Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of William H and Florence S MORLEY

Husband of Allison Trent Cook (formerly Morley), of The Shack, Calangir, Western Australia.

HENRY GARNET WARMLINGTON MORLEY who was lost in the sinking of the "Kyarra" (Fremantle, W.A.) on 26th May 1918 off the south coast of England. He was 28 and left a widow, Allison Trent Cook (formerly Morley), of The Shack, Calangir, Western Australia. 

His body was Lost at Sea and he is therefore commemorated on the TOWER HILL MEMORIAL in London, England. 

The Kyarra was a 6,953 ton (7,065 t) steel cargo and passenger luxury liner, built in Dumbarton, Scotland in 1903 by William Denny and Brothers for the Australian United Steam Navigation Company. She was launched on 2 February 1903 on the River Clyde, Scotland. Her name was taken from the aboriginal word for a small fillet of possum fur. On 5 May 1918, Kyarra was sailing from Tilbury, Essex to Devonport to embark civilian passengers and take on full general cargo. However she was sunk by UB-57 near Swanage, Dorset with the loss of six lives on 26th May 1918. The wreck was discovered in the late 1960s by the Kingston and Elmbridge British Sub-Aqua Club, which later bought the wreck. It  lies one mile off Anvil Point

She was being used as a wartime hospital ship and was on her way to Plymouth where she was supposed to pick up 1,000 wounded Australian troops and return them to their homeland.The hull was painted white with a large red cross on the side.The sea was calm and the SS Kyarra was steaming across waters off the Dorset coast, all on board unaware that a German U-boat was lying in wait.As well as 2,500 tonnes of cargo including wine, cloth and perfume, more than 140 people were on board. But she hadn’t even got round Anvil Point, near Swanage, when Lohs took aim. Lohs, who sank some 150,000 tons of Allied shipping during his military career, gave the firing command at 8.50am. On seeing the torpedo approach, Captain Albert Donovan immediately tried to take avoiding action but it was too late. The torpedo struck the Kyarra, killing five crew members immediately and injuring another so badly that he died later.The order to abandon ship was given and the lifeboats were winched down as the Kyarra began to sink and in 20 minutes she had disappeared beneath the waves. She was one of the many vessels to fall victim to torpedo specialist Oberleutnant Johannes Lohs in UB57. Three months after sinking the Kyarra, Lohs died when the U-boat he was in command of struck a mine.