MORRIS, William John
(Service number 80643)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 16/07/1886 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Invercargill, Southland | ||
| Occupation | Gardener | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs C. MORRIS (wife), care of Mrs McCurdy, James Street, Prestarville, Invercargill | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 42nd Reinforcements, B Company | ||
| Date | 1 August 1918 | ||
| Transport | Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 27 December 1953 | Age | 67 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Eastern Cemetery, Invercargill | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
William John Morris, born on 16 July 1886 at Timaru, was the son of John Morris and Harriet née Cockroft. William married Catherine McCurdy in 1914. In 1917 William was the next-of-kin for his brother Francis. John and Harriet appear to have moved to Inangahua or Reefton after Frank's birth in 1888 at Timaru. Another son, Thomas Henry, was born in 1892 at Reefton. Tragedy struck after Thomas' birth, when Mrs Morris took ill and died in August. The oldest son, Edward James Morris, drowned accidentally in the Inangahua River on 12 January 1894, aged just 11 years. Little Thomas died in September 1894. The family resided at Black's Point, where John was a miner. In December 1896 both William and Frank were registered at West Taieri School (Outram) under the guardianship of James Sawers. From there they were to go to the Industrial School in July 1900. William John Morris, of 42nd Reinforcements, left Invercargill for training camp on 20 May 1918
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [17 August 2019]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [14 August 2019]; Eastern Cemetery, Invercargiill, records (Invercargill City Council) [17 August 2019]; Inangahua Times, 30 & 31 August 1892, 13 January 1894 [x 2], 15 January 1894 [x 2], West Coast Times, 8 September 1892, South Canterbury Times, 12 January 1894, Southland Times, 21 May 1918 (Papers Past) [17 & 18 August 2019]
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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