Titanic memorabilia to be auctioned

Hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of RMS Titanic memorabilia are being auctioned - 110 years after the ship's tragic sinking.

One of the items is a pocket watch belonging to a postal clerk aboard the ship - valued at £70,000-£100,000.

A first-class menu featuring 'plover on toast' and a list of first-class passengers are also available with an upper estimate of £60,000.

The auction is due to take place later at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes.

Other items from aboard the Titanic include an ornate dessert plate, a section of a column from the 'à la carte' restaurant, and a postcard from a passenger who died when it sank.

The postcard written by Jacob Christian Milling reads: "Dear Augusta! This is the last thing you will hear from me from this side of the Atlantic. I may send a wireless if it is not too expensive. I am staying at Banen's Hotel, it's not cheap but comfortable.

"From my window, I can see the ship in the dock. How are the old folks? Send them and the children my greetings. Many greetings to all of you. From Jacob."

The first-class passenger list being sold belonged to a gambler called George Brereton who went aboard transatlantic liners to try and earn money.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told BBC Radio Wiltshire: "He's put stars next to the names of the wealthiest people.

"There's one in particular, Charles Hays, who owned the Grand Pacific Railroad in America; very wealthy chap.

"Brereton has written in block capitals below his name, 'MILLIONAIRE'.

"(the list) was in Brereton's pocket when the ship hit the berg and stayed with him until he got safely to New York."

The auctioneer is well-known for selling memorabilia from the doomed passenger ship.

A fur coat owned by a first-class stewardess sold there for £150,000 in 2017.

In the same year, a letter by Titanic passenger Oscar Holverson sold for £126,000.

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