b. 1853 Baxterley, Warwickshire. d. 11/12/1933 Coalville, Leicestershire.
DATE OF AM ACTION: 02/05/1882 Baddesley Colliery, Warwickshire.
William was born in 1853 (baptised on 24th July), the son of Jesse and Harriet Morris. He was the youngest of their five sons, with older siblings Thomas, John, Edward and Charles. From a young age, William became a coal miner working at his local pit at Baxterley. By 1881, he was still living with his widowed mother and a younger sister Jane. Morris and his comrades were invested with their richly deserved Albert Medals at the Corn Exchange, Atherstone on 19 February 1883 by Lord Leigh, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Warwick. He would also have been presented with a Presentation Bible, paid for by the Relief Fund, which were distributed to those who participated in the rescue and also those families whose husbands, fathers and sons had perished. In 1892, he married Charlotte Handford, and they moved to Leicestershire. They had a daughter Jessie born in 1895.
AM CITATION:
THE Queen has been graciously pleased to confer “The Albert Medal” on the following persons, for conspicuous gallantry displayed on the occasion of the Fire and Explosion at the Baddesley Colliery in May last:— ” The Albert Medal of the First Class.” Mr. Reuben Smallman, Mining Engineer. Mr. Arthur Henry Stokes, Inspector of Mines. Charles Day, Collier. Charles Chetwynd, Collier. “The Albert Medal of the Second Class.” Mr. Samuel Spruce, Mining Engineer. Mr. Frederick Samuel Marsh, Certified Colliery Manager. Mr. Thomas Harry Mottram, Certified Colliery Manager. William Morris, Collier. William Pickering, Collier. Joseph Chetwynd, Collier.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD. SOLD AT DNW ON 07/04/2021 FOR £5,200.
