People power raises £30,000 for memorial to lost Hoylake lifeboat crew

Dec 15 2010 by Lorna Hughes, Heswall News

PEOPLE power has ensured the sacrifice of eight Hoylake lifeboatmen will never be forgotten.

An appeal raised £30,000 in just twelve months for the 6ft bronze memorial outside Hoylake Lifeboat Station.

It will be a permanent tribute to the courage of the men, who drowned on December 22, 1810 after going to the rescue of a stricken ship.

The dead lifeboat crew, who were all from Hoylake – or Hoose as it was then known – were John Bird, 40, sons Henry Bird, 18 and John, 16, and nephew Henry, 18.

Joseph Hughes, 38, his brother Richard, 36 and Richard’s son Thomas Hughes, 16, also perished.

The eighth man has not been identified but the remaining members of the crew are thought to have survived.

The memorial will be unveiled next Wednesday, Dec 22.