Children ' s Overseas Reception Board The Children ' s Overseas Reception Board ( CORB ) was a British government sponsored organisation . The CORB evacuated 2 , 664 British children from England , so that they would escape the imminent threat of German invasion and the risk of enemy bombing in World War II . This was during a critical period in British history , between July and September 1940 , when the Battle of Britain was raging , and German invasion forces were being amassed across the English Channel . The children were sent mainly to the four Dominion countries , Canada 1 , 532 ( in nine parties ) , Australia 577 ( three parties ) , New Zealand 202 ( two parties ) , and South Africa 353 ( two parties ) , but also some to the USA . In the first few months over 211 , 000 children were registered with the scheme . A further 24 , 000 children had been approved for sailing in that time and over 1 , 000 volunteer escorts , including doctors and nurses , enrolled . It was planned as a temporary exile for the children , to return home to their families when conditions permitted . Historical background . Even before the Second World War began in September 1939 , the British government had prepared for the evacuation of over a million vulnerable people , mainly children , from the towns and cities to safe areas in the countryside away from the risk of enemy bombing . It was widely believed that up to four million people could be killed by enemy attacks on British towns and cities . When war did eventually break out , the question of sending British children to Commonwealth countries was brought up in Parliament . It was initially rejected on the grounds of creating panic or spreading defeatism . Instead the government decided that the evacuation to rural areas of Britain should continue as it was felt that this was adequate . Nonetheless , it is estimated that , by the end of 1941 , some 14 , 000 British children had been evacuated overseas by private arrangement , over 6 , 000 to Canada and some 5 , 000 to the United States . They went either to relatives or friends or left as part of private schemes , run by businesses such as Hoover and Kodak , who would evacuate the children of their British employees . At the beginning of the War America was neutral , and had strict immigration laws . This presented a serious obstacle to the U . S . A . accepting any significant number of British refugees . Initially these British evacuations to America were a private undertaking and not a British Government sponsored or aided evacuation , but this changed later ( see below ) . In a related American activity , the non - governmental " U . S . Committee for the Care of European Children " ( USCOM ) was established by its Chairman , Clarence Pickett , in June 1940 . Its purpose , was to try to save mainly Jewish refugee children who came from Continental Europe ( as contrasted with those of the CORB from Great Britain ) , and to evacuate them to America . Images of German bombing raids and European refugees had a major impact on American opinion and this increased when the Germans began bombing the UK . USCOM was organized by the Quaker American Friends Service Committee ( AFSC ) , but operated on a non - sectarian basis . As America was neutral until December 1941 , USCOM was able to operate in Vichy France and managed to save over 800 Jewish children . The organisation was strongly supported by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt . Other organisations and individuals also worked to save Jewish children and send them to the United States . It is important to stress once again , that the U . S . Government did not aid them in any way . ( Contrast the Kindertransport program , which the British Government explicitly aided . ) It is estimated that about 1 , 400 such Jewish and other children were saved in this manner , nearly all from Continental Europe and a few from Britain . Collectively , these children are known as the One Thousand Children . The One Thousand Children entry tells much more about this rescue effort , which included many other important organisations . In 1941 Geoffrey Shakespeare , British Under - Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs , announced that a total of 838 children had been sent under the auspices of the American Committee for the Evacuation of European Children , with the collaboration of the Children ’ s Overseas Reception Board . The Scheme organisation . On 10 May 1940 , the Germans started their second blitzkrieg that overran the Netherlands , Belgium , and Luxembourg , and threatened France . Neville Chamberlain , resigned immediately as Prime Minister , and Winston Churchill was appointed to head a coalition government . Shortly afterwards the Germans initiated their assault on France , quickly overrunning the northern part of the country and forcing the evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk between 27 May and 4 June . With the fall of France imminent , the children ' s evacuation scheme was again was presented in the British Parliament , and this time approved . In Churchill ’ s newly formed War Cabinet on 17 June , Under - Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Geoffrey Shakespeare was tasked with implementing the evacuation programme . The same day , negotiations opened with the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son , for the new department to be housed in their London Head Office at 45 Berkeley Street . The British Government would meet the cost of the voyages with contributions taken from parents on a sliding scale , involving a means test . Although the British Government was now involved , and this scheme was sanctioned by the Cabinet , Churchill and some others were not personally keen on the idea . Queen Elizabeth , wife of King George VI , had made her views clear at the outbreak of war . There was some suggestion that the Queen and her daughters should be evacuated to North America or Canada . To this the Queen replied : ' The children won ' t go without me . I won ' t leave the King . And the King will never leave . ' Throughout the Second World War the Queen and her children shared the dangers and difficulties of the rest of the nation . The new organisation and staff were quickly assembled and the scheme launched . Applications for children would be made through schools throughout the country . They would travel alone and be accompanied by selected teachers or escorts at a ratio of one to every 15 children , in addition to nurses and doctors . They would travel to the port of embarkation and be accommodated in a hostel , where final medical checks were made . In order to embark rapidly ; the usual formalities were dispensed with , there would be no passports . Each child was given a luggage label with its C . O . R . B . number and as each child embarked they were given an identity disc , also with its C . O . R . B . number . At its height the C . O . R . B . employed some 620 staff . SS " Volendam " and SS " City of Benares " . Within two weeks of each other , two ships carrying CORB children ‘ Sea Evacuees ’ as they were known , were torpedoed by German U - boat s . The first was the Holland America Line ' s , whose passengers included 320 children bound for Halifax and New York . She left Liverpool on 29 August with convoy OB - 205 , consisting of 32 other ships , and including , carrying 126 CORB male evacuees . On 30 August 1940 at about 11 . 00pm , the convoy was attacked by " U - 60 " , firing two torpedoes that hit No . 1 hold and damaged and caused flooding in No . 2 hold . The passengers and crew abandoned ship and were rescued by British merchantmen in the convoy , including the " Bassethound " , the tanker " Valldemosa " and the Norwegian " Olaf Fostenes " , together with the British destroyer . They were taken to Greenock and other west coast ports in Scotland . All 320 children were rescued , the only casualty was the ship ' s purser who was drowned . The " Volendam " did not sink , and was subsequently taken in tow to Scotland for repairs . When she was docked a second unexploded torpedo was found embedded in the bow , if it had exploded she would have probably sunk . The second , ( more distressing ) incident to occur to an evacuation ship came on 17 September 1940 , when the Ellerman Lines ' s , carrying 90 children bound for homes in Canada , was torpedoed and sunk . She had left Liverpool on 13 September for Quebec and Montreal . She was in convoy OB - 213 with 19 other ships and was 253 miles west - southwest of Rockall , with the Atlantic weather getting worse and the ship sailing slowly . " City of Benares " was the flagship of the Convoy Commodore , and was leading the convoy . At around 11 . 45pm she was attacked by " U - 48 " with two torpedoes but they missed . A second torpedo attack just after midnight hit the ship . She was abandoned and sank within 30 minutes . The British destroyer picked up 105 survivors and landed them at Greenock . 42 survivors were left adrift in a lifeboat for eight days , until being picked up by and also landed at Greenock . The ship ' s master , the commodore , three staff members , 121 crew members and 134 passengers were lost . 77 of the 90 CORB children died in the sinking . This event brought the evacuation programme to a halt . Political Consequences . The sinking of the " City of Benares " caused outrage when it was reported on 23 September 1940 . The British government protested that children should not have been innocent victims of war . The Americans called it a ‘ dastardly act ’ . The Germans defended the U - boat attack , considering the ship a legitimate military target , and insisted that the British government was to blame for allowing children to travel on such ships in a war zone . The sinking was a public relations disaster for both the CORB programme and the Admiralty . The British public seemed more enraged at the Admiralty than at the Germans . The fact that the escorts were detached , " City of Benares " was at the head of the convoy , and the convoy was not taking any evasive action all featured prominently in the subsequent inquiry . Some of the ships used for the scheme . Liverpool was the principal port used for evacuation for the North Atlantic routes to Canada and America . Gourock and Greenock in Scotland were also used . Between 21 July and 20 September 1940 , 16 voyages were made carrying 2 , 664 CORB children . In addition there were also privately sponsored voyages . The programme itself was very limited in size ; nineteen ships set sail with 3 , 127 children , the vast majority of whom made it to their temporary foster homes in Canada , Australia , New Zealand , South Africa and the United States . Children ' s Overseas Reception Scheme ( Advisory Council ) . The following members were appointed to the Advisory Council as announced in Parliament on 26 June 1940 . They met at 45 Berkeley Street London W1 , Thomas Cook & Sons , Head Office . The Right Honourable Lord Snell ( Chairman ) , C . B . E . , LL . D . Harry Snell , 1st Baron Snell . Miss Florence Horsbrugh , M . P . , Parliamentary Secretary , Ministry of Health . Mr . James Chuter Ede , M . P . , Parliamentary Secretary , Board of Education . Mr . J . Westwood , M . P . , Parliamentary Under - Secretary for Scotland . Miss Ellen Wilkinson , M . P . , Parliamentary Secretary , Ministry of Pensions . Mr . E . R . Appleton , Organizer of Empire Youth movements . Mr . Cyril Bavin , Y . M . C . A . Reverend John Bennett , Catholic Council of British Overseas Settlement . The Countess of Bessborough , Chairman of Council , Society for Overseas Settlement of British Women . Miss , Grace Browning , Girl Guide ' s Association . Mr . Laurence Cadbury , O . B . E . , M . A . , Chairman , Cadbury Brothers , Limited , an authority on school and welfare problems . Lieut . - Colonel Culshaw , Salvation Army . Miss Doggett , O . B . E . , League of Empire . Miss Ellen Evans , Principal , The Glamorgan Training College : also appointed with special reference to Wales . Captain G . F . Gracey , Save the Children ' s Fund . Mr . Gordon Green , Fairbridge Farm School . Mr . W . A . F . Hepburn , O . B . E . , M . C . , LL . D . , Director of Education for Ayrshire , also appointed with special reference to Scotland . Reverend S . W . Hughes , Free Church Council . Reverend Canon H . E . Hyde , Church of England Council for Empire Settlement . Miss M . F . Jobson , J . P . , Member of Fife Education Authority and County Council ; also appointed with special reference to Scotland . Miss E . A . Jones , M . A . , Headmistresses ' Association . Mr . P . J . Kirkpatrick , Dr . Barnardo ' s Homes ( Thomas John Barnardo ) . Mr . Harold Legat , Boy Scouts ' Association ( The Scout Association ) . The Right Honourable Sir Ronald Lindsay , G . C . B . , G . C . M . G . , sometime His Majesty ' s Ambassador to Washington . Mr . W . A . Markham , M . A . , Member of Executive National Children ' s Home and Orphanage . Mrs . Norman , Vice - Chairman , Women ' s Voluntary Services . Mrs . E . Parker , Ex - President , National Union of Teachers . Dr . Donald Paterson , M . D . , F . R . C . P . , Physician , Great Ormond Street Hospital . Miss Gladys Pott , C . B . E . , ex - Chairman of Executive of Society for Overseas Settlement of British Women . Mr . Brendan Quin , 1820 Memorial Settlement . Sir William Reardon Smith , Baronet , an authority on shipping ; also appointed with special reference to Wales . Miss Edith Thompson , C . B . E . , Chairman of Executive , Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women . A Scottish Advisory Council for CORB was also appointed , which met at 27 , St . Andrew ' s Square , Edinburgh 2 . The Right Honourable the Lord Provost of Glasgow , P . J . Dollan , Esq . , ( Chairman ) . Mr . Joseph Westwood , M . P . , Parliamentary Under - Secretary of State for Scotland . ( also attended London HQ meetings ) Mr . A . L . Fletcher , B . A . , former Director of Education for the County of Midlothian . Miss Mary Tweedie , former Headmistress of the Edinburgh Ladies ' College ( The Mary Erskine School ) . Mrs . McNab Shaw , a member of the Ayr County Council . Miss Margaret Jobson , J . P . , a member of the Fife County Council , and Fife Education Authority , ( also attended London HQ meetings ) . Mr . W . A . F . Hepburn , O . B . E . , M . C . , LL . D . , Director of Education for Ayrshire , ( also attended London HQ meetings ) . A representative of the Quarrier ' s Homes , Bridge of Weir , who was appointed . Aftermath . After the disaster of the " City of Benares " British public opinion was opposed to the continuation of overseas evacuation , fearing further tragedies . Winston Churchill had been opposed to the scheme , so the government announced the cancellation of the CORB program . However , private evacuation efforts continued into late 1941 . By September 1940 the Royal Air Force had achieved mastery over the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain and the threat of an imminent German invasion ( Operation Sea Lion ) had abated . Although the evacuation scheme had ceased in September 1940 , CORB remained active . It was only disbanded , along with the advisory councils , in 1944 , by which point the perceived German military threat had diminished . The German captain of " U - 48 " , Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt survived the war , and was held and tried by the Allies on war crimes charges concerning the sinking of the " City of Benares " . He was accused of sinking the ship with the full knowledge that it had been transporting evacuees . He reaffirmed the German position that there was no way that he or the crew of the submarine could have known who was on board . It was upheld and he was acquitted . However , Bleichrodt refused to apologise to the survivors , despite several crew members of " U - 48 " , including the radio operator , expressing their shock and regret once the facts became known . External links . The National Archives Children ’ s Overseas Reception Board Children ' s Overseas Reception Board