'Love, Jack': Rare postcard from Titanic hero set to fetch $20,000 at auction
A rare postcard sent more than a century ago by a hero of the Titanic disaster is set to fetch more than $20,000 at auction.
John 'Jack' Phillips, a senior wireless operator on board the vessel, penned the letter on a launch day postcard in March 1912, less than two weeks before the ocean liner's doomed voyage, RR Auction said in its item listing.
The glossy postcard featured the Titanic launching at Belfast in May, 1911. Phillips addressed it to his sister, Elsie, who lived in England. He signed it, "Love, Jack".
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'Love, Jack' - the handwritten letter Jack Phillips wrote to his sister Elsie before the Titanic's ill-fated voyage. RR Auction
"Very busy working late. Hope to leave on Monday and arrive Saton on Wednesday afternoon. Hope you quite OK," the postcard read.
"Heard from Ethel yesterday. Love, Jack."
It is understood Phillip's use of "Saton" was his abbreviation for the city of Southampton, about 110km south-west of London.
The Titanic was completed in late March 1912 in Belfast. The ship's first sea trials began in early April, cruising to Southampton on April 3, RR Auction said.
Despite sharing the same name, Phillips' story did not inspire the character of Jack Dawson in James Cameron's blockbuster film, Titanic.
Dawson, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, was a fictional character alongside Kate Winslet's character of Rose DeWitt Bukater.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in 'Titanic'. 20th Century Fox
Phillips turned 25 during the Titanic's voyage. He was the ship's chief radio officer, having spent his earlier years working as a telegraphist – trained to send and receive Morse code - for the post office.
As the Titanic was sinking, Phillips frantically sent messages to other ships seeking help with the rescue of passengers and crew.
He eventually abandoned ship, where he died of exposure to the bitter cold on an overturned lifeboat.
The glossy front of the Titanic launch day postcard. RR Auction
"Harold Bride (Titanic's junior wireless operator) always remembered Phillips as 'the man who saved us all'," the listing said.
Of the 300 postcards saved by Phillips' family, only five had a connection with the Titanic, RR Auction said in its listing.
The Titanic sunk on April 15, 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage. There were about 2224 passengers and crew on board. More than 1500 died.
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