The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (957) Private William John Morrice, 3rd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Dennis Stockman, the story for this day was on (957) Private William John Morrice, 3rd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

957 Private William John Morrice, 3rd Battalion, AIF
KIA 26 August 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 28 May 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private William John Morrice.

William Morrice was born in 1895 to William and Alice Mary Morrice of New South Wales. He was born on the family property, Murranumbla Station, near Dalgety. He was a keen member of the senior cadets, becoming a sergeant for the Cooma Cadets. William was sent to study at Manaro Grammar School, but by the time war had broken out he had returned to the family property to take up his career as a grazier.

Morrice enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force within weeks of the outbreak of war in 1914. He was posted to the 3rd Battalion and after a brief period of training left Sydney on the troopship Euripides. After travelling to Albany, the ship steamed in convoy to Egypt, where it landed in December.

After several months training in the desert, the 3rd Battalion moved to Lemnos Island as part of the build-up for the Gallipoli campaign. At approximately 5.30 am the 3rd Battalion began landing at the place soon to be known as Anzac Cove. The next three days saw intense fighting, and at some point in the confusion Private William Morrice was killed.

No record remains of the manner of his death, and his body was never recovered. For a time even the date of his death remained a mystery, but an inquiry later decided that he was probably killed the day after the dawn landings.

In Australia a large memorial service was held in St Paul’s Anglican Church in Cooma. William Morrice had been a popular young man, demonstrated by the number of local cadets and students from the Manaro Grammar School that attended the service. The local newspaper later reported: “Nothing could have been more impressive than the simplicity and sincerity of the service.” William Morrice had been killed in action at the age of 19.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died during the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private William John Morrice, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section