THE Titanic heritage of a battered violin found in an East Riding attic has been confirmed after a CT scan.
Arguments have raged for seven years over the authenticity of the instrument and whether it belonged to Wallace Hartley – bandleader on the Titanic when it sank in 1912.
The violin was discovered at a Bridlington home in 2006.
The instrument used by Hartley was thought by some to have been lost in the Atlantic in the 1912 disaster.
He was engaged to Bridlington girl Maria Robinson, who took possession of the instrument after the sinking.
A recent scan confirmed the instrument to be authentic.
Andrew Aldridge, who works with his father Alan at auction house Henry Aldridge and Son, said the scan proved the violin was real "beyond reasonable doubt".
Radiographers at BMI Ridgeway Hospital in Wiltshire took a 3D image of the violin to examine it from the inside.
Imaging manager Astrid Little said: "The scan revealed that the original wood was cracked and showed signs of possible restoration.
"The fine detail of the scan meant the auctioneers could examine the construction, interior and the glue holding the instrument together.
"We are very proud to have played our part in the violin's authentication. It was a great honour to have such a rare collector's item in the department."
In 2006, the son of an amateur musician found the violin in an attic, complete with a silver plate showing its provenance.
Within minutes of the Titanic striking an iceberg on April 14, 1912, Hartley, 24, was instructed to assemble the band and play music in order to maintain calm. The eight musicians performed while passengers lined up for the lifeboats. The band carried on until the bitter end, famously playing the hymn Nearer, My God, To Thee.
Hartley and the other band members perished, along with 1,500 passengers and crew, when the vessel sank at 2.20am on April 15.
While scientists studied the violin, specialist Titanic auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son and a biographer of Hartley meticulously researched the story to discover the truth.
Mr Aldridge said: "We've spent the past seven years gathering evidence and we're confident beyond reasonable doubt this is Hartley's violin.
"The scan revealed cracks that are relevant to its age and condition. It has also given us the image internally and externally."
Miss Robinson had given the violin to her sweetheart in 1910 to mark their engagement and had it engraved: "For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement from Maria."
After the sinking, it was returned to her with other personal effects. Miss Robinson never married and died from cancer in 1939, aged 59, at her home in Bridlington.
The violin found its way to its current owner after it was given to a member of the Bridlington Salvation Army.
The violin, which is said to be worth a six-figure sum, is currently on display in a Titanic museum in Tennessee and will go on show in Belfast later this year before being auctioned off in England.
