William Arthur (Bill) MORRIS

MORRIS, William Arthur

Service Number: WX9424
Enlisted: 4 December 1940
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion
Born: Chelmsford, Essex, England, 12 February 1911
Home Town: Not yet discovered
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Not yet discovered
Died: Accidental, At sea (Nino Bixio), Mediterranean Sea, 17 August 1942, aged 31 years
Cemetery: No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Col 93
Memorials: Alamein Memorial (El Alamein), Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Boyanup War Memorial
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World War 2 Service

3 Sep 1939: Involvement Private, WX9424
4 Dec 1940: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX9424, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion

Help us honour William Arthur Morris's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin

William was the eldest of five children. He married Maurine Dacre SMITH, known as Molly, in 1939.

William enlisted in December the following year, on the same day as his brother Albert (WX9435).

Tragically, both William and Albert were among the 41 Australian POWs killed when the Italian transport ship Nino Bixio was torpedoed by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on 17 August 1942. The Nino Bixio was transporting Allied POWs from Libya to Italy. Of the 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident, four died later by execution. Most of the Australian casualties were from the 2/28th Infantry Battalion.

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