In a glass cabinet in The Imperial War Museum lies a strange scarlet coloured life vest. Its owner was once Colin Ryder Richardson (Hodgsonites ’47) who at the age of 11 years was being evacuated from war-torn Britain under the CORB (Children’s Overseas Reception Board), programme. Along with 90 other children, of whom only 13 survived, the young Colin sailed from Liverpool on 13th September 1940 aboard the converted liner SS City of Benares.

At 56.43 North, 21.15 West on 17th Sept 1940, the SS Benares was torpedoed and sank within half an hour at 22.34 hrs on one the Atlantic ’s bitterest and most stormy nights, scattering the passengers and crew amongst 12 Lifeboats. ‘Miracles on the Water’ written by one of the adult survivors’ great nephew, Tom Nagorski, recalls the circumstances that led to children being evacuated from Britain in time of war, their outbound voyage across the U-boat infested Atlantic, and the yearning for safe haven in Canada. But above all it tells the tale of the extraordinary bravery and selflessness of those involved in keeping their young charges alive. As for that life vest, ‘You must never take it off', his mother had said to Colin before leaving, ‘Go to bed in it. If you are torpedoed, the British Navy will rescue you.’ This is the story of how they did.  Colin was probably the youngest person ever to receive a War Medal for bravery from King George VI.

[Miracles on the Water was first published in 2006 and published in the UK by Constable & Robinson ISBN:978-1-84529-432-8  www.constablerobinson.com in 2007]