A rare letter penned by a passenger just days before he died in the Titanic disaster is expected to fetch up to £35,000 at auction.
Henry Price Hodges addressed the letter to a friend, Hector Young, of the Newtown Conservative Association in Southampton.
Dated April 10 and postmarked Queenstown, the letter described the fine weather and the good atmosphere on the ship.
Mr Hodges, a second-class passenger, boarded the ill-fated liner at Southampton with ticket number 250643, which cost £13. He was travelling to Boston to visit relatives.
Mr Hodges wrote: “Dear Hector,
“Very many thanks for the telegram and for the good wishes. It was a kind and thoughtful act and much appreciated, and you will please convey my thanks to the members of our Association.
“Wasn’t it good of the President to come and see me off? I almost believe I could have persuaded him to come along. We have had a fine time up to now.
“You do not see anything of the movement of the ship, but the weather is very fine.
“On the top deck there are about 200 boys (from 20 upwards) marching round & singing, others are playing dominoes & cards in the saloons, some reading, some writing, everything is quite different to what you would expect to see at sea.
“Tell your Dad I am very disappointed he did not come, but I know he could not help it, and it was more than expected by your brother coming instead. (All for this but not him) I am going to bed early, for I feel as tired as a dead dog.
“Good bye Hector
“Best wishes
“From Yours faithfully
“H.P. Hodges.”
He died in the sinking on April 15 1912, a tragedy that claimed 1,500 lives, and his body was later recovered and buried in Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The historic item is going under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son of Devizes, Wiltshire, on Sunday.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said letters written by second-class passengers are some of the rarest.
“This letter gives us a historically priceless snapshot into what life was like onboard the most famous ship ever to take to the seas for a second-class passenger,” he said.
“He describes the ship and fellow passengers and how they passed the time. Yet a little over four days later the Titanic was lying at the bottom of the North Atlantic.”
