Henry Aldridge & Son

The Devizes Auctioneers

Titanic Owners Wanted £20 For the Return Of Passengers Body

April 2002 sees the 90th anniversary of one of the most famous disasters of all time. The White Star Liner Titanic, set sail from her home port of Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York.

On April 12th at The British Titanic Society annual convention in Southampton, Henry Aldridge & Son are holding the first of their bi-annual auctions of Titanic and White Star Line memorabilia.

This is one of the most important auctions of Titanic and White Star Line items ever held with one collection of items expected to realise in excess of £75000. John William Gill was a second class passenger on board the Titanic. In 1908 he moved from his home in Somerset to Wisconsin to become a chauffeur. He returned to Britain to marry his childhood sweetheart Sarah Hodder on St Valentines Day 1912. He had hoped to start a new life in America with his bride and had bought tickets for them both to travel on board the Titanic at a cost of £13 each. But due to a last minute family problem Mrs Gill could not travel, so John Gill travelled to America alone. One of the items to be sold from the Gill archive is a postcard of Titanic that Mr Gill wrote on the morning of the 10th April from Southampton, the day Titanic set sail. In it he comments that he has not seen such a big boat before, this single card is estimated at £3000-£5000.

Mr Gill drowned on the morning of the 15th April 1912, in the cold dark waters of the North Atlantic along with 1522 other poor souls. Other major parts of the Gill archive to be auctioned on the 12th April include a collection of letters from the White Star Line to his widow. These include one particularly controversial piece, written on the 3rd May 1912. from the Passenger Department of the White Star Line and one paragraph reads "We regret that we do not see our way to bring home the bodies of those recovered free of expense, and in cases where it is desired for this to be done it can only be carried out provided the body was in a fit state to be returned, and upon receiving a deposit of £20 on account of the expenses".

But while the letter later adds that the White Stat Line offers "Profound sympathy" for the "Terrible calamity" the company "cannot be hold responsible for the results of the unfortunate accident". Andrew Aldridge of Henry Aldridge & son comments that it is incredible that a company of the size and reputation of the White Star Line would write such a callous letter to the widow of a victim of the disaster. Ironically a letter written on the 20th May from the Line says that Mr Gill has already been buried at sea on the 24th April 1912. These letters are expected to realise between £5000-£7000.

Alan Ruffman, world renowned Titanic expert and author of Titanic Remembered - The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax said "It is appalling that they would say to widows and other members of the family: If you want your loved ones body back it is going to cost you £20". Brian Ticehurst editor of the British Titanic Society's newsletter The Atlantic Daily Bulletin adds that Wallace Hartley the Titanic's bandmaster's body, was brought back and they never charged his family, I have never heard of this before"

Another amazing lot that is to be offered on the 12th April is John Gill's pocket watch. This was with him on the 14th April when the Titanic hit the iceberg. It is a gold plated Waltham watch with an engraved J on the case. The hands are frozen in time at 3.21. Witness reports of the disaster reported that the stern of the ship disappeared from view at around 2.20am, but because the liner had sailed into a different time zone during the night, Mr Gill did not have a chance to put his watch back an hour. This watch is expected to fetch between £15000-£20000.

Another highly important lot is a menu from dinner on April 10th 1912. This was sent by 1st class Titanic steward, Charles Casswill to his wife Hilda. Although now broken in two pieces, it is nevertheless expected to realise between £12000-£14000. First Class Passengers including John Jacob Astor the richest man on board, J.Bruce Ismay the President of the White Star Line and Captain Edward Smith dined on such delights as Turbot, Whitebait, Mutton, Duckling and Veal.

In all there are 316 lots to be sold at 2pm on the 12th April, with items estimated to fetch from £20 upto £20000. Two additional items to be sold at the auction, one being a tea pot made from original moulds from the 25th anniversary of the Titanic and a reproduction of a photograph taken at Ground Zero and signed by photographer Phil McAuliffe. These two pieces are to be sold with all proceeds donated to the New York Fireman's Fund.