September 17: The Sinking of the City of Benares

In July 1940, a British government-sponsored program called Children's Overseas Reception Board — or CORB — was set up to send children from Britain to Canada and other Commonwealth countries, in order to rescue them from the bombings of British cities. The City of Benares was a luxury liner that was recruited in September 1940 to transport 90 of these children to Canada, along with the ship's regular passenger complement.

A convoy of ships including the The City of Benares set off from Liv...