A rare and deeply poignant letter written by a passenger aboard the Titanic just days before the world’s most famous maritime disaster is expected to fetch up to £35,000 at auction.
Written by second-class passenger Henry Price Hodges to his friend Hector Young, of the Newtown Conservative Association in Southampton, the letter offers an extraordinary snapshot of life aboard the supposedly unsinkable liner at the very moment she was beginning her maiden voyage.
Hodges had boarded the Titanic at Southampton, holding second-class ticket number 250643, which cost £13. He was travelling to Boston to visit relatives. His letter was dated 10 April 1912, the day the Titanic departed Southampton, and was postmarked at Queenstown—now known as Cobh—in County Cork, Ireland.
The port was the Titanic’s final stop before she embarked on the fatal transatlantic crossing.
The letter reads:
“Dear Hector,
“Very many thanks for the telegram and for the good wishes. It was a kind and thoughtful act and much appreciated, and you will please convey my thanks to the members of our Association.
“Wasn’t it good of the President to come and see me off? I almost believe I could have persuaded him to come along. We have had a fine time up to now.
“You do not see anything of the movement of the ship, but the weather is very fine.
“On the top deck there are about 200 boys (from 20 upwards) marching round & singing, others are playing dominoes & cards in the saloons, some reading, some writing, everything is quite different to what you would expect to see at sea.
“Tell your Dad I am very disappointed he did not come, but I know he could not help it, and it was more than expected by your brother coming instead. (All for this but not him) I am going to bed early, for I feel as tired as a dead dog.
“Good bye Hector
“Best wishes
“From Yours faithfully
“H.P. Hodges.”
There is something profoundly haunting about Hodges’ words. His description is entirely ordinary: fine weather, passengers singing and walking on deck, others playing cards and dominoes, while some read and write. He speaks of being tired and planning to go to bed early.
There is no hint that he was writing from a ship whose name would soon become synonymous with tragedy.
The Titanic had left Southampton on 10 April 1912 on her maiden voyage to New York. She was the largest passenger liner in the world and had been constructed by the White Star Line as the pinnacle of luxury, engineering and modern maritime technology.
After calling at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland, the ship headed west across the North Atlantic.
On the night of 14 April, the Titanic received several warnings about ice in the ship’s path. At approximately 11.40pm, lookouts spotted an iceberg directly ahead. Despite efforts to avoid it, the ship struck the iceberg on her starboard side.
The collision caused catastrophic damage beneath the waterline. Water began flooding several compartments, and it soon became clear that the ship could not survive.
Hodges was among the passengers who died when the Titanic sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912. More than 1,500 people lost their lives, while only around 700 survived.
His body was later recovered from the North Atlantic and he was buried at Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The letter is now being offered for sale by Henry Aldridge & Son of Devizes, Wiltshire, with an estimated value of up to £35,000. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge has described letters written by second-class passengers as particularly rare.
“This letter gives us a historically priceless snapshot into what life was like on board the most famous ship ever to take to the seas for a second-class passenger,” he said.
Hodges’ letter is remarkable precisely because it is so unremarkable. It captures a few quiet moments of everyday life aboard the Titanic—before history intervened.
His final words from the ship were written in a spirit of optimism. He described good weather, music, games and companionship. Just four days later, the Titanic was resting on the floor of the North Atlantic.
For more than a century, those simple words have provided an intimate connection to one of history’s greatest tragedies: a final glimpse of the Titanic not as a wreck or a legend, but as a living ship filled with ordinary people who believed they were simply beginning a new journey.
