RETIRED IIMS MEMBER, ROBERT MORLEY, GIVEN A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD BY THE TRANSPORT TRUST
At a ceremony that took place on 4th June 2018, Robert (Bob)
Morley, a retired IIMS member, was recognised for his work by The Transport Trust in restoring and preserving historic military vessels. He is pictured being presented with his Award by HRH Prince Michael of Kent.
Bob’s back story that led to this Award is an interesting one. A World War II motor torpedo boat caught his attention when he was a child and a seed was sown. Many years later he came across a Coastal Motor Boat, a World War I veteran 55ft long. It was sunk and derelict, but CMB 331 is now restored and displayed and can be seen at the Coastal Forces Museum at Gosport.
Next came Motor Launch 293, even bigger at 112ft in length, built in 1940 for the Royal Navy and brought back to first class condition over a 5 year restoration.
Boat number three was an RAF launch, number 2748, built in 1953 for target towing. When he first saw her she was sitting on the bottom in Barry and was in a very sorry state. Another one saved, now living in Plymouth.
The last in the line is Coastal Motor Boat 9, one
of twelve 40ft vessels ordered by the Admiralty in 1916 and built by Thornycroft on the Thames at Hampton. After action in World War I which included the sinking of a German destroyer in 1917, CMB9 was adapted to take part in a series of top secret experiments designed to test whether unmanned fast patrol boats armed with torpedoes could be controlled from the air and directed towards enemy targets. CMB9 was re-designated DCB1 - Distance Control Boat.
Distant Control Boats were never used operationally during the First World War, but their development continued for many years afterwards with an aeroplane controlling the boat by wireless from a height of 16,000 feet and a distance of 5 miles. Tests had shown that the height and distance from which the boat could be controlled were only limited by the visibility. Satisfactory runs had also been carried out by moonlight. During 1918 satisfactory runs were carried out, with an aeroplane controlling the boat by wireless from a height of 16,000 feet and a distance of 5 miles. Tests had shown that the height and distance from which the boat could be controlled were only limited by the visibility. Satisfactory runs had also been carried out by moonlight.
It appears that DCB1 returned to her former role as a Coastal Motor Boat once the trials were completed. As CMB9 she remained in service with the Royal Navy until the early 1950s. It seems that she carried out the routine duties of a Coastal Motor Boat during the Second World War.
Restoration of CMB9 has taken 6 years, and she is regularly on public display at events such as the Thames Traditional Boat Festival, which involves her in a journey past the yard in which she was built.
Bob is a Marine Surveyor and historic vessel consultant, which may make his hobby of restoring elderly boats seem like a busman’s holiday, but his record of saving these important vessels is exceptional and he is a worthy recipient of this award.
20 | The Report • September 2018 • Issue 85
Member News
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