Did you hear that one of the few surviving original blueprints of the Titanic is to be auctioned?

William Wilson, an engineer on the ill-fated Belfast-built liner’s maiden voyage, owned the blueprint. He got off in Cherbourg to help repair another ship, taking the blueprint with him, and so avoided the 1912 disaster which claimed 1,500 lives.

Specialist auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire believe the diagrams could fetch up to £15,000.
The firm's Alan Aldridge said it was the only blueprint in private hands and the only one which included the ship's plumbing.

Mr. Wilson's place as the leading draughtsman was taken by replacement Roderick Chisholm who died in the disaster. A native of Belfast he worked for Harland and Wolff until 1927 when he joined Royal Mail Lines. His daughter, who is putting it up for sale, inherited the blueprint.

The diagram will be coming to Belfast for the Titanic - At Home exhibition at the end of March and will be auctioned in April in Southampton.

Like me, do you think such historic items as the Titanic’s blueprint be auctioned? The danger is that it could fall into the hands of a private collector never to be seen by Titanic enthusiasts again.

I think it would be great if it was auctioned to someone who would give the money to a charity in need or donate their money to a Titanic fund. It would also be nice too if they could donate a copy of their blueprint for titanic enthusiasts to see.