Edward John Smith (1850-1912)
Captain
The unfortunate captain of the ill-fated Titanic was born in Hanley, Staffordshire on 27th January 1850. Edward Smith ran away to sea at 16, and spent the next 40 years based on Merseyside, living variously at the Seamen's Home; Hanover St; Berkeley St, Toxteth; and then in the suburb of Tuebrook. Shortly after his marriage in 1887 to Sarah Eleanor Pennington of Winwick, near Warrington, the couple moved to 39 Cambridge Rd, Waterloo.
Captain Smith is recorded in Kelly's street directory for 1891 as living at 4 Marine Crescent, Waterloo. He must have liked this road as he moved to live at number 17 Marine Crescent, Waterloo between 1898 and 1907. It was here in May 1903 that Captain Smith made out his will, leaving everything to his wife, or in the event of her re-marriage, to their only child Helen Melville Smith(1898-1973). By coincidence, this house is only yards from the boyhood home of his employer Ismay. During his time in Crosby, Captain Smith's telephone number was WATERLOO 271.
The White Star Line moved their transatlantic service from Liverpool to Southampton in 1907, because it was more convenient for the wealthy London passengers, and it was only a short run across to Cherbourg for the continental trade. Captain Smith, like many of White Star's Liverpudlian employees, chose to move with his family to Southampton.
Captain Smith took the Adriatic to New York on her maiden voyage in 1907, and he gave an interview to the New York
Times in which he said:
"I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster
happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that . . ."
Five years later his name would be synonymous with the greatest of maritime disasters. Captain Smith was the most highly paid sea captain in the world at the time on £1,250 a year, which equates to at least £60,000 today. However, his safety record was not exactly inspiring. Perhaps he was no worse than anyone else and it was just a sign of the times. This can be judged by the fact, that as part of his contract, he could claim a large salary bonus for NOT having a collision, instead of having to take a pay cut if he did have one!
At any rate, he had grounded his ships on several occasions, and suffered a variety of mishaps, the most serious being the collision in 1911 between the Titanic’s sister ship, Olympic and the cruiser Hawke. Even taking the Titanic out of Southampton at the start of her disastrous maiden voyage, the ship had narrowly avoided colliding with a smaller liner, the New York. But Captain Smith always seemed to be exonerated; either he was not on the bridge at the time, or it was the pilot’s fault, or the other vessel was to blame. Smith was a laid-back kind of captain, who didn’t let these little hiccups prevent him from being extremely popular with his passengers, who dubbed him first "The Storm King" and later "The Millionaire's Captain."
After receiving numerous ice messages, including one that pinpointed bergs in precisely the position that Titanic ultimately came to grief, Smith did not slow down, but did make an adjustment to the course that took him somewhat south of the usual track. But it was not nearly enough. Later, the British Enquiry exonerated him, since to maintain speed had been the accepted custom, but stated that failure to slow down in future would be treated as negligence. Captain Smith was definitely in error, though, in not ordering a lifeboat drill as the Titanic steamed out across the Atlantic. This was in direct contravention of White Star policy, although not against the law. It undoubtedly contributed to the loss of life, once the vessel struck the iceberg.
Captain Edward John Smith's estate came to £3,186 4s 6d, a considerable sum in 1912, but given his age and salary, perhaps less than might be expected.
See Phil Hind's superb Encyclopedia Titanica for more information on Captain Smith.