THE Lord Mayor of Southampton has paid tribute to victims of the Titanic on the 111th anniversary of the ship’s sinking.

In an intimate ceremony at The Leonardo Royal Hotel, just yards away from where the Titanic set sail in 1912, Cllr Jacqui Rayment cut a ribbon to mark the occasion as weekend long events take place.

She was joined by relatives of those who were on board the ship and Titanic enthusiasts who travelled to this city's for this year's British Titanic Society convention.

Speaking of the event, the Lord Mayor told the Daily Echo: “I was invited to officially cut the ribbon and open the event. It’s amazing that we still have dedicated people who want to remember and commemorate the sad sinking of the Titanic and the crew and passengers who lost their lives.

“Southampton had over 700 crew on board, people who lived and breathed Southampton, so of course it’s right and proper that there is recognition of that and remembrance.”

READ MORE: Titanic convention to return to Southampton this weekend

Daily Echo:

Also in attendance was Paul Taylor, whose great uncle, Cuthbert Taylor, was a third-class steward on the Titanic.

Paul said: “It’s important to remember those who lost their lives, for me it’s a family story.

“My great uncle lived in Oxford Street having moved from Arundel and he’d been on the Olympic – Titanic’s sister ship.

“When the Titanic was launched, they needed some crew who had experience, so he was moved across and unfortunately, he lost his life at 22, they never even found his body but that was the case for so many unfortunately.”

A weekend of meetups, walkabouts and conferences follows Friday’s remembrance as around 500 members of the British Titanic Society gather in the city from all over the world to remember the tragedy.

Commodore Ron Warwick, former Captain of the Queen Mary 2 and President of the British Titanic Society said: “I’m very honoured to be involved in the society. I spent a life at sea and although it’s sad to see the tragedy of the Titanic, it created changes that makes sea life safer.

“I think it’s important to remember these people because they did not die in vain and so many of them came from this city, so it’s like a spiritual home.”