Titanic violin real, hospital CT scan suggests

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the scan proved the authenticity of the violin "beyond reasonable doubt"

A violin thought to be the one played by the band leader of the Titanic as it sank has been declared genuine following a CT scan at a hospital.

Andrew Aldridge from auction house Henry Aldridge and Son said the scan proved the instrument was real "beyond reasonable doubt".

Radiographers at BMI Ridgeway Hospital in Wiltshire took a 3D image of the violin to examine it from the inside.

It has been at the centre of an authenticity debate for seven years.

Wallace Hartley, who came from Colne in Lancashire, and his orchestra, famously played on as the ship sank in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage from Southampton in 1912, and were among the 1,517 who died.

"The scan revealed that the original wood was cracked and showed signs of possible restoration," said the hospital's imaging manager Astrid Little.

Wallace Hartley died at the age of 34 and came from Colne in Lancashire

Salt Water

"The fine detail of the scan meant the auctioneers could examine the construction, interior and the glue holding the instrument together. The scan also assisted in validating the instrument's authenticity.

"We are very proud to have played our part in the violin's authentication. It was a great honour to have such a rare collector's item in the department."

In 2006, Henry Aldridge and Son - specialists in Titanic artefacts - was approached by the violin's owner who wanted to sell it, but it needed authenticating.

Over the last seven years, various experts have tried to authenticate the violin, including newspaper archivists, jewellery experts and the forensic science service who found the bodywork still had deposits of salt water.

The auctioneers declared the violin to be genuine in March, but said a CT scan was needed.

"The violin was in a heavy duty leather Gladstone type bag, so the violin would have come into contact with water, but it would have been protected by the leather," said Mr Aldridge.

"The instrument is also held together with animal glue, which melts when it is hot, not when it is cold.

Display in US

 "The silver fish plate on the violin along with some other items that was with it points to it being authentic - or an extremely elaborate hoax - so we needed to carry out thorough research and commission the correct experts.

The violin is thought to be worth a six-figure sum

 

"We've spent the last seven years gathering evidence and we're confident that 'beyond reasonable doubt' this is Wallace Hartley's violin."

Mr Hartley's body was recovered from the water about 10 days after the ship sank, but the violin was not listed among the inventory of items found with him.

It is claimed the violin survived in a leather case, strapped to Mr Hartley's body, which floated upright in his cork and linen lifejacket.

A diary entry by his fiancee, Maria Robinson, said it was saved from the water in 1912 and returned to her.

Following Ms Robinson's death in 1939, the violin was given to her local Salvation Army citadel and was later passed onto the current owner's mother in the early 1940s.

The violin - complete with its certificate of authenticity - is due to go on display in the US this month, and will eventually go to auction.

In April, maritime historian Daniel Allen Butler said the violin could not possibly have been recovered from the doomed ship's wreckage.

The genuine article would have fallen apart after exposure to the waters of the North Atlantic, he said, and the wood would soon have lost its shine and shape.


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Titanic 100: We survived

Just over 700 people escaped from the Titanic after it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on the night of 14 April 1912. More than 1,500 others were not so fortunate.

The survivors scrambled into lifeboats or plunged into the icy water. In the years after the disaster, some of them spoke publicly about the Titanic's ill-fated maiden voyage.

Here, with the help of archive images and audio, listen to what happened through the voices of crew members Charles Lightoller and Frank Prentice and passengers Eva Hart and Edith Russell.

Images courtesy Getty Images, PA, Library of Congress, Southampton City Council and BBC South. Music by Sidney Torch and the New Century Orchestra - and courtesy KPM Music. Slideshow production by Paul Kerley. Publication date 10 April 2012.

Reposted From BBC News

Survivors of the Titanic

The Titanic met her unfortunate fate in April of 1912 and while there were over 1,500 lost to the sea, there were a total of seven hundred and six survivors that survived the sinking of this ship. This was one the saddest tragedies that there ever was and here is a brief account of some of the individuals that survived the sinking of the Titanic.


Millvina Dean


Miss Elizabeth Gladys Dean, also known as Millvina, was only a few months old when she, her parents, and a brother, boarded the Titanic at Southampton. They were immigrating to Kansas where her father had high hopes of opening a tobacconist shop. Her mother, brother, and Millvina were the only ones of her family to survive and be rescued. Millvina was the last remaining survivor of the Titanic, and passed away on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97.

 
Violet Jessop

Violet Jessop, an ocean liner stewardess and a nurse was one of the survivors of the Titanic. She is also well known for surviving the Britannic in 1916, the sister ship to Titanic. Violet also survived an earlier fiasco in 1911, when she was aboard the RMS Olympic, when it collided with another ship, HMS Hawke. She passed away on May 5, 1971 of congestive heart failure. 



Lillian Asplund  

Lillian Asplund was the last Swedish/American survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. She was five years old at the time and she had actual memories of the sinking. Her family were third class passengers when they boarded the Titanic on April 10, 1912. She remembered that the Titanic was very big and it had been freshly painted. She reportedly said that she did not like the smell of the paint. She passed away on May 6, 2006, at the age of 99.
 

Barbara Joyce West 

Barbara Joyce Dainton West was the second to last remaining living survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. Her parents, Barbara, a sister, and one on the way, were immigrating to the United States to begin a new life when the Titanic hit the iceberg. Barbara was only ten months old when she was on board the ship. Her mother, sister, and Barbara were the only ones to survive in the family. Her father’s body was never identified, if it had been found. Barbara died October 16, 2007 at the age of ninety-six years old.

Titanic Survivor Stories: Charles Joughin

One of the most famous Titanic survivor stories is that of Charles Joughin. The man who somehow drank his way though the Titanic disaster and lived to tell the tale. Here is an account of this Titanic survivor and his bizarre story that some still find hard to swallow.

Like any cruise ship of current times, the Titanic was designed as one big party boat. You can’t go on a cruise ship without entertaining the idea of having a few cocktails to go along with the view, and the Titanic was no different. According to the ship’s manifest, the drink order for the Titanic included 1500 bottles of wine, 15,000 champagne glasses, 20,000 bottles of beer and stout, and at least 850 bottles of spirits. The cargo manifest reveals further reserves of 17 cases of cognac, 70 cases of wine and 191 cases of liquor. This was all in addition to the personal stocks of booze that passengers were sure to have included as well.

In addition to the copious amounts of spirits that were aboard the Titanic, there were also a variety of drinking and smoking rooms. This translated into the Titanic being roughly a paradise of drinking and debauchery. Some sources speak of passengers making quips pertaining to ice after the Titanic struck the iceberg in the middle of the North Atlantic, but none of these have actually been recorded or confirmed. The Titanic ultimately did sink, but Titanic survivor Charles Joughin and his friend alcohol lived to tell the tale.

Depicted in both A night to Remember and the 1997 blockbuster Titanic movie, Charles Joughin is shown as the drunk guy hanging onto the side of the rail. Many individuals may only see the character as a commentary on a certain outlook on the sinking Titanic, but this character actually survived the disaster by warming his insides with whiskey. Those who documented the story of Joughin site alcohol as one of the contributors to his survival. Along with this cool headed approach to the situation, documents illustrate that the chef survived longer in the icy Atlantic as a direct result of his blood alcohol level.

During the sinking of the Titanic, Joughin and the other chefs were tasked with bringing food and supplies to put aboard the lifeboats. Many depictions of Joughin fail to submit this fact and focus more on his excessive drinking. After awaiting his fate in his cabin while hitting the bottle, Joughin ventured onto the top deck and began helping people onto lifeboats and declining to board one himself. Returning to his cabin and further fortifying himself for another half hour, Joughin would later emerge to throw chairs and other items overboard in hopes to give those who fell overboard something to hang onto.

After the Titanic had completely been submerged, the story sites that Joughin stepped onto the bow of the ship without as much as getting his hair wet. Accounts say that he survived three hours (although the length of time is debated) in the freezing Atlantic. Some say that this was a result of the amount of alcohol in his blood, and others have different explanations. No matter how the details read, the fact is that Joughin survived the sinking of the Titanic and managed to keep a level head during the entire disaster.

Joughin survived the Titanic and his heroism under the influence has gone all but unnoticed over the years. Joughin died at age 78 in 1956 in Patterson, New Jersey.

In a letter to the author of  “A Night to Remember,” Walter Lord, Joughlin wrote:

Mr Walter Lord

Dear Sir,

Some secretaries brought to my notice your very splendid article “A Night to Remember” in the current issue of “The Ladies Home Journal.”

Most written accounts were hair-raising scenes which did not actually occur, except in the last few moments when those left behind made a mad rush towards what they considered a safer place, the Poop Deck. Fortunately I was all alone, when the big list to port occurred. I was able to straddle the Starboard rail (on A deck) and stepped off as the ship went under. I had expected suction of some kind, but felt none. At no time was my head underwater. just kept moving my arms and legs and kept in an upright position. No trick at all with a left-belt on. Your account of the upturned collapsible with Col.Gracie aboard was very correct. Most of the crew, were familiar with life boat and Fire stations as they had manned the “Olympic” (a sister ship) previously. Some curious things are done at a time like this. Why did I lock the heavy iron door of the Bakery, stuff the heavy keys in my pocket, alongside two cakes of hard tobacco.

My conclusions of cause: Grave error on part of Captain Smith kept course in spite of ice warnings and severe drop in temperature from 5 P.M.

Loss of life: life boat shortage, for the number of passengers and crew, but many more could have been saved, had the women obeyed orders. In those circumstances the crew are helpless.

The remainder of the letter concerned the rest of his ship career, such as the fact that he made first voyage as Cabin Boy SS Melbourne to S.America in 1896.

Joughin’s file also included a letter from Captain J.H.Anderson, who wrote to the the Ladies Home Journal on 8/1/56. He says that Charles Joughin and he were shipmates and the stories recounted in “Journal” were almost verbatim as told by Joughin 30 years ago. One story that was not recounted in the Journal was Joughin’s initial treatment aboard the Carpathia when he was placed in a warm oven to thaw him out, or as he expressed it “they popped me in an oven like one of me own pies!”

Titanic: The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Margaret Brown (right) giving Captain Arthur Henry Rostron an award for his service in the rescue of Titanic's surviving passengers

Margaret "Molly" Brown was an American socialite, philanthropist, and activist who became famous due to her survival of the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, after exhorting the crew of Lifeboat No. 6 to return to look for survivors. She became known after her death as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Margaret was conveyed to the passenger liner RMS Titanic as a first class passenger aboard the tender SS Nomadic at Cherbourg, France. The Titanic sank early on April 15, 1912 at around 2:20 am after striking an iceberg at around 11:40. Margaret helped others board the lifeboats, but was finally convinced to leave the ship in Lifeboat No. 6.[1] She would later be regarded as a heroine for her efforts to get Lifeboat 6 to go back to search for survivors.[1] Molly Brown was later called "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" by authors because she helped in the ship's evacuation, taking an oar herself in her lifeboat and protesting for the lifeboat to go back to try to save more people.

Her urgings were met with opposition from Quartermaster Robert Hichens, the crewman in charge of Lifeboat 6, who was fearful that if they did go back, the lifeboat would either be pulled down due to suction, or the people in the water would swamp the boat in an effort to get inside. Sources vary as to whether the boat did go back and if they found anyone alive when they did.

First Class Facilities of the RMS Titanic

John Jacob Astor IV in 1909. He was the wealthiest person aboard Titanic.

The passenger facilities aboard Titanic aimed to meet the highest standards of luxury. According to the Titanic's general arrangement plans, the ship could accommodate 833 First Class Passengers, 614 in Second Class and 1,006 in Third Class, totaling to a combined passenger capacity of 2,453.

Her interior design was a departure from that of other passenger liners, which had typically been decorated in the rather heavy style of a manor house or an English country house. Titanic was laid out in a much lighter style similar to that of contemporary high-class hotels—the Ritz Hotel was a reference point—with First Class cabins finished in the Empire style.  A variety of other decorative styles, ranging from the Renaissance to Victorian style, were used to decorate cabins and public rooms in First and Second Class areas of the ship. The aim was to convey an impression that the passengers were in a floating hotel rather than a ship; as one passenger recalled, on entering the ship's interior a passenger would "at once lose the feeling that we are on board ship, and seem instead to be entering the hall of some great house on shore."

Titanic's famous Grand Staircase, which provided access between the Boat Deck and E Deck.

Passengers could use an on-board telephone system, a lending library and a large barber shop. The First Class section had a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a squash court, a Turkish bath, an electric bath and a Verandah Cafe. First Class common rooms were adorned with ornate wood panelling, expensive furniture and other decorations, while the Third Class general room had pine panelling and sturdy teak furniture.The Café Parisien was located on a sunlit veranda fitted with trellis decorations and offered the best French haute cuisine for the First Class passengers.

"Titanic went down the Atlantic ocean with so many lives, but some mysteries remain!"

RMS Titanic
 
Murdoch, with an "ordinary master's certificate" and a reputation as a "canny and dependable man", had climbed through the ranks of the White Star Line to become one of its foremost senior officers. He was selected to be Titanic's Chief Officer, with 16 years of maritime experience now behind him.

Murdoch had originally been assigned as the ship's Chief Officer, though when the Titanic's skipper Edward J. Smith brought Henry Wilde, his Chief from his previous command, Murdoch was temporarily reduced to First while First Officer Charles Lightoller was in turn reduced to Second. The original Second, David Blair, would sit out the voyage altogether while the rest of the ship's complement of officers remained unchanged.

From left to right: First Officer William M Murdoch, Chief Officer Henry T. Wilde, an unidentified officer and Captain Edward J. Smith seen on the Olympic

Titanic's sinking

William Murdoch in his 30s.

Sinking of the RMS Titanic

Murdoch was the officer in charge at the bridge when at approximately 11.40pm on 14 April 1912 a large iceberg directly in Titanic's path was sighted. Quartermaster Robert Hichens, who was at the helm, and Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall, who may or may not have been on the bridge during the collision, both stated that Murdoch gave the order "Hard-a-starboard", a tiller command which would turn the ship to port (left) by moving the tiller to starboard (right).

Boxhall also reported that Murdoch set the ship's telegraph to "Full Astern", though his testimony was contradicted by Greaser Frederick Scott and Leading stoker Frederick Barrett who stated that the stoking indicators went from “Full” to “Stop”. During or right before the collision Murdoch may have also given an order (as heard by Quartermaster Alfred Olliver when he walked onto the bridge in the middle of the collision) of "Hard a'port" (moving the tiller all the way to the port (left) side turning the ship to starboard (right)) in what may have been an attempt to swing the remainder (aft section) of the ship away from the berg in a common manoeuvre called a "port around" (this could explain Murdoch's comment to the captain "I intended to port around it"). The fact that such a manoeuvre was executed was supported by other crew members who testified that the stern of the ship never hit the berg.

Despite these efforts the ship made its fatal collision at an estimated 37 seconds[10] after the berg had been sighted. The ship's starboard side brushed the iceberg, buckling the hull in several places and causing rivets to pop out below the waterline, opening the first five compartments (the forward peak tank, the three forward holds and Boiler Room 6) to the sea.

After the collision, Murdoch was put in charge of the starboard evacuation during which he launched 10 lifeboats, containing almost 75% of the total number who survived. He was last seen attempting to launch Collapsible Lifeboat A. He was never seen again after Titanic disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean on the morning of 15 April 1912. His body, if recovered, was never identified. Within days of the disaster, several crew members and passengers spoke of an officer committing suicide in the ship's final moments; the officer is variously reported to be Moody, Wilde, or Murdoch. Several survivors, including the ship's lamp trimmer, Samuel Hemming, Second Officer Charles Lightoller and Colonel Archibald Gracie said they saw Murdoch attempting to free Collapsible A from the falls on the Boat Deck just before the bridge submerged and a huge wave washed him overboard into the sea.

Surviving wireless operator Harold Bride who also claimed to have seen Murdoch being washed overboard stated that after the ship sank, he saw Murdoch and Sixth Officer James Paul Moody in the water nearby Collapsible Lifeboat "B," but that they were already dead. Murdoch was clinging to a broken deck chair showing he died from hypothermia. Moody appeared to have a head injury (which prompted Bride to wonder at the time if Moody had been shot.) Bride also said that “Murdoch would never have shot anyone.”

The memorial to William Murdoch in Dalbeattie.

In his home town of Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, there is a memorial to his heroism and a charitable prize has been established in his name. The charitable prize was given a donation by the James Cameron film for its false portrayal of Murdoch after the residents of Dalbeattie complained.

Legacy of Titanic's Captain

Commodore Edward J Smith  © The popular press expected men to die like heroes in 1912. After all Captain Smith had done just that, or had he? In a strange quirk of history the man directly responsible for the loss of Titanic is remembered as a hero, whilst the man who tried to save lives is labelled a coward.

Smith failed the passengers and crew of Titanic. He failed to heed ice warnings, did not slow his ship when ice was reported directly in his path and allowed lifeboats to leave the sinking ship partially filled, unnecessarily adding at least 500 names to the list of the dead.

But what organization or individual was ultimately to blame? The British government's Board of Trade allowed Titanic to sail with insufficient lifeboat accommodation. The government simply had not kept abreast of advances in marine engineering and based all life-saving regulations on ships up to 10,000 grt (gross registered tons) which were required to carry 16 lifeboats. Titanic was 46,329 grt. A ship designed to accommodate 3,511 passengers and crew was only required to provide lifeboat accommodation for 962. In fact, White Star provided her with four extra collapsible boats, increasing capacity to 1,178.

Smith failed the passengers and crew of Titanic.

If Smith had not failed in his duty, all these lifeboats could have been loaded to their stated capacity in time, or even with many more, for the numbers reflected shipyard workers, not women and children. In the flat calm conditions that night, the first boat to leave Titanic's side, with a capacity of 40, contained just 12 people.

Titanic, famous for that terrible disaster, today stands as a memorial to mankind's over-confidence in technology and a reminder of how weak we are compared with the forces of nature. But Titanic should also stand as a reminder of an era when millions of emigrants made the voyage across the Atlantic seeking a new life, in a new world - a memorial to a unique event in history.

In a second, more serious allegation, it was claimed he ordered Captain Edward J Smith, Titanic's commander, to 'make a record crossing' thus indirectly causing the collision with the iceberg. It is unlikely that an experienced shipmaster like Smith, on his last voyage before retirement and the highest paid commander in the mercantile marine, would defer to Ismay on matters of navigation. No firm evidence has ever come to light to suggest that Ismay in any way interfered with the navigation of Titanic and, other than talking with the various heads of departments on the ship, conducted himself like many other passengers. Yet the opposite image of him exists today.

All of the negative stereotypes can be tracked back to the American press...
But where did all these stories come from? All of the negative stereotypes can be tracked back to the American press and in particular to those newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst, one of the most powerful and influential men in America. Hearst and Ismay had met years before in New York when Ismay was an agent for his company. The shy and private Ismay disliked press attention and the two men fell out as a consequence of his refusal to cooperate.

Hearst never forgot, and in April 1912 his syndicated press prosecuted a vicious campaign against Ismay, who was defenceless in the eye of the hurricane. Stories were invented and witnesses, wishing to strengthen exorbitant insurance claims for lost baggage against the company, declared he had in fact ordered Smith to make a record crossing.

Questions – Titanic.

J. Bruce Ismay

J. Bruce Ismay was an English businessman who served as chairman and managing director of the White Star Line of steamshipsIsmay occasionally accompanied his ships on their maiden voyages, and the Titanic was one of them.

During the voyage, Ismay talked with chief engineer Joseph Bell about a possible test of speed if time permitted. When the ship hit an iceberg 400 miles south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and started sinking on the night of 14 April 1912, Ismay was rescued in Collapsible Lifeboat C. He testified that as the ship was in her final moments, he turned away, unable to watch his creation sink beneath the waters of the North Atlantic.

After being picked up by the Carpathia, Ismay was led to the cabin belonging to the ship's doctor, which he reportedly did not leave for the entire journey. He ate nothing solid, received only a single visitor, and was kept under the influence of opiates.

After the disaster, Ismay was savaged by both the American and the British press for deserting the ship while women and children were still on board. Some papers called him the "Coward of the Titanic" or "J. Brute Ismay" and suggested that the White Star flag be changed to a white liver.

Can anyone find the correct answers to following:

1. Did  Mr. Bruce Ismay while having breakfast with Captain E.J.Smith suggested to  him that the remaining two boilers should be fired and speed increased in order to reach New York twelve hours early to make head lines in the New York Times?
 
The Titanic did make headlines.  Not only in the New York Times but all over the world.

2. Did the Captain tell Mr. Ismay, that the ship was making good speed and an increase of the same was not necessary?

3. As Mr.Ismay did not get a proper response from the Captain, did he go down to the Engine Room and advise the Chief Engineer to fire remaining boilers and increase the speed? 

4. If he did so, then the Chief Engineer did something against the ship’s command!

Ice warning: The presence of ice in the vicinity had been received by the ship by this time.  JUST BEFORE THE ACCIDENT

5. Was there a delay from the Lookouts in the Crows Nest informing the bridge of the presence of Iceberg in the vicinity?  In this case right ahead?

6. Was there a delay in OOW taking action? He called the First Officer. Why did he not  alert  the Master?

William Murdoch

First Officer William Murdoch appeared on the bridge sighted the ice, and ordered the ship to be steered around the obstacle and the engines to be put in reverse. The Vessel was cruising at full speed at approximately 21 kts.  It would have definitely taken a few minutes before stopping and reversing itself.  

The Master was called and came in after the ship struck the iceberg. Naturally, the Master who may have been sleeping needs few minutes depending on the circumstances of the case. In this case, I guess at least five to six minutes to come on the bridge.

7. Why didn’t First Officer Murdoch alter course to Port? He would have had the entire Atlantic ocean to himself.  The reduced speed would have given him time to call the Master. The Master would have had an opportunity to  assess the situation and take appropriate action.

POSTCARD FROM TITANIC

"For many they would never have had a proper holiday. The White Star line was not about speed, but quality of accommodation. Even for those in third class, there were three meals a day, clean bed linen, music and dancing, and there would have been a semi-carnival atmosphere for the majority."

That ended suddenly in the early hours of 15 April 1912.

Darling wife, I must tell you I'm on a fine big boat. But I cannot say the same about the food: It's rotten. I don't think it was made for us to eat but it would be all right for ducks.

Well darling, it will be from Pittsburg where you will hear from me next. Don't be downhearted.

Excuse the writing, I'm on the boat and it's very shaky.

Love, Les


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Titanic: Survivors from Wales of 1912 liner tragedy

By Steve Duffy BBC News Wales

One of the Titanic lifeboats, with some of the 700 survivors

... Able seaman Thomas William Jones, 32, son of a fisherman from Llanbadrig on Anglesey, was in charge of boat No 8. It contained two fellow crew and 24 women, all first class passengers, including the redoubtable Countess Rothes, an expert oarswoman.

However, despite Jones' own misgivings, the majority of passengers were against going back for survivors, despite there being room on board for fear of being swamped. A letter of gratitude from the countess's cousin, a fellow survivor, said: "I shall always remember your words, 'ladies if any of us are saved, remember I wanted to go back. I would rather drown with them, than leave them.'"

Another crew member from Anglesey was Holyhead-born Edward Brown, 34, a steward in first class, who helped load lifeboats but was washed overboard by a wave as he tried to leave in a boat as the ship sank.

The non-swimmer said it felt "like a lifetime" in the water, clinging onto a lifebelt until he was rescued by a collapsible lifeboat, one of the last to leave Titanic.

His great-great niece Olivia Goulding said: "He was in the water so long his hands and feet swelled up - he said that his feet were bursting through his boots, but he took an oar of the lifeboat".

Edward later married but the physical toll from that night may have contributed to his death at the age of 48 in a Liverpool sanatorium. He left a widow and six-year-old daughter.

Olivia and her cousin Valerie Lewis, who have researched his story, presented Holyhead Maritime Museum with their findings in his memory to coincide with the centenary.

Historian Richard Davenport-Hines, who has written Titanic Lives: Migrants and Millionaires, Conmen and Crew said: "The crew and passengers in the lifeboats would have realised, with 1,000 people bobbing in lifejackets in the water, people might get to the sides and overwhelm them.  

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Titanic anniversary: Piecing together story of ship's captain

 By Kevin Leonard, BBC News

Titanic captain Edward Smith died when the ship sank

The actions of the Titanic's captain on its fateful voyage 100 years ago have inspired numerous colourful accounts, but for one man with a closer link to events than most, they will only ever tell part of the story.

Depending on which version of events you believe, in the time leading up to the ship sinking, Captain Edward Smith may have been heroically rescuing a child, hiding away in his quarters, or just doing his job.

There are also his celebrated, but possibly apocryphal, last words to his crew: "Be British".

Regardless of fact and fiction, it is fair to say a number of colourful stories have attached themselves to his last hours.

However, for 39-year-old Spencer Smith, who is related to the captain through his great-grandmother on his father's side, there is another story waiting to be told that may offer a different perspective.

Mr Smith, who is from Wrexham and now lives in Newtown, Powys, says few details about the captain's life away from the oceans were passed through the family.

But through family research, he now hopes to find out a different side to the experienced seaman.

"It's very emotive for me and I've always felt the same sort of way," he said.

More than 1,500 people died when the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage

"The more you find out about the finer detail, the more you find out about him as a person.

"What did he do all day? What was he like as a person?"

He is working with his family, particularly his father, to help put more flesh on the bones.

He hopes the real Captain Smith will emerge, one that may be different from the myths and hyperbole of the Titanic story.

Mr Smith, an archaeologist with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, said his family had always told him about the link with Captain Smith.

"I was told from a small child who he was - we've always known," he said.

"All we were told was that we were related.

"There was no fuss made about who he was or what he did. He did his job and died doing his job."

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