Titanic Musicians' Memorial

File:Titanic Musicians Memorial detail.jpg

The original memorial was destroyed by the Luftwaffe's bombing in 1940 together with the library. 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.sloughhistoryonline.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=hants&f=generic_objectrecord.htm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&%3Dcms_con_core_identifier=hs-hl-hs8016-i-00-000.jpg&t=hs-hs-titanic_9&s=iAsZ0t_rFj8 |title=The Musician's memorial |last=Hampshire County Council |work=sloughhistoryonline.org.uk |year=2011 |quote=by Titanic survivors |access-date=25 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005115917/http://www.sloughhistoryonline.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=hants&f=generic_objectrecord.htm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&=cms_con_core_identifier=hs-hl-hs8016-i-00-000.jpg&t=hs-hs-titanic_9&s=iAsZ0t_rFj8 |archive-date=5 October 2011}} It is located on the side of the offices of Paris Smith, solicitors on the corner of Cumberland Place and London Road, in Southampton.{{cn|date=July 2023|reason=A source is needed both for the location, and for the relevance of the solicitors' office. The previous source was recently removed as unreliable.}}

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.{{cite web |url= http://www.pendle.net/WallaceHartley/ |title=Wallace Hartley |first=Andrew |last=Stringer |work=pendle.net |year=2004 |access-date=1 June 2011}}{{cite web |url= http://allatsea.co.za/musings/the-grave-of-wallace-hartley/ |title=Wallace Hartley |last=All at Sea |work=allatsea.co.za |date=26 October 2014 |access-date=8 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708050141/http://allatsea.co.za/musings/the-grave-of-wallace-hartley/|archive-date=8 July 2023}}{{self-published source|date=July 2023}}{{cite web |url= http://www.titanic-titanic.com/article_jack_kopstein_titanics_valiant_musicians.shtml |title=Titanic-Titanic.com Article – Titanic's Valiant Musicians |last=Titanic-Titanic |work=titanic-titanic.com |year=2011 |access-date=27 May 2011}}Bevil, J. Marshall. [http://home.earthlink.net/~llywarch/tnc02.html.htm "And the Band Played On ..."] Article analyzing which version was likely played at the sinking of the Titanic]{{cite web |url=http://www.worldmilitarybands.com/the-valiant-musicians/ |title=The Valiant Musicians | World Military Bands |first=Jack |last=Kopstein |work=worldmilitarybands.com |year=2011 |access-date=6 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105160913/http://www.worldmilitarybands.com/the-valiant-musicians/ |archive-date=5 January 2013}} 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.{{self-published source|date=July 2023}}{{better source needed|date=July 2023|reason=The claim needs references to better sources. The remaining ref is a self-published source, and potentially unreliable.}} 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.

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite book|author1=Donald Lynch|author-link=Don Lynch|author2=Ken Marschall|author2-link=Ken Marschall|author3=Robert D. Ballard|author3-link=Robert Ballard|title=Titanic: An Illustrated History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HP_jPgAACAAJ|year=2010|publisher=Black Walnut/Madison Press|isbn=978-1-897330-51-7}}
• {{cite book|author=Steve Turner|author-link=Steve Turner (writer)|title=The Band That Played on: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down With the Titanic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJXxPgcgaIEC|year=2011|publisher=Thomas Nelson Inc|isbn=978-1-59555-219-8}}

{{Commons category|Titanic Musicians' Memorial, Southampton}}

• [http://www.vrsouthampton.co.uk/southampton-virtual-tour/source/12_titanic_musicns_m_.html Virtual Tour of Titanic Musicians' Memorial]
• [http://www.maritimequest.com/misc_pages/monuments_memorials/titanic_musicians_memorial.htm Maritime.com Titanic Musicians' Memorial, Southampton]
• [http://www.titanic-titanic.com/wallace_hartley.shtml Wallace Hartley on Titanic-Titanic.com]
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/titanic/index.shtml BBC Archive: Titanic]
• [http://www.titanichistoricalsociety.org/ Titanic Historical Society]
• [http://www.titanic-online.com/ RMS Titanic, Inc] Corporate information and the official Titanic archive
• [http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/35292/surviving-the-titanic Surviving the Titanic] – slideshow by Life magazine

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Category:RMS Titanic memorials

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