An exhibition in Falmouth next month promises to attract unprecedented interest – it is about the Titantic.

“When developing and researching an exhibition, you never can be quite sure what artefacts and stories will be revealed and available to portray within that exhibition,” said a museum official.

“A museum always hopes to unearth something that has never been seen before or some incredible historical fact, but to discover seven stories with accompanying objects which have never been on public display before in association with one of history’s most tragic disasters is more than most museums could ask for.”

The National Maritime Museum Cornwall is hosting the national touring show, Titanic Honour and Glory, from March 6 June 21.

The Maritime Museum’s curatorial team knew they wanted to grow the exhibition to highlight Cornwall’s connection with the tragedy and before the exhibition went live, appealed to all Cornish descendents of those on board or associated with the Titanic to get in touch to discuss their history.

The response was incredible and as a consequence the Falmouth-based Maritime Museum has secured numerous objects, kindly loaned by direct descendents of those on board the ill-fated White Star liner that sank on April 15 1912, which have never been on display before.

Recordings of a passenger’s memories onboard Titanic, letters and postcards sent from the ship, gold pocket watches, bracelets, original photographs and newspaper cuttings and the porthole from the laundry room on board the great ship will all be on display as part of Cornwall’s story when the exhibition opens on Friday 6 March.

One of the lenders, Jeannette Francis, daughter of William Richards who, with other members of his family, was on board Titanic emigrating to America, says: “Our family history has always been just that, our family history. But, hearing that National Maritime Museum Cornwall wanted to tell Cornwall’s Titanic story, we thought we might pull all the family’s objects together and finally tell our story.

“My father, grandmother, great uncle and great cousins were all on board Titanic and to tell their story is very special. This is a one-off. The objects loaned to the Museum mean the world to us and that’s why they have never been seen publicly before, but because it’s our Maritime Museum telling our county’s story then we are more than happy to share our history.”

The Titanic Honour and Glory exhibition tells the story of Titanic and her sister ships through ceramics, photographs, film, furniture, models and various objects that all were either on board Titanic or her sister ships. The Hollywood element hasn’t been forgotten either with costumes and props belonging to Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio as well as the Heart of the Ocean necklace worn by Kate Winslet’s character, Rose DeWitt Bukater.

Jonathan Griffin, Director of the Maritime Museum says: “Titanic is a story with many different levels: perhaps the greatest maritime disaster but one that has so many touching personal stories. Exploring the Cornwall aspects has highlighted just how widely the effects were felt. To have revealed little known personal accounts and exclusive never seen before objects is credit to the families of those who were affected by the disaster in having the faith to allow us to tell their story.”

All the stories told and objects loaned for the Falmouth exhibition have never been on public display before.

There is the tale of Richard George Hocking,who emigrated to America from Penzance in the early 1900s and settled in Akron, Ohio. In early 1912 he travelled back to Cornwall to take his mother, aunt, two sisters (one of whom was Emily Richards nee Hocking) and two nephews (William and George Richards) back to Akron to live.

During the disaster all the women and children managed to reach the lifeboats and survived. The men all perished.

Katie Rosevear from Mullion and Stephen Johns, from Praze, great-niece and nephew to Stephen Jenkin have loaned a gold pocket watch belonging to Stephen Jenkin and postcards from on board Titanic as well as a gold forget-me-not bracelet Stephen Jenkin was a Cornish miner who had emigrated to Michigan, USA from St Ives to work in the copper mines. He came back to Cornwall in the summer of 1911 to visit his family and was returning to America on the Titanic.

He was said to have been concerned about his return trip and left his gold pocket watch and other valuables with his parents for safe-keeping.

There is also a porthole going on display, made by Thomas Utley whose great grandson David Caddick lives in Carharrack. The firm which built the portholes are still operational and often work with A and P at Falmouth docks.

Williams Stead was a journalist and authooir and his greast-grandson is Richard Stead of Flushing.

On loan is a scrapbook of original newspaper cuttings of the disaster and books written by William Stead.

Sir Arthur Rostron was the Captain of the Carpathia, the rescue vessel that collected the survivors of the Titanic. His grandson is Roger Howman of Truro who has loaned the original photographs and a book written by Rostron detailing the Titanic disaster.

The Carpathia picked up over 700 survivors and this year is the 10th anniversary of the discovery of the Carpathia wreck off the Cornish coast.