Titanic's last song - William Hartley and his Band

Top Row, Left to Right: Fred Clarke of Liverpool and P.C. Taylor of Clapham.
Middle Row, Left to Right: G. Krins of Brixton, Wallace H. Hartley of Dewsbury, the Bandmaster and Theodore Brailey, of Notting Hill.
Bottom Row, Left to Right: Jock Hume of Dumfries and J.W. Woodward of Headington, Oxon.
Roger Bricoux, the cellist, was missing from this photo










I have always been fascinated by the band that played on while titanic went down. I was fascinated by their actions to play on, as a heroic gesture to the indomitability of the human spirit. Their choice of song was particularly haunting. It is widely believed that they played "Nearer my God to Thee". (though there is a controversy that it may have been another song "autumn" - read about the controversy, an excellent article, here http://www.snopes.com/history/titanic/lastsong.asp)

The playing of the song, so fitting for the purpose, was one of the many heroic actions aboard the Titanic. Though there can be no ranking of bravery, the actions of the band led by William Hartley, would surely rank among the top when heroes are counted among men.

Their contribution cannot be summed up better than these words by Eaton and Haas (courtesy of the site whose link i gave above)

"One irrefutable fact, however, remains: the musicians stayed until all hope of rescue was gone. Who can say how many lives their efforts saved? The final moments of how many were cheered or ennobled by their music? 'Songe d'Automne' or 'Autumn.' 'Horbury' or 'Bethany'. What difference? The memory of the bandsmen and their courageous music will never die. "

In my mind, the band on Titanic always serves to remind me of the best of man, the best that man can achieve and triumph, even in the certainty of death.

A very good William Wartley's site is at http://www.pendle.net/WallaceHartley/ (where i found the pictures)