Flying Officer Samuel Cecil Morrison, known as Cecil, was a pilot with R.A.F. 104 Squadron during their time in the Middle East. He died on 7th November 1942.
Flying Officer
115396
Flying Officer Samuel Cecil Morrison (115396) served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War. Born on 22nd June 1920 and known as Cecil, he was the son of Samuel Morrison and Rebecca Charlotte “Cissy” Morrison (née Wilson) of Creggan Road, Derry~Londonderry, and the husband of Margaret Elizabeth “Betty” Morrison (née Barclay).
Cecil was the eldest of six children and was baptised in Great James Street Presbyterian Church. The family had a close connection to the church where Cecil’s father Samuel was a Scout leader.
The outbreak of the Second World War saw Cecil enlist in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He travelled to California, U.S.A. to undertake training. Returning to the United Kingdom, he married Margaret Elizabeth “Betty” Barclay in Runcorn, Cheshire, England on 27th May 1942. Cecil’s last known address was 19 Lewis Street is the Creggan and Rosemount area of Derry~Londonderry.
Flying Officer Morrison died on 7th November 1942 aged 22 years old while serving in R.A.F. 104 Squadron. He was the co-pilot on Vickers Wellington Z8590 ER-D when the Mark II bomber came down on the island of Malta. The crew took off from R.A.F. Luqa on the island at 2040hrs bound for a raid on Decimomannu Airfield, Sardinia, Italy. The plane struck high ground near Jebel Chantar in the Siġġiewi region of Malta killing all six crew members.
| Last Name | First Name(s) | Rank | Role | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig | Lincoln Leslie Arnold | Flight Sergeant | Pilot | RNZAF 411376 |
| Donald | Keith Langford | Sergeant | Wireless Operator/Air Gunner | RNZAF 411070 |
| Earney | Herbert Henry | Flight Sergeant | Observer | RNZAF 405371 |
| Holmes | Oliver Lytton | Sergeant | Wireless Operator/Air Gunner | RAFVR 778622 |
| Morrison | Samuel Cecil | Flying Officer | Pilot | RAFVR 115396 |
| Paterson | Alastair Semple Burns | Flight Sergeant | Air Gunner | RAAF 406461 |
Morrison’s grave is in the Protestant Men’s Section, Plot F, Collective Grave 13 of Capuccini Naval Cemetery, Malta. His mother Cissy penned the following in the family bible:
F/O S.C. Morrison died on active service, 1942. Laid to rest in Malta 11th 1942. God makes no mistakes. He knew the way others would have to tread and took him in his manhood to be with him forever, safe from this world’s mire.
Kind thanks to Colleen J. Murdoch for the Morrison/Wilson family archive photographs. Follow her family history on the Twisted Limbs and Crooked Branches website and Facebook Page.
