All three primary seven classes walked along to James Gillespie's Primary School this afternoon to see a production of the drama Lifeboat performed by members of the Catherine Wheels Theatre Company. It was a very engaging performance and helped us all to learn a lot more about the experience of some children who were evacuated during World War II.
The following text is taken from the Catherine Wheels Theatre Company website (http://www.catherinewheels.co.uk/productions/lifeboat) along with the above picture.
Lifeboat is the extraordinary true story of Bess Walder and Beth Cummings. Set in World War II, it is a story of courage, a story of survival and a story of enduring friendship.
On Friday 13 September 1940, a ship, The City of Benares, set sail from Liverpool for Canada. On board were 90 evacuees escaping the relentless bombing and dangers of war torn Britain. Four days into the crossing, the ship was torpedoed and sank. Only eleven of the evacuees survived.
Two fifteen year old girls, Bess Walder and Beth Cummings, spent 19 terrifying hours in the water on an upturned lifeboat. They willed each other to survive. Lifeboat tells their story.
