Titanic widow's whistle on the block

LONDON, March 15 (UPI) -- An upcoming auction in London will offer a whistle used by a grief-stricken widow to communicate after the Titanic sank, The Mirror reported Monday.

The late Winnie Gill had only been married to her childhood sweetheart, John, for two months when he perished in the 1912 sinking off Newfoundland.

She was unable to speak for nearly 20 years, and used a bosun's whistle to communicate. In 1932, she fell down some stairs and recovered the use of her voice, the newspaper said.

She never remarried and died in the 1960s.

Next month, an auction by the British Titanic Society Convention will put her whistle on the block, along with a Christmas card the woman gave her husband, a wedding photograph and a penknife carried by John Gill when the ship sank.

The items, now owned by her nephew, are expected to raise at least $30,000.