Henry Gordon Norman Morison – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 42 Squadron

Sergeant Henry Gordon Norman Morison – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 42 Squadron

Birth and Family Background

Henry Gordon Norman Morison

Henry Gordon Norman Morison was born in 1920 at Kensington, London. He was the son of Ralph Gordon Morison and Bertha Gooding. No further confirmed civil or census records for the Morison family have been identified.

Military Service, Decoration, and Death

Henry enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and attained the rank of Sergeant. He served with 42 Squadron RAF, a unit of RAF Coastal Command specialising in maritime patrol, reconnaissance, and mine-laying support operations.

The London Gazette 

In recognition of his skill, courage, and devotion to duty on active operations, Sergeant Henry Gordon Norman Morison was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, the award being gazetted in The London Gazette on 9 August 1941, just days before his death. The award reflected his contribution to hazardous operational flying during Coastal Command operations over hostile waters, where crews faced sustained danger from enemy defences, navigation over open sea, and extreme weather conditions.

Bristol Beaufort I

By August 1941, No. 42 Squadron was operating from RAF Leuchars, flying the Bristol Beaufort I, a twin-engined torpedo bomber used extensively over the North Sea and Norwegian waters.

On 13^th August 1941, Henry was piloting a Beaufort I on a diversionary sortie connected with Operation “Bottle.” Operation “Bottle” was the codename for a series of Fleet Air Arm and RAF mine-laying operations conducted along the Norwegian coast, intended to disrupt German naval movements and supply routes. Mine-laying aircraft were required to fly long, low-level sorties into heavily defended coastal areas, often at night. To reduce the risk to the primary mine-laying force, diversionary flights were mounted to draw enemy attention, confuse radar and air defences, and dilute anti-aircraft fire.

Aircraft flying these diversionary missions faced the same hazards as the mine-layers, including anti-aircraft fire, poor weather, navigational difficulty over open sea, and the risk of interception. During one such diversion in support of Operation “Bottle,” Sergeant Henry Gordon Norman Morison’s aircraft crashed into the sea off Valewåg, Norway, and he was killed on active service.

Commemoration

Henry Gordon Norman Morison 
Runnymede Memorial, Surrey
credit - findagrave

Henry has no known grave, and his name is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, which honours airmen of the Commonwealth who were lost on operations during the Second World War and whose place of burial is unknown.