Learn more about lives lost at sea

As part of the free summer series of lectures at Sir Tom Cowie lecture theatre, former Life Brigade volunteer Kathleen Gill will host a talk titled Shipwrecks and Life Saving.

It will take place at the lecture theatre in St Peter’s at 2.30pm on June 27.

From 1850 to 1865 20,000 ships were lost around the British coast with a huge loss of life.

The talk will look at some of the most notable shipwrecks on the North East coast, the development of life saving apparatus and focus on the role of Sunderland Volunteer Life Brigade, founded in 1877.