BRIDGWATER'S oldest business is celebrating its 140th anniversary by honouring a Titanic victim from Bridgwater who is linked to the business.

Tamlyns Chartered Surveyors was founded in 1878, and to celebrate the occasion they are restoring a memorial to one of their ancestors.

Cyril Ricks (1890-1912) was the brother-in-law to the company's director at the time, WH Tamlyn.

Cyril was born in Bridgwater and his father ran the George Hotel in George Street.

He worked as a shopkeeper on luxury liners and signed up to work on board the S.S. Titanic in April 1912.

When that famous and doomed ship collided with an iceberg, Cyril was serving first-class customers.

He and his fellow shopkeepers managed to get on board deck, and together they jumped overboard as the Titanic made its final plunge into the water.

While his friends survived, Cyril was knocked unconscious by falling debris, and he drowned in the icy waters of the Atlantic.

Here in Bridgwater, a small memorial was erected for him in the Wembdon Road Cemetery, but in recent years had been forgotten about and its cross toppled over.

Moved by Cyril’s story, and by the efforts of the Friends of the Wembdon Road Cemetery to restore the neglected burial ground, Tamlyns stepped forward to pay for the memorial’s repair.

The cross has been pinned back into place and the whole memorial fully restored, so it should stand for at least another hundred years in Cyril’s memory.

The work was carried out by Fine Memorials of Bridgwater.

Dr Miles Kerr-Peterson, chairman of the Friends of the Cemetery, said: "We’re delighted that Tamlyns have generously stepped forward to repair this memorial to one of Bridgwater’s lost sons.

"It’s a credit to the town that their company are keen to honour their history and do something for the town’s benefit’. James Venton from Tamlyns added: "When the Friends of Wembdon Road Cemetery contacted us and told us about Cyrils story, and his close family links to Tamlyns, we felt that it was only right that as a company we contributed towards safeguarding Cyrils memory."

A small memorial service will be held in the cemetery to rededicate the memorial on Friday, July 13 at 11am, where representatives from Tamlyns and the Friends of the Wembdon Road Cemetery joined Reverend Trish Ollive of St Mary’s Church, to mark the occasion. All welcome.