Shrimpers service to mark anniversary of fishing tragedy

15th January 2019
A touching commemorative service will be held to mark the 150th anniversary of an infamous Southport tragedy that claimed the lives of seven men.
The story of a group of shrimpers who became lost in fog on January 26, 1869 – and who all drowned will be told again at a tribute to them thanks to historian Gladys Armstrong.
The victims included father of two Peter Aughton, 53; father of three William Hesketh, 39; father of six John ‘Marshall’ Rimmer, 43; father of three Robert Wright, 42; 20-year-old Peter ‘Hannah’s’ Wright, whose daughter was born shortly after his death; John Wright, 18; and Peter ‘Thomas’s’ Wright, 18, whose own father drowned at the same stretch on New Year’s Day just over a year before.
Flowers will be laid on their graves before the service for them at 2pm on Saturday, January 26.
Shrimpers service to mark anniversary of fishing tragedy