Lieutenant Commander William Crawford Harrison

Regiment: H.M.S. “Formidable”
Panel reference: 8
Date published: 22/01/1915
Killed in action: Yes
Date of death: 01/01/1915
Age at death: 33
Cemetery: Chatham Naval Memorial, Kent, United Kingdom
Information: Lieutenant Commander William Crawford Harrison, H.M.S. Formidable, who lost his life in the sinking of that vessel, of which he was the First and Navigating Officer. He was 33 years of age, and was the second surviving son of Mr. C. L. Harrison, of the Indian Civil Service, and the son-in-law of Dr. T. J. Browne, of Atherstone, Temple Road, Rathmines, Dublin. Entering the Navy in 1895, he attained the rank of Lieutenant on the 31st December, 1910. On January 24th, 1912, he was appointed to the Formidable from the repair ship Cyclops. While serving as Lieutenant in the Blonde on the 151h of June, 1904, he received the Royal Humane Society's Medal for a gallant attempt to save a stoker's life. As a Lieutenant in the Fox he was employed in blockading the Warsangli Coast, Somaliland, September, 1908, to February, 1909, and in suppression of the arms traffic in the Persian Gulf from 1909 to 1910, during which time four dhows were captured. Officers and men received the thanks of the Colonial Office for their services in Somaliland.