Name: Hollis Lawrence Morris Rank: Able Seaman Service Number: LT/JX 280351 Service: H.M. Trawler Lord Stonehaven, Royal Naval Patrol Service, Royal Navy Date of Birth: September 19, 1925 Place of Birth: Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts Marital Status: Single Date of Death: October 2, 1942 Age: 16 Memorial: Lowestoft Naval Memorial, Suffolk, England (Panel 9, Column 1) Inscribed on the Lowestoft Naval Memorial in the UK is a WWII casualty listed as ‘Edward Knowlton Morris’, born in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Edward Knowlton Morris existed however, he did not serve in the Royal Navy, nor did he die in WWII. Edward’s younger brother, Hollis Lawrence Morris, enlisted in the Royal Navy and served using his brother’s name. Hollis may have used his brother’s birth certificate, or another form of identification, because his Naval record includes the fact that he was “born in Parrsboro”, which was Edward’s place of birth. Hollis himself would only have been 15 when he enlisted. Hollis was the son of Son of Avrit (Everett) Bliss Morris (1882-1962) and Hilda Alida (Allen) Morris (1897- 1960). Their father Avrit was born in Advocate Harbor, Cumberland Co., NS; their mother was also born in Cumberland County – in Fraserville. Hollis and Edward had four brothers – Chester A (1922-1927), William Laidlaw (1924-1967), Richard C. (b. 1930) and Melvin Gale (1931-2000), and two sisters – Blanche Valentine (Morris) Sullivan (1928-1997) and Shirley Grace (Morris) Morrow. On April 10, 1940, Hollis was residing in the Essex County Training School (reform school) at 165 Marston St in Lawrence, Massachusetts, so he must have joined the Royal Navy sometime later in 1940, or 1941. HMT Lord Stonehaven (FY 187) in which Hollis served, was a was a submarine chaser; part of the Royal Naval Patrol Service. In its escort duty there is record of it escorting HMS Rorqual for the first leg of its journey from Plymouth to Gibraltar on July 27 until July 28, 1942. It also escorted HMS Unbeaten from Portsmouth to Plymouth on September 21, 1942. On October 2, 1942, German motor torpedo boat S-112 attacked HMT Lord Stonehaven off the coast from Eddystone, Cornwall, in the English Channel. Three crew were killed in the initial attack. The Stonehaven was then hit by a torpedo, nearly blown in half, and foundered. In all, eighteen of the crew of thirty-six were lost. Survivors were taken onboard the Royal Navy’s HMS Rhyl, a Rothesay-class (or Type 12M) anti- submarine frigate. The wreck is broken in two and lays in position 50°11'15.0"N 04°08'35.0"W (approximately 22 kms directly South of Plymouth, England. The other 17 crew were: Name: Service No.: Remembered on: Age: Engineman Henry Harry Black LT/KX 101858 Panel 9, Column 3 46 Stoker John Tait Buchan LT/KX 111461 Panel 10, Column 1 25 Ord. Seaman Robert Gilmour Budge Chalmers LT/JX 281991 Panel 9, Column 2 19 Seaman Jack Sidney Dash LT/JX 261349 Panel 8, Column 3 24 Ordinary Seaman John Parr Doyle LT/JX 354922 Panel 9, Column 2 18 Petty Officer Sidney James Field LT/JX 198842 Panel 8, Column 2 34 Stoker Leslie Hazeldine Flint LT/KX 148308 Panel 10, Column 1 39 Seaman John William Gawne LT/JX265125 Panel 8, Column 3 20 Skipper Arthur Francis Samuel Jenner (RN Reserve) Panel 8, Column 1 41 Leading Cook William Lewis LT/MX 83350 Panel 10, Column 2 39 Ordinary Seaman Geoffrey Walter Moberly LT/JX 372630 Panel 9, Column 2 19 Seaman John Murray LT/JX 257454 Panel 9, Column 1 34 Leading Seaman William George Oliver LT/JX 187364 Panel 8, Column 2 42 Engineman Alexander Pennie LT/KX 112034 Panel 10, Column 1 40 Chief Engineman William Stewart (RN Reserve) LT/X 5982ES Panel 9, Column 3 37 Telegraphist Leslie John Thompson (Royal Navy) P/JX 223171 Panel 67, Column 1 24 Seaman Albert George Wraight LT/JX 183719 Panel 9, Column 2 23 (All were with the Royal Naval Patrol Service unless otherwise noted) The fact that Hollis used his brother’s name is acknowledged on the Lowestoft Naval Memorial with his name also being inscribed and cross-referenced with the inscription for “Edward Knowlton Morris”. Hollis’ brother, the actual Edward Knowlton Morris, enlisted in the United States military on July 12, 1945 at Fort Banks in Boston, Massachusetts, and survived the war. He lived to the age of 85 and died March 19, 2007 in Haverill, Mass. Hollis’s brother-in-law, David Francis Sullivan, also served in WWII as a Storekeeper Third Class in the United States Navy.

Sources: Commonwealth War Graves Commission wrecksite.eu