Private Joseph Morris, S/43185 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders
- Amanda T
- Sep 27, 2022
- 3 min read
Identification
Identification of Joseph Morris was made through his brother Frank who is also on the memorial.
Family Information
Joseph Morris was born on 19th April 1890 at 51 Fletcher St, Liverpool. His parents were John Morris and Esther Morris (formerly Griffiths).
At the time of the 1891 census, Joseph was 1 year old, his father was 35 and working as a dock labourer, his mother was 34. Joseph had an older brother Francis (Frank) aged 5. They lived at 51 Fletcher Street, Liverpool sharing the house with Esther's parents and brother.
The 1901 census shows that the family had moved to 8 house 6 court Hampton Street. John was still employed as a dock labourer. Joseph was 11 years old, his brother Frank was working as a steam lift attendant and they had a sister Mary aged 3. Everyone in the family was born in Liverpool.
John Morris died in 1904 and was buried in Ford Cemetery on 1st December that year.
By the time of the 1911 census, Joseph was aged 21 and working as a dock labourer, he was living at 58 Stanhope Cottages which were close to St James’ Church. His brother Frank was head of the household which also included his mother and sister Mary.
Military Information
On the 13th of September 1905, Joseph Morris attested for the Militia and was placed in the 4th Battalion of the King’s Liverpool Regiment with the regimental number 7260. At this time his home address was 4 court 5 house Hampton Street. He was aged 17 years and 11 months and employed as a general labourer at the Widnes Iron Works. He signed up for six years. This would have obligated him to attend a set number of training days per year.
Joseph's medical form shows that he was 5 feet 3 ¾ inches tall and weighed 114 lbs. His chest was 34 inches with an expansion of 2 inches, his complexion was fresh, his eyes hazel and his hair brown. His religion was Roman Catholic.
His service record shows that Joseph was a Private in the 4th Battalion KLR, he completed 49 days of training on enlistment and was present for the annual training in 1906, 1907 and 1908. In 1908 the British Army structure was reorganised and the Militia became the Territorial Force and Special Reserves. On 19th July 1908 Joseph Morris enlisted in the Special Reserve for 3 years 56 days (until the time his original 6 years would have been up).
He was discharged on 12th September 1911 on the termination of his engagement (his 6 years were up)
By the time War was declared in 1914, Joseph was no longer in the Army or the Reserve. His service papers for wartime have not survived so we don’t know whether he volunteered or was conscripted after March 1916. We do know that he served and was killed in action. The key to finding this information lay in his brother Frank’s paperwork. When Frank was killed in action a note was made on the register of effects that some of his money owed was to go to his brother Private Joseph Morris S/13973.
The Medal Index Card and Medal Roll entry show that Joseph Morris served as a private first in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders with the regimental number S/13973, later moving to the Seaforth Highlanders with the regimental number S/43185. He was entitled to the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal, this tells us that he went overseas sometime after 31st December 1915.
Death and Commemoration
The record 'Soldiers died in the Great War' records that Joseph Morris was born in Lambeth, Middlesex. This doesn’t match any other sources and could be a mistake or an attempt by Joseph to hide his background. It is also recorded that he enlisted in Liverpool and was killed in action whilst serving in the 2nd Battalion the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany’s).
The CWGC records that Private Joseph Morris died on 11th April 1917 and has no known grave. His name is inscribed on the Arras Memorial, France.
The 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders’ War Diary for the 11th April 1917 goes into great detail about the movements of the men in the Battle for Arras. The day brought heavy casualties from German machine gun fire and the diary – written by a Lieutenant-Colonel – makes comparisons with the heavy losses in the Somme the year before from the same situation. The losses for the Other Ranks on this day were recorded as 230 wounded, 104 missing, 22 wounded and missing, 12 wounded and killed.
The register of soldier’s effects shows that Joseph Morris was ‘presumed killed on or since that day’ which tells us that Joseph was one of the men who were missing after the battle, he has no known grave and his name is inscribed on the Arras Memorial.
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