LONDON — A British safety official who inspected the Titanic before its maiden voyage thought it should have more lifeboats, according to his private notes, which are being offered for sale this month.
“I suggest 50 percent more,” wrote Capt. Maurice Clarke, a Board of Trade safety and emigration officer.
A US Senate inquiry concluded that 2,223 people were aboard the Titanic, but there was room for fewer than 1,200 in its lifeboats.
Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers are offering 70 pages of Clarke’s private papers at a sale on Nov. 24 in Devizes, England.