Wallace Hartley’s father, Albion, was a mill manager in Colne, England. He served as choirmaster and Sunday school teacher at the local church in Colne. Wallace eventually joined the chapel choir that his father led. While a member of the choir, Wallace discovered his passion for music. A fellow choir member introduced Wallace to the Violin, and he took to the instrument with a fervent passion. With his violin, Wallace had the power to excite people, to energize people, and to even make them cry.
When Wallace was a teenager, he decided he wanted to become a professional violinist. Albion was a supportive father, but he insisted that Wallace pursue a more reliable profession. To please his father, Wallace became a bank clerk. The teenage Wallace was uninspired by the day-to-day transactions of coin and currency. He could eventually work his way up to become a bank manager someday, but his thoughts always wandered to his violin. Whenever he spoke of his desire to try to become a professional violinist, his father dissuaded him. When Wallace was 22 years old, his conversation with his father eventually returned to his violin, but this time, to Wallace’s surprise, his father gave him his blessing.
Wallace Hartley’s father, Albion, was a mill manager in Colne, England. He served as choirmaster and Sunday school teacher at the local church in Colne. Wallace eventually joined the chapel choir that his father led. While a member of the choir, Wallace discovered his passion for music. A fellow choir member introduced Wallace to the Violin, and he took to the instrument with a fervent passion. With his violin, Wallace had the power to excite people, to energize people, and to even make them cry.
When Wallace was a teenager, he decided he wanted to become a professional violinist. Albion was a supportive father, but he insisted that Wallace pursue a more reliable profession. To please his father, Wallace became a bank clerk. The teenage Wallace was uninspired by the day-to-day transactions of coin and currency. He could eventually work his way up to become a bank manager someday, but his thoughts always wandered to his violin. Whenever he spoke of his desire to try to become a professional violinist, his father dissuaded him. When Wallace was 22 years old, his conversation with his father eventually returned to his violin, but this time, to Wallace’s surprise, his father gave him his blessing.
Wallace was thrilled. He quit his job and began playing violin in the Bridlington municipal orchestra. He then toured with the Carl Ross Opera Company and with the Moody Manners Company. When Wallace was 30 years old, he was recruited by the C.W. & F.N. Black talent agency of Liverpool as second violinist in a traveling troupe. Within three years, he became the band leader of the Mauretania Orchestra. When he was 33, Wallace fell in love with and proposed to Maria Robinson. Maria said yes without hesitation. To celebrate their engagement, Wallace gave Maria a yellow metal locket which contained his photograph. In return, Maria gave Wallace a violin with an inscription on its tailpiece which read, “For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement, from Maria.” Shortly after their engagement, Wallace was transferred to another traveling troupe where he was promoted to musical conductor. He hesitated to take the position because he did not want to leave his fiancé, but he could not turn it down.
Unfortunately, Wallace and Maria never married. While traveling with the band, Wallace was involved in an accident and drowned. When he realized his fate, at that last moment, he put the violin Maria had given him in its case and strapped it to his chest. When his body was found several days later, he was identified by the inscription on the violin. Three years after his death, a bronze bust of Wallace was erected on the grounds of the Colne public library. Streets in several English towns are named in honor of Wallace. His violin is on display in a museum in Dublin, Ireland. Wallace Hartley was just one of over 1500 people who died in the accident. To calm others, Wallace led his band in their last song, “Nearer, My God, To Thee,” as the Titanic sank.
Sources:
1. Wallace Hartley Memorial, Titanic Memorials, accessed March 2, 2025, https://www.titanic.memorial/
2. Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut), April 1, 1912, p.14.
3. Huddersfield Daily Examiner, April 16, 1912, p.4.
4. North Mail, Newcastle Daily Chronicle, February 19, 1915, p.6.
5. South Wales Argus, April 20, 1912, p.3.
6. Biddeford-Saco Journal, April 27, 1912, p.6.
7. “The locket behind tragic Titanic love story,” Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd, April 9, 2021, accessed March 2, 2025, https://www.henryaldridge.com/
8. Linton, Siena, “The miracle 110-year-old violin that survived the sinking of the Titanic,” Classic FM, December 19, 2022, accessed March 2, 2025, https://www.classicfm.com/
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