Titanic captain caught on camera on sister ship

Edward John Smith captained a ship which was to be involved in one of the biggest maritime disasters in history.

But before his name became synonymous with the Titanic disaster he was famous due to his popularity among the rich and famous of his day.

The "millionaire's captain" had already captained a huge ocean liner - Titanic's sister ship the Olympic - when he took control of the ill-fated liner in April 1912.

He was captured on film inspecting that ship before it sailed, never knowing the footage would be used in news reports announcing his death along with 1,516 others when the Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg as it crossed the Atlantic on its maiden voyage.

Footage courtesy of Staffordshire Film Archive