The Brave Lifeboatmen Of St Annes

A Memory of St Annes.

When I was a child in the 1960s we spent several happy family holidays at Lytham St Annes, and the Lifeboatmen’s Memorial on the promenade at St Annes always had a very strong effect on me. It commemorates the worst disaster in the history on the RNLI, when a total of 27 lifeboat crew lost their lives on a stormy night in 1886. The St Annes memorial is a likeness of the coxswain of the local lifeboat from St Annes who died along with the rest of his crew (13 men in all) while trying to rescue the crew of the barque ‘Mexico’. Lifeboats from Southport and Lytham were also called out to help the stricken vessel. The Southport lifeboat and most of its crew were also lost, but the sailors on the ‘Mexico’ were saved by the Lytham lifeboat. After the Lytham lifeboatmen had rescued the captain and crew of the ‘Mexico’ they courageously searched for the missing St Annes lifeboat, but to no avail. I was so impressed by this story that I grew up with a profound respect for the people who risk their lives in the lifeboat service, and I never fail to put some money in the RNLI collecting box whenever I see one!


Added 05 February 2013

#239981

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