Torpedoed

Ages 10 to 14

From award-winning author Deborah Heiligman comes a true account of the attack and sinking of the passenger ship SS City of Benares, which was evacuating children from England during World War II.

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 wealthy, independently; the poor, through a government relocation program called CORB. In September 1940, the passenger liner SS City of Benares set out in a convoy of nineteen ships sailing for Canada. On board were ninety CORB children, chaperones, and crew, along with paying passengers. When the warships escorting the Benares to safe waters peeled off and the way forward seemed certain, a German submarine attacked and torpedoed the Benares. What followed is an amazing example of all that people are capable of—the worst and the best.

GODWIN BOOKS

About the Author

Deborah Heiligman has written many books for children, including Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers (the winner of the Printz Honor and the YALSA Nonfiction Award), Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith (National Book Award Finalist), and The Boy Who Loved Math. She lives with her family in New York City.

deborahheiligman.com