Musicians of The RMS Titanic - Theodore Ronald Brailey

Theodore Ronald Brailey (25 October 1887 – 15 April 1912) was an English pianist on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage. He died in the disaster.

Theodore Ronald Brailey was born on 25 October 1887 in Walthamstow, Essex. His father, William "Ronald" Brailey, was a well-known figure of Spiritualism at the time. He studied piano at school and one of his first jobs was playing piano in a local hotel.

In 1902 he joined the Royal Lancashire Fusiliers regiment signing for 12 years service as a musician. He was stationed in Barbados but resigned his commission prematurely in 1907. He returned to England and lived at 71 Lancaster Road, Ladbroke Grove, London. In 1911, he enlisted aboard ship, playing first on the RMS Saxonia, prior to joining the Cunard steamer RMS Carpathia in 1912, where he met the French cellist Roger Marie Bricoux. Both men then joined the White Star Line and were recruited by Liverpool music agency, C.W. and F.N. Black, to serve on the RMS Titanic Brailey boarded the Titanic on Wednesday 10 April 1912 in Southampton, UK. His ticket number was 250654, the ticket for all the members of Wallace Hartley's orchestra. His cabin was in the 2nd class quarters.

After the Titanic hit an iceberg and began to sink, Brailey and his fellow band members started playing music to help keep the passengers calm as the crew loaded the lifeboats. Many of the survivors said that he and the band continued to play until the very end. One second class passenger said: "Many brave things were done that night, but none were more brave than those done by men playing minute after minute as the ship settled quietly lower and lower in the sea. The music they played served alike as their own immortal requiem and their right to be recalled on the scrolls of undying fame." Brailey was 24 years old when he died. His body was never recovered.