Pte 51647 Alfred Morris

• Age: 28
• From: Birkenhead, Cheshire
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Thursday 12th October 1916
• Commemorated at: Warlencourt Brit Cem
  Panel Ref: II.F.18

Alfred Morris was born in 1888 in Birkenhead, the son of Arthur Morris and his wife Mary Levi (nee Belcher). His parents married in Newcastle in 1887. Alfred was their only child. An online commemoration site (British Jews in the First World War) gives his birthdate as 18th March 1888.

The 1891 census shows the 3 year old Alfred living with his parents Arthur, aged 26 who had been born in Russia, and 23 year old Mary who was born in Newcastle. Arthur was a furniture dealer and the family were living at 143 Conway Street, Birkenhead. They also had a 16 year old servant, Lizzie Connell.

In 1892 Arthur applied for and receives his British naturalization. His papers show that he was actually born in a place called Działoszyn, Russian transcription Zoloshin, situated between Warsaw and Lodz, Poland. It had a strong Jewish population. 

By the time of the 1901 census the family are living are living at 135 Conway Street. Living with them is a niece Selena Goldberg aged 20 and a 23 year old servant called Alice Roscoe. Arthur’s profession is recorded as financial and estate agent.

His father, Arthur died a wealthy man, aged 39, on the 03rd July 1904 in Liverpool.

Alfred’s mother remarried in 1906 at Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation, her husband is William Isaac Wolfe who is a German born and American naturalised Merchant Tailor. 

At the time of the 1911 census Alfred is living with his mother and stepfather at 87 Bedford Street South in Liverpool. He is working as a solicitor’s articled clerk. Also living at the address is Lizzie Leyland a 27 year old cook and general servant and Julia Goldberg a 50 year old lady described as a sister in law who is probably Mary’s sister.

Alfred enlisted in Liverpool joining the 6th Battalion before he was transferred to the 17th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 51647, he served in the 12th Platoon. Based on the amount of the War Gratuity, Alfred had served for no more than one year before he was killed, enlisting in the second half of 1915, and arriving in France in 1916.

He was killed in action on the 12th October 1916, aged 28, during the Battle of the Transloy Ridges which was part of the ongoing Somme Offensive.

17th Bn War Diary: Battle of Transloy Ridge –

11-10-16 - Gird Trench/Gird Support – Battalion in front line and support trenches. British bombardment of enemy front line system commenced about midday. Hostile shelling was intermittent throughout the day.

12-10-16 - Our bombardment continued. Enemy reply weak. 2.5 p.m. Zero hour. Attack on German front line system commenced. Enemy wire was found to be uncut and attack was unsuccessful. Hostile machine gun fire was very heavy and caused many casualties. Battalion H.Q. and Support Trench were heavily shelled throughout afternoon and evening. […] During this action all communication had to be carried out by runners and carrier pigeons as all wires were being continually cut by enemy shelling.

Casualties: 5 officers killed, 5 officers wounded, 38 OR killed, about 225 OR wounded/missing etc.

Graham Maddocks, in “Liverpool Pals” p.140, adds:

“As the whistle blew, the 17th Battalion left its trenches to move forward. […] As soon as the attacking waves left their trenches the enemy artillery began to register on them, and at the same time, the defending infantry commenced a murderous rain of fire. […] Although their numbers had been depleted by the British bombardment, they were trained and experienced soldiers, well dug in on high ground, and for the most part, looking out on uncut wire. As such, it was virtually impossible for them to miss the City Battalion men struggling to advance in the mud towards them. The 17th Battalion, on the left, was particularly badly hit, as its portion of No Man’s Land contained a slight rise in the ground, and as the troops emerged onto it they were silhouetted against the sky and became easy targets. Those on the left of the attack, who managed to avoid the hail of bullets and make it to the German wire, then found that it was totally uncut, and thus trapped, they too became easy targets, to be picked off almost at the enemy’s will. It was hardly surprising that, seeing the first waves being wiped out, some of the following waves turned back and made for their start lines. These lines were now packed with other waves of troops, however, and the fleeing men added to the congestion already there, and became easy prey for the German gunners. There is some evidence also, to suggest that at this stage, the British trenches were also being hit by their own heavy artillery shells which were falling short.”

Alfred now rests at Warlencourt British Cemetery, France where his headstone bears the poignant epitaph:

“MY SON, MY LIFE, MY ALL DUTY NOBLY DONE MOTHER”

The Hebrew inscription on his headstone translates as, "May his soul be bound up in the bond of life." (A quotation from the Book of Samuel.)

Warlencourt Cemetery is entirely a concentration cemetery, begun late in 1919 when graves were brought in from small cemeteries and the battlefields of Warlencourt and Le Sars.  The Graves Registration form shows graves from “Le Sars 6/1, 6/2, Hexham Road, Seven Elms”.

Graves were brought in from the original cemeteries at Hexham Road (Le Sars), and Seven Elms (Flers), as well as over 3,000 British graves due to the fighting which took place around the Butte de Warlencourt from the autumn of 1916 to the spring of 1917, and again in the German advance and retreat of 1918.   The cemetery now contains 3,505 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War, 1,823 of which are unidentified.

He was initially declared as Missing and a notice was placed together with his photograph in the local press:

"Private Alfred Morris of the King's (Liverpool Regiment) is reported Missing since Oct. 12 1916. Any information regarding him will be gladly received by his mother, at 87 Bedford Street South, Liverpool".  

Mr. Myer D. Goldberg (cousin), c/o The Anderson Galleries, Inc., Madison Ave. at 40th Str. New York, USA, contacted the International Red Cross in Geneva. He received a response dated 12th January 1917 that they held no information on Alfred. (This is possibly the son of his aunt Julia and brother of Selena.)

His mother received Alfred’s outstanding Army pay and a War Gratuity of £3.  She was refused a pension in June 1917 on the grounds of “no prior dependence”.

Details of Probate was reported in the Liverpool Evening Express on 09th August 1918: 

Alfred Morris of 37 Bedford Street South, Liverpool, law student, Private in the 17th Battalion Kings (Liverpool Regiment) who died on active service in France left £3,132 gross. 

On the 1939 register William I. Wolfe, dob 17th May 1872, is living at 76 Queens Drive, Mossley Hill but they appear on the electoral roll at 128 Islington, their business address. 

His mother was widowed in 1950, her husband William Wolfe dying on 12th October, the same date as her son's death. She died in 1951 at the age of 85.

Alfred's name is one of the thirteen inscribed on the memorial at the Princes Road Synagogue in Liverpool. The wording is:

A tribute to the sons of the Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation who made the supreme sacrifice in the World War 1914-1919 “They jeoparded their lives unto the death on the high places of the field” Judges 5:18

He is also commemorated on the British Jewry Roll of Honour

Grateful thanks are extended to Mikhail on GWF, who enabled us to provide accurate details on Alfred's father, Arthur's place of birth. 

We currently have no further information on Alfred Morris, if you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.