4th Officer, Merchant Navy
Born: August 12th 1920
Died: December 7th 1942
Age at Death: 22
Killed on active service, December 7th 1942
Guardian: H B Harrison, 19 Carlisle Road, Hove
Hubert Godfrey Harrison (always known as Godfrey) was born on 12 August 1920 in Maranoa, Brazil, to Sybil Harrison (née Hunt) and Hubert Harrison, a manager for the Booth Shipping Line. He was by all accounts a good-natured boy, who solved arguments over whose turn it was to do a family chore by simply doing it. Perhaps this was because he was a member of the College scout troop, or perhaps his innate helpfulness had made him join the scouts.
After school Godfrey went into broadly the same field as his father, becoming an apprentice officer in the New Zealand Line. In September 1939 Godfrey transferred to MV Sussex, which had to be towed back to Liverpool on her second voyage in late 1940, after suffering bomb damage. His last stint at sea was on the Awatea, a troopship, as fourth mate. The Awatea was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean by a U-boat, but all personnel were rescued. Godfrey also survived the 21 hours of bombing endured by the rescuing ship, and was brought safely back to England on Survivor’s Leave.
On 7 December 1942, Harrison joined friends at a Saturday night dance in Wimbledon, on the outskirts of London. He intended to catch the train home to Hampton Wick, where his family lived. However, in the blackout maintained to confuse enemy bombers, he miscounted the number of stops before he needed to alight, and got out of the train at Raynes Park Station, the next one along, by mistake. The side he exited on was next not to a platform but to a track, and Harrison was killed instantly when he was hit by a fast train.