Maria Robinson-- Part 2: Fiancee of Titanic's Bandleader

From the April 13, 2012, Lancashire (UK) Telegraph "Titanic Centenary: Colne's heroic bandmaster and the fiancee he left behind" by Peter Magill.

Maria Robinson lived in relative obscurity after that fateful night.  She died from stomach cancer in Bridlington in June 1929.  She was the daughter of a prominent Yorkshire industrialist and remained heartbroken for the rest of her days over the death of her beloved Wallace Hartley.

She never married and lived with her mother and sister until 1930.  He brother took over her father's firm.

Maria Robinson-- Part 1: Fiancee of Wallace Hartley, the Titanic's Bandleader

Back in 2014, I wrote about Wallace Hartley, bandleader on the Titanic.  He left a fiancee named Maria Robinson.  They became engaged in 1910 and had plans for marriage in the summer of 1912.

In February 2012, researcher Jill Pengelly found a photograph of Maria Robinson at Wallace Hartley's funeral.

She died in 1939 and is buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery near Leeds.

The Titanic organization is raising funds to mark her grave.

The Titanic's Bandmaster's Fiancee, Maria Robinson

The Titanic's bandmaster Wallace Hartley and Maria Robinson were engaged in 1910 and had a 1912 date set for their wedding. In February 2012, researcher Jill Pengelly found a photo of her in the huge crowd gathered for her fiancee's funeral in Colne, England. //// She died in 1939 and is buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery near Leeds. There is currently an effort being made to raise funds to mark her grave. (Perhaps even a monument?). She also had a lot to do with the authentication of the violin Hartley was playing as the Titanic sank. ////

Titanic Bandmaster Wallace Hartley-- Part 3: The Fateful Voyage

The Titanic's band was divided into two ensambles: a five-piece orchestra and a trio string section. //// The five-piece section was led by Hartley and included violinist John Low Hume, cellist John Wesley Woodward, bassist John Frederick Clarke and pianist Percy Cornellus Taylor. They played in the first-class reception room. //// The trio played in the B Deck reception room and included pianist William Theodore Ronald Brailey, cellist Roger Bricoux and violinist George Krins. /// After the collision with the iceberg, shortly before midnight 14 April, the band (I'm figuring both sections) gathered in the Promenade Deck First Class Lounge and then moved out onto the Boat Deck and played popular ragtime tunes. //// All eight band members died (average age 26). //// Wallace left a young fiance, Maria Robinson. His body and those of Clarke and Hume were recovered. The others were never found. //// After being taken to Halifax, Hartley's body was returned to England on the White Star liner Arabic and interred in the Colne Cemetery. ////

Titanic Bandmaster Wallace Hartley Memorial-- Part 2: a Liverpool Connection

In 1895, the family moved to Huddersfield, Yorkshore, where Wallace joined the local Huddersfield Philhamonic Orchestra. In 1901, his father, Albion, finally allowed him to purue his dream of becoming a professional musician and he joined the municipal orchestra of the Yorkshire seaside town of Bridlington. //// In 1909, Hartley played 2nd Violin aboard the new Cunard Line vessel Mauretania under the employ of Messrs. C.W. & F.N. Black of Liverpool. In 1912, they transferred him to the post of bandmaster on the new White Line RMS Titanic. //// --Cooter

Titanic Bandmaster Wallace Hartley Memorial-- Part 1

From the maritime.elletra.co.uk website. //// Located in Colne, Lancaster, England. Consists of a bronze statue flanked by two smaller bronze female figurines: one holding a lyre representing music and the other a wreath representing valor. The main statue stands atop a tall, splayed stone plinth. //// The statue was funded by voluntary contributions and stands on Albert Road, west of the Providence Independent Methodist Church and the Colne World War Memorial dedicated to Colne men killed in both wars. //// Wallace Hartley was born 2 June 1878 at 92 Greenfield Road in Colne, Lancashire. He was the eldest son and second child of Albion and Elizabeth Hartley. Albion was the mill manager and involved with Bethel Independent Methodist Chapel in Colne. This is where Wallace was introduced to music, joining the choir and later playing the violin. //// More to Come. --Cooter

Wallace Hartley's Father, Albion Hartley

From Find-A-Grave.

Continued from last week's posts. This all started with the recreation of Wallace Hartley's funeral in Colne, England on the 100th anniversary of it. Wallace Hartley was the bandmaster on the R.M.S. Titanic, whose body was recovered after the sinking and buried a month later.

His father was Albion Henry Hartley who was born in 1851 in Colne and died Jan. 9, 1934. He married Elizabeth G. Foulds in September 1874 and was choirmaster of Bethel Chapel in Colne.

He held a succession of jobs and in 1881 was the manager of Cotton Mill and in 1901, an insurance agent.

The couple had two sons, Conrad Robert Hartley and Ughred Harold Hartley who died in early childhood. Albion and his wife are both buried at Colne Cemetery, as if Wallace Hartley.

--Cooter

Wallace Hartley's Grave

From Find-A-Grave. //// Birth June 2, 1970. Death April 15, 1912. Buried Colne Cemetery, Colne, Lancashire, England. //// The article background reads: "Disaster Victim. He died in the sinking of the 'RMS Titanic' on April 14-15, 1912. He gained posthumous fame as the band leader who supposedly had the Titanic's band play 'Nearer My God to Thee' as the ship sank. His body was recovered from the Atlantic by the 'SS Mackay-Bennett' and returned home for burial." //// The inscription reads: "Wallace Hartley Bandmaster of the R.M.S. Titanic who perished in the foundering of the vessel- April 15th 1912. Erected by voluntary contributions to commemorate the heroism of a native of this town." //// Another inscription at the gravesite reads: "In loving memory of Wallace Hartley, the beloved son of Albion and Elizabeth Hartley, formerly of Colne, who lost his life in the 'SS Titanic' disaster of April 15th, 1912 aged 33 years and was interred May 18th 1912." ////

Titanic Bandmaster's Funeral Procession Retraced

From the May 18, 2012, Lancashire Telegraph "Titanic bandmaster Wallace Hartley's funeral procession to be retraced in Colne today." //// Wallace Hartley was buried in his hometown on May 18, 1912, and some 40,000 paid their respects. That was almost double the number of people then living in the town. //// His body was one of three band members recovered from the site of the sinking and the only one brought home. //// Today, there will be a retracing of the route the funeral procession took, ending with a memorial service at his grave. The procession will begin at the Bethel Chapel and end at the Colne Cemetery. ////