A Tragedy at Sea Sparks Action

(right) U-48 retreats after successfully striking the SS Benares. Sailors tried to save as many passengers as they could by organizing lifeboats to be dropped; the captain was last to disembark after sending out a mayday signal. was necessary to find Allied merchant ships reliably as well as implement his Wolfpack tactics. Months later he set up a new game scenario out at sea, off the coast of Portugal, where the U-boats outnumbered the merchant ships and escorts 15 to 4. With this smaller-scale scenario, the team of U-boats was able to easily find, track, and surround the merchant ships using Doenitz’s tactic. This exercise, along with a later attack on an actual convoy organized by Doenitz, showed to his reluctant superiors that his strategy worked with hard evidence and—with a newly approved, larger force of boats—began its use to devastating effect.

While the Battle of the Atlantic was known to the general public in the early months of the war, the state of affairs had not been of much concern as Winston Churchill, at the time First Lord of the Admiralty, had been exaggerating wins and suppressing losses to allay fears. “Arguably, had the full miserable extent of the Allied performance [at sea] to date been fully known, it may have had an invigorating effect on the coordination of efforts to find an urgent solution” (Parkin 59). It was only until the sinking of one passenger ship in 1940 that both the public and the navy could no longer ignore their losses.

The SS City of Benares was part of a convoy travelling from Britain and carried within its luxurious interior 90 children of well-off and influential families. Their parents had planned to send them away from the dangers of war to Canada where they would then disperse to live with relatives or continue their studies. However, one night when poor sea weather forced the convoy to slow down, a lone U-boat was able to sneak close to the SS Benares and sink the ship. Unaware that the leader of the convoy was carrying children to safer shores and that he had just committed a war crime, the commander of the U-boat reported a major success in sinking a high-value vessel. That night, 77 of the 90 children died, and their loss overtook the conversations in every newspaper and bar with outrage. The populace demanded a better response to Nazi brutality, and the navy was forced to make more decisive actions. To this end, a game much like the one Doenitz and his commanders used was created to understand the movement of U-boats and how escort ships could fight them off once attacked. However, while this game did expose pitfalls in directions and movements, it did nothing to expose the tactics employed by U-boats nor did it train escort ships on how to work together. A different game entirely was needed to win against the Germans.

Gilbert Roberts was told to report to the Admiralty in 1942 and given the run of the dire situation at sea. “Pre-war Britain was the recipient of 68 million tons of imports... this number had now more than halved, to just 26 million tons” (Parkin 121). Roberts was then told to leave for Liverpool where he would take charge of the entire top floor of the Derby House at the new Western Approaches HQ along with a young staff soon to arrive. As a retired British Naval officer who had been discharged—negatively invalidated for an illness

(below) Wrens work tirelessly to load torpedoes onto submarines. Their motto in World War I was ‘Never At Sea’, a negative and constant reminder that their contributions were not as important in comparison to a man’s. he contracted due to his service—he was surprised to be chosen for the role, and even more so that the losses at sea had brought the British so close to defeat. However, true to his many accomplishments both during and after service as a skilled naval officer, wargame runner, and trainer, Roberts went straight to work in setting up his floor to be ready to receive his staff.

Vera Laughton Mathews, often called VLM, had been one of the first women called to enlist in World War I for a group called the Wrens (Women’s Royal Naval Service) in 1917. “In addition to cooking and clerical work, they performed an array of duties... Wrens worked as telephonists calling up gun stations during air raids to pass on orders for gunfire and barrage... were employed in drawing, tracing, and preparing designs for new machinery and weapons... [and] worked as drivers for the Admiralty” (Parkin 66). VLM had been a proponent of women’s rights for years and was pleased to finally be able to contribute to the war effort.

Even though her time with the Wrens was brief, the friendships and connections she formed would eventually lead her to head the new wave of Wrens in World War II. Her care, attention, and advocacy for her fellow women allowed her to understand each of their strengths and assign them to roles where they would excel, allowing their reputation to grow as they proved themselves and