Ships
- HMAS Voyager (D31) Captain from 26 April 1938
James Morrow, whose full name was James Cairns Morrow, was born on 6 February 1905 at Brunswick, Melbourne, the son of James Ernest Morrow, an implement-maker, and Marion Agnes Cairns. A grandfather also bore the name James Morrow. He attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and in 1919 entered the Royal Australian Naval College at Jervis Bay. In 1921 he was chief cadet captain. He gained colours for cricket and Rugby and, on graduating in 1922, received the King's Medal.
He served as a midshipman from 1923 to 1925, then as an acting sub-lieutenant and, from 1926, as a confirmed sub-lieutenant, training at sea and completing courses in Britain. After returning to Australia he was navigator of the sloop Marguerite from 1927 to 1929 and a watch-keeper in the cruiser Australia from 1929 to 1931. He next joined the staff of the naval college, which had moved to Flinders Naval Depot on Westernport Bay. From 1933 to 1935 he was attached to the Royal Navy. An early marriage ended in divorce. In 1936, while executive officer of the destroyer Vendetta, he was promoted lieutenant commander.
On 26 April 1938 he took command of the destroyer Voyager. Soon after the Second World War began, the ship was sent to the Mediterranean. On 13 and 14 June 1940, near Alexandria, Voyager damaged two Italian submarines. Within a fortnight she took part in the sinking of another, about 100 nautical miles south-east of Crete. Morrow was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for these actions and, in the same month, promoted commander. In July Voyager screened the aircraft carrier Eagle at the Battle of Calabria.
From December 1940 into April 1941 Voyager spent long stretches off the North African coast, keeping sea communications open and bombarding shore positions while British and Australian forces advanced across Libya and later withdrew toward Tobruk. Morrow was mentioned in dispatches for that service. In late April 1941, during the evacuation from Greece, Voyager carried soldiers and nurses to safety. Through the last three weeks of May she helped reinforce Crete. Earlier that month she had made her first run with the Tobruk ferry, the destroyer shuttle that supplied the besieged port from Egypt, and she continued that work until she sailed for Australia in July. Morrow left Voyager in November 1941.
In March 1942 he assumed command of the new destroyer Arunta. On 7 August the Japanese submarine RO 33 sank the passenger vessel Mamutu in the Gulf of Papua, and the submarine's crew then machine-gunned the survivors, men, women and children among them. On 29 August, off Port Moresby, Arunta met RO 33 and destroyed her with depth charges. Morrow received the Distinguished Service Cross. Arunta was employed mainly on convoy protection in eastern Australian and Papuan waters. In October 1942 she landed the 2nd/12th Battalion on Goodenough Island, and in January 1943 she brought Lancer Force away from Timor.
Posted ashore in August 1943, Morrow commanded escort forces at Sydney and, from January 1944, at Milne Bay in Papua. In May 1945 he joined the cruiser Shropshire as executive officer. The ship was present in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender in September. His wartime reputation as a destroyer captain rested on seamanship and leadership. He handled a ship with unusual skill, and a friendly, convivial manner won him the affection of his crews as well as their respect. Of middle height, with a voice that carried and a direct gaze, he was known as Copper for the colour of his hair.
On 11 September 1946, at St Mark's Anglican Church, Darling Point, Sydney, he married Dulce McWhannell, then aged 27. He served as an acting captain and, from June 1947, as a substantive captain. He commanded the destroyer Bataan from 1946 to 1948, was Australian naval attaché in Washington from 1948 to 1951, commanded the cruiser Australia from 1951 to 1952, and was commodore superintendent of training at Flinders Naval Depot from 1952 to 1955. In January 1955 he was made commodore, first class, and appointed chief of naval personnel, staff work for which he had little taste. He was appointed C.B.E. in 1956. From 1956 to 1959 he was naval officer-in-charge, Western Australia, and he retired from the navy on 6 February 1960.
In 1960 and 1961 he was chief executive officer for the Melbourne metropolitan area during World Refugee Year, and he later held a post in Sydney with the Australian National Travel Association. For recreation he watched cricket and football and went to the races. He died of cancer at his home in Vaucluse on 8 January 1963 and was cremated. His wife and their two sons survived him.