A menu of the last meal served to first class passengers on board the Titanic sold for £76,000 on Saturday.

It was the star lot in an auction of memorabilia from the stricken ship, the building of which was completed 100 years ago today.

The menu is dated April 14 1912, the day the cruiser hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank, killing 1,522 people.

Over several courses, and with 40 options on offer, the cream of Edwardian society were served a choice of such dishes as eggs Argenteuil, consomme fermier, chicken a la Maryland, galantine of chicken or grilled mutton chops.

A UK-based collector bought the menu at the Henry Aldridge & Son's saleroom in Devizes, where it was one of some 370 lots on offer.

The menu was on the table of first-class passenger Dr Washington Dodge, a prominent banker from San Francisco, who was travelling to America with his wife, Ruth, and son, Washington Junior. Mrs Dodge slipped the menu into her handbag before carrying on with her day - unaware of the tragedy to come.

Mrs Dodge and her son survived after being ushered on to a lifeboat and the menu, which had remained in her bag, has stayed with the family ever since.

Dr Dodge was saved from the sinking vessel by steward Frederick Dent Ray, who had served the family on a previous crossing and pushed him on to the 13th lifeboat, full of children, saying he needed his help in caring for the youngsters.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "The menu carries the all-important date of April 14 and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the culinary life of Titanic's elite passengers."

A set of keys used by crewman Samuel Hemming to unlock the door to where a stock of lanterns were kept also went under the hammer, selling for £59,000 to an American collector.

Mr Hemming, a lamp trimmer, followed the orders of captain Edward J Smith to the letter to ensure all 15 lightboats had lit oil lamps, making it easier for survivors to both see and be seen by rescue ships.

Despite being told the Titanic would sink in just 30 minutes the dedicated crewman made five trips below deck to bring the lamps - four at a time - to the top deck.

After his job was done Mr Hemming, then aged 43, plunged into the freezing water and swam 200 yards to a collapsible lifeboat which he was heaved into. A short time later, the same boat saved about 30 men who were standing on the upturned hull of one of the main lifeboats.

He kept the three keys for the rest of his life, and they were passed down through his family who sold them to a private collector more than 20 years ago.

Two letters were also among the lots - one written by the second in command, which was bought by a UK collector for £29,000. The note from Chief Officer Henry Wilde, who died in the disaster, was written while he was on board in Southampton on April 7.

In the letter to his family, he praises the Titanic, describing her as a "wonderful ship, the last thing in shipbuilding".

Ironically, he was only transferred to the Titanic from her sister ship RMS Olympic at the last moment.

Mr Aldridge said: "Reports at the time show him as a hero who generally only allowed women and children into lifeboats and he was last seen trying to free Collapsible Lifeboats A and B from the roof of the officer's quarters shortly before Titanic sank.

"As there are no letters known to have been written by Captain EJ Smith, this letter is a blue riband item due to the fact is was written by Titanic's second in command."

Another letter, from the captain's personal steward Arthur Painton, made £39,000, going to an American collector. Written on April 11, he writes of his concern that "the Olympic's bad luck was going to follow us onto the Titanic".

He was referring to the fact that the Olympic collided with a Royal Navy battle cruiser in September 1911 - and that the Titanic had a near miss itself when leaving Southampton.

Mr Aldridge said of the sale: "It was extremely busy. I think there is such interest in the Titanic as she represents the end of a certain social strata - she had aristocracy going through to the common man.

"Every man, woman and child on that ship had a story to tell."

The prices all include buyers' premium.