Gold watch owned by Titanic hero fetches £46k

A gold pocket watch owned by an unsung hero in the Titanic disaster has been sold to an anonymous UK buyer for £46k.

The model originally had an estimated value of £100,000.

The piece was awarded to John Richardson, the lead engineer of the RMS Carpathia, who played a crucial role in the rescue mission which saved 700 people from the Titanic in April 1912.

Justin Matthews, director of Hansons Auctioneers, told the BBC that the “hairs on his neck stood up” when he first held the item.

“We had a phone call from a gentleman who said he wanted to have some items valued,” he explained. “It was a beautiful watch, and we initially valued it between £8,000 to £10,000.”

Matthews said they realised the significance of the watch when they saw the inscription on the back.

Scottish-born Richardson, aged 27 at the time of the rescue, was one of several engineers honoured with an 18-carat timepiece by the Liverpool-based Carpathia Engineers’ Presentation Fund at a ceremony months after the incident.

Hansons Auctioneers sold the lot in its Kent salesroom in Penshurst on Wednesday 22 April.