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Nov 17 2024

Watch gifted to captain who saved 700 Titanic passengers sells for record fee | UK News

A gold watch gifted to the captain of a boat which rescued Titanic passengers has sold for a record-breaking £1.56m.

The 18-carat Tiffany & Co pocket watch was given to Captain Arthur Rostron by three widows of high-profile and wealthy businessmen who died when the ship sank in 1912.

Captain Rostron helped save the women, along with hundreds of other passengers, when he changed the course of his Carpathia ship after hearing a distress call from the Titanic after it struck an iceberg.

The timepiece was sold to a private collector in the US on Saturday by auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire, who paid the highest-ever fee for Titanic memorabilia.

The previous record was set in April when another gold pocket watch, recovered from the body of the richest man on the ship, John Jacob Astor, sold for £1.175m at the same auction house.

Mr Astor died aged 47 when the ship went down, after seeing his new wife Madeleine on to a lifeboat.

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Mrs Astor was one of the widows who gifted Captain Rostron his watch, presenting it to him at a lunch at the family’s mansion on Fifth Avenue, New York, according to the auction house.

An inscription on it reads: “Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912 Mrs John B Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor and Mrs George D Widener.”

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “It was presented principally in gratitude for Rostron’s bravery in saving those lives, because without Mr Rostron, those 700 people wouldn’t have made it.”

The violin that was played as the ship sank held the previous record for 11 years after being sold for £1.1m in 2013.

More than 1,500 people were killed after the Titanic hit an iceberg, with just 705 survivors.

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Nov 3 2022

Rishi Sunak sells poppies at Westminster Tube station during rush hour | Politics News

Rishi Sunak surprised commuters during the morning rush hour by selling poppies at Westminster Tube station in central London.

The prime minister was seen holding a tray full of poppies and talking to members of the public, some who asked for selfies, during a brief appearance to which no media were invited.

The Royal British Legion said they were “grateful to the PM for generously giving up his time to collect with us”.

Others were also quick to share their surprise on spotting Mr Sunak.

Lewis, an operations and data analyst who did not want to give his last name, said he bought a poppy from Mr Sunak for £5.

“I didn’t expect to meet the chap,” he said. “I went to buy my ticket at Westminster Station and he was there selling poppies with the military men and women.”

He said that having been critical of Mr Sunak’s role in Boris Johnson‘s departure as prime minister earlier in the year, he “turns out to be okay”, adding that he is “down to earth” and “approachable”.

“I was surprised he was there,” he said.

Mr Sunak joined several army personnel and civil servant Stephen le Roux.

Some were critical of his appearance, with one commuter tweeting: “Funny how Sunak has time to ‘sell’ a few poppies but not so much for major international conferences.”

It appeared to be a reference to the prime minister’s U-turn on his decision to skip the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

Mr Sunak initially said he was not going, but later said he would attend the event in Sharm el Sheikh after facing a raft of criticism from environmental campaigners and MPs.

It was announced the morning after former prime minister Boris Johnson told Sky News he would be attending.

Another social media user wrote on Twitter: “Good to see the prime minister helping sell poppies at Westminster tube this morning. We need more of this and less celebrity chasing nonsense from likes [of] Boris Johnson & Matt Hancock.”

Earlier this week it was announced former health secretary Matt Hancock will be jetting off to the jungle in Australia to go on the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!.

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