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HISTORY

History of Port Talbot Coastguard

Before we start on the teams history I think it best to explain a bit on the back ground to shipping at Port Talbot. Shipping had used the Afan for Centuries and the first large wharves where built in the late 18th century. In 1836 the Port Talbot Harbour Company began work on diverting the river and converting its original course into a floating dock. This was enlarged in 1874 and copper and coal where the main exports When the massive Steel works was built the dock was to small to accommodate the bulk iron ore carriers. Work began in 1964 on the construction of the new tidal harbour.This is one of the biggest of its kind and covers 500 acres.

History of Port Talbot C.G.

History of Port Talbot Coastguard The Biggest problem is that over the years the CoastGuard has been run by a number of Government Departments,and records have been lost or they are destroyed. But we have been working hard in our spare time to try and see that what we have are preserved for the next generation. The first team were called L.S.A. men (life saving apparatus) in Port Talbot this was established in 1908,then as now it was a Volunteer Company,then as now it was a Volunteer Company I wonder what my Grandfather who joined in 1910 would of made of the pagers we now use for calling the team out.Back then they would be called by the Boxer Maroon which I had the Honour of seeing fired in the 70s it would wake the Town up. The CoastGuard was called by the firing of one Maroon but due to the Slag explosions in the Towns Steel works often making the same load Bang it was changed to two. The LSA cart was horse drawn by horse`s of Richards Brs Haulage Contractors of James street Port Talbot. this must of been hard work going across the soft sand of the beach and sometimes the gear would have to be carried by hand to the site of the wreck. Hard men back then just think of the crews who would row the lifeboats of the day in Storms.We have a lot to live up to and its nice to see our young team looking up to the men who served back then. The first Station at Port Talbot was a sheet of old tarpaulin with a old burner the men would HUM! Borrow coal from the docks wagons to keep warm in the bad weather. If you visit Port Talbot and goto the East end of the sea front you will see the first official lookout it looks like a castled roundhouse.This was the home from the 1920s to the late 60s when the docks was in its heyday.

This is where many hours was spent watching over the sea front.The water supply was rain water and coms was by phone,my late Father was on duty there the night of the sad loss of the Mumbles Lifeboat when she went to aid the SS Samtampa with all hands lost. Pictured Right are my Uncle Stan Locke and Eric Locke Stan is in his Coastguard Uniform while my Father Eric is in his Home Guard Uniform Back then The Station officer as they are called now at that time was the late Mr W.H.Matthews who was awarded the B.E.M for his services to HMCG About the time the Docks closed the Leisure industry took off giving the CG a different type of casualty.And it is the same to this day the Boat owner,the missing child.The next lookout was at Aberavon sea front by where the new lifeboat stn stands today this opened in 1974. But time stands still for no one and in the year 2001 we moved into our new Station which is also the Gower Sector Base.The future looks good for the Towns SAR Services with us the RNLI and the Local Life guards all in the same area with the latest in new Equipment to keep the beach as safe as we can. And with the Docks now reopen it can only be good for the town.