Last survivor of World War II prison ship tragedy dies aged 101 – his life before and after the sinking of the Lisbon Maru
- Briton Dennis Morley was one of hundreds of prisoners of war aboard the Lisbon Maru when it was sunk by a US submarine in 1942 en route to Japan from Hong Kong
- It was only many years later that Morley was able to talk about the traumatic experience. He died earlier this month after testing positive for Covid-19
In 2006, when Briton Dennis Morley came to Hong Kong on one of several visits later in his life, there was talk of making a movie about the World War II sinking of the Japanese freighter, Lisbon Maru.
He had been on the ship with hundreds of other prisoners of war when it was torpedoed by a US submarine en route from Hong Kong to Japan.
Morley also visited Japan in 2006, a country that in modern times surprised him. He enjoyed spending time with Japanese youngsters and had been impressed when, visiting Kobe, he was looked after by the mayor.
Morley was the last known survivor of the Lisbon Maru and died at the age of 101 on January 3 after testing positive for Covid-19.
Morley had a round, open face and a friendly demeanour, but he was frank. If they made a movie about the Lisbon Maru, he quipped, he could be played by Tom Cruise. The film would have to tell it like it was, however – how the captives sat crowded on the floor of the hold as the water flooded in, and how their excrement rose and floated around them.
Like many veterans, Morley did not speak for decades about his wartime experiences. His daughter, Denise Wynne, says she was stunned to hear about them for the first time a few years ago.
