Conrad Chin-see, owner of the cap for the past 15 years, told the Herald: “It is one of those things that I was interested in from an early age and he was one of the major players in the tragedy. He was supposed to have been given a pair of binoculars.”

One of the few adult men to survive the disaster, Fleet told the subsequent inquiry into the disaster that had he been provided with binoculars, as he should have been, then the iceberg would have been sighted much earlier with dramatically different results.

Mr Chin-see has a document of verification from 1965—the year of Fleet’s death—that this was his naval hat and inside the hat’s rim the words: ‘Smn F Fleet’ are visible.

The seaman hanged himself in 1965, and although Titanic enthusiasts describe him as the last victim of the tragedy, suffering from guilt all his life, his suicide is more likely to be connected with his wife’s death two weeks earlier.

Already receiving some interest in the cap, Mr Chin-see said: “Quite a few people want to see what it is like.”

As well as the artefacts from Titanic, there will be a longcase clock dating back to 1800, made by a Stratford clockmaker and gun retailer. Valued at around £2,000 the large clock face has ‘Stratford-on-Avon’ and the manufacturers name, ‘Pearce’, inscribed on it.

Nicholas Milton, joint organiser of the fair with Mr Chin-see, stressed that as well as these stand-out items, many artefacts would be less than £100.
From the Second World War there is a copy of Reach for the Sky, the life story of the famous fighter-pilot, Sir Douglas Bader, signed by eight Spitfire pilots.

Mr Milton said: “There will be something for everyone at these fairs, from those who simply want to come along to look, to serious collectors.”

The new fairs will be held on one Sunday a month throughout 2012, and a contribution from each one will go to the Army Benevolent Fund.  The first one, on Sunday 15th January, will be open from 9.30am to 2:30pm. Admission is £3 for adults, children.