Dora Mary Morris – Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service

Sister Dora Mary Morris – Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service

Two women are commemorated on the Black Pill War Memorial: Sister Dora Mary Morris – Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service and Irene M. Roberts.

Early Life

Sister Dora Mary Morris was born in 1915 in the Punjab, India, the daughter of David John Morris and Dora Kate Butcher, who married in 1913 at Rawalpindi, Bengal, India.

1921 Census

By the 1921 Census, the Morris family had returned to Britain and were living at Lyddiscott, Queen’s Road, Swansea.
David, aged 35, was a Civil Engineer, formerly employed by the Irrigation Branch of the Punjab Public Works Department, Government of India.
His wife, Dora, aged 37, undertook household duties.
Their children were Dora May, 6, and John Llewellyn, 3.

Also in the home were visitor Eva Gordon Smith, 65, a widow from Suffolk, and two servants: Mary Eleanor James, 18, and Olwen Irene Lewis, 21.

1939 Register

By 1939, Sister Dora Mary Morris was working as a hospital nurse and was living at her father’s home at 147 Derwyn Fawr Road, Swansea.

Military Service and Death

Sister Dora Mary Morris served with the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service during the Second World War. She lost her life on 7^th December 1942, following the torpedoing and sinking of the S.S. Ceramic in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Sinking of the S.S. Ceramic – 7^th December 1942

The S.S. Ceramic, operated by the White Star Line, was travelling from Liverpool to South Africa when she was attacked mid-Atlantic by the German submarine U-515, commanded by Werner Henke. On board were more than 600 passengers and crew, including several members of the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service, among them Sister Dora Mary Morris.

U-515 fired multiple torpedoes, and the Ceramic quickly began to sink. Lifeboats were launched into rough seas and severe weather. Only one person, engineer Eric Alfred Munday, survived and was taken prisoner by U-515. All others aboard, including Sister Dora Mary Morris, were lost.

Commemoration

Dora Mary Morris
Brookwood 1939–1945 Memorial,
Brookwood Military Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Sister Dora Mary Morris is commemorated on the Brookwood 1939–1945 Memorial, Brookwood Military Cemetery