My mother, Mary Hartley, was related to Wallace Hartley and would have been horrified by this distortion by Molony's article of what actually happened that night 110 years ago. Wallace and his band were not "Ordered" to play, they were free to leave the Titanic and were not ships crew. Also Wallace and the band members made this decision to help calm people after seeing some panic set in and also witnessing some men trying to take a boat, who were prevented by some being shot by the officers,(Or shot at) as related by a witness, shown on this site. The band were not playing to drown the screams, nor where they responsible for people staying who would otherwise have left. They could see the ship going down by the head. What they did do is provide some moment of calm before, sadly, so many died and they did this with dignity and sacrificed their own life in trying to help others. This is the same as someone trying to help in the case of other traumatic incidents such as a fairground tragedy, accident, car crash or terrorist attack and these men deserve honouring, along with any crew who stayed trying to help people. Wallace Hartley was a devout Christian, a member of the church and did a Christian act of kindness. His band stayed with him for the same reason, goodness of heart, not orders, or some reason of trying to drown out screams. It was only when the ship went down and the playing stopped, due to the angle of the deck making this impossible prior to sinking, that people ell or went into the water and were shocked by the dagger like cold affecting them. Had Wallace and his band left the ship, or done nothing, it would not have altered the fate of anyone who died that night or who got into a boat and survived and rewriting history is always prone to a question: Where You there Mr. Maloney? No? Then please respect those who died that night. Those also trying to provide some calm amid the panic, by good nature, not orders. As an aside, another relation of my Mother: Mary Hartley, told me that her Great Aunt Sarah was due to sale on Titanic for a new life in Canada, eventually. She had contracted Chinese Flu, which had killed thousands around the time and so was prevented from leaving until a later boat. She died around 1977 at a good age and left my mother enough money to buy a freezer. My mother died in 2006. I have visited Wallace Hartley`s houses at Dewsbury and in Colne and his memorial places and grave and watched with interest when someone played his restored violin which sold for almost £1 million pounds a few yeas ago. I also paid my respects at where the Titanic was built, sailed from and touched a piece of her hull taken from the Big Peice, which was on one of two Titanic exhibitions I visited, London and Manchester. It gave me a weird feeling and a respect for all who lie with her. Titanic and her dead, will never be forgotten unless we let them, please do not change history for the sake of some new slant, Mr Maloney . Paul Davies frtca (Son of Mary Davies, related to Wallace Hartley)
