Olympic, the sister ship of the Titanic, was barred from taking on passengers saved from the sunken liner because the two ships looked too much alike.

That is one of the revelations made in copies of the Olympic's wireless operator's reports, under the hammer at the forthcoming sale of Titanic memorabilia at the salerooms of Devizes auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son.

The copies of the cables were put together for the public inquiry into the disaster, which happened on the night of April 14, 1912.

At 10.50pm that night, the Olympic received a message from the radio station at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

It read: "Hear Titanic signalling to some ship about striking iceberg. Am not sure if it is the Titanic who has struck an iceberg. Am interfered by atmospherics and many stations working."

But by 11pm it becomes clearer that it is, in fact, the unsinkable' Titanic that is in distress.

The cable reads: "Hear Titanic sending out signals of distress and I answered his calls immediately."

Ten minutes later the Titanic replies and gives its distance from the Olympic as 505 nautical miles. Further messages speak of putting passengers off in small boats.

At 11.45pm the Olympic received its last message from the Titanic, saying the weather was clear and calm.

Although the Californian was the closest ship to the Titanic, its radio was switched off. So it was the more distant Carpathia that came to the rescue and scooped up some 800 survivors, mainly women and children who had been put into the few available lifeboats.

The Olympic continued its rendezvous with the Titanic's last reported position, until another message was received at 3.15pm on April 15 from the master of the Carpathia, Captain Rostron.

He said: "Do you think it is advisable Titanic's passengers see Olympic? Personally, I am not."

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "I can imagine the feelings among the survivors to see what looked like the Titanic turning up."

Among the other 415 lots on sale is the key to the crow's nest telephone office that also housed a set of binoculars, which, it is said, could have been used to spot the approaching iceberg.

It was in the pocket of Second Officer David Blair who was transferred to Olympic from the Titanic before it set sail from Southampton. The sale takes place at Aldridge's saleroom at Bath Road Business Centre on September 22.