kidnapped the day before the liner’s departure, this passenger narrowly escaped death

In the movie titanic, by James Cameron, the fate of the character of Jack (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is written only a few minutes before the liner’s departure: in fact, the latter wins a ticket for the crossing during a game of poker. In real life, some passengers have also seen their future at stake… At the exhibition Titanic: Real Objects, Real Storieswhich is held in Paris (Porte de Versailles) from Tuesday July 18 to Sunday September 10, 2023 and that Tele-Leisure has been able to see, these are several passenger stories that visitors can discover, in addition to relics brought to the surface by the Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeolet, reconstructions of mythical places on the boat such as the Grand Escalier and anecdotes about the Titanic (where we learn the exorbitant price of a ticket to board in first class or what was the menu the evening of the shipwreck). Among these true stories of Titanic passengers, visitors can find that of the adventurer Howard Irwin.

Howard Irwin is one of the survivors of the sinking of the Titanic because… he was kidnapped just before boarding!

“Inveterate adventurer, Howard Irwin booked his crossing aboard the Titanic, and it was to be the last leg of a world tour. The day before his departure, he packed his trunk with his tools, musical instruments and the memories of two years of travel. However, Irwin never boarded the ship.”can we read on one of the explanatory panels dedicated to the passengers of the Titanic exhibition in Paris. Howard Irwin was to make the crossing to New York with his friend and traveling companion Henry Sutehall. But, thanks to a twist of fate, Howard Irwin is involved in a fight and wakes up on board another boat on its way to the Orient… “The day before the Titanic sailed, Irwin was abducted – kidnapped and forced to work aboard an ocean liner bound for the Far East. However, his best friend and traveling companion, Henry Sutehall Jr., embarked on the Titanic. Unaware of Irwin’s fate, Sutehall took his friend’s belongings on board, expecting to see Irwin arrive at the last moment as usual. Eventually Irwin managed to escape those who had abducted him, in Egypt, and returned to Buffalo, New York”we also learn at the exhibition on the liner Titanic.

The belongings of this survivor recovered years after the tragedy of the Titanic

Howard Irwin’s belongings lay for decades at nearly 4,000 meters deep with the other debris from the Titanic. His trunk, containing his clarinet in particular, was recovered from the wreck site in 1993. If his friend Henry Sutehall disappeared when the Titanic sank, Howard Irwin died in 1953.

The exhibition Titanic: Real Objects, Real Stories is held at Porte de Versailles (Paris) until September 10, 2023.