William Thomas Morton
Memorial: Hambrook - Whiteshill Common
Regiment: Gloucestershire Regiment
Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Private 5188651
Parents: Thomas and Alice Maud Morton
Home address: Rose Cottage, Frenchay Hill, Frenchay, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Builder’s Labourer
Date of birth: 10/11/1915
Place of birth: Bristol
Date of death: 10/08/1944
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried Bayeux War Cemetery (Ref. XIX. F. 19.), France and commemorated on Hambrook War Memorial and St John the Baptist Church, Frenchay
Age: 28
Further information:
Son of a builder's labourer, William was a builder's labourer himself and the second eldest of 5 children.
William served with the 2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment and took part in the D-Day landings and fought in the Normandy Campaign as part of the 56th Infantry Brigade, advancing through Normandy as each town fell. On the 9th August the Brigade had to cross a narrow bridge in single file then take the town of Brieux and advance into enemy territory without any vehicles or anti-tank guns. William died during these manoeuvres.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Holborn Andrew - The Role of 56th (Independent) Infantry Brigade During the Normandy Campaign June-September 1944; Plymouth University Thesis 2009