Artists create mural of Titanic captain in his home town of Hanley

The mural on Hope Street took a week to complete

A mural to commemorate the captain of the Titanic has been painted in his home town in Stoke-on-Trent.

Artists Tom Edwards, Rob Fenton and Ethan Lemon worked together to create the mural in Hope Street, Hanley - the town where he was born in 1850.

Captain Edward Smith was known as "the millionaire's captain" due to his popularity and skill.

The gable end of the property was painted after the landlord gave permission to the artists.

Captain Smith joined the White Star Shipping Line in 1880 and served aboard the company's freight liners around the world before being chosen to captain the Titanic from Southampton to New York in 1912.

"He was kind of known as the millionaire's captain," Mr Edwards said.

"All the celebrities wanted to sail under him and he was the person that White Star would often choose to captain their maiden voyages of their new ships."

Captain Smith was the number one choice for the aristocrats of the day, because of his reputation for safety and affability

The infamous liner hit an iceberg and sank with the loss of 1,500 lives.

Mr Edwards said because there was no monument or memorial to Mr Smith locally other than a statue in Lichfield and a blue plaque outside the home where he was born in Well Street, the trio thought it was fitting to paint the mural.

The home was chosen after a series of locations were discussed for the artwork with Stoke-on-Trent BID in 2022, Mr Fenton said.

The trio began researching the project and approached businesses for sponsorship and paint brand Paintmaster provided materials.

The portrait was painted by Mr Lemon and the maritime expression "Fail we may, Sail we must" created by Mr Edwards alongside a silhouette of the White Star Line ship in the background which all took a week to create, Mr Fenton added.

"It's on one of the gateways into the city centre, and it's in need of a bit of TLC and a bit of love so hopefully the mural brightens up that route up into the city," Mr Edwards added.