Titanic victim's pocket watch set to fetch £50,000 at auction
A ladies' pocket watch found among the belongings of one of the passengers who drowned on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic could sell for up to £50,000 at auction.
Danish second-class passenger Hans Christensen Givard, 27, was among the 1,500 who died when the vessel struck an iceberg in 1912. Givard was travelling to the United States with two of his friends, who also perished in the disaster.
The watch was recovered when Givard's body was found in the North Atlantic, and he was later buried in Halifax, Canada. In his pockets were a savings book, keys, some cash in a wallet, a silver watch, a compass, and a passport.
Also recovered was the gilded ladies' pocket watch, which bears traces of saltwater corrosion. All his belongings were returned to his brother in Denmark, and it is his descendants who are selling the watch.
The tragic story of Givard directly inspired curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist and US resident Mette Hjermind McCall, to write the book "Titanic - De Danske Fortællinger (Titanic - The Danish Stories)," in which the pocket watch is mentioned. It was also exhibited by Claes Goran Wetterholm, the leading authority globally on the Scandinavian aspect of the Titanic story, in Copenhagen in 2012.
The watch is going under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son, of Devizes, Wiltshire, on April 26. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "This piece is documented in the official list of Hans's effects compiled by the authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the weeks following the Titanic disaster and has remained in his family ever since."
"It was one of the centrepieces of the display of Titanic memorabilia in the Tivoli in Copenhagen in 2012, which illustrates its importance," he added.
"The watch's movement is frozen in time at the moment the cold North Atlantic waters consumed not only its owner but the most famous ocean liner of all time, the Titanic, on April 15, 1912." —PA Media/dpa
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
5 days ago
- Observer
Pina fires Spain past England into semis
CORNELLA DE LlOBREGAT, Spain: Super-sub Claudia Pina struck twice as Spain came from behind to beat England 2-1 on Tuesday in a heavyweight clash and reach the women's Nations League semifinals. Sweden romped to a 6-1 win over Scandinavian rivals Denmark to progress to the final four, along with already-qualified France and Germany. World champions Spain won Group A3 by five points from Euro 2022 winners England, who could have progressed themselves with a victory at the RCDE Stadium on the outskirts of Barcelona. Alessia Russo stroked Sarina Wiegman's side ahead after 22 minutes but Pina's brace off the bench in the second half booked the holders' ticket to the final four in October. Spain and England will be the favourites to lift the Euros trophy this summer in Switzerland and after a narrow defeat at Wembley in February, Montse Tome's side flexed their muscles by outclassing the Lionesses. Pina did the damage with a cool first finish and then a blast from the edge of the box for her second. "I received the ball (for the second) and I didn't even think about it, I hit it with my soul," said Pina, who often shines off the bench for her club too. "I always try to do my best, and I am ready, I'm happy to be able to help," she added. Featuring seven Barcelona players, who finished as Champions League final runners-up last week, and one winner in Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey, Spain started the stronger. They almost took the lead after three minutes but Hannah Hampton made a superb reflex save to deny Esther Gonzalez from close range. The Chelsea goalkeeper was under the spotlight after Mary Earps' shock decision to retire from international football ahead of the Euros this summer and swiftly offered evidence of why she is England's number one. Despite the hosts' dominance they could not find a way in front and England capitalised. Niamh Charles got away with a slight foul on Salma Paralluelo inside her own half which enabled England to spring forward. Former Barcelona midfielder Keira Walsh guided a superb ball through for Russo to chase and the Arsenal forward stroked home clinically. Spain protested about Charles' challenge to no avail and were left outraged when the left-back then blatantly handled the ball in her area without punishment. With no VAR available, Spain's complaints were dismissed, much to their frustration. VERY INTENSE Spain, who beat England in the 2023 World Cup final, found a way back through substitute Pina. Patri Guijarro won the ball on the edge of the box and fed her Barcelona team-mate, introduced just two minutes earlier for Paralluelo. Pina drifted forward before flashing a quick shot across Hampton to equalise. Better was yet to come from the 23-year-old Barca attacker who has been in lethal form, finishing as the top Champions League goalscorer. Pina bagged her second from the edge of the box 10 minutes later, with a shot which crashed in off the post past the helpless Hampton. Wiegman's England never seemed capable of wrestling the momentum away from a Spain side that began to cruise, starving the visitors of the ball. They were run ragged by Spain's pressing, and beyond missing out on the Nations League will be left with some concerns ahead of their European Championship defence this summer. "(It was) a very intense game... they are very tight on the ball, I thought we did well," Wiegman told ITV. "In the second half they started really quick, they did something different, pressing a bit higher and we struggled to get out of the press and keep the ball. "Of course then they brought Pina in and she was very secure with her shots." Sweden clinched Group A4 victory with a thumping triumph against sorry Denmark. Stina Blackstenius followed up her Champions League-winning goal with a hat-trick at the Strawberry Arena in Solna to inspire her team to victory. — AFP
Observer
02-05-2025
- Observer
The world's oldest person dies at 116
Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, a soccer-loving nun from Brazil believed to be the oldest person in the world and whose longevity had been celebrated by Pope Francis, died Wednesday, her religious congregation, the Irmãs Teresianas Brasil, said. She was 116 years old and would have turned 117 in a few more weeks, according to the Irmãs Teresianas, which translates to 'Teresian Sisters.' She had been living at a retirement home in the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. In a social media post, her congregation thanked her for her service and dedication and asked the Lord to 'welcome her into his infinite love.' Irmãs Teresianas did not give a cause of death, but her family told the Brazilian television station RBS TV that she had died of old age. While her sight and hearing diminished toward the end of her life, she avoided surgery until a cataract procedure when she was 106, Sister Rita Fernandes Barbosa, the congregation's provincial coordinator, told the station earlier this year. In January, Guinness World Records declared Canabarro Lucas the world's oldest living person after the death of Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman who was born before the start of World War I and the sinking of the Titanic. She was also 116. In the year Canabarro Lucas was born, the Model T was introduced by Henry Ford. Insulin had not yet been discovered, and the world's first demonstration of a television was still several years away. Canabarro Lucas's exact birthday has been a source of debate and confusion. A registry had listed it as June 8, 1908, the date recognized by Guinness World Records and LongeviQuest, which keeps a database of supercentenarians, people who are 110 or older. But her family and friends have said that Canabarro Lucas was born May 27, 1908, in São Francisco de Assis in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. They said that her parents had traveled a great distance and several days to register her birth. As a child, she was so thin that her parents feared that she would not survive, her nephew, Cleber Canabarro, who is in his 80s, told The Associated Press in January. Her great-grandfather was a well-known general who had taken up arms during the turbulent period after Brazil declared independence from Portugal in the 19th century, AP reported. As a teenager, Canabarro Lucas followed her spiritual calling and then took her vows as a nun in Uruguay before returning to Brazil to teach Portuguese and math. When Canabarro Lucas turned 110, she received an apostolic blessing from Francis, who died April 21 at 88. She was believed to have been the second oldest nun after Sister André, a French nun who lived through two world wars and the 1918 influenza pandemic and survived COVID-19. She died at 118 in 2023. Canabarro Lucas' faith and health were not her only enduring distinctions. She was also known for her allegiance to the soccer team Sport Club Internacional in Porto Alegre, known as Inter, which was founded in 1909, the year after her birth. For her milestone birthdays, she regularly donned team patches and scarves and was presented with jerseys. The team paid tribute to her on social media. With Canabarro Lucas' death, LongeviQuest recognized Ethel Caterham, a British woman from Surrey, England, as the oldest person in the world. So how did Canabarro Lucas reach 116? Her Catholic faith, she told AP. 'I'm young, pretty and friendly,' she said, 'all very good, positive qualities that you have, too.'
Observer
20-04-2025
- Observer
Titanic victim's pocket watch set to fetch £50,000 at auction
A ladies' pocket watch found among the belongings of one of the passengers who drowned on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic could sell for up to £50,000 at auction. Danish second-class passenger Hans Christensen Givard, 27, was among the 1,500 who died when the vessel struck an iceberg in 1912. Givard was travelling to the United States with two of his friends, who also perished in the disaster. The watch was recovered when Givard's body was found in the North Atlantic, and he was later buried in Halifax, Canada. In his pockets were a savings book, keys, some cash in a wallet, a silver watch, a compass, and a passport. Also recovered was the gilded ladies' pocket watch, which bears traces of saltwater corrosion. All his belongings were returned to his brother in Denmark, and it is his descendants who are selling the watch. The tragic story of Givard directly inspired curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist and US resident Mette Hjermind McCall, to write the book "Titanic - De Danske Fortællinger (Titanic - The Danish Stories)," in which the pocket watch is mentioned. It was also exhibited by Claes Goran Wetterholm, the leading authority globally on the Scandinavian aspect of the Titanic story, in Copenhagen in 2012. The watch is going under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son, of Devizes, Wiltshire, on April 26. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "This piece is documented in the official list of Hans's effects compiled by the authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the weeks following the Titanic disaster and has remained in his family ever since." "It was one of the centrepieces of the display of Titanic memorabilia in the Tivoli in Copenhagen in 2012, which illustrates its importance," he added. "The watch's movement is frozen in time at the moment the cold North Atlantic waters consumed not only its owner but the most famous ocean liner of all time, the Titanic, on April 15, 1912." —PA Media/dpa
