More information : This lifeboat capsized on service drowning all of her crew in wind conditions WNW force 7. She had been called out along with the Southport and Lytham (CHARLES BIGGS) lifeboats to save the crew of the three-masted barque MEXICO, which had gone aground on a sandbank between Southport and Lytham St.Anne's. A gale was gusting at force 9, and the 12 crewmen lashed themselves to the mizzen mast rigging, hoping to be rescued. At the same time during the night, the St. Anne's lifeboat capsized, drowning her entire crew, before the boat was washed ashore bottom up near Preston. A total of 28 lifeboatmen died that night between three boats, leaving 16 widows and 50 orphans. The disaster brought financial donations from Queen Victoria and the German Emperor, and £30,000 was raised in a matter of weeks by public subscription. A memorial statue to the tragedy still stands on the promenade at St. Anne's, a statue depicting a fully dressed lifeboatman gazing out to sea. (1)
The wreck was discussed on the television programme 'Coast' broadcast on BBC2, 5th August 2005. (2)
Owner: Royal National Lifeboat Institution (1)
Crew: 14 (1)
Crew lost: 14 (1)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
BOT Wk Rtn 1886 Appx C Table 1 p165(931);
The Lythamers 1844-1986, J Kennedy, 1986 p14-16;
Fatal Call of the Running Tide, B Cockcroft, 1995 p23-4;
Blackpool Lifeboat, A Souvenir History, J P Morris, p7-9 |