Titanic life jacket to be auctioned for £350,000

A life jacket worn by a Titanic survivor is to be auctioned for up to £350,000.

It is the only life jacket from one of the survivors ever to be put up for sale, with auctioneers describing the rare item as a "once in a lifetime opportunity for collectors".

The auction comes as Southampton marks the 114th anniversary of the RMS Titanic tragedy at a memorial service on Wednesday.

The vest will be auctioned at Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire, and is expected to fetch between £250,000 and £350,000.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the life jacket was an "incredibly iconic and poignant item with a superlative provenance".

He added that the rare item is "the only lifejacket from a survivor to emerge at auction in 114 years so it is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity for collectors".

First class passenger Laura Mabel Francatelli used the floatation device before entering a lifeboat and was one of about 700 people to survive the tragedy in 1912.

She and fellow survivors, signed the life jacket, leaving their signatures on the cream-coloured vest, which features 12 pockets and is fitted with shoulder rests and side straps.

The sale at Henry Aldridge and Son auction house will take place on Saturday.

On Wednesday, a ceremony organised by the Merchant Navy Welfare Board (MNWB) will take place at the Titanic Engineers' Memorial in East Park, Southampton.

The memorial service will honour more than 540 residents and all 35 engineers and electricians who perished when the ship sank on 15 April 1912.

Southampton Mayor, Cllr James Baillie, will attend the ceremony which will feature readings, wreath laying and a two minute silence.

Sharon Coveney, deputy chief of MNWB, said commemorating the Titanic anniversary "provides an important opportunity for today's maritime community to come together in reflection and pay tribute to the engineers and crew whose dedication and bravery remain an enduring part of Southampton's shared heritage".