New facts about the sinking of the Titanic have emerged from a newspaper found in the back of a wardrobe in England after more than a century.
The issue tells of the agonizing wait faced by the families of those who were on board the Titanic.
The consequences of the tragedy, in which more than 1,500 people died when the ship sank in April 1912, are poignantly captured in photos published in the 112-year-old newspaper, vesti.bg reports.
Dated April 20, 1912, the front page of the British newspaper The Daily Mirror shows two women in Southampton – the English port city from where the Titanic sailed – waiting for a list of survivors to be published.
The headline reads: “One of the thousands of tragedies that made the Titanic shipwreck the worst in world history.”
When the Titanic set sail on April 10, 1912, it was the largest passenger ship in service and was considered “unsinkable.” Just four days later, the liner’s maiden voyage turned into an international tragedy when the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 p.m. on April 14.
The ship, which sank in less than three hours, did not have enough lifeboats for the estimated 2,220 people on board.
The newspaper was discovered in a wardrobe during a house clearance by auctioneers Hansons, where it is believed to have been stored for more than a century.
The front page reads: “Of the 903 crew members of the Titanic, only 210 were saved. It meant tragedy after tragedy for Southampton, where most of the men lived, as mothers were robbed of sons, wives of husbands, and young girls of lovers by this dreadful calamity.
“Yesterday was a terrible day in the history of the city, although it ended all tension. A list of the rescued was posted outside the White Star offices, and mothers and wives, hoping against hope, eagerly read the names, only to find that their worst fears had come true.
“To some, of course, the list contained glorious news, but they kept their joy to themselves in the face of the terrible grief of their friends and neighbors.”
Inside, the newspaper opens to a double page spread featuring a gallery of images of those on board.
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 Staffordshire town of Lichfield.
“The newspaper was found thanks to our elderly client’s grandmother,” Hanson said. “She held newspapers commemorating major events such as the coronation of King George V in 1911 as well as the sinking of the Titanic.”
Hanson described the paper, which sold for about $45 this week, as “a valuable piece of social history,” adding: “This find reminds us of many grieving families and friends, mothers, fathers and broken-hearted wives.”
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