As the doomed Titanic neared its final moments, the Titanic Band Played on. As they boarded the glamorous unsinkable liner, never did these young musicians consider this seaboard work assignment would be their last. They were all still young men. Wallace Hartley, the bandmaster was only 33 years old. He was from Yorkshire and engaged to be married. Hartley and the other band members boarded as second-class passengers assigned to E deck. There were two rooms each for five musicians next to the potato washroom. But only eight bandsmen boarded. Edwina Troutt, survivor enjoyed hearing them practice. She was also on E deck.

The band played as the rich ate

Although their quarters were far from glamorous, the band had to dress up in suits and ties and play in the First-Class lounges where the cream of New York and Philadelphia society gathered. The talented band could play anything and well. There repertoire extended to over 300 pieces which they had to know by heart. No music sheets were allowed. Divided into a deck trio and a saloon orchestra, the men played throughout the meals and soirees of the five-day voyage. The quintet played at luncheon in the First-Class Dining Saloon at the foot of the Grand Staircase. There was a grand piano there for this purpose. Double doors opened from the staircase into the lovely saloon room.

Palm Court musicians

Women wore the Paris fashions of the day and men wore the standard black evening suit even at lunch. The quintet would not be visible as the rich passengers entered for lunch. As paid servants rather than celebrity players they were required to play discreetly from behind palm fronds of the potted plants. This gave rise to the expression Palm Court Musicians. Music onboard ships was a tradition dating from the 1850s when White Star and its rival Cunard arranged entertainment aboard their ships. In the afternoons, the quintet band played brisk polkas, waltzes and ragtime in the lounge and in the reception area outside the Dining Saloon after dinner.

For those in peril on the sea.

The trio which included one of the pianists mainly played for First Class in the A la Carte restaurant and the Cafe Parisien. Their music was more continental in flavour due to the French cellist and the Belgian violinist. Both the trio and quintet were very popular with the passengers. They requested pieces and songs for them to play. The quintet also played for the Sunday church service onboard. Survivors remember the hymns, Oh God Our Help in Ages Past and Eternal Father, Strong to Save. The last line of this one is ‘For those in peril on the sea.’ 

A last-minute assignment to Titanic

Wallace Hartley, the bandmaster had not wanted to come onboard the Titanic. He had just left the Mauretania and wanted to go home to see his family and fiancée, Maria Robinson. But fate would have it that the Titanic bandmaster had just become a father and was not sailing on the Titanic maiden voyage. he went home to meet his new child instead. Wallace Hartley was asked to fill his position for the trip. It was an honour to be asked to be bandmaster on the biggest ship in the world, especially for its first voyage. So why did Wallace hesitate?

Hartley hesitated

A few reasons. He was happy working on the Mauretania where he knew and liked the other ‘boys.’ Secondly, getting to the Titanic on time would be a rush and he would have no leave with his family. Also, the train fare to Southhampton was expensive and not subsidised by the company. Over the next day, Hartley decided to accept the position. Perhaps he was offered some money to entice him? His musician friend Ellwand Moody felt nervous about travelling on such a big ship and said, ‘No, thanks.’ The men said goodbye in Liverpool.

Wallace Hartley made his way to Southhampton alone and sailed on the ill-fated Titanic the next day. He had never met any of his fellow bandsmen before. Wallace was a violinist and there were two others both in their early twenties. One of them had never played on a ship before but had spent six years studying at the Conservatoire in Liege. There were two pianists. One had just transferred from the Carpathia which would later come to Titanic’s rescue but too late. There were two cellists and a bass player also making his first Atlantic crossing.

 

Rivalry for the Atlantic passenger market.

Some passengers and the public had been nervous about a ship so big. But the media of the time and the White Star Line who built her, promoted her as unsinkable. However, anyone with a scientific or engineering background could see there was a limit to the size of ships. Bigger and bigger was not always the answer to supremacy of the seas. The Cunard and White Star Lines were competing for the Atlantic passenger market. There were no airlines in those days. The only way to get from Europe to America was by ship. The Titanic had everything a ship could have. Except a pair of binoculars and enough lifeboats. But nobody was focusing on these. Instead, they marvelled at the Grand Staircase, the restaurants, the gymnasium, the Turkish Baths and the swimming pool. And the food.

The last evening onboard

Dinner the last evening was as sumptuous as ever. First Class enjoyed oysters, filet mignon, Waldorf Pudding and ice cream which was a treat back then. There were no doubt other courses of soup and fish, but survivors remembered these first items. The binoculars were onboard for the lookout, but they were locked in a cupboard because the officer with the key had been transferred at the last minute to another ship. Fortunate man. Without these Frederick Fleet had to peer into the inky blackness of the night. When he suddenly saw a huge grey shape looming ahead, his response was delayed enough to result in the entire starboard of the ship scraped the iceberg. The ship was going too fast in an ice field. Warnings by telegram from other ships had been ignored. Much of an iceberg is submerged and this is what did the damage to the Titanic. A 300-foot gash opened on the side of the mighty liner. The sea gushed in and quickly flooded the first five compartments.

Titanic is doomed

Watertight compartments did not go all the way to the top so as each compartment filled it flowed over into the next. The ship was doomed and listing towards the bow and starboard side. Already boilermen and mail workers had drowned. It was 11.40pm, 14 April 1912.  The realisation was slow to sink in both for the crew and passengers. Denial is the first stage of shock. At 12.05am Captain Smith reluctantly ordered the lifeboats to be uncovered. He knew the boats were only enough for half of the people on board. The passengers did not know. Only after the ship’s motors stopped and the boat developed a lean did they start to worry.

The band played on

The band kept playing despite the lack of passengers on deck. Many were already in bed or below deck. It was a very cold moonless night. The musicians always wore their blue tuxedo suits with green lapels and White Star badges. At 12.45 am as lifeboats were hauled over the side, the quintet and trio played together, all though one pianist sat out as there was only one piano in the lounge area. Later they moved outside as that is where passengers were gathering and later panicking. The pianists could not play as the piano was inside. As the night was very cold, the remaining musicians donned their overcoats to play.

As the ship listed the cellists and bass player could not sit to use their instruments. It was the three violinists who continued. Distress signals had reached a few ships. Carpathia was on the way but would take four hours at top speed. Lifeboats left half empty. Women of the Titanic were either fearful of the long drop to the sea or did not want to leave their husbands and sons. Only at 12.30 did anyone consider third class passengers. There were no assigned lifeboats for them. neither could they easily access the first- and second-class boat decks where the boats were being loaded.

By 12.45 am it was obvious to all onboard that the ship was sinking. The water had reached C deck. Yet the band played on.

The band were heroes of the sinking

At 2.05am, the last lifeboat left. Some people had jumped into the sea in a desperate attempt to swim and reach the lifeboats as many had few onboard. The only third-class woman to survive the jump reported still hearing music. Other survivors report hearing music at 2.10 am. By then the deck was steep as the stern rose and bow sank as well as a severe lean to starboard or right side. The selflessness of the band did not go unnoticed. They emerged as heroes of the sinking. None of the band survived to tell their story or set the record right as to their last tune played.

Nearer my God to Thee

Legend has it that it was Nearer my God to Thee, a favourite hymn of Walaace Hartley. Others maintain it was the soothing tune, Autumn. Despite their dedication to duty, some say until the water reached their knees, the band made an attempt to save themselves in the dying moments of the ship. Wallace Hartley strapped his beloved violin to his chest and either jumped or went down with the ship. The cries of the 1500 people without a lifeboat to save them lasted an hour. Only thirteen of them made it into a lifeboat. The rest died not from drowning, but from the cold of the water. Nearly all the bodies had life buoys attached that kept the bodies afloat for the rescue and recovery boats.

The retrieval shipmen recovered Wallace Hartley’s body and returned it via three forms of transport to his grieving family.  Wallace had a hero’s funeral in his hometown and remained a hero of the undying Titanic legend. A memorial fund erected a statue to the bandmaster in his native Colne in Yorkshire. Maria, Wallace’s fiancée, never married. She tended his grave and cherished his violin for the rest of her life.

If you like this post, find more detail in the book, A Hymn for Eternity by Yvonne Carroll.

Joni Scott is an Australian author with five published novels. Three are historical fiction. The first, Whispers through Time is set at the time of the Titanic sinking. Joni also writes a history blog with posts like this. She has written three others on the Titanic sinking.

See more at joniscottauthor.com.