Episode 4 of 6 Dilyn y Don

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-An Open Day is usually held

-at Porthdinllaen lifeboat station...

-..on the Bank Holiday

-in late August.

-The weather is fine

-and the lifeboat is out on the slip.

-It's one way of raising money...

-..to keep the boathouse going.

-Some money also goes

-towards helping the crew.

-The more, the better!

-Open Days raise

-a great deal of money.

-It's nothing compared

-to the bequests the RNLI receives.

-The bequests

-are used to buy the boats.

-Money from fund-raising events

-helps maintain the boats.

-It's not enough to buy the boats

-but it keeps them going.

-Welcome to the lifeboat station.

-Thank you for coming...

-..and for bringing the fine weather

-with you!

-We hope you'll enjoy yourselves.

-When you depart, please leave

-nothing behind but your footprints.

-Children enjoy seeing a lifeboat.

-The boat is usually kept

-inside the boathouse.

-They get a chance to see her

-on Open Days.

-Watching the lifeboat enter

-the water is even more exciting.

-The crew have decided to hold

-a training exercise today.

-They need the practice - they're

-getting fewer calls these days.

-People have better boats

-and they have better instruments.

-The old rubbish has gone!

-We rescue a lot of divers.

-But there's a new lifeboat station

-in Trearddur Bay...

-..so they now get many of the calls

-we used to deal with.

-How important is the

-Porthdinllaen lifeboat these days?

-It's the biggest boat in the area.

-They keep it going

-because of the Irish ferries.

-They need a big, fast boat...

-..in case of an emergency

-on one of the ferries.

-They must have regular training

-exercises, on sea and on land.

-Many of the boys have done

-radar courses, radio courses...

-..many have been to

-the survival college in Fleetwood.

-A lot of us learn from each other.

-Some learn more quickly than others

-and they teach each other.

-Everyone knows a little

-about everything.

-Crew members

-can cover for each other.

-There are rumours that Porthdinllaen

-may get a new boat before long.

-It'll probably happen

-in ten years' time.

-The boathouse

-will need to be adapted.

-She could be moored but we'll

-probably need a new boathouse...

-..and a new slipway,

-which will cost a lot.

-For now, the 'Hetty Rampton'

-is suited to her purpose.

-The Nefyn yacht race

-takes place during the Open Day.

-Many of the lifeboat's calls

-involve yachts.

-Most of these calls

-occur in the summer.

-Members of sailing clubs

-are usually more competent...

-..and less likely

-to get into difficulties.

-There's a crowd here now.

-The biggest danger

-is that the food will run out!

-No, not part of the catering...

-..but prizes to be picked up

-before heading back to Nefyn!

-The competition is getting fierce.

-The 'Hetty Rampton'

-nearly got an unexpected call!

-One or two nearly had to walk -

-or swim - home!

-But there were no real problems

-today.

-The crew return to shore and the

-flags are put away for another year.

-I'm the oldest crew member.

-I've been here since

-the new boat arrived 12 years ago.

-My son is the youngest member.

-I've another two years to go

-before I get kicked out!

-I've been coming here

-since Dad started.

-I carried on coming

-and they let me join in the end!

-It's nice to have two members

-from the same family.

-I have another son

-and he'll probably join us soon.

-It's been a very busy weekend.

-We had a summer buffet

-at the Linksway Hotel last night.

-There were over 150 people there.

-I believe we raised nearly 2,000.

-This is our second, and most

-successful, Open Day this year.

-It has been a wonderful day.

-Winter in Porthdinllaen

-is not so wonderful.

-They get few calls in winter

-but they can be very unpleasant.

-Many calls have tested the crew's

-devotion and bravery to the limit.

-Former secretary Gwyn Jones

-recalls such experiences.

-I was born in Morfa Nefyn,

-close to the sea.

-My grandfather worked

-on the sailing ships in Porthmadog.

-My father

-and my uncle went to sea...

-..as did my brother. I didn't

-but I'm used to working with boats.

-I must have launched

-over 200 services.

-I was up all night

-and on into the following day...

-..during the tragedy of the 'Kimya'.

-The 'Kimya' had got into

-difficulties. She was listing.

-She sank in a hurricane.

-We were called out to a tanker

-at 2.30am.

-She was carrying a cargo

-of sunflower oil to Liverpool.

-She was about eight miles from here.

-She was listing,

-because the oil had shifted...

-..or because water had got in.

-We rounded the headland.

-Peter was the coxswain.

-We could see the red flares

-from the tanker.

-She must have capsized then.

-She had capsized

-by the time we got to her.

-We pulled four bodies

-from the water.

-We searched for 12 hours

-but we never found the others.

-We lost one of the crew

-when his life-jacket slipped...

-..and he fell into the sea.

-It was terribly sad.

-We picked up another three...

-..and then we picked up one more

-when we were on our way back.

-They were all dead -

-they had drowned.

-As dawn broke, there were fears

-for the lifeboat crew's safety.

-The storm had abated

-but no-one knew what was happening.

-Some worried people had gathered

-to welcome the 'Hetty Rampton' home.

-News of the tragedy spread as four

-bodies left the lifeboat station.

-It was pitch dark. You couldn't see

-where you were going.

-The boat was battered by waves.

-We strapped ourselves in

-because we were being thrown around.

-I was bruised black and blue

-the following day.

-I didn't notice it at the time

-but I was bruised all over.

-Dylan was the youngest.

-It must have been on his mind a lot.

-But he doesn't show it.

-He's just as enthusiastic.

-We all felt the same.

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-One of the worst tragedies

-in the RNLI's history...

-..was that of the Mumbles lifeboat

-in 1947.

-The 8 crew members of the 'Edward

-Prince of Wales' were lost...

-..as they tried to rescue the crew

-of the 'Samtampa'.

-They were buried

-within sight of the boathouse.

-Their gravestones

-relate the sad event.

-A stained glass window in the local

-church commemorates the tragedy.

-The 'Samtampa' had unloaded

-at Middlesborough in April 1947.

-She was due to sail to Newcastle

-to pick up another cargo...

-..before setting out

-for South America.

-She left Middlesborough

-on April 19th.

-She had a very slow journey

-on the North Sea...

-..because of heavy fog, which lifted

-as they reached the Channel.

-But it became apparent

-that a storm was brewing.

-They rounded Land's End

-at about 10.00am on April 23rd.

-A force eight gale

-was already blowing.

-By late afternoon, coastguards

-had started receiving messages.

-The ship was being driven by the wind

-and she was dragging her anchors.

-At about 5.00pm Mumbles lifeboat

-station received the message...

-..that the 'Samtampa' was in trouble

-in the Bristol Channel.

-Gammon and his crew set out

-on the 'Edward Prince of Wales'.

-They spent over an hour and a half

-searching for the 'Samtampa'.

-They had no radio in those days,

-so they returned to Mumbles...

-..to see if there was further news.

-They didn't know that the 'Samtampa'

-was already wrecked.

-The 'Samtampa' was wrecked

-on the rocks at Sker.

-Porthcawl coastguards found her,

-broken into three by the storm.

-William Gammon and his crew

-set out again at about 7.00pm.

-No-one knows exactly what happened...

-..but the lifeboat

-failed to return to Mumbles.

-She was found

-not far from the 'Samtampa'.

-The 39 crew of the 'Samtampa'...

-..and the eight-man lifeboat crew

-all lost their lives.

-The boat was burned, as was the

-custom, out of respect for the crew.

-Many Swansea residents

-still remember the funerals.

-Communities all over Britain

-offered their sympathy.

-There should have been a crew of 40

-on the 'Samtampa'.

-Few people realise

-that one crew member survived.

-He was the donkeyman -

-the stokers' foreman.

-John Dinsmore had been out

-on a spree...

-..the night before the ship

-sailed from Middlesborough.

-He missed the boat. The 'Samtampa'

-sailed down the Tees without him.

-But imagine how he must have felt

-three days later...

-..when he heard the news of what

-had happened to his shipmates.

-Other lifeboats

-have had their share of losses.

-Tragedy has also struck

-at St David's...

-..on two separate occasions.

-Today's visitors know little of

-the tales of outstanding bravery...

-..concerning

-the St David's lifeboat crew.

-Two members died in 1910 as they

-rescued the crew of the 'Democrat'.

-A local miller was a prominent

-crew member for many years.

-He served as second coxswain

-and coxswain.

-Dai Lewis was middle-aged in 1954...

-..when they were called out

-to the tanker 'World Concord'.

-He's now 96 years old but he still

-remembers that occasion.

-It took us four hours

-to reach our position.

-I noticed that when we drew up

-alongside her...

-..her propellers were turning -

-not quickly, but they were turning.

-We had to stay clear of them.

-We got all the men off the ship.

-There were 35 of them.

-We got them off one by one.

-When we drew alongside her...

-..the lifeboat was being lifted

-25 feet by the waves.

-We got a hold on the ship's stern.

-We didn't see the bow -

-the two parts had drifted apart.

-The propellers were turning

-on the part we found.

-The Rosslare lifeboat rescued

-the sailors from the other half...

-..and took them back to shore.

-The St David's crew were, of course,

-volunteers.

-Most of them were farmers.

-Dai Lewis enjoyed singing

-in the local pub.

-The worst we had was a call-out

-to a small French trawler...

-..the 'Notre Dame de Fatima'.

-We rescued eight men off her.

-That was beyond Skomer island.

-It was blowing a westerly gale

-at the time.

-We had a job

-getting all eight men off the boat.

-They rescued the men

-but the weather was so bad...

-..the lifeboat had to seek shelter

-at Milford Haven.

-But as they returned to St David's

-the following day...

-..a crew member was lost.

-The sea was very rough.

-The boat was completely submerged.

-We couldn't even hear

-the engine running...

-..because the exhaust

-was under water.

-The exhaust was a dummy funnel.

-One of the crew, Ieuan Bateman,

-was washed overboard.

-Not one of us

-saw or heard it happen.

-The crew returned to the station

-with the terrible news.

-Two of Ieuan Bateman's brothers,

-John and Byron...

-..were waiting on the shore.

-I was in school on the day

-the boat went out.

-When my father came back from work,

-the three of us came down here.

-There were others here,

-waiting to see what had happened.

-As the night wore on,

-we heard she was going to Milford.

-We went to Mr Griffiths' house...

-..and waited until we heard

-they were staying in Milford.

-We then walked home.

-We all went to bed.

-Then the police came to tell us

-that they'd lost him.

-I believe his life-jacket's

-buoyancy...

-..had lifted him out of the cockpit.

-Perhaps he lost his grip.

-We don't know.

-It was such a blow, losing him after

-we had rescued the trawler crew.

-One would have expected

-the Bateman brothers...

-..to turn their backs on the sea.

-But Byron

-immediately joined the crew.

-Our parents weren't too pleased

-at first...

-..but I'd joined before I told them.

-It was then too late

-for them to stop me.

-John joined later.

-I was in school

-when I lost my brother.

-I couldn't wait

-until I was old enough to join.

-We were born and raised here,

-near the boathouse.

-We knew each time she went out

-because we heard the maroons.

-Local children would come down here.

-Older crew members would tell us...

-..never to close the door while

-the boat was out, never shut her out.

-Subtitles

-by

-Nia Melville, Elidir