TODAY marks 110 years since the sinking of RMS Titanic that claimed 1,500 lives, with the ill-fated ship’s history forever “written into” Southampton.

Crowds are set to pay tribute at a memorial service today marking the milestone anniversary of the 46,000-tonne ship's grim fate.

Branded "unsinkable", Titanic sank during the early hours of April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage.

Among the dead were 549 people from Southampton.

Andy Skinner, Southampton Cultural Services Learning Officer said: "The story of the Titanic is written into Southampton like a stick of rock, and it's not just because the Titanic left from Southampton in April 1912.

"It's because so many of her crew lived here in Southampton - roughly three quarters.

"When the Titanic sank, 549 people from Southampton lost their lives, and it was said that every single street and person was affected in some way.

"If you visit Southampton's Titanic Story at SeaCity Museum you'll see the impact of these lives lost on the community on a large map of Southampton.

"It is a terrible but important part of Southampton’s history."

Wreaths are set to be laid at the Titanic Engineer’s Memorial from around 9.30am.

Clifford Ismay, 66, has made a 350-mile trip from Cumbria to be among those paying tribute today.

He is the distant relative of J. Bruce Ismay, the owner of the Titanic and a controversial survivor of the sinking.

Ismay famously survived the tragedy but faced criticism and was branded "the coward of the Titanic".

Clifford, the fifth cousin once removed of his distant relative, said it has been a "lifelong ambition" to place a wreath at the Titanic Engineer’s Memorial.

"I have a lot of respect for the engineers," he said.

"They were mainly the ones who sacrificed themselves to save others.

"Being a retired electrical engineer myself, I can begin to imagine what they went through."

Clifford has since written a book about Ismay in a bid to "give people the full details of what really happened".

In his book, Understanding J. Bruce Ismay, Cliff opens up the family achieves to uncover the story of the man "savaged by over a century of tabloid press".

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