Visiting the grave of a REAL Titanic victim | Titan sub

I can't tell you how lucky I felt to be able to visit Wallace's grave! The leader of the band that went down with the Titanic! What absolute heroes to do such a thing knowing that their end was about to come.

Wallace Henry Hartley (2 June 1878 – 15 April 1912) 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 died in the sinking.

Hartley was born and raised in Colne, Lancashire, England. Hartley's father, Albion Hartley, was the choirmaster and Sunday school superintendent at Bethel Independent Methodist Chapel, on Burnley Road where the family attended worship services. Albion himself introduced the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee" to the congregation. Wallace studied at Colne's Methodist day school, sang in Bethel's choir and learned to play the violin from a fellow congregation member.

After leaving school, Hartley started work with the Craven & Union Bank in Colne. When his family moved to Huddersfield, Hartley joined the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1903, he left home to join the municipal orchestra in Bridlington, where he stayed for six years. He later moved to Dewsbury, West Yorkshire and in 1909, he joined the Cunard Line as a musician, serving on the ocean liners RMS Lucania, RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania.

Whilst serving on the Mauretania, the employment of Cunard musicians was transferred to the music agency C.W. & F.N. Black, which supplied musicians for Cunard and the White Star Line. This transfer changed Hartley's onboard status, as he was no longer counted as a member of the crew, but rather as a passenger, albeit one accommodated in second-class accommodation at the agency's expense. It later transpired that neither the shipping company nor the music agency had insured the musicians, with each claiming it was the other's responsibility.

In April 1912, Hartley was assigned to be the bandmaster for the White Star Line ship RMS Titanic. He was at first hesitant to again leave his fiancée, Maria Robinson, to whom he had recently proposed, but Hartley decided that working on the maiden voyage of the Titanic would give him possible contacts for future work.

Hartley's body was recovered by the Mackay–Bennett almost two weeks after the sinking. Several press reports confirmed that Wallace was found "fully dressed with his music case strapped to his body".

He was transferred to the Arabic and returned to England. Hartley's father Albion met the ship at Liverpool and brought his son's body back to his home town of Colne, Lancashire. The funeral took place on 18 May 1912. One thousand people attended Hartley's funeral, while an estimated 30,000–40,000 lined the route of his funeral procession.

His violin was sold for £900,000 ($1.7M) in 2013.

The Murder Of SC Halstead:
SC Halstead was one of many volunteers sworn in by magistrates to assist with policing when officers clashed with a large crowd over a protest about forming the new police force. The crowd were armed with weapons, including metal railings which Richard Booth struck SC Halstead over the head with.

Richard Boothman was found guilty of SC Halstead’s murder and given the death sentence, although he protested his innocence.
He was later transported to Van Dieman’s Island, now known as Tazmania, where he became a successful businessman after serving just 2 years in prison.

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