CAMPAIGNERS including the Titanic's youngest survivor are to honour a Scots engineer who they say is a forgotten hero of the tragedy.

Twenty-three-year-old William Moyes was the liner's senior sixth engineer when she sank two-and-a-half hours after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, on April 14, 1912.

Supported by victims' relatives, Mrs Millvina Dean, 88 - who was nine weeks old when the tragedy occurred - and Stirling Council, campaigners are to erect a memorial to him in his home town.

An expert on the Titanic disaster said yesterday that it was clear that Mr Billie Moyes had sacrificed himself trying to keep lights and power sources alive for as long as possible on the stricken White Star vessel.

His bravery enabled wireless SOS signals to be sent out and allowed passengers to escape the sinking ship, but until now his story has never been told.

Mr Sean Szmalc, founder of the Falkirk Titanic Society, which is raising funds for the project, said: ''Scotland has largely been ignored in the Titanic's story, and nobody seems to know that there were real heroes from Scotland.

''Billie Moyes was a hero to the very end. His body was never recovered.''

Some 1635 people died in the tragedy, although 535 passengers, 96 stewards, 71 firemen, 39 seamen and four officers were saved, many thanks to sacrifices made by those like Mr Moyes.

The son of a Stirling Primary High School headmaster, he was a keen cricketer and captain of his High School FPs rugby team.

He served his apprenticeship with Glasgow engineers Rowan & Sons and worked on board the Oceanic, but was transferred to the Titanic for its maiden voyage and just three weeks prior to the tragedy, visited friends and family in Stirling, before going on to Southampton to join the doomed liner.

As the scale of the disaster became apparent, local minister the Rev Wright, told the town's Viewfield Church congregation: ''The youth, so full of life, energy and hope, lies on an ocean bed 1600 fathoms deep.''

Mr Szmalc said: ''That night Moyes sacrificed his life, staying in the engine room and trying desperately to maintain the power supply for lights, heating and the Marconi wireless.

''At about 2am, 20 minutes before the ship went down, chief engineer Joseph Bell went in to the engine room to tell the engineers to save themselves, but Moyes stayed at his post.

''He was highly ranked and his presence would have inspired others to stay.

''The ship split in two right through the engine room and they went down with the ship.''

In 1935, the story was told to the Stirling Rotary Club by the only surviving wireless operator, Mr Harold Bride.

In his address, reported in the Stirling Observer, he recalled how ships in the vicinity could not believe it when they received the distress call from the ''unsinkable'' Titanic.

Eventually, they received a wireless signal ''clear and strong'' from the Cunard ship Carpathia, but it was clear she would not arrive until more than three hours after Titanic skipper Commander Edward J Smith, commodore of the White Star Line, predicted she would founder.

Mr Bride, then of Scone, Perthshire, said: ''Towards the end, when the stern of the ship began to rise out of the water, Commander Smith came to the wireless cabin and told us there was nothing more we could do and advised us to clear out and look after ourselves.

''Then he went back to the bridge and, through a megaphone, made the cry 'Every man for himself' and added, as an afterthought, 'Be British'.

''After a few moments the Titanic put her head down, lifted her propellers and rudder clear of the water, and sank quietly under the waves.

''All her lights were burning and full power was available in the wireless cabin.

''That, I think, is a wonderful a tribute to the engineers who remained down below maintaining the power necessary for all the dynamos and pumps.''

Mr Bride survived after he was able to climb onto an upturned lifeboat along with 20 or 30 others and rescued by the Carpathia at dawn.

Mr Szmalc said: ''Without the selflessness of men like Billie Moyes, the Carpathia would certainly not have picked up the distress signal and many more lives would have been lost.

''Scotland should be proud of Billie Moyes, and it is appropriate to commemorate his life.''

He added: ''Millvina Dean has already expressed her wishes to unveil the memorial and other members of our society, including victims' sons and daughters, would like to honour him too.''

A spokesman for Stirling Council said the authority was backing the memorial plan, adding: ''We are looking at erecting a permanent tribute to Mr Moyes, and are trying to identify an appropriate location.''

q Scotland's first major Titanic exhibition will be held by the Falkirk Titanic Society at Colinsburgh Town Hall, Fife, from July 6 to 20.