Rare watches and memorabilia items from the estate of legendary UK deep sea diver Carl Spencer are auctioning in Birmingham, England on Monday 23 January.
Walsall-born Spencer is well-remembered as a talented technical diver and for his dives during various famous expeditions. He lead a modest life which included his day job as a heating and air conditioning engineer.
As Spencer himself used to tell people, he was "just a plumber from Cannock."
Highlights in the sale include Spencer's Rolex Sea Dweller watch with an estimate of £3,000 - £4,000.
Two limited edition Doxa diving watches will also be auctioned, each with an estimate of £1,000 - £1,500.
One of Spencer's famous expeditions was in 2000. He joined the Bluebird project to locate and recover the body of the world water-speed record holder, Donald Campbell, from the waters of Coniston.
A few years later, in 2003, Hollywood came knocking. Famous film director James Cameron asked Spencer to join his team to dive to the wreck of R.M.S Titanic (pictured top right) as part of a Discovery Channel expedition.
 Spencer's Rolex Sea Dweller watch could bring £3,000 - £4,000 |
Spencer was a 'research diver' during the project, and helped lay the groundwork for the epic TV documentary Return To Titanic.
Later that year, he dove to the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, a WWI hospital ship which sank off the Greek coast in 1915. Spencer helped make history by discovering evidence that the ship had been sunk by a mine rather than a torpedo - a question which had long divided historians.
Another famous dive saw Spencer investigate the R.M.S Cunard Carpathia, the first ship which appeared on the scene to rescue the Titanic. Through his experiences, Spencer was one of only two people to have seen both ships.
It was during another dive that Spencer lost his life in 2009, while diving back down to the Britannic to explore unseen parts of the ship.
"Carl Spencer was a world famous diver and this collection shows some of the remarkable dives that he took part in," said auctioneer Stephen Whittaker.
Watch this space for more news on the sale.
