In this gripping account, heiligman vincent and theo relates the september 1940 attack by a german submarine on the british passenger ship ss city of benares, which killed 258 people, including. Last voyage the ss city of benares was part of convoy ob2, and was being used as a refugee ship in the overseas evacuation. It was a well written truthful account of a terrible disaster. The true story of the world war ii sinking of the childrens ship by deborah heiligman im surprised i picked a nonfiction book to start off read more. I have carried out an in depth research about the gibraltar evacuees for a documentary book and i would like to include a picture related to the sinking of the city of. 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. The story of child evacuee beryl myatt and the sinking of.
The ship, sailing from liverpool to canada, was struck down at 22. I had the opportunity to go to varanasi banaras, benares, kashi, the 3000yrold city that is the one of the hearts of hinduism, and wanted to get up to speed before i went. 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. 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. In this gripping account, heiligman vincent and theo relates the september 1940 attack by a german submarine on the british passenger ship ss city of benares, which killed 258 people, including 77 children.
Primary source documents photographs, letters, manifests, applications, telegrams are seamlessly woven throughout the book. Six small boys in a lifeboat the story of the city of benares. The true story of the world war ii sinking of goodreads. Torpedoed deborah heiligman macmillan macmillan publishers. 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. The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. 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. The true story of the world war ii sinking of the childrens ship from the publisher. 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. Join us for an evening with deborah heiligman, children and young adult author as she discusses her latest book torpedoed. Crewlist from city of benares british steam passenger. Erno and the sinking of the city of benares good stories.
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. Crewlist from city of benares british steam passenger ship. In 1940, the passenger ship city of benares set sail from britain, carrying 200 passengers, many of them children hoping to escape the ravages of war. The true story of the world war ii sinking of the childrens ship heiligman tells a story of bravery, courage, and despair. The ship was carrying 90 child evacuees, accompanied by. Remembering the city of benares tragedy the national. Sep 17, 2010 image caption the steam ship had left liverpool on september on its 2,500 mile voyage. Before they could reach safety, the ship was struck by a torpedo, and a tragic race to save the passengers began. The passenger ship ss city of benares was one of these ships. Some are wearing sailors hats from the ships which rescued them.
Unused unissued material locations unclear or unknown. During her two years of active service, u48 sank 55 ships for a total of 321,000 tons. The ship was carrying 90 child evacuees, accompanied by adult escorts, as well as other passengers. This is a listing of people associated with this ship. There were 406 people on board, but the ship s prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had. Image caption the steam ship had left liverpool on september on its 2,500 mile voyage. 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. Just before midnight on september 17 1940, the bech children were among 100 evacuees on board the ss city. 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. City of benares british steam passenger ship ships hit by.
Heavily researched and showcasing numerous individual stories, this nonfiction book details the experiences of many who were aboard the ss city of benares, a. Parkins vivid description of the benares s fate is, at times, a distraction from the larger. Dec 03, 2019 join us for an evening with deborah heiligman, children and young adult author as she discusses her latest book torpedoed. 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. He booked passage on the city of benares which was still a rather new ship, launched in 1936, departing from liverpool september, 1940. He suspects his stepmother is glad to see him go, but his dad says hes one of the lucky onesone of ninety boys and girls to ship out aboard the ss city of benares to safety in canada. Torpedoed the true story of the world war ii sinking of the childrens ship book. Among the facilities at this property are an atm and a concierge service, along with free wifi throughout the property. Ahoy macs web log pictures of the ss city of benares.
On board were 406 people, ninety children being evacuated by the childrens overseas reception board to get away from the blitz accompanied by ten adult escorts, ninetyone paying passengers and two. This destination may have covid19 travel restrictions in place, including specific restrictions for lodging. Lots of the survivors are children who wave at the camera. The next day, beryl left home for liverpool, where she would board the passenger liner ss city of benares. City of benares of 1936 was the only twin funnelled passenger liner owned by ellerman line, and was acknowledged by most pundits as their most beautiful ship, and widely held to be among the loveliest of all twin funnelled passenger liners. Oct 08, 2019 in september 1940, passenger liner ss city of benares set sail for canada with one hundred children on board. A british passenger ship, the ss city of benares tossed the in stormy north atlantic waters 600 miles off the coast of england. Lifeboat 12 book by susan hood official publisher page. In unflinching detail, the book depicts the often fatal struggles of enduring a torpedo strike at sea, as well as the selfless acts of.
City of benares british steam passenger ship ships hit. German submarine u48 was a type viib uboat of nazi germanys kriegsmarine during world war ii, and the most successful that was commissioned. Torpedoed and millions of other books are available for instant access. It was carrying 406 passengers and crew, of whom 100 were children being evacuated to canada and the us, most of them as part of a government scheme organised by the childrens overseas reception board corb. Remembering the ss city of benares tragedy 70 years on bbc news.
The city of benares encyclopedia titanica message board. The menu of bold spices and superb textures at benares evokes the true essence of indian cooking, and has won widespread acclaim from the evening standard and bbc good food magazine. Benares brings the excitement and vibrancy of indian cuisine to a chic, elegant setting in mayfair, central london. In september 1940, passenger liner ss city of benares set sail for canada. It was 600 miles and 5 days into its journey carrying 400 passengers and 99 evacuated children. 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. 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. If youd like to place this book on hold, simply click on the title or cover. Torpedoed book ottawa public library bibliocommons. When the war ships escorting the benares departed, a german submarine torpedoed what became known as the childrens ship.
Heiligman recounts the littleknown world war ii maritime disaster of the sinking of the passenger ship city of benares, which was evacuating children from england to canada. This was a quite small ship with a capacity of just 219 passengers and one single class, but still very new, as it was in service for just 4 years during its whole life. On friday september 1940, the city of benares left liverpool bound for quebec and montreal in canada. Amid the constant rain of german bombs and the read more. 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. Life aboard the luxury ship is grandninecourse meals, new friends, and a life. In 1940, with german air raids reducing many of englands major cities to smoldering ruins and a threatened invasion looming, thousands of british parents chose to send their children to safety in canada through a. Vs of the survivors from the city of benares leave their rescue ship at a british port. The ship was torpedoed in 1940 by the german submarine u48 with heavy loss of life, including the death of 77 children. Where is the city of benares ive searched hard to find its location ive looked at maps and searched the index of my atlas. Explore our editors picks for the best kids books of the month. 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. It brought back my own memories of thess antonia and having to wear lifejackets etc. Colin ryder richardson was one of 90 children evacuees aged five to 15 aboard the city of benares passenger ship bound for the u.
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. An unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, andabove allof courage and the power of the human spirit. The story of the red jacket and its owner, colin ryderrichardson begins in 1940, and is linked to a steam passenger ship called the ss city of benares. This was during a critical period in british history, between july and september 1940, when the battle of britain was raging, and. The book by ralph barker children of the benares was one of the first full accounts on the sinking of the city of benares. While that book focuses on one childs experience in one lifeboat, this covers the stories of many people, with a lot of different experiences. Aug 05, 2002 the book by ralph barker children of the benares was one of the first full accounts on the sinking of the city of benares. The property provides a 24hour front desk, room service and currency exchange for. Life aboard the luxury ship is grand ninecourse meals, new friends, and a life far from the bombs, rations, and his stepmums glare. City of benares 1865, a sailing ship of 1,182 tons. He has always maintained contact with the children and attended our three memorial services held in london. Life and work in benares and kumaon, 18391877 james kennedy my greatly beloved and much esteemed friend, the late rev.
The story of child evacuee beryl myatt and the sinking of the. All i can remember were the screams and cries for help on 17 september 1940 a german uboat sank the city of benares. He suspects his stepmother is glad to see him go, but his dad says hes one of the lucky ones one of ninety boys and girls to ship out aboard the ss city of benares to safety in canada. In unflinching detail, the book depicts the often fatal struggles of enduring a torpedo strike at sea, as well as the selfless acts of those striving to keep. It was carrying a party of evacuees across the atlantic to the safety of. We also have a detailed page on the british steam passenger ship city of benares aboard city of benares when hit on 18 sep 1940.
Shots of some of the wounded stretcher cases being brought ashore. During the second world war she was torpedoed by the german submarine u48 with heavy loss of life. The childrens overseas reception board corb was a british government sponsored organisation. The corb evacuated 2,664 british children from england, so that they would escape the imminent threat of german invasion and the risk of enemy bombing in world war ii. Miracles on the water goodreads meet your next favorite book. In september 1940, passenger liner ss city of benares set sail for canada with one hundred children on board. Notable landmarks in the area include kashi vishwanath temple and dasaswamedh ghat. This book 35yrs old still captures the essence of this timeless city. Sherring, years ago published a handsome volume under the title of the sacred city of the hindus, in which he gave ample information about its history, temples, castes, festivals, commerce, and.
The 11,031grt fifth city of benares was built in 1936 by barclay, curle at whiteinch. City of benares 1853, a 3masted sailing ship of 751 net tons. Jul 22, 2007 he booked passage on the city of benares which was still a rather new ship, launched in 1936, departing from liverpool september, 1940. Torpedoed deborah heiligman 9781627795548 netgalley. Torpedoed book contra costa county library bibliocommons. Nazis called this the happy time because their uboats roamed the seas with impunity, sinking civilian vessels carrying cargo and, notably, the passenger ship ss city of benares, which was carrying 90 children fleeing the united kingdom. The steam passenger ship was holed by the torpedo and sank in the early hours of 18 september, 600 miles off ireland after its royal naval. The bravery of the children and the devoted care of the teachers,the horrors of the cold. 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.
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