Talk:Sinking of the SS City of Benares

Latest comment: 2 years ago by Seafarer 1940 in topic Inaccuracies

The Children on Board the SS City of Benares

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There were 100 children onboard the City of Benares, 90 of whom were traveling under the CORB scheme. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 81 of these children. Here are their names:


List of Children

CORB CHILDREN WHO DIED AT SEA OR PRESUMED LOST:

  1. Patrica Allen (12) of Liverpool
  2. Robert Baker (12) of Southall
  3. Kathleen Beatrice Barrett (12) of Southall
  4. Edna Doreen Beesley (10) of London
  5. Phyllis Eileen Beesley (12) of London
  6. Vera Ellen D. Beesley (13) of London
  7. Michael John Brooker (10) of Kent
  8. Enid Evelyn Butlin (13) of Hillingdon
  9. James Reginald Came (13) of Cardiff
  10. Lewis Victor Came (11) of Cardiff
  11. Beryl Irene Carr (8) of Southall
  12. Michael John Chase (12) of Twickenham
  13. Sheila Astrid Chase (14) of Twickenham
  14. George Geoffrey Crawford (14) of Sunderland
  15. Pauline Mary Crawley (11) of Edgeware
  16. Sheila Anne Crawley (9) of Edgeware
  17. Vivian Cynthia Dadds (14) of Twickenham
  18. Maureen Margaret Dixon (10) of Sunderland
  19. Barbera Ruth Fairhead (10) of Teddington
  20. Jean Forster (11) of Bournemouth
  21. Christoper Robin Goodfellow (8) of Wembley
  22. Derek Charles Goodfellow (13) of Wembley
  23. Agusta E. Grimmond (13) of Brixton
  24. Constance J. Grimmond (9) of Brixton
  25. Edward Grimmond (8) of Brixton
  26. Leonard A. Grimmond (5) of Brixton
  27. Violet C. Grimmond (10) of Brixton
  28. James Wilfred Harrington (7) of Wembley
  29. Patricia Doreen Harrington (8) of Wembley
  30. Bruce John Hillyard (11) of Wembley
  31. Jeffrey Hillyard (8) of Wembley
  32. Joan Anne Florence Irving (15) of Liverpool
  33. Joyce Mary Keeley (6) of Brixton
  34. Derek Leigh (11) of Sunderland
  35. Margaret Eleanor Lloyd (14) of Cardiff
  36. Nesta Lloyd (12) of Cardiff
  37. Audrey Mansfield (8) of Wembley
  38. Robin Miller (8) of Southall
  39. Phillip Langford Mollard (6) of Liverpool
  40. William Robert Moon (10) of Wembley
  41. Aileen Sybil Moss (12) of Newport
  42. Marion Audrey Moss (10) of Newport
  43. Rita Ann Moss (8) of Newport
  44. Audrey Muncey (13) of London
  45. Ailsa Burgess Murphy (10) of Liverpool
  46. Beryl Myatt (9) of Hillingdon
  47. Dorothy Sheila Nolan (12) of Southall
  48. Patricia Nolan (8) of Southall
  49. John Pemberton (10) of Newport
  50. Rodger James Poole (11) of Newport
  51. Charles Horace Pugh (12) of Liverpool
  52. Donald James Pugh (11) of Liverpool
  53. John Albert Pugh (14) of Liverpool
  54. Anita Mary Rees (14) of Newport
  55. William Eric Rees (12) of Newport
  56. Colenso Mackenzie Rodda (6) of Uxbridge
  57. Layton George Ryman (9) of Cardiff
  58. Peter Short (5) of Sunderland
  59. Edith Smith (13) of Sunderland
  60. Irene Smith (11) of Sunderland
  61. Henry Smoolovitch (10) of Wembley
  62. James Thomas Spencer (5) of Liverpool
  63. Joan Margaret Spencer (9) of Liverpool
  64. John Onslow Spencer-Davies (9) of Brixton
  65. Rosemary Winifred Spencer-Davies (15) of Brixton
  66. Anthony Ralph Taylor (6) of London
  67. June Margaret Taylor (9) of London
  68. Marion Winifred Thorne (7) of Wembley
  69. Betty Unwin (12) of Liverpool
  70. Gordon Walsh (10) of Liverpool
  71. Ann Jordeson Watson (6) of Sunderland
  72. Thomas William Watson (9) of Sunderland
  73. Peter John Willis (12) of London (known as Lloyd)
  74. Dorothy Gertrude Wood (9) of Sunderland

CORB CHILDREN WHO DIED ON HMS Hurricane

  1. Alan John Capel (5) of Hanworth (died during rescue)
  2. Derek Stanley Carr (10) of Southall
  3. Terrence Brian Holmes (10) of Wembley (died in the evening)

CORB CHILDREN RESCUED BY HMS Hurricane

  1. John Baker (7) of Southall (Brother dead)
  2. Elizabeth May Cummings (14) of Liverpool
  3. Jack Sidney Keeley (9) of Brixton (Sister dead)
  4. Rex Ernest Thorne (13) of Wembley (Sister dead)
  5. Bess Annie Walder (15) of London (Brother saved)
  6. Louis Bernard Walder (10) of London (Sister saved)
  7. Eleanor Mary Wright (13) of Sunderland

CORB CHILDREN RESCUED BY HMS Anthony

  1. Derek Alfred Capel (12) of Hanworth (Brother dead)
  2. Howard Francis Claytor (11) of Middlesex
  3. Paul Shearing (11) of Bournemouth
  4. William Cunningham Short (9) of Sunderland (Brother dead)
  5. Kenneth John Sparks (13) of Wembley
  6. Harry Frederick Steels (11) of Eastleigh

PRIVATE PASSENGER CHILDREN WHO DIED

  1. John Lawrence Croasdaile (2) of Southampton (Mother and sister dead)
  2. Patricia Joan Croasdaile (9) of Southampton (Mother and brother dead)
  3. Dorothy Galliard (15) of Chesire (Schoolfriend saved - mother of schoolfriend dead)
  4. Diana Pine (6) of Norfolk (Mother dead)

PRIVATE PASSENGER CHILDREN RESCUED BY HMS Hurricane

  1. Barbara Bech (14) of Bognor Regis (Brother, sister, and mother saved)
  2. Derek Bech (9) of Bognor Regis (sisters and mother saved)
  3. Sonia Bech (11) of Bognor Regis (Brother, sister, and mother saved)
  4. Patricia Bulmer (14) of Wallasey (Schoolfreind and mother dead)
  5. Anthony Meredith Quinton (15) of Kent (Mother saved)
  6. Edward Colin Ryder Richardson (11) of Abergavenny

Seafarer 1940 (talk) 17:38, 3 March 2022 (UTC)Reply

Inaccuracies

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Hey, guys! I read that on U-boat.net 407 people were on board and 260 of them died . Why does this page say that there were 406 people on the boat and that 258 of them died?! Also, Uboat.net says the ship sank on September 18, not September 17! I will be changing this soon! SS Titan 1782 (talk) 14:08, 7 March 2022 (UTC)Reply

Hello SS Titan 1782, there were in fact 406 people on board. Although uboat.net reports that there were 407 people on board, there were actually 406. I have researched this shipwreck for quite some time and Uboat.net and a only one book (that only mentions the sinking) are the only sources I found that reported 260 deaths out of 407. Tom Nagorski, who is the nephew of the Polish passenger named Bohdan Nagorski, has written a book about this tragedy called Miracles on the Water: The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-boat Attack, which I recommend reading if you are interested in this event (along with Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman and Children of the Benares by Ralph Barker). These books along with records of the Nuremberg War Trial state that 258 out of 406 on board died.
As for the dates, Uboat.net has also recorded this wrong. These books, survivor accounts, newspapers, condolences from the Children's Overseas Reception Board, and the log from U-48, all state that the ship sank on September 17, 1940. The log and the books also agree that the ship was hit at 22.03 hours and sank at 22.34 hours, which, converted to 12 hour time, would be 10:03 PM and 10:34 PM.
Regards, Seafarer 1940 (talk) 15:16, 7 March 2022 (UTC)Reply