Century-old images show Titanic Memorial unveiling

The tale of the Titanic and its fateful maiden voyage is a story grounded in Southampton. More than 540 of the 1,523 who died during the sinking were residents of the south coast city.

Many of those from city who lost their lives were crew members on board the vessel, which sank after hitting an iceberg early in the morning on 15 April 1912.

Two years after its sinking, exactly 112 years ago on Wednesday, the Titanic Engineers' Memorial in Southampton's East Park was unveiled to pay tribute to those seafarers.

One person there that day in 1914 was amateur photographer Frank Ramshaw, whose black and white images from the occasion have now been shared with the BBC by his grandson, Mike Thomas.

"He attended the unveiling of the Titanic Engineers Memorial, which was 22nd of April 1914, two years after the Titanic went down," Mike explained.

"I thought it was worth sharing his photographs with a wider public, because I think the Titanic story has a Southampton interest."

The Titanic Engineers' Memorial was funded with worldwide donations when it was first constructed.

Last week, it provided the focal point for a vigil remembering those from Southampton who lost their lives on the Titanic on the 114th anniversary of the disaster.

Among those killed on the vessels infamous maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City were 35 engineer and electrical officers.

Mike said he had kept his grandfather's original glass plate negative pictures from the memorials unveiling following his grandmother's passing in the early 1980s.

"From about the age of about 8 or 9, I was fascinated by them," the now 79-year-old said.

"My grandmother, who was a Southampton personality, died in 1981, and I then took them and they stayed with me until about three years ago."

Frank Ramshaw had been an accountant and amateur photographer in Southampton before fighting in the First World War, Mike explained.

Having been deafened during the conflict, Frank taught himself to lip read before setting up an acting company.

He died in the mid-1940s, just a year before Mike was born.

"I never knew him, but it does take me back there," Mike said of his grandfathers photos.

"There is a fantastic family link through those photographs," he added.

Having managed to successfully restore the original images - which also included pictures of his grandparent's wedding in 1915 - using reversal film, Mike donated the negatives to Southampton Solent University.

"I held on to them, but then I realised that Southampton Solent University's art department was interested," he said.

"I thought 'I can't make use of them anymore, I've got them on the computer', so I gave them to somebody who could make use of them."