The Lost Children Of 1940 - WW2

In the summer of 1940, Britain prepared for the German Army's invasion, with Luftwaffe air strikes killing and destroying airfields and towns daily. The Luftwaffe lost air dominance due to Royal Air Force Fighter Command's determination, but the German air strikes were bitter reprisals against Britain. Hundreds of heroic pilots perished, but not all were warriors or adults, but some were innocent children condemned to suffer a cold, terrible death at sea on a magnificent adventure.

On June 17, Under Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Geoffrey Shakespeare established the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) to transfer British children to relatives abroad. PM Churchill and his cabinet authorized CORB to rescue as many children as possible from famine or death. The government would pay for most transportation, and schools and churches coordinated applications. CORB registered around 211,000 youngsters in two months, with one teacher and nurse per 15 children. CORB-numbered baggage and ID tags were supplied to travelers without passports. Relocation was transitory; refugees would return home after the war.

In August, 24,000 youngsters and 1,000 adult volunteers preparing to cross the sea. Canada would get the most, followed by Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Others headed to America. Several maritime firms' ocean liners joined convoys at Liverpool and sailed west. Royal Navy vessels would accompany the ships, but parents were understandably worried for their children. The Royal Navy had to maximize its resources, with the Home Islands being prioritized due to hundreds of convoys at sea, 1,000 miles of coastline to monitor, and few experienced personnel.

Bess Walder, 15, and her younger brother Louis were among the first CORB children enrolled. Their parents, Bernard and Rosina Walder, followed European events since the Spanish Civil War. They boarded a train at Euston Station on September 9 with their modest luggage, and they arrived in Liverpool on September 11. After a hurried meal, the youngsters were hustled down the streets to the docks, where Convoy OB-213 ships were departing. The 1935-launched 11,080-ton, 480-foot liner Queen of England to India ran, providing speed as her strongest protection against submarines. Bess, Louis, and Beth were taken to Canada, where they were greeted by their widowed mother and stewards.

The ship departed for Quebec and Montreal on September 13, with 191 passengers, 90 minors, and 216 officers and crew. The kids toured the ship, were instructed on their lifeboat station and how to put on the heavy lifebelts, and were given lifeboat exercises and ordered to sleep in lifebelts. OB-213's escorts were directed to join an oncoming convoy at 17 degrees longitude on September 17. RAF claims of 180 German jets two days earlier only boosted the morale of the 18 surviving ships' passengers and staff.

Mary Cornish, 41, found her 15 girls in her care at 8 pm and went to the lounge for coffee with friends. After two hours, they walked on deck when Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt, commanding Type VIIB U-boat U-48, discovered OB-213 250 miles off Rockall, Ireland. A storm built, and by 11 pm, a furious wind was sweeping rain over the deck. A Force 10 gale was coming. Bleichrodt, who would become infamous for his aggression, stalked the convoy and targeted the City of Benares, the biggest ship in the middle line.

Bleichrodt launched two bow tube torpedoes at 11:45 pm, but both missed the ship and the lookouts missed them in the rough surf. One minute after midnight, Bleichrodt shot again, causing a port-side torpedo to hit the City of Benares beneath the children's sleeping quarters. The frigid Atlantic surged in, and Cornish heard a tremendous thud and the ship shook as she descended to the main deck.

Torpedo struck when little Bess Walder slept. She woke up immediately, understanding what occurred. From the ship's rising list, the three-berth chamber shook, and the closet door opened, spilling everything on the terrace. She attempted to rouse up the girl on the bottom bed but didn't realize the danger. Fred Steels, 11, fell from his bed in one of the boys' quarters and was trapped behind a wardrobe. He escaped after hearing sirens. Burst pipes sprayed water in the sink, and the youngster shouted, "We're hit!" Paul Shearing left the bottom bunk and the guys donned lifebelts. They left toward the corridor with another boy.

Every step to the lifeboats was like climbing a mountain in an earthquake. When they reached the top deck, Steels observed a large smoldering hole and was thrown into a lifeboat by a nasty sailor. Colin Richardson heard the torpedo explode beneath his cabin while reading a penny book on his berth. Beth Cummings felt she was experiencing a horrible dream but woke up to alarms and loud crashing noises and sought to switch on the light. It was then she saw the deck was tilted.

Bess lost her younger brother Louis. In the hubbub, she had no idea where to locate him. The youngsters were attempting to reach the lifeboats as instructed, although the rehearsal had been done in daylight on calm seas without fear. They found a completely different boat deck than a few days ago. While filling and launching lifeboats, the ship lurched, swinging them violently on their davits. Some adults panicked, while others assisted the kids.

Boat No. 2 dropped Colin Richardson into the lake, while Boat No. 8 hit the ship's unyielding side on the port side. Nearly everyone on the boat was hurled into the water. Four crewmen laboring hard to bail out of water-filled Boat No. 8 perished from the cold. The elderly nurse next to Colin became depressed and listless.

Beth and Bess stayed together. The sailors hustled them into starboard Boat No. 5, which was overcrowded and one of the final boats lowered. When it touched water, it was rapidly flooded. Then a big wave overturned it, throwing everyone into the water. Cornish cradled a little kid trembling in fright and cold, as she watched men and people waving for aid and floating in their lifebelts. Many of the ship's passengers and crew had perished from the explosion, drowning, or near-freezing water.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Royal Navy's Office of Western Approaches received a torpedo message from Convoy OB-213 and ordered the eastbound destroyer HMS Hurricane to locate survivors in boats. Lieutenant Commander Crofton Simms ordered his ship to turn west and proceed towards the location. The weather was terrible, with a larger storm moving in, dispersing boats and having swimmers drink saltwater as they weakened. Bess, Beth, and 10 other survivors attempted to ascend their wrecked boat, but their fingers were too numb. They were the only ones remaining when other hands slipped away. No food, water, or rescue was available.

HMS Hurricane arrived midafternoon, and the crew prepared longboats, skiffs, blankets, and slings to lift survivors. The storm was intense but fading, and rescuers halted beside the first boat, carrying only bodies. The storm reached boat No. 11, carrying 20 wet survivors, becoming more afraid. Only two of 15 CORB kids survived, one being Louis Walder.

The survivors were carried into the destroyer's slings and ladders by powerful but loving hands, and they were escorted into warm, dry quarters by sailors who blanketed them and served hot tea. A physician treated them, and the kids slept in the officers' quarters. Only eight individuals survived Boat No. 9, which carried 33.

The upturned boat with Bess and Beth on the keel was found by the rescuers, and Bess was contacted by Navy coxswain Albert Gorman. She was contacted the following day, and she discovered that her brother Louis was gone.

One additional lifeboat, No. 12, went missing when Hurricane sailed away. The storm dispersed the boats, and the big gray-green waves obscured the little ship. The days dragged, and the human freight weakened. A single RAF Short Sunderland flying boat sailed above about midday on the seventh day, but Cooper knew it saw them. Fifteen minutes later, another aircraft dropped supplies and a message of support.

The warship HMS Anthony discovered the lifeboat on September 26. The only siblings saved were Bess and Louis Walder. Certain families lost two, three, or four children, and 77 of the 90 CORB youngsters on the City of Benares died, with 77 aged six to 15.