IT was the biggest ship in the world and one of the worst marine disasters of all time.
And a sailor with a little-known link to the town has gone down in history as the man who sank the unsinkable.
The Titanic's captain, Edward Smith, lived in Warrington for more than two decades.
He came to Warrington in 1887 when he married Sarah Eleanor Pennington, from Winwick.
The newly-weds lived in a cottage in the village until Captain Smith's death in 1912.
That year the celebrated Titanic set sail for New York with 1,316 passengers and 891 crew on board.
A copy of the marriage licence is inside St Oswald's Church in Winwick, after the original was stolen a number of years ago.
The history of the ship’s captain is mentioned in a book by Gary Slater on Warrington player Jack Fish.
He recalls how the Titanic captain lived at The Poplars, on Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, a house around 50 yards from the Chapel House pub, and was reportedly remembered by neighbours for his ‘quiet sincerity and geniality’.
The Titanic’s maiden voyage was to be Captain Smith’s last trip before retirement.
His wife, whose family had worked at Woodhead farm in Winwick for four generations, said: “To my poor fellow sufferers.
“My hear overpours with grief for you
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