Arthur Robert Morris (1922 - 2015)

Born 19 Jan 1922 in Bondi, New South Wales, Australia

Died 22 Aug 2015 at age 93 in New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Arthur Morris is Notable.

Arthur Robert Morris Australia Cricketer was born in January 1922, in the Sydney seaside suburb of Bondi and registered at Waverley in New South Wales. His father was a school teacher who also appears to have been called Arthur Norman Morris. In World War II the young MORRIS ARTHUR ROBERT : Service Number - NX143692 served in the Australian Army as a Private and his last unit was the 8th Movement Control Group in New Guinea part of the Australian Army Service Corps. He enlisted initially on the 3rd of October 1941 before his 20th birthday, and was demobbed in June 1946.

Arthur Morris played 46 Tests for Australia and was the highest scorer among Don Bradman's famous Invincibles in the 1948 Ashes series in England. He made his Test debut against England at Brisbane from November 29 - December 04, 1946. And played his last against the West Indies at Kingston Jamaica from June 11 - 17, 1955. He Captained his country twice; stepping up from Vice Captain to cover the injury of Lindsay Hassett for the Third Test in Adelaide against the West Indies. Then in 1954 for the Second Test in Sydney he stood in for new Captain Ian Johnson against the English. Unfortunately he could not lead Australia to victory under difficult conditions in either match.

In 1954 Arthur Morris married Valerie Hudson a former London show girl and fashion model, and we see one marriage notice from The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954) of Friday 1 October 1954 below:

Test cricketer Arthur Morris with his bride, former London fashion model Miss Valerie Hudson, after their quiet wedding in Sydney yesterday. He met her when he was touring England last year. None of Morris's fellow Test players was present at the cere-money. Mrs. Morris arrived in the Strathmore on Wednesday. Morris said his marriage would not interfere with his cricket ambitions for the season.

Unfortunately Valerie passed away in 1957 after battling breast cancer for a few years, during which time Arthur gave up his Test Cricket career to care for her. Eventually taking up their friend Lindsay Hassett's offer to finance their return to England to allow Valerie to return to her family.

In 1968, Morris met and married his second wife Judith Menmuir. And in late 1989, Morris and Judith retired to the town of Cessnock in the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Arthur Morris passed away in 2015 at or about Sydney in New South Wales Australia, leaving behind his widow Judith.

Honours & Awards

• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack named Morris as one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1949.
• Appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1974.
• Inducted into The Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1992.
• Named in the Australian Cricket Board’s Team of the Century in 2000.
• Inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2001.
• Inducted in to the ICC Hall of Fame in 2017.

Sources

• New South Wales Births, Deaths & marriages: BIRTH: MORRIS, ARTHUR R. registration no. 7897/1922 - father: ARTHUR N. - mother: MILDRED M. L. - district: WAVERLEY. first accessed online on the 21st of January, 2022 from the NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages search at: https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/births?

• Arthur Morris from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. first accessed online on the 19th of January, 2022 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Morris

• Arthur Morris MBE Cricket from the SPORT AUSTRALIA HALL OF FAME first accessed online on the 20th of January, 2022 at: https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/arthur-morris/

• On the ESPNCRICINFO site:

Arthur Morris Australia profile

Arthur Morris Australia photographs

Arthur Morris inducted into ICC hall of fame

• Arthur Morris Married from The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954) of Friday 1 October 1954, Page 1. first accessed on TROVE on the 21st of January, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47622710?

• Mrs. Arthur Morris Dies from The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995) of Friday 4 January 1957, Page 16. first accessed on TROVE on the 21st of January, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91231113?

• Arthur Morris with the Australian cricket team in England in 1948 from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. first accessed online on the 22nd of January, 2022 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Morris_with_the_Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1948

• Arthur Robert MORRIS MBE from the Virtual War Memorial Australia first accessed online on the 19th of January, 2022 at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/778181

• Obituary: Arthur Morris 1922-2015 By Tony Stephens and Updated August 22, 2015. via the Sydney Morning Herald website. first accessed online on the 19th of January, 2021 at: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/obituary-arthur-morris-19222015-20150822-gj59gp.html

• Arthur Morris: Former Australian cricketing great dies aged 93 first posted on Saturday 22 August 2015 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website. retrieved on the 20th of January, 2022 at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-22/arthur-morris-dies-at-93/6716940

• Arthur Morris from the Monument Australia. first accessed online on the 19th of January, 2021 at: https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/sport/display/104633-arthur-morris

• Archived on the Melbourne Cricket Ground website

• SUCCESSFUL CRICKET CAREER from the Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser (NSW : 1894 - 1954) of Friday 14 January 1944, Page 2. first accessed on TROVE on the 21st of January, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140567296?

• WISDEN CRICKETER OF THE YEAR - 1949 - Arthur Morris