Lieutenant Commander William Brabazon Robert Morrison
Royal Navy, HMS Janus
Date of Birth: 1911
Date of Death: 23rd of January 1944, aged 33
Buried: Commemorated on Panel 81, Column 1, Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire.
Mentioned in Despatches and awarded the 1939-45 Star and the War Medal 1939-1945
Son of Brigadier Joseph Morrison and Magdalen Ethel Irene Morrison, and husband of Barbara Morrison (née Lees) of Teignmouth, Devon.
HMS Janus
HMS Janus, named after the Roman god, was a Javelin or J-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was ordered from the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited at Wallsend-on-Tyne as part of the 1936 Build Programme and laid down on the 29th of September 1937, launched on the 10th of November 1938 and commissioned on the 5th of August 1939.
HMS Janus © IWM FL 3695
On the 23rd of January 1944, HMS Janus was struck by one Fritz X guided bomb dropped by a German He 111 torpedo bomber and sank off the Anzio beachhead in western Italy, according to another version, she was sunk by Henschel Hs 293 glider bomb or a conventional torpedo.
It took a mere twenty minutes for HMS Janus to sink. Of her crew only 80 survived, being rescued by HMS Laforey and a smaller craft. It was recorded that during her last duty, HMS Janus had laid down nearly 500 salvos of 4.7-inch shells in the first two days of the landings in support of allied troops.
Janus's badge is still on display at the Selborne, South Africa, dry dock wall.
Lieutenant Commander William Brabazon Robert Morrison, Royal Navy, HMS Janus
This information was found recently;
Lieutenant-Commander William Brabazon Robert Morrison R.N. (1911-1944), Commanding Officer of H.M.S. Janus (since 16 June 1943) was 'Killed-in-Action' in 1944 off Anzio Beachhead, Italy, when H.M.S. Janus was destroyed and sunk, after being hit by a German bomb. Of the crew (the ship had a complement of 183) only 80 survived the attack & sinking. On 20 January 1944, H.M.S. Janus was involved in the allied amphibious landings at, Anzio, Italy. On 23 January, H.M.S. Janus (Lt.Cdr. William Brabazon Robert Morrison, RN) was hit by a flying bomb. The loss of the 'Janus' was a sad blow. She and H.M.S. Jervis had fired over 500 rounds of 4.7", of the first two days of Anzio, a figure typical of many destroyers which indicated the enormous amount of help these ships gave during those critical days in Italy. For his services during 'Operation Shingle' (Anzio Landings), Lieutenant-Commander William Brabazon Robert Morrison, R.N., was awarded a posthumous 'Mention-in-Despatches' (London Gazette 9 May 1944). For his services during the Second World War. Lt-Cdr W.B.R. Morrison, R.N., is known to have been entitled to below following medals:
- The 1939-1945 Star
- The Atlantic Star
- The Italy Star
- War Medal (with Mention-in-Despatches 'Oakleaf' emblem)
