Bluntisham and Hartford connections to Titanic disaster

The story of the disaster will be remembered around the world, but for Bluntisham man Matthew Day, the anniversary is more poignant as there is a connection to his family history.

Matthew's great-uncle was one of the 1,500 people, almost two thirds of those onboard, who died when the great ship sunk on its maiden voyage.

The British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line company, sank in the North Atlantic ocean, 350 miles off the coast of Newfoundland on April 15, 1912.

At 11.40pm on the night of April 14, the ship, travelling from Southampton to New York, struck an iceberg and sank less than three hours later.

Matthew's relative Frederick Wright was onboard that fateful night

Among the names consigned to the history books is one Frederick Wright who is the brother of Matthew's great-grandmother.

Frederick, who was working on the ship as a racquet and squash court attendant, perished in the icy waters after the ship disappeared beneath the surface just after 2.20am.

He was officially recorded as 'lost at sea'.

Frederick Wright served on the Titanic and went down with the ship. (Image: MATTHEW DAY)

Mr Wright, from Great Billing in Northampton, was 24 when the ship sank, and had boarded in Southampton. He had previously served on the Titanic's sister-ship The Olympic.

From his own research, Mr Day knows his great-uncle was due to teach a squash lesson to a first-class passenger named Colonel Archibald Gracie - the last survivor to leave the ship.

The colonel later wrote about his experiences and remembered passing Frederick on C Deck shortly after the collision and he said to Frederick: “Hadn’t we better cancel that [squash] appointment for tomorrow morning?”

Mr Wright was officially recorded as 'lost at sea'. (Image: MATTHEW DAY)

Mr Day says he has always been fascinated by the history of the disaster and has a collection of more than 400 books and other items on the subject, but originally he had no idea of his family connection. 

Matthew visited Southampton to mark the 111th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. (Image: MATTHEW DAY)

"I first developed a fascination with the ship and its history after watching the James Cameron film and originally never knew I had a relative on board," he says.

“I remember talking to my grandmother about it after watching the film, and she told me, so naturally I was even more interested after that and started doing my own research.

“This is a big part of why I am so interested in the history of Titanic - knowing that somebody in my family was there.”

To mark the 111th anniversary, he visited the Titanic Museum, did the Titanic trail and also went to see Titanic the Musical.

Titanic Facts 

• Titanic was 269 metres long, 28 metres wide and more than 53 meters tall.
• The ship had 10 decks.
• There were three engines and a team of 175 firemen shovelled coal 24 hours a day to keep the engines fired up.
• Although Titanic had four funnels, only three were functional - the fourth one was just for show.
• Titanic's full title was RMS Titanic as it was a Royal Mail ship carrying nearly 3,500 sacks of mail.
• The ship had its own heated swimming pool and gym.
• The shipwreck was located in 1985 at a depth of 13,000ft, about 370 miles of the coast of Newfoundland and about 75 per cent intact.

Hartford man was also on Titanic

Fate dealt a cruel blow to Hartford man Reginald Coleridge who only found a place on Titanic when his passage on another ship was cancelled due to a coal strike.

Reginald wrote a letter to his parents while onboard in which he described the conditions.

He wrote: "The sea is rather rough, but our great ship towers so high out of the water that the sea looks quite flat and calm. She rises and sinks hardly at all."

Maybe he also had a premonition of what was to come as he added: "By the way, if anything should happen to me, remember you are entitled to everything I possess."