Titanic tours return to Boneybefore

Led by journalist and author Susie Millar, the living history tours at the Jackson and Fool’s Haven cottages attracted a large number of visitors when they ran in July.

Although visitors are first taken to the Jackson homestead, it is the second part of the tour which has special resonance for Susie, whose great-grandfather Thomas Millar was one of the many people who lost his life on board Titanic.

The poignant story is outlined in Susie’s book The Two Pennies, which tells of how Thomas, before setting sail on the doomed liner where he would work as a deck engineer, gave his two sons a pair of coins each and told them not to spend them until his return.

Sadly, Thomas never made it back and his sons, Thomas junior and William Ruddick, were raised by their great-aunt at Fool’s Haven cottage

Ruddick Millar, Susie’s grandfather, went on to become a successful playwright and author, and last year was honoured with a blue heritage plaque at the cottage.

“It’s amazing to think that such a tiny hamlet like Boneybefore has these amazing stories to tell,” Susie told the Times last month.

The tours, which resumed on Sunday August 4, will continue on August 18 and 25, as well as each Sunday in September.

The sessions are priced at £4 per person, although a reduced rate of £2.50 per person is available for groups of 10 or more. Tour times are 11.00am, 1.00pm and 3.00pm.