Eerie letter from Titanic passenger to his mum revealed ahead of ‘rare’ auction
A ‘poignant’ letter written by a teenager aboard the Titanic three days before it sank is set to be auctioned for tens of thousands of pounds.
At 16, Thomas Cupper Mudd was one of the youngest of the 1,500 people who died in the tragedy.
The letter, written on Titanic-branded paper, was posted to his mother from the ship’s final port of call in Queenstown, Ireland, on April 11, 1912.
In it, Thomas enthusiastically tells her about life onboard the ship but warns of ‘very rough weather’ – and excuses his choppy handwriting due to the ship ‘rolling a good bit’.
He wrote: ‘Dear Mother & all at home. I am now taking the opportunity of sending you a few lines about how we started from Southhampton [sic]…
‘We have been having very rough weather but the ship is so steady you would hardly know it was moving, was it not for the throbbing of the engines.
‘We are now nearing Queenstown.’
Thomas, who boarded on a second-class ticket, continued: ‘The ship is like a magnificent palace. The lounge & dining hall are very beautiful. We are having excellent food.
‘I have made friends with a young English gentleman and he is very nice indeed.
‘The beds are very nice also with plenty of covering to keep warm also they have spring mattresses.’
He concluded: ‘Excuse writing as the ship is rolling a good bit. Now I must close.
‘With love to all. I remain, your loving son Tom.’
Thomas was survived by his parents, Thomas Sr and Elizabeth, and 12 siblings – two of whom had already emigrated to the USA.
The 16-year-old, who had worked as a bookkeeper, was en route to join them.
Rupert Powell of Forum Auctions, which is handling the sale, said the letter is ‘particularly poignant’ given the victim’s age.
‘When reading the letter today we thus feel hauntingly close to one of history’s greatest tragedies,’ Mr Powell added.
‘Sent by a young man to his mother in which he enthusiastically describes the opulence and magnificence of the Titanic, this letter is a rare first-hand testament to the awful tragedy which befell the ship a matter of days later.’
Thomas’ parents later received financial support from the Titanic relief fund.
His expat brothers, James and George, lived until 1953 and 1966 respectively, and George named his first-born son Thomas.
The letter, expected to fetch up to £30,000, will go under the hammer on March 27.
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