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   2nd Lieutenant Albert Victor Morrison
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Dated added: 30/12/2015   Last updated: 01/05/2020
Personal Details
Regiment/Service: 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (British Army)
Date Of Birth: 11/05/1895
Died: 30/07/1916 (Killed in Action)
Age: 21
Summary      
Albert Victor Morrison was the eldest son of Alexander and Margaret Elizabeth Morrison of Innisfallen, Cookstown and later of Antrim Road, Belfast. Before the war Victor was a medical student He volunteered for service with the Royal Scots Fusiliers He was wounded in the arm on 11th June 1916 but recovered and was sent back to his unit at the front. He was reported missing on 1st August 1916.
2nd Lieutenant Albert Victor Morrison
Further Information
Victor Morrison was the eldest son of Alexander and Margaret Elizabeth Morrison. Alexander Morrison married Margaret Cairns on 1st August 1892 in the district of Lisburn.
Victor was born about 11th May 1895. He was one of three children, all born in Cookstown.
Family: Alexander Morrison, Margaret E Morrison, Edith May Morrison (born 29th August 1893), Albert Victor Morrison (born 11th May 1895), Stanley Morrison (born 20th September 1898).
The 1901 census lists Albert Victor as age 5, living with the family at house 22 in James's Street, Cookstown. Alexander was a draper and cycle agent.
The 1911 census lists Albert Victor as age 15, living with the family at house 4 in Molesworth Road Street, Cookstown. Victor was still at school. Alexander was a draper and cycle agent.
He was a prominent football player in Cookstown.
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 26th September 1914: Cookstown Academy
Albert Victor Morrison – Medical scholarship in Queens University, Belfast, Value £15.
Before the war, Victor was a medical student at Queen’s University. He passed his first medical in 1914.
He was a member of the University Officer Training Corps (O.T.C.) at Queens.
Victor volunteered and offered to take service in any regiment.
He went to Glasgow University School of Instruction.
He joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers and had passed his exams and become a Second Lieutenant.
Medal card
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 29th June 1915:
Mr Victor Morrison, elder son of Mr Alex Morrison, Cookstown, volunteered for service some time ago, and has just received a commission in the 9th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers. Mr Morrison was a medical student in the Queen’s University, and passed his first medical last year. He has been in the Officer Training Corps for some months, and offered to take service in any regiment. He now goes to Glasgow University School of Instruction.
From the Tyrone Courier dated 1st July 1915:
Newspaper Report
Mr Victor Morrison, elder son of Mr Alexander Morrison, Cookstown, has just received a commission in the 9th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers.
He was wounded in the arm on 11th June 1916 but recovered and was sent back to his unit at the front.
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 20th June 1916:
It was officially reported yesterday Second Lieutenant A V Morrison, Royal Scots Fusiliers, was wounded on 11th June. This officer, who is the elder son of Mr Alexander Morrison, Innisfallen, Cookstown, was educated at Queens University of Belfast and at Edinburgh, obtaining his commission on 1st July 1915.
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated Saturday 24th June 1916:
Newspaper Report
Mr Alexander Morrison, Innisfallen, Cookstown, received a telegram on Monday evening that his elder son, Second Lieutenant Albert Victor Morrison, Royal Scots Fusiliers, was wounded on 11th June. Lieutenant Morrison was a member of Queens University O.T.C., Belfast, and a prominent footballer in his native town. A later telegram states that the wound is not serious, a bullet having penetrated the fleshy part of the arm, and he himself had been able to write home from the base hospital.
Second-Lieutenant Albert Victor Morrison was serving with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers when he was killed in action on 30th July 1916. He was 21 years old.
Victor was initially reported missing on 1st August 1916 along with his fellow officer, Lieutenant Small from Markethill, County Armagh, who was the nephew of the Reverend J. Entrican, B.A., Cookstown.
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated Saturday 12th August 1916:
Newspaper Report
Mr Alexander Morrison, Cookstown, received a telegram from the War Office last weekend that his elder son, Second Lieutenant A Victor Morrison, of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, is missing since 1st August. Second Lieutenant Morrison was a medical student at Queen’s University, and volunteered for service last year. He was wounded some time ago, but had recovered, and was again with his regiment at the front. No further information has yet been received, and his parents are naturally anxious, though it is hoped that, as there was no large engagement on that date, their fears will be dispelled in a few days.
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated Saturday 19th August 1916: Lieutenant A Victor Morrison
Lieutenant Morrison’s parents received the following telegram in Cookstown: Lieutenant-Colonel Walsh to Alexander Morrison at Innisfallen, Cookstown, on 13th August 1916:
'I very much regret that I am unable to give you any definite news regarding your son, Lieut. A. Victor Morrison. The fighting that day was such that the very greatest uncertainty is bound to exist concerning many. Both Officers and men, who either fell or became detached from their comrades. I have made enquiries, but am unable to discover any trace of what befell your son that day. Nothing to amplify, in any way my original report. That I made on 31st July as to his being 'Missing'. There is, of course, the chance that he is in German hands, either as a wounded or unwounded prisoner, and I sincerely trust that such may be the case'
2nd Lieutenant Albert Victor Morrison has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
Lieutenant Morrison is also commemorated on Cookstown Cenotaph and on St. Luran’s Church of Ireland Roll of Honour, Derryloran, Cookstown.
2nd Lieutenant Morrison is also commemorated on Queens University War Memorial and on Queens University Book of Remembrance 1952.
The CWGC record Second-Lieutenant Albert Victor Morrison as the son of Alexander and Margaret Elizabeth Morrison of 38 Hopefield Avenue, Antrim Road, Belfast.
Read more
Relevant Cookstown Area Locations
No Location Region Location Notes Longtitude Latitude
1 James Street Cookstown Central Census listing in James Street 54.645254 -6.744842
2 Molesworth Street Cookstown Central Census listing in Molesworth Street 54.646024 -6.742546
References and Links
No Link Reference Map Doc
1 1901 Census lists Morrison family 1901 census lists Albert Victor as age 5 at house 22 in James's Street, Cookstown,
2 1911 Census lists Morrison family 1911 census lists Albert Victor as age 15 at house 4 in Molesworth Road Street, Cookstown
3 National Archives UK Medal card can be purchased here
4 National Archives UK Details can be purchased here
5 Queen’s University War Memorial 'Morrison, Albert Victor, 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Scots Fusiliers'
6 Queens Univ. Book of Remembrance 1952 Page 43. Faculty of Medicine 1913-1915
7 Soldiers Died in the Great War Details of 2nd Lieutenant Albert Victor Morrison
Cookstown District's War Dead Acknowledgements 2010-2023