Appeal to a relief fund, 1887

Southampton has been an important port for centuries. Southampton Docks opened in 1842, and the town became known as the ‘Gateway to the Empire’, because many Southampton residents made their living from the sea. However, there was a high risk of accidents and disasters, and in 1887 tragedy struck when 10 men were killed in an accident on the steamship Elbe. Here Joe Baldwin, archives and local studies assistant at Southampton Archives, shares a letter written by a bereaved mother in the aftermath of the disaster.