March 2009 Archives

THE first national memorial in memory to RNLI crews killed at sea will pay tribute to 14 Southport men drowned in the "Mexico" disaster of December 1886.
The tragedy sparked a mass out-pouring of public grief, the like of which had never before been seen.

The disaster claimed the lives of 27 from Southport and St Anne's who died when battling to rescue the stricken German ship.
The Southport lifeboat "Eliza Fernley" capsized, drowning all but two of the crew as they approached the "Mexico" which had run aground off Southport.
The disaster - which left 50 children fatherless and widowed 16 women - touched the whole country, prompting messages of condolence from Queen Victoria and the Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.
The public outpouring of grief that followed the incident led to the world's first charity street collection, organised in Manchester by industrialist Sir Charles Macara, on behalf of the widows and families of the men who died.
The crew of the Mexico were saved by St Anne's lifeboats.
Andrew Fallow, RNLI Lytham St Anne's Lifeboat Operations Manager, said people are very aware of the Mexico disaster and are proud of the men who died in the rescue attempt.
"I'm very pleased to hear the victims of the Mexico disaster and other local lifeboat men who have lost their lives while helping others will be remembered on the national RNLI memorial.
"Ultimately, it will remind us all of the commitment and dedication of those involved with maritime search and rescue past and present, especially the RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crews."
Meanwhile the statue will also commemorate three Southport RNLI men killed in 1889.
F Rigby, J Robinson and W Robinson are thought to have died attempting to help the "Hannah Beckett" wooden steam flat which ran into trouble.
Chronicle "The Lawson Booth List of Wrecks Lying off the West Coast" which records all disasters between 1740 and 1990 tells us that the ship, owned by William E Davies and built in 1881, was wrecked on April 4 1899.
The records don't contain any mention of lives lost, simply stating "no details".
Do you have any information about the "Hannah Beckett"? Let LookBack know - email your nostalgia memories to visiternews@southportvisiter.co.uk or write to the Southport Visiter, 26-32 Tulketh Street, Southport PR8 1BT.
The Southport roll of honour on the RNLI Lifeboat College memorial to be unveiled this Autumn will commemorate:
J Ball 1886, C Hodge 1886, H Hodge 1886, P Jackson 1886, T Jackson 1886, B Peters 1886, R Peters 1886, H Rigby 1886, T Rigby 1886, T Rigby 1886, J Robinson 1886, R Robinson 1886, T Spencer 1886, P Wright 1886, F Rigby 1899
J Robinson1899, W Robinson 1899.

VISITER photographs from times gone by show Southport's heyday as "England's Classic Resort".
The charming images taken by Visiter photographers show an era when life in Southport was lived at a more sedate pace.
The pier is seen from all angles, including from the crest of the snow-topped waves in a frozen winter scene.


Others capture impeccably dressed ladies promenading along the pier in their summer bonnets.
A tourist hotspot, the images show Southport at the height of its popularity with crowds flocking to attractions such as the Victoria Baths, South Marine Park and Floral Hall.
Horse-drawn traps can be seen taking day-trippers along the sea front in the sunshine.

WOOLWORTHS staff came together to remember the days gone by at a special reunion night.
More than 70 former staff packed into the Volunteer on Eastbank Street to swap photos and memories of their days at one of the nation's favourite high street stores.
Maureen Oakley and a group of other ex-employees organised the night, which proved to be a huge success.

"It was a real good catch up night," said Irene Richardson who worked at the shop from 1977 - 2008.
"Some of them were from the really early years, and some were over 80.
"There were a lot of good memories and we all milled round saying 'who's that?' because hair and styles have changed so much!"
Organiser Christine laid on food at the pub, run by her sister, and made sure that her team of helpers all received a bunch of flowers as a thank you.

THIS week Look Back takes a moment to catch up with correspondence about some of our most popular recent stories.
First up is Audrey Swade of Park Road West whose fond memories of All Souls' Dramatic Club were reawakened by our golden anniversary special in December last year.
The club celebrated 50 years of treading the boards, and Audrey's daughters were among the players who have delighted audiences over the years.
She writes: "My daughters were in panto and spectacular.

"The highlight of the panto was headmaster - the late Bill Williams - getting the cane on his bottom for not singing loud enough at the Saturday matinee.
"The little dancers were from Norwood Road School, my daughter Linda, now 37 and living in Canada, was in the 'dance troupe' for several years.
"My elder daughter Michelle, 42, was in the chorus of the Spectacular - the highlight was Mike and Ronnie plus a cast member doing the three degrees, miming and dressed in glamour dresses.
"They were brilliant, happy memories."
Another anniversary piece prompted school days memories for reader Karen Mastoras, nee Dunkerley.
Our 50th anniversary LookBack dedicated to Greenbank High School last month reminded Karen of her time at the school.
She writes: "I was recently reading your article on 50 years of the High School which I attended from 1970 to 1976 and spotted the article about Miranda Richardson who was a contemporary of mine.
"I remember her as a friendly down-to-earth girl with a good sense of humour.
"I was not interested in a great deal of 'amatuer dramatics' but did take part in 'The Hobbit' and a couple of fashion shows.
"I do, however, remember a friend of hers called Karen Blanchard who studied Spanish along with myself at Sheffield University - and I remember the two of them being very involved with school productions.
"Karen continued in dramatic productions at university joining theatre group as an actress - I joined also but helped behind the scenes.
"I have particularly liked watching her in Black Adder and the film about Ruth Ellis and I wish her every continued success."
Last week we asked for help with locating F E Fell Stationer and Lending Library in Birkdale village after the Birkdale Civic Society passed us an old photo of the shop, which they couldn't place.
Mr Bell contacted us after the puzzle led him to Southport library to research the matter.
He told us that he remembered the shop as a newsagent in the village when he shopped there with his mother some 75 years ago.
Thanks to his sleuthing we now know that the shop was on Liverpool Road, almost on the corner of Alma Road.

NO INSTITUTION better epitomises Southport's holiday resort heyday than Victoria Salt Water Baths.
The pools were strictly segregated - male and female - and are fondly remembered by many in Southport.
Wally Birch, the owner of Victoria Leisure, says people often pop in to reminisce and take a look at the pools which have replaced the ones they remember.

After the war the baths were one of the resort's most popular attractions, but were also used for school swimming lessons.
Alice Abraham, 91, remembers being bussed in to Victoria Baths every week.
"I learnt to swim in the Birdie pool when I was at St Simon's and St Jude's.
"I used to go and watch my husband play water polo there too - he played for Southport and Lancashire."
But during the war the pools were used for a very different purpose - as a bathing facility for the army.
Opened in 1839 the baths were initially filled with filtered seawater in what was a huge engineering operation.
A six horsepower engine pumped gallons of water through a massive pipe which ran out into the sea.
This has only recently been blocked up with the building of the Ramada Plaza Hotel.
In 1871 Lord Skelmersdale opened the new Southport Salt Water Baths - making six pools and 250,000 gallons of swimming water available to the public.
Turkish baths were later added - but by 1919 the town council had stepped in to take on the baths.
For many years the pools were well used and much loved by Southport swimmers - many of whom will remember long serving swimming coach, Peggy Scales.
"Everybody knew Peggy Scales the instructor," says Wally Birch.
"She had a very loud voice and was quite a disciplinarian!
"But she was also a very good swimming instructor."
In 1978 the baths were closed and fearing the building would be left to rot a group of squash enthusiasts clubbed together to save the half of the building.
Eventually they sold the site to businessman Wally Birch, who developed fitness club Victoria Leisure there.