Cunard will celebrate its 175th anniversary tomorrow with the Three Queens arriving in Southampton

Those on board the small wooden paddle steamer could little have imagined the significance that crossing might have today and how the shipping industry would have moved on.

But now the city of Southampton and ship passengers will witness a piece of history in the making with the grand spectacle of three of Cunard's ships sailing in procession down Southampton Water.

It will no doubt be a dramatic sight for those lucky enough to be involved in the milestone celebrations, which launch a year-long series of commemorative events.

The shipping liner company has certainly played its part in history over the years.

Its vessel the Carpathia was the first to reach the doomed Titanic after its sinking when it hit an iceberg in 1912 and rescued hundreds of survivors.

During the First World War Cunard lost 22 ships, notably the flagship Lusitania, which was torpedoed and sunk travelling from New York to Liverpool almost 100 years today on May 7, 1915.

And legendary liner the glamorous Queen Elizabeth 2, or QE2, became the first Cunard ship to be registered in Southampton in the 1960s, carrying the city's name all over the world for the next 39 years.

Firework celebrations from a previous Three Queens visit to Southampton

Some of these important moments will be marked in Cunard's year-long celebrations of its illustrious past.

Cunard flagship the Queen Mary 2 will follow in the footsteps of that first ship Britannia.

It will set sail from Liverpool on July 4, 100 years to the day of that first voyage - the first time a Cunard ship has left Liverpool for America since 1968.

However, this journey begins in Cunard's home port of Southampton two days earlier.

Among those on board that first Atlantic crossing was founder Sir Samuel Cunard.

He had established the company, then known as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, in 1839.

For a businessman known for being prudent and conservative, this appeared a risky venture, pushing the boundaries of modernity.

But the Canadian uprooted from his home in Nova Scotia and moved to London to make it a reality.

This first crossing, which took a fortnight, proved revolutionary in an era when mail and newspapers could take six weeks to reach their destination and sister ships to the Britannia soon followed.

The Cunard fleet has been a regular visitor to Southampton ever since the end of the First World War.

The current Cunard fleet Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth will sail into the city tomorrow together to pay homage.

In the afternoon they will depart from the fleet's home lead by the flagship liner Queen Mary 2.

Where to see the Three Queens:

She will lead her sister ships out at 4.30pm on a 'thank you' procession down Southampton and into the Solent, passing Calshot, Cowes, Lee-on-Solent and on to Ryde on the Isle of Wight before the vessels head their separate ways.

Queen Elizabeth will go east on to Hamburg, Queen Victoria will head south for Guernsey and Queen Mary 2 will head west across the Atlantic to New York.

Cunard's Marketing Director, Angus Struthers, said: “We're excited to start our UK 175 festivities in Southampton and share the celebrations with the city and beyond in this magnificent landmark year.

“Together with the city, the company has shared so many fantastic memories, and I hope residents and Cunard enthusiasts from far and wide will take advantage of this magnificent sight and enjoy the spectacle of seeing our three Queens manoeuvring together so close to Southampton.”