William James Morris – Welch Regiment, 17th (Home Defence) Battalion

Private William James Morris – Welch Regiment, 17th (Home Defence) Battalion

Early Life

Born in 1891 at Swansea, William James Morris remains a figure whose early life is largely undocumented. No confirmed records identify his parents, and the 1921 Census stands as the only official document that provides a clear snapshot of his circumstances before the Second World War.

Family Life (1921 Census)

1921 Census

In 1921, William, aged 30, was living with his wife Morfydd, aged 27, at 18 Gray Street, Landore, Swansea. He was employed as an Assistant Super Coal Rolls Cumplder at a tin works operated by Richard Thomas & Company, reflecting the industrial character of Landore and the wider Swansea valley during the early twentieth century. The census offers no further detail on children or extended family, leaving this brief record as the sole surviving outline of his domestic life.

Military Service

William James Morris served as a Private in the Welch Regiment, attached to the 17th (Home Defence) Battalion. Units of this type were responsible for essential wartime duties within Britain, including coastal defence, internal security, and support for military infrastructure during the Second World War.

William James Morris
Morriston Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Death and Burial

William died on 25 January 1943, during the later years of the war. He was laid to rest at Morriston Cemetery, where his grave stands among Swansea’s wartime burials and remains a testament to a life recorded only in fragments yet marked by service to his country.