A locker key belonging to a steward on the Titanic has sold for £85,000 ($104,000).
The corroded key to "Locker 14 F Deck" surpassed its £50,000 ($61,000) high estimate at an auction of Titanic memorabilia at Henry Aldridge Auctioneers in Devizes, UK on October 22.
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The key was discovered on the body of Sidney Sedunary - a third class steward among the 1,500 men, women and children who died when the ship hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage, in 1912. It was among several items sent home to his widow, including a watch, with the hands frozen at 2:20 AM. The auction house said prior to the sale: "The significance of this key revolves around evidence given at the British Inquiry by Steward John Hart. "It shows Sedunary heroically working on F Deck on the very night of the sinking, even though it was flooded forward." A crewmember's letter, recounting the last moments on board the ship, sold for £34,000 ($41,600). |
 'Goodbye old man', writes Lightoller |
The most senior crewmember to survive the sinking, second officer Charles Lightoller recalls saying goodbye to eight colleagues. In this letter to a friend of one of the eight, Lightoller says: "I am sorry to say that Asst. Surgeon John E. Simpson was on the Titanic…
"I deeply regret your loss, which is also mine. I may say I was practically the last man to speak to Dr. Simpson, and on this occasion he was walking along the boat-deck in company with Messrs. McElroy, Barker, Dr. O'Loughlin and four assistant pursers.
"They were all perfectly calm in the knowledge that they had done their duty and were still assisting by showing a calm and cool exterior to the passengers. Each one individually came up to me and shook hands. We merely exchanged the words 'Goodbye, old man.'"
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