Auntie Vi and the Women of Mumbles Head (Mumbles Myths III)

Joan and Gladys, my grandmother, were two of eight Honey children; another was my great-auntie Vi. She taught me two things for which I am grateful. She taught me to how to swear while remaining ladylike – she was, after all, an ex-president of the WI - and she made sure I knew my local history. Or her version of it anyway. And she did that by teaching me a poem.

The point where Swansea Bay ends abruptly at Mumbles is marked by a lighthouse. It was built in 1794, to warn passing ships of the Mixon Sands and Cherry Stone Rock, two huge undersea sand banks. 

The last lighthouse keeper retired in 1934, but it was the daughters of a previous keeper who went down in history as heroines, commemorated in a poem, The Women of Mumbles Head. 

On a stormy morning in January, 1883, Mumbles lifeboat was launched to go to the aid of a stricken German ship. In the middle of the rescue, the lifeboat itself was capsized and its crew thrown into the huge icy-cold waves. 

The poem begins:
Bring, novelists, your note-book! Bring, dramatists, your pen!
And I'll tell you a simple story of what women do for men.

It goes on to tell how the two women, clinging to each other, scrambled into a ferocious sea to save a drowning lifeboat-man. According to the poem, soldiers who were stationed on the lighthouse island stood by and watched while the women risked their lives.

The story of the women’s bravery in contrast to the soldiers’ cowardice spread rapidly across the country. The authorities, in an attempt to check these stories, said that the National Lifeboat Institution was considering rewarding one “Artilleryman Hutchings for the assistance he rendered in saving the lives of two of the lifeboat crew”. 

They went on to say that the women “rendered all the tender assistance that could be expected of brave women in such an emergency - that is they held the poor fellows’ heads and ministered to them as only the hand of woman can do”.

Try telling Auntie Vi that,

Gunner Hutchings was awarded a certificate and £2 by the Lifeboat Institute; the women were not acknowledged. Nevertheless, they received numerous gifts from the public, including gold brooches from the Empress of Germany.

Another village myth? 

Clement Scott, the author of the poem, didn’t think so. And nor did my Auntie Vi.

P.S. The women, Jessie Ace and Margaret Wright, are today commemorated by a Blue Plaque at the top of the steps leading to the pier beach. 

So what is Mumbles?

S.J. Qualls also asked about Mumbles.

I was born and raised in Mumbles and after a short period away from Swansea now live just outside this seaside village in south Wales on the very edge of the Gower Peninsular. In 1956 Gower was the first place in Britain to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Mumbles is famous for its pier and lighthouse but probably most famous for The Mumbles Mile.  It was considered something of a challenge especially for stag and hen nights to complete the Mumbles Mile, which involved drinking a pint of beer in each of the numerous pubs running from the village to the pier (20 in a 2-mile stretch). Now, thankfully some of us may say, a number of those pubs have closed so it's less challenging but in the past groups would come from all over to try to earn the right to a 'I've done the Mumbles Mile' mug or t-shirt. 

But let's concentrate on more attractive aspects. The village itself has a thriving community spirit again. After a long period when it lost its heart a new generation has arisen and revitalised the village with a host of posh shops as well as all the essentials. 

For good old-fashioned fun you need to visit the pier and its amusement arcade. After being in a state of disrepair for some years the pier itself is now being spruced up - and made safe! 

Before repair

Withe new lifeboat station 

Mumbles lighthouse from Bracelet Bay

And from the pier

For many years the lighthouse was manned and for some years a unit of soldiers was also stationed there. In 1883 the lifeboat was launched to go to the aid of a German ship. The crew was rescued but the lifeboat itself later got into trouble. Jessie and Margaret, the daughters of the lighthouse-keeper, helped rescue crewmen washed up in lighthouse waters and their actions were commemorated in a poem to be found here. And very recently a blue commemorative plaque was installed at the top of the steps leading down to the beach to the lighthouse.

Of course, Mumbles lifeboat has a proud and sad history. As well as the 1883 disaster in 1947 the boat and the crew of eight were all lost during a rescue.