SMITH: A Life At Sea (TITANIC DOCUMENTARY)

Commander Edward John Smith's career had been a remarkable example of how a man from a humble background could get far in the world. Born to a working-class family in the landlocked Staffordshire Potteries, he went to sea at the age of 17 and rose rapidly through the ranks of the merchant navy, serving first in sailing vessels and later in the new steamships of the White Star Line. By 1912, he was White Star's senior commander and regarded by many in the shipping world as the 'millionaire's captain'. In 1912, Smith was given command of the new RMS Titanic for her maiden voyage, but what should have been among the crowning moments of his long career at sea turned rapidly into a nightmare following the Titanic's collision with an iceberg. In a matter of hours the supposedly unsinkable ship sank, taking over 1,500 people with her, including Captain Smith.

SPECIAL THANKS:
Narrator: Louie Marcus
@titanicandotherliners (instagram)
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[sadiedavenport]

It's so frustrating that even to this day he's not always remembered as the humble, kind, courageous gentleman he was. Thank you for making this documentary

[tshelby]

No one cannot imagine the stress this man had to go through all that ill-fated night here's to you Captain Smith

[harrietharlow]

How haunting that picture of him as a young man is. I believe that to be a seaman is a calling and he most certainly had it.

[Harlandwolf]

I've been a TITANIC enthusiast since 1971, during that time never have I viewed a documentary so informative or as well researched and presented as this. Thanks to this wonderful presentation, I can say that, after all these years, I finally feel as though I now, "know" Capt. Smith as opposed to knowing of him. You have my upmost gratitude and thanks for producing such a remarkable documentary. Well done...❤

[voyaristika]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I recently saw where Capt Smith always had his dogs with him on voyages but his daughter didn't want him to make this trip. He left his dog home with her to comfort her til his return. The story of the Titanic is tragic on so many levels. So many things came together to create the perfect storm.

[kaydarwin]

A unique and amazing man. He was certainly a positive example to his colleagues and a fine example of a man! Captain Smith still lives on in our memories today

[maryannswanson]

Really good video, with photos and film clips galore! I love the occasional background music of flutes and band playing as on the Titanic.
I read that captain Smith took his beautiful dog with him on all his ships but his daughter wanted to keep him home, so luckily the dog was not on the Titanic.

[Mikebuster]

getting back into an old favourite area of history of mine: the Titanic disaster, and I'm there thinking to myself... I want to know more about Captain Smith... I wonder if anyone has made a video: Titanic TV, stellar work. documentary length profile on the Captain. exactly what I wanted. I Dunno if you're still around, as it's been a while since you've posted but thank you all the same!

[hawkeize]

Long live Captain Smith, an honourable man

[vex]

My cousin's great great uncle was Cpt Edward J Smith, It had always been a great shame his family, with my cousins great great grandmother, calling him a "Bloody Fool", RIP Edward.

[bregjejabra]

Beautifully made documantary. Well done and thank you from Holland.

[Jennx]

Thank you so much for this video. I've looked for good videos on Captain Smith but this is the best yet

[KoolDog]

Love this.... Also watched the Ismay & Murdoch one, all excellent.... But why stop there? We need the stories of all the officers, from Wilde right down to Moody. This is a fascinating look into the officers lives, excellent job!

[iwanaGoFast]

This is an amazing documentary. Thanks.

[shaunkolly]

Lancashire where I’m from love English history

[dennischallinor]

I feel history has been rather hard on Capt. Smith regarding charges of reckless seamanship but from what I can gather he operated his ship according to accepted standards of the day. Also, I haven't been aware of any accounts where his crew criticized his performance on that fateful night. Also, I think Lawrence Naismith was the best likeness of Smith (the close eyes and beard shape). RIP:EJS.

[egm]

Captain Smith presided over Sunday worship and canceled the scheduled lifeboat drill for that timeframe. Later, it not only took 40 minutes too long to lower the first lifeboat, and most of the lifeboats were underfilled because the seamen thought the davits were too weak to handle full lifeboats. Both speed of deployment and assurances about capacity could have been easily handled with a lifeboat drill, but poor Captain Smith had accepted the marketing hype that the ship was "practically unsinkable" being touted by Bruce Ismay, Managing Director of White Star Line.

[Ken_Frazer-]

I can't believe that people still blame Smith for the titanic sinking when he did all he can to save it and everyone including laying down his own life

[philgeorge]

He wasn’t going to retire after the Titanic. He was waiting for Britannic.

[Queenmarie]

I enjoyed this but I must say how the incident with the Olympic versus Hawk happened was not explained at all. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ Very strange