A new exhibition in the Maritime Museum of the Buckler's Hard tells the remarkable story of the P&O liner, SS Persia and its links with Rolls Royce and the Montagu family. In December 1915, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in the Mediterranean. On board were Lord John Montagu and his personal assistant Eleanor Thornton, the model for the iconic Rolls Royce mascot, the Spirit of Ecstasy. John Montagu survived but Eleanor perished.
Following the world's deepest salvage operation of its type, several of the ship's artefacts, entombed since its sinking nearly one hundred years ago, will be on display for the first time. Included in the exhibition are items from the passengers' personal belongings such as clothing, shoes, pipes and pens. Also, a number of the ship's effects from the Dining area and Mail Room, including many Christmas gifts on their way to India. Visitors will also see the door to the Bullion Room which the salvage team had hoped would reveal the fortune in gold and jewels which, it was believed, was on board at the time the ship sank. For more>