No.1762 – Private James Duncan Morrison – 28th Battalion AIF
James Duncan Drummond Morrison was born in Edinburgh Scotland on the 25th November 1891 to James and Elizabeth Morrison. James was educated in Edinburgh and after leaving school he took up a 5 year apprenticeship in Carpentry. During these years he also saw service with the Territorials. In 1905 his parents had separated and he continued to live in Edinburgh. On the 14th August 1913 James travelled to Western Australia with his mother. On arrival in WA they took up residence in Douro Rd South Fremantle and James soon found work locally as a Carpenter. On the 12th June 1915 James enlisted into the AIF and was accepted as fit for service. The medical examiner found James to be 5 feet 8 ½ inches tall; weight of 9 stone 12; chest measurement of 33-36 inches; fair complexion; blue eyes and brown hair. His religious denomination was Methodist. James was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 2nd Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion AIF. He had just over a month’s training with this group as on the 22nd July 1915 the 2nd Reinforcements boarded the HMAT Demosthenes in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt.
Upon arrival in Egypt in August the men were sent to the Base Details Camp and while the 2nd Reinforcements went to Gallipoli it seems that James remained in Egypt. On the 18th November 1915 he arrived at Mudros, off the coast of Gallipoli though he did not join the 28th Battalion at Anzac. It seems that because evacuation plans were underway James remained at Mudros and only joined the 28th Battalion after they came to Mudros.
On the 10th January 1916 the 28th Battalion returned to Alexandria and they would spend the next two months training and holding sections of the Suez Canal Defence Line. On the 16th March 1916 the 28th Battalion boarded a transport ship in Alexandria bound for France arriving at Marseilles on the 21st March 1916. After being disembarked the men were put on to trains and sent to Northern France where they took up positions in the line at Fleurbaix. They remained in this sector until June 1916 and in July headed for the Somme.
The 1st Australian Division captured Pozieres Village on 22nd July and they were relieved by the 2nd Division who would attempt to further the gains already made. On the 29th July 1916 the 28th Battalion took part in an advance against a well defended German position and they were cut down by heavy machine gun fire, James being among those who were killed. He has no known grave and is therefore commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
Morrison, James Duncan. City of Fremantle Local History Centre, accessed 08/06/2026, https://history.fremantle.wa.gov.au/nodes/view/46703