He went inside the place where people control the ship and held on to something and stood there until the water came to his attention
His body was among those that were never recovered. He would have either drowned or died from hypothermia. He was among the last of the crew onboard and was not encountered by any of the lifeboats. But these were not heeded and the ship travelled at speed until it struck an iceberg and sank.Captain Edward Smith (1850-1912) went down with his ship. It was produced by Benjamin Steele, who was the marine superintendent for White Star Line at Southampton Docks on 6 April 1912, and was specifically addressed to Smith.Īs depicted in the 1997 film starring Kate Winslet, Capt Smith later received warnings of icebergs while the liner was en route to New York. The note shows that White Star Line was taking a responsible approach and fulfilling its duty of care to its passengers and crew at the time Titanic set sail. “It later helped show that White Star Line acted responsibly up until Titanic sailed.” He would have read it and then given it back to whoever brought it.
One of the major attractions to it is that it would have been in the hands of Captain Smith on the bridge of the Titanic. “This was not a mass-produced document but a one-off report specifically for Captain EJ Smith. The obstacle would have done some serious damage and ripped a hole in the hull of Titanic had it gone straight over it. “The obstruction wasn’t an iceberg but the mast of a wreck that had been reported by the Rotterdam, a Dutch liner that had travelled from New York.
The estimated cost is put at £8,000–£12,000.Īuctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “This report was from the offices of the White Star Line’s marine superintendent at Southampton directly to Captain Smith warning him of a potential obstruction ahead.
The document was acquired by an American collector of Titanic memorabilia, who is is selling it on 23 April at auction at Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.