A gold pocket watch awarded to John Richardson, an engineer on the RMS Carpathia, will be auctioned in Penshurst later this month. Auctioneers estimate it could sell for up to £100,000.

Richardson, aged 26 at the time, helped the Carpathia rescue more than 700 passengers from Titanic lifeboats in April 1912. The Carpathia reached the site hours after the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic.

Engineers including Richardson kept the coal-fired boilers stoked despite intense heat. This effort allowed the Carpathia to travel at high speed under emergency conditions.

The 18-carat watch came from the Carpathia Engineers' Presentation Fund. The fund honoured several engineers months after the rescue.

The watch remained in Richardson's family for almost a century. It appeared for sale in 2003 and went on display at a Southampton museum in 1992 for the Titanic's 80th anniversary.

The RMS Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg. The ship had been built in Belfast.