MORRIS, Robert Irvine
| Service Number: | 3577 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lewisham, New South Wales, Australia, 1897 |
| Home Town: | Pyrmont, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Pyrmont High School and Technical College, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Motor mechanic |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 26 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3577, 18th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3577, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Robert Irvine Morris was born in 1897 in Lewisham, Sydney, and was the son of Robert and Annie Morris. He spent his childhood in Pyrmont, where the family lived at 69 Harris Street, a working class suburb that was tied closely to the cities docks. (1) Like many young men of his generation, Morris combined his education with practical training. He worked as a motor mechanic in Maillard’s, which was a business on Phillip St in the city centre. (2) This early path suggested a stable career in the motor trade, but the advent of WW1 shaped his future life.
On the 22nd of October, 1915, aged eighteen, Morris enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.). (3) He was given the service number 3577 and posted to A Company, 8th Reinforcements, 18th Battalion (5th Brigade, 2nd Division). Following his training in Casula, he embarked from Sydney on the HMAT Aeneas on the 20th of December 1915. (4) On this journey, he wrote in a diary, and this diary still survives today in the State Library of New South Wales. His early entries reflect the excitement of departure and describe the social life aboard the ship. On Christmas Eve, 1915, Morris noted a fun evening of activities. He writes, “Concert on Christmas Eve… Pillow fight… Bun Eating Comp… Tug-o-war” (5). These glimpses show that, for many soldiers, the initial journey began with camaraderie and fun rather than fear. However, this would change soon for Morris and his comrades as they were sent to training camps in Egypt in early 1916.
Egypt was an important place for Australian troops during WW1, as it was where they were drilled, trained and hardened for the realities of war. Morris was sent to train in Heliopolis, and after recovering from his scalded feet received from the harsh drills, he embarked for France and the Western Front in March 1916. By April, he was marching with his battalion through Amiens, Warloy-Baillon and Albert, which was small towns that become waypoints for the soldiers bound for the trenches. (6) The 18th Battalion was heavily involved in the Somme campaign, one of the bloodiest offensives of the war. Morris’s diary describes the day-to-day pressures of being in the front line. Things like fatigue parties (heavy duty non-military, manual labour, rationing, and experiencing continuous bombardments. At Pozieres, amid weeks of shellfire, he recorded his impression of the battlefield in his diary in three words: “Just like hell” (7) This entry not only shows Morris’s experience, but the identical experience for thousands of young Australians who were involved in the war as well. In August 1916, the 18th Battalion was thrown into heavy fighting at Mouquet Farm, near Pozieres. These battles were characterised by repeated attacks across deep mud and shattered trenches, which amassed large amounts of casualties on both sides. Morris’s final Diary entry, dated 21 August 1916, is brief, but says enough: “Sausage Gully.” (8) Sausage Gully was a reserve area behind the front lines, used by Australian forces during the Somme Battles. His diary ended abruptly, no proper final words or conclusion.
Only five days later, on the 26th of August 1916, Private Morris was killed in action fighting near Mouquet Farm. He was only 18 years old. His body was never recovered. His mother, Annie Morris, was informed that a cross was constructed at Pozieres, this was later confirmed to only be a temporary memorial marker. (9) Without a known grave, his name is commemorated on the “Villers-Bretonneux Memorial to the Missing”, in France, alongside more than 10,000 Australians who died on the Western Front. His sacrifice is also honoured on Panel 86 of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. (11)
Endnotes:
1. Australian War Memorial, Roll of Honour: Private Robert Irvine Morris.
2. Sydney Technical High School, Research notes on Robert Irvine Morris
3. Australian War Memorial, First World War Embarkation Roll: Robert Irvine Morris.
4. Australian War Memorial, First World War Embarkation Roll: Robert Irvine Morris.
5. State Library of New South Wales, Morris diary, 20 December 1915 – 22 August 1916.
6. Australian War Memorial, Roll of Honour: Private Robert Irvine Morris.
7. State Library of New South Wales, Morris diary, 20 December 1915 – 22 August 1916.
8. State Library of New South Wales, Morris diary, 20 December 1915 – 22 August 1916.
9. Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France.
10. Australian War Memorial, Roll of Honour: Private Robert Irvine Morris.
11. Australian War Memorial, Roll of Honour: Private Robert Irvine Morris.