泰坦尼克號鑰匙拍賣8.5萬英鎊 開啓100年前的塵封記憶

A key which opened a life-jacket locker on the Titanic has been sold for 85,000 pounds.

日前，泰坦尼克號上打開救生衣櫃的一把鑰匙被拍出了85000英鎊的高價。

It was among 200 items from the liner sold at an auction in Devizes.

在迪韋齊斯的這場拍賣會中，共有200多件泰坦尼克號相關物品被拍賣。

The key had been predicted to fetch up to 50,000 pounds. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the amount the key finally sold for "reflected its importance and unique nature".

這把鑰匙最初估價爲50000英鎊。據拍賣師安德魯·奧爾德里奇表示，鑰匙的最終成交價格“反映了它的重要性和獨特性質”。

The locker key had belonged to third-class steward Sidney Sedunary, from Berkshire, who perished when the Titanic went down in April 1912, after hitting an iceberg.

這把救生衣櫃鑰匙屬於來自約克夏的三等艙乘務員西德尼·塞度那利，在1912年4月份泰坦尼克號撞上一座冰山沉沒時，他也隨之葬身大海。

Mr Aldridge said: "Without a doubt [he saved lives]. Here's a man who sacrificed his life to save others."

奧爾德里奇表示：“毫無疑問他拯救了很多人的生命。他犧牲了自己，拯救了他人。”

The auction in Devizes was one of the biggest involving Titanic memorabilia for many years.

迪韋齊斯的這場拍賣會是多年以來拍賣泰坦尼克號遺物的最大拍賣會之一。

A collection of letters written by Chief Officer Henry Wilde, who was second in command on the vessel, fetched 5,000 pounds at the auction.

幾份由泰坦尼克號大副（船上職位第二高的人）亨利·王爾德所寫的信件被拍賣出了5000英鎊的價格。

In one of the letters, written onboard Titanic and posted at Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland, Wilde indicated he had misgivings about the new ship.

其中一封信是在泰坦尼克號上所寫，並在愛爾蘭昆士敦（今科夫)寄出，大副王爾德在信中表達了他對新船的疑慮。

"I still don't like this ship... I have a queer feeling about it," he wrote.

他在信中寫道：“我還是不喜歡這艘船。我對它有一種奇怪的感覺。”

He had been expecting to take command of another ship, the Cymric, and only signed on to the Titanic on 9 April 1912, the day before it sailed.

他一直期待着指揮另一艘船“賽爾特號”，直到1912年4月9日他才最終簽約登上泰坦尼克號--那正是泰坦尼克號起航的前一天。

After the collision, Wilde took charge of the even-numbered lifeboats, and oversaw their loading and lowering into the water. He was among those who died in the tragedy.

在撞擊發生之後，王爾德負責偶數編號的救生艇，他對乘客登上救生艇、放救生艇入水的過程進行了監督。他是那些在這場悲劇中不幸遇難的人之一。

Mr Aldridge said: "It is without doubt one of the finest Titanic-related letters, written by one of the liner's most senior officers on Olympic stationery.

奧爾德里奇表示：“毫無疑問這是和泰坦尼克號相關的最優秀的信件之一，它是船上的一名高級人員用奧運文具書寫的。”

"This lot reveals previously unknown details and shows Wilde's obvious disappointment in being transferred to Titanic.

“這揭示了人們以前不知道的關於王爾德的細節，顯示了王爾德對登上泰坦尼克號一事所感到的明顯的失望之情。”

"What is certain is that he worked diligently to load the boats once the seriousness of the situation was clear to him."

“但是有一點可以肯定的是，一旦他明白了形勢的嚴重性，他就認真地指揮人們登上救生艇逃生。”

Also included in the sale was a postcard from the ship's senior wireless operator, 25-year-old Jack Phillips, from Farncombe in Surrey, who carried on sending distress messages to other ships as the Titanic sank.

在被拍賣的物品當中還包括泰坦尼克高級電報員傑克·菲利普斯的明信片，菲利普斯時年25歲，來自英國薩里法恩科姆，正是他在泰坦尼克號沉沒時向其他船隻發送了泰坦尼克號的遇險消息。

Phillips, who drowned, was described as "the man who saved us all" by survivor and fellow wireless operator Harold Bridge.

菲利普斯最終葬身大海，倖存者和另外一名電報員哈羅德稱其“拯救了我們所有人”。

The card, signed "Love all, Jack", describes the weather as the ship left Cowes on the Isle of Wight. It was sold for 19,000 pounds.

這封明信片上寫着“愛你們所有人，傑克！”，記述了泰坦尼克號離開懷特島考斯時的天氣情況。這封明信片最終被拍賣出19000英鎊的價格。