One [survivor] was the gunner of the steamship Thracia, a private of the Royal Marines. The time was between eight and nine o'clock at night ; the ship was in the Channel, bound to a home port ; the gunner was on duty, stationed at his gun on the poop. He heard a sharp detonation, which (he said) sounded like the crack of a pistol fired somewhere forward. A column of water mingled with black smoke shot up forward of the bridge to starboard. Four short blasts sounded on the syren, signifying " Abandon ship." The gunner ran forward, mingling with a crowd of hurrying figures in the dark, felt the ship sinking downwards towards the bows beneath his feet as he ran, and understood that she would go down ere the boats could be lowered. He turned and ranback to the gun to fetch his lifebelt, slung it on, climbed on the rail to dive, " and before he knew exactly what had happened he found himself in the sea." Events, as they do on these occasions, succeeded one another more swiftly than consciousness could register.
The gunner was drawn deep down in the icy water, came up again, and struck out, shouting for help with all his strength. He swam and shouted during what, with a seaman's particu larity, he estimated to be a period of twenty minutes, rising and falling with the lop of sea, fighting for his life, and then there came answering calls, a boat loomed above him, and he was hauled on board. She had been lowered from a neutral steamer, which afterwards landed the sturdy Marine at an English port. He thought at first he was the sole survivor of the Thracia.
Le "Nordborg" recueille le canonnier H. Mass, le patrouilleur "Ardent" repêche Douglas Valderduff et le corps du second William B. Chadnick. Ce sont les deux seuls survivants des 38 hommes d'équipage.
It all appears to cross reference in that 36 names were listed as lost, and the crew was 38. Off to research H.Mass