Wallace Hartley: The Legendary Bandleader Of The "Titanic"
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The band continuing to perform as all the lifeboats sailed away, oblivious to their own safety is one of the most lingering images from the Titanic disaster. All eight band members passed away that night.
The band consisted of John Clarke, John Hume, Percy Taylor, John Woodward, Roger Bricoux, George Krins, Theodore Brailey and their official bandleader Wallace Hartley.
Wallace Henry Hartley was born on 2nd June 1878 to Albion and Elizabeth Hartley in Colne, East Lancashire. He had a great love for music from a very young age. When he was 17, the family moved to Yorkshire.
After they moved to Yorkshire, Wallace was able to persuade his father to let him pursue a musical career - leaving his job as a clerk. He performed at the Harrogate Kursaal and was the conductor of the Bridlington city orchestra. He once went on tour with both the Carl Rosa and Moody-Manners opera companies.
Wallace's musical career eventually led him to the sea, where he joined the Cunard line, first sailing on the Lusitania before taking a position as bandmaster on her sister ship, the Mauretania. Wallace was invited to transfer from the Mauretania and take on the role of bandmaster on the Titanic one day before the ship was scheduled to set sail.
On April 10, 1912, he boarded the Titanic, reluctant to leave his fiancée, Maria Robinson, but seizing the chance for an incredible opportunity.
After only 4 days at sea, the Titanic hit an iceberg and started to sink on 14th April 1912. In order to calm the passengers, Hartley and the other band members were instructed to play music on the deck. Many survivors claimed that the band played right up until the end.
The song they were playing in the final moments has been debated: some survivors are sure it was “Nearer, My God, To Thee”, while some believe it was “Autumn”.
The violin that Hartley was playing was an engagement gift from his fiancée.
It was recovered along with his body and returned to her. It passed hands until it was rediscovered in 2006. In 2013, a hundred years after the fateful incident, Hartley’s violin was sold at an auction for £900,000 ($1.6m).
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