What was the scope of children evacuated from Britain to the United States during World War II? How did children get chosen to go? Did the German submarines know about them and treat them differently, being that they were full of children?

by Smoked_Bear

My uncle was evacuated from Manchester, Britain sometime in 1941 to escape the war. He traveled on a medium-sized passenger ship along with many other children to I believe Boston, MA. He was 10 years old at the time. We don't have much information about the journey since he and his wife and have passed. However we do know there was one mounted gun on the ship, and they had an encounter with a German submarine along the way. Any information about this would be great. Thanks!

Second_Mate

If you look at the fate of the "City of Benares" you'll see that merchant vessels were regarded as legitimate targets by the German Navy. More here "Children of the Benares, A War Crime and its Victims" by Ralph Barker. The loss of the "City of Benares" led to a rethink into the viability of evacuation by sea. The commander of the U Boat responsible was tried for war crimes after the war and his, quite reasonable, defence was that he couldn't possibly know what the ship he was attacking was carrying.