The Haunting of the HMS Asp | Ysbryd yn cerdded HMS Asp
Media
Images
Text
In 1857, Pembroke Dock was the setting for the remarkable climax of the haunting of the HMS Asp which, at the time, was used as a surveying vessel in the Royal Navy under the command of one Captain George Manley Alldridge (1815–1905).
Over the previous years, the Asp had been haunted regularly. At first, the hauntings were inexplicable bangs and clashes in various empty cabins. Later on, a ghostly lady routinely frightened crew members out of their wits.
Initially, Alldridge dismissed his men’s complaints, thinking a drunken person caused the noises by running into cabin furniture. That is, until he too noticed beds moving about, feeling cold hands touching his forehead or legs – and seeing his men falling down in fright after encountering the ghostly lady gliding about on deck and pointing ominously to heaven.
When the Asp eventually reached Pembroke Dock to undergo repairs in 1857, the ghostly lady appeared again. This time, however, she left the boat and headed towards the nearby churchyard. On her way, she frightened several military sentinels posted throughout town, causing them to drop their guns and run away. Eventually, she entered the old, overgrown churchyard, stopped over an unidentified grave and, with a final gesture towards heaven, disappeared never to be seen or heard of again.
Following her disappearance, Alldridge only ever found clues as to the identity of the ghost. Years before he took over the command of the Asp, the vessel was called Fury and travelled as a packet steamer across the Irish Sea. One day, the body of a beautiful young woman, her throat slit, had been discovered by a stewardess whilst cleaning the women’s sleeping berths after the ship landed in Ireland. Neither her identity nor that of her killer were ever verified.
Yn 1857, Doc Penfro oedd y lleoliad ar gyfer uchafbwynt nodedig yr ysbryd a gerddai HMS Asp a oedd, bryd hwnnw, yn cael ei defnyddio fel arolygiaeth yn y Llynges Frenhinol dan awdurdod y Capten George Manley Alldridge (1815-1905).
Yn ystod y blynyddoedd cyn hynny, cerddai rhyw ysbryd yr Asp yn rheolaidd. Cleciau a thrawiadau anesboniadwy mewn cabanau gwag a gafwyd i ddechrau. Ond, yn ddiweddarach, byddai ysbryd benywaidd yn codi ofn difrifol yn aml ar aelodau’r criw.
I ddechrau, wfftio cwynion ei ddynion wnaeth Alldridge, gan feddwl mai meddwyn oedd yn achosi’r synau trwy redeg i mewn i gelfi’r caban. Hynny yw, tan iddo yntau hefyd sylwi ar welyau yn symud o gwmpas, yn teimlo dwylo oer yn cyffwrdd â’i dalcen neu ei goesau – a gweld ei ddynion yn syrthio mewn ofn ar ôl dod ar draws y ddynes ysbrydol yn ymlithro heibio ar y dec ac yn pwyntio’n fygythiol at y nef.
Pan gyrhaeddodd yr Asp Ddoc Penfro ar gyfer ei hatgyweirio yn 1857, ymddangosodd yr ysbryd benywaidd unwaith eto. Y tro hwn, fodd bynnag, gadawodd y llong a throi am fynwent yr eglwys gyfagos. Ar ei ffordd yno, cododd ofn ar sawl gwarchodwr milwrol yn y dref, gan beri iddynt adael eu gynnau a rhedeg i ffwrdd. Ymhen hir a hwyr, cyrhaeddodd yr hen fynwent a oedd wedi tyfu’n wyllt, arhosodd uwchben bedd anhysbys a, chan daflu un ystum olaf tuag at y nefoedd, fe ddiflannodd ac nid oes neb wedi ei chlywed na’i gweld ers hynny.
Yn dilyn ei diflaniad, daeth Alldridge o hyd i ychydig gliwiau ynghylch hunaniaeth yr ysbryd. Flynyddoedd cyn iddo gymryd awenau'r Asp, galwyd y llong yn Fury a theithiodd fel stemar pecyn ar draws Môr Iwerddon. Un diwrnod, darganfuwyd corff menyw ifanc hardd, gyda’i gwddf wedi ei dorri gan gyllell, gan stiwardes wrth lanhau ystafelloedd cysgu’r menywod ar ôl i’r llong lanio yn Iwerddon. Ni ddarganfuwyd pwy oedd y fenyw nac ychwaith pwy a’i llofruddiodd.