Titanic survivor, in letter sold at auction, described near-miss moment that sealed doomed liner’s fate
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A letter from a lucky Titanic survivor describing a dramatic near-miss moment that may have sealed the doomed liner’s fate in 1912 — some 111 years ago this year — was put up for auction in April 2023 and estimated to sell for £20,000, or over $25,000 in U.S. dollars, according to Bournemouth News and Picture Service (BNPS).
The item sold for £15,000, or a little over $19,000, Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd. auctioneers confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning. The letter’s sale and back story comes as a frantic search is underway this week for a missing submersible that takes tourists to see the Titanic’s wreckage.
Stanley May, the letter’s writer, spent 24 hours on the Titanic — beginning from when it left Southampton to its last port of call at Cobh, Ireland.
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He and his family got off at that point to enjoy a vacation driving around the Emerald Isle.
During his brief time on board, May wrote a letter home to his daughters, Hilda and Gladys, describing the brief but eventful trip. He also gave an account of the near-miss the Titanic had with a smaller passenger liner as it left the quayside at Southampton, BNPS reported.
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The wash created by the huge vessel caused the SS New York to break free of its moorings and drift toward it. The two ships came within a few feet of colliding with each other before tug boats nudged the Titanic clear, according to BNPS.
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Had the two ships collided, the Titanic’s departure would have been delayed and the Titanic likely never would have struck the iceberg that caused her to sink — with the loss of 1,522 lives a mere four days later.
May explained in his letter that the Titanic was late in arriving at Cherbourg, France, “owing to an accident shortly after starting.”
He wrote, “New York broke loose from her moorings and drifted on to the Titanic and as she had not steam (sic) up, was in a very lifeless condition … Tugs saved her and no great damage done, but am afraid a lot of people would have been injured by the broken ropes, but we shall not hear until we land.”
May was a first-class passenger aboard the Titanic.
In his letter, he went on to describe the luxury liner as appearing like a “palace.”
He also wrote, “We have had a very nice trip and shall be leaving the ship (or rather it’s more like a palace) in a few hours time.”
He finished the letter by telling his daughters he’d sent them a booklet of postcards of the Titanic he bought on board as a souvenir.
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The two-page letter surfaced for sale in April 2023 at Henry Aldridge & Son Auctioneers of Devizes, Wiltshire.
Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd. is a premier auctioneer of antiques and collectors items based in southwest England. It’s a family-run business operated by the husband and wife team of Andrew and Chrissie Aldridge, the company’s website indicates.
Andrew Aldridge said, “It is a fascinating letter that gives a very good firsthand account of the New York incident,” according to BNPS.
He added, “You can tell by reading Stanley’s letter that it was a real ‘sliding doors moment.’ He describes it as an ‘accident’ and how Titanic was saved from sustaining damage.”
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He also said, “You get the sense that it was a real near miss. Had there been a collision, it wouldn’t have been terminal but it would have delayed the Titanic’s departure by a few hours or more.”
And “had that happened, then the iceberg the Titanic went on to hit would have floated clear of its path by the time it reached that area of the North Atlantic.”
Said Aldridge, “Stanley May and his family had a lucky escape and got off in Ireland.”
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May was an architect from Middlesex. He was traveling as a first-class passenger with his brother Richard, his sister Lily Odell and his nephew Jack Odell.
The family got off the Titanic on April 11, 1912.
The “unsinkable” vessel hit the iceberg on the evening of April 14 — and sank at 2:20 a.m. on the morning of April 15.
The Titanic — owned and operated by White Star Line — set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 10, 1912.
The liner made two short stops en route — one at the French port of Cherbourg, the other at Cork Harbor, Ireland — where smaller vessels ferried passengers on and off board the Titanic, according to multiple sources.
On April 14, the Titanic struck an iceberg below the waterline — creating narrow openings in the vessel’s starboard hull.
Two hours and 40 minutes later, the ship sank, in the early hours of April 15, killing 1,522 people.