On the night of September 17, 1940, a German submarine known as a U-boat was following a British ocean liner carrying over 400 passengers, including 123 children. While most of these children were asleep in their beds, the commander gave the order to fire the submarine’s torpedoes.

Eight days before the attack, 13-year-old Gussie Grimmond was hiding in an underground bomb shelter with her parents and nine siblings as bombs fell on London. World War II had been raging for a year, and on September 7, 1940, the Germans began bombing Britain. They began by attacking military bases, but the bombs were soon destroying homes, churches, and schools, putting civilians like Gussie and her family in “mortal danger.” The British were worried that Adolf Hitler would soon lead a ground invasion, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged Britain to fight back.

Every night, there was a “universal blackout” across Britain to prevent German planes from seeing their targets easily. When the air raid sirens sounded, everyone knew to hurry to their shelter until they heard the all-clear signal. Gussie and her family spent the entire night in their bomb shelter, and when they emerged the next morning, they discovered that their home, along with all their possessions, had been destroyed.

Gussie and five of her younger siblings had been preparing to leave London with a program called the Children’s Overseas Reception Board (CORB), which was working to safely evacuate British children between the ages of five and fifteen to British outposts around the world. The Grimmond children were on a waiting list to go to Canada, but now that their packed suitcases had been destroyed, they wondered if they could still go on the journey. Gussie’s father believed that CORB would give the children what they needed if they were approved for the journey and wanted to take them to Liverpool, where the ship to Canada waited. Gussie’s mother didn’t want to lose her children after having just lost her home, but she knew it was a special opportunity for them to escape the war. She knew the journey would be dangerous and uncertain, but she agreed it was their best option. She said goodbye to Gussie and her siblings, and their father accompanied them to the train station.

Gussie, the eldest, took charge of her younger siblings on the train, making sure they were well-behaved. Upon arrival, the CORB officials replaced the Grimmonds’ destroyed belongings and gave the children spots on the SS City of Benares, which would leave in just a few days for Canada. In the meantime, the Grimmonds were housed in a school with the other CORB children, where they were placed in groups and given chaperones. Gussie impressed all the adults with her maturity and intelligence. Back in London, the rest of the Grimmond family moved into a homeless shelter. The family was “split in half” (13).

On Thursday, September 12, 1940, Gussie Grimmond and her siblings were among 90 CORB children waiting to board the City of Benares. They were divided into groups of fifteen, each with a chaperone. Gussie’s chaperone was Mary Cornish, a 41-year-old music teacher whom the girls adored and called Aunt Mary.

Fifteen-year-old Bess Walder and her little brother Louis were also waiting to board the ship. When saying goodbye to her father at the train station, her father had reminded Bess to look after her brother, and her mother told her to “[g]row up to be a good woman” (19). Since arriving in Liverpool, Bess had hardly seen Louis, since he was in a separate group of boys. She felt a little guilty for not looking out for him, but also relieved because her brother was “a real handful” (19).

Nine-year-old Jack Keel had never left London and was excited for the adventure of the trip. His little sister, Joyce, however, was very homesick and kept crying for her mother. The chaperones had to reassure many children like Joyce, often by reminding them that they were British and needed to be “strong” and “stoic.” Joyce was too young to understand the danger of the war they were escaping, but her brother Jack understood and was glad to be getting away from the “screeching” bombs that “scared the life out of him” (21).

Some children waiting to board the City of Benares weren’t part of the CORB program. Eleven-year-old Colin Ryder Richardson was traveling alone to live with family friends in New York while his parents and younger brother stayed behind. This was a “heart-wrenching” decision, but they wanted to do what they could to ensure their son’s safety. Fourteen-year-old Beth Cummings was also traveling alone and was “thrilled” for her big “adventure.” She had already become close friends with Bess Walder, and the two girls were looking forward to “a grand time at sea” (23).

Most of the children were unaware of the danger they would face at sea, moving through water filled with German U-boats. All their parents had to sign disclaimers, even though CORB officials assured them their children would be safe. Most CORB trips had been successful, but one ship had recently been torpedoed. All of the children on board had been rescued, and this emboldened many parents rather than dissuaded them.

Boarding the City of Benares, the children were amazed by the “grandeur” of the huge ship. The City of Benares’ usual route was to India. It was one of the largest and most modern passenger steamers of its day, and it was designed “to feel luxurious” (25). The government was working hard to keep the CORB children as safe as possible. The City of Benares had been painted a dull grey color to make it less conspicuous. It was also armed with guns and would be part of a convoy of ships escorted through dangerous waters by military ships. The ship’s crew included 166 Indian sailors called lascars. Many of the children had never seen people of color before; some were fascinated by the men, and others were frightened. The lascars were dressed in the lightweight clothing they used for the ship’s usual route to India, but it was ill-suited to the colder Atlantic waters. Many of the surviving lascars’ names have been lost; due to “the racism and classism of the time,” the surviving Indian sailors were “mostly ignored” (30) in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Once aboard, the CORB children were assigned to their cabins in the rear of the ship. The girls were assigned cabins on the port (left) side, and the boys were housed on the starboard (right). Colin Ryder Richardson shared a room with a young Hungarian journalist called Laszlo Raskai, whom his parents had enlisted to be his chaperone. Among Colin’s belongings was a red life jacket that his mother had custom-made for him. If their ship went down, she assured him that the Royal Navy would rescue him, but she insisted that he wear his life jacket at all times, just in case. Colin obeyed his mother, and everyone on board soon came to recognize him by the bright red jacket.

Down the hall from Colin, Mrs. Bech was settling into her room with her three children, Sonia, Barbara, and Derek. The family had moved from London to their summer house on the coast to avoid the danger of the war, but the Tangmere airfield near their home soon became a target. Derek would watch dogfights between British and German planes right above him, and when planes went down, he biked to the site of the crash to scavenge souvenirs. While Derek enjoyed this “treasure hunt,” the war also gave him “a close-up view of death” (34), and he often saw pilots’ mangled bodies when he visited a crash site. Eventually, Derek’s mother decided the children would be safer away from the war, and was taking them to Canada while their father stayed behind in London. Derek and Sonia were sad to leave their friends, pets, and beautiful summer house, and Barbara, the eldest, was “embarrassed” to leave her country in a time of war. It felt like “desertion” to her, and a cousin even accused them of “being rats leaving a sinking ship” (35).

Before the ship sailed out of Liverpool, Gussie Grimmond was already writing to her parents. In a week, they would receive their daughter’s letter on the same day an “official” letter arrived bearing “terrible” news.

In Gussie Grimmond’s letter to her parents, she described the wonders of the ship, especially the dining room. Many of the CORB children had grown up in poverty, and even those who came from more affluent families had been subject to wartime rationing that limited food supplies. Aboard the ship, however, food was plentiful, the table was elegantly set, and the staff delighted in spoiling the children. The children were amazed by the variety of food, especially the selection of ice cream flavors.

While the children enjoyed the meals, the library, and the playroom, they also had to participate in the serious business of lifeboat drills. Each group of children was assigned a muster station, where they would gather in case of an emergency. When the alarm sounded, they knew to put on their life jacket and proceed to their muster station.

The City of Benares was part of a convoy of 19 vessels escorted by a Royal Navy destroyer and two smaller warships. These military vessels would look out for German U-boats and rescue passengers in the event of an attack. Despite worries of bad luck, the convoy set out on Friday, September 13. The City of Benares set sail with a total of 406 people on board, including 90 CORB children who sang “There’ll Always Be an England” from the deck as the ship pulled away. The chief of the CORB program had reminded the children that they were England’s “little ambassadors,” and government officials thought that sending some children away would give the country a chance to repopulate if the war proved deadly for those who stayed behind.

Aboard the ship, most of the children got their “sea legs” quickly, although some were seasick or homesick. They enjoyed exploring the ship, and the chaperones arranged school lessons, games, and friendly competitions. Adding to the excitement, a woman called Ruby Grierson was on board to make a film about the CORB children. She was “glamorous,” and many of the children were eager to be close to her to be in the film.

Many of the CORB boys loved to run around the ship and watch the sailors, who seemed like real-life “movie hero[s].” One of the boys, Johnny Baker, developed a reputation for getting lost. His big brother, Bobby, couldn’t keep up and kept losing track of little Johnny.

Because his chaperone stayed so busy, Colin Ryder Richardson was usually on his own, and he impressed the adults with his maturity. He quickly made friends with Derek Bech, and the boys had a great time playing together on the deck. Bess Walder and Bess Cummings were also becoming fast friends. Bess was feeling guilty for not looking out for her little brother, Louis, who was with his group on the other side of the ship. However, she also felt relieved to be free of the responsibility of caring for him. Beth, on the other hand, had no “mixed feelings” and was simply enjoying the trip” (57).

The war that now felt “far away” to the children on the City of Benares was still raging in Britain. On September 15, Britain suffered the most vigorous bombing yet, but it managed to bring down 185 German planes, and Hitler decided to postpone his planned land invasion.

Two little boys aboard the ship became sick with chicken pox, and one of the chaperones, Father Rory O’Sullivan, came down with what was either the flu or terrible seasickness. Most of the children, however, were having a “grand” time, and when they heard the news of England’s successful air battle, the passengers threw a party at dinner.

Captain Nicoll, however, worried that “the celebration was premature” (59). The Benares was still sailing through dangerous waters, and the captain worried that remaining in the convoy was slowing the ship down. He took the responsibility of protecting the children on board very seriously, and he wanted to break away from the convoy to sail faster. His commodore, Admiral McKinnon, disagreed, and the two argued about the best course of action. In addition to the children, the ship carried a significant amount of gold, and some of the passengers were outspoken politicians who opposed the Nazis, making the Benares an even more appealing target.

On the morning of September 17, the Royal Navy ships escorting the convoy left to escort another group of ships back to Britain. Despite Captain Nicoll’s desire to leave the convoy, the decision was made to stay. There was a storm beginning, which made it more difficult for U-boats to attack. However, the Benares didn’t know that a German U-boat had been tracking the convoy all day and planned to strike.