THE heroic captain of the ship that rescued survivors from the Titanic disaster is to be honoured in his home town of Bolton.

Bolton and District Civic Trust has commissioned a commemorative plaque to mark the childhood home of Sir Arthur Rostron, KBE.

Historic records have revealed that Sir Arthur lived as a young boy in the stone cottage on Blackburn Road, Sharples.

Sir Arthur earned his place in history after he steered the SS Carpathia through the icy waters to pluck 703 people to safety. He is the only Bolton man ever to receive America's highest award - the Congressional Medal of Honour.

The civic trust decided to honour Sir Arthur after Bolton man Chris Gregory stumbled across the records as he searched for information about his own family history. Derek Mills of Bolton Civic Trust said: "The home of this man deserves to be commemorated. Without his actions it's almost certain there would not have been any survivors from the Titanic."

By chance, Mr Gregory's ancestors lived in a neighbouring property on Blackburn Road. And as he read the information he spotted the details on the Rostron family.

Young Arthur Henry Rostron is listed in the 1881 census as an 11-year-old, the second of five children to James and Nelly Rostron.

His birth certificate shows he was born at Bank Cottage, Sharples.

But inquiries have failed to establish exactly where that property is, and if it still exists. So the civic trust have decided to fix the plaque on his childhood home.

And the current owners of the house are delighted about its history.

Mr Mark Forrest said: "We were very surprised. To be honest when I first got the letter I thought it was a wind-up.

"We knew nothing about the history of the place but we're very proud to be associated with it now."

The plaque will be officially unveiled at a special ceremony at the house in the next few weeks.

The wording of the plaque reads: "Childhood residence, Sir Arthur Rostron, KBE, 1869-1940. Captain of the SS Carpathia, went to the rescue of the survivors of the SS Titanic in the early hours of Monday April 15, 1912."

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