ONE of only three living survivors of the Titanic disaster is to take part in the public unveiling of a pocket watch worn by a fellow passenger who was not so lucky.

Millvina Dean, 93, of Woodlands, near Ashurst, will be among the guests at the London Trocadero's Titanic - The World Class Collection Exhibition, when the stockbroker's watch goes on display for the first time tomorrow.

She was the youngest person to survive the tragedy and was just ten weeks old when she boarded the ship in April 1912 with her parents and older brother to seek a new life in America.

Her father Bertram died in the disaster along with 549 men, women and children from Southampton.

They were among the total 1,522 death toll when the "unsinkable" vessel hit an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland on her maiden voyage

After the tragedy the rest of Millvina's family went on to rebuild their lives in the New Forest and she only learned about the tragedy aged eight when her mother was about to remarry.

The watch was among the possessions recovered from 40-year-old Austin Partner, who had been due to attend a number of business meetings in Canada.

Mr Partner, who was from Surbiton Hill in Surrey, had recently begun a new job with brokerage firm Myer and Robertson and had appointments in Toronto and Winnipeg to meet his new business associates. He left behind a wife and two sons.

The timepiece, which was found on Mr Partner's body, had stopped at 2.25am.

Darryl Keys, managing director of the tourist attraction, said he was delighted that Miss Dean would unveil the exhibition's latest addition.

"Millvina is very physically frail but mentally she is absolutely fantastic. There are not many opportunities for the public to meet a survivor of Titanic so this is quite a coup."

Mr Keys said Miss Dean is the only survivor involved in Titanic activities and is frequently asked to appear in documentaries and at Titanic conventions.

He said the tragedy still captured the public imagination and interest in it had not waned.

"The 1997 film really catapulted the story into the global consciousness and if anything interest in it will intensify in the run up to the centenary in 2012," Mr Keys said.

Mr Keys said other than being a bit rusty the watch was still in fairly good condition.

"The watch stopped at 2.25am. The ship actually sunk at 2.20am so you can imagine Mr Partner jumped into the water at about 2.15am and it stopped shortly afterwards," he said.

The watch is on loan to the exhibition from a leading UK collector.