RMS Laconia (1921)
This page states the following:
"the Italian prisoners tried to rush those that remained. The efforts of the Polish guards were instrumental in controlling the chaotic situation on board and certainly saved many lives."
The actions of the Polish guards can hardly be called heroic. They refused to open the doors for the Italians to reach the lifeboats. In a sinking ship, this is essentially the same as condemning the Italians to death by drowning. When it became clear to the Italians that the only way to survive the sinking was to storm the doors, a number of Italians broke down the doors in a successful attempt to leave the ship.
The Laconia had enough lifeboats for all of the people aboard, including the Italians, but due to the sharp angle that the ship took soon after being torpedoed, it was not possible to launch all the lifeboats.
