A letter written on board the Titanic by the mother of a famous survivor has sold for a record-breaking £119,000.

Barking and Dagenham Post: The envelope of the letter which Esther Hart wrote on board the Titanic on the day it hit the iceberg. [Picture: Henry Aldridge and Son]The envelope of the letter which Esther Hart wrote on board the Titanic on the day it hit the iceberg. [Picture: Henry Aldridge and Son] (Image: Archant)

Esther Hart’s note to her own mother, which was penned hours before the liner hit an iceberg on April 14 1912, surpassed the previous record for a Titanic-related letter, which was £94,000.

The letter, auctioned by Henry Aldridge and Son, was prevented from ever being sent to Chadwell Heath by the disaster, which took over 1,500 lives.

Esther was on board the liner with her builder husband Benjamin, who sadly died, and her seven-year-old daughter Eva.

The mother and daughter found the letter in the pocket of his jacket, which he had given to them to keep them warm.

Eva, who lived in Japan Road, Chadwell Heath, for most of her adult life, became a famous survivor and published her autobiography Shadow of the Titanic in 1994.

She also became a well-known campaigner for maritime safety.

The Eva Hart pub in High Road, Chadwell Heath, owned by chain JD Wetherspoon, opened two years after her death in 1996.

She was aged 91.

The auction, which took place on Saturday, also saw other records broken. More than 200 lots were sold to mark the 102nd anniversary of the tragedy.

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Letter written on the Titanic by mother of famous Chadwell Heath survivor expected to make up to £100,000 at auction