Letter gives first-hand account of ‘unforgettable scenes’ on Titanic
26 March 2014 4:35 AM IST
A distressing letter that provides a first-hand account of ‘unforgettable scenes’ of horror and heroism from the night the Titanic sank in the Atlantic waters in 1912 has emerged. The letter, written in French and dated 8 August 1955 - more than 43 years after the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean - is from a French woman called Rose Amelie Icard who survived the disaster.
The letter describes scenes of ‘horror’ and ‘sublime heroism’ as passengers tried to escape the sinking vessel. Ms Icard is believed to have been a maid to a wealthy American passenger called Martha Stone, the widow of the president of Canadian telephone company Bell Cie. The pair escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by the Carpathia vessel before being taken to New York.
It is thought that Ms Icard wrote the letter to the daughter of another woman whose mother also survived the disaster. The letter, written in blue ink, is addressed to a woman believed to be called Madame Ausein, ‘The Telegraph’ reported. The letter emerged after a user of the online community Reddit requested help in translating a set of letters written by Ms Icard that he bought at an auction.
The letter describes scenes of ‘horror’ and ‘sublime heroism’ as passengers tried to escape the sinking vessel. Ms Icard is believed to have been a maid to a wealthy American passenger called Martha Stone, the widow of the president of Canadian telephone company Bell Cie. The pair escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by the Carpathia vessel before being taken to New York.
It is thought that Ms Icard wrote the letter to the daughter of another woman whose mother also survived the disaster. The letter, written in blue ink, is addressed to a woman believed to be called Madame Ausein, ‘The Telegraph’ reported. The letter emerged after a user of the online community Reddit requested help in translating a set of letters written by Ms Icard that he bought at an auction.
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