The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (116) Private James Morgan, 3rd Battalion (Tropical Force), Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Richad Cruise, the story for this day was on (116) Private James Morgan, 3rd Battalion (Tropical Force), Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, First World War.

116 Private James Morgan, 3rd Battalion (Tropical Force), Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
Died of illness: 19 January 1915

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private James Morgan.

James Morgan was born about 1865 in West Derby, a suburb of Liverpool, England.

Morgan joined the Royal Navy at a young age, and spent seven and a half years in service. Known by his nickname “Rattler”, he saw service in Britain’s wars in Egypt and Sudan during the 1880s.

In about 1885, Morgan left the Royal Navy and emigrated to the colony of Victoria. He married Margaret McConnell in 1889 in Port Melbourne, and the couple had two children, George and Evelyn.

Morgan joined the fledgling Victorian colonial navy, with which he was to serve a total of 15 years.

In 1900, the British Empire was involved in two wars to which the Australian colonies sent troops: the South African War, and the Boxer Rebellion in China. The Boxer Rebellion was a Chinese nationalist uprising begun by a secret society called the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, known to Westerners as “Boxers”. The Boxers violently opposed European influence, missionary activity, and property interests in China. In response, an international force was formed to protect Europeans and their property in China.

The colonies of New South Wales and Victoria sent naval contingents to the Boxer Rebellion, and South Australia sent its colonial gunboat, HMCS Protector. Morgan joined the 200-strong Victorian naval contingent at the rank of able seaman. The Victorians sailed from Melbourne on the steam ship Salamis in late July, stopping in Sydney to embark the New South Wales contingent. The Salamis stopped in Hong Kong for a spell before sailing to the port city of Tianjin in the middle of September. There the colonial soldiers and sailors joined the British Field Force in China.

The two Australian contingents were split up in October, with both going on different marches further inland, but without battle action. Over the winter, the Victorians were garrisoned in Tianjin, where their varied duties included policing and guard duties, execution of Boxers and criminals, and firefighting.

In the new year, it was clear that the Boxer threat had been quashed. The Australian contingents sailed home on the SS Chingtu in April 1901. They had left from colonial New South Wales and Victoria, but they returned to federated Australia. At the expiry of his service, Morgan worked as a stoker at a gas works in Melbourne.

In August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany, and Morgan volunteered for military service once again. With his naval background, he joined the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, which had been formed to capture German positions in the south Pacific. In September, the AN&MEF had captured Rabaul, the German administrative capital of German New Guinea.

When Morgan joined the force at the rank of private in November 1914, he became a member of the 3rd Battalion, known as Tropical Force. This force was initially raised to occupy German Pacific radio stations just north of the Equator. Men with previous military experience were preferred, and to facilitate this condition, the age of enlistment was raised to 50. With his years of naval experience and having seen active service in China, Morgan was an obvious choice. He undertook brief initial training at Liverpool camp near Sydney.

At the end of November 1914, Morgan embarked on the transport ship Eastern. At the very last moment before the ship set sail, however, orders arrived from Britain to the effect that Tropical Force should not be deployed north of the Equator. Instead, the force would complement the original AN&MEF men and perform garrison duties in occupied German bases.

Morgan was sent with a small group of men to Madang, on the north-eastern coast of New Guinea. From there, he marched north to the Sepik River, where there was a mission station at Marienberg. In early January, he reported sick with malaria, and was cared for by the mission’s German doctor. However, his condition worsened, and on 19 January 1915 he died.

He was 49 years old.

James Morgan was initially buried at the mission station where he died. After the war his remains were reburied at Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, alongside 32 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated there.
In Australia, Morgan was survived by his widow Margaret, and their son George and daughter Evelyn.

Private James Morgan is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private James Morgan, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Thomas Rogers
Historian, Military History Section