MORRIS, Edward William
| Service Number: | 26 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 45th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Moruya, New South Wales, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | West Wyalong, Bland, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Powder monkey |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 9 June 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Driver, 26, 1st Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of Victoria embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Driver, 26, 1st Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Star of Victoria, Sydney | |
| 9 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 26, 45th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 26 awm_unit: 45 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-06-09 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Served on Gallipoli from May 1915 with the 1st Light Horse Regiment until evacuated with enteric during September 1915 and then shipped to England for treatment. He transferred to the 45th Battalion in late 1916.
In June 1917, members of the 45th Battalion, AIF fought in the Battle of Messines, south of Ypres in Belgium. Edward Morris was one of the heavy number of casualties and it was believed that around 80 men of the 45th Battalion were buried in a potential mass grave near the road known as ‘Huns’ Walk’. The Burials Officer of the 4th Division, AIF who had been a surveyor prior to the war, recorded the location of these men.
Based on reports and other records, the Australian Army’s Unrecovered War Casualties team travelled to Belgium in 2017 to conduct an exploratory excavation to determine if the known casualties from the 45th Battalion were buried at the location, however, no evidence could be found to suggest a mass grave was in the specific location investigated.
Edward’s younger brother 2963 Lce. Cpl. Francis Charles Morris 56th Battalion AIF had been killed in action 15 May 1917, age 28.