CHILDHOOD memories of being told about a family link with Captain EJ Smith, master of the ill-fated White Star liner Titanic, have come flooding back for a Worcester woman as she prepares to join a city tribute to the 1,500 souls who perished in the North Atlantic sinking of April 15, 1912.

Susannah Barnett, aged 40, is convinced by family testimony which has always alleged she is a descendant – possibly a great, great niece – of the Titanic skipper who famously went down with his ship in the world’s worst maritime shipping disaster.

Although Miss Barnett has as yet no documented evidence of a direct link to that date in history, she has nonetheless amassed a bow-wave of Titanic and Captain Smith memorabilia at her home in the Newtown area of the city and has been invited to be guest of honour at the centenary production of Titanic: The Musical at Worcester’s Swan Theatre on Saturday.

“The story of Titanic must have come up at primary school, and that’s when my grandmother, Eileen Cameron (nee Sankey), revealed that I was a descendent of Captain Smith on my mother’s side of the family,” said Miss Barnett, a PhD student with the University of Bristol.

“My nan must have been nearing her nineties when she died in the mid-1990s, but all my family have always been aware of the link with Captain Smith.

“I’ve never tried to verify it because I have just always taken it as fact. But with the centenary of the disaster imminent, perhaps now might be a good time to carry out some more family history research to confirm the link.”

Captain Edward John Smith was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on January 27, 1850, to potter Edward Smith and his wife Catherine, who had a son and daughter, Joseph and Thyrza Hancock, from her first marriage to John Hancock.

After a brief spell in a foundry in the 1860s, the young ‘EJ’ followed half-brother Joseph into the merchant navy as an apprentice in Liverpool.

From there, he rose to become a White Star Line captain, his career culminating in the ill-fated maiden voyage of RMS Titanic.

“I take a real pride in being associated with Captain Smith and Titanic,” said Miss Barnett, clutching a statuette of ‘EJ’ in front of a framed print of the luxury liner which adorns the wall over her mantlepiece.

“The White Star Line appointed the best man for the job, and Captain Smith can only have seen it as a huge privilege to be made master of such a wonderful ship on her maiden voyage.

Maritime protocol at the time dictated that in the event of a sinking, the captain should be the last of the crew off the ship, so Captain Smith knew he was going to go down with his ship – I believe he died with honour.”

The One-Off Performance Society (OOPS) of Worcestershire-based actors and musicians is this week marking the centenary of the disaster with a special commemorative performance at Worcester’s Swan Theatre of the Tony Award-winning show Titanic: The Musical, staged to coincide with when the ship set sail for the first and last time.

Susannah has been invited by OOPS to be guest of honour at the last night of the show, and chairman Steve Cook said: “We’re thrilled to have her on board. Her possible link with Captain Smith, and her passion for all things Titanic, have made it imperative that she join us for the final night of what is sure to be a very poignant and moving occasion.”

The OOPS project has support from both Startin Honda, of Bromyard Road, Worcester, and Morgan Cars at Malvern, and some of the proceeds from the show will be donated to the RNLI.

For further details, call the Worcester Live box office on 01905 611427, or visit oneoff performancesociety.co.uk.