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| | Captain Edward John Smith, RD, TM, RNR, MN. |
 | | Edward John Smith, known to the Merchant Navy as "E.J." was born in 1850 at Hanley, in the Potteries of Conurbation of Staffordshire, not quite as far from the sea as is possible to get in England. |
 | | By 1887 he was Captain of the RMS Republic, and served during the Boer War (1899-1902) captaining troop ships. |
 | | However on September 20th, 1911 Smith was in charge of RMS Olympic when she was rammed by the Warship, HMS Hawke, causing severe damage to both ships. |
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