The Mumbles Lifeboat Station

The Mumbles Lifeboat Station (based in Mumbles, Swansea, Wales) opened in 1835 with a lifeboat that was funded and managed by Swansea Harbour Trustees and was known as Swansea Lifeboat Station.[1] The station was taken over by the RNLI in 1863 and moved to Mumbles in 1866. The station only officially became The Mumbles Lifeboat Station in 1904.

The Mumbles Lifeboat Station
New Mumbles Lifeboat Station, opened in 2014
Swansea, Wales
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationPier Road, Mumbles, Swansea, UK. SA3 4EN
CountryWales, UK
Coordinates51°34′11″N 3°58′48″W
Opened1835 (taken over by RNLI - 1863)
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
The previous Mumbles Lifeboat Station, used from 1922 to 2014

The station currently operates a Tamar-class lifeboat and a D-class (IB1) lifeboat, and operates from a boathouse at the end of Mumbles Pier.

History

When the station first opened, it did not have a boathouse and the lifeboat was stored under the cliffs. In 1866 the first boathouse was built and it was replaced with a larger boathouse when a replacement lifeboat needed more room. A slipway was constructed for launching the lifeboat in 1888 and in 1897, Mumbles Railway and Pier Company constructed a new slipway for the RNLI at no cost to the institution. Another new slipway was built in 1916 and it was extended and had alterations made to it in 1922.

During a gale on Saturday, 27 January 1883, a German barque Admiral Prinz Aldabert was driven on to rocks near the Mumbles lighthouse. Wolverhampton went out to assist and was washed on to rocks. The lifeboat broke up and four crew drowned and other members missing or seriously injured.[2]

In 1947 the lifeboat Edward, Prince of Wales and her crew of 8 were lost while assisting SS Samtampa which had run aground on Sker Point.[3]

Today

The D-class lifeboat is the main workhorse of the station, being used for more than 60% of the callouts. In 2014 a new Tamar class lifeboat entered service at The Mumbles, temporarily based at Swansea Marina while a new, larger, boathouse and slipway were constructed on the end of Mumbles pier. In 2015 and 2016, Mumbles was the busiest station in Wales, launching 83 times.[4]

Fleet

All weather boats
Dates in service Class ON Op. No. Name
1863–1866 10 oared boat Martha and Anne
1866–1883 Wolverhampton
1883–1898 34ft Self-Righter ON 229 Wolverhampton (replacement)
1898–1900 34ft Self-Righter ON 173 Reserve No.5
1900–1903 35ft Self-Righter ON 436 James Stevens No. 12
1903–1905 37ft Self-Righter ON 265 Quiver No.1
1905–1924 43ft Watson-class ON 535 Charlie Medland
1924–1947 45ft Watson-class ON 678 Edward, Prince of Wales
1947–1974 46ft 9in Watson-class ON 849 William Gammon - Manchester and District XXX
1974–1985 47ft Watson-class ON 940 Pentland (Civil Service No. 31)
1985–2006 Tyne-class ON 1096 47-005 The Ethel Anne Measures
2006–2014 Tyne-class ON 1127 47-019 Babs & Agnes Robertson
2014–present Tamar-class ON 1307 16-27 Roy Barker IV

Inshore lifeboats
Dates in service Class Op. No. Name
1965–1972 D-class (RFD PB16) D-44 Unnamed
1972–1986 D-class D-199 Unnamed
1986–1994 D-class D-319 Unnamed
1994–2004 D-class (EA16) D-463 Nellie Grace Hughes
2004–2013 D-class (IB1) D-623 Peterborough Beer Festival II
2013–present D-class (IB1) D-761 Mark Lott

Station honours

Four crewmen of the sand dredger Steepholm were saved by the Atlantic College lifeboat and the Porthcawl lifeboat in partnership with the Mumbles lifeboat in 1968.

References
  1. "Mumbles Lifeboat - History". Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  2. "Severe Gale And Loss Of Life". The Cornishman (238). 1 February 1883. p. 5.
  3. "BBC News: Wales: Tribute for 1947 Mumbles disaster". Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  4. "RNLI crews saved 73 lives at sea during 2016". BBC News. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
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