Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of "The Children's Ship"

Barbara Bech was safe in her crowded lifeboat, but she was upset to hear the many cries from children in the surrounding water. She had no idea that there were that many children aboard the ship, and hearing their cries for help was terrible.

Jack Keely had been dumped out of Johnny and Bobby Baker’s lifeboat when it was being launched. However, he came out of the water near the side of the ship, right where a rope ladder was hanging down. He made it out of the ocean and back to the relative safety of the sinking ship.

Back on deck, Mrs. Bech and her two youngest children made their way to the ship’s life rafts. There was no room for Mrs. Bech’s travel bag, so she put her money and important documents in a pouch around her neck and gave her jewelry box to her daughter Sonia, telling her to put it in her pocket. Jack was hoping to get on a life raft, too, but as he waited, a wave swept him into the ocean again. BBC reporter Eric Davis helped Mrs. Bech, Sonia, and Derek onto the raft and launched it into the sea. He heard a boy crying for help and saw Jack Keeley clinging to a piece of wood in the water nearby.