William Hurwitz
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
William Hurwitz was the son of Isaac, a lace and curtain dealer, and Fanny Hurwitz who had both emigrated to England from Russia and settled initially in London. William had two younger brothers Mark and Lazarus. By 1911, the family had moved to 7, Woolmer Road, Meadows, Nottingham.
William went to school in Nottingham – Queen’s Walk Council School and then Mundella Grammar School, and then became a student teacher for Nottingham Education Committee. He then read English at university in London.
William Hurwitz saw Great War service with the South Lancashire Regiment in France, where he was wounded, and the Middle East. In 1921, he married long term girlfriend Renee Goldberg and the couple had two daughters Anita and Helen. Inter-war, he became active in the Association of Jewish ex-servicemen (Ajex).
Deep concern about Nazi Jewish persecution persuaded Hurwitz to send his daughters to the safety of relatives in Chicago. He was en route to join them aboard SS City of Benares when disaster struck (see Military History).
The SS City of Benares, a British steam passenger ship, sank on 17 September 1940. The ship was en route to Montreal, Canada, then to Quebec City, and later to New York City. She was carrying 406 people—209 crew, 6 convoy representatives, and 191 passengers, of whom 100 were children ages 2 to 15. They were being evacuated under a scheme called C.O.R.B. - Children's Overseas Protection Board.
Most of the passengers were British, Australian, or Canadian, though twenty-three were from other countries, while most of the crew was Indian (of whom 23 were under the age of 16). The ship was discovered by a German submarine (U-48), and in the middle of the night she was torpedoed and sunk, killing 127 of the 195 people on board. 98 out of 123 children aboard Benares were lost.
William Hurwitz it seems was 'Lost on "City of Benares" Torpedoed helping others. A passenger who survived, Roderick Maher, told Renee how William had given him a coat to help him as the ship sank. (Extracts from William Hurwitz - A Life by Nigel Thorpe Courtesy of Margaret Astill via A Meeting Point to Unite Old Mundellans https://www.mundella.org.uk/
William and Renee Hurwitz
Courtesy of Margaret Astill
William Hurwitz with his daughters Anita and Helen
Courtesy of Margaret Astill
SS City of Benares
Public Domain