IT was a fitting final farewell to one of Southampton’s most famous residents.

Millvina Dean, the last Titanic survivor, was just nine weeks old when the famous liner sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage from the city.

Now the 97-year-old’s ashes have been scattered in the water at the very spot where the ill-fated vessel departed the city shores almost a century ago.

A small private party was transported by launch to berth 44 in the city’s Eastern Docks where Millvina’s lifelong friend Bruno Nordmannis placed floral wreathes in the water.

The emotional ceremony, watched by dozens standing inside the city’s Cruise Terminal building, followed a memorial service in St Mary’s Church at Copythorne – where Millvina’s funeral took place in June.

Her close connections with the sea, ships and Southampton all played a central part in the day’s events. During the service, she was described as someone with a “worldwide fan club” who had a “wonderful sense of humour”.

A heartfelt tribute penned by Titanic International Society president Charles Haas was read out in the packed church.

He wrote: “Millvina loved meeting people – her ready smile made the most nervous child feel completely comfortable.

She brought happiness in to every room and her sharpness and wittiness dazzled until the end.”

Millvina, who had outlived all other survivors, died peacefully in Woodlands, near Southampton, the area on the edge of the New Forest where she had lived for many years.

Last year she raised more than £30,000 by selling mementoes including a suitcase from the ill-fated liner to help pay for her nursing home fees.

Ironically, she passed away on May 31, 2009, exactly 98 years to the day that Titanic was launched in Belfast.

Millvina’s mother and older brother were also rescued but her father, Bertram, died along with 549 people from Southampton.

The family had been planning to emigrate to the United States and start a new life.

After a stay in New York, Millvina and her mother and brother returned to England on board the liner Adriatic where she quickly became a celebrity babe-in-arms.

In later years, she attended Titanic-related events across the globe after the wreck was discovered by Dr Robert Ballard in 1985.

Millvina became a celebrity almost overnight and found herself in great demand for talks and TV interviews.

After the emotional ceremony on Saturday, British Titanic Society membership secretary Tim Silcocks said: “This was a very significant day and it could not have been a better place to scatter the ashes. Millvina was a special lady – she had time for everyone.”