Edward Smith (sea captain)
Edward John Smith was a British sea captain and naval officer. In 1880, he joined the White Star Line as an officer, beginning a long career in the British Merchant Navy. Smith went on to serve as the master of numerous White Star Line vessels. During the Second Boer War, he served in the Royal Naval Reserve, transporting British Imperial troops to the Cape Colony. Smith served as captain of the ocean liner Titanic, and went down with the ship when she sank on her maiden voyage.
Smith in 1912
William M. Murdoch, Joseph Evans, David Alexander, and Edward Smith aboard Olympic
Illustration of the sinking of the Titanic
Smith's statue in Beacon Park, Lichfield
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve, created in 1859, and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), created in 1903. The Royal Naval Reserve has seen action in World War I, World War II, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan.
Members of the Royal Naval Reserve training at Tramore, County Waterford, c. 1905
A First World War RNR Lieutenant wearing the "wavy navy" rank insignia of reserve officers
Lieutenants of the RNR (left) and RNVR (right) during the Second World War—note the difference in insignia styles.
The crew of HMS Castle Harbour, assigned to the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda as the Examination Service vessel (that inspected merchant ships at Five Fathom Hole, under the guns of St. David's Battery - designated the Examination Battery, prior to their entering the shipping channel through Bermuda's reef). Crew members shown included a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officer at left, a Royal Navy officer, regular and temporary ratings,