‘Titanic is a fine ship’: Letter home from leader of band that played on as doomed liner went down sells for £93,000
Worldwide, Daily news | ankakh | April 23, 2013 17:59A letter written by the bandmaster of the Titanic who carried on playing as the doomed ship sank has sold at auction for £93,000.
Wallace Hartley, 33, has became a key figure of the disaster as – together with his seven other band members – he carried on playing until the very last moments.
The violinist, who travelled as a second-class passenger on Titanic, wrote a letter to his parents as the ship set off from Southampton on April 10, 1912.
Experts estimated that the letter would fetch around £50,000 but a bidding frenzy saw the hammer go down at £93,000 at Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire on Saturday.
Hartley, from Colne in Lancashire, wrote: ‘Just a line to say we have got away all right. It’s been a bit of a rush but I am just getting a little settled.
‘This is a fine ship & there ought to be plenty of money on her. I’ve missed coming home very much & it would have been nice to have seen you all if only for an hour or two, but I couldn’t manage it.
‘We have a fine band & the boys seem very nice. I have had to buy some linen & I sent my washing home today by post. I shall probably arrive home on the Sunday morning.
‘We are due here on the Saturday. I’m glad mother’s foot is better.’
The band, and Hartley in particular, have been depicted as the ship’s heroes in virtually every genre, including postcards, song sheets, books, stage and films, for carrying on playing while the Titanic went down.
Within minutes of the Titanic striking an iceberg on April 14, 1912, the 24-year-old was instructed to assemble the band and play music in order to maintain calm. The eight musicians gallantly performed on the deck while passengers lined up for the lifeboats.
Incredibly, Hartley’s letter to his parents is mentioned in a newspaper interview with his mother Elizabeth in the Dewsbury News on April 27 1912.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: ‘We are unaware of any other surviving letter written by Hartley on board the ship.
Hartley did not survive the sinking ship and his body was later recovered and returned to his home town of Colne, where he received a large funeral.
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