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{{Short description|RAF pilot (1919–2009)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=
{{Infobox military person
|name= Walter McDonald Morison
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==Early life==
He was born at [[Beckenham, Kent]]. While in his first year at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], the Second World War began; he volunteered the same day.<ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/5209332/Flight-Lieutenant-Walter-Morison.html |title=Flight Lieutenant Walter Morison |date=23 April 2009 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |accessdate=25 August 2009 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==Royal Air Force service==
Morison joined the [[Royal Air Force]] at the outbreak of war in September 1939, and was trained as a pilot (he already knew how to fly a glider<ref name=Telegraph/>). He was commissioned as a [[pilot officer]] on 30 November 1940<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35028 |date=31 December 1940|page=7300 }}</ref> and assigned to [[No. 241 Squadron RAF|No. 241 Squadron]], flying [[Westland Lysander]]s.<ref name=Telegraph/> He was soon transferred to a training unit as an instructor, before joining [[No. 103 Squadron RAF|No. 103 Squadron]] in May 1942.<ref name=Telegraph/>
On the night of 5/6 June 1942, while flying a [[Vickers Wellington|Wellington]] bomber on his third mission and the first as captain,<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Patrick |title=The War Behind the Wire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WgmSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|
|title=Bomber Command Losses 1942
|first=W. R.
|last=Chorley
|publisher=Midland Publishing
|date=3
|isbn=978-0-904597-89-9
|pages=318
}} page 119</ref>
He became a [[prisoner of war]] (POW) and was sent to [[Stalag Luft III]] at [[Żagań|Sagan]]. He was promoted to [[flight lieutenant]] on 30 November 1942 whilst being held as a POW.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35936 |date=12 March 1943|page=1191 |supp=y }}</ref>
On 12 June 1943, Morison and 23<ref name=Telegraph/> or 25 others escaped from the camp during a [[delousing break]]. Twenty-two prisoners left the camp with two "guards", actually two fellow POWs in bogus German uniforms.<ref name=Telegraph/> Once outside, the group split up. The others were quickly recaptured, but he and Flight Lieutenant [[Lorne Welch]], wearing fake uniforms, walked to a nearby airfield and attempted to steal an aircraft, a [[Junkers W 34]].<ref name=Telegraph/> They had to abandon the attempt when the rightful crew appeared to fly away the aircraft. The next day, they returned and tried to steal a biplane, but were caught and eventually sent to [[Oflag IV-C]] at [[Colditz]].<ref name=Telegraph/><ref name="book">{{cite book |last=Morison |first= Walter |
He was liberated from Colditz by the American army in April 1945.
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Following the war, Morison qualified as a chartered accountant at the [[Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales]]. He was articled at Morison, a firm established by his great uncle. Morison then worked at Coopers Bros, the firm that became [[Coopers & Lybrand]], before returning to his family firm, Morison Stoneham. He led the firm as a senior partner through a period of great change from 1960 to 1981 before retiring. Whilst Morison Stoneham was acquired by Tenon (later known as [[RSM Tenon]]) one of his legacies that still exists today is [[Morison International]]<ref>[http://www.morisoninternational.com/news/story/36 Walter Morison November 1919 - March 2009]</ref> a global association of professional service firms (accountants, auditors, tax and business advisers).
He wrote an account of his life during the war, ''Flak and Ferrets - One Way to Colditz''.
Morison died on 26 March 2009.<ref name=Telegraph/>
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==External links==
* {{YouTube|id=Rsq-5v3BqMI|title=One Way into Colditz: Interview with Walter Morison}}
* [https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205398447 1943 wanted poster for Morison, Welch and Flying Officer John Gifford Stower], in the collection of the [[Imperial War Museum]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morison, Walter}}
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[[Category:English accountants]]
[[Category:English people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:
[[Category:People from Beckenham]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]
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