A stunning archive that belonged to the 'true hero of the Titanic' is being put on sale by his family 108 years after the disaster for £60,000.

Harold Lowe helped scores of women and children into lifeboats and was the only officer to go back for survivors after the famous liner sank.

In the 1997 blockbuster movie, one of those in the water Lowe was portrayed as saving was Kate Winslet's character Rose.

Mr Lowe's personal belongings include a poignant telescope given to him by real-life survivor who had it inscribed with the words 'To Harold G. Lowe....The Real Hero of the Titanic.'

There is also his officer's whistle that he may well have used on board Titanic to organise people into the lifeboats.

His archive includes a very rare photograph of all of the officers on the RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued all of the survivors hours after the 1912 tragedy.

Clearly, the fate of Titanic played on Mr Lowe's mind for years afterwards as he painted a superb watercolour picture of the 'unsinkable' ship that was cherished by his family.