John Harrison Obituary, Death – We would like to take this opportunity to honor John Harrison, who served on the HMS Belfast and passed away in January of 2020. John passed away while serving onboard the HMS Belfast. John was one of the ship’s long-serving crew members. Due to the fact that John joined the crew of the HMS Belfast when it was still in the process of being outfitted, he had a greater grasp of the vessel than anybody else who was on board.
After he had successfully completed his training, he was advanced to the rank of Petty Officer Ordnance Artificer and given the responsibility of ensuring that all of the workings of the turrets ‘A’ and ‘B’, which are the most forward of the ship’s four main turrets, are maintained. John has reflected on some of the most harrowing instances of his life, one of which involved an incident in which he came perilously close to falling overboard while he was being buffeted by freezing seas. John was sailing aboard a ship that was being violently rocked back and forth by the seas.
In a separate incident, John was injured in a mine explosion, which resulted in the fracture of two of his vertebrae. This occurrence took place while John was present there. John was a veteran of the HMS Belfast’s first commission and volunteered his time to serve on board the ship. In the ship’s early days, he served in many capacities. On board the ship, he held the position of senior-most member of the crew. I hope and pray that he will be at rest for the rest of eternity. Lest We Forget