Not Forgotten, 7751 Private William Wilson MORGAN, 11 Battalion AIF, World War 1

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Overview

Commemoration of the military service of 7751 Private William Wilson Morgan, 11 Battalion AIF, World War 1

Historical information

Private William Morgan, a farmer in Dowerin, was born and educated in Llanidloes in Wales, the son of Richard and Charlotte Morgan of Bryndee Farm, Llanidloes. He came to Australia at the age of 24 and had been a clerk in the civil service before going farming. He was a friend of George Hatwell and farmed on Stacy Road off Hindmarsh Road. The property at the summit of the road was known as Morgan’s.
Private Morgan enlisted at Perth on 10 April 1917 at the age of 32 years and was placed in the 11th Battalion. The 11th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the First World War. It was the first battalion recruited in Western Australia, and with the 9th, 10th and 12th Battalions it formed the 3rd Brigade.
Private Morgan embarked from Fremantle on H.M.A.T. A30 Borda on 29 June 1917 and disembarked at Plymouth on 25 August 1917. After time in training battalions in England, William Morgan proceeded to France on 27 December 1917 and was taken on strength with the 11th Battalion on 2 January 1918.The 11th Battalion was out of the fighting line throughout November and December 1917, resting around Bologne before returning to the front around Messines in late December and remaining there over New Years.
Private Morgan was killed in action on 13 January 1918 near Ypres, having been in France for less than three weeks. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres. The executor of his will was George Hatwell, another farmer of Dowerin, and George wrote to Base Records in Melbourne in July of 1918 asking for a copy of William Morgan’s death certificate. William Morgan had been the best man at the wedding of George Hatwell and Mary Stewart in August 1916.
Private Morgan was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-65-M121

Inscriptions and markings

When the Great War broke out in Europe in 1914, Dowerin was an isolated farming district, several days travel by horse or by coach from Perth. Over the succeeding four years at least 176 men and one nurse served in the armed forces of the Empire. The names of the men who served can be read on the Honour Roll in the Dowerin Town Hall or can be accessed on the museum section of the Shire of Dowerin website.

Fifty-one men from the district died in the Great War and their names are inscribed on the Dowerin War Memorial which was unveiled on ANZAC Day 1936. Subsequent conflicts have seen more names memorialised and each ANZAC Day their sacrifice is honoured and remembered by the community.

Contextual Information

For some years Diane Hatwell had been intrigued by the names on the Dowerin War Memorial. Some were familiar with the families still in the district but some not so. Diane felt It was important for the community that when we said each ANZAC Day “We will remember them”, we had some idea of who and what we are remembering. She set about, to find out who they were, what they were doing in the Dowerin district, and where and how they died. These pages presented through Collections WA represent the current state of this ongoing research and community response.

Geotag

50.852020765228, 2.8911218690138

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Links to additional resources

Dowerin District Museum

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