Phil's photos with the keyword: Tombstone

Wallace Hartley's grave (2 of 2).

09 Oct 2014 4 3 815
The grave of Wallace Hartley, the Bandmaster and Lead-Violinist on the RMS Titanic who lost his life in the disaster. He and all of the band members stayed at their post as the ship sank, playing (according to most reports) the hymn "Nearer my God To Thee"). Camera: Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2. After the Titanic hit an iceberg and began to sink, Hartley and his fellow band members started playing music to help keep the passengers calm as the crew loaded the lifeboats. Many of the survivors said that he and the band continued to play until the very end. None of the band members survived the sinking. One survivor claimed to have seen Hartley and his band standing on the boat deck near the entrance to the grand staircase, near the base of the second funnel. He went on to say that he saw three of them washed off while the other five held on to the railing on top the Grand Staircase's deckhouse, only to be dragged down with the bow, as Hartley exclaimed, "Gentlemen, I bid you farewell." A newspaper at the time reported "the part played by the orchestra on board the Titanic in her last dreadful moments will rank among the noblest in the annals of heroism at sea." Hartley's body was recovered by the Mackay–Bennett almost two weeks after the sinking and 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. Wallace's father, Albion, met the ship at Liverpool and brought his son back to his home town of Colne, Lancashire. The funeral took place on 18th May 1912. One thousand people attended his funeral, while an estimated 30,000 - 40,000 lined the route of his funeral procession. Hartley is buried in the Keighley Road cemetery, Colne, where a 10 feet (3.0 m) high headstone containing a carved violin at its base was erected in his honour. (Wikipedia).