Foley of the
schooner Richard, of Swansea, then took charge of the boat. Joined yet again by pilot Lewis
Jenkins, and three others. This time they were successful and managed to take off the master and
four crew of the sinking ship, but three other crew members had been lost already, washed from
their hold on the mast. The Silver Medal was awarded to Captains Jones, Howell, Sutton and
Foley, and to Pilot Lewis Jenkins and Arthur Rees. Other rescuers received awards of cash.
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On 6 February 1839 the French brig Charles, bound from New Brunswick to Gloucester, struck the
Scarweather rock off Porthcawl in dense fog. The customs boat and a pilot cutter went to help
but the customs boat was driven back. However, the pilot eventually saved the whole of the crew
of nine.
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On 22 June 1839 the French lugger Les Enfants Cheris on passage from Nantes to Bristol was
wrecked on Nash Sands. The crew were saved by Rees Lougher of Monknash, Glamorgan. He was
awarded the RNLI silver medal for bravery.
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On 4 November 1840 the schooner Yanden, of Newport, struck the brig Hopewell, of Cork, bow on in
a hurricane. The Hopewell quickly sunk. Two seamen and four passengers escaped by climbing into
the Yanden. The captain's son, two seamen and two passengers were drowned, but the captain,
although he did not leave his ship until the last moment, was saved after clinging to a piece of
wreckage for over two hours.
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On 17 November 1840 the steam packet City of Bristol was driven off course by a severe storm in
Rhossili Bay. Only two of the 17 crew and 10 passengers survived.
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In January 1841 pilot Bidder and his crew saved the three crew of the schooner Fanny, of
Bideford, which was wrecked on Mixon Sands.
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On 10 January 1843 The Brothers of St.Ives, Cornwall, was returning home from Cardiff with coal
when she disappeared off Hartland Point, Devon in a severe storm. There were no survivors.
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On 13 January 1843 the John Lilley of Liverpool (barque) (Captain Townes) was on her way from
Liverpool to Old Calabar, West Africa, when she was blown off course across the entrance to the
Bristol Channel and onto the Welsh coast, and then back across the Channel onto the North Devon
coast a few miles north-east of Bideford Bar, where she was seen by Captain Williams on the brig
The Shepherdess of Appledore. Captain Williams took his boat alongside the John Lilley despite
the severe conditions but was unable to transfer the crew of the latter ship partly because of
the weather conditions and partly because many of the crew of the John Lilley were drunk
(perhaps not surprising as the ship's cargo was rum and the crew must have thought they were not
going to survive !). A couple of hours later the ship was driven onto Saunton Sands, near
Braunton Lighthouse, Devon. The Master and crew were saved by the lighthouse keeper, the
appropriately named Mr Lamping, the Appledore Customs Officer, Mr John Bowden and another local
man.
When the John Lilley went aground her cargo consisting partly of rum and tobacco went overboard
and ended up on the beach. The Customs Officers, Excise Officers and Coastguards were fully
employed in trying to prevent the local population from making off with the cargo ! Not very
successfully it would appear as the Customs Collector at Barnstaple had to admit that much of
the cargo had disappeared and despite searches in the surrounding area little had been found.
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7 September 1843 - Caledonia - 200 ton brig from Arbroath, Scotland (Captain Peter) - On
journey from Constantinople to Bristol - driven onto the rocks at Vicarage Cliffs, Morwenstow,
Devon. The crew were washed overboard and only one, Edward La Daine from the Channel Islands,
survived. He was taken to the Rectory where the Rev R.S.Hawker made sure that he was cared for
and nursed back to health. The bodies of the drowned seamen were eventually washed up on the
beach and buried in Morwenstow Churchyard. The figurehead of the brig is preserved in the
churchyard and, remarkably, a message in a bottle from one of the seamen, thrown overboard
before the final wreck of the brig, was washed up at Portledge where it, too, is preserved in
the Portledge Hotel just outside Bideford. The Rev Hawker erected a little hut on the cliffs
immediately abovethe place where the wreck occurred and this is maintained by the National
Trust.
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On 15 October 1846 the barque Bradshaw of Liverpool on passage from America to Liverpool was
blown off course and into the Bristol Channel where she became a total wreck near Porthcawl.
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On 14 February 1847 the French brig Emilie was wrecked on Nash Point and the crew of eight lost.
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In November 1847 the barque Henry of Liverpool bound for Cardiff hit the Tusker Reef near
Porthcawl and was breaking up when the Barnstaple smack William and Jane sighted her and was
able to save 18 of her crew. Only one, an apprentice, was lost.
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In November 1847 the Leith Packet from Newport for Stirling in Scotland was lost on the Tusker
Reef but all hands were saved by a passing vessel.
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In December 1847 the snow Circassian, of Sunderland, was driven ashore near the Mumbles East
Pier. Her crew of six were taken off by pilot J George and his crew.
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On 27 November 1848 the Sunderland barque Arietta was wrecked on Mixon Sands. The 2nd mate was
washed overboard and drowned but the other 14 crew got away in the ship's boat and were picked
up by the paddle tug Dragon Fly.
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On 9 November 1851 the French barque Pollux, 4000 tons (Captain Lindstrom), left Dublin for
Alexandria but in the Irish Sea found herself in a very severe storm, the ballast shifted, and
she heeled over to such an extent that the masts were close to horizontal, preventing her from
getting upright. The master decided to cut away the main and mizzen masts in an effort to right
her and this it did, but the vessel was now drifting out of control in the storm and was driven
into the entrance to the Bristol Channel. She was sighted by two pilot cutters off the North
Devon coast. The cutters pulled alongside and offered to tow the ship into Ilfracombe, at which
the crew of the Pollux decided to abandon ship ! The cutters managed to get her into Clovelly
Roads and next morning the crew, excluding the captain, returned to the ship. The captain
excused himself saying that he had pressing business elsewhere ! The pilots, with help from
local fishermen, tried to get the ship to Bideford but the ship's crew were not prepared to
co-operate and the job was left entirely to the "rescuers". She grounded twice during these
efforts and the Lloyds Agent now ordered a tug. However, for some unknown reason the Finnish
crew cut the tow rope leaving the ship again drifting, finally grounding again on the beach at
Clovelly. The Customs Officer declared that she could not be considered a wreck, and all the
cargo was removed and placed in his custody. On the next tide the ship was refloated and towed
off shore, anchored and left over night. The next morning, now without her ballast and cargo she
was so light that the storm caused her anchor cables to break and she finally smashed to pieces
on the shore.
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On the night of 29 March 1857 the schooner Trevaunance, of St.Ives, Cornwall, struck a sandbank
off Porthcawl, and sank in a severe gale. The crew of four climbed the rigging tosave themselves
from going down with the ship. They lashed themselves to the topmast and waited for daylight as
they had had no time to signal their distress and they could not be seen from the shore in the
darkness. In the morning they were seen from the shore and a boat was sent to try to rescue
them. The volunteer crew of this boat consisted of three pilots, James and Thomas Pearse and
John Jones, and a seaman, George Clark. Unfortunately they could not get near enough to the mast
to which the survivors were clinging. The small boat waited for several hours in danger itself,
to get close to the sunken vessel, but as the tide rose the vessel submerged further and the
survivors came closer and closer to drowning. Seeing that this was the last chance the crew of
the rescue boat decided to try once more and with strenuous effort they managed to get close
enough to grab the ratlines and three of the sailors got into the boat in a terrible condition.
The fourth was already dead and his body could not be recovered. In all the survivors had been
lashed to the mast for 16 hours.
The four volunteer rescuers were each awarded the RNLI Silver Medal and a gratuity.
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On 13 October 1858 the schooner Ajax, of Plymouth, was wrecked off Kenfig Sands near Porthcawl.
Seven coastguards pulled a gig along the foreshore and put oou to the rescue in heavy seas.
They saved all six crew members. James Collopy and Daniel Shea (Chief Officer of the
Coastguards) were awarded the RNLI Silver Medal and the other rescuers received cash rewards for
their bravery. Daniel Shea won the Silver Medal four times in all but was eventually drowned
when the Padstow Lifeboat capsized in 1867.
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In May 1859 the schooner Amelia of Dartmouth foumdered in a gale in the Channel. The crew of
four were saved by the Coastguards.
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On 2 November 1859 the Jersey barque Sunda went aground on Kenfig Sands, near Porthcawl, The
master, his wife and four crew got into the ship's boat but were in danger of capsizing. C R
Mansel Talbot, MP, of Margam Abbey (son of the founder of the town of Port Talbot) and John
Williams, a local farmer, waded out into the sea to help them to land. A pilot vessel and a tug
took the remainder of the crew off from the sea. The Silver Medal was awarded to Mansel Talbot
and John Williams.
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In October 1860 the schooner Kingston of Cork was wrecked off Penarth Head. Her crew of six
escaped with the help of two local men who went into the sea to rescue them.
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On 14 October 1860 the French schooner Jeune Honore was in collision with an Austrian ship off
Lavernock Point near Penarth. The schooner's foremast fell into the sea with three men clinging
to it. Three hands from a Bristol Pilot cutter managed to save the three men by use of their
punt.
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On 3 January 1861 the Mary Jane, of St.Ives, Cornwall, went aground on the Scarweather Sands.
The crew abandoned her and got to safety and the boat was taken into Porthcawl Harbour by the
new Porthcawl lifeboat (Good Deliverance) and repaired, only to be wrecked again, finally this
time, at Portreath, Cornwall.
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On 19 February 1861 the large American full-rigged ship William D Sewell bound from Bristol to
Swansea in tow of a tug, became detached from her tug. She dropped anchors but these did not
hold her and she dragged toward the West Nash Sands off Porthcawl. The Porthcawl lifeboat was
called out but the packet steamer Mars, of Waterford, Ireland, reached her first and towed her
to Bristol for repair.
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On 20 December 1862 the brigantine Champion, of Liverpool, returning home from New Brunswick,
Canada, with a cargo of timber, was driven off course and into the Bristol Channel by a strong
gale. She went aground on the Scarweather Sands, breaking her mainmast. Her distress signal
flags were seen from the mainland and the Porthcawl lifeboat went to her assistance, saving her
nine crew and one passenger.
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In January 1863 the Russian barque Heinrich Sorensen, bound from Bordeaux to Cardiff in ballast,
was caught in a great storm and driven ashore on Breaksea Point, near Barry. The ship's boat had
been lost and the crew of twelve decided to try to swim or wade ashore. William John of Limpert
Farm and three other local men went into the dangerous seas and managed to assist all of the
crew to safety. This was not the first time that William John had helped to save life and he was
awarded the RNLI silver medal for his bravery.
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On 3 December 1863 the Penarth lifeboat, George Gay, made her first successful attempt at rescue
when the full rigged Jupiter, of London, and the barque Ellings, collided in Penarth Roads in a
heavy N.W.gale. The Jupiter's crew of 8 jumped into the lifeboat as she pulled alongside the
ship but were persuaded to return to the ship to try to save her, which, after two hours was
accomplished sufficiently for her to find safety.
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On the night of 18 November 1864 the Penarth lifeboat, George Gay, was towed by the paddle tug
Marquis to the English and Welsh Grounds, near the mouth of the river Usk where the full rigged
ship Far West, of Newport, with 22 crew, on her voyage from Chile via Queenstown, Ireland, to
Newport, had run aground after losing her anchors when her hawsers and windlass broke in a
S.W.gale off Lundy and she drifted up Channel. Some of the lifeboatmen were put aboard and she
was connected to three tugs, the Marquis, Iron Duke and Pilot. Her anchors were recovered and
she was re-floated and towed to Bristol for repair.
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In November 1865 the Portuguese barque Argo was abandoned by her crew near the Tusker Rocks off
Porthcawl. The crew survived and the barque was saved by the Porthcawl lifeboat crew.
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On 2 January 1866 the barque Jacques, of St.Malo, and the ship Industrie, of Hamburg, came into
contact in a heavy gale, and the Penarth lifeboat, now renamed from George Gale to Baroness
Windsor, had to disentangle them.
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On 10 January 1866 the Hannah Moore of 1129 tons on a voyage from Chile to Queenstown, Ireland
was blown off course and took shelter in Lundy Roads. However her sails were torn by the wind
and she dragged her anchor. The next morning the crew were seen clinging to the rigging. Two
Bideford men, Thomas Saunders and Samuel Jarmon took a punt out in an attempt to get a line to
the ship, but in twenty minutes the ship had been lifted onto Rat Island off Lundy and broken
up. Only six crew managed to keep from being washed overboard from a part of the wreck. These
were eventually rescued by the punt. The other 19 crew were drowned.
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On 23 March 1866 the brig Claudia, of Belfast, went onto Cardiff Sands in a strong gale and
sprang a leak, which caused her hold to rapidly fill with water, despite the strenuous pumping
of her crew. Lifeboatmen from the Penarth lifeboat, Baroness Windsor, went aboard to help and
she was eventually freed her and took her to a safe place on Cardiff East Mudflats.
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On the same day, 23 March 1866, the Whitby brig Vesta foundered in Swansea Bay. The crew of
seven took to the rigging and were saved by the Mumbles lifeboat (Martha and Anne).
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On 29 March 1866 the wooden paddle steamer Queen (Captain Granville Spray) left Ilfracombe at
10.30 pm. In a thick fog the little paddler struck the Tings Rocks off Hartland Point, Devon.
However, the master managed to get her off the rocks and made back towards Ilfracombe. She was
badly holed, though, and was shipping water rapidly, and, as a result, the master ran her
intentionally onto the beach at Clovelly. The 37 passengers on bord and the crew were ferried
ashore and over the next two days the cargo was removed. Very soon after the cargo had been
removed the boat broke her back and was finally wrecked. The captain, who was the son of the
previous captain, John Spray, was subsequently found guilty of neglecting to measure the depth
of water near the coast.
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On 9 January 1867 the French schooner Jeanne d'Arc parted her cables and split her sails in
Mumbles Roads in a severe storm and was drifting hopelessly. The Mumbles lifeboat
(Wolverhampton) was called out and put men on board her to help set new sails, whilst theit
colleagues brought out a steam tug which towed her to Swansea.
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On 14 April 1867 the brig Wellington, of Aberystwyth, was driven ashore in a severe gale.
Mumbles lifeboat (Wolverhampton) stood by, but she the brig refloated on the rising tide and a
tug took her to Swansea.
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On 17 November 1867 the brig Marie, of Grieffswald, Prussia, was driven up Channel having lost
her anchor and cables. Being unladen she was driven into very shallow water. Attempts by three
tugs and two pilot skiffs to get to her failed because they could not get close due to the
shallowness of the water. After some 10 hours rowing the Penarth lifeboat managed to get under
her lee and rescue all 11 crew. The lifeboatmen were, by this time, as exhausted as the crew and
suffering severely from exposure.
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On the morning of 28 December 1868 there was a strong gale blowing onshore at Appledore, Devon,
An Austrian ship Pace, bound from Glasgow to Fiume with pig iron, was seen to be in difficulties
in Bideford Bay, and the the cox of the Appledore Lifeboat, Joseph Cox, with his son Joseph as
second cox, called out the rest of the lifeboat crew and, with the lifeboat Hope on a horse
drawn carriage, the crew followed the movement of the ship across the bay until she grounded on
the sands. The lifeboat was then launched and with great difficulty due to the huge waves, made
her way to the grounded vessel, threw a grapnel into the rigging and shouted to the crew.
However there was no reply. A little later a boy appeared on deck and jumped into the lifeboat,
and then eight men dashed to the side of the ship and dived into the sea, where they were picked
up by the lifeboat, although in the process the Hope was dashed against the stern of the Pace,
trapping the cox. Fortunately his cork lifejacket saved him from death, but the Hope lost her
rudder. The lifeboatmen continued to shout to the remainder of the ship's crew to abandon ship,
but they did not know that the crew had been instructed by the captain not to abandon the ship
nor even to throw a line to the lifeboat, as he believed that she could be refloated on the next
tide. With the lifeboat rudderless the cox had to give up and try to get back to the shore,
which he did with severe difficulty. On reaching the shore the cox called for more volunteers to
go back out with him to try to save the remaining crew. Despite attempts to persuade him
otherwise he found sufficient men prepared to join him and he and his son and John Kelly from
the original crew with the new volunteers went out in the lifeboat, still without its rudder,
Joseph Cox junior steering with an oar. As they got close to the Pace, Joseph Cox junior was
thrown into the sea and the boat thus lost its steering and capsized, all the crew being thrown
overboard. However, the boat righted itself and the crew managed to get back aboard but had lost
all but three oars. Joseph Cox senior was now injured and only semi-conscious, and the lifeboat
again returned to the shore. The Braunton lifeboatmen had been unable to get their boat across
the bay but walked to Appledore and would have taken the Hope out again but it was decided that
it would be too risky and with the tide falling the Pace was unlikely to face further danger.
Later, when the tide had receded a number of Appledore men waded out to the Pace and rescued the
three remaining crewmen, two having fallen from the rigging and been killed.
The captain was the last to be rescued.
Meanwhile another ship, the Leopard, returning to Gloucester from the West Indies, was also
driven aground in Bideford Bay, near Westward Ho ! Here David Johns, one of the crew of the
Hope on its first attempt to rescue the crew of the Pace, volunteered to swim out to the
grounded boat with a line, since it had proved impossible to get a line to the ship by rocket
from Westward Ho ! This he did and tried three times to board the Leopard, but was finally
struck on the head by some wreckage and sadly drowned. Another Appledore man subsequently
managed to get a line to the ship and all the crew were rescued.
The RNLI awarded Joseph Cox senior two clasps to his medal which he had originally been awarded
in 1801. Both Joseph Cox junior and John Kelly were awarded silver medals, and another 25 men
also received lesser awards.
Later the Emperor of Austria awarded silver crosses of merit to both Joseph senior and junior
and to John Kelly.
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On 5 December 1869 the Spanish schooner Loretta, bound from Liverpool to Cuba, was seen
drifting towards Nash Sands near Porthcawl, having been blown off course. The Porthcawl lifeboat
(Good Deliverance) went to her aid, initially taking off the master's wife and then the whole
crew of eleven and the pilot.
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In December 1870 the Cardiff Pilot cutter Dasher started to break up after hitting the Tusker
Rock near Porthcawl in a thick fog. Because of the weather the wreck was not sighted and the
pilot and his two assistants used the wreckage to build a raft on which they tried to head for
the shore. Fortunately they were picked up by the Porthcawl Lifeboat (Good Deliverance).
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On 1 November 1872 the Magna Charta, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Norwegian barque Jernbyrd
collided in a heavy gale in Penarth Roads. The Canadian ship freed herself but the Penarth
lifeboat, a new George Gay, was sent to help the Norwegian barque which was holed just below
the waterline and in danger of sinking. The master of the barque requested the cox of the
lifeboat to stand by whilst he and his crew tried to patch up the hole. Fortunately she was
sufficiently repaired by the crew that at dawn of the next day she could be towed by tug to
Cardiff for repair.
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The 8 December 1872 was a very bad day in the Channel. The brig Wallace rolled over completely
and sunk with all hands; a Nova Scotian barque was driven across the hawse of another ship and
so badly damaged that she too sank with all hands. The Eleanor, of Quebec, was luckier. Having
gone aground on Cardiff Sands the Penarth lifeboat, George Gay, managed to get to her, saving
five crew members, but the mate would not leave the ship. The following day she was still there
and the lifeboat went out to her again, The mate asked that they bring some of the crew back to
try to save her, and fortunately they managed to refloat her and get her to Cardiff for repair.
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Also on the 8 December 1872, the Weston super Mare cutter Mystery which serviced the forts in
the area, left Flat Holm with an officer and eleven men in addition to the crew of two, bound
for the fort at the tip of Brean Down, Somerset. Very shortly a severe gale blew up and the
small boat had to head for shelter. She got behind Penarth Head but became stranded on the river
bank. In the process of the stranding she also lost her punt. That evening she refloated,
dragged her anchor and drifted out into Penarth Roads where she crossed, out of control, astern
of the schooner John Pearce, of Fowey, and her mast was torn adrift by the schooner's mizzen
boom. When her mast was lost she also lost some of her deck planking and she began to fill with
water, to the point where she was close to sinking. The mate of the John Pearce, Richard Johns,
launched a boat and pulled to the sinking cutter getting a rope aboard her. The crew of the John
Pearce were then able to use the rope to haul the cutter alongside so that twelve of the
soldiers and crew aboard her scrambled to safety. Two soldiers, however, fell between the two
vessels. Richard Johns, without hesitation, got his small boat between the two larger vessels
and pulled the soldiers from the water. Johns was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal for his bravery.
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On 29 August 1873 the Prussian barque Triton with a crew of nine, on reaching Lundy Island,
turned toward the Mumbles to avoid a storm. She was driven onto the Mixon Sands and broke up.
Against the orders of the master two men and a boy took one of the ship's boats but capsized,
the two men being drowned whilst luckily the boy was seen drifting by another vessel and was
saved. Five of the crew were saved by the paddle tug Digby Grand, and the Mumbles lifeboat
saved the remaining man. The Cox of the lifeboat, Jenkin Jenkins, was presented with a binocular
glass by the Emperor of Germany, and the other crew members received cash awards.
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February 1877 - Steamer Ethel wrecked on the Black Rock off Lundy. 19 lost only the mate
survived.
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On the evening of 7 March 1877 the new Penarth lifeboat, Joseph Denman, was launched to stand by
to assist the brig Crocodile, of Dartmouth, which had gone ashore on Cardiff Sands in a gale.
Fortunately the Crocodile was refloated in the flood tide and sailed on to Cardiff.
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On 6 December 1877 the barque Johann, of Sundsvall, Norway, stranded on the Scarweather Sands. A
pilot boat with five crew went to her assistance, in the Porthcawl lifeboat (Chafyn Grove) and
with the help of the Swansea to Bristol packet, Velindra, rescued the ship's crew of nine.
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On 12 May 1878 the schooner Gipsy belonging to the Waterford Steam Navigation Co. was on a
voyage from Bristol to Liverpool and Waterford. She was towed down the River Avon by the tug Sea
King but shortly after passing under Clifton Suspension Bridge she struck rocks and mud on the
Bristol bank. She listed over and blocked the river. Tugs tried to move her but failed. A steam
driven fire engine was then brought by barge to pump the water out of her so that the cargo
could be removed, but she broke in two. The crew remained on board and removed the cargo as they
were in no real danger. The only passenger had left the ship safely shortly after she had gone
aground. It was not until 17 May that a channel could be opened sufficiently for ship movements
in the river Avon. Eventually some weeks later the remains of the Gipsy were finally dynamited
and the river fully re-opened.
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On 8 January 1879 the barque Sarah Ann bound for Montevideo foundered in Swansea Bay. Ten men
were saved by the Mumbles lifeboat (Wolverhampton).
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On 27 August 1879 the Caernarvon brig Queen of Britain was in difficulties near the mouth of the
River Neath. The Mumbles lifeboat (Wolverhampton) saved all six crew.
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On 10 February 1880 the US barque Corea, of Boston, became stranded on the Green Grounds near
Swansea, losing her keel and dragging her anchors. Her boats were lowered but these were smashed
by the heavy seas. The Mumbles lifeboat took off her crew and a tug subsequently got her to
Swansea.
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On 1 December 1880 the schooner Pet, of Falmouth, went ashore on the harbour bar at Port Talbot,
The Mumbles lifeboat took off the crew of five who had climbed the rigging to keep clear of the
sea. The schooner became a total loss soon after.
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During severe gales on the 21st and 22nd of January 1881 twenty ships were ashore between
Lavernock Point and West Cardiff Flats. Three were large full rigged ships, the Etta, of
Liverpool, the Buckinghamshire, of London, and the Mirella, of London; three were French brigs
or schooners, the Alexandrea, the Amiral and the Cecile; the remainder were smaller coastal
craft.
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On 9 March 1881 the smack Bristol Packet, of Newport, was stranded off Penarth but was
refloated.
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On 12 April 1881 the Danish barque Marmora was wrecked on the Scarweather Sands off Porthcawl.
Eight men were saved by the Porthcawl Lifeboat (Chafyn Grove).
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On 14 October 1881 the Genoese barque Febo was driven up Channel by a gale, reaching Penarth
Roads in a very poor state, with her fore and main masts broken off near the deck and having
lost her anchors. The Penarth lifeboat, Joseph Denman, was launched and put some men on her to
rig some temporary sails on a jury mast. She was taken in tow by a steam tug, and she and her
crew of 14 were taken to safety.
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On 29 March 1882 the French steamer Liban sank on the Tusker Sands off Porthcawl. Eight of the
crew were saved by the Porthcawl Lifeboat - three lost.
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1883 - the Fanny of Aberthaw was wrecked off Barry. She had been sailing the Channel for 130
years since she was built at Aberthaw.
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On 27 January 1883 the German barque Amiral Prinz Adalbert (Captain Ludwig Leibaner), on her way
from Danzig to Swansea with pitprops was struggling against a storm on the coast of the Gower
Peninsular. She had already lost part of her rigging and her crew were near exhaustion. A pilot
was requested to take her into Swansea but no pilot cutter was prepared to risk the storm to get
to her. Instead, the Flying Scud, a tug, which was close by offered to take her in for a fee of
£500. However, during the tow towards Swansea the cable parted on two occasions and finally the
master ordered the anchors to be dropped. One anchor failed to reach the seabed, the other held
for a short while and then dragged, the ship drifting towards the shore, eventually hitting the
rocks near Mumbles Lighthouse and In the collision the ship lost all three masts. Meanwhile the
tug had gone to advise the Mumbles Lifeboat (Wolverhampton) crew of the disaster. Cox Jenkin
Jenkins, although advised not to put to sea, decided to go to the assistance of the barque, and
with great difficulty the lifeboat was launched and proceeded to the stricken vessel. Although
the lifeboat crew could not get close enough to throw a line to the ship, someone on board the
barque had the presence of mind to throw down a lifebelt with a line attached and a line was
eventually secured, the lifeboat put down her anchor, and the first two of the ship's crew of 15
managed to get to the lifeboat. As the third crewman was being pulled aboard the lifeboat was
suddenly hit by a huge wave and overturned, throwing the crew into the sea. The boat righted
itself and the crew managed to get back aboard, only for the boat to be flung over some
submerged rocks. The crew of the lifeboat now tried to swim to the shore, but four were drowned
plus the barque's carpenter who had been taken off by the lifeboat. The survivors were all
severely injured by the time they got to the shore, and the cox's son George Jenkins had both
his legs crushed.
Two lifeboatmen were seen clinging to the wrecked lifeboat. At this time two sisters, Jessie Ace
and Mrs Margaret Evans, who had been with their father, Abraham Ace, in the Mumbles lighthouse,
came down to the shore to see if they could help, and waded out into the heavy sea up to their
shoulders to try to get to the surviving lifeboatmen. Although they could not quite reach.
Jessie Ace knotted their shawls together and with the help of a gunner from the nearby fort they
used the shawls as a lifeline and pulled the two men to relative safety. Meanwhile the Amiral
Prinz Adalbert had survived the waves without breaking up and when the tide ebbed Abraham Ace
and his two daughters helped the crew to safety where they were looked after by the people of
Mumbles. Subsequently the barque did break up.
Four lifeboatmen had died leaving widows and children; the cox had lost two of his sons, James
and William, and his son-in-law, who were members of the crew, and another man was missing and
his body was never recovered. A fund for the widows and orphans raised £3000, Jenkin Jenkins
was awarded the RNLI silver medal and £50, the gunner (Hutchings) who had helped the Ace sisters
received the thanks of the RNLI on vellum, but the two sisters received no recognition from the
RNLI, although they did receive great aclaim in the national press and postcards were sold with
their pictures on them. It is said that Queen Victoria had copies of these cards. The Empress of
Germany sent them the Ace sisters the thanks of the country and gave them two silver brooches.
The poem "The Women of Mumbles Head !" was written by Clement Scott to commemorate their brave
actions.
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At midnight on 8 August 1883 the barque William Miles stranded near Porthcawl harbour and on the
next day broke up and sank. The Porthcawl Lifeboat (Chafyn Grove) went out twice in heavy seas
rescuing the master's wife and one other on the first trip and the master and the remaining ten
crew on the second.
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The Welsh Prince (Captain William Rowe), 118 ton steamer, left Bristol on 22 September 1884 with
42 passengers for a pleasure trip to Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. The daytrippers were to be
back aboard the boat by 6pm on the same day and she was in the process of casting off, under the
eyes of a large number of holidaymakers, when the last mooring rope wound itself around the
propellor and in a heavy wind the small vessel was driven into Sandy Bay where the crew tried in
vain to free her propellor. Captain Rowe dropped anchor as the boat was quite near the shore and
raised distress signals. This brought out the lifeboatmen and the William James Holt, the Weston
Lifeboat, was launched from the pier. Whilst the lifeboat was in the process of being launched
the Welsh Prince began dragging her anchors and frightened passengers had to be restrained from
"jumping for it" into the sea. Within 15 minutes the lifeboat had reached the vessel and 20
passengers were taken off, not without some difficulty, followed by a return journey by the
lifeboat to take off the remaining passengers. All passengers were saved without injury. The
actions of the Lifeboat crew were widely acclaimed and it was reported that "A great tragedy had
been averted by the speed and bravery of their actions"
This was the first real-life action which the Weston lifeboat had been involved in, the station
having only been established two years previously by the gift of Colonel Holt of Bangor, after
whom she was named.
As for the Welsh Prince, she was left stranded on the sands when the tide went out, the rope was
removed from the propellor, and she was refloated on the next tide with little damage and went
on plying the Channel as a passenger boat and later as a collier until 1930
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On 27 January 1884 the Spanish brigantine Juan de la Vega, bound for Cardiff with pit props, got
into difficulties off Penarth. With the aid of a tug, some hobblers and lifeboatmen from the
Penarth lifeboat (Joseph Denman II) in repairing the rigging and pumping, she was taken into
Cardiff.
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On 8 October 1886 the steamship Agnes, of Hartlepool, was driven ashore in Caswell Bay near
Swansea and broke up. No lives were lost however.
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On 14 October 1886 the iron sailing ship Malleny, of Liverpool, left Cardiff for Rio de Janiero
with coal. She was towed as far as Lundy Island but after the tug had left the weather worsened
and the captain decided to shelter in Swansea Bay. However as she sailed in heavy seas across
the bay her rudder was lost and she drifted towards the coast. Although she was sighted in the
bay the high winds had taken down the telegraph lines and it was impossible to alert the
Porthcawl Lifeboat. She struck the Tusker Rock off Porthcawl and all 20 crew were lost, the ship
finally going ashore across the Channel at Westward Ho !
Edwin Waters, the ships carpenter on the Malleny, had been paid off in Amsterdam, unknown to his
family in Appledore and, thinking he had gone down with the others, were in mourning for him
when he arrived home !
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On 15 October 1886 the Swansea barque Ocean Beauty bound for Valparaiso took shelter in Mumbles
Roads in the severe storms of that day. Her cables parted, however, and she drifted across
Swansea Bay onto Aberavon Sands. The Mumbles lifeboat (Wolverhampton II) was launched, but
could not get close enough. The crew took to the rigging and fortunately when the tide receded
without the ship breaking up. One of the crew threw an empty oil drum overboard with a line
attached. This floated toward the shore sufficiently for some pilots on the beach to haul it in,
and 13 crew members were able to pull themselves to safety hand over hand. Unfotunately the
master and the pilot aboard the barque were drowned when they were washed overboard.
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On 15 October 1886 the Ben-y-Gloe (Captain Gill), a large ship sailing from Singapore to
Penarth, heeled over in a gale near Nash Point and subsequently grounded on Nash Sands. The crew
had managed to survive by clinging to the rigging and got onto the sands and eventually to the
shore. They were in a very poor condition having lost much of their clothing, ripped off by the
gale. They struggled inland to the village of Marcross and knocked on the door of the Inn where
the Innkeeper refused to give them any food or drink because they had no money, although he did
let them rest in an unheated storeroom ! When Captain Gill arrived at the Inn some time after
his crew he ordered the Innkeeper to serve his men and grudgingly and only after assurance that
payment would eventually be made they were served with food and drinks. Meanwhile the robbers
had been at work on the remains of the ship and the crew's belongings had been stolen. Few of
the missing items were ever recovered by the police. The South Wales newspapers said that the
actions of the Innkeeper and the looters had "besmirched the reputation and honour of all Welsh
people"
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On 16 January 1887 the Italian barque Caterina, was wrecked in a Force 9 gale on Nash Sands off
Porthcawl, after leaving Cardiff with coal. Her crew of twelve and the pilot were all lost.
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On 26 January 1887 the Ribble of Whitehaven was in collision with the Coniston Fell of
Liverpool, off Mumbles Head. The Coniston Fell beached , but the Ribble sunk so that only her
mast was above water. Fortunately the Captain and three crew were able to cling to the rigging
and were saved by the Mumbles Lifeboat, Wolverhampton II. Two men from the Ribble drowned when
the boat they had launched from her was swamped. One of those in the boat was saved by a shore
boat.
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March 1887 - SS City of Exeter lost off Lundy. 16 lost out of total crew of 19.
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On 13 January 1888 the Hull steamship Milan on its way to Bristol from Alexandria was driven
ashore near Overton Cliffs in the Gower in dense fog. She soon began to break up on the rocks.
The Port Eynon Lifeboat rescued 11 men and the remaining crew were rescued by the use of the
Coastguard Rocket Apparatus.
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On 23 January 1890 the square-rigger Cambrian Duchess of Liverpool on a voyage from Liverpool to
Iquique, Chile, was beaten back by heavy weather and sought refuge in Mumbles Roads. She dropped
anchor but it dragged in soft ground and she drifted into the Swansea owned (Aberdeen
registered) barque Ambassador, causing severe damage to both ships. The Cambrian Duchess was
towed to Swansea by a tug but drove into the dock wall. Four lifeboatmen from Swansea were put
aboard the Ambassador to help to get her into Swansea. However on arrival she was declared to
be beyonf economic repair. The Cambrian Duchess was repaired and sailed on but later sunk in the
South Atlantic.
---
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1703 - The Richard and John & her prize the Bandera from Virginia were both lost with all hands
at the entrance to the river Avon.
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1705 - Two customs boats wrecked t the entrance to the river Avon with the loss of 22 officers.
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1737 - The snow Pye and the brig Priscilla carrying tobacco from Virginia, both went aground at
Nash Point. Some 300-400 people stripped the ships of their cargo ! They even burnt the hulls to
get the ironwork.
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1752 - The Indian Prince, of Bristol, with a cargo of sugar, rum, cotton, ebony and ivory, from
Guinea, went aground at Stout Point, Llantwit Major. The cargo was looted freely by the local
people.
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19 September 1757 - the collier Marie wrecked at Lundy with the loss of all hands.
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28 November 1760 - Admiralty tender Caesar (Captain Adam Hood) with a smaller tender named
Reeves were lying at anchor in Mumbles Roads waiting to set sail on a Press Gang mission along
the coast. The Caesar set sail for Carmarthen Bay but the weather was severe and he told his
pilot to take the boat back to Mumbles. The pilot made an error and mistook Pwlldu Head on the
Gower for Mumbles Head and as a result the ship hit the rocks near the headland. Some of the
crew got ashore and climbed the cliffs, but during the night the ship broke up and the 68
pressed men already taken aboard, who were locked in the hold, all died. The place on the
headland where the bodies were buried is known as Gravesend.
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January 1769 the French ship La Concorde carrying rum and brandy capsized near Aberthaw,
Glamorgan. It is said that before the officials were able to get to her some 2000 people had
gathered and were attacking the wreck with hatchets to "save" the cargo. 35 people are said to
have died on the beach from excessive drinking ! and were buried there.
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On 3 June 1770 the Dutch West India-man Planters Welvard on passage from Surinam to the
Netherlands was blown off course and into the Bristol Channel where she was blown ashore at
Porthcawl Point. Amongst those killed were three brothers named Jackert on their way to school
in the Netherlands.
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On 10 February 1799 HMS Weazle, a sloop of war, (Commander the Hon. Henry Grey) was at
Appledore, Devon, waiting to go out anti-privateering along the Cornish coast. Leaving port that
evening she cleared Bideford Bar only to hit severe weather conditions in the Bristol Channel.
The commander decided to shelter under Baggy Point near Braunton, Devon. The weather worsened
and the sloop was driven aground just short of the Point with the loss of all 106 officers and
crew. A memorial service was held at Northam Church, Devon.
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In February 1802 the Spanish ship Nuestra Senora del Carmen, fron Bilbao for Bristol, was lost
with all hands on the Scarweather Sands.
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In June 1806 the sloop Hope, of Bridgwater, was lost with all hands on the Mixon Sands.
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On 10 December 1806 the Trelawny, a Bristol West Indiaman bound for Jamaica, was driven ashore
on Nash Point and was smashed to pieces. The captain was killed by the fall of the mainmast, but
the mate, pilot and 15 to 20 others escaped in the ship's boats. Eleven other crew and
passengers were lost.
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In Sptember 1810 the West Indiaman Mary, from Demerara to Bristol, was lost on the Scarweather
Sands but all except three of her crew were saved.
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In October 1810 the Union on a voyage from London to Cadiz was blown off course and wrecked on
Cefn Sidan Sands, Carmarthenshire, with the loss of all hands.
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In December 1810 the snow Teresa, of Bristol, returning from Trinidad, was wrecked near
St.Donats, Glamorgan. All but two of the crew were saved.
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On 8 February 1813 the schooner Delfin bound for Bristol was lost on the Black Rocks near
Porthcawl.
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On 28 October 1817 the William & Mary, a Bristol to Waterford sailing packet suddenly struck the
rocks known as the Wolves off Flat Holm and sunk within minutes. 54 passengers were lost,
including 22 women and children. Only one person survived. 50 bodies were recovered and buried
on Flat Holm.
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On 30 December 1818 the Victory bound from Newport to Ireland with a cargo of coal was wrecked
on the Monkstone.
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In July 1819 the brig George, of Ulverston, was wrecked on Scarweather Sands with the loss of
eight crew.
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On 21 November 1821 the Cardiff brig Marianne, bound for London, was driven ashore on Nash
Sands. She quickly sank but the Revenue Cruiser Harpy rescued the crew.
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On 21 December 1821 the Bideford brig Hebe on passage from Waterford to Bristol with eight crew
and three passengers was partly wrecked off Porthcawl and then finally wrecked at Dunraven near
St.Bides Major. According to the contempoary account by Colonel Knight of Tythegston there were
no boats suitable to put to sea in the severe conditions and the gale was such that not even the
local rocket apparatus could be used. When the brig was finally wrecked some local people were
not averse to stripping her cargo, although the Revd. Morgan of St.Brides Major and others tried
to stop the looting. The body of the captain of the brig, Captain Thomas Carder, was found next
day stripped by looters. He was buried at Wick church.
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In 1824 the Portuguese schooner Sandica Connica bound for Bristol was wrecked on Sker Point,
near Porthcawl. Fortunately the crew were saved.
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On 21 November 1828 a French ship, La Jeune Emma (Captain de Chatellan) was on a voyage from
Martinique in the West Indies to Le Havre, when, in a dense fog, he mistook Land's End for Cape
Finisterre and the Lundy Island Light for Ushant Light. As a result he headed northward thinking
he was heading for the Lizard, when he grounded on Cefn Sidan Sands, Carmarthenshire. Thirteen
crew and passengers were washed overboard and drowned, including Colonel Coquelin of the French
Marine and his daughter who was niece to the Empress Josephine of France. Nine of those who died
were buried in Pembrey Churchyard, including Coquelin and his daughter. The day after the wreck
looters stole not only the ship's cargo of rum, sugar, spices, coffee, cotton and ginger, but
also the personal posessions of the crew and passengers.
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In December 1830 the Falmouth brig Larch was wrecked on the Cefn-y-Wrach bar between the rivers
Ely and Taff.
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On the night of 16 March 1831 the Frolic, a schooner-rigged paddle steamer owned by the Bristol
General Navigation Co., on the last part of a regular journey from Haverfordwest to Bristol,
struck the Nash Sands, Glamorgan, with the loss of all 80 passengers and crew, which included
General MacLeod and several other army officers as well as several Pembrokeshire merchants.
It was as a result of the outcry following this disaster that Trinity House provided two
lighthouses in 1832 to mark the safe channel between the sands and the mainland.
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In October 1833 the brig Ann and Margaret was wrecked at Aberavon near Port Talbot. Captain John
Bevan of the Copper Company schooner Gower and four of his men went to the rescue, partly using
a small boat which they dragged to the area, and partly by swimming or wading out to the wreck
with a line. They managed to save all six crew. Captain Bevan received the Silver Medal and his
men got cash rewards.
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In December 1833 the brig Amethyst, bound from Liverpool to Quebec, was driven into the Bristol
Channel, and wrecked off Swansea. Her crew of eleven were saved by pilot John Mitchell and his
crew.
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On 1 November 1834 the Maltese barque Margaret sailed from Swansea with coal destined for
Alexandria. On her sixth day out a violent change in the wind caused considerable damage to her
hull, and she lost her fore and main yards and main topsail. The master decided to try to make
Milford Haven but a thick mist caused him to change his mind and head for Mumbles Roads off
Swansea. The barque made it to a point just off the Mumbles lighthouse where she anchored in the
dark of night, with her crew continuously manning the pumps. When the tide fell, however, the
barque struck the Mixon Sands. Fortunately she was able to get off into deeper water but was in
such a damaged condition that the master decided to take four men in the ship's boat and head
for Swansea to find help. This they did and twenty men set out in two steam tugs. The extra men
were able to relieve the crew. Manning the pumps, raise the anchor and safely beach the barque
on Mumbles Flats where she was unloaded and patched up.
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In November 1834 the Wexford schooner Mary Ann, from Cardiff for Wexford with coal, struck the
Mixon Sands where she was lost, the crew and passengers being saved by the Coastguards.
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On 26 October 1835 the sloop John, of Chepstow, from Swansea, sank at the mouth of the River
Neath. One of the crew tried to swim ashore but was drowned, whilst the other two clung to the
mast. William Evans, a pilot, told the Revd. Edward Thomas of Briton Ferry that it was "a shame
to see our fellow creatures perish before our eyes" and, against advice from other pilots,
took his small boat, William, with a crew of four, out to the wreck and saved the two remaining
crew members. He was awarded the Silver Medal and he and his crew received monetary awards from
the RNLI, The Swansea Harbour Trust and the River Neath Trustees.
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In September 1838 the sloop Feronia, of St.Ives, Cornwall, was wrecked in Swansea Bay. The crew
of three were saved by pilot John Reece who was awarded the Silver Medal.
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On 7 January 1839 the London brig, Thomas Piele, bound from Swansea to Dublin with coal,
stranded in the shallows some way out from the shore. One of her crew who was an excellent
swimmer reached the shore and said that the brig was fast breaking up. Captain Thomas Jones of
the ship Two Sisters which was in port at Aberavon, along with Captain John Howell, Captain
Charles Sutton and pilot Lewis Jenkins took the boat of the Two Sisters and rowed out through
heavy seas to the wreck. Several times the onlookers on the beach thought the little boat had
herself been lost and just when she reached the wreck a sudden breaker washed all four men
temporarily overboard, broke most of the oars, and then washed the small craft back to the
beach. Captain Jones changed his clothing, had a short rest, and then, again with the help of
pilot Jenkins, plus Arthur Rees, mate of the Galatea, and Thomas Lewis, a seaman, rowed out
again. For second time, however, the sea washed all four overboard, and clinging to the boat
and the oars they were sent back onto the beach badly bruised. Captain Joseph Foley of the
schooner Richard, of Swansea, then took charge of the boat. Joined yet again by pilot Lewis
Jenkins, and three others. This time they were successful and managed to take off the master and
four crew of the sinking ship, but three other crew members had been lost already, washed from
their hold on the mast. The Silver Medal was awarded to Captains Jones, Howell, Sutton and
Foley, and to Pilot Lewis Jenkins and Arthur Rees. Other rescuers received awards of cash.
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On 6 February 1839 the French brig Charles, bound from New Brunswick to Gloucester, struck the
Scarweather rock off Porthcawl in dense fog. The customs boat and a pilot cutter went to help
but the customs boat was driven back. However, the pilot eventually saved the whole of the crew
of nine.
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On 22 June 1839 the French lugger Les Enfants Cheris on passage from Nantes to Bristol was
wrecked on Nash Sands. The crew were saved by Rees Lougher of Monknash, Glamorgan. He was
awarded the RNLI silver medal for bravery.
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On 4 November 1840 the schooner Yanden, of Newport, struck the brig Hopewell, of Cork, bow on in
a hurricane. The Hopewell quickly sunk. Two seamen and four passengers escaped by climbing into
the Yanden. The captain's son, two seamen and two passengers were drowned, but the captain,
although he did not leave his ship until the last moment, was saved after clinging to a piece of
wreckage for over two hours.
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On 17 November 1840 the steam packet City of Bristol was driven off course by a severe storm in
Rhossili Bay. Only two of the 17 crew and 10 passengers survived.
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In January 1841 pilot Bidder and his crew saved the three crew of the schooner Fanny, of
Bideford, which was wrecked on Mixon Sands.
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On 10 January 1843 The Brothers of St.Ives, Cornwall, was returning home from Cardiff with coal
when she disappeared off Hartland Point, Devon in a severe storm. There were no survivors.
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On 13 January 1843 the John Lilley of Liverpool (barque) (Captain Townes) was on her way from
Liverpool to Old Calabar, West Africa, when she was blown off course across the entrance to the
Bristol Channel and onto the Welsh coast, and then back across the Channel onto the North Devon
coast a few miles north-east of Bideford Bar, where she was seen by Captain Williams on the brig
The Shepherdess of Appledore. Captain Williams took his boat alongside the John Lilley despite
the severe conditions but was unable to transfer the crew of the latter ship partly because of
the weather conditions and partly because many of the crew of the John Lilley were drunk
(perhaps not surprising as the ship's cargo was rum and the crew must have thought they were not
going to survive !). A couple of hours later the ship was driven onto Saunton Sands, near
Braunton Lighthouse, Devon. The Master and crew were saved by the lighthouse keeper, the
appropriately named Mr Lamping, the Appledore Customs Officer, Mr John Bowden and another local
man.
When the John Lilley went aground her cargo consisting partly of rum and tobacco went overboard
and ended up on the beach. The Customs Officers, Excise Officers and Coastguards were fully
employed in trying to prevent the local population from making off with the cargo ! Not very
successfully it would appear as the Customs Collector at Barnstaple had to admit that much of
the cargo had disappeared and despite searches in the surrounding area little had been found.
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7 September 1843 - Caledonia - 200 ton brig from Arbroath, Scotland (Captain Peter) - On
journey from Constantinople to Bristol - driven onto the rocks at Vicarage Cliffs, Morwenstow,
Devon. The crew were washed overboard and only one, Edward La Daine from the Channel Islands,
survived. He was taken to the Rectory where the Rev R.S.Hawker made sure that he was cared for
and nursed back to health. The bodies of the drowned seamen were eventually washed up on the
beach and buried in Morwenstow Churchyard. The figurehead of the brig is preserved in the
churchyard and, remarkably, a message in a bottle from one of the seamen, thrown overboard
before the final wreck of the brig, was washed up at Portledge where it, too, is preserved in
the Portledge Hotel just outside Bideford. The Rev Hawker erected a little hut on the cliffs
immediately abovethe place where the wreck occurred and this is maintained by the National
Trust.
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On 15 October 1846 the barque Bradshaw of Liverpool on passage from America to Liverpool was
blown off course and into the Bristol Channel where she became a total wreck near Porthcawl.
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On 14 February 1847 the French brig Emilie was wrecked on Nash Point and the crew of eight lost.
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In November 1847 the barque Henry of Liverpool bound for Cardiff hit the Tusker Reef near
Porthcawl and was breaking up when the Barnstaple smack William and Jane sighted her and was
able to save 18 of her crew. Only one, an apprentice, was lost.
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In November 1847 the Leith Packet from Newport for Stirling in Scotland was lost on the Tusker
Reef but all hands were saved by a passing vessel.
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In December 1847 the snow Circassian, of Sunderland, was driven ashore near the Mumbles East
Pier. Her crew of six were taken off by pilot J George and his crew.
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On 27 November 1848 the Sunderland barque Arietta was wrecked on Mixon Sands. The 2nd mate was
washed overboard and drowned but the other 14 crew got away in the ship's boat and were picked
up by the paddle tug Dragon Fly.
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On 9 November 1851 the French barque Pollux, 4000 tons (Captain Lindstrom), left Dublin for
Alexandria but in the Irish Sea found herself in a very severe storm, the ballast shifted, and
she heeled over to such an extent that the masts were close to horizontal, preventing her from
getting upright. The master decided to cut away the main and mizzen masts in an effort to right
her and this it did, but the vessel was now drifting out of control in the storm and was driven
into the entrance to the Bristol Channel. She was sighted by two pilot cutters off the North
Devon coast. The cutters pulled alongside and offered to tow the ship into Ilfracombe, at which
the crew of the Pollux decided to abandon ship ! The cutters managed to get her into Clovelly
Roads and next morning the crew, excluding the captain, returned to the ship. The captain
excused himself saying that he had pressing business elsewhere ! The pilots, with help from
local fishermen, tried to get the ship to Bideford but the ship's crew were not prepared to
co-operate and the job was left entirely to the "rescuers". She grounded twice during these
efforts and the Lloyds Agent now ordered a tug. However, for some unknown reason the Finnish
crew cut the tow rope leaving the ship again drifting, finally grounding again on the beach at
Clovelly. The Customs Officer declared that she could not be considered a wreck, and all the
cargo was removed and placed in his custody. On the next tide the ship was refloated and towed
off shore, anchored and left over night. The next morning, now without her ballast and cargo she
was so light that the storm caused her anchor cables to break and she finally smashed to pieces
on the shore.
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On the night of 29 March 1857 the schooner Trevaunance, of St.Ives, Cornwall, struck a sandbank
off Porthcawl, and sank in a severe gale. The crew of four climbed the rigging tosave themselves
from going down with the ship. They lashed themselves to the topmast and waited for daylight as
they had had no time to signal their distress and they could not be seen from the shore in the
darkness. In the morning they were seen from the shore and a boat was sent to try to rescue
them. The volunteer crew of this boat consisted of three pilots, James and Thomas Pearse and
John Jones, and a seaman, George Clark. Unfortunately they could not get near enough to the mast
to which the survivors were clinging. The small boat waited for several hours in danger itself,
to get close to the sunken vessel, but as the tide rose the vessel submerged further and the
survivors came closer and closer to drowning. Seeing that this was the last chance the crew of
the rescue boat decided to try once more and with strenuous effort they managed to get close
enough to grab the ratlines and three of the sailors got into the boat in a terrible condition.
The fourth was already dead and his body could not be recovered. In all the survivors had been
lashed to the mast for 16 hours.
The four volunteer rescuers were each awarded the RNLI Silver Medal and a gratuity.
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On 13 October 1858 the schooner Ajax, of Plymouth, was wrecked off Kenfig Sands near Porthcawl.
Seven coastguards pulled a gig along the foreshore and put oou to the rescue in heavy seas.
They saved all six crew members. James Collopy and Daniel Shea (Chief Officer of the
Coastguards) were awarded the RNLI Silver Medal and the other rescuers received cash rewards for
their bravery. Daniel Shea won the Silver Medal four times in all but was eventually drowned
when the Padstow Lifeboat capsized in 1867.
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In May 1859 the schooner Amelia of Dartmouth foumdered in a gale in the Channel. The crew of
four were saved by the Coastguards.
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On 2 November 1859 the Jersey barque Sunda went aground on Kenfig Sands, near Porthcawl, The
master, his wife and four crew got into the ship's boat but were in danger of capsizing. C R
Mansel Talbot, MP, of Margam Abbey (son of the founder of the town of Port Talbot) and John
Williams, a local farmer, waded out into the sea to help them to land. A pilot vessel and a tug
took the remainder of the crew off from the sea. The Silver Medal was awarded to Mansel Talbot
and John Williams.
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In October 1860 the schooner Kingston of Cork was wrecked off Penarth Head. Her crew of six
escaped with the help of two local men who went into the sea to rescue them.
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On 14 October 1860 the French schooner Jeune Honore was in collision with an Austrian ship off
Lavernock Point near Penarth. The schooner's foremast fell into the sea with three men clinging
to it. Three hands from a Bristol Pilot cutter managed to save the three men by use of their
punt.
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On 3 January 1861 the Mary Jane, of St.Ives, Cornwall, went aground on the Scarweather Sands.
The crew abandoned her and got to safety and the boat was taken into Porthcawl Harbour by the
new Porthcawl lifeboat (Good Deliverance) and repaired, only to be wrecked again, finally this
time, at Portreath, Cornwall.
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On 19 February 1861 the large American full-rigged ship William D Sewell bound from Bristol to
Swansea in tow of a tug, became detached from her tug. She dropped anchors but these did not
hold her and she dragged toward the West Nash Sands off Porthcawl. The Porthcawl lifeboat was
called out but the packet steamer Mars, of Waterford, Ireland, reached her first and towed her
to Bristol for repair.
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On 20 December 1862 the brigantine Champion, of Liverpool, returning home from New Brunswick,
Canada, with a cargo of timber, was driven off course and into the Bristol Channel by a strong
gale. She went aground on the Scarweather Sands, breaking her mainmast. Her distress signal
flags were seen from the mainland and the Porthcawl lifeboat went to her assistance, saving her
nine crew and one passenger.
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In January 1863 the Russian barque Heinrich Sorensen, bound from Bordeaux to Cardiff in ballast,
was caught in a great storm and driven ashore on Breaksea Point, near Barry. The ship's boat had
been lost and the crew of twelve decided to try to swim or wade ashore. William John of Limpert
Farm and three other local men went into the dangerous seas and managed to assist all of the
crew to safety. This was not the first time that William John had helped to save life and he was
awarded the RNLI silver medal for his bravery.
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On 3 December 1863 the Penarth lifeboat, George Gay, made her first successful attempt at rescue
when the full rigged Jupiter, of London, and the barque Ellings, collided in Penarth Roads in a
heavy N.W.gale. The Jupiter's crew of 8 jumped into the lifeboat as she pulled alongside the
ship but were persuaded to return to the ship to try to save her, which, after two hours was
accomplished sufficiently for her to find safety.
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On the night of 18 November 1864 the Penarth lifeboat, George Gay, was towed by the paddle tug
Marquis to the English and Welsh Grounds, near the mouth of the river Usk where the full rigged
ship Far West, of Newport, with 22 crew, on her voyage from Chile via Queenstown, Ireland, to
Newport, had run aground after losing her anchors when her hawsers and windlass broke in a
S.W.gale off Lundy and she drifted up Channel. Some of the lifeboatmen were put aboard and she
was connected to three tugs, the Marquis, Iron Duke and Pilot. Her anchors were recovered and
she was re-floated and towed to Bristol for repair.
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In November 1865 the Portuguese barque Argo was abandoned by her crew near the Tusker Rocks off
Porthcawl. The crew survived and the barque was saved by the Porthcawl lifeboat crew.
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On 2 January 1866 the barque Jacques, of St.Malo, and the ship Industrie, of Hamburg, came into
contact in a heavy gale, and the Penarth lifeboat, now renamed from George Gale to Baroness
Windsor, had to disentangle them.
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On 10 January 1866 the Hannah Moore of 1129 tons on a voyage from Chile to Queenstown, Ireland
was blown off course and took shelter in Lundy Roads. However her sails were torn by the wind
and she dragged her anchor. The next morning the crew were seen clinging to the rigging. Two
Bideford men, Thomas Saunders and Samuel Jarmon took a punt out in an attempt to get a line to
the ship, but in twenty minutes the ship had been lifted onto Rat Island off Lundy and broken
up. Only six crew managed to keep from being washed overboard from a part of the wreck. These
were eventually rescued by the punt. The other 19 crew were drowned.
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On 23 March 1866 the brig Claudia, of Belfast, went onto Cardiff Sands in a strong gale and
sprang a leak, which caused her hold to rapidly fill with water, despite the strenuous pumping
of her crew. Lifeboatmen from the Penarth lifeboat, Baroness Windsor, went aboard to help and
she was eventually freed her and took her to a safe place on Cardiff East Mudflats.
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On the same day, 23 March 1866, the Whitby brig Vesta foundered in Swansea Bay. The crew of
seven took to the rigging and were saved by the Mumbles lifeboat (Martha and Anne).
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On 29 March 1866 the wooden paddle steamer Queen (Captain Granville Spray) left Ilfracombe at
10.30 pm. In a thick fog the little paddler struck the Tings Rocks off Hartland Point, Devon.
However, the master managed to get her off the rocks and made back towards Ilfracombe. She was
badly holed, though, and was shipping water rapidly, and, as a result, the master ran her
intentionally onto the beach at Clovelly. The 37 passengers on bord and the crew were ferried
ashore and over the next two days the cargo was removed. Very soon after the cargo had been
removed the boat broke her back and was finally wrecked. The captain, who was the son of the
previous captain, John Spray, was subsequently found guilty of neglecting to measure the depth
of water near the coast.
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On 9 January 1867 the French schooner Jeanne d'Arc parted her cables and split her sails in
Mumbles Roads in a severe storm and was drifting hopelessly. The Mumbles lifeboat
(Wolverhampton) was called out and put men on board her to help set new sails, whilst theit
colleagues brought out a steam tug which towed her to Swansea.
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On 14 April 1867 the brig Wellington, of Aberystwyth, was driven ashore in a severe gale.
Mumbles lifeboat (Wolverhampton) stood by, but she the brig refloated on the rising tide and a
tug took her to Swansea.
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On 17 November 1867 the brig Marie, of Grieffswald, Prussia, was driven up Channel having lost
her anchor and cables. Being unladen she was driven into very shallow water. Attempts by three
tugs and two pilot skiffs to get to her failed because they could not get close due to the
shallowness of the water. After some 10 hours rowing the Penarth lifeboat managed to get under
her lee and rescue all 11 crew. The lifeboatmen were, by this time, as exhausted as the crew and
suffering severely from exposure.
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On the morning of 28 December 1868 there was a strong gale blowing onshore at Appledore, Devon,
An Austrian ship Pace, bound from Glasgow to Fiume with pig iron, was seen to be in difficulties
in Bideford Bay, and the the cox of the Appledore Lifeboat, Joseph Cox, with his son Joseph as
second cox, called out the rest of the lifeboat crew and, with the lifeboat Hope on a horse
drawn carriage, the crew followed the movement of the ship across the bay until she grounded on
the sands. The lifeboat was then launched and with great difficulty due to the huge waves, made
her way to the grounded vessel, threw a grapnel into the rigging and shouted to the crew.
However there was no reply. A little later a boy appeared on deck and jumped into the lifeboat,
and then eight men dashed to the side of the ship and dived into the sea, where they were picked
up by the lifeboat, although in the process the Hope was dashed against the stern of the Pace,
trapping the cox. Fortunately his cork lifejacket saved him from death, but the Hope lost her
rudder. The lifeboatmen continued to shout to the remainder of the ship's crew to abandon ship,
but they did not know that the crew had been instructed by the captain not to abandon the ship
nor even to throw a line to the lifeboat, as he believed that she could be refloated on the next
tide. With the lifeboat rudderless the cox had to give up and try to get back to the shore,
which he did with severe difficulty. On reaching the shore the cox called for more volunteers to
go back out with him to try to save the remaining crew. Despite attempts to persuade him
otherwise he found sufficient men prepared to join him and he and his son and John Kelly from
the original crew with the new volunteers went out in the lifeboat, still without its rudder,
Joseph Cox junior steering with an oar. As they got close to the Pace, Joseph Cox junior was
thrown into the sea and the boat thus lost its steering and capsized, all the crew being thrown
overboard. However, the boat righted itself and the crew managed to get back aboard but had lost
all but three oars. Joseph Cox senior was now injured and only semi-conscious, and the lifeboat
again returned to the shore. The Braunton lifeboatmen had been unable to get their boat across
the bay but walked to Appledore and would have taken the Hope out again but it was decided that
it would be too risky and with the tide falling the Pace was unlikely to face further danger.
Later, when the tide had receded a number of Appledore men waded out to the Pace and rescued the
three remaining crewmen, two having fallen from the rigging and been killed.
The captain was the last to be rescued.
Meanwhile another ship, the Leopard, returning to Gloucester from the West Indies, was also
driven aground in Bideford Bay, near Westward Ho ! Here David Johns, one of the crew of the
Hope on its first attempt to rescue the crew of the Pace, volunteered to swim out to the
grounded boat with a line, since it had proved impossible to get a line to the ship by rocket
from Westward Ho ! This he did and tried three times to board the Leopard, but was finally
struck on the head by some wreckage and sadly drowned. Another Appledore man subsequently
managed to get a line to the ship and all the crew were rescued.
The RNLI awarded Joseph Cox senior two clasps to his medal which he had originally been awarded
in 1801. Both Joseph Cox junior and John Kelly were awarded silver medals, and another 25 men
also received lesser awards.
Later the Emperor of Austria awarded silver crosses of merit to both Joseph senior and junior
and to John Kelly.
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On 5 December 1869 the Spanish schooner Loretta, bound from Liverpool to Cuba, was seen
drifting towards Nash Sands near Porthcawl, having been blown off course. The Porthcawl lifeboat
(Good Deliverance) went to her aid, initially taking off the master's wife and then the whole
crew of eleven and the pilot.
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In December 1870 the Cardiff Pilot cutter Dasher started to break up after hitting the Tusker
Rock near Porthcawl in a thick fog. Because of the weather the wreck was not sighted and the
pilot and his two assistants used the wreckage to build a raft on which they tried to head for
the shore. Fortunately they were picked up by the Porthcawl Lifeboat (Good Deliverance).
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On 1 November 1872 the Magna Charta, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Norwegian barque Jernbyrd
collided in a heavy gale in Penarth Roads. The Canadian ship freed herself but the Penarth
lifeboat, a new George Gay, was sent to help the Norwegian barque which was holed just below
the waterline and in danger of sinking. The master of the barque requested the cox of the
lifeboat to stand by whilst he and his crew tried to patch up the hole. Fortunately she was
sufficiently repaired by the crew that at dawn of the next day she could be towed by tug to
Cardiff for repair.
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The 8 December 1872 was a very bad day in the Channel. The brig Wallace rolled over completely
and sunk with all hands; a Nova Scotian barque was driven across the hawse of another ship and
so badly damaged that she too sank with all hands. The Eleanor, of Quebec, was luckier. Having
gone aground on Cardiff Sands the Penarth lifeboat, George Gay, managed to get to her, saving
five crew members, but the mate would not leave the ship. The following day she was still there
and the lifeboat went out to her again, The mate asked that they bring some of the crew back to
try to save her, and fortunately they managed to refloat her and get her to Cardiff for repair.
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Also on the 8 December 1872, the Weston super Mare cutter Mystery which serviced the forts in
the area, left Flat Holm with an officer and eleven men in addition to the crew of two, bound
for the fort at the tip of Brean Down, Somerset. Very shortly a severe gale blew up and the
small boat had to head for shelter. She got behind Penarth Head but became stranded on the river
bank. In the process of the stranding she also lost her punt. That evening she refloated,
dragged her anchor and drifted out into Penarth Roads where she crossed, out of control, astern
of the schooner John Pearce, of Fowey, and her mast was torn adrift by the schooner's mizzen
boom. When her mast was lost she also lost some of her deck planking and she began to fill with
water, to the point where she was close to sinking. The mate of the John Pearce, Richard Johns,
launched a boat and pulled to the sinking cutter getting a rope aboard her. The crew of the John
Pearce were then able to use the rope to haul the cutter alongside so that twelve of the
soldiers and crew aboard her scrambled to safety. Two soldiers, however, fell between the two
vessels. Richard Johns, without hesitation, got his small boat between the two larger vessels
and pulled the soldiers from the water. Johns was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal for his bravery.
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On 29 August 1873 the Prussian barque Triton with a crew of nine, on reaching Lundy Island,
turned toward the Mumbles to avoid a storm. She was driven onto the Mixon Sands and broke up.
Against the orders of the master two men and a boy took one of the ship's boats but capsized,
the two men being drowned whilst luckily the boy was seen drifting by another vessel and was
saved. Five of the crew were saved by the paddle tug Digby Grand, and the Mumbles lifeboat
saved the remaining man. The Cox of the lifeboat, Jenkin Jenkins, was presented with a binocular
glass by the Emperor of Germany, and the other crew members received cash awards.
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February 1877 - Steamer Ethel wrecked on the Black Rock off Lundy. 19 lost only the mate
survived.
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On the evening of 7 March 1877 the new Penarth lifeboat, Joseph Denman, was launched to stand by
to assist the brig Crocodile, of Dartmouth, which had gone ashore on Cardiff Sands in a gale.
Fortunately the Crocodile was refloated in the flood tide and sailed on to Cardiff.
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On 6 December 1877 the barque Johann, of Sundsvall, Norway, stranded on the Scarweather Sands. A
pilot boat with five crew went to her assistance, in the Porthcawl lifeboat (Chafyn Grove) and
with the help of the Swansea to Bristol packet, Velindra, rescued the ship's crew of nine.
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On 12 May 1878 the schooner Gipsy belonging to the Waterford Steam Navigation Co. was on a
voyage from Bristol to Liverpool and Waterford. She was towed down the River Avon by the tug Sea
King but shortly after passing under Clifton Suspension Bridge she struck rocks and mud on the
Bristol bank. She listed over and blocked the river. Tugs tried to move her but failed. A steam
driven fire engine was then brought by barge to pump the water out of her so that the cargo
could be removed, but she broke in two. The crew remained on board and removed the cargo as they
were in no real danger. The only passenger had left the ship safely shortly after she had gone
aground. It was not until 17 May that a channel could be opened sufficiently for ship movements
in the river Avon. Eventually some weeks later the remains of the Gipsy were finally dynamited
and the river fully re-opened.
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On 8 January 1879 the barque Sarah Ann bound for Montevideo foundered in Swansea Bay. Ten men
were saved by the Mumbles lifeboat (Wolverhampton).
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On 27 August 1879 the Caernarvon brig Queen of Britain was in difficulties near the mouth of the
River Neath. The Mumbles lifeboat (Wolverhampton) saved all six crew.
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On 10 February 1880 the US barque Corea, of Boston, became stranded on the Green Grounds near
Swansea, losing her keel and dragging her anchors. Her boats were lowered but these were smashed
by the heavy seas. The Mumbles lifeboat took off her crew and a tug subsequently got her to
Swansea.
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On 1 December 1880 the schooner Pet, of Falmouth, went ashore on the harbour bar at Port Talbot,
The Mumbles lifeboat took off the crew of five who had climbed the rigging to keep clear of the
sea. The schooner became a total loss soon after.
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During severe gales on the 21st and 22nd of January 1881 twenty ships were ashore between
Lavernock Point and West Cardiff Flats. Three were large full rigged ships, the Etta, of
Liverpool, the Buckinghamshire, of London, and the Mirella, of London; three were French brigs
or schooners, the Alexandrea, the Amiral and the Cecile; the remainder were smaller coastal
craft.
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On 9 March 1881 the smack Bristol Packet, of Newport, was stranded off Penarth but was
refloated.
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On 12 April 1881 the Danish barque Marmora was wrecked on the Scarweather Sands off Porthcawl.
Eight men were saved by the Porthcawl Lifeboat (Chafyn Grove).
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On 14 October 1881 the Genoese barque Febo was driven up Channel by a gale, reaching Penarth
Roads in a very poor state, with her fore and main masts broken off near the deck and having
lost her anchors. The Penarth lifeboat, Joseph Denman, was launched and put some men on her to
rig some temporary sails on a jury mast. She was taken in tow by a steam tug, and she and her
crew of 14 were taken to safety.
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On 29 March 1882 the French steamer Liban sank on the Tusker Sands off Porthcawl. Eight of the
crew were saved by the Porthcawl Lifeboat - three lost.
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1883 - the Fanny of Aberthaw was wrecked off Barry. She had been sailing the Channel for 130
years since she was built at Aberthaw.
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On 27 January 1883 the German barque Amiral Prinz Adalbert (Captain Ludwig Leibaner), on her way
from Danzig to Swansea with pitprops was struggling against a storm on the coast of the Gower
Peninsular. She had already lost part of her rigging and her crew were near exhaustion. A pilot
was requested to take her into Swansea but no pilot cutter was prepared to risk the storm to get
to her. Instead, the Flying Scud, a tug, which was close by offered to take her in for a fee of
£500. However, during the tow towards Swansea the cable parted on two occasions and finally the
master ordered the anchors to be dropped. One anchor failed to reach the seabed, the other held
for a short while and then dragged, the ship drifting towards the shore, eventually hitting the
rocks near Mumbles Lighthouse and In the collision the ship lost all three masts. Meanwhile the
tug had gone to advise the Mumbles Lifeboat (Wolverhampton) crew of the disaster. Cox Jenkin
Jenkins, although advised not to put to sea, decided to go to the assistance of the barque, and
with great difficulty the lifeboat was launched and proceeded to the stricken vessel. Although
the lifeboat crew could not get close enough to throw a line to the ship, someone on board the
barque had the presence of mind to throw down a lifebelt with a line attached and a line was
eventually secured, the lifeboat put down her anchor, and the first two of the ship's crew of 15
managed to get to the lifeboat. As the third crewman was being pulled aboard the lifeboat was
suddenly hit by a huge wave and overturned, throwing the crew into the sea. The boat righted
itself and the crew managed to get back aboard, only for the boat to be flung over some
submerged rocks. The crew of the lifeboat now tried to swim to the shore, but four were drowned
plus the barque's carpenter who had been taken off by the lifeboat. The survivors were all
severely injured by the time they got to the shore, and the cox's son George Jenkins had both
his legs crushed.
Two lifeboatmen were seen clinging to the wrecked lifeboat. At this time two sisters, Jessie Ace
and Mrs Margaret Evans, who had been with their father, Abraham Ace, in the Mumbles lighthouse,
came down to the shore to see if they could help, and waded out into the heavy sea up to their
shoulders to try to get to the surviving lifeboatmen. Although they could not quite reach.
Jessie Ace knotted their shawls together and with the help of a gunner from the nearby fort they
used the shawls as a lifeline and pulled the two men to relative safety. Meanwhile the Amiral
Prinz Adalbert had survived the waves without breaking up and when the tide ebbed Abraham Ace
and his two daughters helped the crew to safety where they were looked after by the people of
Mumbles. Subsequently the barque did break up.
Four lifeboatmen had died leaving widows and children; the cox had lost two of his sons, James
and William, and his son-in-law, who were members of the crew, and another man was missing and
his body was never recovered. A fund for the widows and orphans raised £3000, Jenkin Jenkins
was awarded the RNLI silver medal and £50, the gunner (Hutchings) who had helped the Ace sisters
received the thanks of the RNLI on vellum, but the two sisters received no recognition from the
RNLI, although they did receive great aclaim in the national press and postcards were sold with
their pictures on them. It is said that Queen Victoria had copies of these cards. The Empress of
Germany sent them the Ace sisters the thanks of the country and gave them two silver brooches.
The poem "The Women of Mumbles Head !" was written by Clement Scott to commemorate their brave
actions.
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At midnight on 8 August 1883 the barque William Miles stranded near Porthcawl harbour and on the
next day broke up and sank. The Porthcawl Lifeboat (Chafyn Grove) went out twice in heavy seas
rescuing the master's wife and one other on the first trip and the master and the remaining ten
crew on the second.
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The Welsh Prince (Captain William Rowe), 118 ton steamer, left Bristol on 22 September 1884 with
42 passengers for a pleasure trip to Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. The daytrippers were to be
back aboard the boat by 6pm on the same day and she was in the process of casting off, under the
eyes of a large number of holidaymakers, when the last mooring rope wound itself around the
propellor and in a heavy wind the small vessel was driven into Sandy Bay where the crew tried in
vain to free her propellor. Captain Rowe dropped anchor as the boat was quite near the shore and
raised distress signals. This brought out the lifeboatmen and the William James Holt, the Weston
Lifeboat, was launched from the pier. Whilst the lifeboat was in the process of being launched
the Welsh Prince began dragging her anchors and frightened passengers had to be restrained from
"jumping for it" into the sea. Within 15 minutes the lifeboat had reached the vessel and 20
passengers were taken off, not without some difficulty, followed by a return journey by the
lifeboat to take off the remaining passengers. All passengers were saved without injury. The
actions of the Lifeboat crew were widely acclaimed and it was reported that "A great tragedy had
been averted by the speed and bravery of their actions"
This was the first real-life action which the Weston lifeboat had been involved in, the station
having only been established two years previously by the gift of Colonel Holt of Bangor, after
whom she was named.
As for the Welsh Prince, she was left stranded on the sands when the tide went out, the rope was
removed from the propellor, and she was refloated on the next tide with little damage and went
on plying the Channel as a passenger boat and later as a collier until 1930
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On 27 January 1884 the Spanish brigantine Juan de la Vega, bound for Cardiff with pit props, got
into difficulties off Penarth. With the aid of a tug, some hobblers and lifeboatmen from the
Penarth lifeboat (Joseph Denman II) in repairing the rigging and pumping, she was taken into
Cardiff.
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On 8 October 1886 the steamship Agnes, of Hartlepool, was driven ashore in Caswell Bay near
Swansea and broke up. No lives were lost however.
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On 14 October 1886 the iron sailing ship Malleny, of Liverpool, left Cardiff for Rio de Janiero
with coal. She was towed as far as Lundy Island but after the tug had left the weather worsened
and the captain decided to shelter in Swansea Bay. However as she sailed in heavy seas across
the bay her rudder was lost and she drifted towards the coast. Although she was sighted in the
bay the high winds had taken down the telegraph lines and it was impossible to alert the
Porthcawl Lifeboat. She struck the Tusker Rock off Porthcawl and all 20 crew were lost, the ship
finally going ashore across the Channel at Westward Ho !
Edwin Waters, the ships carpenter on the Malleny, had been paid off in Amsterdam, unknown to his
family in Appledore and, thinking he had gone down with the others, were in mourning for him
when he arrived home !
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On 15 October 1886 the Swansea barque Ocean Beauty bound for Valparaiso took shelter in Mumbles
Roads in the severe storms of that day. Her cables parted, however, and she drifted across
Swansea Bay onto Aberavon Sands. The Mumbles lifeboat (Wolverhampton II) was launched, but
could not get close enough. The crew took to the rigging and fortunately when the tide receded
without the ship breaking up. One of the crew threw an empty oil drum overboard with a line
attached. This floated toward the shore sufficiently for some pilots on the beach to haul it in,
and 13 crew members were able to pull themselves to safety hand over hand. Unfotunately the
master and the pilot aboard the barque were drowned when they were washed overboard.
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On 15 October 1886 the Ben-y-Gloe (Captain Gill), a large ship sailing from Singapore to
Penarth, heeled over in a gale near Nash Point and subsequently grounded on Nash Sands. The crew
had managed to survive by clinging to the rigging and got onto the sands and eventually to the
shore. They were in a very poor condition having lost much of their clothing, ripped off by the
gale. They struggled inland to the village of Marcross and knocked on the door of the Inn where
the Innkeeper refused to give them any food or drink because they had no money, although he did
let them rest in an unheated storeroom ! When Captain Gill arrived at the Inn some time after
his crew he ordered the Innkeeper to serve his men and grudgingly and only after assurance that
payment would eventually be made they were served with food and drinks. Meanwhile the robbers
had been at work on the remains of the ship and the crew's belongings had been stolen. Few of
the missing items were ever recovered by the police. The South Wales newspapers said that the
actions of the Innkeeper and the looters had "besmirched the reputation and honour of all Welsh
people"
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On 16 January 1887 the Italian barque Caterina, was wrecked in a Force 9 gale on Nash Sands off
Porthcawl, after leaving Cardiff with coal. Her crew of twelve and the pilot were all lost.
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On 26 January 1887 the Ribble of Whitehaven was in collision with the Coniston Fell of
Liverpool, off Mumbles Head. The Coniston Fell beached , but the Ribble sunk so that only her
mast was above water. Fortunately the Captain and three crew were able to cling to the rigging
and were saved by the Mumbles Lifeboat, Wolverhampton II. Two men from the Ribble drowned when
the boat they had launched from her was swamped. One of those in the boat was saved by a shore
boat.
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March 1887 - SS City of Exeter lost off Lundy. 16 lost out of total crew of 19.
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On 13 January 1888 the Hull steamship Milan on its way to Bristol from Alexandria was driven
ashore near Overton Cliffs in the Gower in dense fog. She soon began to break up on the rocks.
The Port Eynon Lifeboat rescued 11 men and the remaining crew were rescued by the use of the
Coastguard Rocket Apparatus.
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On 23 January 1890 the square-rigger Cambrian Duchess of Liverpool on a voyage from Liverpool to
Iquique, Chile, was beaten back by heavy weather and sought refuge in Mumbles Roads. She dropped
anchor but it dragged in soft ground and she drifted into the Swansea owned (Aberdeen
registered) barque Ambassador, causing severe damage to both ships. The Cambrian Duchess was
towed to Swansea by a tug but drove into the dock wall. Four lifeboatmen from Swansea were put
aboard the Ambassador to help to get her into Swansea. However on arrival she was declared to
be beyonf economic repair. The Cambrian Duchess was repaired and sailed on but later sunk in the
South Atlantic.
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