When the passenger liner City of Benares sailed from Liverpool on Friday, 13 September 1940, she was carrying 90 evacuee children from the bombed cities of Britain, bound under a government-sponsored scheme for a safe haven in Canada. Her sinking by U-boat four days later, without warning, in total disregard of the plight of survivors and in defiance of international law, shocked and horrified the civilised world.
Of 406 people on board 256 were lost - including, at a first count, 83 of the evacuee children. In Britain and the Commonwealth the reaction was one of righteous indignation, accompanied by an intense desire for retribution. Nor was the propaganda value neglected, a broadcast by King George VI the day after the news broke being clearly directed at neutral America. 'The world,' he said, 'could have no clearer proof of the wickedness against which we fight than this foul deed.'
Suspicions subsequently arose, however, that the British authorities had quite as much to answer for as the Nazis. Parents who, despite many misgivings, had entrusted their children to the scheme when invasion threatened, began to ask questions when they learned that the promised naval escort had abandoned the convoy twenty-one hours before the Benares was sunk. Allegations that crew members had rushed the boats, that emergency equipment had failed, and that the whole voyage had been undertaken under the blight of racial prejudice, demanded a formal investigation. But somehow this was avoided, and the scandal was successfully hushed up.
Ralph Barker, after a vivid and poignant reconstruction of the disaster, turns his attention to what really happened behind the scenes at the Admiralty and the Ministry of Shipping. The result is a harrowing story of human fallibility and human survival.
Born in 1917 and educated at Hounslow College, Ralph joined the editorial staff of Sporting Life in 1934, but later went into banking. Meanwhile, he had begun writing, and several of his sketches and scenes were produced in West End Revue.
Ralph joined the RAF in 1940 as a wireless operator/air-gunner and progressed his military career until 1961 when he retired voluntarily from the RAF to write full time. He was a frequent contributor of feature stories to the Sunday Express.
Other Books by Ralph Barker
STORIES OF ENDURANCE
NEW publication 2020. An acclaimed mountaineering classic in the same genre as Touching the Void, Ralph Barker’s The Last Blue Mountain is an epic tale of friendship and fortitude in the face of tragedy.
When the passenger liner City of Benares sailed from Liverpool on Friday, 13 September 1940, she was carrying 90 evacuee children from the bombed cities of Britain, bound under a government-sponsored scheme for a safe haven in Canada. Her sinking by U-boat four days later, without warning, in total disregard of the plight of survivors and in defiance of international law, shocked and horrified the civilised world.
This true story of a hijacking and hostages. A disturbing fact-filled book of extreme human experience.
In late 1942 the elderly Ellerman Line steamer City of Cairo was on a voyage from Capetown to Brazil when seven days into the Atlantic crossing the ship was sunk by a U-Boat. There were 300 persons, including women and children and crew aboard.
Among those who fought in the ferocious battles for the skies during the Second World War, some - shot down, or forced to ditch - had to confront an exceptionally pitiless enemy: the sea.
Ten remarkable true accounts of unusual incidents and happenings to Bomber Command aircrew during World War Two.
Military History
The story of the daring RAF pilots who flew low-level torpedo attacks against German battleships in World War II.
'Ralph Barker has written a masterly anecdotal history of the flying war over France, and the courageous 'bird-men', who gave such dedicated support to the regiments deadlocked in the trenches beneath them' - Daily Telegraph
A thoroughly-researched account of this little known aspect of Second World War Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm operations.
The story of how George Binney, a 39 year-old civilian working in neutral Sweden set about running vital cargoes of Swedish ball-bearings and special steels to Britain through the blockaded Skagerrak.
One of the greatest sea stories of World War II
Among those who fought in the ferocious battles for the skies during the Second World War, some - shot down, or forced to ditch - had to confront an exceptionally pitiless enemy: the sea.
Ten remarkable true accounts of unusual incidents and happenings to Bomber Command aircrew during World War Two.
Fifteen "dramas of the air"
There can be nothing more poignant than a sequence of events which gives some occupants of an aircraft a chance of escape and others none.
The story of the first large scale bombing in history, the R.A.F.'s firebombing of Cologne, Germany in 1942.
All these stories are eloquent of devotion and endurance...all are moving. They are told graphically without sensationalism. (Times Literary Supplement)
Tales of Supreme Bravery (Daily Telegraph)
Aviation History
Sidney Cotton was an audacious man - aviator, spy, businessman, gun runner and more. He was at the forefront of photo-reconnaissance before and during WW2.
'In seeking to establish the facts and unravel the secrets of these and other famous air mysteries, Ralph Barker brings outstanding gifts of graphic description to a subject of compelling power' - The Aeroplane.
The story of the daring RAF pilots who flew low-level torpedo attacks against German battleships in World War II.
'Ralph Barker has written a masterly anecdotal history of the flying war over France, and the courageous 'bird-men', who gave such dedicated support to the regiments deadlocked in the trenches beneath them' - Daily Telegraph
The story of how George Binney, a 39 year-old civilian working in neutral Sweden set about running vital cargoes of Swedish ball-bearings and special steels to Britain through the blockaded Skagerrak.
One of the greatest sea stories of World War II
Among those who fought in the ferocious battles for the skies during the Second World War, some - shot down, or forced to ditch - had to confront an exceptionally pitiless enemy: the sea.
Ten remarkable true accounts of unusual incidents and happenings to Bomber Command aircrew during World War Two.
Fifteen "dramas of the air"
There can be nothing more poignant than a sequence of events which gives some occupants of an aircraft a chance of escape and others none.
The story of the first large scale bombing in history, the R.A.F.'s firebombing of Cologne, Germany in 1942.
An excellent account by Barker of The Schneider Trophy Races
This iconic race for seaplanes and flying boats was significant in advancing aeroplane design, particularly in the fields of aerodynamics and engine design, and would show its results in the best fighters of World War II
All these stories are eloquent of devotion and endurance...all are moving. They are told graphically without sensationalism. (Times Literary Supplement)
Tales of Supreme Bravery (Daily Telegraph)
Cricket
Biography of the distinguished cricketing family, including Bill, John, Geoffrey, Eric and Brian Edrich.
‘Stories of skill, patience, grit and swashbuckling verve retold in an urgent, compelling style. You are there on the terraces, in the game.’ - Times Educational Supplement
Kindle Edition | Endeavour Press (28 Dec. 2016)
Essays on 11 cricketers, each of whom enjoyed a 'purple patch' during his career.
The subjects include Arthur Booth, the 'forgotten' Yorkshire bowling star; Bill Alley, Bill Ponsford, Micky Stewart, and Jim Laker.