Musicians

7 of the 8 members of the Titanic Orchestra, only missing George Krins

The Musicians of the RMS Titanic all perished with the ship when it sank in 1912. They played music, intending to calm the passengers, for as long as they possibly could and all went down with the ship. All were recognized for their heroism. Their play till the very end became one of the most well known legends of Titanic and they are absolutely connected to the general story of the ship's loss.

The ship's eight-member orchestra boarded at Southampton and travelled as Second Class passengers. They were not on the payroll of the White Star Line, but were contracted to White Star by the Liverpool firm of C.W. & F.N. Black, who placed musicians on almost all British liners. Until the night of the sinking, the orchestra performed as two separate entities: a quintet led by violinist and official bandleader Wallace Hartley, that played at teatime, after-dinner concerts, and Sunday services, among other occasions; and the violin, cello and piano trio of Roger Bricoux, George Krins and Theodore Brailey, that played at the À La Carte Restaurant and the Café Parisien.

They stayed in the Second Class area of the ship on E Deck. Their cabin was on E-Deck, close to the aft Second Class Staircase on starboard side and marked as 'Cabin E'.

Story

All the members of the Orchestra

The story of the musicians is one of the most famous stories of Titanic. On April 15^th, Titanic's eight-member band, led by Wallace Hartley, had assembled in the First Class Lounge around 12:15 A.M. in an effort to keep passengers calm and upbeat. Later they would move on to the forward half of the Boat Deck. Band members had played during Sunday worship services the previous morning, and the band continued playing music even when it became apparent the ship was going to sink.

None of the band members survived the sinking, and there has been much speculation about what their last song was. Some witnesses said the final song played was the hymn Nearer, my God, to Thee. However, there are three versions of this song in existence. It is notable however that its most probable the British version was played (as in the film, A Night To Remember), causing a young Eva Hart to run out of church some months after the sinking, when she recognized the same version of the hymn from that night. Hartley reportedly said to a friend if he was on a sinking ship "Nearer, My God, to Thee" would be one of the songs he would play.

Walter Lord's book popularized Wireless Operator Harold Bride’s account that before the ship sank, he heard the song Autumn (a hymn similar to the former but contains the maritime line about 'mighty waters'). It is considered Bride either meant the hymn called Autumn or Songe d'Automne, a popular ragtime song of the time. Others claimed they heard Roll out the Barrel and Washington Dodge said he heard them play Lead, Kindly Light. Second Class passenger Edwina McKenzie Troutt thought she had heard the tunes of Ah Sweet Mystery of Life and she kept this opinion till her death.

Hartley's body was one of those recovered and identified. Because he was considered a hero, his funeral in England was attended by thousands.

RMS Titanic WSL Orchestra - Titanic (1997)

List of musicians

Name	Age	Hometown	Position	Body
Brailey, Mr. William Theodore	24	London, England	Pianist	–
Krins, Mr. Georges Alexandre	23	Spa, Belgium	Violinist	–
Bricoux, Mr. Roger Marie	20	Cosne-sur-Loire, France	Cellist	–
Clarke, Mr. John Frederick Preston	28	Liverpool, Lancashire, England	Bassist	202MB
Hartley, Mr. Wallace Henry	33	Colne, Lancashire, England	Bandmaster	224MB
Hume, Mr. John Law "Jock"	21	Dumfries, Scotland	Violinist	193MB
Taylor, Mr. Percy Cornelius	40	London, England	Cellist	–
Woodward, Mr. John Wesley	32	Oxford, England	Cellist	–

Sinking

The eight musicians all collected together in the First Class Lounge to play ragtime, in an attempt to prevent panic. It worked out too well: many passengers refused to board the lifeboats. They moved to different places around the ship during the sinking. They were heard by Fourth Officer Boxhall around 12:15 A.M. playing 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' in the Lounge, according to his testimony.

Uncertainy remains on how long they actually continued playing, whether they went down playing or actually stopped at some point. Wireless Operator Bride said he can't remember them ever stopping, Greaser Thomas Ranger as well as First Class Steward Edward Brown had the same opinion.

Colonel Archibald Grace saw them put their instruments down a half hour before Titanic's demise, so that must have been 1:50 A.M. Algernon H. Barkworth had a similar view. He had seen the instruments laying somewhere on Deck but no trace of the Band.

Aftermath

The sad part was that the relatives of the musicians didn't gain any compensations from either White Star Line or their agency C.W. & F.N. Black for the loss of these brave men. White Star Line took their hands of because the men weren't in their employance. Then the Blacks pointed them out to the insurance company, who came with a similarly ridiculous argument that they were an Agency and not employer. Even Justice couldn't do anything because they were technically freelance and not really in service for anyone. The financial support eventually was done by the Titanic Relief Fund, it was a small sum, but it was at least some condolence.

Then the Blacks had the heartless audacity to sent Jock Hume's relatives a bill for his uniform.

Sources

1. _{3.'Titanic' ©1996 (second print, 1998) Edward P. De Groot}