Edward John “Ned” Parfett
15-years-old, Newspaper Seller, London, England
I sold newspapers for the Evening News in London
when the unsinkable ocean liner, Titanic,
struck an iceberg on her maiden trip across the Atlantic.
On April 16th, I picked up my usual stack of papers,
and after reading the poster’s dramatic headline,
I abandoned my usual street corner
and dashed over to the White Star Line’s office at Oceanic House.
With tight lips, gentlemen in woolen coats waited near the building
for news from a White Star Official.
As I reached the edge of the pavement on Cockspur Street,
I unfurled my poster with bold type--
Titanic Disaster—Great Loss of Life!
Men rushed forward and paid me 10 pence a copy,
then they rifled through its fresh inky pages,
hoping to find the names of their loved ones.
But the list of survivors and those lost at sea
was still to come in the sorrowful days ahead.
Note: During the First World War, Edward John “Ned” Parfett also known as “The Boy in the Picture,” served in the British Army in France. On October 29, 1918, Ned was killed by a German bombardment thirteen days before the Armistice treaty. He was 22. Ned and his three brothers all served during the war. He was the only one who did not make it home.
15-years-old, Newspaper Seller, London, England
I sold newspapers for the Evening News in London
when the unsinkable ocean liner, Titanic,
struck an iceberg on her maiden trip across the Atlantic.
On April 16th, I picked up my usual stack of papers,
and after reading the poster’s dramatic headline,
I abandoned my usual street corner
and dashed over to the White Star Line’s office at Oceanic House.
With tight lips, gentlemen in woolen coats waited near the building
for news from a White Star Official.
As I reached the edge of the pavement on Cockspur Street,
I unfurled my poster with bold type--
Titanic Disaster—Great Loss of Life!
Men rushed forward and paid me 10 pence a copy,
then they rifled through its fresh inky pages,
hoping to find the names of their loved ones.
But the list of survivors and those lost at sea
was still to come in the sorrowful days ahead.
Note: During the First World War, Edward John “Ned” Parfett also known as “The Boy in the Picture,” served in the British Army in France. On October 29, 1918, Ned was killed by a German bombardment thirteen days before the Armistice treaty. He was 22. Ned and his three brothers all served during the war. He was the only one who did not make it home.
