sailing race, but was told that instead he must attend a cricket match between Clifton College and Tonbridge School. So he took the train to London, passed through the turnstile at Lord's Cricket Ground; straight in, round and out again, and took the train down to Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, where father and son entered the race, and won; this was the Prince of Wales Cup, one of the most prestigious National dinghy races of the year. Early naval career Morgan-Giles joined the China Fleet as a midshipman at 18 in 1932, serving on a variety of ships, including Yangtze river patrol boats. He first sailed in the training cruiser to the West Indies and the Baltic. He was then appointed to the Australian destroyer before serving in , and on the China Station before returning home to join the torpedo school at . He was promoted to Torpedo Specialist in 1938. Second World War During the Second World War, Morgan-Giles served on during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, escorting Atlantic convoys, and took part in the Battle of Oran. In 1941, he was sent to the Suez Canal, where he was in charge of the anti-magnetic mine campaign. In April of that year, he acted as a liaison with the Royal Air Force using Wellington bombers as torpedo bombers. During his time with No. 201 Group RAF at Dekheila he survived three serious aeroplane crashes (one of which he was the sole survivor). Following a period of staff training at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Morgan-Giles was then send to the Far East as Staff Officer Operations of Force W. There he accepted the Japanese surrender of Thailand. George Medal Morgan-Giles was awarded the George Medal for "gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty" during bomb and mine disposal work while serving at HMS Nile, the naval base at Ras el-Tin Point, Alexandria. Morgan-Giles had been sent to help clear the ships from the harbour as quickly as possible, because they were loaded with explosive and ammunition, and (although unknown at the time) mustard gas. Whilst on board , helping to get move the ship out of the harbour to minimise losses, a bomb struck a nearby ammunition ship, and he was hurled the length of the deck, but was uninjured amongst the wreckage and fire. He was nevertheless able to climb onto an American Liberty ship, SS