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Titanic Anniversary 2021: And The Band Played On?

Updated: Jul 16, 2021

It is almost impossible not to read the hundreds of accounts of the nobility of Titanic’s eight-man band playing until the bitter end. Across the century that has passed since the sinking of the Belfast-built liner, dramatic recreations, and adaptations of the heroic efforts of the Palm Court Band are not difficult to come across. An issue of the Daily Graphic, that was published in late 1912 commended the band’s ‘Wonderful behaviour.’ And dubbed them as ‘humble players.’ But, like most areas of the Titanic story. Nobody is sure if the band did play on until they had been knee deep in water, or if the last hymn played really was Nearer My God to Thee? Whilst logic would suggest that the eight bandsmen, led by Lancashire lad: Wallace Hartley would be fighting with the other 2,200 passengers for a coveted seat on the lifeboats and physically it would have been impossible to play an instrument on a 45-degree slope. But eyewitness accounts from the night that the Titanic went down, conclude that perhaps the band played on for a little longer than we all thought.


Why Did the Band Play?

After the initial collision with the iceberg on Titanic’s port side, many passengers would have been asleep in the comforts of their cabins or some would be retiring from dinner. Shortly before 11:40pm, the evening concert, conducted by Titanic’s band had not long finished, many stewards, including Bournemouth steward, Frank Prentice were preparing the First-Class dining saloon, ready for breakfast, the next morning. When news had spread that there would have to be a temporary evacuation of the ship, passengers began to make their way onto the Boat Deck. However, survivor Pierre Marechal explained that “The musicians had received an order to play all the time without stopping, so as to avoid panic.” This is further supported by one of the ship’s surviving Nurses. 23-year-old Violet Jessop had seen Jock Hume, who was one of the musicians coming up into the First-Class lounge. He personally told Jessop that he had been instructed to play “just to cheer things up a bit.”


“Nice and Cheery, Like the Captain Said.”

The job of Titanic’s band was certainly not an easy role, the White Star Line songbook had catalogued nearly 300 pieces of music, the musicians were expected to know these pieces inside and out, as at any time the band played, they were not permitted sheet music.


A common question asked is what music had the band played? As previously highlighted, the 300 songs in the songbook contained a whole range of music, including the new ragtime style, made famous by Scott Joplin that was now sweeping the American sound, it is confirmed that some of Joplin’s pieces appear numerous times in the White Star Line songbook. Numbers such as the Maple Leaf Rag and The Easy Winners. Irving Berlin’s Alexander’s Ragtime Band also appears in the White Star Line Songbook. Multiple survivors claimed to have heard the band playing these tunes. 17-year-old Jack Thayer, who was travelling with his parents on board Titanic and First-Class passenger Major Peuchen both reported hearing Alexander’s Ragtime Band. On a different note, Colonel Archibald Gracie had thought he had heard the band playing Land of Hope and Glory, this would a sensible statement as Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 was listed in the White Star Line Songbook.


Jack Thayer recalls hearing the Titanic band playing.

How Long Did the Band Play On?

Gathering the evidence, from survivors, it is more than plausible that the band started playing early in the evening. Many of the passengers had seen the band playing in the First-Class lounge at 12:15pm. The band had began playing inside the ship as most the passengers, by this stage, saw no real need to panic and many would rather stay in the warmth of the ship rather, than outside in the Atlantic air. Major Peuchen had an early escape from Titanic. Officer Charles Lightoller was having some difficulty finding a member of the crew to take charge of lifeboat number 6. Peuchen offered his services and when asked if he had any experience at sea, the passenger famously replied, ‘I’m a Yachtsman.’ This line has since been replicated in William McQuitty’s A Night To Remember. Lifeboat 6 left Titanic at approximately 12:55 pm, the band were still playing but had since moved out onto the decks, they stationed themselves opposite where lifeboat 6 was being launched.


8-year-old passenger Marshall Drew explained in the book Hymn for Eternity by Yvonne Carroll, that “I could hear the ship’s orchestra playing somewhere off towards First-Class.” This likely suggests that once on they came out onto Boat Deck, they did not move around. Besides this would have been difficult to move the upright piano around a sloping deck. Although, there are few reports of the band milling around in the Second-Class area. Kate Buss testified that she had seen “A Group of musicians carrying their instruments in the Second-Class section of E Deck.” An explanation for this could be that as there were eight musicians, they likely split into two groups of four. So, four stayed on the Boat Deck, whilst the others played further down the ship. Marshall left Titanic just before 1:30 am, meaning the band were indeed, playing on. By this stage in time Titanic was starting to take a serious list on the Port Side.


AT 1:35 am Titanic takes a serious list on the port side. (credits Titanic: H&G)

Titanic’s band were spotted again between 1:43 and 1:45 am. This time it is uncertain if the band were still playing, or if they had given up by this point. Either way, 33-year-old Wallace Hartley was passed by passengers John and Florence Ware. As they were trying to get off the ship Florence, stated that Wallace had given her his hip flask to keep her warm. Unfortunately, Florence was unable to return Wallace’s flask back to him. It was not long after this time stamp that a survivor had seen the French cellist, Roger Marie Bricoux dragging his cello behind him. From this we could conclude this was just shortly after the band had finally stopped playing. However, At 2:05 am, passenger George Broden jumped into collapsible D and later claimed he had still heard the band playing.



A visual representation of what the ship looked like at 2:05 am. (picture credits Titanic: Honour and Glory)

Was Nearer My God to Thee the Last Song Played?

Since the sinking of the Titanic, the Methodist hymn Nearer My God to Thee, has become synonymous with the disaster. It is the most favoured interpretation that the band went gallantly down to the hymn. Also, not forgetting to mention that this was Wallace Hartley’s favourite hymn. But some of the passengers recalled this event slightly differently. First-Class survivor Colonel Archibald Gracie reported hearing no hymns at all. One of the surviving wireless operators, Harold Bride, supported that “there was a ragtime tune, I don’t know what, and then there was Autumn.” Song’D Autumn is also another contender for the last song played. First-Class passenger Vera Dick also agreed that Nearer My God to Thee was the last hymn played. “What we remember best was that as the ship sank, we could hear the band playing Nearer my God to Thee.”


All the eight musician’s lives were claimed in the early morning of April 15th 1912, the Bandleader: Wallace Hartley’s body was recovered by the cable ship CS Mackay Bennett. On the 18th May 1912, Wallace’s body was transported back to the Liverpool Docks, he was buried in Colne, Lancashire and over 1,000 people attended his funeral, the service was held at Bethel Church, Colne. This had been Wallace’s childhood Church, of course Nearer My God to Thee was played but, nearly everyone in attendance was unable to sing the hymn as it was reported that almost all the congregation were in uncontrollable hysterics.



It is pivotal that we remember the 1,500 lives of men, women and children that were lost on the night the Titanic went down, and the greatest service and act of remembrance we can give them, is to tell their stories.


Titanic Talks Remembers:


Passengers:

First-Class: 123 perished ( 235 total)

Second-Class: 167 perished (285 total)

Third-Class: 528 perished (706 total)


Crew:

Total: 698/ 913 perished


Individual Towns and Cities:

Ireland:110 perished (total est: 415)

Southampton: 549 perished (total est: 724)

Liverpool: unknown perished (83 crew and passengers with last address listed as ‘Liverpool.’)





Works consulted:

Yvonne Carroll, Hymn for Eternity: The Story of Wallace Hartley, published 2002.

Colonel Archibald Gracie Titanic, A Survivor’s Story, published 1913, originally, The Truth about Titanic.

Carol King and Richard Havers, Titanic: The Unfolding Story, published 2011.

Geoff Tibballs, Voices From The Titanic, 2002.

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