Tracking down life of mystery heroine

Which makes it hardly surprising that Midhurst's Mary Cornish disappeared from the public eye without trace.

But author Julie Summers is keen to tell the Mary Cornish story - an extraordinary tale of courage in the most awful of adversities.

Mary died a spinster in Midhurst in 1964. Nothing is known of the life she led there - a gap Julie is keen to fill in her latest research project.

But plenty is known about Mary's acts of bravery and endurance which made national headlines in the dark days of the Second World War.

Cornish survived the sinking of the City of Benares in 1940 and for nine days, adrift at sea in a lifeboat, she kept up the spirits of six boys, feeding them sparingly on biscuits and eking out the little drinking water they had - until finally they were rescued.

"It's the most incredible story", says Julie. "It makes you want to cry. This one lifeboat disappeared off and they floated around the sea for nine days. Eventually they were found.

"They were all suffering from hypothermia and sea foot, which is a condition like trench foot.

"They were surviving on tiny tiny quantities of water, and Mary was keeping the boys going by telling them stories and singing songs."

When she came back, she was lauded as a heroine and honoured with an MBE - but, Julie suspects, the public glare was too much for Mary to bear, especially when she learnt that only two of the 15 girls she was originally looking after on the boat had survived.

Her reaction to her trauma presumably explains her disappearance, Julie feels.

"It is known that she had addresses in both London and Midhurst in later life.

"The Midhurst address belonged to a man called Patterson - though Julie is unclear as to Mr Patterson's relationship with Mary. But it was certainly in Midhurst that she died, of cancer, in her 60s.

The City of Benares was being used as a refugee ship as part of the Children's Overseas Reception Board's evacuation scheme to get children away from the Blitz.

The ship was carrying 90 child evacuees on their way to Canada. Cornish, apparently an accomplished classical pianist, was on board as an escort.

On September 17 1940, just a few days after setting sail, the City of Benares was sighted by U-48.

The first two torpedoes missed. The third one didn't, and the boat sank within half an hour.

In the confusion, Lifeboat 12 was left alone at sea, carrying around 30 Indian crewmen, a Polish merchant, several sailors, Mary Cornish, Father Rory O'Sullivan and six evacuee boys.

They endured more than a week adrift before HMS Anthony sighted and rescued them.

Julie suspects that Mary returned to life as a music teacher, but she would love to know more. Just what did happen to Mary in her obscurity in the years that remained to her?

"I am writing a book about the effect of the evacuation on the children that came back from the war.

"I would love to know why she was so secretive about her experiences afterwards."

Anyone who can help should contact [email protected].