A COUPLE from Swindon are among the victims of the Titanic disaster to be remembered on the 100th anniversary of the sinking this weekend.

Benjamin Howard, 63, and his wife Ellen, 61, of Cheltenham Street, were among the 1,514 people who died after the ship hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

The pair set sail on second-class tickets on April 10, 1912, to visit family in the USA. They called in en route at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown (now Cobh), in Ireland. But they were never seen again after the collision four days later on April 14. Their bodies were never identified and it is thought they perished in the Atlantic.

News of the sinking took a few days to reach the UK and newspapers initially reported that no lives had been lost but the truth gradually became clear. The Adver first reported the tragedy on April 19, 1912, under the headlines ‘Giant Liner Lost: Titanic Sinks at Sea’.

The article includes details of the ship’s departure, the rescue mission, the initial death toll estimates, distinguished passengers, as well as a section on the threat of icebergs.

Also featured under the headline ‘Swindon Passengers on Board’, is the story of Mr Howard, a retired foreman at the GWR works, and his wife. There is also a smaller article, accompanied by a photograph of the couple, paying tribute to them and detailing their backgrounds.

In the main article, their daughter Ethel explains that they went out on Titanic because her father’s health had been ailing for a while, and, as he had two sons in the US, it was thought a sea voyage to the US would benefit him.

“They left home by the 2.15 train to Southampton on Tuesday and set sail on the Titanic on the Wednesday,” she told a reporter.

“I had been thinking of going to Southampton to see them off but I did not do so.

“We had a postcard from Cherbourg; and only on Friday night a letter from Queenstown — a very nice letter, too. But we little thought that this was the last we should hear of them.

“This news coming so suddenly and unexpectedly, has been a terrible shock; but we hope for the best. But it is terribly hard having to wait in uncertainty — with this awful suspense.

“We were more hopeful last night when we heard all the passengers were saved, but now 800 out of 2,000 are not many.”

Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, the Titanic notoriously carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people — a third of the total passenger and crew capacity.

A website dedicated to the disaster, Encyclopaedia Titanica, states that the couple died in the sinking and their bodies, if recovered, were never identified.

The Adver confirmed this in a later issue in 1912.

After the disaster, memorial services were held at churches across Swindon, including at Holy Rood Church, in Groundwell Road, St Barnabas Church, in Gorse Hill, and St Augustine’s Church, in Rodbourne Road.

At the Baptist Tabernacle, where Mr and Mrs Howard had been members, there was a special service asking for help and strength for the couple family, and the hymn ‘Nearer my God to Thee’ was sung.

A number of events were planned for the centenary of the disaster this week. In Southampton, Olympian James Cracknell formally opened SeaCity Museum, which contains a permanent exhibition about the Titanic.

Tonight, passengers on The Barmoral cruise liner, which is following the exact route of the Titanic, will stop at the spot the liner sank fo two memorial services to remember the dead.