It was on March 27th, 1917, at 8 o’clock in the evening, that the _Thracia_, Captain R. Nicholas, while on a voyage with ore from Bilbao to Ardrossan, was sunk at sight and without warning, leaving only one survivor. Disappearing in one minute, those on board were left with no possible chance of saving their lives, and it was only by a miracle that Cadet Douglas Duff, a boy of 16 years of age, was left to tell the tale. He succeeded in saving his life by clinging for sixteen hours to the keel of a capsized boat, during the early part of which time, he was seen and jeered at by the crew of the submarine. One of them indeed raised a rifle and aimed at him, whereupon he shouted, perhaps characteristically of the service to which he belonged “Shoot and be damned to you.” He was ultimately rescued by a French destroyer and landed at La Palais, Belle-ile-en-Mer. The body of the Chief Officer was also recovered, and it is touching to reflect that, as a mark of their respect and honour to the personnel of the British Mercantile Marine, a public funeral was accorded to him by the inhabitants of this little French seaport town. Before her loss, however, the _Thracia_ had performed, like all the vessels mentioned, most arduous and important duties, and one of her voyages, since it throws a sidelight upon the multifarious activities of the Company during the war, deserves special mention. She was then under the command of Captain Michael Doyle, and it was on the 27th of December 1914, that she left Liverpool for Archangel with stores for the Russian Government. All the way to the North Cape, she steamed in the teeth of heavy gales, and under stormy skies, and at this point, at this season of the year, entered a region where there was but one hour’s so-called daylight in the twenty-four. Entering the White Sea, on the night of the 7th of January, she ran the next day into an icefield, reaching out ahead of her as far as the eye could see. In the hope of breaking through to clear water, Captain Doyle, however, kept her going until, the ice becoming thicker and closer packed, it became impossible for the _Thracia’s_ engines to drive her through. [Illustration: THE “THRACIA” FAST: CAUGHT IN THE ICE IN THE WHITE SEA]