John Wesley Woodward
John Wesley Woodward was born in West Bromwich on 11 September 1879, the youngest of ten children born to parents Joseph and Martha Woodward.
Known to all as Wesley, he became a professional musician, playing in Oxford, and Eastbourne. While in Eastbourne he joined the White Star Line musicians, playing on transatlantic ships.
On 10 April 1912 he boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton for her maiden voyage. Five days later, on 15 April 1912, the ship hit an iceberg and he and the other musicians famously continued to play as the Titanic sank. All members of the band drowned and the body of Wesley Woodward was never recovered.
