A LOCAL author and relative of the owners of the Titanic has written a book hoping to exonerate Bruce Ismay.
Bruce, whose family owned the White Star Line, escaped the sinking ship in a lifeboat and was pilloried by the tabloid press as a coward.
'Understanding Bruce Ismay' was written by Workington's Cliff Ismay, a fifth cousin once removed of the infamous Bruce.
Owing to a deal negotiated by his publishers, Mr Ismay said he was unable to comment on the book yesterday.
But he has previously said that he felt that Bruce's survival had not been the result of rank cowardice, as had so often been suggested.
He has always stood by the fact that when Bruce Ismay got into a lifeboat, there were no women and children left on deck that he could see.
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In an interview in April 2012, the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, Mr Ismay said: "If I thought there had been one woman or child who had been denied a set of the lifeboat, I would never have tried to exonerate him."
The Ismays have local connections in that Thomas, Bruce's father, was born and raised in Maryport.
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The clock on Christ Church, the harbour church, was donated by Thomas Henry Ismay who continued to care for the welfare of the town long after he moved to Liverpool.
He bought the White Star Line and was its owner at the time of the Titanic's fateful maiden voyage to New York.
In 2012, Maryport marked its connection to the Titanic with an exhibition organised by the Maryport Maritime Museum.
The exhibition included replicas of parts of the ship's restaurant, a first class cabin and a third class one.
Props from the epic film, Titanic, were borrowed for the occasion, even including the red dress that Rose war in the film.
There was also a memorial church service held at Christ Church.
Lakes College catering students added to the event by hosting a dinner the same as first class passengers on the Titanic enjoyed. It was held first at the college and then in the Wave in Maryport.
Cliff Ismay's book will be officially launched locally at an event at the Maryport Settlement next Thursday, April 25.
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