Wallace Hartley: The Yorkshire violinist who led the band as the Titanic sank

The large-scale exhibition has arrived at Leeds Royal Armouries. Taking place in New Dock Hall, the exhibition documents the story of the ship, from its construction and design through to its fateful voyage, sinking and legacy more than a century ago.

Visitors will get to see a collection of rare and internationally significant artefacts from the ship’s history.

A spokesman for the exhibition said: “Of particular local interest is a piece of sheet music from Wallace Hartley, the Titanic’s band leader. Hartley spent much of his life in Yorkshire after his family moved to Huddersfield.

“He played the violin with several orchestras across the county before joining an agency that supplied musicians to ships including the Titanic.”

Tragically, along with more than 1,500 others, he died during the Titanic’s maiden voyage when the ship collided with an iceberg. The sheet music on display was recovered from his violin case following the disaster.

Hartley was born and raised in Colne, Lancashire. His father, Albion Hartley, was the choirmaster and Sunday school superintendent at Bethel Independent Methodist Chapel, on Burnley Road where the family attended.

Albion himself introduced the hymn Nearer, My God, to Thee to the congregation. Wallace studied at Colne's Methodist day school, sang in Bethel's choir and learned to play the violin from a fellow congregation member.

After leaving school, Hartley started work with the Craven & Union Bank in Colne. When his family moved to Huddersfield, Hartley joined the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1903, he left home to join the municipal orchestra in Bridlington, where he stayed for six years. He later moved to Dewsbury, and in 1909, he joined the Cunard Line as a musician, serving on the ocean liners RMS Lucania, RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania.

After the Titanic hit an iceberg on the night of April 14 1912 and began to sink, Hartley and his fellow band members started playing music to calm the passengers as the crew loaded the lifeboats. Many of the survivors said Hartley and the band continued to play until the very end.

None of the band members survived the sinking, and the story of them playing to the end became a popular legend.

A newspaper at the time reported “the part played by the orchestra on board the Titanic in her last dreadful moments will rank among the noblest in the annals of heroism at sea”.

Visitors to the exhibition can see fragments of the ship’s ornate woodwork, other passenger and crew possessions, and a selection of items from the seabed.

Tickets are now on sale and selling fast. The exhibition opened on 30th March and closes on April 20. Tickets can be booked at www.titanicleeds.com