Titanic Letter Reveals New First-Hand Account of Disaster
A harrowing first-hand account of the moment the Titanic sank has been uncovered in a letter purportedly from a French maid who survived the disaster.
The letter, written in French and dated 8 August 1955 - more than 43 years since the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on her maiden voyage - is from a French woman called Rose Amelie Icard.
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She wrote: “Towards eleven o’clock Mrs. Stone and I went to bed. Three quarters of an hour later, as the liner was cruising at full speed, a terrifying shock threw us out of bed.“We were intending to find out what was happening, when a passing officer told us ‘It is nothing, return to your cabin.’ I answered ‘Listen to that loud noise, it sounds like water is flowing into the ship.’
“Upon our return to the cabin I saw that our [female] neighbour from across the passageway had gone back to bed.
“Her daughter arrived in a panic, yelling ‘Mama, quick quick, get up it’s very serious.’
“I helped Mrs. Stone to dress, she took her lifebelt and told me ‘come quickly. I was trembling, and still in my dressing gown, I took a coat, my lifebelt, and followed her on deck.”
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