Lifeboat Memorial, Duke Street Cemetery, Southport
On 9 December 1886, Mexico, a Hamburg-registered barque sailing from Liverpool went aground near Southport, in a full west north westerly gale. The Eliza Fernley lifeboat was launched from Southport in heavy seas in response to distress signals from the Mexico. When the craft reached Mexico, she was struck by giant waves and capsized. Two hours later, she was found approximately three miles from Southport at Birkdale. Fourteen of her sixteen crew had perished. After the Southport boat launched, the neighbouring St Anne's lifeboat the Laura Janet was also called out. Her crew proceeded to two miles off Southport, but the next morning the Laura Janet was found ashore, bottom up and every man in the crew was lost. A third lifeboat from Lytham reached the Mexico and all 12 members of her crew were saved. The Southport and St Anne’s lifeboats disaster is still the worst in the history of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), with 27 lifeboat crew lost. 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 contributing. The sum of £30,000 was raised in total with much of the money being raised by locals. There are memorials at both St Anne’s and Southport. In 1925, the RNLI withdrew its service from Southport and left the town with no lifeboat. However, in the late 1980s, after a series of unfortunate tragedies, local families from Southport again started to raise funds and eventually were able to buy a new lifeboat for the town stationed at the old RNLI boathouse. The Southport Offshore Rescue Trust is completely independent of the RNLI and like the RNLI it depends entirely on charitable funding. This photograph was taken with a circa 1959 Yashica Mat twin lens reflex camera loaded with Ilford XP7 film. The film was developed by me and then scanned in to my computer. The Yashica Mat is a 120 roll film medium format camera that takes 6x6 cm square negatives. Profits from the sale of this photograph will be donated to the Southport Offshore Rescue Trust.
Our images are printed using premium K3 print technology on Hahnemühle Fine Art Torchon matt photographic paper. The special feature of the light white paper (285 g/m²) is its material: 100% alpha-cellulose defines the characteristically coarse texture. It gives your image a timeless, true-to-the-original charisma with a 3D effect. The hand-made style paper is highly water resistant and the use of premium K3 Epson prints ensures luminous colours and deep blacks for at least 100 years.
Textile print on stretcher frame – a fabric print using modern technology
Your image will be printed on fabric in razor-sharp quality and with brilliant colours and with its subtly textured surface; it transforms any photo into a unique gallery work that is full of life. During the thermal sublimation process, the colours are completely evaporated into the material. The resolution of up to 720 dpi and the enlarged CMYK colour spectrum allows accurate colour reproduction with clear contours. We only use textiles that are free of harmful substances and that have been awarded the internationally recognised Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification. Your image is mounted on the solid wood stretcher frame in its true form using only, high quality stretcher frames made of solid wood. The spruce wood comes from German suppliers and is sourced from sustainable forests. To give the stretcher frames permanent protection from losing shape, we triple reinforce the corners under the textile print using metal braces. When mounting on the stretcher frame we avoid using wedges – the frame is so stable that you won't need to loosen or tighten it at a later stage and it will arrive ready to hang.
For any other printing requirements, sizes or framing please contact us and we will be happy to help.