And the organisers of the Heroes of the Titanic tour set to launch in April are appealing for local people to come forward with any other stories linking Dumfries and Galloway to the tragic maritime disaster.
Kathleen Cronie said: “Along with countless people across the world, we’ve always been fascinated by the Titanic disaster; the events of that fateful night in April 1912 played out like a Greek tragedy.”
Noting that bandsman Jock Hume and steward Thomas Mullin from Dumfries were among those who died when the ship sank after striking an iceberg, Kathleen added: “Having discovered Dumfries’ personal links to the ship, we felt inspired to create a tour in honour of Jock and Tom’s lives and to mark the brave sacrifice they made in death.”
Kathleen is the founder of Dumfries-based paranormal investigators and tour guides Mostly Ghostly Investigations, who are adding the new tour to a line-up which already includes Dumfries Ghost Walk\!q ,Haunted Theatre Tour, Haunted Highways Tour, Legends and Lore at Castle Loch and Ghosts and Graverobbers.
With just over two months till Heroes of the Titanic debuts, the team are keen to discover lesser known stories of the people involved in the disaster.
Kathleen said: “Through our research, we found several people affected by the disaster who were linked to Dumfries and Galloway and hope to learn more about their lives after Titanic.”
William Burdall from Dumfries was a waiter aboard the Carpathia, the first ship to arrive at the disaster scene.
Nina ‘Nan’ Harper was only six years old when the ship went down, and went on to marry a minister from Moffat.
And it is believed that Marconi radio operator Harold Bride, originally from London, married in Stranraer and settled in Dumfries and Galloway.
The team will also touch on Titanic First Officer William McMaster Murdoch, who came from Dalbeattie.
The inaugural Heroes of the Titanic walking tour takes place on Friday April 15 — the anniversary of the sinking — and will be preceded with a screening of the historical drama film A Night to Remember at The Robert Burns Film Theatre.
Anyone with information about local connections to Titanic is asked to email m[email protected]
