Titanic Survivor's Letter Describing Near-Miss Before It Hit Iceberg Auctioned

A letter from a Titanic survivor describing a detailing a terrifying near-miss that would have sealed the ship's fate in 1912 was put up for auction by Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd. auctioneers and was sold for over 15,000 pounds (Rs 15 lakh), as per a report in Fox News. This comes at a time when a search is underway for a lost submarine which was on its way to visit the wreck of the Titanic. 

The letter's author, Stanley May, travelled on the Titanic for a full day, from the time it departed Southampton to Cobh, Ireland. The family then left the ship to continue exploring the Emerald Isle. Mr May described the brief voyage in a letter to his daughters Hilda and Gladys while he was on board. He also described how the Titanic almost collided with a smaller passenger ship as it was leaving Southampton, as per the outlet. The ship's wash prompted the SS New York to release itself from its moorings and drift in its direction. Tug boats pushed the Titanic away from the other ship as they were about to collide by a few feet. 

In the letter, the survivor, who was travelling first-class, 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." He also said that the ship was late in its arrival to France  "owing to an accident shortly after starting."

As per Fox News, had the accident happened, the departure of the luxury ship would have been delayed and it may not have hit the iceberg, averting the sinking.

"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 added in the letter. Mr May told his daughters that he had sent them a booklet of postcards he bought on the ship as a souvenir.

"R.M.S. TITANIC: First Class passenger Stanley May onboard letter written April 11th 1912 at 11am. The letter talks of the New York incident and calls the ship a floating palace, written on two sides. It also mentions the book of postcards purchased on board by Mr May, sold previously by Henry Aldridge & Son," the auction house wrote in the  description of  the letter. 

RMS Titanic, which was dubbed the "unsinkable ship" sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg during its maiden voyage. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 lost their lives in the disaster.