As the former premier port of the British Empire and gateway to the Americas, Liverpool has a rich seafaring tradition. But even if you have Liverpool ancestors who did not take to the high seas, chances are you will find some connection with the region’s rich sea-faring traditions.

Dockworkers, tugboatmen, Mersey river pilots, lighthouse keepers as well as ships’ chandlers, stevedores and warehousemen were the port’s economic lifeblood as it grew to world prominence in the Victorian era. Many of these occupations can be traced in the Census returns.

Some of the most romantic stories from that time centre round the coastguard and lifeboat service. The exploits of dramatic sea rescues and Mersey tragedies are well documented and there are some excellent archives which are well worth looking at, both in official records and the newspapers of the time.

One of the most famous incidents involved the sailing barque the Mexico which foundered in a storm off AInsdale in 1886.

The Southport lifeboat Eliza Fernley was launched with a crew of 16 hands in a desperate attempt to save the crew of the ship. After a battle of heroic proportions the lifeboat got within 20 yards and there were reports that the lifeboatmen had managed to throw a line to the stricken crew, but at that moment a huge sea swamped the lifeboat and it capsized, throwing her crew into the sea.

The Eliza Fernley remained bottom upwards, and was blown onto the beach. Three of the crew managed to get hold of the upturned boat and drifted ashore with her in safety; but the other 13 were drowned, three of the bodies being found under the boat when she beached. The remaining ten bodies were washed ashore the next day.

A second lifeboat – the Laura Janet from St Annes – and her 14-strong crew was also lost in the attempt to save the crew of the Mexico. The lifeboat was discovered the next day, minus mast and sails, opposite the Palace Hotel at Birkdale.

A third lifeboat, the Charles Biggs of Lytham, succeeded in reaching the Mexico and rescuing its crew of twelve.

Twenty-seven lifeboat men, fourteen from Southport and thirteen from St. Annes, were lost, making it Britain’s worst lifeboat disaster.

The Mexico was later refloated and became a tourist attraction off Lytham St Annes. She later completed a journey to the Falklands and back but was lost off the coast of Scotland in 1890.

The Botanic Gardens Museum in Churchtown Southport has a display and lots of useful information about the tragedy.

Seafaring sources
Merseyside Maritime Museum is the starting point for your research for seafaring ancestors in the region. Visit http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/
More information on the Mexico disaster and other information about your seafaring ancestors can be found
at www.mightyseas.co.uk/articles/lifeboat_disasters.htm and also at www.martyngriff.co.uk/page01.htm
An excellent resource for lighthouse keepers and the Mersey lightships etc can be found in the book Lighthouses of Liverpool Bay by John Robinson, Diane Robinson
ISBN: 0752442090. This work is readily available in the local history section of the major local booksellers and on the internet.

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