Titanic: Dartmouth’s Connection
On this day in 1912, at 11:40 pm (ship’s time), the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg south of Newfoundland and by 2:20 am the next morning had sunk. At least 1,500 people lost their lives in the disaster. The impact of the sinking of the Titanic was felt internationally, including Dartmouth. We are fortunate to have in our Collection a few artifacts relating to the Titanic.
The first artifact is a letter written by Francis Dyke to his mother in England that chronicles his experience recovering bodies from the Titanic wreck. Dyke was twenty years old when he was stationed on the cable ship, Minia, as Second Electrician. The Minia was the second cable ship to recover bodies from the Titanic. His granddaughter, Patricia Teasdale wrote an article in the spring 2017 edition of the DHM Gazette about her grandfather and the letter. Read the article here.
The second artifact is Wright’s World Business Directory created by George Wright, notable Dartmouthian and passenger on the Titanic. Wright unfortunately perished in the sinking of the ship. An article about George Wright and his directory is included in the summer 2017 edition of the DHM Gazette. Read the article here.
Both artifacts are currently tucked away safely in storage. We hope to have them on display in the future.