IT WAS a poignant message of hope and happiness sent just days before the Titanic set sail on its ill-fated voyage.

And now this postcard sent by the liner’s chief radio officer could fetch almost £20,000 at auction.

The card cost John George Phillips, known as Jack, just a halfpenny to send from Southampton on April 6, 1912.

But it is expected to sell for between £12,500 and £19,000 when it goes under the hammer next week. Auctioneers at Bonhams, in New York, have slapped an estimate of $20,000- $30,000 on the historic card.

The postcard, which features a striking image of the Titanic docked in Southampton, carried a message to Jack’s sister Elsie, in Surrey. It read: “Thanks very much for your letter. Having glorious weather, went to Cowes yesterday. Will write later before we sail. Love all, Jack.”

Jack, pictured, posted the card just four days before the luxury liner set sail from Southampton, on April 10 1912.

Jack, 25, died of hypothermia in the disaster on April 14.