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Dora Mary MORRIS 'Molly'
Sister, 239730, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service.
Died 7 December 1942, aged 27.
Remembered on Panel 22, Column 2 at BROOKWOOD MEMORIAL, Surrey.
Daughter of David John and Dora Morris of 147, Derwen Fawr Road, Blackpill, Swansea.
Dora (Molly) was born on 10th February 1915 in Dadupur, Tahsil Jagadhri, Punjab, India
Dora was travelling to Cape Town with ticket no. 331, along with 49 other QAIMNS nurses, on the White Star Liner SS Ceramic when the ship, with 378 passengers on board disappeared. Later it was discovered that the ship had been torpedoed on the 6th and sunk on 7th December at latitude 40 deg. 30 min. N., longitude 40 deg. 20 min. W, and that there was one survivor, a sapper of the Royal Engineers, who was later picked up by U 515 and taken to a German prison camp.
SS CERAMIC THE UNTOLD STORY by Clare Hardy, (click for link to eBook website)
Wikipedia also has information on the ship and its sinking as well as German submarine U-515
We are grateful to Diane Emsley, the niece of Molly Morris,
for sharing these photographs and the account below.
Molly Morris is in the second row from the front and on the right of the two gentleman
DORA MARY MORRIS 'Molly'
Born 10th February 1915 in Dadupur, Tahsil Jagadhri, Punjab, India
David John Morris was a Swansea lad who attended Swansea Grammar School and a Senior school, winning many prizes for both studies and sports and he played Water Polo for Wales. He trained as a Civil Engineer which is what led him to India where he was designing and overseeing the construction of railways and bridges.
Dora Kate Butcher was brought up in Suffolk in her early years then she and her sister went to live in Ulverston in the Lake District where they were brought up by a great aunt (known as Granny Gordon Smith) who was by all accounts a formidable lady. They lived in a big house called Bankfield House. Dora Kate trained as a nurse at St Edmundsbury Hospital in Suffolk and other hospitals and worked as a private nurse which is what led her to India where she was nursing the Viceroy who was in poor health.
David John (my grandfather) and Dora Kate (my grandmother) met in India at a social gathering and Grandpa was smitten. They married on 22nd December 1913 in India.
Eventually in 10th February 1915 Molly was born and on 3rd February 1918 John Llewelyn was born (my father). The family appeared to live an idyllic life, Gran was busy organising nurses in the area, Grandpa was busy with bridges. The children were tutored and had a lovely time with lots of animals, dogs, Tinker, a Jack Russell, Buster a type of Bull Terrier, Blackie and Jock, both black spaniels. There are also pictures of Moti, the family elephant with his handler. Not quite sure what Moti did but as with all their animals he was much loved and they were all very sad when the time came to return to the United Kingdom circa 1924 and they had to leave Jock and Moti behind, the others having died.
I think that initially they settled on the Isle of Wight as a result of a project Grandpa was working on. Molly went to school there and Dad went to school at Eastmans, a boys prep school overlooking Southsea Common. Dad later went on to Mill Hill school and I think Molly attended Swansea Grammar school but I am not certain. By the time they had to go to secondary schools the family were based at 147 Derwen Fawr Road, Sketty, Swansea which was to be their lifetime home. Dogs played a great part here too and Taffy, a Welsh Terrier was the first dog followed by Chummy, a fox terrier. As the children grew up they kept chickens and a cockerel and had a pig. They grew their own fruit and vegetables in the area at the bottom of the back garden.
Molly trained as a Nurse (not sure where) and at the beginning of the war was involved in the Sketty First Aid Post and then with the Civil Defence Nursing Team. The docks were being bombed and Molly was always in the thick of things where she felt most needed. She joined up with Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserves). Dad who had trained as a Doctor at Barts in London and was now an ENT Surgeon, had also joined up with the Royal Navy as a Surgeon Lieutenant. Dad served on the Algerine Minesweepers and as well as sweeping the Channel they also were out in the Far East in Ceylon and sweeping the Straits of Malacca. A very dangerous task indeed. There are gaps in my knowledge here but Molly, along with 49 other QAIMNS the Sisters were sent to South Africa, presumably to assist with the nursing of injured service men. They were allotted berths on the SS Ceramic for their journey. They left Liverpool on the 23rd November 1942 and joined with other ships of their convoy. Before they left, Dad was home on shore leave and they had a family photograph taken, Molly, Grandpa, Gran and Dad, seated formally around a table. It is a lovely picture and the last photo of Molly we have. The one with her posing, eyes directly on the camera, arms resting on her father’s shoulder. Molly was a fun person by all account and as such, when the Senior Officers of the Ceramic would not allow the crew and passengers of the lower decks to join the fun and games on the upper decks, the Nursing Sisters decided to take matters in to their own hands and went to the lower decks anyway. The Ceramic was torpedoed in very bad weather late on the night of 6th December 1942. Everyone went for the life rafts and seemed to have got in to them despite heavy seas. The Ceramic was hit again by a couple of torpedoes and finally sank in the early hours of 7th December. U Boat 515, the culprit, returned in the daylight to pick up the captain so they could interrogate him as to what was on the ship. The only person they could get to was Eric Munday and his account of the horror of that night was finally available to the families about a year later. All they had up to that time was a telegram received on New Year’s Eve saying the ship had not arrived and was presumed lost. However, Gran had been awoken by a nightmare on the night of 6th December in which she had heard Molly calling to her for help. She told Grandpa about it, and later told Dad. For so long they knew nothing formally but Gran knew. Dad felt that she never really got over the dreadful sense of loss.
Sister Dora Mary MORRIS, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service.
QAIMNS Lapel Badge showing cross and motto
A Memorial to Sister 'Molly' Morris at Swansea Hospital in 1942
This is a copy of the stone memorial placed in Swansea General Hospital in St Helens Road.
It is not known what happened to it when the hospital was demolished and moved to Singleton.
Dad had met Mum at Barts Hospital where she was nursing. He took her to meet his Mum in 1944 and Mum says it was only because his mother was so lovely that she agreed to marry him!! Anyhow, they married in September 1944 at Sketty Church when Dad was on shore leave. My brother David was born in August 1945 and I followed in March 1947 with my younger brother in May 1954. We loved Gran and Grandpa and going to 147 with its huge garden. Digging up the potatoes and picking the peas was a treat. We were blissfully unaware of the so recent tragedy of the loss of Molly and I really hope we were able to give Gran and Grandpa some joy in their later years. Grandpa died suddenly from a stroke in January 1961. Gran stayed on at 147 Derwen Fawr but developed breast cancer. Mum nursed her through that and she stayed with us in Neath where Dad was in General Practice. They sold 147 Derwen Fawr and Gran lived in 13 Grange Apartments on the Mumbles Road for a short time. She was unwell and between treatments spent time with us and she eventually died on 19th April 1962 at our home. It was not really till much later on that Dad told us more about Molly. After his death in 2000 we have since found many old photographs and now that my mother is in a Nursing Home and we are selling their house in Salisbury, the discovery of many documents and pictures is building a fuller picture of these fascinating lives which we are still exploring. We place a British Legion Cross in the Field of Remembrance every year at Westminster Abbey. It is always a moving occasion for us as something of the horror of that night in December 1942 is in our imaginations through that two minute silence. Diane Mary Emsley (Niece of Molly Morris)
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