Cambridgeshire man has personal connection to doomed Titanic

For Matthew Day, from Bluntisham, the anniversary has an added poignancy as his Great Great Great Uncle Frederick Wright was among the 1,550 souls who perished when the cruise liner sank overnight on April 14/15 1912.

Matthew is a member of the British Titanic Society and, for the past three years, has attended the society's annual convention, which is held to mark the anniversary and includes talks and trips associated with the ship, which was on its maiden voyage when it hit an iceberg and sank.

Frederick, who was born in Billing, Northamptonshire, was described as a 'racquet and court attendant' on board to teach squash to passengers on the doomed liner.

Matthew Day has been obsessed with the Titanic after watching the James Cameron film, and learning he had a relative on board. (Image: Matthew Day)

He had previously served on the Titanic's sister ship, The Olympic, performing the same role.

Matthew says he first developed a fascination with The Titanic after watching the James Cameron film of the same name, but he never realised the family connection at the time.

He said: “I remember talking to my grandmother about it after watching the film, and she told me I had a relative on board, so naturally I was even more interested after that."

Matthew was at this year's convention, which was held in Cobh, Ireland, formerly Queenstown, which was the Titanic's last port of call before it set off across the Atlantic.

Matthew Day travelled to the annual British Titanic Society convention to mark the anniversary of its sinking. (Image: Matthew Day)

Last year, he was in Liverpool, where the Titanic's operators, White Star Line, were based, and the previous year, he attended the event in Belfast, where the ship was built by Harland and Wolff.

The ship set sail from Southampton on April 10, calling at Cherbourg in France to collect passengers, before heading to Queenstown (Cobh), where it left to make the 2,890-mile Atlantic crossing to New York.

It had travelled nearly half the distance when it struck the iceberg roughly 400 nautical miles from Newfoundland, Canada.

Matthew Day's Great Great Great Uncle Frederick Wright died when the Titanic sank. (Image: Matthew Day)

Matthew Day is fascinated by the history of the Titanic. (Image: Matthew Day)

Matthew Day travelled to the annual British Titanic Society convention to mark the anniversary of its sinking. (Image: Matthew Day)

What happened after that has been the stuff of movies, and the sinking of the Titanic has become a legend that has captured the imaginations of thousands of people worldwide, just like Matthew, but few of them can claim such a personal link to the tragedy.