Titanic hero's medals are to go under the hammer

The silver Carpathia medal awarded to Harold Cottam

Medals awarded to a telegraphist whose actions helped save 700 passengers on the Titanic are to go under the hammer.

Wireless operator Harold Cottam, 21, was on board the RMS Carpathia on 14 April 1912 when he identified the Titanic's distress signal as it sank.

He alerted his captain, who initiated the rescue of the passengers on the vessel, which had struck an iceberg.

The medals are being sold alongside photographs, Mr Cottam's pocket watch and signed paperwork.

The Titanic sank in April 1912 with the loss of more than 1,500 lives

According to well documented events of that night, Mr Cottam had finished for the day, but was using the transmitter to take general news from Marconi's wireless station in Cape Cod.

While doing this, he also picked up a batch of messages intended for the Titanic and, having heard the famous ship's own telegraphist had been overworked, he took them down and made contact.

To his astonishment, the operator responded: "Come at once we have struck a berg. Position 41.46 N 50.15 W."

Mr Cottam raced to tell the captain of the RMS Carpathia, which became the only vessel that responded to the distress call.

The steamship arrived the following morning and 700 people were rescued from the icy waters of the north Atlantic Ocean.

The RMS Carpathia was the only vessel that picked up the Titanic's distress call

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "Though he had already worked an 18-hour day, Cottam stayed at his radio for the next three days until he collapsed from exhaustion.

"When he arrived in America, he was whisked directly to Washington to appear at an official inquiry held by the US senate, after which he was hailed by the press as a hero."

Mr Cottam was awarded a silver Carpathia medal and a Liverpool Humane Society medal for bravery.

Mr Aldridge continued: "Cottam never cashed in on his fame, refusing even to be interviewed about the disaster for most of his life.

"Despite his relative obscurity, a true hero in every sense of the word and this archive represents the vital part he played in the lives of those saved from the Titanic."

The lot is expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 when it goes under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd in Wiltshire on 22 April.