A newspaper illustrating the agonizing wait facing families of those onboard the Titanic has been discovered at the back of a wardrobe in England after more than a century.
The aftermath of the tragedy, which saw more than 1,500 people lose their lives when the ship sank in April 1912, is poignantly captured in pictures featured in the 112-year-old newspaper.
Dated April 20, 1912, the front page of British newspaper The Daily Mirror shows two women in Southampton – the English port city from where the Titanic set sail – waiting for a list of survivors to be posted.
The headline reads: “One of the thousands of tragedies which made the Titanic wreck the most horrible in the world’s history.”
When RMS Titanic set sail on April 10, 1912, she was the largest passenger ship in service and considered to be “unsinkable.” Just four days later, the Titanic’s maiden voyage was transformed into an international tragedy when the ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 p.m. April 14. The ship, which sank in less than three hours, did not have enough lifeboats for the approximately 2,220 people on board.
The newspaper was discovered in a wardrobe during a house clearance carried out by auctioneers Hansons, where it is believed to have been kept for more than a century.
The front page reads: “Of the 903 members of the crew of the Titanic, only 210 have been saved. This means tragedy upon tragedy for Southampton, where the majority of the men lived, for by this appalling disaster mothers have been robbed of sons, wives of husbands and young girls of sweethearts.
“Yesterday was a terrible day in the history of the town, though it put an end to all suspense. A list of the saved was posted outside the White Star offices, and mothers and wives who had been hoping against hope eagerly read the names, only to find their worst fears were realised.
“For some, of course, the list contained glorious news but they hushed their joy in the presence of the terrible grief of their friends and neighbours.”
Inside, the paper opens up to a double page spread featuring a gallery of images of those who were onboard.
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said in a statement on the firm’s website that the newspaper was discovered during a “house clearance” at a property in the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire.
“The paper was found thanks to our elderly client’s grandmother,” Hanson said. “She kept newspapers marking major events such as the coronation of King George V in 1911 as well as the sinking of the Titanic.”
Hanson described the newspaper, which sold for £34 (about C$60) this week, as “a valuable piece of social history,” adding: “This find reminds us of the many bereaved families and friends, heartbroken mothers, fathers and wives.”
