“Most of the men on board were married men.  We saw hundreds in the water, but we were afraid to pick them up as our boat was already overcrowded.  So we threw our lifebelts to them.  It was all we could do.

“The weather was bitter cold, and I do not think that many, apart from those who were landed at Aberdeen, were saved.”

Here is the statement of a rescued stoker:  “When the explosion occurred I, along with others who were in the engine room, was sent flying into space and was stunned for a time.  When I came to my senses I found myself in the midst of what must be described as an absolute inferno.  One of the cylinders of the engine had been completely wrecked, and steam was passing out in dense, scalding clouds.  The horror of the situation was increased when a tank of oil fuel caught fire, and the flames advanced with frightful rapidity.

“Seeing that there was not a ghost of a chance of doing any good by remaining in what was obviously a deathtrap, I determined to make a dash for it, and I scrambled up an iron ladder to the main deck.  All this had happened in less time than it takes to tell it, but such is British pluck, coolness, and nerve even in such a situation that the commander and other officers were on the bridge, and as calmly as if we were on fleet manoeuvres the orders were given and as calmly obeyed.

“The buglers sounded a stiff call which summoned every man to remain at his post.  During the first minute or two many of us believed all that was wrong was a boiler explosion, but the rapidity with which the cruiser was making water on the starboard side quickly disabused all our minds of this belief.  Realizing the actual situation, the commander gave orders to close all the watertight doors.  Soon after that came orders to abandon the ship and get out the boats.

“One cutter was being launched from the port side, but the Hawke at that moment heeled over before the boat could be got clear, and the cutter lurched against the cruiser’s side and stove in one or two of her planks.  As the Hawke went down a small pinnace and a raft which had been prepared for such an emergency floated free, but such was the onrush of men who had been thrown into the water that both were overcrowded.  On the raft were about seventy men knee deep in water, and the pinnace also appeared to be overfilled.

“When those who managed to make their way into the cutter, which was also in grave danger of being overturned, caught the last glimpse of these two craft they were in a precarious condition.  The cutter moved around the wreck, picking up as many survivors as the boat would hold.  All those aboard her who had put on lifebelts took them off and threw them to their comrades who were struggling in the water.  Oars and other movable woodwork also were pitched overboard to help those clinging to the wreckage, many of whom were seen to sink.”

The Emden’s Last Fight