THE grandson of Bolton's Titanic hero, Sir Arthur Rostron, cannot bring himself to watch the smash hit movie.

David Rostron says the screams and cries of the drowning passengers calling for help 'are too close to home'.

The Liverpudlian's comments were made during a visit to Bolton on Saturday to watch a commemorative plaque unveiled on a house in Blackburn Road, where Sir Arthur used to live.

Sir Arthur, as Captain of the SS Carpathia, went to rescue more than 700 passengers from the Titanic after she sank on April 15, 1912.

The ex-Bolton School boy went on to become a distinguished war hero gaining numerous honours, Humane Society Medals and the KBE.

Mr Rostron, 68, who has a strong family resemblance to Sir Arthur and was also a sailor, said: "I am very proud of my grandfather. He was a kindly man. I have fond memories of him patting me on my head and sending me off into the garden so that he could talk with my father.

"I was delighted to hear that Bolton was honouring his memory. It is something rather different.

"I can't bring myself to watch the new film, although I have seen the old one. As a seafaring man myself, the cries and screams of the women are all too familiar. It also makes me look at it differently knowing that my grandfather was there. It's not my favourite subject."

Mr Rostron joined VIP guests in Bolton who gathered for the unveiling of the plaque by the town's Deputy Mayor, Cllr Peter Birch.

Derek Mills, of the Bolton and District Civic Trust, said that the ceremony was to honour an "eminent sailor" and not to commemorate a disaster.

Houseowners Janet and Mark Forrest were among the guests.

Both have watched the hit movie with "new eyes" since discovering their home's famous past.

Sir Arthur, born at Bank Cottage, Sharples, is said to have lived in the 150-year-old house on Blackburn Road until 1881, when he was 15 and moved to Liverpool.

Heavily-pregnant Janet Forrest, aged 30, a nursery nurse at the Royal Bolton Hospital, said: "We bought the house three years ago without knowing about Sir Arthur.

"It makes us realise just how old our house is. We think it is very romantic. After finding out, we went to watch the film - but it was only right at the end that we got a brief glimpse of Sir Arthur. They didn't concentrate much on him, which was disappointing."

Mr Mills hopes the plaque will help Boltonians have a "pride in their heritage."

"It is certainly the most exciting project that I have worked on. I have no idea why it has taken so long for Bolton to commemorate such a man, " Mr Mills admitted.

He added: "Sir Arthur was a hero in the true sense. He was not just a local hero, nor was he a national hero, rather an international hero of the 20th century."

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