|
Letters
William Henry Morrow killed in HMAS Canberra at the Battle of Savo Island Hi Mac, I found your site after browsing for info on HMAS Canberra. My father's father was killed on her at the Battle of Savo Island. His name is William Henry Morrow and we know is on the list of the unfortunate ones. He was rescued from HMS Jupiter which was sunk by a mine off Java. He was taken ashore in Australia and then signed up for the Australian Navy, I'm led to believe. My father William Victor Morrow attended the unveiling of the Memorial for the Canberra at Garden Island in 1997. I wondered if yourself or any survivors had any recollection of William Henry Morrow. I am unsure if you had met my father at the memorial in 1997 so maybe this question has already been asked by him or by Aubrey Dedman who I believe did the unveiling. On another note, i visited the memorial myself in November 2006 when i visited Oz for the Great Britain Rugby League Tour as we hail from Hull, England. Hope to hear from you soon and hope you are in good health, Best Regards, John William Morrow,
Thank you for your mail. Yes, I do recall your Grandfather in Canberra, I guess because of his history in Jupiter, and because he was one of only 9 Royal Navy ratings in the ship. I have a list of the complete crew of Canberra at the time of her sinking, and listed amongst those killed under the Heading of: Royal Navy, is:
It would seem that he was still listed as a member of the RN. No I did not meet your Dad at the unveiling of the Canberra Memorial at GI in 1997, but I did have the honour of jointly laying a wreath on that site last August. I live in Melbourne, and am the President of the Canberra/Shropshire Association here, we went to Sydney for a Memorial Service in the Naval If you go to this URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Canberra_(1927) you will find a picture of the Canberra Memorial, on the shore of Lake Burleigh Griffin at our national capital in Canberra. Here is William's entry at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site. John, you will find W.H. Morrow in the left hand column, on panel 66, taken from at the Navy Memorial at Plymouth. Although almost 85, I keep good health, I do have Type 2 Diabetes, but insulin and medication keep it on the whole under control. Lovely to hear from and talk with you. Best regards and good wishes for 2007 to you in Hull. Mac. Gregory. back to letters index |
