ONE of only two known blueprints of Titanic is expected to fetch thousands of pounds at an auction in Southampton.

The 9ft-long document shows the ship in some of the finest detail ever seen right down to the plumbing.

Alan Aldridge from auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Sons said a conservative estimate of £10,000 and £15,000 had been put on the plans.

The blueprint was brought into the Devizes-based auctioneers by a woman who identified herself as the daughter of marine engineer William Wilson.

Mr Wilson worked for shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff. He was on Titanic during her voyage from Belfast to Cherbourg where he disembarked with the plans.

On her way from Southampton to New York the ship hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sank with the loss of 1,503 lives.

The auction is being held at the Chilworth Hilton hotel on April 8 to coincide with the British Titanic Society Convention.

Meanwhile a 1912 silent film, which was recently auctioned and shows the aftermath of the sinking, is now in the care of the Wessex Film and Sound Archive at the Hampshire Record Office in Winchester.

Poignant footage shows icebergs near the scene of the disaster, anxious relatives waiting outside the New York office of the White Star Line, the rescue ship Carpathia arriving, society ladies bringing food and clothing for survivors and newsmen interviewing surviving crew.

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