Wallace Hartley

Wallace Hartley is a famous son of Pendle who, in April 1912, was bandmaster on the ill-fated Titanic. As the giant liner began to sink, and until the sea finally claimed his life, Hartley led his orchestra in the hymn 'Nearer My God to Thee' in a valiant attempt to calm the hundreds of terrified passengers.

Born in Greenfield Road, Colne, Wallace Hartley started his working life alongside his father as a trainee warpdresser at Greenfield Mill. A mere thirty-three when he lost his life, his body was brought back to Lancashire to be buried at Colne Cemetry.
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