The band played on ... Titanic violinist honoured

THE man who famously urged his band to continue playing as the Titanic disappeared beneath the waves has been recognised for his courage.

The latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, published yesterday, includes a special focus on people remembered for acts of civilian heroism.

Among them is Wallace Hartley, the violinist and band leader who played on to allay the fears of passengers as the ship began to sink and the lifeboats were lowered. Survivors reported the orchestra had played throughout the evacuation to allay passengers’ fears, with certain observers maintaining that the hymn Nearer, My God, To Thee had been played as the Titanic made its descent.

The band played until the ship sank at 2.20am on April 15, 1912, less than three hours after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

Cobh, Co Cork, was the last port of call of RMS Titanic, which anchored at the mouth of the harbour on April 11, 1912. In all, 123 passengers boarded the ship at Cobh.

It was from here that the ship weighed anchor for the last time and sailed west towards its tragic fate in the icy waters of the north Atlantic.

All eight band members went down with the ship after it hit an iceberg just before midnight on April 14. Mr Hartley had spent three years working on the RMS Mauretania when he was offered the post of bandmaster on the Titanic’s maiden voyage, entertaining first-class passengers. He was reluctant, as he did not want to leave his fiancée but decided to accept the job as it meant a promotion.

When disaster struck, Mr Hartley, 33, assembled the musicians on deck and played popular melodies and ragtime tunes to keep passengers calm as they boarded the lifeboats.

The band continued to play even when all hope was lost. And reports that followed the sinking claimed that they put down their instruments only when the freezing water had reached their waists.

Vera Dick, one of the survivors who made it into a lifeboat, told later of her experience of that fateful night: “As the ship sank, we could hear the band playing Nearer, My God, To Thee. We looked back and could see the men standing on deck absolutely quiet and waiting for the end. The conduct was splendid.”

Mr Hartley’s body was recovered a fortnight after the sinking with his violin strapped to him. He and the orchestra have had 13 memorials worldwide erected to them, double the number erected to the Titanic’s captain, the dictionary says.

“As victims who acted courageously and benevolently, and who were in no way responsible for the Titanic’s loss, the ship’s musicians became emblematic of the dignity and heroism shown by many during the disaster,” his entry says.