Pocket watch frozen in time that stopped when its owner went down with the Titanic

A gold-plated pocket watch that stopped just as its postmaster sank with the ill-fated Titanic is set to fetch thousands of dollars auction this weekend The unfortunate Titanic sank in 1912 (

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The watch belonged to Oscar Woody, who perished with 1,520 others when the luxury liner struck an iceberg and sank in 1912.

His body was recovered from the sea 10 days later and all of his possessions were removed so that they could be returned to his family.

Precious items included his gold-plated Ingersoll watch and chain which were damaged in the disaster.

The pocket watch's glass screen shattered and its two hands broke.

However, it was found with an imprint indicating where the minute hand was pointing between four and five.

Oscar Woody's pocket watch was found after the sinking of the Titanic (

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BNPS)

This is when the Titanic sank at 2:21 a.m. on April 15, 1912.

Mr. Woody, originally from Virginia in the United States, served as postmaster on the Titanic.

He had been chosen to take charge of the mailroom for the ship's maiden voyage on April 10, 1912 after spending 15 years as a railway mail clerk.

Mr. Woody joined four colleagues in the mailroom and they had to sort through the 400,000 letters before they arrived in New York six days later.

As the ship began to sink, Mr. Woody and his colleagues tried unsuccessfully to save hundreds of mailbags by carrying them to the upper decks.

They were last seen wading feverishly through the freezing water, determined to complete their hopeless task.

The three families of the American clerks were awarded $2,000 (£1,677) for their loss by their government.

The watch was then returned to Mr. Woody's widow, Leila. Years later, she passed it on to her late husband's Masonic lodge.

The gold-plated pocket watch is now owned by a private Titanic memorabilia collector and is expected to go up for auction this weekend.