Mumbles lifeboat memorial, Sker Point

link_to_french_translationMumbles lifeboat memorial, Sker Point

photo_of_lifeboat_memorial_sker_pointA memorial plaque (pictured right) at the shoreline near here commemorates the eight crew members of the Mumbles lifeboat who died during a rescue attempt in 1947. All 39 sailors on the steamer, called Samtampa, also died.

Samtampa was built in the USA during the Second World War, one of many “liberty ships” built to replace merchant vessels torpedoed by Nazi U-boats. The ship was bound for Newport when it was caught in a gale on 23 April and driven towards the coast. The Mumbles lifeboat, Edward Prince of Wales, set off to rescue the ship’s crew but lacked a radio. It returned to the lifeboat station for help in locating the ship, then put out to sea again.

Aerial photo of Samtampa bow in 1948
Samptampa bow on the rocks in 1948, courtesy of the RCAHMW and its Coflein website

As night fell, Samtampa hit rocks at Sker Point. Onlookers could hear the sailors’ cries for help but were powerless, although rockets with cords attached were fired towards the wreckage in the hope of setting up a breeches buoy.

Daybreak revealed the hull of the Mumbles lifeboat near Sker Point. The boat had capsized and all eight crew members had died. They were: coxswain WJ Gammon; second coxswain William Noel; mechanics WG Davies and E Griffin; and crew members WRS Thomas, WL Howell, WR Thomas and R Smith.

photo_of_samtampa_engine_blockThis was the third tragedy to strike the Mumbles lifeboat, the history of which is available here. The lifeboat crew are commemorated by a stained glass window at All Saints’ Church, Mumbles.

The aerial photo, courtesy of the Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales, shows the ship’s bow in 1948. It is from the Aerofilms Collection of the National Monuments Record of Wales.

The recent photo below, courtesy of RNLI Porthcawl, shows remains of Samptampa, with the engine block prominent beyond the rocks.

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Copies of the old photo and other images are available from the RCAHMW. Contact: nmr.wales@rcahmw.gov.uk


Other SHIPWRECK HiPoints in this region:
Swansea Marina – French ship exploded and sank in 1905 in what was then the South Dock
Nash Point lighthouse – built after almost 80 passengers drowned in 1831 shipwreck

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