The Lusitania visits Fishguard | Y Lusitania yn ymweld ag Abergwaun
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In 1909, Fishguard became a port of call for the Lusitania on eastbound transatlantic crossings between Liverpool and New York. Not only had Fishguard brought the United Kingdom and the United States closer together, but it also demonstrated the ‘magnificent position and the potentialities of Fishguard as a Transatlantic port’, according to a 1909 newspaper article in The Tenby Observer.
The RMS Lusitania of the Cunard line was primarily built as a passenger ship to compete with German shipping lines during a lucrative time of transatlantic passenger trade. However, once completed in 1907, the Lusitania was the largest and fastest ship in the world. On 11 October 1907, the Lusitania won the ‘Blue Riband’ for the fastest Atlantic crossing, before being surpassed by her sister ship, the Mauretania, months later.
The Lusitania first arrived in Fishguard in the afternoon of Monday, 6 September 1909. A remarkable 1,000 bags of mails, 30 tons of baggage and approximately 200 passengers disembarked at Fishguard. Among the passengers was Sir Joseph Lawrence, a member of parliament for the Conservative Party between 1901 and 1906, who described the venture as a ‘most enjoyable voyage’. According to The Cardiff Times, the efficiency of Fishguard’s port workers were unrivalled with the full transfer taking place ‘within 30 minutes.’ The port was further praised highly by The Tenby Observer: ‘everything and everybody at Fishguard struck the high-pitched note of activity and precision. Nothing was left to chance. That was obvious even in the smallest detail. The disembarking operations were carried out like clockwork – without fuss or delay.’
The interior of the Lusitania was arguably the most luxurious and comfortable in the world. Designed by James Millar of Scotland, the interior had a bright, open-spaced ambiance. The white plastered finish differed from the Mauretania’s dark, wood panelled interior. Despite being of top class, passengers of all classes were welcome aboard, as seen in Fishguard when 160 first-, 54 second-, and 10 third-class passengers disembarked.
Five years after the first landing in Fishguard, the Lusitania was the last transatlantic liner ever to call at the port on 14 September, 1914. Competition from other ports and continuous rising costs challenged Fishguard’s future. Whilst it was hoped that transatlantic trade via Fishguard could be resumed after the war, it was not to be.
Despite warnings, the Lusitania set out on her last voyage on 1 May, 1915. During this time of the First World War, Germany had declared the North Atlantic Ocean a war zone and had advised Americans not to sail on the Lusitania across it. On 7 May, the ship was torpedoed 11 miles off the Irish coast by a German U-boat. It took just 18 minutes for the Lusitania to sink, killing 1,198 passengers. The sinking caused great protest from the United States and set in motion a chain of reactions which may have influenced their decision to join the war.
Ym 1909, dechreuodd y Lusitania alw ym mhorthladd Abergwaun wrth groesi Môr Iwerydd tua’r dwyrain rhwng Lerpwl ac Efrog Newydd. Nid yn unig roedd Abergwaun wedi dod â’r Deyrnas Unedig a’r Unol Daleithiau yn nes at ei gilydd, ond yn ôl erthygl papur newydd ym 1909 yn The Tenby Observer, llwyddodd i ddangos hefyd fod y dref mewn safle gwych ac yn cynnig gwir botensial fel porthladd trawsatlantig.
Cafodd yr RMS Lusitania o eiddo cwmni Cunard ei hadeiladu’n bennaf fel llong deithio i gystadlu â llongau cwmnïau o’r Almaenig yn ystod cyfnod proffidiol o fasnach deithwyr dros Fôr Iwerydd. Ond, ar ôl cael ei chwblhau ym 1907, y Lusitania oedd y llong fwyaf a chyflymaf yn y byd. Ar 11 Hydref 1907, enillodd y Lusitania y ‘Rhuban Glas’ ar gyfer y croesiad cyflymaf ar draws yr Iwerydd, cyn cael ei churo gan ei chwaer long, y Mauretania, rai misoedd wedyn.
Cyrhaeddodd y Lusitania Abergwaun am y tro cyntaf brynhawn Llun, 6 Medi 1909. Cafodd cyfanswm hynod o 1,000 o fagiau post, 30 tunnell o fagiau a rhyw 200 o deithwyr eu codi oddi arni yn Abergwaun. Roedd y teithwyr yn cynnwys Syr Joseph Lawrence, aelod seneddol dros y Blaid Geidwadol rhwng 1901 a 1906, a ddisgrifiodd y fenter fel ‘a most enjoyable voyage’. Yn ôl The Cardiff Times, doedd neb i gystadlu ag effeithlonrwydd gweithwyr porthladd Abergwaun a chafodd popeth ei drosglwyddo o fewn hanner awr. Cafodd y porthladd ei ganmol yn fawr eto gan The Tenby Observer: ‘everything and everybody at Fishguard struck the high-pitched note of activity and precision. Nothing was left to chance. That was obvious even in the smallest detail. The disembarking operations were carried out like clockwork – without fuss or delay.’
Gellid dadlau mai’r tu mewn i’r Lusitania oedd y mwyaf moethus a chyfforddus yn y byd. Cafodd ei gynllunio gan James Millar o’r Alban, ac roedd y tu mewn i’r llong yn cynnig awyrgylch llachar, agored. Roedd y gorffeniad plastr gwyn yn wahanol i’r tu mewn tywyll, pren a oedd gan y Mauretania. Er bod y llongau o’r radd flaenaf, câi teithwyr o bob dosbarth eu croesawu, fel y gwelwyd yn Abergwaun pan ddaeth 160 o deithwyr dosbarth cyntaf, 54 o deithwyr ail ddosbarth a 10 o deithwyr trydydd dosbarth oddi arni.
Bum mlynedd ar ôl y glanio yn Abergwaun am y tro cyntaf, y Lusitania oedd y llong deithio drawsatlantig olaf erioed i alw yn y porthladd a hynny ar 14 Medi 1914. Creodd cystadleuaeth o borthladdoedd eraill a chostau cynyddol parhaus her i ddyfodol Abergwaun. Y gobaith oedd y gellid ailddechrau’r fasnach drawsatlantig drwy Abergwaun ar ôl y rhyfel, ond nid felly y bu.
Er gwaethaf rhybuddion, cychwynnodd y Lusitania ar ei mordaith olaf ar 1 Mai 1915. Yn y cyfnod hwn yn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf, roedd yr Almaen wedi cyhoeddi bod gogledd Môr Iwerydd yn barth rhyfel ac wedi dweud wrth Americaniaid am beidio â hwylio ar y Lusitania ar ei draws. Ar 7 Mai, cafodd y llong ei tharo gan dorpedo 11 milltir oddi ar arfordir Iwerddon gan long danfor o’r Almaen. Dim ond 18 munud a gymerodd i’r Lusitania suddo, gan ladd 1,198 o deithwyr. Achosodd yr ymosodiad brotest fawr yn yr Unol Daleithiau a dechrau cyfres o adweithiau a allai fod wedi dylanwadu ar eu penderfyniad i ymuno â’r rhyfel.