They played till the end

In the afterglow of Europa League sporting brilliance, there is little time for analysis of Liverpool's performance. The musicians of the RMS Titanic all perished 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 were recognised for their heroism.

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 Hartley and the band continued to play until the very end. One second class passenger said:

Many brave things were done that night, but none were more brave than those done by men playing minute after minute as the ship settled quietly lower and lower in the sea. The music they played served alike as their own immortal requiem and their right to be recalled on the scrolls of undying fame.


Titanic band starting line up:

John Frederick Preston Clarke
Theodore Ronald Brailey
Roger Marie Bricoux
Wallace Henry Hartley
John Law Hume
Georges Alexandre Krins
John Wesley Woodward
Percy Cornelius Taylor