Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Morriss Anderson CATIONS was born on 24th June, 1897 in Geelong, Victoria

His parents were Alex Henry CATIONS and Selina Maria WATKIN

He was previously in the Geelong Senior Cadets for 4 years before he enlisted in Melbourne on 1st July, 1915 - he embarked with the 14th Infantry Battalion, 9th Reinforcements on the ship HMAT Hororata on 27th September, 1915

Morriss died of Wounds received in Action on 15th January, 1917 at the 12th Advanced Dressing Station, in the Field in France, near Guedecourt on the Somme - he is buried in Bernafay Wood British Cemetery & also has a memorial headstone in Teesdale Cemetery in Victoria - his name is memorialised on the Australian War Memorial

He was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal & the Victory Medal.

His Uncle and 2 Cousins all died in France -  his brother Cyril tried to enlist but was rejected because of his age.

"NOBLY SERVING - NOBLY FELL"

François Berthout, Australia and New Zealand in WWI 

Pte Morriss Anderson Cations 

The battlefields of the Somme, now peaceful and silent, which, under a winter coat, caress the poppies that grow between the rows of white graves under which rest in peace a whole generation of young men who, listening only to their hearts, answered the call of duty, and with admirable courage and unfailing devotion, with strength and energy, did their duty with loyalty and bravery until their last breaths. Together they stood with determination alongside their brothers in arms on the soils of France which are and will always be theirs and on which they shed their blood and for which they gave their lives.Forever young, they are not and will never be forgotten and today, it is with deep gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men who gave his life for Australia, for France, for the peace in which we live thanks to him and thanks to all his brothers in arms, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 2800 Morriss Anderson Cations who fought in the 46th Australian Infantry Battalion and who died of his wounds 104 years ago, on January 15, 1917 at the age of 19 on the Somme front.

Morriss Anderson Cations was born on June 24, 1897 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and was the son of Alex Henry Cations and Selina Maria Watkin, of 59 Clarence Street, West Geelong, Victoria. Morriss was educated at the Geelong State School then after his studies,he worked as a moulder and lived with his parents at 45 Villamanta Street, Geelong West, Victoria.Before the outbreak of the war, Morris had his first military experience and served in the Geelong Senior Cadets for four years.

Enlisted in Melbourne, Victoria, on July 1, 1915 in the 14th Australian Infantry Battalion, 9th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Melbourne, on board HMAT A20 Hororata on September 27, 1915 and sailed for Ismailia, Egypt, where he arrived on January 8, 1916 and was sent to Moascar Isolation Camp.

During the first world war, the Moascar Isolation Camp provided the final preparation for entrainment to Alexandria and the Western Front. The isolation camps screened soldiers arriving in Egypt as reinforcements for two weeks, checking for any illnesses such as measles which can break out when people are crowded together for long periods. Ismailia is a city in north-eastern Egypt, situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal. During the first world war, the Australian Y.M.C.A. ran soldiers’ clubs, in Cairo, Alexandria, and elsewhere. They also pooled their resources with the United States, Canada, England, and New Zealand to form the International Hospitality League and provided social services to all Allied troops.

On January 25, 1916, Morriss fell ill and was admitted to the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital in Ismailia. Two weeks later, on February 9, 1916, after recovering, Morris was sent again to Moascar Isolation Camp and was transferred the following month, on March 3, in the 46th Australian Infantry Battalion at Tel-El-kebir, Egypt.

Morris courageously served in Egypt then on June 2, 1916, he joined the British Expeditionary Force and embarked with his unit from Alexandria, on board the "Kinsfauns Castle" and sailed for France where he was disembarked in Marseilles on June 8 and was sent with his battalion to fight on the front of the Somme and on July 23, 1916, the 46th Australian Infantry Battalion to which Morriss belonged were thrown into the hell of the battle of Pozieres which was one of the deadliest for the Australian army which lost nearly 23,000 men between July 23 and September 3, 1916. After Pozieres, Morriss fought with great courage in the area of Flers.

Unfortunately, four months later, on January 15, 1917, Morriss met his fate and was wounded near Gueudecourt, he was evacuated to the 12th Advanced Dressing Station in the field but despite the greatest care, he died the same day at the age of 22 and was buried by Chaplain Captain Donald Burns Blackwood.

Today,Morriss Anderson Cations rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Bernafay Wood British cemetery, Montauban, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "Eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Cations of Geelong ".

Morriss had an uncle and two cousins who were killed in action, he also had a brother, Cyril Cations who tried to enlist but was rejected because of his age.

Morris, you who were so young, you did your duty with exceptional bravery and served in an exemplary way for your country and for France and it is from the bottom of my heart that I would like to say thank you for all that you have done, you who were in the prime of your life, you have without hesitation answered the call of duty and left behind a life full of promise to join your comrades on the roads of northern France leading to the battlefields of the Somme. Proud and determined to do your duty despite your very young age, you walked with a valiant heart under the dark clouds of war,not towards the death which hid under your feet but towards a better world and hopes of peace for which you gave your youth in the cold and muddy trenches in which fought with determination a whole generation of men, who, united in a bond of comradeship and unity,held on under rains of bullets and storms of shells, they all showed exemplary courage through clouds of gunpowder and poisonous gas, they never backed down.in the strength of their youth, in the determination for a better tomorrow and with faith in their hearts, with convictions, they gave their today, bayonets forward, without hesitation, they went over the top and faced adversity and the murderous fire of the machine guns, they saw their comrades, their friends, their brothers, their fathers who fell in the mud of no man's land, in the shell holes which had bruised the landscapes, in the water in which drowned men and horses, in the cold steel of barbed wire.Side by side they shed their blood on the poppies that still grow on the battlefields where so many lives and hopes were shattered.they paid the greatest of sacrifices and gave their lives for peace, for freedom, all did not receive medals but all had the same courage and all performed acts of bravery on the battlefields which, in the violence of war never wavered their humanity and all were men of honor, men of valor.many did not have the chance to return home but have and will always have, in France, on these soils of the Somme, their place and we will always watch over them as if they were, like Morriss, our own sons, our fathers, we will always have for them the greatest respect, a deep gratitude and we will always take care of them with love, with tenderness.For me they are more than soldiers, they were and always are remembered as men above all else, each with a story, a life to tell and a memory to perpetuate so that they are never forgotten and so that they continue to live with us, in us, in our hearts and our thoughts so that they guide us and help us to build the world together but also to protect the peace for which they fought and gave their lives and I feel for them, for their families today, the greatest respect and it is with this love in my heart that I would always watch over them and that I would do everything to protect their memory, their history and to make shine, between the rows of their graves, the eternal flame of Remembrance that I would always carry with care and pride so that their names may live forever. Thank you Morriss, for everything, my admiration and respect, my gratitude and the gratitude of France will always be yours.We will never forget you.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.