Letter from Titanic’s second in command revealing he felt uneasy about the ship is uncovered
Chief officer Henry Wilde wrote that he did not like the Titanic and had been disappointed to be appointed to the ship
THE doomed Titanic's second in command admitted to his sister he had a "queer feeling" about the vessel.
Chief officer Henry Wilde was killed when the British liner maiden voyage sank after hitting an iceberg, with the experienced seaman having kept meticulous records of the maiden voyage.
In letters to his sister, written on board Titanic and posted at Queenstown, Ireland, the last stop before Titanic headed out into the Atlantic for New York, Captain Smith wrote: "I still don't like this ship... I have a queer feeling about it."
The ambitious chief officer also shared his disappointment at being assigned to the Titanic as a number two, writing in a letter dated March 31, 1912 that he was "awfully disappointed to find the arrangements for my taking command of the Cymric have altered".
The letter from Wilde is part of a unique archive covering the 20 year period of his life before he was posted to the Titanic in April 1912.
The archive is estimated at £10,000-£15,000 and forms part of an auction of over 250 lots of Titanic, White Star and Ocean liner related lots due to be sold by Wiltshire auction house Henry Aldridge and Son’s Titanic and Icons sale on Saturday October 22nd.
It covers Wilde's career, including his work as a junior officer to his transfer to Titanic as Captain Edward J. Smith’s second in command.
Wilde's regular letters to his sister also included his hopes that he would be able to get on "some other ship".
Wilde, who was paid £25 a month, also recorded details of the Titanic and its workings, saying the White Star were paying £2 tonne for coal which is a big price as Titanic used 900 tonnes per day.
This previously unknown detail is particularly important as there was a coal strike on at the time.
Wilde only signed onto the Titanic on April 9, 1912, reporting for duty the next day at 6am, ready to set sail - with the vessel sinking on April 15 with 1500 people killed.
The day that the Titanic sank, Wilde met with a fellow crew member, William Murdoch on the bridge.
About a quarter of an hour before the meeting, the Baltic had transmitted an ice warning telling of icebergs in the path of the Titanic.
But no change in the ship's speed was recorded, with no further warnings of ice received.
Shortly after the Titanic collided with an iceberg Wilde was passing close to the bow, speaking with the Bosun Albert Haines and Lamp Trimmer Samuel Hemmings who said they could hear air escaping from the tank and that water was getting in but that the storeroom was dry.
I still don't like this ship... I have a queer feeling about it.
Henry Wilde
This was then reported to the bridge, with the damage inspected and Second Officer Lightoller quick to take action.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "Perhaps Wilde was trying to avert panic but he was being over-cautious.
"Lightoller had been shipwrecked before and may have been more realistic about the necessity to get the boats loaded and lowered. He sent men down to open the windows on A-Deck to allow loading but Wilde again delayed him.
"Lightoller saw the Captain and, cupping his hands to make himself heard above the steam bellowing from the funnels asked him. The Captain replied "Yes put the women and children in and lower away."
"Wilde is mentioned in survivor recollections of the sinking but his activities remain something of a mystery. What is certain is that he worked diligently to load the boats once the seriousness of the situation was clear to him."
Alridge said that the archive of letters was "unparalleled", saying: "it gives an unprecedented snapshot into the professional life of the second most senior officer onboard Titanic."
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