The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (4784a) Private Glen Heriot Morrice, 53rd 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 Meredith Duncan, the story for this day was on (4784a) Private Glen Heriot Morrice, 53rd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

4784a Private Glen Heriot Morrice, 53rd Battalion, AIF
KIA 1 September 1918
No photograph in collection
Story delivered 29 June 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Glen Heriot Morrice.

Glen Morrice was the eldest son of William and Alice Mary Morrice of New South Wales. He was born in Marulan but spent most of his life on the family property, Murranumbla Station, near Dalgety. He attended the Kings School in Goulburn, and returned to the family property to take up his career as a grazier.

In 1914 Glen Morrice’s brother William enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. He was killed on Gallipoli the day after the dawn landing. Glen followed his brother by enlisting in January 1916. He was initially posted to the 17th Battalion and, after a period of training, left Australia on the troopship Ceramic in April 1916. He later transferred to the 53rd Battalion.

After some time training in England, Private Morrice reached France in September 1916. He spent part of the bitterly cold winter of 1916–17 in hospital, but was back with the battalion in March 1917 when the 53rd participated in the fierce fighting around the French village of Bullecourt. In May Morrice was gassed and sent to hospital.

It took some time for Private Morrice to recover, and he did not re-join his battalion until August. Less than a month later he was hit by artillery fire and evacuated to England. On the way he met his friend Private O’Rourke, who had also been wounded. O’Rourke later wrote that Morrice “had a great lump of cotton wool across his eye and several great strips of sticking plaster across his nose”. In fact, both were so severely wounded in the head that it took them some time to recognise each other.
O’Rourke wrote, “it has been a godsend to me to have someone I knew to yarn to, and I think Glen also appreciated the situation”.

Despite serious wounds in his eye and both arms, Morrice was able to return to his battalion five months after being wounded. He continued to spend time in hospital with sinus and ear problems as a result of his wounded face, and never spent long periods with his battalion again.

On 1 September 1918, back with his battalion from hospital for just a few days, Private Morrice was in the front line near the French village of Péronne. The battalion went into the attack in the early hours of the morning, capturing several important objectives. They suffered heavy fire from machine-guns on nearby Mont St Quentin. In the afternoon the 2nd Division attacked Mont St Quentin, pushing the Germans back and securing the 53rd Battalion’s flank.

It was about this time that Private Glen Morrice was killed in action by a nearby shell burst. His body was later recovered, and he was buried in the Péronne Communal Cemetery Extension. The epitaph on his headstone reads: “Thy will be done”.

Glen Morrice was 27 years old. 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 Glen Heriot 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