The Whitford Wrecks 22-23 January 1868

Last Updated on Sunday, 08 January 2012 10:33

Bad weather had prevented vessels sailing from Llanelli for some days, but on the afternoon of Wednesday 22 January 1868 there was a light northerly breeze and nineteen vessels left port. Most sailed independently but a string of five was towed down the estuary by the tug Royal Princess. When they rounded Whitford Point the crews could see that though the wind was light there was a terrific ground sea on the bar (the result of the high winds of the previous few days). As they crossed the bar the breeze died away and few were able to make sail and get away. There was considerable confusion with vessels being driven against each other and others driven onto Rhossili, Broughton and Whitford beaches.

The crews of five vessels abandoned and rowed to the hulk Ceres (the lightship and pilot station moored in the Lynch Pool). At dawn next day there was a scene of devastation with a dozen vessels stranded on the shore. Six of these were refloated undamaged but the other six were wrecked. They were:  schooner WATER LILY, of Llanelli ; brig JEUNE CELINE, of Jersey, crew of six drowned; brigantine ONWARD, of Llanelli, four of her crew of eight were lost; schooner AMETHYST, bound to Devon with coal, crew of five drowned; brigantine ROSCIUS; and the Llanelli brigantine BROTHERS.

The schooner MARY FANNY, of Beaumaris, was sold where she lay on Rhossili beach and, after a complete refit, resumed trading. Built at Amlwch, Anglesey, in 1862, she must have been a sturdy craft as she lasted till 1918. On 15 September that year she was on passage to an Irish port when forced to hove to by a German submarine. Her crew were ordered to abandon and she was sunk by scuttling charges.

The inquest into the deaths in these wrecks was conducted at the Farmer's Arms in Llanmadoc. The jury returned a verdict of "found drowned" on the fifteen bodies recovered and recommended that a lifeboat be once again stationed on the hulk lightship. They also suggested that a mast should be erected on Cwm Ivy Tor so that the state of the sea on Burry Bar could be signalled to Llanelli. The Lifeboat Institution considered the situation and, at its meeting of 6 February, ordered a new lifeboat to be built. The boat James & Elizabeth was the gift of Miss Anne White of Plymouth. It was built of iron by Hamilton of Liverpool and arrived in April 1869. 26ft long and having a crew of six, pulling five oars, she too was kept on davits on the lightship. The arrangement, however, proved unworkable and the station was closed when a larger boat went on station at Pembrey in 1871.

Article reproduced by kind permission of Carl Smith  Shipwrecks Wales