Talk:William Morris (British Army officer)

Cambridge

The details about his education at Cambridge given by White-Thomson seem to be contradicted by Venn's Alumni Cantabrigienses here. There is only one William Morris who attended St John's. He matriculated in 1839, but is then described as having entered the Middle Temple 15 April 1842 and then having been called to the Bar 16 January 1846, which is obviously incompatible with the career of the subject of this article. The lawyer Morris is described as 2nd son of William A. Morris of Fishleigh, while the soldier Morris was eldest son of William C. Morris of Fishleigh - is it possible Sir Robert confused two members of the same family? Opera hat (talk) 22:17, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Interesting. In 1901 Sir Robert White-Thomson lived at Broomfield, Hatherleigh, making him a neighbour of Fishleigh, Hatherleigh, the Morris family home. His brother was Lt John Henry Thomson, 17th Lancers, who fell at Balaclava under the command of Capt William Morris. (Info from inscription on monumental gates erected by Sir Robert in 1901 in memory of his brother in front of the Morris Obelisk on Hatherleigh Moor). He wrote in the memoir: "although Colonel Morris was not living when I came to reside in this neighbourhood, I knew him well when we soldiered together at Newbridge in Ireland in 1850-51; and I am glad of an opportunity of testifying to the esteem with which I regarded him". He should therefore be expected not to have confused the Morris family's members, but who knows?... White-Thomson quotes a letter written by William Morris to his sister dated "St John's College, May 1839", so there seems no doubt he was there then. (Lobsterthermidor (talk) 12:53, 6 October 2013 (UTC))