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Titanic's unsinkable stoker's watch sells for nearly £4k

BBC • November 4, 2026 • world

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A pocket watch belonging to Arthur John Priest, a stoker who survived four shipwrecks including the Titanic, sold at auction for £3,800, exceeding its £3,000 starting bid.
Priest, nicknamed the "unsinkable" stoker, survived the sinkings of the RMS Titanic (1912), RMS Alcantara (1916), HMHS Britannic (1916), and SS Donegal (1917) during his career in the ship's boiler rooms.
The watch was inscribed as a token of gratitude for Priest saving a man's life during the Britannic sinking after it struck a mine in 1916.
Priest retired after a head injury sustained in the 1917 SS Donegal sinking and passed away in 1937; his reputation as an unlucky sailor was well known.
Other Titanic-related items, such as a silver cigarette case recovered from a steward's body, also attracted interest at the auction, selling for £5,700.