Letter from Titanic survivor sells at auction for nearly $12,000 – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Letter from Titanic survivor sells at auction for nearly $12,000




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Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon, a British aristocrat and fashion designer, survived the Titanic disaster back in 1912. Shortly afterwards, she returned to London and penned a two-page letter for a friend of hers residing in the States.

The letter poked fury to those who had greeted her back home with less than unbridled enthusiasm.

In the letter, she said “According to the way we’ve been treated by England on our return we didn’t seem to have done the right thing in being saved at all!!!! Isn’t it disgraceful.”

Because you see, Ms. Duff-Gordon did survive the tragedy, but at the expense of dozens of other lives. Allegedly, herself, her husband, and ten other people fled the sinking ship onboard a lifeboat which could have carried 40 people. It is said that they bribed the crewmen manning the boat not to return and pick up more survivors.

Herself and her husband were the target of a public outcry upon their return to England when the story became known. The Duff-Gordons had both been trravelling first class on the doomed liner.

Though the bribing claim was later deemed by a British inquiry to be unfounded, the story tarnished their reputation for the rest of their lives.

The letter fetched $11,875 at an RR Auction, a company that specializes in Titanic memorabilia.

Some 1,500 souls were lost when the ill-fated Titanic hit an iceberg on April 15, 1912.

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