The links between the TITANIC and the North-East that you probably didn't know

The biggest ship in the world at the time, Titanic set off on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 10, 1912.

But most-famously and tragically, she sank to the icy depths of the North Atlantic claiming the lives of more than 1,500 on April 15.

Since then, that ill-fated liner has become a legendary tale known right around the world and the subject of countless books, documentaries and an award-winning film.

But what you might not know is that the Titanic has several links with the North-East - some of which are almost hard to imagine.

Titanic's rudder was made in Darlington

Many in Darlington will know someone who knew a friend or family that worked at the Forge on Albert Hill, but perhaps not the role it played in the Titanic's birth.

The huge brick workshop, which can to this day be seen beside the East Coast Main Line, was responsible for the manufacturing of parts for the new "Olympic-class" ships.

The owners of the Titanic, White Star Line had actually commissioned three almost-identical vessels between 1908 and 1914, the Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. 

Part of the monumental order saw Darlington Forge being drafted in to create stern frames, brackets and the rudders themselves for the enormous liners, including Titanic. 

Titanic's sister ship was scrapped in the North-East

A little-known fact that the sister-ship to the Titanic, the RMS Olympic was scrapped in the North-East.

A few miles up the River Tyne, the sister liner was dismantled at Palmer's Shipyard in Jarrow after it was retired from service in 1935. 

Dubbed 'Old Reliable,' the Olympic was actually the only surviving ship out of the three Olympic-class liners - with the Britannic meeting a similar fate when it sank in 1916.

Olympic won this description after years of service, and dangerously helped set the precedent that Titanic could be unsinkable, surviving a major strike with another ship.

At Palmer's Shipyard, the entire superstructure of Olympic was "demolished," with her interiors stripped and later sold at auction.

The Olympic was not completely demolished here as the keel was later transported to Scotland for final scrapping. 

The ship that rescued survivors was built here

The ship that came to the Titanic's mayday call and rescued those who had managed to escape on its 20 lifeboats was built on the banks of the River Tyne.

The RMS Carpathia, which was run by rivals, Cunard Line, was built as a passenger ship in 1901 by Swan & Hunter in Wallsend.

The significantly smaller ship would play a pivotal role in maximising the number of survivors from the disaster as it was the only nearby ship to respond.

It took her around four hours to reach the site of the sinking after the first distress call was made by the Titanic at 12.17am on April 15.

A former Northern Echo editor died on the Titanic

Although this is probably one of the more well-known connections between the region and the North-East, it is likely those further afield may not be aware.

The former editor of The Northern Echo, William Thomas Stead died on the Titanic - more than four decades after publishing his first article in 1870. 

Stead, who had become the second editor of our newspaper in 1871, was known for saying that the job would be a "glorious opportunity of attacking the devil."

A phrase which would later help Stead pave the way for campaigning journalism, which rather spectacularly included raising the legal age of consent from 13 to 16.

But he would meet his fate, when taking up an offer to sail to America at the invitation of US President William Taft to speak at a peace conference in New York.

He became the "most famous" British person to drown in the disaster.