It commemorates the death of 27 lifeboatmen from Southport and St Annes who were lost in the attempt to rescue the crew of the German barque Mexico that had been driven into a sandbank in a gale in 1886.

Three lifeboats were launched to come to her rescue, Charles Biggs from Lytham, Eliza Fernley from Southport, and Laura Janet from St Annes.

Most of this was used to help the dependants of the men lost, but in January 1887 the Fund allowed each of the three local committees a sum of £200 to erect monuments to commemorate the disaster.

On the east side, the tabernacle has a carving depicting a crew rowing a lifeboat through a rough sea, and beneath this are inscribed the names of those who were lost in the disaster.

[4] The Disaster Fund committee commissioned three other memorials to commemorate the event, two in Southport, and one in St Annes, all of which are listed at Grade II.