Rescued crew from the Awatea, 1942

Surrounded by some of his crew, Captain G.B. Morgan (centre left) of the Awatea thanks the master of the Dutch vessel that evacuated them from the Mediterranean after the New Zealand ship was sunk off Algeria during Operation Torch in November 1942. The following June, Morgan took command of the Monowai, another famous former passenger liner operating as a wartime troop transport. On 6 June 1944 – D-Day – the Monowai landed Canadian troops at 'Juno' Beach, Normandy.