Little did any of us realise as we beat a path to South Coast Cinema doors to see that blockbuster movie Titanic that it had a Shoreham connection. A prominent Shoreham family lost one of their sons on the so-called ‘unsinkable ship’. Henry Head, a London underwriter, rented the original Buckingham House set in 55 acres of park, the shell of which can bee seen at Woodview, on the west side of Buckingham park. Three of his eight sons were educated at Lancing College.

Christopher Head, the fifth son, went on to Trinity College Cambridge and was called to the bar. After his father’s death he became a director of his father’s company at Lloyds of London, became mayor of Chelsea and played a prominent role in preserving St James' Park in London. He was drowned in the sinking of the Titanic and no-one seems to know why he took a passage on that maiden voyage. For those who are interested, there is a brass memorial to him in St Nicolas Church, Old Shoreham, Sussex.