Memorial honours heroes of the seas

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.