''Mexico'' was a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

that was wrecked off

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

on 9 December 1886. She was repaired only to be lost in Scottish waters in 1890.

History

Wreck

On 9 December 1886, the ''Mexico'' was on its way from

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

when it was caught in a storm.

Lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

were launched from

Lytham Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the 2011 census was 42,954. The town is almost contiguous with B ...

, St. Annes and

to rescue the crew. The Lytham lifeboat ''Charles Biggs'', which was on her maiden rescue, rescued the twelve crew but both the St. Annes lifeboat ''Laura Janet'' and the Southport lifeboat ''Eliza Fernley'' were capsized, and 27 of the 29 crew were drowned. To date, this is the worst loss of

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

crew in a single incident. ''Mexico'' came ashore off

Birkdale Birkdale is an area of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The area is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from the centre of S ...

, opposite the Birkdale Palace Hotel.

Aftermath

Sixteen women were left widows, and fifty children lost their fathers.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

and the

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for " emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly a ...

sent their condolences to the families of the lifeboatmen. An appeal was launched to raise money to provide a memorial to those killed, and the organisation by Sir

Charles Macara Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

of the first street collections in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in 1891 led to the first flag days. The disaster has a permanent memorial in Lytham St. Annes lifeboat house. An appeal has been launched by the Lytham St. Annes Civic Society for the restoration of four of the memorials.

Memorials

Lytham memorial to RNLI lifeboat Laura Janet 1886

Memorials to the tragedy were erected on the Promenade at St. Annes, in the lifeboat house at Lytham St. Annes, in St. Annes parish church, in St Cuthbert's Churchyard, Lytham and at Layton Cemetery. A further memorial was erected at Duke Street Cemetery, Southport.

Further history

''Mexico'' was refloated on 11 March 1887. She was sold for £45, becoming a temporary tourist attraction at Lytham St Annes. She was eventually lost in Scottish waters in 1890.

Television

The story of the wreck of the ''Mexico'' was featured in an episode of the BBC TV programme ''Coast'', appearing in the fifth episode of the first series, first broadcast on 3 July 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mexico (Barque) 1886 in the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in December 1886 History of Blackpool Shipwrecks in the Irish Sea Merchant ships of the German Empire Maritime incidents in 1890