adrian waring
Member
Any thoughts,
Titanic remarkable letter on a commemorative Titanic postcard dated Sunday June 3rd 1912 to 'Dear Ismay' : 'ref our conversation I now have statements from the crewmembers of the '(?)Samson' who saw the T's lights but could not help as she had illegal ?seals on board. The crew are v distressed. You must mention this at the hearing tomorrow . Otherwise 'L' will be crucified...' The text of the letter is written in blue crayon and the signature (initials) is indecipherable. There is a closed tear to the bottom right hand corner of the letter which has been repaired with adhesive tape which has somewhat discoloured indicated that the repair was carried out some years ago. We cannot vouch for the authenticity of this card given the indecipherability of the signature and the medium with which the message has been written. As it stands however, if it is authentic, this card could be a major new piece of evidence in the continuing story of the phantom ship which, it is claimed, was seen by the crew of the Titanic on the night of the disaster and which apparently turned away and left the ship to its fate. This card purports to have been sent to Bruce Ismay, Managing Director of the White Star line on the eve of his appearance at the Board of Trade Enquiry into the disaster. During his testimony he was questioned closely on the identity of the 'phantom' ship, as suspicion had fallen on the 'Californian' a vessel owned by the Leyland Line. If this card is authentic then it will provide once and for all the evidence as to why Ismay was adamant in his testimony that the identity of the ship was not the Californian. During his evidence Ismay was questioned about the light toward which his lifeboat pulled. Ismay responded : 'If you will excuse my saying so, I do not think it was a steamer at all; I think it was a sailing ship we saw.' Lord Mersey, head of the enquiry cut in : 'Am I to understand that you do not think it was the Californian ?' Ismay replied : 'I am sure it was not.' This card could therefore provide evidence to support Ismay in his assertion as well as provide a reason as to why a vessel, knowing of the distressed state of the Titanic turned away - because it had illegal cargo on board.
Titanic remarkable letter on a commemorative Titanic postcard dated Sunday June 3rd 1912 to 'Dear Ismay' : 'ref our conversation I now have statements from the crewmembers of the '(?)Samson' who saw the T's lights but could not help as she had illegal ?seals on board. The crew are v distressed. You must mention this at the hearing tomorrow . Otherwise 'L' will be crucified...' The text of the letter is written in blue crayon and the signature (initials) is indecipherable. There is a closed tear to the bottom right hand corner of the letter which has been repaired with adhesive tape which has somewhat discoloured indicated that the repair was carried out some years ago. We cannot vouch for the authenticity of this card given the indecipherability of the signature and the medium with which the message has been written. As it stands however, if it is authentic, this card could be a major new piece of evidence in the continuing story of the phantom ship which, it is claimed, was seen by the crew of the Titanic on the night of the disaster and which apparently turned away and left the ship to its fate. This card purports to have been sent to Bruce Ismay, Managing Director of the White Star line on the eve of his appearance at the Board of Trade Enquiry into the disaster. During his testimony he was questioned closely on the identity of the 'phantom' ship, as suspicion had fallen on the 'Californian' a vessel owned by the Leyland Line. If this card is authentic then it will provide once and for all the evidence as to why Ismay was adamant in his testimony that the identity of the ship was not the Californian. During his evidence Ismay was questioned about the light toward which his lifeboat pulled. Ismay responded : 'If you will excuse my saying so, I do not think it was a steamer at all; I think it was a sailing ship we saw.' Lord Mersey, head of the enquiry cut in : 'Am I to understand that you do not think it was the Californian ?' Ismay replied : 'I am sure it was not.' This card could therefore provide evidence to support Ismay in his assertion as well as provide a reason as to why a vessel, knowing of the distressed state of the Titanic turned away - because it had illegal cargo on board.
