The Mexico Disaster: Britain’s Worst Lifeboat Tragedy
- Southport Lifeboat
- Dec 10
- 7 min read
On the night of 9 December 1886, the Lancashire coast was battered by a fierce gale. In the darkness, distress signals were sighted from the German barque Mexico, a 484‑ton, three‑masted iron vessel bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador. She had left the Mersey days earlier with a general cargo but had been unable to escape the confines of the Irish Sea. Now, riding at anchor off Southport with her fore and main masts cut away to reduce windage, she was dragging inexorably towards the shore. Her master, Captain Burmester, ordered distress rockets fired at 9pm, signalling the hopelessness of their plight.
What followed was the worst disaster in British maritime rescue history, and in the history of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), claiming the lives of 27 lifeboatmen from Southport and St Annes.
Distress Signals and the Launch of the Lifeboats
The distress rockets were first seen by the Southport lifeboat crew at 9pm, then at St Annes a few minutes later. At Lytham, no lifeboatman was on watch, but the gun fired from St Annes Lighthouse was heard at 9.15pm, and walkers on the Green near Lowther confirmed the sighting. Runners were dispatched to call out the crews.
Lytham RNLB Charles Biggs was first away at 10.05pm, heading downriver under sail and oars before crossing the banks through terrific seas.
St Annes RNLB Laura Janet launched at 10.25pm with 13 men aboard, including volunteers who stepped in when regular crew members had not yet arrived.
Southport RNLB Eliza Fernley was hauled three and a half miles by horse‑drawn carriage before launching just after 11pm, carrying 16 men under Coxswain Charles Hodge.
Conditions were severe but not unprecedented: winds at Force 7, gusting to Force 9, with sleet, snow, and sudden bursts of moonlight illuminating the surf. The ebb tide against the westerly gale created a wicked sea across the shallow banks.
The Rescue by the Charles Biggs
The Charles Biggs reached the Mexico around 12.30am. Despite being knocked sideways by a squall that broke three oars, she recovered and veered down to the wreck. One by one, the Mexico’s crew of 12, who had lashed themselves to the rigging to stay aboard, descended by rope into the tossing lifeboat. One sailor fell and injured his thigh but was pulled aboard. Captain Burmester was last to leave, calmly swinging into the lifeboat with a rope tied around his waist.
The Lytham crew then pulled clear, signalling success with a green RNLI flare. They had saved all 12 men from the Mexico.
The Tragedy of the Eliza Fernley
Meanwhile, the Eliza Fernley approached the wreck around 1am, not knowing the crew of the Mexico had already been rescued. As she prepared to anchor and veer down, a huge breaking wave capsized her. The boat failed to self‑right, hampered by the weight of her anchor hanging below on a short cable and the spread of oars lashed to prevent loss.
The lifeboat drifted slowly back to shore, her crew entangled in gear or clinging desperately to her hull. Fourteen of her 16 crew were drowned; only two survived - Henry Robinson and John Jackson.
The Eliza Fernley was recovered and returned to her boathouse, where she was condemned after twelve years of service.
The Fate of the Laura Janet
The Laura Janet of St Annes never returned. All 13 of her crew perished. It is believed she capsized off Spencer’s Brow and remained anchored for hours before breaking free and drifting broadside towards Southport beach, where she finally overturned in shallow surf.
Faint lights had been seen offshore until 2.30am, but they were forgotten once the Eliza Fernley disaster unfolded.
Her wreck was eventually recovered and brought back to her boathouse by road.
The Crews
Southport Lifeboat Eliza Fernley
Coxswain - Charles Hodge
2nd Coxswain - Ralph Peters
Benjamin Peters
Peter Wright
Thomas Spencer
Thomas Rigby
Timothy Rigby
Thomas Jackson
John Ball
Henry Hodge
John Robinson
Richard Robinson
Peter Jackson
Harry Rigby
Survivors
Henry Robinson
Bowman - John Jackson
St Annes Lifeboat Laura Janet
Coxswain - William Johnson
2nd Coxswain - Charles Tims
Bowman - Oliver Hodson
James Bonney
Nicholas Parkinson
Richard Fisher
James Johnson
John P. Wignall
Reuben Tims
Thomas Parkinson
Thomas Bonney
James Dobson
James Harrison
Recovery and Funerals
Twelve bodies of the St Annes crew were recovered in the days following the disaster and laid out alongside the fourteen Southport men in the coach house stables of the Palace Hotel, where the public were invited to pay their respects. The body of Thomas Bonney was lost.
Donations for the bereaved families were collected at the entrance. The building where the bodies lay in rest is now a popular pub, The Fishermens Rest, named in memory of those lifeboatmen lost that night.
On Sunday 12 December, the recovered bodies were returned to Lytham and St Annes by train, while the wrecked Laura Janet was brought back to her boathouse by road. Funerals were arranged for Tuesday 14 December, coinciding with those of the Southport crew.
In Southport, thirteen men were buried at Duke Street Cemetery, six in a communal grave marked by a monument, the rest in family plots. Henry Hodge had been buried the day before.
In Lytham, seven men were buried at St Cuthbert’s Parish Church.
In St Annes, four were laid to rest at the parish church, while 19‑year‑old James Harrison was taken to Layton Cemetery, Blackpool, to join his brother William Butler Harrison, the first Coxswain of St Annes Lifeboat.
The processions were immense, with bands, lifeboatmen, civic leaders, and townsfolk from across the North West paying tribute.
National and International Recognition
The disaster deeply affected Victorian society. Grief was mingled with pride in the bravery of the Lytham crew, whose daring rescue of the Mexico’s sailors was celebrated.
Queen Victoria sent a telegram of congratulations.
The RNLI awarded its Silver Medal - one of its highest honours - to Coxswain Thomas Clarkson.
The German Kaiser sent a monetary reward, presented by the German Consul at the Clifton Arms Hotel.
All three lifeboat stations received Silver Medals from the French Société des Sauveteurs Medailles du Gouvernement de la Gironde for “courage and devotion to duty.”
Families in Mourning
The tragedy devastated families already struggling financially. Most of the lifeboatmen were fishermen, unable to earn a living during weeks of gales.
A public fund for relief of the sixteen widows and fifty orphans was opened, with the RNLI contributing £2,000. The Queen and the Emperor of Germany also gave generously. In total, £30,000 was raised.
Memorials were erected:
A statue of a lifeboatman looking out to sea on the Promenade at St Annes.
A memorial in Southport Cemetery.
A permanent exhibition at The Atkinson Museum on Lord Street, Southport.
A memorial in the churchyard of St Cuthbert’s Church, Lytham.
One of the saddest stories was that of Catherine Wright, wife of Peter “Diamond” Wright of Southport. She lost her husband, uncle, cousin, and brother in the disaster. The shock forced her into premature labour; her baby was stillborn and buried with its father.
In Lytham, the widowed 80‑year‑old mother of William and James Johnson lost her last two surviving sons, having already lost two others to the sea years before. James left behind a widow and five children under the age of 11.
The generosity of the nation, from monarchs to ordinary working people, ensured that the bereaved families were not left entirely destitute, and it set a precedent for organised lifeboat fundraising in the years to come.
The Final Chapter
The last body, that of Thomas Bonney, was found on Southport beach in March 1887. A long‑time member of the Lytham Rifle Volunteers, he was buried with full military honours at St Annes Parish Church, alongside his comrades.
With Bonney’s burial, the chapter of loss was complete. All the men were finally home, and the communities of Southport, St Annes, and Lytham could begin the long process of remembrance.
The Wreck as a Spectacle
The Mexico herself was sold for £45 to Preston shipbuilder William Allsup, who salvaged and towed her to Lytham in March 1887. Moored near the Customs House, she became an exhibition ship, open to the public for sixpence a head. Crowds flocked to see her, over 1,000 visitors in a single day brought in £27. Steamers carried passengers from Preston, and showmen from Blackpool even tried to buy her for their town, though unsuccessfully.
To modern eyes, the Victorian fascination with viewing wrecks and even postcards of the drowned crew may seem macabre. Yet it reflected the era’s appetite for spectacle. Parts of the cargo were sold locally, and some homes still boast machetes originally bound for South America’s sugar cane fields.
Eventually, the Mexico left Lytham, and in 1890 she sank in Scottish waters. Though the vessel herself is gone, her story, and that of the men who gave their lives, remains anchored in the communities that remember them.
Warriors of the Sea
The story of the Mexico disaster has inspired generations, not only through memorials and exhibitions but also in art and verse. One of the most poignant tributes came in the form of a poem, “Warriors of the Sea”, written by Clement Scott and published in Munch Magazine on Christmas Day, 1886, just weeks after the tragedy.
This version is narrated by John Porter, himself a father and grandfather to serving members of our crew, giving the words a deeply personal resonance. The poem is set to music produced by Ian Cleverdon and performed by Ian Cleverdon and Mark Hibell.
Originally recorded in the late 1990s, it has recently been remastered into the version you hear today.
The poem tells the story of the disaster and the ferocious conditions faced by the lifeboatmen on that night, capturing both the heroism and the heartbreak of their final service.
Content with thanks to:
Botanic Gardens Museum, Churchtown, Southport, for the use of extracts from: A History of the Southport Lifeboats by J.H. Lawson Booth
Katherine Porter for the use of extracts from:The Evolution of the Southport Lifeboat
Sources in quotes are taken from: Annals of Southport and District by E. Blands
With thanks to Dr Noel Stimson