Elephant

Official Number 13

The Elephant was built at Adlington, Lancashire, in 1831 by John Breckall. She was variously described in the shipping registers as a lugger or galliot. The first master was Capt. William Bond and he was succeeded by Henry Halsall in 1842 and by Thomas Halsall in 1845. John Turner, merchant of Preston is listed as the subscribing owner with 48 shares. The other 16 shares were held by James Fowler, gentleman of Adlington.

The Elephant was stranded and lost on the 19th October 1869. She had been carrying limestone from Ulverston to Runcorn.

The New Brighton Lifeboat Willie and Arthur had been called out at about 07.00 in the morning to assist the Elephant, that had grounded in a force 9 N by W gale on Taylor's Bank at  the mouth of the Mersey. The lifeboat was towed out by the tug Resolute and approached the wrecked ship from windward. The lifeboat got alongside the schooner and rescued one man, but another was then spotted, lashed high in the foremast rigging. Though the schooner was breaking up rapidly, the lifeboat's coxswain jumbed on board and attempted to climb the rigging. Unfortunately the mast gave way, crashing overboard and drowning the schoonerman. The coxswain, Richard Thomas, was saved and was subsequently awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.
 

Name	Year Built	Gross Tons	Length (feet)	Breadth (feet)	Depth (feet)	Masts	Figurehead	Stern	Lloyd's Classn.
Elephant	1831	57 82/94	61.5	16.5	5.7	2	none	Round

Sources :

1. Registration Document at Cumbria Record Office, Barrow (Information from Sue Bond)
2. Research by Peter Sandbach (referencing "Shipwrecks in the North West" by Catherine Rothwell)
3. Report of loss in "The Shipwreck Index of the British Isles Vol.5"  by  Richard and Bridget Larn: info supplied by Bill Butland.
4. "The Story of the New Brighton Lifeboats" by Jeff Morris, Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society (1986)