Titanic Relief Fund check

check

A check for 17 shillings and sixpence from the Titanic Relief Fund to a Mrs. Thomas of Plymouth, England. The rear of the check is signed "C.E.A. Thomas, wife of H.C. Thomas, 1999 Embankment Rd. Plymouth." Hundreds of crew members died in the sinking of TITANIC, with the city of Southampton alone losing over 400 residents, and leaving hundreds of widows and children without support and without entitlement to any benefits from the White Star Line. The disaster also led to an upwelling of charitable donations. The British Titanic Relief Fund, created to provide for the widows and families of lost crew members, had over 414,000 pounds in donations, well over 30 million pounds in today's money. The funds were doled out for years, but generally in small weekly payments like this check. Fund managers kept a watch on the families, and widows were sometimes cut off from support for drunkenness or immoral behavior. The fund was also criticized for providing very different weekly payments based on the deceased's position at time of death. Mrs. Thomas's payment corresponds to the weekly amount for a dependent of a steward working in second class or of a senior fireman.