Pte
Morris Jones
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1889 |
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Place of birth: Waterloo, Crosby, Sefton, Liverpool City Region, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Last known residence: 9 Buckley Street, Waterloo, Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
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Profession: Cotton spinner |
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Religion: Methodist |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 205128 |
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Enlistment place: Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Lancashire Fusiliers, 2/5th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 20/09/1917 |
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Place of death: Schüler Galleries, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 28 |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: V Row: C Grave: 24 |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Morris Jones was born around 1889 in Waterloo, Lancashire, United Kingdom. He was the son of Thomas Jones and Mary Jane Lomas. On 25 April 1914, he married Edith Shepherd. Morris enlisted in Ashton-under-Lyne and was assigned to the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (164th Brigade, 55th (West Lancashire) Division).
Morris was killed on 20 September 1917 during the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, part of the Battle of Passchendaele. On the evening of 14 September 1917, the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers arrived near Ypres. The battalion remained in reserve until 17 September, after which it moved towards the front line south of St. Julien in the evening. On 19 September, the attacking companies were moved to their starting positions northwest of Hindu Cottage. The attack on 20 September was to be carried out in four waves. The first two waves each consisted of two platoons from “C” and “D” Company. Their objective was to capture the Schuler Galleries and Cross Cottages. The third and fourth waves each consisted of two platoons from “A” and “B” Company with the aim of capturing Green House, Road House, and several dugouts along what is now Zonnebekestraat.
At 5:40 a.m., the attack began. The German troops at the Schuler Galleries immediately opened fire with machine guns. The enemy fire was so intense that before reaching the Galleries, 50% of the battalion had become casualties. Eventually, the Schuler Galleries were captured with the help of the 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King’s (Liverpool) Regiment. This battalion also came under heavy fire during their assault, and both battalions only managed to take the Galleries after fierce fighting. After taking the Galleries, elements of the 2nd/5th Battalion succeeded in capturing the remaining objectives, but they could not hold them. At various times between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., German counterattacks were launched but repelled by artillery and machine-gun fire from the Galleries. Around 5 p.m., the men of the 2nd/5th Battalion attempted another attack from the Galleries, but this was repelled by enemy artillery. After that, the battalion undertook no further actions that day. The losses of the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers that day were: 40 killed, 236 wounded, and 80 missing.
Morris Jones died at the age of 28. His body was found near Schuler Farm and Hindu Cottage. After the war, Morris was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, plot V, row C, grave 24.
Morris was killed on 20 September 1917 during the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, part of the Battle of Passchendaele. On the evening of 14 September 1917, the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers arrived near Ypres. The battalion remained in reserve until 17 September, after which it moved towards the front line south of St. Julien in the evening. On 19 September, the attacking companies were moved to their starting positions northwest of Hindu Cottage. The attack on 20 September was to be carried out in four waves. The first two waves each consisted of two platoons from “C” and “D” Company. Their objective was to capture the Schuler Galleries and Cross Cottages. The third and fourth waves each consisted of two platoons from “A” and “B” Company with the aim of capturing Green House, Road House, and several dugouts along what is now Zonnebekestraat.
At 5:40 a.m., the attack began. The German troops at the Schuler Galleries immediately opened fire with machine guns. The enemy fire was so intense that before reaching the Galleries, 50% of the battalion had become casualties. Eventually, the Schuler Galleries were captured with the help of the 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, King’s (Liverpool) Regiment. This battalion also came under heavy fire during their assault, and both battalions only managed to take the Galleries after fierce fighting. After taking the Galleries, elements of the 2nd/5th Battalion succeeded in capturing the remaining objectives, but they could not hold them. At various times between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., German counterattacks were launched but repelled by artillery and machine-gun fire from the Galleries. Around 5 p.m., the men of the 2nd/5th Battalion attempted another attack from the Galleries, but this was repelled by enemy artillery. After that, the battalion undertook no further actions that day. The losses of the 2nd/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers that day were: 40 killed, 236 wounded, and 80 missing.
Morris Jones died at the age of 28. His body was found near Schuler Farm and Hindu Cottage. After the war, Morris was reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery, plot V, row C, grave 24.
Sources 6
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164 Infantry Brigade: Headquarters. (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2921/1). http://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used |
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1891 England Census (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG12). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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1911 England Census (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG14). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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2/5 Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment war diary (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO-95-2923-2_02). http://nationalarchives.gov.uk Sources used |
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Manchester, England, Non-Conformist Marriages, 1758-1937 (Greater Manchester County Record Office; Manchester, England; Reference Number: GB115.M275/671/4). http://ancestry.com Sources used |
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Military-Genealogy.com, comp. UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. http://ancestry.com Sources used |
More information 3
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/463411 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/2167307 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=026a33cf-7c30-4c3c-85ae-f87cdd88b0e3 |