Subject

Christ's Guiding Hand

Text

Remember to show hospitality. There are some who, by so doing have entertained Angels without knowing it.

Inscription

In memory of Commodore James Cairns Morrow CBE DSO DSC

Description & History

The single light shows the figure of Christ, His right hand raised in blessing as He watches over a wide expanse of sea on which a small lifeboat can be seen among the waves. The deck of a ship fills the forground, with the commander watching the life boat and a small medical team attend to a casualty, a nursing sister who lies on a stretcher. This scene possibly refers to the evacuation of soldiers and nurses from Greece in late April 1941, an operation in which Morrow commanded HMAS Voyager. It was one incident in Morrow's illustrious career in which he was awared the DSO for his part in damaging and sinking Italian submarines near Egypt and Crete in 1940 and the DSC for his depth charge attack on a Japanese submarine of Port Moresby in 1942 while commanding HMAS Arunta. He was appointed Commodore Superintendent of Training at Flinders Naval Depot from 1952 to 1955 before becoming Chief of Naval Personnel that year, however 'he had little aptitude of liking for staff duties ' and after a posting as Naval Officer-in-Charge in Western Australia he retired from the RAN in 1960.

References & Acknowledgements

Darryl Bennet, 'Morrow, James Cairns (1905-1963)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, ANU [Vol. 15 MUP, 2000] accessed online 23 November 2013.

With thanks to HMAS Cerberus Museum curator Toni Munday