Morrell MURPHY, HMS Capel, Royal Navy

World War Two sailor feared dead in torpedo attack turns 100
A Royal Navy sailor who was reported dead during World War Two has celebrated his 100th birthday.

Morrell Murphy, from Lisburn, was on board HMS Capel when it was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1944.

Four days after the attack his family was informed that Mr Murphy had been killed.

The family even received a letter of sympathy from King George VI but soon afterwards Morrell turned up fit and well at the family home.


Morrell joined the Royal Navy aged 19
He is now living in County Down and his granddaughter Jennifer organised a party to mark his 100th birthday.

"It's hard to believe that I'm now 100," he told BBC News NI.

"Hard to believe that I've survived all these years but I still enjoy life."

Morrell joined the Royal Navy on St Patrick's Day 1942, aged 19, as World War Two was raging.

In December 1944 he survived a German attack in the English Channel which killed more than 70 of his fellow crew members on HMS Capel.

He was saved by the American navy and taken to France to recover.

It meant the British authorities did not realise he was still alive.

'Tears of joy'
When he arrived unannounced at his parents' home the following month there was disbelief.

"There were tears of joy when they opened the door and found out it was me," he said.

"I remember my sister running over to a telephone kiosk to tell my cousins and my uncle and aunt that I was alright."


Morrell's family received a letter from the King four days after the attack

For many years he did not like to talk about the torpedo attack on HMS Capel but he recently went into detail about it on the Royal Navy website.

"I was blasted clear of the deck with my clothes ripped to pieces and my boots blown off," he said.

"When I hit the sea and came to my senses I managed to swim to a life raft and climb aboard to join another six or seven survivors.

"After a long two hours I was picked up by an American motor torpedo boat and taken to Cherbourg Harbour and then on to the American field hospital about three miles away.

"Nobody registered my name, rank or ship. After a cursory examination for hypothermia and some food I was discharged the next morning.


Morrell returned to the navy after the attack and was in service until the end of the war

"No fresh clothes were offered and I walked barefoot back to the harbour wearing an oil-stained jersey.

"Unknown to me a priority telegram dated 30 December 1944 had been sent to my mother in Lisburn but was opened by my father.

"It read: 'Deeply regret to inform you that your son H M Murphy has been reported missing presumed killed on war service.'"

In spite of his near-death experience Morrell returned to the navy until the end of the war.

 

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-a...avy-personnel-help-veteran-mark-his-centenary
Morrell enlisted in the Royal Navy in Belfast, on St Patrick’s Day 1942, aged 19. As today, initial training was conducted at HMS Raleigh, at Torpoint in Plymouth.

On achieving his Ordinary Seaman qualification in August 1942, he moved to HMS Pembroke in Chatham before joining the escort destroyer HMS Haydon, which took part in patrols in the Mediterranean and Operation Husky, the allied invasion of Sicily. As the campaign progressed, Morrell witnessed the blockade of Tripoli, and the landings at both Salerno and Anzio.

Morrell then enlisted on the submarine detection course at HMS Osprey in Scotland and then to HMS Nimrod at Campbeltown.

Drafted initially to HMS Caroline in Belfast, as she served as the fixed depot ship for all the escort ships, Morrell joined HMS Capel in December 1944.

The ship joined the hunt for U-boat 486, which sank the SS Leopoldville on Christmas Eve.

On Boxing Day Morrell came off watch and was on the quarter deck when a torpedo struck his ship.

“I was blasted clear of the deck with my clothes ripped to pieces and my boots blown off,” he said. “When I hit the sea and came to my senses, I managed to swim to a life raft and climb aboard to join another six or seven survivors.

“After a long two hours, I was picked up by an American Motor Torpedo Boat and taken to Cherbourg Harbour and then on to the American Field Hospital about three miles away.

“Nobody registered my name, rank or ship. After a cursory examination for hypothermia and some food, I was discharged the next morning. No fresh clothes were offered, and I walked barefoot back to the harbour wearing an oil-stained jersey.”

The Capel had been sunk but he managed to get aboard another ship and returned to Belfast.

“Unknown to me, a priority Telegram dated 30th December 1944 had been sent to my mother in Lisburn but was opened by my father. It read ‘Deeply regret to inform you that your son H M Murphy has been reported missing presumed killed on war service. Letter follows shortly’.”

Morrell’s father didn’t pass that news on until the letter arrived – and later Morrell turned up at his parents’ house.

Morrell finished his war at Chatham Barracks and HMS Wildfire, a shore establishment in Sheerness and was discharged on June 5 1946, returning to Northern Ireland.