The Band's whereabouts the night of the sinking

[Patrick Côté]

Hello all,

just a couple of simple questions regarding the band in the evening of April 14th. Am I wrong, or were most (if not all) public rooms closed by 11pm on April 14th? If I'm indeed correct on that one, then were was the band when it was asked (ordered?) to go and play for the passengers waiting to get into the lifeboats? Still playing in the restaurant? Wasn't it closed?
Also, how was Harold Bride able to hear the band play while he was in the ocean. One can easily imagine (not without a chill) that the sound of people screaming and that of the ship sinking would've easily covered the music.
I'd like to have your thoughts on that, and please don't hesitate to correct any incorrect information from my post.

 

[Dan Cherry]

According to period articles written at the time, Dorothy Gibson was playing playing cards in one of the public rooms, after imploring at the request of the steward to disband at 11 p.m. Apparently, she succeeded in her request to let them finish past the closing hour of 11 p.m. She did not testify at the inquiry, and this is gleaned from a period article. I cannot determine if the room she was in was the first class lounge or not. It likely was, because women weren't generally seen in the smoking room.

If the lounge was officially closed by the collision, it was opened back up when the orders were given for the people to congregate and await orders.

The lounge may have indeed been closed for a short time that night. Helen Bishop testified at the inquiry that "It was uncomfortably cold in the lounge" when they congregated there for further instructions. One possibility is that the lounge was shut down and the heat turned down for a short time. The band assembled in the lounge at first, then moved to the boat deck port side later.

As for the second part of your question, regarding the band, one can't say for sure the noise factor's hinderance of hearing the band play. Many people from varying vantage points heard the band until very close to the end.

 

[Patrick Côté]

Thank you.

If I were to examine the testimonies with regard to where the band was and when it started and stopped playing, with whom do you think I should begin? I believe that determining when the band starting playing on the deck and when it had to stop could help us, somehow, pinpointing the moment when Titanic was no longer "habitable". Do any of you think there's something to this?