George Henry MORRIS

MORRIS, George Henry

Service Number: 4326
Enlisted: 18 October 1916
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 32nd Infantry Battalion
Born: Delamere, South Australia, 26 May 1890
Home Town: Second Valley, Yankalilla, South Australia
Schooling: Delamere Government School, South Australia
Occupation: Farmer
Died: Killed in Action, Western Front, Belgium, 6 February 1918, aged 27 years
Cemetery: Messines Ridge British Cemetery
Plot I, Row D, Grave No. 42,
Memorials: Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Second Valley War Memorial
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World War 1 Service

18 Oct 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1
7 Nov 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4326, 32nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: ''
7 Nov 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4326, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide
Date unknown: Involvement 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix)

Private George Henry Morris

Born in the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsular of South Australia in the small settlement of Delamere, to John Henry and Elizabeth Morris on 26th May 1890, George Henry Morris signed up for War service at Mitcham on the 18th October 1916. He came from a large family, who were farmers at Second Valley having five brothers and seven sisters. Spending 6 years serving as a volunteer in the 22nd Australian Light Horse Brigade he was well trained and it was not long before he embarked for war service on the ship “Afric” on the 7th November 1916 with the 32nd Battalion, arriving at Plymouth on 9th January 1917. From there the Battalion of the 1st Light Horse proceeded to France via Folkstone on 24th April. Three days after arrival in Britain and on it’s return journey to Sydney the ship Afric was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine UC-66 off the Eddystone Rock in the English Channel with the loss of 22 people.
George was involved in battles around Messines and Ypres including the battalions most important battle at Polygon Wood in September 1917. On 6th February 1918 George was killed in action when the trench was bombed by small artillery. He was the only Australian soldier to be killed in action on the Western Front on that particular day. He was aged 27years and 8 months. His body was reburied at Messines Ridge British Cemetery, near Mesen, West-Vlaanderen, in Belgium.
George was awarded the British War Medal, Victory Medal and the 3 Star Medal
The Memorial stands on ground that belonged to the “Institution Royale”. The Cross of Sacrifice is on the site of the institution’s windmill and was made after the Armistice when bodies were brought in from the battlefield around Messines and from nine other small burial grounds nearby, A total of 1,534 Commonwealth Servicemen of the First World War are buried or commemorated there with 577 casualties identified, the remainder are unidentified but hold Commemoration plaques. Prior to taking leave from the fighting in Europe in early 1918, his mother Elizabeth forwarded 10 pounds to the Commonwealth Bank in London, for George to collect for spending money on his leave. However following his death notification a letter was sent by Elizabeth which stated the following. “I cabled Ten pounds on the 2nd January 1918 and he was killed before he ever got his leave, so I would be glad to know if you could collect it and get it sent back to me. I thought the Military Authorities could get it for me, it might save me a good deal of trouble.” The following letter was received by the family from the War Office in Melbourne stating “It is suggested you communicate with the Manager of the Bank through which you sent it, who should be able to advise you of the procedure in cases of this kind. April/May 1918”. The Will signed by George, left his estate to his mother Elizabeth.

In 2010 George’s great grand nephew Hayden Biddle was honored to travel with a combined group of students and teachers from Meningie Area School and Birdwood High School on a school trip to Europe following which he wrote of his experiences. It was arranged via the website http://connectingspirits.com.au.

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