Letter from Titanic survivor blaming ship's owners for disaster to go under the hammer

A LETTER written by a Titanic survivor blaming the owners of the ship for the disaster has emerged for sale.

 The letter was written in the wake of the disaster[PA]

First-class passenger Emily Ryerson wrote the letter on April 18, 1913 - just over a year after the ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean.

And the note, written to a Mr Bowen, provides a glimpse of the hours leading up to the disaster on the evening of April 15, 1912.

It offers first-hand documentary evidence which points the finger at owners White Star Line and specifically their chairman, Joseph Bruce Ismay.

The letter - written on three pages and expected to fetch up to £9,000 - suggests Ismay approved of Titanic's speeding up through the iceberg-strewn waters.

Mrs Ryerson was 48 years old when the 882ft passenger liner hit an iceberg while travelling to New York after leaving Southampton.

She later gave a testimony in her legal deposition to the Titanic Inquiry, but did not reveal what she had shared in the letter.

Mrs Ryerson, born in Philadelphia, had spoken with Ismay earlier in the day of the tragedy, and she wrote the decision to increase the ship's speed was his to make.

She said: "The strong impression which was left in my mind, was that they were speeding the ship up - to get away from the ice - and that we would probably get in late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

"Mr Ismay's manner was that of one in authority and the owner of the ship and that what he said was law.

Mr Ismay's manner was that of one in authority and the owner of the ship and that what he said was law

Emily Ryerson

"If this can be of service to anyone I do not wish to be silent to seem to be protecting him." 

Two inquiries were held at the time - one in the USA and one in the UK - but neither blamed the White Star Line.

However, it was commonly felt that Ismay deserted the sinking vessel when others - notably the captain - stayed on board and went down with the ship.

Despite Mrs Ryerson's assertions, there is no evidence that Ismay put pressure on the captain, who was following normal procedure in going at full speed.

Mrs Ryerson was aboard the Titanic with her husband, three children, her son's governess and a maid.

They boarded in Cherbourg, France, to return home to bury their son Arthur Ryerson Jr, 21, who had just been tragically killed in a car accident.

Her husband, Arthur, drowned but she and the rest of her party were rescued.

Jack, her youngest son, was initially denied a place in the lifeboat, but his father pleaded that he was only 13 and the officer in charge relented.

The unique letter is now to be sold at the Treasures from 'The Caren Archive: How History Unfolds on Paper' sale in New York on April 7.

A Bonhams spokesman said: "This is a fascinating letter in the history of the Titanic tragedy.

"Mrs Ryerson had been rescued from the sinking ship - on which her husband had lost his life - yet was able to write with remarkable composure about what she had seen and heard.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?