Edward Smith (sea captain)

Captain Edward Smith R.D. R.N.R.
File:Edward-smith.jpg Captain E.J. Smith
Born	(1850-01-27)27 January 1850 Hanley, Staffordshire, England
Died	15 April 1912(1912-04-15) (aged 62) Atlantic Ocean
Resting place	41°43′32″N 49°56′49″W
Nationality	British
Occupation	Ship Captain
Employer	White Star Line
Known for	Captain of RMS Titanic
Spouse(s)	Sarah Eleanor Pennington (1887 – 1912; his death)
Children	Helen Melville Smith (1898–1973) (aged 75)
Parent(s)	Edward Smith (father) Catherine Hancock nee Marsh (mother)
Relatives	Joseph Hancock (half-brother) Thyrza Hancock (half-sister) Simon Russell-Cooke (grandson) Priscilla Russell-Cooke (granddaughter)
Notes
"Be British" (Popularly believed to be Captain Smith's last words to the crew) Ranks: Commander – RNR Captain – White Star Line Honourific Rank of Commodore, due to being the White Star Line's most senior Captain

Edward Smith, RD, RNR (27 January 1850 – 15 April 1912) was an English naval reserve officer who served as commanding officer of numerous White Star Line vessels. He was best known as the captain of RMS Titanic and died when the ship sank in 1912. There is a statue of him in Beacon Park, Lichfield, England.

Personal life

Edward John Smith was born on 27 January 1850 on Well Street, Hanley, Staffordshire, England to Edward Smith, a potter, and Catherine Hancock, born Marsh, who married on 2 August 1841 in Shelton, Staffordshire. His parents later owned a shop.

Smith attended the Etruria British School until the age of 13, when he left and operated a steam hammer at the Etruria Forge. In 1867, aged 17 he went to Liverpool in the footsteps of his half-brother Joseph Hancock, a captain on a sailing ship. He began his apprenticeship on Senator Weber, owned by A Gibson & Co. of Liverpool.

On 13 January 1887, Smith married Sarah Eleanor Pennington at St Oswalds church, Winwick, Cheshire. Their daughter, Helen Melville Smith, was born in Waterloo, Liverpool on Saturday 2 April 1898. The family lived in an imposing red brick, twin-gabled house, named "Woodhead", on Winn Road, Highfield, Southampton.

Career

Ship captain

Edward Smith joined the White Star Line in March 1880 as the Fourth Officer of SS Celtic. He served aboard the company's liners to Australia and to New York City, where he quickly rose in status. In 1887, he received his first White Star command, the Republic. In 1888, Smith earned his Extra Master's Certificate and joined the Royal Naval Reserve (thus entitling him to append his name with "RNR"), qualifying as a full Lieutenant. This meant that in a time of war, he could be called upon to serve in the Royal Navy. Later, as he was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve, Smith's ship had the distinction of being able to wear the Blue Ensign of the RNR; British merchant vessels generally wore the Red Ensign (also known as a Red Duster).

Bigger commands

Smith was Majestic's captain for nine years commencing in 1895. When the Boer War started in 1899, Majestic was called upon to transport troops to Cape Colony. Smith made two trips to South Africa, both without incident, and for his service King Edward VII awarded him the Transport Medal, showing the "South Africa" clasp, in 1903. Smith was regarded as a "safe captain". As he rose in seniority, he gained a reputation amongst passengers and crew for quiet flamboyance. Some passengers would sail the Atlantic only in a ship he captained. He became known as the "Millionaires' Captain" because England's upper class usually chose to sail on ships that he commanded.

From 1904 on, Smith commanded the White Star Line's newest ships on their maiden voyages. In 1904, he was given command of the then-largest ship in the world, the Baltic. Her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York, sailing 29 June 1904, went without incident. After three years with Baltic, Smith was given his second new "big ship," the Adriatic. Once again, the maiden voyage went without incident. During his command of Adriatic, Smith received the Royal Naval Reserve's long service decoration, along with a promotion to Commander. By virtue of his receiving the long service decoration, he would now be referred to as "Captain Edward John Smith, RD, RNR", with RD standing for "Reserve Decoration."

Olympic class command

Smith had built a reputation as one of the world's most experienced sea captains, and so was called upon to take first command of the lead ship in a new class of ocean liners, the Olympic – again, the largest vessel in the world at that time. The maiden voyage from Southampton to New York was successfully concluded on 21 June 1911, but as the ship was docking in New York harbour, a small incident took place. Docking at Pier 59 under the command of Captain Smith with the assistance of a harbour pilot, Olympic was being assisted by twelve tugs when one got caught in the backwash of Olympic, spun around, collided with the bigger ship, and for a moment was trapped under Olympic's stern, finally managing to work free and limp to the docks.

Edward J. Smith, on Olympic, in 1911

The Hawke incident

On 20 September 1911, Olympic's first major mishap occurred during a collision with a British warship, HMS Hawke, in which the warship lost her prow. Although the collision left two of Olympic's compartments filled and one of her propeller shafts twisted, she was able to limp back to Southampton. At the resultant inquiry, the Royal Navy blamed Olympic for the incident, alleging that her massive size generated a suction that pulled Hawke into her side. Captain Smith had been on the bridge during the events.

The Hawke incident was a financial disaster for White Star, and the out-of-service time for the big liner made matters worse. Olympic returned to Belfast and, to speed up the repairs, Harland and Wolff was forced to delay Titanic's completion, in order to use one of her propeller shafts and other parts for Olympic. Back at sea in February 1912, Olympic lost a propeller blade and once again returned to her builder for emergency repairs. To get her back to service immediately, Harland and Wolff again had to pull resources from Titanic, delaying her maiden voyage from 20 March to 10 April.

RMS Titanic

Main articles: RMS Titanic and Sinking of the RMS Titanic

Despite the past trouble, Smith was again appointed to be in command of the newest ship in the Olympic class when the RMS Titanic left Southampton for her maiden voyage. Although some sources state that he had decided to retire after completing Titanic's maiden voyage, an article in the Halifax Morning Chronicle on 9 April 1912 stated that Smith would remain in charge of Titanic "until the Company (White Star Line) completed a larger and finer steamer."

On 10 April 1912, Smith, wearing a bowler hat and a long overcoat, took a taxi from his home to Southampton docks. He came aboard Titanic at 7 am to prepare for the Board of Trade muster at 8:00 am. He immediately went to his cabin to get the sailing report from Chief Officer Henry Wilde. After departure at noon, the huge amount of water displaced by Titanic as she passed caused the laid-up New York to break from her moorings and swing towards Titanic. Quick action from Smith helped to avert a premature end to the maiden voyage.

The first four days of the voyage passed without incident, but shortly after 11:40 pm on 14 April Smith emerged from his cabin to be told by First Officer William Murdoch that the ship had just collided with an iceberg. It was soon apparent that the ship was seriously damaged; designer Thomas Andrews reported that five of her watertight compartments had been breached and that Titanic would sink in under two hours. It has been said that Smith suffered some sort of a nervous collapse and that he did not issue a general order for evacuation, gave contradictory orders, and failed to inform senior officers of the ship's perilous condition (an hour after the collision, Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall was still unaware that the ship would sink), it is also said he did not supervise the evacuation or tell the officers that there were not enough lifeboats to save everyone aboard. But these stories have been disputed by author Tim Maltin. Smith perished that night along with around 1,500 others, and his body was never recovered.

There are conflicting accounts of Smith's fate. Second officer Charles Lightoller last saw Smith walking across the bridge. Some survivors said Smith quietly wandered off towards the bridge at 2:10 am, ten minutes before the final sinking, locked himself inside the ship's wheelhouse, and died clinging to the ship’s wheel when the wheelhouse windows broke due to the pressure. Robert Williams Daniel, a first class passenger who jumped from the stern immediately before the ship sank, told the New York Herald in its April 19, 1912 edition how he had witnessed Captain Smith drown in the ship's wheelhouse. "I saw Captain Smith on the bridge. My eyes seemingly clung to him. The deck from which I had leapt was immersed. The water had risen slowly, and was now to the floor of the bridge. Then it was to Captain Smith's waist. I saw him no more. He died a hero." These accounts are supported by Robert Ballard's book, The Discovery of the Titanic, and Titanic historians, and this scene has remained the iconic image which has remained of Smith.

Later when working to free Collapsible B, Junior Marconi Officer Harold Bride reported seeing Smith dive into the sea from the starboard side of the bridge just as the water began flooding the open bridge, a story which was corroborated by first class passenger Mrs. Eleanor Widener, who was in Lifeboat #4 (the closest to the sinking ship) at the time. It has been affirmed that the man who Bride and Mrs. Widener saw jump from the bridge may have been Sixth Officer James Moody, who was seen jumping at this time, but it could seem unlikely that Bride, who knew both Moody and Smith, would have mistaken the officer's identity. Also second class passenger William John Mellors and fireman Harry Senior, who both survived aboard collapsible B, stated that Smith jumped from the bridge. Accounts of Smith carrying a child to a lifeboat (possibly the overturned collapsible B) after the sinking before swimming towards his sinking ship or freezing in the water are almost certainly apocryphal, according to historians featured in the A&E Documentary Titanic: Death of a Dream. However, several survivor reports may suggest that Smith was actually able to swim over to collapsible B before dying from hypotermia. Jack Thayer, a first class passenger who survived aboard collapsible B, late reported that “questions and answers were called around — who was on board, and who was lost, or what they had been seen doing? One call that came around was, “Is the chief aboard? ” Whether they meant Mr. Wilde, the chief officer, or the chief engineer, or Capt. Smith, I do not know. I do know that one of the circular life rings from the bridge was there when we got off in the morning. It may be that Capt. Smith was on board with us for a while. Nobody knew where the “Chief ” was”. Colonel Archibald Gracie reported that an unknown swimmer came near the capsized and overcrowded lifeboat, and that one of the men on board told him "Hold on to what you have, old boy. One more of you aboard would sink us all,"; in a powerful voice, the swimmer replied "All right boys. Good luck and God bless you.". Gracie did not see this man, nor was able to identify him, but some other survivors later claimed to have recognized this man as Smith. Another man (or possibly the same) never asked to come aboard the boat, but instead cheered its occupants saying “Good boys! Good lads!” with “the voice of authority”. One of the collapsible B survivors, fireman Walter Hurst, tried to reach him with an oar, but by this time the man was floating dead. Hurst said he was certain this man was Smith. Captain Smith's fate will probably remain uncertain.

There are also conflicting accounts of Smith's last words. Reports said that as the final plunge began, Smith shouted to his crew "Be British Boys, Be British!." Although this is engraved on his memorial and portrayed in the 1996 TV miniseries, it was likely a myth made up by the British press at the time and not one member of the surviving crew claimed he said anything like this. James McGann said that as Smith was locking himself in the wheelhouse, his last words were "'Well boys, you've done your duty and done it well. I ask no more of you. I release you. You know the rule of the sea. It's every man for himself now, and God bless you."

Legacy

The statue of Captain Smith in Beacon Park Lichfield, Staffordshire, England

The plaque below his memorial statue in Lichfield states:

Capt. of R.M.S. Titanic

COMMANDER EDWARD JOHN SMITH R.D. R.N.R. BORN JANUARY 27 1850 DIED APRIL 15 1912 BEQUEATHING TO HIS COUNTRYMEN THE MEMORY & EXAMPLE OF A GREAT HEART A BRAVE LIFE AND A HEROIC DEATH "BE BRITISH"

A wax figure of Captain Smith was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in London in 1915. It was destroyed in a fire in 1925.

Family

His family gradually faded from the limelight. Smith’s half-sister Thyrza died in 1921 and his widow, Sarah Eleanor Smith, was hit and killed by a taxi in London in 1931. Their daughter, Helen Melville, married and gave birth to twins, Simon and Priscilla. Simon, a pilot in the Royal Air Force, was killed in World War II. Priscilla died from polio three years later; neither of them had children. Helen died in 1973.

Portrayals

The detail of the statue of Captain Smith in Beacon Park Lichfield

• Otto Wernicke (1943) (Titanic)
• Brian Aherne (1953) (Titanic)
• Clarence Derwent (1956) (Kraft Television Theatre) (A Night to Remember)
• Laurence Naismith (1958) (A Night to Remember)
• Michael Rennie (1966) (The Time Tunnel, episode Rendezvous With Yesterday) (fictionalised as "Captain Malcolm Smith")
• Harry Andrews (1979) (S.O.S. Titanic) (TV Movie)
• Hugh Reilly (1983) (Voyagers!) (Voyagers of the Titanic)
• George C. Scott (1996) (Titanic) (TV Miniseries)
• John Cunningham (1997) (Titanic) (Broadway Musical)
• Bernard Hill (1997) (Titanic)
• Kenneth Belton (2001) (Titanic: The Legend Goes On) (Animated Film)
• John Donovan (2003) (Ghosts of the Abyss) (Documentary)
• Alan Rothwell (2005) (Titanic: Birth of a Legend) (TV Documentary)
• Malcolm Tierney (2008) (Who Sank the Titanic? aka The Unsinkable Titanic) (TV Documentary)
• David Calder (2012) (Titanic) (TV series/4 episodes)
• Robert Bagdon (2012) (""The Last Signals")

Bibliography

• Titanic Captain: The Life of Edward John Smith, G.J. Cooper ISBN 978-0-7524-6072-7, The History Press Ltd, 2011

External links

• One of Stoke-on-Trent Museums' Local Heroes
• Captain Smith on Titanic-Titanic.com
• The Potteries and the Titanic: The Story of Captain Smith