Last survivor of Titanic forced to sell artefacts

RARE artefacts being sold by the Titanic’s last remaining survivor could be bound for Belfast.

Millvina Dean has been forced to sell the mementoes connected with the ill-fated liner in order to pay for her nursing home costs.

The Belfast charity, which is restoring the SS Nomadic, a tender vessel that ferried passengers on board the White Star Line cruiser ahead of its maiden voyage in 1912, has signalled its intention to bid for the collection at auction.

The Nomadic Charitable Trust hopes to display the items in the boat when it opens as a floating museum near the Belfast docks where the Titanic itself was built.

Ms Dean, 96, from Hampshire hopes to raise €3,850 from the items, which include a suitcase filled with clothes given to her family by the people of New York after they arrived after being rescued.

Compensation letters sent to her mother from the Titanic Relief Fund are also among the lots under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire tomorrow.

Ronan Corrigan, from the trust, said they were keen to acquire at least some of the items in order to preserve Ms Dean’s story and create a lasting legacy to Titanic survivors onboard the SS Nomadic.

“It is terribly sad that Miss Dean feels that she needs to sell these items in order to pay for her care and it would be even more of a pity to think that they could be sold to a private collector and locked away in a vault where they would rarely be seen,” he said.

“By restoring the SS Nomadic which, as the Titanic’s tender vessel is the last floating link to the great liner, The Nomadic Charitable Trust is seeking to create a lasting legacy not only for the people of Belfast but for people around the world who want to connect with the Titanic story.

“While the trust’s funds are limited, and we are aware of the huge interest that this auction is likely to attract, we would be delighted if we were able to secure these rare pieces of memorabilia and exhibit them onboard.”

Ms Dean, who was a two-month-old baby when the Titanic went down, went into a private nursing home in Ashurst, Hampshire two years ago.

“I was hoping to be here for two weeks after breaking my hip but I developed an infection and have been here for two years. “I am not able to live in my home anymore. I am selling it all now because I have to pay these nursing home fees and am selling anything that I think might fetch some money.”