Victor Francis Sunderland
Victor Francis Sunderland was a young Englishman and Third Class passenger aboard Titanic. He had a cabin on F-Deck. (ticket number SOTON/OQ 392089 £8 1s). Victor was born on Thursday 17th March 1892 in Upton Park, Essex, England. James William Sunderland en Marie Catherine Foley. He lived in London in 1912. As a 20 year old, he boarded Titanic in Southampton.
On the night of April 14th, he and his mates were in their cabin, smoking cigarettes. The iceberg impact felt like a little jar. He and his cabin mates wanted to go up and investigate, so they eventually climbed the stairs with 6 other men from Third Class, and got to the Forecastle Deck, he even saw ice lying on the Forward Well Deck, but the steward insisted they went back since there was nothing to be concerned of, according to him. Going back, they kept awake to continue what they wree doing but after a good while, more than 20 minutes later, suddenly water came seeping into their room. He and his group realised that there was some trouble with the ship and went back up again,
They told the group to return to their cabin to get his life preservers. That was obviously impossible, they went back but of course their room was already under water. Victor and the others split up, some of them went aft. He reached the Boat Deck again.
He saw the Strauss couple and the famous scene taking place. But he still needed a lifebelt and searched, asking a steward who declined and couldn't tell him where to find one.
He has claimed to have seen an officer shoot his revolver once or twice, killing a man. Later he heard another shot, then asked another person what happened, since there was a large crowd, and couldn't tell what was going on, Then this gentleman said it was an officer who committed suicide. After all this commotion, he watched on, but when the ship was nearing it's final moments, the water was getting near the Boat Deck, he thought he wouldn't have a chance to get into a lifeboat anyway and dived overboard, yet he was lucky enough to somehow end up at Collapsible B. This meant he survived the disaster.
In the 1920's, he settled in Toronto.
In 1939 he married May Annie McNaughton. He worked as a plumber.
Victor Francis Sunderland passed in 21 August 1973.