Members of the Titanic orchestra |
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| Born | Roger Marie Bricoux 1 June 1891 Cosne-sur-Loire, France |
| Died | 15 April 1912 (aged 20) RMS Titanic, Atlantic Ocean |
| Occupation | Cellist |
Roger Marie Bricoux (1 June 1891 – 15 April 1912) was a French cellist on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage.[1] He died in the disaster.
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Roger Bricoux was born on 1 June 1891 in rue de Donzy, Cosne-sur-Loire, France.[2] He was the son of a musician and the family moved to Monaco when he was a young boy.[3] He was educated in various Catholic institutions in Italy.[4] It was during his studies that he joined his first orchestra and won first prize at the Conservatory of Bologna for musical ability.[5] After studying at the Paris Conservatory, he moved to England in 1910 to join the orchestra in the Grand Central Hotel in Leeds.[6] At the end of 1911, he moved to Lille, France, living at 5 Place du Lion d’Or and played in various locations throughout the city.[7]
Before joining the Titanic, Bricoux and pianist Theodore Ronald Brailey had served together on the Cunard steamer RMS Carpathia before joining the White Star Line[5][7][8] He boarded the Titanic on Wednesday 10 April 1912 in Southampton, UK.[5] His ticket number was 250654, the ticket for all the members of Wallace Hartley's orchestra. His cabin was 2nd class and he was the only French musician aboard the Titanic.[9]
After the Titanic hit an iceberg and began to sink, Bricoux 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." Bricoux was 20 years old when he died.[5] His body was never recovered.[7]
In 1913, after his apparent disappearance, he was declared a "deserter" by the French army. It was not until 2000, that he was eventually officially registered as dead in France, mainly due to the efforts of the Association Française du Titanic.[10] On 2 November 2000, the same association unveiled a memorial plaque to Bricoux in Cosne-sur-Loire.[2][10]
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