Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. George Henry Morris (16 July 1872 – 1 September 1914) was the first

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

to lead an

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

into battle.

Early life

George Henry Morris was born in

Spiddal Spiddal ( ga, An Spidéal , meaning 'the hospital') is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road. It is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) an ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the second son of

Michael Morris, 1st Baron Killanin Michael Morris, Baron Morris and 1st Baron Killanin, (14 November 1826 – 8 September 1901), known as Sir Michael Morris, Bt, from 1885 to 1889, was an Irish lawyer and judge. He was Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland from 1887 ...

, and was educated at

The Oratory School The Oratory School () is an HMC Co-educational independent Roman Catholic day and boarding school for pupils aged 11–18 located in Woodcote, north-west of Reading. Founded in 1859 by Saint John Henry Newman, The Oratory has historical ties t ...

, Edgbaston. He joined

The Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

in India as

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1892, after having passed from the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

Military career

In 1897 Morris was appointed Adjutant of the 3rd Battalion

, a position he held for four years. He saw active service with the

Tochi Valley The Tochi Valley, also known as Dawar (from Middle-Persian, Middle Iranic dātbar, meaning "Justice-giver"), is a fertile area located in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.Khyber.ORGDawarh.Retrieved on 21-6-20 ...

Expeditionary Force in 1897–98, receiving the medal with clasp. In the second

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

he served with Damant's Horse from 1901 to 1902, being present in operations in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony. He was twice

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

(including one dated 1 June 1902, where he is commended for good service during the Battle of Boschbult 31 March 1902) and received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with four clasps. On the conclusion of the war he rejoined the

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...

, which he had entered in 1901, and passed out in 1903. Obtaining his Majority on transfer to the Irish Guards in 1906, he was next a General Staff Officer at the Army

from 1908 to 1911, finally becoming Lieutenant-Colonel when succeeding

Charles FitzClarence Brigadier General Charles FitzClarence (8 May 1865 – 12 November 1914) was an Anglo-Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commo ...

to the command of the 1st Battalion,

in July 1913. Morris took his battalion to France on 12 August 1914, at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was killed in action on 1 September, during the

Retreat from Mons The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...

when the 4th (Guards) Brigade formed a rear-guard for the 2nd Division in

La forêt de Retz LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

near

Villers-Cotterêts Villers-Cotterêts () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, France. It is notable as the signing-place in 1539 of the ''Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts'' discontinuing the use of Latin in official French documents, and as the ...

where he is buried in the

Guards' Grave Guards' Grave is a military cemetery near Villers-Cotterêts in northern France, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. In 1914, the British Expeditionary Force fought a rearguard action here during the Retreat from Mons. On 1 ...

. Morris was recognised as one of the most brilliant lecturers in the British Army, and was an authority on strategy, tactics, and military history. He was a member of the

Guards' Club The Guards Club, established in 1810, was a London Gentlemen's club for officers of the Guards Division, originally defined by the club as being the Coldstream Guards, Grenadier Guards or Scots Guards, traditionally the most socially elite sectio ...

, the

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, A ...

and the County Galway Club.

Personal life

On 29 April 1913, he married Dora Maryan Hall, second daughter of James Wesley Hall, of Melbourne, Australia, younger brother of

Walter Russell Hall Walter Russell Hall (22 February 1831 – 13 October 1911) was an Australian businessman and philanthropist. Biography Hall was born in Kington, Herefordshire, England, eldest son of Walter Hall, glover (later a miller), and his wife Elizabeth ...

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

in London. Their son Michael Morris, born on 30 July 1914, succeeded as

Lord Killanin Baron Killanin, of Galway in the County of Galway, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History It was created in 1900 for the Irish lawyer and politician Michael Morris, Baron Morris, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Cour ...

when his uncle

Martin Henry FitzPatrick Morris, 2nd Baron Killanin Martin Henry FitzPatrick Morris, 2nd Baron Killanin, Privy Council of Ireland, PC(Ire) (22 July 1867 – 11 August 1927) was an Ireland, Irish Irish Unionist Alliance, Unionist (Conservative Party (UK), Conservative) Member of Parliament (MP). Ba ...

died in 1927 without an heir. He went on to serve as the sixth

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) from 1972 to 1980. After Lt.-Col. Hon. George Henry Morris's death, Dora Maryan Hall married Colonel Gerard Tharp on 12 March 1918. She died on 5 May 1948.
Dora Maryan Hall

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, George Henry 1872 births 1914 deaths Irish Guards officers Rifle Brigade officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People from County Galway British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Burials in the Guards' Grave Younger sons of barons Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Academics of the Staff College, Camberley Military personnel from County Galway