THESE are the forgotten photographs of Titanic as she looked on her arrival in Southampton 100 years ago.

The exceedingly rare images recently emerged from the Daily Echo archives where they remained uncovered for generations.

The photographs were first published on April 15, 1912 and used to illustrate the Daily Echo’s coverage of the Titanic tragedy.

The first photograph seems to have been taken from a high point on Titanic as the corner, a window and door of the ship’s wheelhouse can be seen on the right of the picture, while part of the bridge wing is also visible.

Two crew members are seen climbing the liner’s rigging, and, although the photograph has faded with age, it looks as if signal flags are flying from the bow up to the top of the foremast, while in the far background is a view of the New Forest.

The raised forecastle of the ship was forward of the Bridge Deck, accommodating the main hatch through to the cargo holds, various pieces of machinery and the anchor housings.

It was kept off-limits to passengers; the famous “flying” scene at the ship’s bow from the 1997 film, Titanic, would not have been possible in real life.

Underneath this section of deck was accommodation for senior firemen and greasers, while further below was where the members of the liner’s “Black Gang’’, the firemen and trimmers who tended the boilers and furnaces, had their bunks.

The Daily Echo photographer also focused his camera to show the area towards Titanic’s stern (above right) on what is thought to be “B’’ deck, which appears in the second picture.

Again, age has caused some loss of sharpness, but in the distance is the faint outline of South Western House.

With nine decks, Titanic could operate at speeds of up to 24 knots, about 28 mph.

She had a total of 29 boilers feeding two reciprocating steam engines for the wing propellers, and a low pressure turbine for the centre propeller.

Find out more about Titanic

You can find out more about Titanic and the disaster's impact on Southampton with the Daily Echo.

Throughout the coming weeks, we will be showcasing unique content in our Titanic mini-site.

In the meantime, you can discover key sites across the city relating to the tragedy, the latest news relating to the ship or even find out some of the key facts behind the vessel, her demise and the people who perished and survived, including a list of all the crew members and the locations of their homes in Southampton.