RMS Titanic Facing Slip

The Titanic was more than the largest and most luxurious vessel of her time. She was also a Royal Mail Ship (RMS). The ocean liner included a crew of five sea post clerks and a cargo of 3,364 sacks of mail.

This facing slip was found in the suit coat of Oscar Scott Woody when his body was recovered at sea. Clerks placed facing slips on the top of individual bundles of mail to indicate their destination. Because sea post clerks were required to stamp their names on the slips, any errors in distribution could specifically be charged to them.

Sea post clerk Woody, a native of Roxboro, North Carolina, earned about $1000 a year. This salary was considered a small fortune by the standards of the times. In addition, sea post clerks traveled aboard luxurious vessels, took their meals in a separate dining room with the wireless operators, and were allotted an allowance for their board while in a foreign country. Woody was happily celebrating his 41st birthday when the Titanic struck the iceberg. He perished with over 1,500 other passengers and crew when the ship sank on April 15, 1912.

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