MORSE, Charles James
(Service number 23/1123)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank | Rifleman |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 17 March 1895 | Place of Birth | Ashburton |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Care of Walter Hatman, Studholme Junction | ||
| Occupation | Farm hand | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 2nd South Canterbury Regiment - serving | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | W. MORSE (father), Flemington, Ashburton | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 1st Battalion | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | D Company | ||
| Date | 9 October 1915 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui or Tahiti or Aparima or Navua or Warrimoo | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Rifle Brigade | ||
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 | 3 November 1990 | Age | 95 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Charles James Morse was born on 17 March 1895 at Ashburton, the elder son of William and Ellen (née McMeekin) Morse. Private C. J. Morse was in a batch of South Canterbury men who flocked to the colours in May 1915 and were accepted in Timaru for service at the Front. He was one of those who had passed the medical test and had signed on to leave Timaru for Trentham by special train on 29 May. Before leaving they were to be entertained at afternoon tea in the Drill Hall and then played to the railway Station by the Regimental Band.
On enlisting, he was a farm hand for Walter Hayman, Studholme Junction. Single and Methodist, he named his father as next-of-kin – W. Morse, Flemington, Ashburton. He was serving with the 2nd South Canterbury Regiment. Rifleman C. J. Morse embarked with the 1st Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, leaving from Wellington on 9 October 1915.
Charles Morse married Jane Winifred Prebble (Winifred) in 1927. Winifred predeceased Charles who died on 3 November 1990, aged 95 years. They are buried in ruru Lawn Cemetery, a services stone marking his grave.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [13 May 2022]; Timaru Herald, 15 & 26 May 1915 (Papers Past) [13 & 14 May 2022]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [14 May 2022]; Ruru Cemetery headstone transcription [14 May 2022]
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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