Beth's Story (890 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.79 on 24 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Euripides Trousers (View user info) at 2004-07-01 19:46:34 EDT
In 1942 children from cities around the UK were evacuated for their own safety in order to avoid Hitler's Blitz. Some were given the chance to go to Canada. Beth was lucky enough to have been chosen to go there, and this is her story as best as I can remember it.
As her parents saw her off from the station, her mother told her to 'grow up to be a nice girl'; her father told her to 'look after the little man' (the 'little man' being her brother) - only in retrospect did she realise that they thought they may never see her again. Beth had just turned 15 and her brother was 9; they were giddy with excitement. Beth thought that Canada, being right next door to America, was filled with film studios and famous actors. Her brother thought he was going to the Wild West, full of Cowboys and Indians.
Along with the 88 other children on the ship, they sang 'Wish me luck when you say goodbye' to well-wishers on the Liverpool docks as they set sail into the Irish Sea. They were treated wonderfully on that boat - anything a child could wish for was theirs. Coming from a country where rationing was in full force, they especially liked all the food. Beth was impressed that not only did they have ham, but when they put it into rolls, there was still some hanging over the edges.
The ship was segregated - boys one side, girls the other. She was worried that she couldn't fulfil her father's wish to look after her brother, but also pleased, as it meant she didn't know what he was getting up to. She used to walk through the ship, peeping in through odd windows; the playroom catered for the very youngest children, some only 4 years old - and in it she could see the greatest rocking horse she could remember. It had panniers made of baskets, so that three toddlers could ride it at the same time.
Halfway across the North Atlantic the captain announced over the Tannoy that they were sailing into a gale, and to remain below decks. She had never experienced this force of nature at its rawest, and was terrified. It was a gale force 8. In the midst of the pounding doled out in the storm, she felt the entire ship shudder, and the lights went out. Someone grabbed her and said 'Come with me'. They had been torpedoed.
Up on deck she met with complete chaos. The ship was listing at 45 degrees, and was sinking. The life rafts were being lowered at this angle, and were swinging wildly - many of the children could not make it to them and instead jumped into the ocean. Someone picked her up and threw her into a life raft. She had not been able to see her brother, and assumed he had jumped or fallen in to the water.
As the over-crowded raft made its way from the sinking ship, the vortex it made as it finally went under sucked most of the other life rafts with it. Shortly after that, grossly overweight and battered by the waves, her raft capsized. She made it to the surface, and climbed on to the up-turned hull, along with one other girl. No one else emerged. After a while, she saw the beautiful rocking horse bobbing on top of a wave.
They were now alone. She half-noticed storm clouds racing above them. As time went on, their tongues became so badly swollen that they could barely talk. Their eyes were puffing and closing up. They were hypothermic, and they were drifting towards death. Beth wished that she could go home and tell her Daddy what had happened; to tell him the story face to face, of why she had not rescued her brother. She said 'just hang on' - the other girl said only 'yes'.
After 20 hours Beth briefly saw a dark speck on the horizon. The speck gradually emerged as a Royal Navy destroyer - she didn't have the strength to stand and get its attention. Later, she remembered hearing what she thought were men at a Rugby match - it was the sound of the sailors, elated to have found them. The coxswain of the boat sent to ferry them to the destroyer told her 'young lady, just let go', but she couldn't. Her hands were frozen around their hold. He had to prise them off, finger by finger, before he could drag her away.
Only 7 children were ever found. Onboard the destroyer, she was given an officer's cabin to herself. The ship's doctor told her to 'get better quickly' - she would be home soon. She told him that she was doing her best, but that her mother and father would be disappointed because only she was going home. The doctor told her that lots of the mummies and daddies would have no one coming home.
One day, the captain arrived at her door, knocked, and told her to 'Sit Up!' Though in pain, she did as she was told - after all, everyone had to do what the Captain said. When he opened the door, he stood there and said 'young lady, I've brought you a present'.
He reached behind him, and there was her brother.
http://yourgallery.com/international/canada/can2.jpg (0 bytes) [application/octet-stream]
User Reviews
Submitted by Avals (user info) at 2004-07-04 12:55:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ha! I knew it was going to be about the City of Bernares as soon as I started reading.
Seriously, good story. I wish there were some more details, but I guess you've already written down everything you remember.
Submitted by Chief_Rugger (user info) at 2004-07-04 12:48:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn good read.
Submitted by FilthyAssistant (user info) at 2004-07-04 12:40:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by gbusman (user info) at 2004-07-04 12:39:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Staccers (user info) at 2004-07-04 12:29:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Euripides.
Euripides who?
Euripides trousers, you pay for them, fucker.
Erm, what are you, like a 12 year old?
AND I KNOW WHO EURIPIDES IS.
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2004-07-02 11:52:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow. What an experience.
The call on the noob was pretty funny.
Submitted by BuckeyesTHEGAME (user info) at 2004-07-02 08:47:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You may call me Tom, Tom S., BTG, whatever you want.
I LOVE BEING CYNICAL!! It's even better when someone proves me right.
Submitted by spedmonkey (user info) at 2004-07-02 08:17:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Cynicism is always fun, Tom. Can I call you Tom S. from now on? I get you and teen Tom confused.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2004-07-02 08:09:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by BuckeyesTHEGAME (user info) at 2004-07-02 06:33:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Oh, and the user number of that person?
9580
Imagine that.
Submitted by BuckeyesTHEGAME (user info) at 2004-07-02 06:32:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Great story, have a 0... ooops!!! I meant +2.
Sorry, LOLZ!!!
Submitted by cshape (user info) at 2004-07-02 05:38:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That was a great call by Buckeyes.
Submitted by Siren (user info) at 2004-07-02 05:20:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by GodChicken (user info) at 2004-07-02 02:25:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2004-07-02 01:40:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Vermin (user info) at 2004-07-02 00:57:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Quetzallan (user info) at 2004-07-01 22:52:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Sorry, sorry
Submitted by Quetzallan (user info) at 2004-07-01 22:52:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
That's a great story.
Submitted by BuckeyesTHEGAME (user info) at 2004-07-01 22:24:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nah, just messing around Nerfherder.
Submitted by youarsoghey (user info) at 2004-07-01 22:13:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was good.
Submitted by NerfHerder (user info) at 2004-07-01 21:54:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Geez, you're bitter Tom.
Submitted by BuckeyesTHEGAME (user info) at 2004-07-01 21:27:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This deserves no less than a +2, but I guarantee some damned n00b will fuck up your rating.
Submitted by GodHatesYou (user info) at 2004-07-01 21:22:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by heyzues (user info) at 2004-07-01 20:18:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
My inclination is to like this alot, ALOT ALOT.