On Remembrance Day this year (November 11th) we released our first video for our song ‘City of Benares’. The video was filmed and recorded at our home studio (Boutique Empire) and produced by our multi-talented bassist Mark Henning. The song focuses on a tragic WWII sinking of the steamship City of Benares by a German submarine in September 1940. The tragedy was deepened by the presence on board of a group of British children being taken to Canada to avoid German air bombardment in London. History notes that 260 people were lost in the shipwreck including 83 children being evacuated under the Children’s Overseas Reception Board (CORB) program. Due to public outcry, Prime Minister Winston Churchill cancelled the CORB program immediately after the City of Benares sinking and children were then taken to northern UK territories instead. Sad stuff for sure but we think the song honours the event and illuminates a Canadian connection to a shipwreck that occurred almost 85 years ago.
