Site Record

The wreck lies with its keel orientated 000/180degrees and is reported to be largely buried.

For information on the Protection of Wrecks Act 1986 and its administration with regard to vessels, please contact the Ministry of Defence, Wreck Section, Naval Personnel Secretariat, Room 125 Victory Building, HMNB Portsmouth, PO1 3LS.

Event and Historical Information:
LCG 16 (and LCG 15 see NPRN 273231) were landing craft of 627tons which were to be in the invasion of Scilly. The two craft had completed fitting out at Belfast and on passage from Belfast ,via Holyhead for supplies, to Falmouth. Each LCG had a naval commander and a complement of Royal Marines to operate the two 4.7in gins and twin Oerlikons, totalling 75 men for both craft. Only a partial deck had been fitted and a large open space was left behind the sealed bow ramp. This proved the undoing of the craft as the weather worsened and the two craft tried to reach Milford Haven for shelter. Both craft were swamped by heavy seas. The Flag Officer in charge at Milford Haven sent two tugs and diverted the escort vessel HMS ROSEMARY to the scene. The first to foundered was LCG 15 between Sheep Island and West Freshwater Bay with the loss of all on board. LCG 16 managed to make it inside the Haven. The escort sloop HMS ROSEMARY attempted to get a towline to LCG 16, but the tow parted several times and the landing craft eventually foundered sometime after midnight. The reported position was bearing 226 degrees, 1 mile from St Ann's Head lighthouse. HMS ROSEMARY launched a whaler to pick up any survivors, but within minutes the whaler had been swamped and the crew drowned. The St David's lifeboat SWN-Y-MOR was launched under coxswain William Watts at 10.45pm and reached the area at 1pm in the morning and searched for 40 minutes before finding one man covered in oil. The Lifeboat continued searching until daylight and arrived back at the station at 8.30am. The survivor, a naval stoker, was taken to the home of Dr Joseph Soar. He was later transferred to Milford Haven to join the two other survivors, an officer and a sergeant who had been washed ashore. Seventy-two men had perished, thirty-nine were buried in a mass grave at Milford Haven cemetery. Coxswain William Watts of the St David's Lifeboat received a RNLI Bronze medal. The crew and launchers of the St David's lifeboat received monetary wards. Two plaques bearing the names of the service personnel from the landing craft and from HMS ROSEMARY were unvieled at a special ceremony at Freshwater West on 25 April 2013 - 70 years after the tragedy. The ceremony was attended by representatives from the Royal British Legion and Royal Naval Association.

Sources include:
Gater, D, 1992, Historic Shipwrecks of Wales, pg103-4
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, pg90-95
Gwynedd Archive Service Caernarfon XM/2686/4
HMSO, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, pg52
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
UK Hydrographic Office Wrecks and Obstructions Database. ? Crown Copyright and database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the UK Hydrographic Office (www.ukho.gov.uk).

WWW resources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-22266884

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, May 2013.