Wallace Hartley and Titanic's Orchestra

Wallace Henry Hartley was born on 2 June 1878.  He was raised in Colne, Lancashire, England.  His father, Albion Hartley, was the choirmaster and Sunday school superintendent at Bethel Independent Methodist Chapel.

Wallace studied at Colne's Methodist day school.  He was taught how to play the violin by a fellow congregation member.

He left the family home in 1903 to live in Bridlington and he joined the municipal orchestra.  He later moved to Dewsbury, West Yorkshire and in 1909, he joined the Cunard Line as a musician, serving on the ocean liners RMS Lucania, RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania.

The music agency C.W. & F.N. Black supplied musicians for Cunard and the White Star Line.  When Hartley was serving on the RMS Mauretania, he was transferred to the music agency.  Such a transfer meant that his status on board changed from being a crewmember to passenger.  He started service on Titanic as bandleader.

The Ship’s Orchestra

What did the band play during dinner?
The orchestra was divided into two sections - a quintet and a trio.

Wallace Hartley led a quintet and played at teatime, after-dinner concerts, and Sunday services, among other occasions. 

A trio consisting of a violin, cello and piano played by Roger Bricoux, George Krins and Theodore Brailey.   They played at the À La Carte Restaurant and the Café Parisien.

The ship’s orchestra wore blue tuxedos during dinner performances.  They had a varied repertoire and would have played requests as given. Some of the music would have included famous compositions such as The Barber of Seville, Rossini; Aida, Verdi; Madam Butterfly, Puccini; The Mikado, Gilbert & Sullivan; Waltzes by Strauss and many more.

His role during the final hours of Titanic

Soon after Thomas Andrews had calculated that the ship would sink as a mathematical certainty, panic took hold. Wallace Hartley and his eight-man orchestra played a crucial part in reducing the tension during the final hours of Titanic.

The band started to play in the first-class lounge once all the band members had gathered. Many of the passengers had gone on to the decks to try to escape on the lifeboats. The band followed the passengers on to the deck and made a stance near the entrance to the Grand Staircase.   They played well-known songs until the final moments. 

There are many accounts as to what they actually played as a final song.  The most popular account is the hymn “Nearer, My God, to thee” whilst “Autumn” was also reported to have been played.

Whatever piece was played, it was the sheer heroism of the men who carried on playing whilst their world came to an end, which is remembered today.  Their courage and devotion helped to calm the tension even though the passengers still onboard the doomed liner knew of their impeding fate.

All of the band members went down with the ship.  Wallace Hartley’s body was recovered two weeks after the sinking.

SS Arabic

His body was transported to England by the SS Arabic and then returned to Colne under the direction of his father. A funeral was held on 18 May 1912 with over 30,000 on seers of the procession. Over 1000 people attended the funeral.  A memorial bust was erected outside the town library in 1915.

On 19 October 2013 Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire England auctioned a violin owned by Wallace Hartley for £900,000.