Rare Titanic film footage surfaces in Glasgow loft

Published on Tuesday 22 March 2005 01:21

TWELVE minutes of unique film that shows the Titanic sailing to its doom and records the aftermath of the disaster has been discovered in a Glasgow loft 93 years after the tragedy.

The original, unedited footage was first viewed within days of the great liner sinking on its maiden voyage in April 1912 by a small audience of cinema-goers in the Odeon, in Greenock, Renfrewshire.

The newsreel was meant to remain in the cinema but it was taken home by an employee and put in a garden shed, where it remained until it found its way to Glasgow.

Running to 12.5 minutes, the ancient nitrate film lay in the loft of an unnamed family until a descendant of the original "owner" read that a similar four-minute segment of film featuring the doomed ship had been sold at auction for 5,000.

The man called the auctioneers, Henry Aldridge of Devizes, Wiltshire, who realised the significance of the film.

"To say we were excited was an understatement," said Mr Aldridge, who will put the footage under the hammer at an auction next month.

He added: "It is a uniquely historical document, the longest unedited raw footage to emerge of such a significant event."

The film is still in perfect condition despite its heavily corroded case, and it is accompanied by an identification slip which reads: "From the Odeon Cinema, Greenock. Please return the contents!"

Mr Aldridge said: "Because it was an old nitrate film, and very combustible, if it had caught light it could have burned the house down."

The film is being auctioned as part of the British Titanic Society convention in Southampton on 8 April. It is expected to make at least 8,000.