Private Morris White
- Rank
- Private
- Appointment
- Australian Army 1918 Western Front
- Service number
- 545
- Unit
- 51 Battalion
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action
- Place of death
- Villers Bretonneux, France
- Date of death
- 25 April 1918
- Age
- 28
- Plaque number
- M485
- Co-located plaques
- M485A - LCPL John Cooper
- Dedicated by
- His family on 20 May 2017
- More information
Biography presented during plaque dedication:
Private Morris White of 51 Battalion was born Maurice Klein to Samuel and Bertha Klein nee Fox, in Whitechapel London England in 1890.
He was the second youngest of three brothers and six sisters. His father Samuel died in 1895 and his mother remarried Thomas White in 1897.
Maurice attended Norwood school, London England. The family immigrated to Western Australia in 1907 and they lived in Lord Street, Perth.
Maurice worked as a horse driver before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force. He tried to enlist in his name, Maurice Klein, but was knocked back.
He then went to another recruiting depot, changed the spelling of his first name and used his stepfather's surname White and was accepted.
He was posted to 28 Battalion and trained at Blackboy Hill Military Camp.
In June 1915, the unit embarked at Fremantle on three ships, for Egypt, with Morris aboard HMAT Ascanius.
After two months training in Egypt the unit proceeded to Gallipoli in September 1915.
Morris was hospitalised on the Peninsular with diphtheria and was then sent back to Egypt aboard HMHS Nevaska and after convalescing he re-joined his unit.
With the reorganisation of the AIF, Morris was posted to 51 Battalion and he left Egypt with this unit and served throughout France with them.
In April 1918, the battalion occupied the Cachy switch trench south of Villers-Bretonneux. On the 24/25 April 10 Platoon B Company advanced on machine gun posts to their front.
Private Morris White, service number 545, was killed in action to the south of Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918. He was 28 years of age.
He has no known grave and is remembered at the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France.