Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Orley William Morning
In memory of:
Seaman Orley William Morning
October 15, 1942
North Atlantic
Military Service
21
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. El Lago (Panama) (221014)
Additional Information
September 29, 1921
Aurora, Ontario
Son of William John Morning and Flossie Luella Terry of Aurora, Ontario. During the First World War, William was conscripted into the Canadian Army and enlisted on 22 May 1918, service number 3039183, with the 1st Central Ontario Regiment of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Sent to England, he never saw action. He was demobilized on 7 August 1919 in Toronto, Ontario.
On 11 October 1942, at 7:59 pm, U-615 opened fire by sending two torpedoes towards the El Lago, which was sailing with convoy ONS-136 442 miles (711 km) east-north-east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, in the North Atlantic. The stern sank immediately and the bow sank a few minutes later in position 51°03'N/46°15'W. Of the 39 crew members, 14 defenders and six merchant seamen repatriated following the sinking, the captain and an engineer survived and were made prisoners of war.
Commemorated on Page 196 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 22.
The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives. This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs. The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.
On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.
Digital Collection
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Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram July 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram July 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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