A postcard written by Jack Phillips, a 25-year-old radio operator, to his sister Elsie, who lived in Godalming, Surrey, England, was sent on April 6, 1912, when the Titanic was anchored in Southampton. This postcard, sent by the senior radio operator, can now be sold at auction for up to 20 thousand pounds sterling (€23 thousand).
Four days later, when the Titanic, then the world's largest passenger liner, set off for New York, it sank early on the morning of April 15, taking the lives of about 1500 people. Jack, who died in the wreck, remained at his post, transmitting distress signals via radio and helping coordinate rescue operations during the ship's sinking.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge from Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd in Devize, Wiltshire, called the postcard 'one of the true heroes of the disaster.' He recounted that after the water began rising to ankle level, Jack left the vessel and ended up in an overturned life raft, where he later died of hypothermia. Meanwhile, the Titanic's junior radio operator, Harold Bride, always remembered Phillips as 'the man who saved us all.'
The auctioneer also noted that Phillips maintained regular contact with Elsie. He emphasized that the postcard holds special significance because it was written on April 6, 1912, while the Titanic was in Southampton, and it depicts the ship itself. Aldridge added that this is one of the rarest postcards of its kind.
The postcard reads: 'Thank you very much for your letter. The weather is wonderful; I went to Cowes yesterday. I will write later before we depart.' The auction, held by Henry Aldridge and Son, is scheduled for November 21.
For comparison, a life vest belonging to one of the survivors from the Titanic was sold at an auction in England this April for £670,000 (over €770,000). The starting price for this item was £350,000 (about €400,000). This item was used by first-class passenger Laura Mabel Frankatelli when she boarded Lifeboat No. 1. It was acquired by a buyer from the United States who bid over the phone, but whose identity has not been disclosed.
This vest is the only survivor's life vest from the ship sunk in 1912 to be put up for sale, generating great interest among collectors. The item has twelve linen pockets filled with cork and is signed by eight other survivors from the lifeboat, including Frankatelli herself. It was kept in the survivor's family until it was purchased by a private collector 20 years ago and displayed in museums in the US and Europe.
'Titanic' sank early on the morning of April 14, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic, resulting in the death of 1500 people and the rescue of about 700 people.
