Rushing back after retrieving his coat, Ken discovers Lifeboat 8 has left and he ends up squeezing into Lifeboat 12, along with 5 other boys, and 40 adults. Ken heads to his assigned Lifeboat 8, but in all the confusion, he remembers he left his coat behind, the one his stepmum bought and admonished him to take care of and not to lose.
That is until September 17th, their fourth day at sea, when a German submarine torpedoes the ship, causing severe damage. Only the constant lifeboat drills in case of an attack and the convey escorting the ship remind the kids of war they left behind. Ken makes friends with some of the other boys and spends his time exploring the ship with them. And it is luxurious for the evacuees, who are fed wonderful and plentiful food including seconds, provided with brand new toys and games, and clean soft beds, even better than what Ken had at home.
And he does finally leave in a convoy on Friday, September 13th, sailing on a luxury ocean lined called the City of Benares. Once the Blitz begins, and night after night is spent in a shelter, Ken quickly begins to look forward to leaving England. But he still wasn't happy about going to Canada. After all, by the summer of 1940, Ken was used to everything being second hand, makeshift or rationed because of the war. He was thrilled about getting such a nice coat, even if it was second hand. Kenneth, however, doesn't want to go, thinking his stepmum had finally found a way to be rid of him, even if she did buy him a very good, expensive overcoat to take with him. Lifeboat 12 follows the experience of one of the children chosen to be sent to Canada, a boy named Kenneth Sparks, 13, of Wembley in London, the son of working class parents. In the summer of 1940, as fear of a German invasion grew, the British government initiated a program called the Children's Overseas Reception Board, or CORB, which purpose was to evacuate British children from England and send them by ship to one of their (then) Dominion countries.
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