James Cameron's Titanic Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Wallace Hartley
Wallace Hartley (character)
Biological Information
Full name

Wallace Henry Hartley

Gender

Male

Born

June 2, 1878

Death

April 15, 1912 (age 33)

Cause

Perished on Titanic

Background Information
Family

Albion Hartley (father) Elizabeth Hartley (mother)

Hometown

Colne, Lancashire

Titanic Statistics
Boarded

Southampton, England

Destination

New York, U.S.A.

Occupation

Bandleader, violinist.

Class

Second class

Fate

Drowning

Production
Classification

Historical character

Portrayal

Jonathan Evans-Jones

Wallace Henry Hartley was an English violinist and the bandleader on the RMS Titanic. He led the eight-member band as the ship sank on April 15, 1912. Hartley perished in the sinking like the other band members.

RMS Titanic[]

Wallace and his orchestra were responsible for creating an agreeable ambience in the first-class section of the ship, especially in the dining area during mealtimes.

Sinking[]

After the Titanic hit an iceberg and began to sink, Hartley and his fellow band members were again playing in the dining hall to entertain the passengers while they waited around in their life vests for further instructions. As the night went on they were tasked with allaying panic out on the deck instead. They initially broke into a rendition of a wedding dance tune.

The atmosphere became increasingly hectic, and their music ineffective, and they were jostled by the crowd. A fellow violinist suggested they give up as no-one was paying attention. Hartley pointed out the passengers paid no more attention to them while they played during dinner, and it was the best way they had of keeping warm. At Hartley's direction they then started playing Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld", better known as the Can-Can.

With all lifeboats launched the band decided their work was done, and wished each other well as they parted company. Hartley began a melancholy solo rendition of "Nearer, My God, to Thee". Hearing this, the bandmembers returned to his side to accompany him. After concluding this, Hartley told his fellow bandmembers it had been a privilege playing with them in such conditions.

In Rose's Titanic Heaven, Hartley was seen in the variation of the Titanic clapping for her as she reunited with Jack.


Behind the scenes[]

Wallace Hartley (history)

The real Hartley

He was portrayed by Jonathan Evans-Jones.

In reality, the final song played by the band is unknown, though "Nearer, My God, to Thee" has gained popular acceptance. If it were "Nearer, My God, to Thee", Hartley would almost certainly have played Arthur Sullivan's "Propior Deo" version, used by his father, not the "Bethany" version used in the film. This tune's opening notes appear on Hartley's memorial and were played at his funeral. Ironically "Propior Deo" is the only version of the hymn not to have been used in any Titanic motion picture. See here for a more historically plausible rendering of the scene.

Hartley's body was recovered almost two weeks after the sinking, and sent to England. Hartley's funeral took place in Colne on 18 May 1912. Hartley is buried there, and a 10-foot headstone, containing a carved violin at its base, was erected in his honour.

Hartley's violin had been given to him by his fiancée as an engagement present. The violin was also recovered along with his body. It was returned to his fiancée but vanished until it was rediscovered in an attic in 2006. After it was authenticated and restored, it was sold in 2013 for $1.7M, making it the most expensive Titanic artefact ever sold.

External links[]

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia articles (view authors). Wikipedia logo
Advertisement