LEWIS, Reverend IVOR MORGAN
Date of Death |
12 May 1915 |
Rank |
Chaplain |
Service Number |
|
Age at time of death |
26 |
Employment Before Joining up |
Curate at Uttoxeter Church |
Address |
|
Awards |
|
Regiment |
Royal Navy |
Unit |
HMS ‘Goliath’ |
Where Killed or died |
Daranelles |
Location of Grave or Memorial |
Chatham Naval Memorial Panel 9 |
The CWGC says that he died on 13th May 1915, but the Uttoxeter Advertiser’s Roll of Honour says that it was the 12th.
Son of David and Caroline Lewis, of Llanbedr Rectory, Ruthin, Denbighshire. BA.
He graduated at Jesus College, Oxford and was ordained deacon in 1912 to a curacy in Uttoxeter and became the local scoutmaster.
He was very popular locally and entered into the life of the town with great enthusiasm. His chief work at Uttoxeter was the care of the Heath Mission Church.
He was an enthusiastic plying member of the Uttoxeter Rugby Club and he was also a staunch supporter and Scoutmaster for the local troop of Boy Scouts.
Even before the outbreak of war it was generally known in the town that he was leaning towards a navel chaplaincy and it therefore came as no surprise when he joined the navy when war declared.
When news of his death was received, Reverend W. C. G. Sharp of the Fenton Vicarage wrote the following letter to the Uttoxeter Advertiser:
The tribute in the Lichfield Diocesian Magazine said that 'from the moment that he arrived at Uttoxeter he won the hearts of one and all alike. A fine, manly Christian, bubbling over with the joys of youth, he appealed to us all, more especially to the men and lads in the town, though there will be many a farmer in the parish who will mourn his loss. Transparently honest, true as steel, and with a keen sense of humour, the people of Uttoxeter will long cherish the memory of the time he spent amongst them.'
He enlisted as a chaplain in the Navy and became Chaplain on HMS Goliath. He died when the ship was torpedoed in Morto Bay in the Dardanelles on 12th May 1915, a' brave man among the brave men to whom he ministered'.
His obituary pointed out that it was a Chaplain’s duty to remain with his ship to the last and those who knew him best were confident that he would have performed his duty and remained with those who were unable to leave the sinking ship. It was said that he would have offered words of comfort and solace to the crew until the warship disappeared beneath the waves.
The ship sank in about 4 minutes and over 500 drowned. Only 186 men were saved.
HMS Goliath is located at 40 deg 02' 22''N, 26 deg 12' 23'' E. It very broken-up and largely salvaged.