Walter Morehen |
Stoker 1st Class D/KX 118004
H.M.S Havock, Royal Navy
Died Sunday, 4th January 1942 aged 25.
Grave ref. Grave 73, Malta (Capucinni) Naval Cemetery, Malta
Walter Morehen was born on 3rd March 1917, son
of Albert Henry and Sarah Morehen of 2, Sedgwick Street, Jacksdale, Notts.
Walter was a pupil at Jacksdale Council Schools and had two brothers,
Ron, who also served in the Royal Navy, aboard the H.M.S. Phoebe and Tom who
served with the Royal Leicester’s and then with Orde Wingate’s Chindits in
Burma.
Walter joined the Royal Navy in 1940, seeing active service
in Norway and the Mediterranean. In
April 1940, HMS Havock took part in the ‘First Battle of the Norvik’ as part
of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla. Conditions at sea were appalling, but
they forged ahead in snow and thick mist, up the Ofot Fjord in sub zero
conditions. The flotilla
successfully sank six out of eight German merchant vessels. The British fleet
also sustained losses as the HMS Hardy was beached by the enemy, HMS Hunter was
sunk and the Hot spur was disabled. HMS
Havock, still undamaged, blew up a German ammunitions ship ‘Rauenfels.’
Photograph of HMS Havock kindly provided by:-
MR Consulting - Web Site
Design and Development
WW2 Cruiser Operations
(Click on the link at the foot of the page to visit their site.)
The following month, in April 1940, HMS Havock formed part
of a flotilla, defending the Dutch Coast and in the July of the same year, they
once again saw action, sinking the Italian Cruiser ‘Bartolomeo Colleoni’ off
Cape Spada. The British tried to
save the Italian sailors but the ill co-ordinated Italian Air force caused chaos
by bombing the British warships, so the rescue of the Italian sailors was
abandoned.
On 19th July Havock was attacked and
taken out of service for several weeks. In
March 1941, Havock took part in the ‘Battle of Matapan’ and in May 1941 was
damaged by dive bombs during the ‘Battle of Crete.’
It was in January 1942, when she was an escort ship to the
Malta Convoys that Walter was killed on Sunday 4th January 1942’
Aged 25 years. The ship was bombed
whilst the ship was at Valetta, Malta Harbour and Walter was one of the
casualties. (Walter’s
brother Ron joined the Navy only one week after Walter’s death). Walter’s family tell us that they think four other men also
died during the same incident.
Only a few months later on 6th April 1942, the
HMS Havock, ran aground off Cape Bon, on a sandbank just off the Tunisian Coast.
Phil King, grandson of one of the survivors, Leading Stoker Albert
“Vic’ Phillips has informed us that the Captain had been warned about the
sand bank but carried on issuing orders that took them right on to it.
The ship had been dive-bombed earlier and they were carrying casualties
on board. The ship had to be
destroyed and the survivors were rounded up and interned by the Vichy-French who
despatched native troops, known as the ‘goums’ who dragged the battle weary
survivors along behind their camels. Several
escape attempts were made but they all failed due to the intense heat and lack
of drinking water. Sadly, as in all
P.O.W. camps, some of the crew died in the hands of their captors.
Walter is buried in the Malta (Capuccini) Naval Cemetery,
Malta, in grave 73. The inscription
reads “ Not just today but every day in silence we remember a loved son and
brother.” Walter is also
remembered on his parents’ grave in St Mary’s Churchyard, Westwood. Walter is also listed on the James Oakes & Co (Riddings
Collieries) Ltd Roll of Employees Serving with H.M. Forces who made the ultimate
sacrifice.
Photograph of Walter's memorial stone kindly taken by Dorianne & Roy Tyson during their Summer holidays in Malta, 2001.
Information about HMS Havock and the photograph of the ship has kindly been provided by:-
Click on the link above to visit their site to find out more about HMS Havock.
Last updated 2nd October 2002