Mumbles lifeboat disaster

Sker Point is a headland in Bridgend County Borough on the South Wales coast between Port Talbot and Porthcawl. It marks the south end of Kenfig Sands. The placename Sker is of Old Norse origin, and means skerry. On April 23, 1947, the Samtampa, a liberty ship, was wrecked at Sker Point. Her crew of 39 perished and all eight volunteer crewmen of the Mumbles RNLI lifeboat were lost while attempting to rescue them. There is a memorial plaque set into the rocks of Sker Point.Sker Point is also the title of a song by the Welsh heavy metal band Triaxis.

SS Samtampa was a 7,219 ton steamship wrecked on Sker Point, off Porthcawl and Kenfig, Wales, in the Bristol Channel on 23 April 1947. At the time of the shipwreck, the Samtampa was operated by the Houlder Line.There were 47 fatalities in the incident, 39 from the ship and 8 volunteer crew of the lifeboat RNLB Edward, Prince of Wales (ON 678) from The Mumbles Lifeboat Station who died attempting to save the crew of the Samtampa. The lifeboat had returned to base, but had been sent out a second time. An oil spill from the tanks of the wrecked ship created an area of calm water, which the lifeboat coxswain, William Gammon (previously a winner of the RNLI Gold Medal), attempted to use to their advantage to enable them to pull alongside, and those who died were choked by the oil rather than drowning. The ship had sailed from Middlesbrough and most of the 39 crew hailed from the Teesside area. A memorial to the victims of the Samtampa tragedy is in Porthcawl Cemetery and a commemorative plaque can be found marking the "final resting place of The Mumbles lifeboat" at Sker Point. The location of the wreck was 51°30′01″N 03°44′26″W In recognition of the sixtieth anniversary, a church service took place in Porthcawl on Saturday 21 April followed by a smaller service at Sker Point. On Sunday 23rd April 2022, Porthcawl Runners hosted a 75th anniversary fun run on Mumbles Seafront. A year later, they held a similar run at Porthcawl Promenade, slightly longer in length, but with twice as many entrants. So, far the events have raised over £3000 for the RNLI and it is hoped that with its growing popularity, the event will take place every year. The Samtampa had been launched as the SS Peleg Wadsworth, a liberty ship built by the New England Shipbuilding Corporation at South Portland, Maine, and launched on 12 December 1943. Sent to Britain under the Lend-Lease program, the ship was renamed, and managed by the Houlder Line on behalf of the Ministry of War Transport.

Kenfig Pool (Welsh: Pwll Cynffig) is a national nature reserve situated near Porthcawl, Bridgend. Wild storms and huge tides between the 13th and 15th centuries are mainly responsible for creating the Kenfig dunes near Porthcawl, as they threw vast quantities of sand up over the Glamorgan coast. This buried the nearby borough of Kenfig, and its castle, of which only the ruined keep survives. At 70 acres the second largest (after Llangorse Lake) freshwater lake in south Wales. Kenfig Pool lies at the heart of the national nature reserve and is a valuable stopping point for migrating birds. The lake's maximum depth is about 12 feet. An island, built by the aristocrats living in nearby Margam to encourage wildfowl (which they would shoot) to nest there, has long since sunk beneath the waters.

Rest Bay is a bay and beach near Porthcawl on the coast of Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The long sandy beach is west facing and is popular with surfers, though facilities have been basic. There is a pay and display carpark. A cafe, Malc's, was located nearby.Plans were approved in August 2017 to create a new watersports hub, which would include a new cafe, public toilets, changing rooms, a function room and a covered area for walkers. Part of the funding for the improvements came from £1.5 million of European Union funding.Rest Bay is designated a Blue Flag beach based on the cleanliness of the water and the availability of local community educational activities.

The 1995 Walker Cup, the 35th Walker Cup Match, was a team golf match played on 9 and 10 September 1995, at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Porthcawl, Wales. The event was won by the Great Britain and Ireland team 14 to 10.

The 13th Curtis Cup Match was played on 11 and 12 September 1964 at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Porthcawl, Wales. The United States won by 101⁄2 matches to 71⁄2, to retain the Curtis Cup. This was the first Curtis Cup with two sets of matches, increasing the number of points available from 9 to 18. The teams were level after the first day. The British Isles won two of the three foursomes matches but the United States won three of the six singles with another match halved. The teams were still level after the second day foursomes but the United States won four of the six singles with another halved, to win by three points.

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is a golf club in Wales in the United Kingdom, located north of Porthcawl and bordering the Bristol Channel. The club has hosted many prestigious tournaments including The Amateur Championship on six occasions, the Walker Cup in 1995, the Curtis Cup in 1964, the British Masters in 1961, and European Tour event, the Welsh Golf Classic in the early 1980s. In March 2010, it hosted the University Golf Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities, with Oxford winning 9–6. The Senior Open Championship has been played here three times, in 2014, 2017, and 2023.

Kenfig (Welsh: Cynffig) is a village and former borough in Bridgend, Wales. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) inland on the north bank of the Bristol Channel, and just south-west of the M4 motorway. To the east is the town of Bridgend, at approximately 6 miles (10 km), and the capital city of Cardiff, at 24 miles (40 km). To the west lies Port Talbot, at approximately 7 miles, and Swansea at approximately 18 miles.

Sker House is a historic building in Wales. Originally built as a monastic grange of the Cistercian order over 900 years ago, it is situated just outside the town of Porthcawl, near Bridgend. Little remains of the original structure and it was completely rebuilt in the late sixteenth century. Its residential form appears to have been determined by the preceding monastic grange. The house was made famous as the basis of R. D. Blackmore's book The Maid of Sker.

Kenfig Castle (Welsh: Castell Cynffig) is a ruined castle in Bridgend County Borough in Wales that came to prominence after the Anglo-Norman invasion of Wales in the late 11th century.

Rest Bay is an electoral ward in the town of Porthcawl in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. It is on the coast overlooking bay and beach of the same name. The ward covers the residential area northwest of Porthcawl town centre, bordered to the south by Severn Road (and the Porthcawl West Central ward) and partially to the east by West Park Drive (and the Nottage ward). Most of the northern part of the Rest Bay ward includes the course of the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club. Rest Bay is a ward to Porthcawl Town Council, electing three of the nineteen town councillors.The Rest Bay county electoral ward was created by The County Borough of Bridgend (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998 and is represented by one county councillor on Bridgend County Borough Council. Liberal Democrat councillor Gerald Davies was the representative throughout this time, until the May 2017 elections when the ward was won by Independent councillor, Mike Clarke. Davies did not stand at this election.

Margam TMD was a railway locomotive traction maintenance depot situated in Port Talbot, South Wales. The depot code was MG, which has now been re-allocated to Margam Knuckle Yard service point. Built to replace the existing Margam Depot and for the co-development of the new Margam Knuckle Yard in 1960, it was a 2-road shed with full servicing facilities. Having been a major repair depot for EWS's class 60 and 66 locomotives due to its facilities, the depot serviced all of EWS's fleet of locomotives in South Wales, after the closure of Cardiff Canton TMD. In September 2008, the service moved to Margam Knuckle Yard. All servicing above a C-class, and all brake inspections, are now sent to Toton TMD. Today, there are many stored locomotives on the former site, including class 08, 09, 37, 47, 56 and 60.