*--SS 'City of Benares' was a steam passenger ship built for Ellerman Lines by Barclay, Curle & Co of Glasgow in 1936. During the Second World War the 'City of Benares' was used as an evacuee ship to evacuate 90 children from Britain to Canada.
--The ship, part of convoy OB-213, was torpedoed on 17 Sept 1940 by a German submarine resulting in its sinking and a heavy loss of life, including the death of 77 of the evacuated children. The sinking caused such public outrage in Britain that it led to Winston Churchill to cancel the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) plan to relocate British children abroad.
--Of the 90 children aboard, only 13 survived; in all 258 lives were lost. At the time the attack and sinking of 'City of Benares' was the worst maritime disaster of the war.
[It is worthwhile noting that the 'City of Benares' sinking reportedly inspired actress/brilliant inventor Hedy Lamarr to develop/patent a system of spread spectrum radio as a means to guide anti-ship torpedoes. The concept is today the basis of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other communications technology.]
Rear Admiral MacKinnon was one of the casualties of this attack.
Rear Admiral (Commodore 2nd Class) EDMOND JULIUS GORDON MACKINNON, DSO
Military Service-
Royal Naval Reserve - S.S. 'City of Benares'
Died aged 60 years.
Awards/Honours: Distinguished Service Order (D S O)
Son of Colonel Walter Carr Mackinnon and Ann Mackinnon; husband of Katherine Ethel Mackinnon (née Rothwell) of Kensington, London, England.
--The ship, part of convoy OB-213, was torpedoed on 17 Sept 1940 by a German submarine resulting in its sinking and a heavy loss of life, including the death of 77 of the evacuated children. The sinking caused such public outrage in Britain that it led to Winston Churchill to cancel the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) plan to relocate British children abroad.
--Of the 90 children aboard, only 13 survived; in all 258 lives were lost. At the time the attack and sinking of 'City of Benares' was the worst maritime disaster of the war.
[It is worthwhile noting that the 'City of Benares' sinking reportedly inspired actress/brilliant inventor Hedy Lamarr to develop/patent a system of spread spectrum radio as a means to guide anti-ship torpedoes. The concept is today the basis of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other communications technology.]
Rear Admiral MacKinnon was one of the casualties of this attack.
Rear Admiral (Commodore 2nd Class) EDMOND JULIUS GORDON MACKINNON, DSO
Military Service-
Royal Naval Reserve - S.S. 'City of Benares'
Died aged 60 years.
Awards/Honours: Distinguished Service Order (D S O)
Son of Colonel Walter Carr Mackinnon and Ann Mackinnon; husband of Katherine Ethel Mackinnon (née Rothwell) of Kensington, London, England.
*--SS 'City of Benares' was a steam passenger ship built for Ellerman Lines by Barclay, Curle & Co of Glasgow in 1936. During the Second World War the 'City of Benares' was used as an evacuee ship to evacuate 90 children from Britain to Canada.
--The ship, part of convoy OB-213, was torpedoed on 17 Sept 1940 by a German submarine resulting in its sinking and a heavy loss of life, including the death of 77 of the evacuated children. The sinking caused such public outrage in Britain that it led to Winston Churchill to cancel the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) plan to relocate British children abroad.
--Of the 90 children aboard, only 13 survived; in all 258 lives were lost. At the time the attack and sinking of 'City of Benares' was the worst maritime disaster of the war.
[It is worthwhile noting that the 'City of Benares' sinking reportedly inspired actress/brilliant inventor Hedy Lamarr to develop/patent a system of spread spectrum radio as a means to guide anti-ship torpedoes. The concept is today the basis of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other communications technology.]
Rear Admiral MacKinnon was one of the casualties of this attack.
Rear Admiral (Commodore 2nd Class) EDMOND JULIUS GORDON MACKINNON, DSO
Military Service-
Royal Naval Reserve - S.S. 'City of Benares'
Died aged 60 years.
Awards/Honours: Distinguished Service Order (D S O)
Son of Colonel Walter Carr Mackinnon and Ann Mackinnon; husband of Katherine Ethel Mackinnon (née Rothwell) of Kensington, London, England.
--The ship, part of convoy OB-213, was torpedoed on 17 Sept 1940 by a German submarine resulting in its sinking and a heavy loss of life, including the death of 77 of the evacuated children. The sinking caused such public outrage in Britain that it led to Winston Churchill to cancel the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) plan to relocate British children abroad.
--Of the 90 children aboard, only 13 survived; in all 258 lives were lost. At the time the attack and sinking of 'City of Benares' was the worst maritime disaster of the war.
[It is worthwhile noting that the 'City of Benares' sinking reportedly inspired actress/brilliant inventor Hedy Lamarr to develop/patent a system of spread spectrum radio as a means to guide anti-ship torpedoes. The concept is today the basis of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other communications technology.]
Rear Admiral MacKinnon was one of the casualties of this attack.
Rear Admiral (Commodore 2nd Class) EDMOND JULIUS GORDON MACKINNON, DSO
Military Service-
Royal Naval Reserve - S.S. 'City of Benares'
Died aged 60 years.
Awards/Honours: Distinguished Service Order (D S O)
Son of Colonel Walter Carr Mackinnon and Ann Mackinnon; husband of Katherine Ethel Mackinnon (née Rothwell) of Kensington, London, England.
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