“This is a fine ship...I shall probably arrive home on Sunday morning.”

Those were the last words written by Titanic bandmaster Wallace Hartley to his family before the ill-fated ship sank on April 15, 1912.

Hartley, from Colne, penned the letter to his parents four days before the ship hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage, killing 1,517 people.

He would never make it home on Sunday, with Hartley and his band famous for sacrificing themselves and playing on while passengers assembled to wait to board lifeboats.

Now the letter is to be sold at an auction in New Hampshire between April 19 and 26, with a minimum bid price of $5,000.

Bobby Livingston, from RR Auction, said: “Hartley and his orchestra’s role during the Titanic’s final moments is widely considered to be amongst the noblest acts of heroism at sea.

“After the Titanic struck the iceberg the band began to play music to calm the passengers, a valiant effort to prevent the passengers from becoming panic-stricken.”

Hartley’s body was recovered several weeks later and more than 1,000 people attended his funeral in Colne.

The letter was Hartley’s only letter home during the voyage, which began on April 10.

In it he said “We have a fine band and the boys seem very nice, I shall probably arrive home on the Sunday morning.”

Pendle Council are planning a number of events this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ship and the part played by Hartley in its story.

On Monday the Wallace Hartley Exhibition will be launched at Colne Library and a new book, Wallace Hartley: Playing to the End will be launched at the Titanic in Lancashire Museum in Colne.