ARMSTRONG, Morris John
| Service Number: | 9812 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 April 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 9th Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Newtown, New South Wales, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Petersham, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Mechanical draftsman |
| Died: | 1977, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sapper, 9812, 9th Field Company Engineers | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1916: | Involvement Sapper, 9812, 9th Field Company Engineers, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Jul 1916: | Embarked Sapper, 9812, 9th Field Company Engineers, HMAT Ajana, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Sapper Morris John Armstrong was born in Newtown during May 1894. Armstrong is a member of the Sydney Technical High School Alumni (1), and is proudly remembered for his involvement and service in the Australian Imperial Force during World War One.
In his early life, Morris lived in Petersham, Sydney, with his parents Alexander Armstrong (1860-1928) and Mary Ann Armstrong (1866-1941), along with his 2 sisters and 5 brothers (2). His family lived in a house on 10 Miller Street. From 1909-1913, Armstrong attended Sydney Technical High School, being granted a bursary for both his junior and senior education. Whilst studying at Sydney Tech, Morris took an interest in engineering, and after graduating, he pursued a career as a mechanical draftsman. This job involved creating detailed drawings and blueprints for machinery. From this, he acquired skills of designing, efficiency and communication.
On the 12th of April, 1916, Armstrong enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force as a field engineer. He was allocated to the 9th Field Company Engineer unit along with fellow techies Albert Victor Alcock and Cecil Henry Husband. He departed Australia on the 5th of July, 1916, on board the HMAT A31 Ajana (3). Throughout his time serving in the army, his unit was recorded to have been situated in France along the Western Front. Armstrong, and his fellow colleagues were involved in the planning and constructing of the trenches along the front. Upon their arrival, the unit was immediately caught in the Battle of Somme, which lasted from the 1st of July until 18th of November during the year of 1916. Armstrong had a couple of short hospital stays due to illness in September and December 1916.
During an unexpected German attack, on the 8th of June, 1917, Morris sustained a gunshot wound to his left shoulder. He was rapidly stabilised and transferred to the Ontario Military Hospital in Orpington, England (5). It was here where he spent a long period of time recovering from his injury. He then returned to Australia on the HMAT A34 Persic, arriving on the 14th of February, 1918. He was officially discharged from the AIF after being deemed unfit for duty, on the 16th of May, 1918 (6).
The day after his return to Australia, Armstrong requested to receive his service pension of 30 pounds per fortnight (7). He earned this income for the remainder of his life. In 1926, he married his wife Gladys G R Sharpe in Drummoyne, New South Wales. The couple were known to have resided in Marrickville throughout their marriage. In 1977, at the age of 83, Morris John Armstrong sadly passed away due to unknown causes and was buried on the 14th of June, 1977 in St James Anglican Church in Turramurra (8).
References:
Anonymous, UNSW Canberra, AIF Project, Morris John Armstrong
Philip Hughes, 2013, Family Search, Alexander Armstrong family tree
Anonymous, UNSW Canberra, AIF Project, Morris John Armstrong
Anonymous, National Army Museum, Battle of the Somme
Major J M Lean, 1917, National Archives Australia, NAA: B2455, ARMSTRONG M J
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Bibliography:
Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:33M5-ZLV
https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/302
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-somme
https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/258904
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3035682&isAv=N
https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=7395