Lifeboat 5
Lifeboat 5 by Susan Hood is the second book on the similar sinking of the SS City of Benares in September of 1940 due to a German torpedo. Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood is a previous story following the life of Kenneth Sparks who survived the same sinking ship. In the author’s note, Hood discusses the pull of this story about the two girls, Beth and Bess, whose friendship helped them survive. She uncovered this story in her research for Lifeboat 12 but was unable to weave their story into that narrative, so she set it aside for a telling of its own.
Bess, along with her brother Louis, and her new friend Beth are three of the ninety children evacuated from England to be relocated in Canada during World War II and the blitz England was suffering at the hand of the Germans. In an attempt to save many children, there was a lottery for those who could be evacuated and relocated. The characters of this story were winners of that lottery. This story told in verse also changes focus from Bess in first person narration, Louis in third person narration, and the Sea in a personified first person narration. The story opens with Bess and her family, the decision to be a part of the lottery, their leaving and orphanage in which Bess meets Beth, and subsequently where Bess is separated from Louis due to the separation of boys and girls.
As the children and their charges set out to sea, the rest of the story is separated into sections titled “Enemies,” “Evacuation,” “Explosion,” “Exhaustion,” “Euphoria,” “Elegy,” and “Empathy.” Providentially, Louis and Bess both make it onto lifeboats and it isn’t until both are rescued that they learn that both survived. Bess and Beth’s friendship manages to help them both survive the nineteen hours lost at sea. Louis at one point is flung overboard the lifeboat 11 that he was on. Michael Rennie is the escort in charge of Louis and several other boys. He manages to save many of the boys and uplift their spirits. Another man, Albert actually saves Louis from the water but is shortly after flung into the water by a wave and is lost at sea.
A World War II story about the torpedoing of a ship full of children is certainly not a light hearted story, but one worthy of reading as it retells the true stories of bravery and courage. Before reading, families should certainly consider at what age to introduce such stories to their children, as some could be sensitive and prone to worry or concern. Below is a list of noteworthy quotes or mentions within the story:
“Three Stages of Seasickness”/ “You think you’re going to die./ You know you’re going to die./ You’re afraid you won’t die” (58).
On page 77-79 there is a great poem incorporated into the story titled “Hands on Deck” and it details the different types of Hands on the boat - Sailors’ hands, Children’s hands, Escorts’ hands, Reverend’s hands, Caring, Daring, Sharing hands. It is a beautiful poem woven into the tale by Hood and would make a great mentor piece for children or students to model a similar poem from.
There is a mention of how handsome Michael Rennie is and the girls have a bit of a crush on him (81-82).
Michael Rennie dies from the event, but it is after he has spent the last of his effort and life to save the children charged to his care. “But Michael won’t stop./ ‘There’s children in the water./ I’ve got to get them’” (131). “Just before dawn,/ Michael Rennie is gone./ He was twenty-three years old” (168).
“The waves pound,/ the moon glances down,/ while all around/ life goes on/ and life goes out,/ drowned or frozen/ in the frigid/ North Atlantic” (138).
“Those people did/ the obvious thing,/ they thought/ there’s no hope for us…/ We will not be able to keep on/ this lifeboat,/ so we’ll let ourselves go./ It’s tempting to let go/ as they did./ To put an end/ to all of this,/ to just go to sleep/ in the water” (144).
There is the use of the word “piss” in the novel as Bess recounts the bit of warmth one can receive by weeing when one has to go (154).
After their rescue, there are a few pages where bits and pieces of life after are shared. Bess and Beth remained friends and Bess eventually married Beth’s brother. Organized reunions for the survivors from the SS City of Benares happened over several years. At one meeting, surviving German crew members were invited - the ones who fired the torpedo on the ship. The crew members shared how they were unaware about the children aboard that ship and when they found out, “The German crew wept” (225). The following pages discuss the topic of forgiveness.
Readers who are interested in Lifeboat 5 should also take time to read Lifeboat 12. Both are powerful stories of loss, hope, and courage that surrounded the survival of 13 children. Given that the story is told in verse - makes it a powerful and quick read. Many young readers may be unfamiliar with this type of narrative story and introducing the structure as a read aloud would be a great opportunity for introduction to the narrative structure but also an opportunity to discuss the real life events of World War II and the courage and bravery so many exhibited in the face of evil and terror.
