Sheffield auction: Rare Titanic hero's medal saved from the skip is due to go under the hammer

A rare medal awarded to the heroes who helped rescue survivors from the Titanic is going up for auction after being saved from the skip.

The historic artefact had been removed during a house clearance and was found in a box destined for the skip by an eagle-eyed valuer from Sheffield-based Ellis Willis & Beckett Auctioneers.

It's now set to go under the hammer with an estimate of £800 to £1,200.

The medal is one of those which were awarded to the crew of the RMS Carpathia who came to the aid of passengers on the stricken Titanic when it sank on April 15, 1912. More than 1,500 lives were lost in the tragedy but some 700 people survived.

The Titanic Survivors Committee, led by Mrs J.J. ‘Molly’ Brown, wished to reward Captain Arthur Rostron, his officers for helping to save so many lives.

Gold medals were presented to Captain Rostron and to RMS Carpathia's other senior officers, with silver medals for junior officers and bronze ones for the rest of the crew. A gold medal awarded to the purser previously fetched £45,000 at auction.

The bronze medal which was found during the clearance of a house in Bakewell, Derbyshire, where the occupant had sadly died, is accompanied by a photo of Captain Rostron, incorrectly captioned 'Rostrom'. It's not known how it came to be in the possession of the person who died.

The back of the medal, manufactured by Dieges & Clust of New York, reads: "Presented to the captain, officers and crew of the RMS Carphathia in recognition of the gallant and heroic services from the survivors of the SS (sic) Titanic."

The bronze medal is up for sale as part of Ellis Willis & Beckett’s inaugural Fine Art Collector's Auction on October 31.