THE band master of the ill-fated Titanic – and one of Colne’s most famous sons – has earned an entry into a distinguished literary canon.

Wallace Hartley gained lasting fame in 1912 as ‘the band played on’ while the famous White Star liner sank on its maiden voyage.

Several memorials exist to the musical impresario, who grew up in Albert Road, across the Pendle town, including a bust outside the Providence Independent Methodist Church and plaque outside his family home.

But now Hartley’s distinctly British resolve, and dedication to duty, has been entered into the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Around 300 names are added to the dictionary every year and none of those selected can be alive.

Hartley’s entry ends: “As victims who acted courageously and benevolently, and who were in no way responsible for the Titanic’s loss, the ship’s musicians became emblematic of the dignity and heroism shown by many during the disaster.”

In the early hours of April 15, 1912, Hartley and his seven-man orchestra, knowing the ship had hit an iceberg en-route to New York, from Southampton, did not desert their posts.

Famously their final rendition was Nearer My God To Thee. Hartley, 33, was found still wearing his band uniform and carrying his violin.

According to newspaper reports at the time: “The part played by the orchestra on board the Titanic in her last dreadful moments will rank among the noblest in the annals of heroism at sea.”

Known as a teetotaller and lifelong Methodist, Hartley also has a Wetherspoons pub named after him in Church Street.

Around 40,000 people lined the streets of Colne after his funeral at the Bethel chapel.

He joins renowned physician Sir James MacKenzie, who practised at the former Burnley Victoria Hospital, noted chemist John Mercer, of Great Harwood, and calico printer James Thomson, from Blackburn, in the dictionary.