New exhibition showcases Worcestershire's links to the Titanic

GALLERY bosses have taken then wraps off a brand-new exhibition to explore the legacy of the world’s most famous ship.

Titanic: Honour and Glory will bring to life the history of the legendary ocean liner, Titanic from May 17 to September 11 as Worcester City Art Gallery and Museums re-opens to the public.

Image courtesy of Titanic Honour and Glory Ltd collection and archives.

From her conception to her premature demise, Titanic has become the most famous ocean liner in the world.

In Titanic: Honour & Glory see a fascinating collection of rare Titanic and White Star Line artefacts in addition to magnificent props and costumes from the 1997 James Cameron film, Titanic.

Voted one of the top five exhibitions in the United Kingdom by The Times, Titanic: Honour and Glory will explore her story, and those of her sister ships and their owners, the White Star Line, as well as revealing the local links of some of its passengers.

The exhibition’s showing at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum will also feature a moving display about the Worcestershire connections to the sinking of the Titanic.

These were Francis David Millet, who was part of a group of artists based at Broadway in Worcestershire. Leopold Weisz, who studied at the Bromsgrove Guild of Art, where he met and married his wife, Mathilde. Henry John Spinner who was born in 1880 in Arboretum and later lived in Claines.

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Samuel Hemming a member of the crew, a lamp trimmer, and when he signed on gave his place of birth as Worcester. Ellen Walker who lived in Worcester, was conceived on the Titanic, daughter of passengers Kate Phillips and Henry Samuel Morley. These stories will add a moving personal resonance to the exhibition for local residents.

The exhibition will also include a letter on loan from Worcestershire Archive and Archelogy Service, written by first class passenger Frank Millet onboard the RMS Titanic dated the day before the boat sank. Frank, an American painter, sculptor and writer had written to Alfred Parsons, a painter and illustrator who lived in Broadway, Worcestershire with some wonderful descriptions of the ship and his fellow passengers.

Deborah Fox, senior curator with Museums Worcestershire said: “The Titanic disaster has such a powerful, enduring hold on the imagination we are expecting this exhibition to be a big draw over the summer.

Movie prop heart of the ocean necklace. Image courtesy of Titanic Honour and Glory Ltd collection and archives.

“The stories of Worcestershire residents who were on board the Titanic make this even more poignant. We look forward to welcoming visitors who are fascinated by this story as well as to welcoming visitors back safely to the Art Gallery & Museum as we reopen to the public following the national lockdown.”

Social distancing measures will continue to be in place when the exhibition opens and museum bosses will be managing visitor numbers, reminding visitors to remain socially distanced and to wear a face mask for a safe and happy visit.

Visit www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk for more.