LIVERPOOL.- Fascinating objects salvaged from around the wreck of the Titanic 2.5 miles down on the ocean floor are new attractions at the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

The exhibits are a wrist watch, spectacles, a White Star Line cup, lead ventilation grill, a gold wristwatch, five tie pins and a five dollar banknote.

When the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912, with the loss of 1,500 lives, she broke up as she plunged down into the depths. The bow and stern sections of the wreck lie 1,970 ft apart surrounded by debris scattered far and wide.

Numerous expeditions have been down to the wreck since Dr Bob Ballard first discovered it in 1985 after an exhaustive search. The Titanic’s salvors later presented the above items to the Liverpool and London Steamship Protection and Indemnity Association which has loaned them to the museum.

The Association - based in Water Street, Liverpool, at the time - settled compensation claims from crew and passengers in the traumatic aftermath of the liner’s sinking. It was founded in 1881 by legendary White Star chief Thomas Ismay with other steamship owners from the two ports.

Dr Alan Scarth, curator of the Titanic exhibition, says:

“These objects are very evocative of the most famous shipwreck of all time. The personal items are particularly moving because they represent the terrible human cost of the disaster.”