THE Titanic: Honour and Glory exhibition, currently on display at the Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, is proving to be enormously popular.

The opulence and grandeur of the ship which was the largest on the sea at the time has captured imaginations, and her tragic sinking has inspired a fascination across the world which began on that fateful night in April 1912 and continues in the present day.

Alongside the tragic stories told in the exhibition, there are also truly remarkable tales of heroism and heart-warming reunions to enjoy. Many objects may at first glance seem rather mundane, but they reveal details of the lives of those who were lost and survived in very human stories.

One of the most striking exhibits is a nightdress that belonged to wealthy American socialite Margaret Welles Swift (nee Barron), who had been widowed in 1907.

Margaret took a tour of Europe with her friends, Dr Alice Leader and Mr and Mrs Frederick Kenyon, before joining the Titanic at Southampton as a first class passenger to return home to New York.

Worcester News:

When she and her companions first heard that the ship had hit an iceberg, under the impression that the Titanic was ‘unsinkable’, they felt no fear or urgency. When finally forced to leave her cabin, Ms Welles Swift had no time to change, wearing just this nightdress and a pair of slippers when she stepped off the ship and on to Lifeboat 8.

Margaret and her two female travelling companions survived the ordeal, but sadly Mr Frederick Kenyon went down with the ship.

Other poignant objects include a pocket watch that stopped at the exact moment its owner hit the ice-cold waters of the North Atlantic and a teddy bear that belonged to a crew member who never made it home.

Fascinating stories of people from Worcestershire linked to the Titanic are woven through the exhibition including George Leadbetter, an amateur wireless enthusiast from Ledbury who picked up a distress signal from the Titanic but was turned away from the local police station when he reported it.

Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum is open Monday to Saturday, 10.30am-4.30pm.

Due to the popularity of the exhibition, a booking system will be in place during the summer holidays for morning visits from 10.30am to noon, Saturday, July 17, to Saturday, September 11 inclusive for those who would like to enjoy the exhibition when it is quieter and without queueing.

To book, visit museums-worcestershire.arttickets.org.uk/.

From 12.15pm onwards no booking is required.