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The doomed Titanic was filled with passengers from all over the world when it sank in 1912 – which was why Patrick Murphy was so surprised to be given a ticket for the ship bearing the name of a man from his home town in Derbyshire, Sue Williams writes.

It was as he was buying his ticket for the much-acclaimed Titanic Exhibition in Florida that Patrick Murphy had the spookiest experience of his life.

Patrick Murphy with the ticket bearing Beesley's name

Titanic survivor Lawrence Beesley

Patrick, of Nursery Croft, Wirksworth, had been on holiday to the sunshine state twice before but had never visited the museum on International Drive, Orlando.

So this time, he and his wife, Vanessa, decided to take their 14-year-old son, Liam, to see what life was like aboard the famous liner before tragedy struck on April 15, 1912.

“Each of the tickets had either the name of a passenger or member of crew printed on it, saying who they were and where they were from,” said Pat.

“There were 2,224 aboard the Titanic from all over England, Ireland and America. Out of all those people, my ticket was made out to Lawrence Beesley, a schoolmaster, from Wirksworth. Not only did he come from my home town but he actually taught at my school when it was Wirksworth Grammar.

“Not only did he come from my home town but he actually taught at my school when it was Wirksworth Grammar. It was unbelievable. It gave me a really spooky feeling. I told the guide and he couldn’t believe it either.”

The ticket which Patrick, 53, an engineering inspector, was given included various details about Beesley, including the name of his home town in Derbyshire and his age on that fateful night, 34.

For Pat it was a voyage of discovery: “I’d never heard of Lawrence Beesley until then but they told me that he was a survivor and that he had written a book about the sinking called The Loss of the SS Titanic. So I bought it and read all about it.

The Titanic on its first and last voyage

“Then, when we got back from our holiday a couple of weeks ago, I picked up a copy of Bygones and there was an article in it about Mr Beesley. My wife said she couldn’t believe this was happening.”

The exhibition in Florida recreates the story of the Titanic using actors who portray passengers and members of the crew. Visitors are given boarding tickets, greeted by the captain and then taken on a guided tour through full-scale replicas of some of the Titanic’s luxurious rooms, ending up in a dark, “underwater” room containing blocks of ice to replicate the experience of sinking when the ship hit an iceberg.

“It was an amazing exhibition and we thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Patrick, “but it was an odd feeling being handed that ticket.”

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County:  Derbyshire

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