Yahoo News Lancashire's Titanic hero makes the record books after his watch sells for £1.5m
A watch presented to a Lancashire-born hero who saved the lives of hundreds of Titanic passengers and crew has sold at auction for £1.56m.
Sir Arthur Rostron became captain of the passenger liner RMS Carpathia on 18 January 18, 1912, just three months before the Titanic sank. The Carpathia had changed course to head to the Titanic's last known position after receiving the doomed ship's distress signal and saved more than 700 people.
As thanks for his efforts, survivors including the widow of the richest man on the Titanic, John Jacob Astor, presented him with an 18-carat Tiffany & Co timepiece which has just sold at auction for £1.56m to a private US buyer. The sale represents the highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia.
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The watch carries the inscription "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”.
The previous Titanic memorabilia record was set in April this year when a gold pocket watch, recovered from the body of Mr Astor, sold for £1.175m at the same Devizes-based house.
Prior to that, the violin that was played as the ship sank held the record for the highest amount paid for a Titanic artefact for 11 years after being sold for £1.1m in 2013.
Sir Arthur was born at Bank Cottage, on Blackburn Road, in the Sharples district of Bolton, to James and Nancy Rostron in 1869. He received his education at Bolton Grammar School and Bolton Church Institute. In 1884 he then joined the Merchant Navy Cadet School Ship HMS Conway as a cadet.
Rostron joined the Cunard Line in January 1895 but temporarily left the Cunard Line to serve with the Royal Navy during a period of international tension occasioned by the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905.
After returning to Cunard he was eventually appointed captain of the RMS Carpathia which was on its regular route between New York City and Fiume, Austria-Hungary, when, early on 15 April 1912, she received a distress signal from the Titanic which had struck an iceberg during its maiden voyage.
Rostron was asleep when Carpathia's wireless operator, Harold Cottam, heard the call for help. Cottam then ran to Rostron's cabin to alert him.
Rostron immediately ordered the ship to race towards Titanic's reported position, posting extra lookouts to help spot and manoeuvre around the ice he knew to be in the area. He also turned off heating to ensure maximum steam for Carpathia's engines and had the ship prepared for survivors, including getting blankets, food, and drinks ready, and ordering his medical crew to stand by.
After arriving at Titanic's position, Carpathia rescued 705 survivors out of the 2,228 passengers and crew. Sir Arthur won wide praise for his efforts. He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress, and in 1926, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He rose to become the Commodore of the Cunard fleet and retired in 1931.
