A photograph of an iceberg has emerged which experts say is ‘most likely’ to be the same one that sank the Titanic in 1912. The tragic incident, which claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people, has been permanently embedded in the world’s consciousness as a symbol of an avoidable accident caused by the failure of man.
Incredibly, the picture appears to have been taken by complete chance, two days prior to the ship’s sinking by a sailor aboard another ship. The picture was taken by Captain W. Wood, who was aboard the S.S. Etonian which was travelling to New York.
Wood had noted the coordinates of his photograph, which appear to be nearly the same as the Titanic’s position when it met its chilling end. When Wood eventually arrived in New York and learned of the sinking of the liner, he sent the picture to his great-grandfather with a letter attached.
I am sending you a sea picture, the Etonian running before a gale and the iceberg that sank the Titanic.
We crossed the ice track 40hrs before her and in daylight so saw the ice easily and I got a picture.
The letter is dated 1912 and the picture, strangely, 1913. It seems likely that Wood made a minor slip up when dating the picture. The iceberg has the distinctive shape which has been described in other accounts.
The striking image reminds us how avoidable the incident was. The watchman on the Titanic spotted the iceberg only 37 seconds before impact – after he hadn’t been issued with binoculars.
It is now expected to fetch a mighty £12,000 at auction. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said that of all the images that have surfaced over the past hundred years ‘Captain Wood’s must be the most likely’ to be of the actual iceberg. The shape of the ice matches sketches drawn by the lookout and another crew member at the time.
This remarkable image may unwittingly become a vital part of the historical record and eerily shows us the last resting place of so many.
Why not check out this debate about whether we should be salvaging the ruins of ships like the Titanic?
