Titanic ribbon nets £31,000

The hat band - which is embroidered with the name of the ill-fated liner - was the only thing that eight-year-old Marshall Brines-Drew was able to take with him as he was lowered into lifeboat number ten on the fateful morning of April 15, 1912.

The ribbon was bought by an anonymous American bidder.

It had been given to Marshall by his adoptive father who died in the sinking. Both Marshall and his mother survived. The hat band was found after Marshall's death in 1986 when he was aged 82.

Also sold for a record £18,000 was a section of the ill-fated liner's aft grand staircase.

The foot-long piece of oak was recovered after the sinking and formed part of a picture frame for many years.

The auction was one of a number of events held at the Hilton Hotel in Chilworth, Southampton as part of the British Titanic Society's Annual Convention.

Other items sold included a typed sworn affidavit confirming that Morris Rothschild was a nephew of Mr and Mrs Isidor Straus.

The couple both perished in the sinking. Mrs Straus famously refused to leave her husband's side as the giant liner went down.

The affidavit, which sold for £17,000, is dated April 23, 1912 and is on the headed note paper of R H Macy and Co, New York.

It reads: "To whom it may concern the bearer of this letter Mr Morris Rothschild is a nephew of Mr and Mrs Isidor Straus. He is authorised by their children to take possession of their remains and convey them to New York. Any assistance given to Mr Rothschild will be very much appreciated."

Andrew Aldridge of auctioneer Henry Aldridge and Son, which conducted the auction, said that he had hoped the hat ribbon would sell for more than the valued price of £25,000.

He said: "It is a record for its type. It is a unique item. This is the first of its kind and we know it is genuine. As the ship was sinking it was in the little boy's pocket. If only it could talk."

- Originally published April 2003.