Cyprian-1881

Edern

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Cyprian 1881 

0 dan dir Hirdre Fawr mae Porth a Chreigiau Rhosgor (Rhosogor ar fapiau) a ddaeth i enwogrwydd gyda thrychineb y "Cyprian", llongddrylliad ag iddi'r hanes mwyaf gafaelgar o'r cyfan i gyd,' Roedd agerlong y "Cyprian" ar daith o Lerpwl i Genoa gyda Ilwyth o gargo cymysg ym mis Hydref 1881.
Chwythodd gwynt gorllewinol hi oddi ar ei chwrs a gwelwyd hi gan bobl Nefyn a'r Morfa yn nesu at y lan. Gyrrwyd y llong fel tegan brau o'i chwrs ar greigiau LIyn, Mor ddiymadferth a phetai Y gwynt a'r tonnau'n un. Dyna'r sefyllfa a wynebai griw bad achub Porthdinllaen pan benderfynwyd bod y storm yn rhy ffyrnig i hyd yn oed y gwyr dewr hynny fynd allan. Cafwyd cwyn yn erbyn y bad achub am nad aethant allan a chynhaliwyd ymholiad. Yr hyn a drodd y ddadl o blaid y bad achub oedd i ddeg o gapteiniaid lleol dystio fod y tywydd yn rhy arw i'w lansio.
Yn Rhosgor y daeth y "Cyprian" ar y creigiau a rhaid oedd i'r criw wneud eu gorau i ddianc i ddiogelwch. Pan oedd y Capten Strachaan, fel yr olaf i adael y llong, am fentro oddi ar ei bwrdd, canfod wnaeth y Cabden fod ganddo "stowaway"
Daeth y bachgen i'r lan yn ddiogel. Boddodd y Capten ac aed ag ef a chryff morwyr eraill i'r CefnamwIch Arms yn Edern ar gyfer eu hadnabod, a rhoddwyd heddwas yno i'w gwarchod rhag gwyr y wasg. Yn ôl y "DailyPost" daeth dau gorff i'r lan ym Mryn Ogo Lwyd ac un arall ger Bryn Gwydd.

Gosodwyd carreg ym mynwent Edern "er cof am 19 o forwyr foddodd trwy ddrylliad yr agerlong 'Cyprian' ar Benrhyn Cwmistir, 14 Hydref 1881 gan y Cyngor Plwyf yn 1942. Aed A'r capten i'w gladdu i Lerpwl.

Anrhegwyd y trigolion lleol hynny am eu hymdrechion glew yn ceisio achub aelodau criw y "Cyprian" ar greigiau Rhosgor. Cyflwynwyd sofren iddynt hefyd gan sgweiar Nanhoron mewn parti a roddodd iddynt. Gwelais gwdyn bychan a wnaed gartref i gadw'r sofren, a medal a thystysgrif gyflwynwyd i David Jones o Forfa Nefyn. Dywed Carol Hughes, mewn cyflwyniad i draethawd yn "Cymru a'r Môr" (cyfrol 4), mai ei daid ef, Seth Hughes o Benbryn Glas, Nefyn a achubodd y bachgen ac iddo yntau dderbyn yr un gwobrwyon yn union.

Mewn erthygl ar Capten William Roberts, Yr Ochor, Llanengan ym "Meistri'r Moroedd" cyfeirir at ei anturiaethau ac fel y suddodd ei long ger yr Azores. Cludwyd ef a'i griw i Lerpwl ar fwrdd yr "Highland Watch", a deallodd nad oedd prif swyddog y llong honno yn neb llai na "stow-away" y "Cyprian"! Pan laniodd roedd yn amser Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Penbedw, ac ymwelodd A hi y diwrnod y dyfarnwyd y Gadair Ddu i Hedd Wyn.

Daeth hanes antur y "Cyprian" i glustiau gwraig o Henley onThames a rhoddodd,£800 i Gymdeithas y Bad Achub. Canlyniad hyn fu prynu bad achub ai leoli yn Nhrefor a chyfeirio ato, fel Bad Achub Llanaelhaearn. Galwyd ef yn "Cyprian", ond dim ond unwaith y lansiwyd ef.*

* diolch i Elfed Gruffydd am dyffyniadau o 'Ar hyd ben 'rallt'

bibil-

Cyprian Oct. 14th 1881

The Cyprian set sail from Liverpool on a Thusday There was a crew of 27, and Capt. Alexander Strachan was at the helm. They were bound for Genoa and the Med. She was sited on Friday by the inward-bound African mail steamer the "Corino", which arrived in the Mersey the following day. The Cyprian was said to be making very bad weather of it. The storm worstened and before to long the Cyprian was a total wreck on the rocks at Cwmistir in Edern.
It was said that the Captain (who was last to leave his ship) gave his life preserver to a stowaway before attempting the shore himself. He did not make it, along with 18 of his crew he drowned. The twelve year old stowawy and eleven crew made it ashore alive, with the help of locals who had rushed to the scene. It was said that the force of the water was so great that the galley doors could not be opened. The stowaway and the cook had to climb out through the roof. The Captain, Chief Stewart and boatswain were all seen struggling for the shore but perished.
The survivors were taken in at the local farms. The bodies were taken to the Cefnamlwch Arms in Edern to be identified with a constable on guard. Two bodies were found at Bryn Ogof Llwyd, and one at Bryn Gwydd. Six of the bodies identified were : Capt. Strachan (Capt. and master),: Joshua Craven (Chief Officer); John Davies (chief steward); Thomas Powell (3rd officer); William Armstrong (engineer); and Michael Antonio (able seaman).
Amongst those saved were : Mitchell, Golding, Black, Gabriel Williams, Cogdell, James Jones, Sidney Smith and the twelve year old stowaway. The stowaway was too ill to return to Liverpool with the survivors when they returned to Liverpool with the captains body, and stayed at the farmhouse.

A stone was errected in the Churchyard by the Edern community council in 1942.

There was an inquest held following the incident, due to the fact that Porthdinllaen lifeboat was not launched to save the crew. The 'inquest' ruled in favour of the lifeboat when the testimonies of ten local sea captains all contested that the storm was too violent to launch the boat.
Another footnote to this story was the setting up of the lifeboat station at Trefor in 1889, (or Llanaelhaearn as it used to be called). A Lady from Henley upon Themes was so taken by the story of the Cyprians wreck, that she donated £800 to the life boat society. As a result, the "Cyprian" was based at Trefor, but was only ever launched once. The station closed in 1894.