There were just 38 survivors of the Valencia shipwreck. An estimated 140 people lost their lives on the ship over the course of 36 hours. The 38 survivors escaped the ship at different times and different ways. Nine of the survivors managed to make it through the first hour when all but one of the lifeboats were flipped in the surf or smashed against the ship. These wet and freezing survivors gathered along the base of cliffs about 250 metres north of the Valencia.
The Valencia Disaster
1. The Valencia 2. The Voyage 3. The Boats 4. The McCarthy Boat 5. The Bunker Party 6. On the Valencia 7. The Rafts 8. The Turret Raft 9. The Rescue Ships 10. The Aftermath 11. The Survivors 12. The Lost
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In the morning they managed to climb to the top of the cliff where they entered the forest where they discovered a telegraph wire strung between trees. They followed the wire through the near impenetrable forest until they reached a lineman's hut. This group of men became known as the Bunker Party after Frank Bunker, who took charge when they set off from the cliffs. Another group of survivors left the ship the following morning on the last lifeboat, boat No.5. Boatswain McCarthy was first to volunteer to get on the boat and five others volunteered after him. The McCarthy Boat was ordered to get to land near the ship and hike up to the cliffs opposite and receive a line shot from the Valencia. They failed to get to shore anywhere close to the ship and ended up landing several miles north of the Valencia near the Cape Beale Lighthouse. These six survived and reported the Valencia shipwreck to the world, though the Bunker Party had already done so an hour earlier. The following day at about 930am, Wednesday January 24th, 1906, rescue ships would finally arrive. Due to the stormy weather, they remained barely within sight of the Valencia which was being battered by huge waves and breaking apart. About 90 wet and freezing survivors clung to the Valencia and with the ships seemingly unwilling to help, they chose to launch the two remaining life rafts. The design of the rafts meant that the occupants would be constantly drenched with water and be hard to maneuver in the rough seas. Getting away from the ship seemed unlikely. Sometime between 10am-1030am ten brave men went off on the first raft and got away from the ship remarkably easily. Seeing the success of the first raft, the second raft was overloaded with 19 men and also cleared the breakers. Both rafts soon lost sight of each other and drifted apart. The ships they were hoping to reach had actually departed and another ship, the Topeka did not know the location of the Valencia and was searching up and down the coast. Two freezing and terrifying hours would pass before the second raft was finally spotted by the Topeka and brought on board. The nineteen barely alive survivors of the Topeka Raft asked about the first raft which was not so lucky. The ten on board the first raft was reduced to just four survivors when one by one they would succumb to the freezing cold of being partly submerged on the raft. Twenty six hours after they first left the Valencia, three of the survivors were found on Turret Island where they managed to land about fourteen hours into their ordeal. The fourth man was located the following day.
Bunker Party Nine Survivors
1. Frank Bunker
Frank Bunker was a first-class passenger on the Valencia who survived in the shore party that he led and became known as the Bunker Party. Frank Bunker was on lifeboat No.6 with his wife, 4 year old daughter Dorothy, 2 year old son Frank, fireman Frank Richley and four others. He recalled after the boat he was in was launched and they got away from the side of the steamer they had no difficulty in navigating into the open sea despite the cold, dark and stormy weather. They managed to get a couple hundred yards from the Valencia before being caught by a breaker and casting most on board into the freezing ocean. Frank Bunker, his wife and son managed to survive, though Dorothy was never seen again. Moments later the boat, caught in another breaker was thrown again.
2. Frank J. Campbell
The first four boats launched were complete disasters resulting in nearly all the passengers drowning. The No.3 boat, the fifth boat launched, managed to get away from the Valencia for a short distance with fifteen people on board. After one of the oars was lost, the boat veered towards the surf and flipped over, drowning eight. Somehow seven men survived and ended up along the shore at the base of near vertical cliffs about 250 metres north of the Valencia. The seven survivors were Frank Campbell, Tony Brown, George Billikos, Yosuki Hosoda, Michael Stone, Charles Samuels, and Albert Willis. Among the drowned were his wife and 16 year old daughter. These seven men, plus two from another flipped boat, Frank Bunker and Frank Richley managed to survive the night and contact the outside world the following day.
3. Albert Willis
Albert Willis was a second class passenger on the Valencia who survived in the Bunker Party. Willis left the Valencia in the first hour after the wreck in the No.3 lifeboat, the fifth boat launched and managed to get away from the Valencia for a short distance with fifteen people on board. After one of the oars was lost, the boat veered towards the surf and flipped over, drowning eight. Somehow Willis and six other men survived and ended up along the shore at the base of a near vertical cliff about 250 metres north of the Valencia. With Albert Willis were Frank Campbell, Tony Brown, Yosuki Hosoda, Michael Stone, Charles Samuels, and George Billikos. Among the drowned were the wife and 16 year old stepdaughter of Frank Campbell. These seven were joined by Frank Bunker and Frank Richley from the No.6 lifeboat that also flipped and killed all but two on board.
4. Charles Samuels
Charles Samuels was a first class passenger on the Valencia who survived with the Bunker Party. He escaped on the No.3 lifeboat in the chaos that erupted during the first few minutes after the wreck. The first four boats launched were complete disasters resulting in nearly all the passengers drowning. The No.3 boat, the fifth boat launched, managed to get away from the Valencia for a short distance with fifteen people on board. After one of the oars was lost, the boat veered towards the surf and flipped over, drowning eight. Somehow seven men survived and ended up along the shore at the base of near vertical cliffs about 250 metres north of the Valencia. The seven survivors were Charles Samuels, Frank Campbell, Tony Brown, George Billikos, Yosuki Hosoda, Michael Stone and Albert Willis.
5. Tony Brown
Tony Brown was an Austrian second-class passenger on the Valencia on his way to Seattle. Travelling with his friend and fellow Austrian Mike Stone, they were among the nine men who survived the initial launching of lifeboats in the first hour of the disaster. Just after midnight in stormy weather with freezing rain falling, lifeboat No.3 was launched into the darkness between violent, crashing waves and sheer cliffs. Tony Brown, Mike Stone and five others would somehow survive by clinging to the base of a cliff and crawling above the crashing waves. Eight others from boat No.3 drowned and disappeared into the darkness. They were soon joined by two survivors from another lifeboat, Frank Bunker and Frank Richley. This group of nine, later dubbed the “Bunker Party” huddled together at the base of a cliff under freezing rain until dawn.
6. Mike Stone
Mike Stone was an unregistered Valencia passenger on the Valencia who survived in the Bunker Party. He left the Valencia in the first hour after the wreck on the No.3 lifeboat, the fifth boat launched and managed to get away from the Valencia for a short distance with fifteen people on board. After one of the oars was lost, the boat veered towards the surf and flipped over, drowning eight. Somehow Mike Stone and six other men survived and ended up along the shore at the base of a near vertical cliff about 250 metres north of the Valencia. With Mike Stone were Frank Campbell, Tony Brown, Yosuki Hosoda, George Billikos, Charles Samuels, Albert Willis and Frank Bunker and Frank Richley from the No.6 lifeboat. These nine men huddled together, soaking wet and freezing at the base of the cliff until daylight.
7. Frank Richley
Frank Ritchley was a fireman on the Valencia who survived with the Bunker Party. In an interview after the wreck he recalled, “I got on board No.6 by climbing over the rail before it was lowered. There were nine men and a woman and children. Could not say how many passengers of this number. There was a mast, sail and oars in my boat. Mr. Bunker and his wife were on board. We were in the boat about 30 minutes. Could not say how many oars were in use. We were trying to keep her head to sea. The current carried us right into shore. We were capsized and righted up. I only saw Mr. and Mrs. Bunker at that time. She was in the boat and Mr. Bunker assisted me in. A few minutes after she capsized again in the surf and hit the rocks, throwing us all out. The side of the boat was smashed in. I climbed up on the shore where Bunker, Campbell, a coal passer, Willis, Tony Brown and two other members of the crew were assembled. Some had reached the shore from other boats or were washed up.”
8. George Billikos
George Billikos was a fireman on the Valencia that survived as part of the Bunker Party. His name was hilariously misspelled in newspaper reports as B.E. Ledhos and several other imaginative spellings. He left the Valencia in the first hour after the wreck on the No.3 lifeboat, the fifth boat launched and managed to get away from the Valencia for a short distance with fifteen people on board. After one of the oars was lost, the boat veered towards the surf and flipped over, drowning eight. Somehow George Billikos and six other men survived and ended up along the shore at the base of a near vertical cliff about 250 metres north of the Valencia. With George Billikos were Frank Campbell, Tony Brown, Yosuki Hosoda, Michael Stone, Charles Samuels, and Albert Willis.
9. Yosuki Hosoda
Yosuki Hosoda was a Japanese second-class passenger on the Valencia who survived in the Bunker Party. He was one of the survivors that reached shore from lifeboat No.3 during the first horrific hour after the Valencia struck. He was travelling with two other Japanese men, T. Manwakio and S. Rancuna, who did not survive. Owing to Hosoda's poor command of English, he appears to have not been interviewed or called to testify after the Valencia disaster.
McCarthy Boat Six Survivors
1. Timothy McCarthy
Timothy McCarthy was the boatswain on the Valencia and survived on the last lifeboat, the No.5 boat launched the morning after the wreck, that became known as the McCarthy Boat. McCarthy was the first to volunteer to crew this boat and was in charge of the five others that hesitantly volunteered after him.
2. Charles Brown
Charles Brown, a seaman on the Valencia was one of the six crewmen that left the Valencia in the last lifeboat, the McCarthy Boat, the morning after the shipwreck. The McCarthy Boat left the Valencia at about 9am on Tuesday, January 23rd. They were specifically ordered by the captain to get to land as soon as possible and hike up to the cliffs opposite the ship to receive the line from the Valencia. They did not attempt to reach land until they found an easy landing seven miles north of the Valencia, near the Cape Beale Lighthouse. When asked about this while testifying during a Valencia inquiry, he responded, “I didn’t want to come back’. The Seattle Star printed a picture of the McCarthy Boat survivors on 27 January 1906 and they identify the man in the back row in the middle as Charles Brown.
3. William Gosling
William Gosling was a seaman on the Valencia who survived on the McCarthy Boat. The morning after the Valencia wrecked, the one remaining lifeboat was successfully launched with six volunteer crewmen under the command of boatswain Timothy McCarthy. The goal of the McCarthy Boat was to get to shore and make their way up to the cliff above the ship. The Valencia had a Lyle gun capable of firing a rope to the top of the cliff where a boatswain’s chair could be rigged to transport everyone off the ship. Owing to the stormy weather, bad visibility, strong current and it seems, an overpowering fear of crossing the breakers to reach shore, the boat would travel several kilometers down the coast before reaching land near the Cape Beale Lighthouse. They would get to the lighthouse and contact the outside world for help one hour after the Bunker Party did. Gosling is pictured here, in a photo that appeared in the Seattle Star on 27 January 1906.
4. Tom Lampson
Tom Lampson was a sailor on the Valencia who survived in the McCarthy Boat.
5. John Marks
John Marks was a sailor on the Valencia survived on the McCarthy Boat. His name is misspelled in a variety of ways in newspaper reports, as Jack Marks and in the same paper: John Monk and John Mark. Sadly, a year after the Valencia wreck he died on another ship. The Daily Colonist on June 11th, 1907 reported, "Jack Marks, survivor of the ill fated Valencia died on the steamship Minnesota when that vessel was en route from Yokohama to Seattle. He was buried at sea."
6. Thomas Shields
Thomas Shields was a sailor on the Valencia who survived on the McCarthy Boat.
Topeka Raft Nineteen Survivors
1. Cornelius Allison
Cornelius Allison was a first class passenger on the Valencia and one of the 19 survivors picked up from the second raft by the Topeka. In his sixties, he had been a sailor years ago and because he had some experience on ships he gave more forceful opinions than other surviving passengers. The contradicting accounts from the various survivors makes finding the accurate details of weather and specific events hard to pin down. Cornelius Allison comes from a perspective of a tough old sailor who has seen a lot of the world and doesn't scare easily. He evidently has a lifetime of experience on ships and has seen a lot of stormy seas. He testified during the Seattle investigation that, "the surf that finally battered the Valencia to pieces could not be called high." He criticized the rescue ships for not attempting any assistance.
2. Thomas Carrick
Thomas Carrick, the first assistant engineer on the Valencia survived on the second raft picked up by the Topeka. In the chaotic first hour of the wreck, Carrick was in charge of the No.7 lifeboat. Timothy McCarthy, boatswain on the Valencia recalled, “No.7 was a wrecking boat and was small. She was in charge of Assistant Engineer Carrick. As she was lowered, one end became unfastened, and the people in her were spilled into the sea, all losing their lives except Carrick, who was pulled on board by his shipmates.” The Valencia wrecked just before midnight on Monday, January 22nd. About 34 hours later, at 10am Wednesday morning the situation on the Valencia was horrific. Battered by waves, the ship was breaking apart and sinking lower into the crashing ocean. Rescue ships had appeared in the distance, however no attempt at rescue had been made. Knowing the ship could collapse under the waves at any moment, the crew decided to launch the last two life rafts.
3. William Doherty
William Doherty was a fireman on the Valencia and one of the nineteen survivors rescued by the Topeka. About 40 years old, he had been working as a fireman on steamships for twenty-two years. He was in the engine room of the Valencia when she struck. With water pouring in from the fore part of the vessel, he and others frantically worked to keep the steam up. The order was heard “full speed astern” and the Valencia accelerated in reverse.
4. Charles Fluhme
Charles Fluhme was a baker on the Valencia who survived on the last raft that left the Valencia.
5. George Harraden
George Harraden, a first class passenger on the Valencia that escaped on the raft picked up by the Topeka. His name is spelled different in almost every newspaper reporting on the Valencia. Variously spelled Haradan, Harradon and Harriden to name a few. In an interview in the days following the Valencia disaster Harraden recalled sending his mother off on what was likely lifeboat No.1. He got away on the second raft which was rescued by the Topeka. Harraden heard someone tell the lady passengers before the raft was launched that it was their last chance, but did not hear any reply. He did not see anyone jump overboard and miss the raft. They had a hard time getting away from the ship. He could not say if it would be successful or not, but it was worth trying. On the raft, after they lost sight of the Queen, they turned back towards the land and then sighted the Topeka; she picked them up, and he was just about “all in.”
6. A.H. Hawkins
A.H. Hawkins was a passenger on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft.
7. Charles Hoddinott
Charles P. Hoddinott, a waiter on board the Valencia, and a brother of Chief Steward Jack Hoddinott. His brother refused to leave the ship for a place on the last life raft, but urged the witness to go. “I asked my brother to go with me,” said the witness, “but he refused, saying he was going to stand by the women and children. So I bade him good bye and jumped overboard.” – 2 Feb Vic Daily Times. Daily Colonist 13 Feb p6: Hoddinott testified that the weather was exceedingly clear when the boatswain’s crew in No.5 boat left on Tuesday. The Lyall gun was fired before the boat left and the line was ashore. When the Queen came in sight the gun had been fired three times and he thought they were loud enough for the report to carry to the Queen. In his opinion the Czar came within a quarter of a mile but he could not say if those on the tug saw the people on the wreck. Daily Colonist 13 Feb p6: Hoddinott testified that when the Queen came in sight the gun had been fired three times and he thought they were loud enough for the report to carry to the Queen. When picked up by the Topeka they informed the Topeka’s captain that there was another raft out at sea and also passengers on the Valencia. Hoddinott recalled that when he left the ship on the last raft and saw the captain and chief steward go among the woman and ask if they would go on the raft. None expressed any desire to take the chance, evidently thinking that they would be rescued by the ships in the offing. He remembered seeing Miss Van Wyck in the rigging and also Walter Jesse who was continually busy and cheering the passengers. He mentioned an incident of a lady expressing fear of her husband leaving her side and the man in order to set her mind at rest had taken a scarf and tied himself to her by the wrist. When the Queen, Salvor and Czar came in sight he thought that it would be a matter of only a short time before all were rescued. He thought the Czar might have come within 200 yards of the ship at the outside and drifted a raft down the vessel. He thought if the launching of the boats had been deferred until Tuesday some of them would have got safely away. He did not think the shore was more than 100 yards from the stern of the ship.
8. John Johnson
John Johnson was the third cook on the Valencia and one of the nineteen Topeka Raft survivors.
9. W.D. Johnson
W.D. Johnson was a coal Passer on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft.
10. Frank Lehn
Frank Lehn was the first assistant freight clerk on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft. When the second life raft was prepared and he had jumped for it when he felt the steamer’s deckhouse being washed away. Frank Lehn recalled in an interview, that on the raft passengers held on to the life lines on the raft, which had practically submerged. He did not believe that assistance could have been rendered by boats from the Queen or other rescue steamers. Assistance could only come from the shore. The Queen looked to be about three miles away. He remembered seeing Miss Van Wyck, a heavily built lady and her daughter, a little boy of about 7 years and several members of the crew of the Valencia when he left on the raft. The Valencia was about a ship’s length from the shore he said. He remembered the gun being fired three times when the rescue steamers hove in sight, but no discussion as to the method of being rescued.
11. Joseph McCaffrey
Joseph McCaffrey was a passenger on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft. He testified after the disaster that when he came on deck there seemed to be a panic and no person had control of anyone. He stated that none of the officers gave him any instructions but on the first night he had seen them trying to make the passengers comfortable. He went on deck with a life preserver and was told by an officer that there was no need of them, but later he told him to put it on again. He saw two boats launched and smashed up. When the steamers Queen, Salvor and Czar came in sight he thought that it would be a matter of only a short time before all were rescued. He thought the Czar might have come within 200 yards of the ship at the outside and drifted a raft down the vessel. McCaffrey went on the second raft with 18 others found out later it was licensed to hold 18 persons. They had considerable difficulty in getting away from the ship but after they reached the bow of the Valencia it was much easier. He was pretty well done up when taken on board the Topeka.
12. Patrick O'Brien
Patrick O'Brien was a waiter on the Valencia and one of the nineteen survivors rescued by the City of Topeka.
13. Peter Peterson
Peter Peterson was the second officer on the Valencia and survived on the Topeka Raft.
14. Paul Primer
Paul Primer was a fireman on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft.
15. Walter Raymond
Walter Raymond was a messman on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft.
16. John Segalos
John Segalos was a fireman on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft.
17. Martin Tarpey
Martin Tarpey was the Quartermaster on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft.
18. James Walsh
James Walsh was a waiter on the Valencia who survived on the Topeka Raft.
19. Grant L. Willits
Grant L. Willits, a passenger on the Valencia that survived on the second raft, the last raft to depart the Valencia. About two hours after they departed, the Valencia collapsed into the sea killing everyone still on board. Willits and 18 others on the overcrowded, partly submerged raft were rescued by the City of Topeka. Barely alive, they were brought on board the Topeka and reported the situation on the Valencia when they left her. His recollection of the events on the Valencia are terrifyingly vivid. Every wave washed clear over her and many people who hastily rushed on deck went to their death without time to murmur a prayer. The order was given to get out the boats. Two of them on the weather side were launched and were smashed like eggshells as soon as they struck the water.
Turret Raft Four Survivors
1. Frank Connors
Frank Connors was a waiter on the Valencia and only one of four men that miraculously survived on the Turret Raft. The first of two life rafts, which could hold 18 people, departed Wednesday morning, the 24th of January, with only 10 on board as everyone else was afraid to get on and many expected rescue to come quickly now that a ship had arrived. Not only was there hope for rescue, but the difficulty of actually getting on one of the rafts deterred all but these ten men. The rafts had to be kept away from the side of the Valencia in order to keep it from slamming into it. To get on the raft you had to jump from the ship into the freezing ocean surging in and out and crashing all around. If you do get on a raft you will be freezing cold, soaking wet and constantly hit by waves coming over the sides. Frank Connors dove into the water from the maintopmast to try to catch the first raft as it was leaving and smashed his face on something underwater. When he surfaced he was pulled onto the raft bleeding from his nose and mouth. This raft would wander up the coast, pulled by the current for hours. One by one, the men on the raft died of exposure or driven insane by the agony, jumped into the ocean and drowned. They landed on Turret Island around midnight, fourteen hours after leaving the Valencia. When morning came there were only four men still alive and three dead bodies on the raft pulled high on the beach. The four set off to search the island for help and at about 9am Thursday, January 25th Connors split from the group to search for a lighthouse he imagined he saw. The other three men would find help at about noon and taken off the island. Connors would be found the following day, miraculously still alive, though barely.
2. Samuel Hancock
Samuel Hancock was the chief cook on the Valencia and Turret Raft survivor.
3. George Long
George Long was a fireman on the Valencia who survived on the Turret Raft.
4. Max Stensler
Max Stensler was a fireman on the Valencia who survived on the Turret Raft.
The Valencia Disaster Continued: 12. The Lost
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