Titanic Musicians' Memorial

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RMS Titanic Musician's Memorial, Southampton RMS Titanic Musician's Memorial, Southampton.jpg
RMS Titanic Musician's Memorial, Southampton

The TitanicMusicians' Memorial is a memorial in Southampton, United Kingdom, to the musicians who died in the RMS Titanic disaster on 15 April 1912. The original Titanic Musicians' Memorial was unveiled by the Mayor of Southampton, H Bowyer on 19 April 1913, and was located in the old Southampton library. This library along with the memorial were destroyed during World War II. [1] [2] [3] A replica was erected in 1990. The plaque features a musical inscription, the opening bars of the 19th century hymn, 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' by Sarah Flower Adams, carvings showing a grieving woman and an iceberg, and an inscription with the names of the musicians on the Titanic, including bandleader Wallace Hartley, all of whom died. [1] [2] [3]

History

Detail of the central carving on the memorial Titanic Musicians Memorial detail.jpg
Detail of the central carving on the memorial

The original memorial was destroyed by the Luftwaffe's bombing in 1940 together with the library. [3] A replica memorial, made in 1990 by W. Cornish of Woolston, was installed on the same site. It was unveiled by Titanic survivors Edith Haisman, Millvina Dean, Bertram Dean and Eva Hart on 7 March 1990. [1] [2] [4] It is located on the side of the offices of Paris Smith, solicitors on the corner of Cumberland Place and London Road, in Southampton.[ citation needed ]

After the Titanic hit an iceberg and began to sink, Hartley and his fellow band members assembled in the first class lounge and started playing music to help keep the passengers calm. They later moved to the forward half of the boat deck, where they continued to play as the crew loaded the lifeboats. Many of the survivors said that the band continued to play until the very end. The inscription 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' has an association with the RMS Titanic as it was reported by one passenger that the ship's band played the hymn as the Titanic sank. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] However, the actual 'final' song played by the band is unclear; "Nearer, My God, to Thee" has gained popular acceptance. Former bandmates claimed that Hartley said he would either play "Nearer, My God, to Thee" or "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" if he was ever on a sinking ship. [6] [10] [ better source needed ] This memorial is dedicated to these musicians: Wallace Hartley (bandmaster, violin), Roger Marie Bricoux (cello), Theodore Ronald Brailey (piano), John Wesley Woodward (cello), John Frederick Preston Clarke (string bass, viola), John Law Hume (violin), Percy Cornelius Taylor (piano) and Georges Alexandré Krins (violin) who all lost their lives on the Titanic. [1] [2] [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet Jessop</span> Titanic crew member (1887–1971)

Violet Constance Jessop was an Argentine woman of Irish heritage who worked as an ocean liner stewardess and nurse in the early 20th century. Jessop is most well known for having survived the sinking of both the RMS Titanic in 1912 and her sister ship the HMHS Britannic in 1916, as well as having been onboard the eldest of the three sister ships, the RMS Olympic, when it collided with the British warship HMS Hawke in 1911.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallace Hartley</span> English violinist (1878–1912)

Wallace Henry Hartley was an English violinist and bandleader on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage. He became famous for leading the eight-member band as the ship sank on 15 April 1912. He did not survive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nearer, My God, to Thee</span> Christian hymn written by Sarah Fuller Flower Adams

"Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a 19th-century Christian hymn by Sarah Flower Adams, which retells the story of Jacob's dream. Genesis 28:11–12 can be translated as follows: "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it..."

<i>A Night to Remember</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film

A Night to Remember is a 1958 British historical disaster docudrama film based on the eponymous 1955 book by Walter Lord. The film and book recount the final night of RMS Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage after she struck an iceberg in 1912. Adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by Roy Ward Baker, the film stars Kenneth More as the ship's Second Officer Charles Lightoller and features Michael Goodliffe, Laurence Naismith, Kenneth Griffith, David McCallum and Tucker McGuire. It was filmed in the United Kingdom and tells the story of the sinking, portraying the main incidents and players in a documentary-style fashion with considerable attention to detail. The production team, supervised by producer William MacQuitty used blueprints of the ship to create authentic sets, while Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall and ex-Cunard Commodore Harry Grattidge worked as technical advisors on the film. Its estimated budget of up to £600,000 was exceptional and made it the most expensive film ever made in Britain up to that time. The film's score was written by William Alwyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millvina Dean</span> British civil servant and Titanic survivor

Eliza Gladys Dean, known as Millvina Dean, was a British civil servant, cartographer, and the last living survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912. At two months old, she was also the youngest passenger aboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara West</span> Survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic

Barbara Joyce Dainton was the penultimate remaining survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 14 April 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage. She was the last living survivor who travelled second-class on the ship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Hart</span> British survivor of RMS Titanic

Eva Miriam Hart MBE was a British woman who was one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912.

<i>Atlantic</i> (film) 1929 film

Atlantic (1929) is a British drama film directed and produced by Ewald André Dupont and starring Franklin Dyall and Madeleine Carroll. Originally, two versions were made, the English and German-language version Atlantik were shot simultaneously. Subsequently, the production of a French version (Atlantis) began in spring 1930 using different footage and partially an altered storyline with a different director. The fourth version was released as a silent film. The story was taken from the West End play The Berg by Ernest Raymond. The film is available online. It was one of the most expensive films of 1929.

Sinking of the <i>Titanic</i> 1912 maritime disaster

The Titanic sank in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at around 23:40 on Sunday, 14 April 1912. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 ship's time on Monday, 15 April, resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

A total of 2,240 people sailed on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, the second of the White Star Line's Olympic-class ocean liners, from Southampton, England, to New York City. Partway through the voyage, the ship struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning of 15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 passengers.

Crew of the <i>Titanic</i> Crew of liner that sank in April 1912

The crew of the Titanic were among the estimated 2,240 people who sailed on the maiden voyage of the second of the White Star Line's Olympic-class ocean liners, from Southampton, England, to New York City in the United States. Halfway through the voyage, the ship struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning of 15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of over 1,500 people, including approximately 688 crew members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Kink</span> Swiss-American survivor of RMS Titanic

Louise Gretchen Kink Pope, or Louise Kink, was a Swiss-American woman who was one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.

<i>Titanic</i> British liner that sank in 1912

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it the deadliest sinking of a single ship up to that time. It remains the deadliest peacetime sinking of an ocean liner or cruise ship. The disaster drew public attention, provided foundational material for the disaster film genre, and has inspired many artistic works.

<i>Titanic</i> Engineers Memorial

Legends and myths regarding the <i>Titanic</i> "Unsinkable" ship and other made-up details

There have been several legends and myths surrounding the RMS Titanic. These have ranged from the myth about the ship being unsinkable, to the myth concerning the final song played by the ship's orchestra.

Memorials and monuments to victims of the <i>Titanic</i>

Memorials and monuments to victims of the sinking of the RMS Titanic exist in a number of places around the world associated with Titanic, notably in Belfast, Liverpool and Southampton in the United Kingdom; Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada; and New York City and Washington, D.C. in the United States. The largest single contingent of victims came from Southampton, the home of most of the crew, which consequently has the greatest number of memorials. Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and had a "guarantee party" of engineers from shipbuilders Harland and Wolff aboard all of whom were lost in the disaster and are commemorated by a prominent memorial in the city. Other contingents of engineers aboard the ship came from the maritime cities of Liverpool in England and Glasgow in Scotland, which erected their own memorials. Several prominent victims, such as Titanic's captain, were commemorated individually. Elsewhere, in the United States and Australia, public memorials were erected to commemorate all the victims.

Musicians of the <i>Titanic</i> Musicians lost in the Titanic sinking

The musicians of the Titanic all died when the ship 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 of the men were recognized for their heroism, especially during the final hours of the sinking.

The ocean liner Titanic has been extensively portrayed in films, books, memorials and museums.

John Wesley Woodward was an English musician. Born in West Bromwich on 11 September 1879, he was the youngest of ten children born to parents Joseph and Martha Woodward.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Southampton City Council (2010). "titanic_trail.pdf (application/pdf Object)" (PDF). oceanworldtravel.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Clarkson, A (2011). "Titanic Memorials – Titanic Musicians Memorial, Southampton". titanic-titanic.com. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 BBC h2g2 (2011). "BBC – h2g2 – Southampton's QE2 Mile, Southampton, Hampshire, UK – A77191978". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  4. Hampshire County Council (2011). "The Musician's memorial". sloughhistoryonline.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011. by Titanic survivors
  5. Stringer, Andrew (2004). "Wallace Hartley". pendle.net. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 All at Sea (26 October 2014). "Wallace Hartley". allatsea.co.za. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.[ self-published source ]
  7. 1 2 Titanic-Titanic (2011). "Titanic-Titanic.com Article – Titanic's Valiant Musicians". titanic-titanic.com. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  8. Bevil, J. Marshall. "And the Band Played On ..." Article analyzing which version was likely played at the sinking of the Titanic]
  9. Kopstein, Jack (2011). "The Valiant Musicians | World Military Bands". worldmilitarybands.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  10. Passenger 47 (2011). "TITANIC 4 YOU CHAT FORUMS :: View topic – The Titanic's Band / Orchestra". hostmybb.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2011.[ self-published source ]

Bibliography