Captain Christopher Mowbray MORRIS
7th (Service) Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment

Date of birth: 7th February 1890
Date of death: 9th August 1915

Killed in action aged 25
Commemorated on the Helles Memorial Panel 134-136
He was born at 12 Manor Road, Folkestone on the 7th of February 1890 the eldest son of Edward Henry Morris, gentleman, and Susan Katherine (nee Brett) of 18, the Beach, Walmer, Kent, later of "The Hermitage, Harbledown, near Canterbury. He was christened at Christ Church, Folkestone on the 1st of April 1890.

He was educated at the Junior King's School from May 1900 and at the King’s School Canterbury to December 1906. He went on to Stubbington House School, Hampshire from January 1907 where he was in Park House.

On the 6th of May 1908 he applied for a place at the Royal Military College Sandhurst and he passed 185th in the examinations for the College later that year. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment on the 18th of September 1909 and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 1st of April 1910.

In the summer of 1909 he was married at Chelsea to Dorothy (nee Kincaid-Smith).

On the 20th of September 1914 he was promoted to Captain and posted as Adjutant to the newly formed 7th Battalion of his regiment. He embarked with his battalion for Gallipoli on the 1st of July 1915 at Liverpool on board the RMS "Empress of Britain" arriving at Malta on the 8th of July. They were in Malta for three days before sailing on to Alexandria arriving there the following day. On the 16th of July 1915 they sailed for Mudros where they docked on the 18th of July and transferred to the troopship "Abassieh" setting sail again, for Cape Helles on the 20th of July. After arriving at Helles they boarded the troopship "Osmanieh" on the 1st of August bound for Imbros and, on the night of the 6/7th August, they headed for Suvla Bay.

On the 7th of August 1915 they landed at Suvla Bay on “B” Beach. The battalion moved forward and dug in on a reserve line running from the south west corner of the Salt Lake to the sea. They moved forward during the night of the 7th /8th to Chocolate Hill. On the 9th of August they attacked Ismail Oglu Tepe and soon came under heavy fire from Scimitar Hill. Major Ashcroft of the battalion recorded “Every single officer in A and D Companies (in the firing line) and in B Company (in the supporting line) was either killed or wounded in the first ten minutes. At about 18.00 support arrived from the 10th Division but even with this assistance no headway could be made.” Casualties for the battalion were estimated at 400 officers and men.

His father received the following telegram dated the 21st of August 1915: -

"Deeply regret to inform you that Capt. Adj. C.M. Morris 7th South Staffs was killed in action between 7 and 11 August. Lord Kitchener expresses his sympathy."

He is commemorated on the war memorial at Harbledown.

 

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