HISTORY


WORLD WAR TWO HEROES


IVOR MORGAN D


artmouth seems to attract remarkable men and women who come to the town for a quiet retirement – and one of these was Lt Cdr Ivor Morgan. Ivor lived in Dartmouth for the last 14 years of his life, and was an entertaining raconteur with an incredible memory for detail from his fun and sometimes breath-taking tales of World War 2 derring-do. He had a wicked sense of humour and knew how to tell a tale well. Born in Kent in 1923, Ivor dreamed of being in the Military – his father was less than supportive. Having served at Ypres and Passchendaele, Morgan Snr had a healthy dislike for both the military and officers. ivor decided he would achieve his dream despite his old man’s lack of support. On his 18th birthday he walked


seven miles through the snow to sign up for the Royal Navy. He was soon sent to Florida after his initial training to


BY PHIL sCOBLe


When he passed out as a pilot he was handed his wings by World War 1 ace Billy Bishop, a Canadian who had won the Victoria Cross and shot down 72 enemy aircraft. It was a proud moment for Ivor, who idolised the now Air Vice Marshall. he took his first active service


become a pilot – but, after excelling there, an infection resulting in two burst eardrums, left him without a hope of becoming a pilot. He was sent to Canada to recover and be reassigned, but both eardrums miraculously healed and he was back in a cockpit as soon as he was able. he showed his flying ability and perhaps his lack of fear, by flying under the Thousand Islands Bridge at Gananoque on the downstream end of Lake Ontario, something for which he would have been court martialed if he had been caught. A colleague tried the same trick a few weeks later and was killed, showing that high spirits can sometimes get out of hand.


One night as Ivor was on board they heard the two ships either side of them go down, sunk by torpedoes.


providing cover for convoys travelling across the atlantic flying ‘seafires’ – spitfires converted for life aboard ship. He lived on board the HMS Tracker – a commercial vessel converted into an aircraft carrier. Ships like this were known as ‘Woolworths’ carriers because they were so basic, rather like the goods sold by the now-defunct shop. It was a tough life – heavy seas on the less than stable ship meant that planes could roll around the deck if not properly secured. Ivor told of one occasion when the ship nearly capsized because a plane came loose, and its crashing about the deck could have taken the whole ship over. The day was only saved by the crew, including Ivor, forcibly grabbing


the plane and tying it to the wall. the flying was sometimes even harder, trying to spot the U-Boats before they sank ships bringing supplies to Britain. The infamous U-Boat ‘Wolf Packs’ scoured the North Atlantic, meaning that the crew and pilots on board knew death stalked them at every turn. One night, as Ivor was on board, they heard the two ships either side of them go down, sunk by torpedoes. One torpedo narrowly missed Ivor’s ship. On his next posting, Ivor found himself nearly dying again after a member of his squadron failed to remember the proper way to fly in


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