This year marks the 109th anniversary of the Titanic sinking. The luxury steamship sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912 after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage, off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic. Commemorating the event let us take a look at incredible original footage from 1912 when the Titanic was all set to take the journey. The footage by British Pathé, the producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom, has been shared on YouTube. The video is the only genuine footage of the Titanic prior to its sinking, according to British Pathe. It also includes footage of the rescue of survivors, and The Mackay Bennet leaving Halifax in search of the dead.
The video opens with an introductory title that reads ‘Titanic’ leaving Belfast lough for Southampton. Titanic was owned by the White Star Line, the company that took on the ambitious task of building the biggest ship of its time. The video clip shows eight shots of the Titanic docked at Belfast. The shot was most likely taken on April 2, 1912. In the following shots, we see men walking beside the ship and smoke coming from the Titanic’s funnel.
In another shot, the title reads, “Before the disaster, Captain Smith on the Bridge.” Captain Edward J. Smith is seen onboard the Olympic and not the Titanic in this shot, mentions British Pathe. The following shot is a flashing cry for help as the text reads “C-Q-D Help! Help! We are sinking!” This is followed by text reading “The Graveyard of the Sea – Icebergs and ice floes near the scene of the disaster.” The shot captures the floating ice floes and icebergs in the Atlantic ocean, an eerie feeling creeps up as the viewer realises that the waters have consumed the ship and most of the people on board.
The twentieth-century disaster even inspired the Academy Award-winning movie Titanic, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio that came out in 1997.
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