Rescue From Atlantic Late last night therc was goo(l news from mid-Atlantic, whierc ten days ago a ship taking childrcin to Canada was torpedoed and sunk, with a reportcd( death roll of nearly 300, including more than 80 children. It was officially announced that 46 survivors of the ship-now known to have been the Ellerman lincr City of Benares-had been saved and were nearing port in a warship which a Sunderland flying-boat had guided to their rescue. The Air Mvlinistry News Service issued the following statement late last nigh't:- A Sunderland flying-boat of the Coastal Command yesterday (Wednesday) found 46 survivors, including children, drifting in an open boat 600 miles from land. 'Thev were pic'ked up by a 'warship, and arc expected to land in a British port to-night. The survivors had been adrift since their ship wvas torpedoed in mid-Atlantic on September 17 while taking British children to Canada under the sea evacuation scheme. Two Sunderlands, one belonging to the Royal Australian Air Force, shared' in the rescue. The Australian Sunderland had just been relieved from convoy escort when it found the lifeboat. The captain flew to the convov and asked the captain of an R.A.F. Sunderland. which had taken over from him. to see to the rescue of the survivors. Bv Aldis lamp signals he gave their exact position. BAG OF FOOD DROPPED The second Sunderland took over the rescue. The captain said:- The Sunderland we were relieving ovcr the convoy sent up a message just before going off patrol. The captain said he had sighied a boat. He could not stay, because his peirol was running low. We went straight to the place he indicated, and found the boat at once. All the people in the boat were sitting or lying down, except one man, who was at the tiller. Some, amidships, seemed to be in rather a bad way. They had hioisted a sail, and were making what speed they could. When we got tIhere we dropped a parachute bag filled with all the food we had on board. We attached a life jacket to keep it afloat. We circled rotind and made them a signal that w\e were going to get help, but they had only a semaphore, which ve were travelling too fast to read. However, we made them understand that we were going to fetch a ship, which we thoughit about 40 miles away. Before leaving them I went down very low on the water, and saw that it would be possible to land and take them on board if they could not be resctied otherwise. Then we went to fetch a ship. We found a warshiip and signaliled that there was a boat full of people, and indicated their position. I said we would mnet the warship near the.lifeboai. We flew back to the boat. and then to the war- ship again. but. she was not on the right course, so I signalled " Follow mc', and ihen flew directly over the ship towards the lifeboat. The warship altered course and followed. When I was getting near the lifeboar I dropped a smoke flare, which the warship saw and signalled ' O.K." We waited until we saw the warship actually stop alongside the life- boat, and then, as we had received a signal telling us to return to base before dusk, wAe left. We vere very glad to see those people safe, and all felt very bticked about it. THE SAVED. CHILDREN The names of the surviving children are: - William Ctinnirigiam SHOR., aged nine, of 2, Fordwell Passages, Sunderland. Paul SHEARING. 12, of 44. King Edward Aventic. Moor Down. Botirnemouthi (hos- pital case). I-larry Frederick STEEL. I, of 12. Blenheim Road, Eastleigh, Southampton. Hioward Francis CLA-rOR. I1. of 1S, Roland Avenuie. Kenton, Middlesex. Derek Alfred CAreL, 12. of 16, Camrose , Avenue. Hanworth, Middlesex. Kenneth John SPARKS, 13, of 40, Lancelot Crescent. Wembley. The children, with the 40 other sur- vivors, spent eight days in an open life- boat. Their companions in their adven- tures included seamen. all of whom were taken to hospital ; a Polish shipowner, Mr. Bohdan Nagorski, of London: Father O'Sullivan, a Roman Catholic priest; and Miss Cornish. The last two were helping to escort the children to Canada. SURVIVORS' STORIES Mr. Nagorski said:- We had made tiu our minds that there was no hope of our being resctied. We had been at sea in the open boat for eight days. We had no water, and otir food was practically gone. Suddenly we heard the roar of acroplane engines. Wc looked tip, and to our joy and relief saw -thc flying-boat appear from the clouds. The aeroplane looked as if it were going to land, but the pilot si-inalled to uis, and thcn (disappeared. L.ater he returned and dropped frUit and otiher light diet from the acroplane. The food, however. fell into the water. btit we were not worryinig about food by this time. The ftlying-boat k%ent tin again. and rettirned some time later. 4imntitaneouslv with the appearance of the British warship. We were taken aboard and revived by the crew. Kenneth John Sparks, of WVembley, said:- I got into a lifeboat, and we got out thc oars and rowed round the liner. We picked up six survivors from rafts. They were stiffering terribly from thc cold. The worst of it was rowing all day and all night. We had a sardine and a ship's biscuit. which was like iron, and a quarter of a glass of milk. On the second day we had a bit of tinned salmon, a ship's biscuit again, anl a quarier of a glass of wsater. I saw a speck in the sky soon after midday. I was the first to see it. I shouted " Look, an acroplane." Everyone looked up and was glad. We stw'ted mraying. All thc children did, led by Father O'Sullivan. WVe prayed that the acroplane wotld come near enough to see us and hlcp us. . . . We had to 1-e lifted tip thc steps of the warship as none of us could walk: Miss Mary Cornish. of London. the oniv woman in the lifeboat, croucihing in the silmall space in the bows of the boat, massaged the limbs of the children anid made up exercises to counteract their cramped condition and the bitct- cold. Shc said: Thev were all quite cieer-ftil anld passed the time singing and telliig stories. The 46 new survivors reduce the death roll of 306 to 260. The childien's death roll is rcduced by six to 79. The City Line officers on board the lifeboat wvere:-R. M. Cooper. 22. of Duntrtine. Errol. Invcrgowrie, the fourth officer; D. Critchley, 20. of Rosslyn. Meols, Cheshire: and G. Purvis, 23. of Borland Road. Glasgow, assist- ant steward. Mr. Coopel was in charge of the lifeboat throtighotit the eight days. RI'SCIUFIMM rA)N All ANT..ICN'lC FlI(ITll IDAYS IN OI,.IN IIOAt'' 'JORPEDOIEI) SI-III'S SURVIVORS