1:13pm Monday 20th October 2008
AN EXHIBITION which was voted one of the top five in the country by The Times has just taken up residence at Milestones, Hampshire’s Living History Museum in Basingstoke.
Titanic Honour and Glory opens this Saturday, October 25, and will run until February 22 next year. A small version of the display recently visited Gosport, but this is the first time that the full exhibition will have been seen in the south east.
The brain child of Sean Szmalc and Margot Corson, it’s an exciting, awe inspiring and evocative national touring exhibition, which has already been seen by over half a million people. It features many rare and previously unseen artefacts from the liner’s passengers and crew, including some of the beautiful china dinner plates which served the first meals aboard the Titanic and a Steiff bear, which William Moyes, senior sixth engineer on Titanic, had taken aboard for luck.
Also on show will be the silver cup presented to the captain of the Titanic for 25 years faithful service to the White Star Line. And, perhaps most poignantly of all, visitors will also be able to see the badly water-damaged silver pocket watch, recovered from the North Atlantic, with its hands stopped at 2.28am, the time the ship slipped under the waves.
As well as these artefacts, the exhibition will incorporate examples of the luxurious interiors of sister ships, Olympic and Britannic, as well as wonderful props and costumes from James Cameron’s 1997 film treatment of the Titanic story. Some of the beautiful dresses worn by actress Kate Winslet and her stunning Heart of the Ocean necklace can be seen, alongside photographs of the couple on whom the film’s story was based.
Sean said: “This diverse exhibition appeals to so many people from all age groups. With the exhibition we aim to increase the knowledge of Titanic’s history, that of her sister ships and the White Star Line, which owned and operated many of what were the finest liners that had ever sailed the oceans of the world.
“Each individual visitor to the Milestones exhibition will get a feeling of what it was like to have been on Titanic. The exhibition will take you on a voyage of discovery.”
Milestones will be putting on a full range of events and presentations to accompany the event, including presentations each weekend in November, and from December 26 onwards.
Andrea Kerr, Business & Marketing Manager at Milestones, added: “We are proud and delighted to be hosting this wonderful exhibition. It really does have something for everyone: families, school parties, couples looking for a different day out and anyone interested in the history of the early 20 th century.
“We also have a programme of talks and competitions surrounding the exhibition and details can be found on our website. What better way to spend a winter day out!”
The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday each week. Tickets cost £7.50 for adults, £6.75 concessions, £4.50 for children aged 5 to 15 and special family, group and school rates are also available.
For more information, log on to www.milestones-museum.com or phone Milestones on 0845 603 5635.
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