The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. Jan 01, 2006 on september 17, 1940, at a little after ten at night, a german submarine torpedoed the passenger liner s. Aug 05, 2002 the city of benares torpedoed in 1940 was only about 4 years old. Crewlist from city of benares british steam passenger. Heavily researched and showcasing numerous individual stories, this nonfiction book details the experiences of many who were aboard the ss city of benares, a ship carrying almost 100 children to safety from england to canada during wwii. An unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, andabove allof courage and the power of the human spirit. The ss city of benares was torpedoed by a german submarine. Passenger list city of benares, london to adelaide, 1874. This book tells the story of many of those courageous people. Remembering the ss city of benares tragedy 70 years on. Five ships have been named city of benares, after the former name of varanasi, a city on the banks of the ganges in uttar pradesh, india. Commanded by master landles nicoll, the city of benares had departed liverpool on september, 1940, bound for quebec and montreal.
City of benares 1865, a sailing ship of 1,182 tons. Gr 58heiligman tells a story of bravery, courage, and despair through the eyes of the passengers on the ss city of benares, a ship commissioned to sail to canada with 100 children on board during world. Banaras is one of the oldest living city in the world. Transcribed and submitted to theshipslist by robert janmaat, adelaide, from a variety of sources, cited below.
The passenger ship ss city of benares was one of these ships. The imagery of the waves hitting the lifeboats and rafts as the survivors hung. Minutes later sonia and derek were clinging to their mother in the north atlantic, while their elder sister barbara had. Colin ryder richardson was one of 90 children evacuees aged five to 15 aboard the city of benares passenger ship bound for the u. Beneath a mountain on an uninhabited continent is said to be a fabled city, a city occupied by an ancient goblin civilization founded for only one reasonto protect and defend the heart of nidaar, an artifact that can harness the forces of nature as a weapon. Nov 25, 2017 i generally feel that britishers were very good surveyors. Lots of the survivors are children who wave at the camera. Having travelled up from london, they left on the ss city of benares from liverpool on a beautiful evening on friday september to join a. Youve written many books for children, including printzhonor winning vincent and theo. The sinking of a ship, torpedoed as it sailed from liverpool to canada carrying evacuees, is remembered 70 years later by members of a family.
Remembering the ss city of benares tragedy 70 years on bbc news. A harrowing journey remembered in 1940, an oceanliner sailing on the north atlantic was torpedoed by a german uboat and sunk. All i can remember were the screams and cries for help on 17 september 1940 a german uboat sank the city of benares. The series about raine benares is written by lisa shearin, who is also author of the spi files, the first book of which came out in 20. The true story of the world war ii sinking of goodreads. The play lifeboat by nicola mccartney tells the story of bess walder and beth cummings, two survivors of the ss city of benares.
Return to sa passenger lists,18471886 see also sa german lists. In total 248 people died from the city of benares, the loss of 77 children leading to the abandonment of further overseas evacuation. Noticing a light which i took to be the rescue ship, i steered for it, but on approaching discovered it to be another lifeboat, the occupants of which hailed us and asked what ship. She is also has a day job as an editor and proofreader for an ad agency. The ss city of benarescarrying two hundred passengers, half of them childrenis. S city of benares passenger ship which was sunk by a german uboat in september 1940. Oct 20, 2004 city of benares sets sail on friday september, 1940 a passenger ship called city of benares began its 2,500 mile crossing of the north atlantic. The city of benares torpedoed in 1940 was only about 4 years old. Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publishers book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge.
In september 1940, passenger liner ss city of benares set sail for canada with one hundred children on board. The true story of the world war ii sinking of the childrens ship heiligman tells a story of bravery, courage, and despair. On september 17, 1940, at a little after ten at night, a german submarine torpedoed the passenger liner s. Some of the younger children are carried down the gangplank. City of benares british steam passenger ship ships hit by. Bess cummings was one of the last survivors of the sinking of the ss city of benares, which was torpedoed by a uboat in 1940 with 400 passengers and crew onboard, including 90 children. The ship, sailing from liverpool to canada, was struck down at 22. On friday september, 1940 a passenger ship called city of benares began its 2,500 mile crossing of the north atlantic. Join us for an evening with deborah heiligman, children and young adult author as she discusses her latest book torpedoed from awardwinning author deborah heiligman comes torpedoed, a true account of the attack and sinking of the passenger ship ss city of benares, which was evacuating children from england during wwii amid the constant rain of german bombs and the escalating. The city of benares, an 11,000 ton passenger vessel of city lines and under captain landles nicoll, was torpedoed by the u48 on 17th september 1940 en route from liverpool to canada. Torpedoed the true story of the world war ii sinking of the childrens ship book. Six small boys in a lifeboat the story of the city of benares. In september 1940, passenger liner ss city of benares set sail for canada with one. The ss city of benares is the setting of the book wish me luck by james heneghan, the story of a boy from liverpool being sent away to safety.
Many more would have travelled overseas had it not been for the disastrous events of 17 september 1940, when the ss city of benares packed with 197 passengers, including 90 children was torpedoed and sunk in the atlantic. City of benares 1853, a 3masted sailing ship of 751 net tons. Below is a list of lisa shearins raine benares books in order of when they were first released as well as in chronological order. Torpedoed book king county library system bibliocommons. Primary source documents photographs, letters, manifests, applications, telegrams are seamlessly woven throughout the book. The true story of the world war ii sinking of the childrens ship from the publisher. This passenger ship was torpedoed and sank in 30 minutes. On 17 september 1940, a passenger ship called the city of benares was sunk by a german uboat while crossing the atlantic.
Heiligman tells a story of bravery, courage, and despair through the eyes of the passengers on the ss city of benares, a ship commissioned to sail to canada with 100 children on board during world war ii. Shots of some of the wounded stretcher cases being brought ashore. Royal navy destroyer hms anthony rescues survivors from a lifeboat from the ss city of benares which had been been adrift for nine days after the ship sank on 17 september 1940. Within thirty minutes the ship sank, leaving passengers struggling to. It was carrying 406 passengers and crew, of whom 100 were children being evacuated to canada and the us, most of them as part. Some are wearing sailors hats from the ships which rescued them. A british passenger ship, the ss city of benares tossed the in stormy north atlantic waters 600 miles off the coast of england. Deborah heiligman reveals the dramatic story of the passenger ship ss city of benares, torpedoed without warning in the midatlantic, with a civilian passenger load that included 100 children fleeing the war in europe. Ss city of benares was a steam passenger ship built in 1936. On september 17, 1940, the ss city of benares, a passenger ship traveling from england to canada with one hundred children on board, was struck by a torpedo fired from a german submarine. The ss city of benares is the setting of the book wish me luck by james heneghan, the story of a boy from liverpool being sent away to safety on the city of benares. One of the last survivors of the sinking of the ss. City of benares sets sail on friday september, 1940 a passenger ship called city of benares began its 2,500 mile crossing of the north atlantic.
It was 600 miles and 5 days into its journey carrying 400 passengers and 99 evacuated children. Crewlist from city of benares british steam passenger ship. Torpedoed book midcontinent public library bibliocommons. Six small boys in a lifeboat the story of the city of. That vessel was scrapped in 1933, a few years before its namesake entered service. Ss city of cairo, ss city of benares, ss lesbian, ss lesbian, ss assyrian, ss city of pretoria, ss volo, ss castilian, ss city of nagpur, ss thurso, ss city of johannesburg, ss city of venice, ss lesbian, ss. There were 406 people on board, but the ship s prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had. My family and i watched the story told by timewatch on friday 18th november 2005 about the sinking of the ss city of benares. On board were around 400 people, 100 of which were children. Remembering the city of benares tragedy the national.
On the night of the 17th september, at about 10pm gmt i was asleep in my bunk and was awakened by a. The ship was torpedoed in 1940 by the german submarine u48 with heavy loss of life, including the death of 77 children. Heavily researched and showcasing numerous individual stories, this nonfiction book details the experiences of many who were aboard the ss city of benares, a. Chicago public library best informational books for older readers 2019. Lisa shearin began her raine benares series in 2007 with the novel magic lost, trouble found.
There were 406 people on board, but the ship s prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had an unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, andabove allof courage and. The ship was torpedoed in 1940 by the german submarine u48 with heavy loss of life. When the war ships escorting the benares departed, a german submarine torpedoed what became known as the childrens ship. Vs of the survivors from the city of benares leave their rescue ship at a british port. Already 600 miles out to sea, the ss city of benares was carrying colin and 89 other child evacuees to the u. Whatever may be their policy of imperialism but they always kept excellent record books. The south australian register, monday 21 december 1874 p. From awardwinning author deborah heiligman comes torpedoed, a true account of the attack and sinking of the passenger ship ss city of benares, which was evacuating children from england during wwii. Torpedoed book chicago public library bibliocommons. I generally feel that britishers were very good surveyors. Where is the city of benares ive searched hard to find its location ive looked at maps and searched the index of my atlas. Media in category ss city of benares the following 5 files are in this category, out of 5 total. City of benares, with 406 crew and passengers aboard, was 630 miles out in. Just before midnight on september 17 1940, the bech children were among 100 evacuees on board the ss city of benares, who were woken from their sleep by a german torpedo.
Amid the constant rain of german bombs and the escalating violence of world war ii, british parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country. I replied city of benares and they answered marina. Aug 05, 2002 the city of benares, an 11,000 ton passenger vessel of city lines and under captain landles nicoll, was torpedoed by the u48 on 17th september 1940 en route from liverpool to canada. Dec 03, 2019 in september 1940, passenger liner ss city of benares set sail for canada with one hundred children on board. From awardwinning author deborah heiligman comes torpedoed, a true account of the attack and sinking of the passenger ship ss city of benares, which was evacuating children from england during wwii amid the constant rain of german bombs and the escalating violence of world war ii, british parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country.