# Walter Morison

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{{Short description|RAF pilot (1919–2009)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Walter McDonald Morison
|birth_date=26 November 1919
|death_date= 26 March 2009 (aged 89)
|birth_place=[Beckenham](/source/Beckenham), [Kent](/source/Kent), England
|death_place=
|image= Walter morison recaptured1943.jpg
|caption= Walter Morison (right) with [Lorne Welch](/source/Lorne_Welch) after being recaptured wearing German [Luftwaffe](/source/Luftwaffe) uniforms in 1943
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|service_years= 1939–1945
|rank= [Flight Lieutenant](/source/Flight_Lieutenant)
|branch= 23px [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force)
|commands=
|unit=[No. 103 Squadron RAF](/source/No._103_Squadron_RAF)
|battles= [World War II](/source/World_War_II)
|awards= 
|other_work=
}}

[Flight Lieutenant](/source/Flight_Lieutenant)  '''Walter McDonald Morison''' (26 November 1919 – 26 March 2009) was a [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) pilot who became a [prisoner of war](/source/prisoner_of_war) and was sent to [Colditz](/source/Oflag_IV-C) for attempting to steal an enemy aircraft during the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II).

==Early life==
He was born at [Beckenham, Kent](/source/Beckenham%2C_Kent). While in his first year at [Trinity College, Cambridge](/source/Trinity_College%2C_Cambridge), the Second World War began; he volunteered the same day.<ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/5209332/Flight-Lieutenant-Walter-Morison.html |title=Flight Lieutenant Walter Morison |date=23 April 2009 |newspaper=[The Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph) |accessdate=25 August 2009 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Royal Air Force service==
Morison was a glider<ref name=Telegraph/> pilot) who joined the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) at the outbreak of war in September 1939, and was trained as a power pilot. 

He was commissioned as a [pilot officer](/source/pilot_officer) on 30 November 1940<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35028 |date=31 December 1940|page=7300 }}</ref> and assigned to [No. 241 Squadron](/source/No._241_Squadron_RAF), flying [Westland Lysander](/source/Westland_Lysander)s.<ref name=Telegraph/> Because of his previous flying experience he was transferred to a training unit as an instructor.  Later, in May 1942 he was posted to [No. 103 Squadron](/source/No._103_Squadron_RAF)<ref name=Telegraph/> flying  [Wellington](/source/Vickers_Wellington) bombers.

On the night of 5/6 June 1942 on his third mission and the first as captain,<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Patrick |title=The War Behind the Wire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WgmSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|year=2000|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=9781473820432|page=13}}</ref> he was hit by another Wellington X3339 from 156 Squadron, piloted by Sgt Guy Chamberlin RAFVR. He was the sole survivor of his five-man crew.<ref>{{cite book
|title=Bomber Command Losses 1942
|first=W. R.
|last=Chorley
|publisher=Midland Publishing
|date=3 January 1998
|isbn=978-0-904597-89-9
|pages=318
}} page 119</ref> Coincidentally, Morison had been Chamberlin's instructor at RAF Lossiemouth around the beginning of 1942.<ref>According to David Chamberlin (Guy's Son) following a meeting with Walter Morison and with reference to his service log-book.</ref> All the crew of X3339 were killed and are buried in the same row at the Reischwald Forest War Cemetery near Kleve in Germany.<ref>{{cwgc|id=2035539|name=Chamberlin, Guy Hesketh|accessdate=14 July 2011}}</ref>

He became a [prisoner of war](/source/prisoner_of_war) (POW) and was sent to [Stalag Luft III](/source/Stalag_Luft_III) at [Sagan](/source/%C5%BBaga%C5%84). He was promoted to [flight lieutenant](/source/flight_lieutenant) on 30 November 1942 whilst being held as a POW.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35936 |date=12 March 1943|page=1191 |supp=y }}</ref>

On 12 June 1943, Morison and 23<ref name=Telegraph/> or 25 others escaped from the camp during a [delousing break](/source/delousing_break). Twenty-two prisoners left the camp with two "guards", actually two fellow POWs in bogus German uniforms.<ref name=Telegraph/> Once outside, the group split up. The others were quickly recaptured, but he and Flight Lieutenant [Lorne Welch](/source/Lorne_Welch), wearing fake uniforms, walked to a nearby airfield and attempted to steal an aircraft, a [Junkers W 34](/source/Junkers_W_34).<ref name=Telegraph/> They had to abandon the attempt when the rightful crew appeared to fly away the aircraft. The next day, they returned and tried to steal a biplane, but were caught and eventually sent to [Oflag IV-C](/source/Oflag_IV-C) at [Colditz](/source/Colditz).<ref name=Telegraph/><ref name="book">{{cite book |last=Morison |first= Walter |author-link=Walter Morison |title= Flak and Ferrets - One Way to Colditz|year=1995 |publisher= Sentinel|isbn=978-1-874767-10-7 }}</ref>

He was liberated from Colditz by the American army in April 1945.

==Post-war==
Following the war, Morison qualified as a chartered accountant at the [Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales](/source/Institute_of_Chartered_Accountants_in_England_%26_Wales). He was articled at Morison, a firm established by his great uncle. Morison then worked at Coopers Bros, the firm that became [Coopers & Lybrand](/source/Coopers_%26_Lybrand), before returning to his family firm, Morison Stoneham. He led the firm as a senior partner through a period of great change from 1960 to 1981 before retiring. Whilst Morison Stoneham was acquired by Tenon (later known as [RSM Tenon](/source/RSM_Tenon)) one of his legacies that still exists today is [Morison International](/source/Morison_International)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.morisoninternational.com/news/story/36 |title=Walter Morison November 1919 - March 2009 |access-date=27 February 2012 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305124623/http://www.morisoninternational.com/news/story/36 |url-status=dead }}</ref> a global association of professional service firms (accountants, auditors, tax and business advisers).

He wrote an account of his life during the war, ''Flak and Ferrets - One Way to Colditz''.

Morison died on 26 March 2009.<ref name=Telegraph/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|id=Rsq-5v3BqMI|title=One Way into Colditz: Interview with Walter Morison}}
* [https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205398447 1943 wanted poster for Morison, Welch and Flying Officer John Gifford Stower], in the collection of the [Imperial War Museum](/source/Imperial_War_Museum)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morison, Walter}}
Category:1919 births
Category:2009 deaths
Category:Royal Air Force officers
Category:English aviators
Category:British World War II pilots
Category:British World War II bomber pilots
Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents
Category:British World War II prisoners of war
Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
Category:British escapees
Category:Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle
Category:English accountants
Category:English people of Scottish descent
Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Bromley
Category:People from Beckenham
Category:20th-century English businesspeople

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Walter Morison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Morison) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Morison?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.