234th Battalion

Lt. Col. W.O. Morris

/ Matthew K Barrett / Leave a comment

Lieutenant Colonel W.O. Morris
215th & 234th (Peel) BattalionMorris

The local cabal against Morris has resulted in the necessity for a change in the command of the 215th Battalion. Morris’ only fault was in trying to jack up, very moderately, a slack Battalion.

(Maj-Gen. Logie to Gen. Hodgins, 9 Dec 1916)

Born in Fort Battleford on 24 May 1885, just as the Northwest Rebellion ended, William Otter Morris had been named after the Canadian commander at the Battle of Cut Knife, Colonel William Dillon Otter. A secretary in civilian life and a prewar member of the 9th Mississauga Horse, he served on the headquarters staff of Major-General W.A. Logie before appointment to senior major in the 170th Battalion in January 1916.

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The Old Timer & The Whippersnapper

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Lieutenant Colonel Wellington Wallace
234th (Peel) BattalionWallace&
Lieutenant Colonel W.O. Morris
215th & 234th (Peel) BattalionMorris

Born in 1854 in Tipperary, Ireland, Wellington Wallace immigrated to Canada in 1878. He was a bank manager, militiaman and veteran of the Northwest Rebellion. He fought with the Queen’s Own Rifles against Cree Chief Poundmaker at the battle of Cut Knife on 2 May 1885. The son of a North West Mounted Police Inspector, William Otter Morris was born in Fort Battleford on 24 May 1885 and named after the Canadian commander at Cut Knife, Colonel William Dillon Otter. The thirty-year old Wallace and the two day old Morris were both present in Battleford when Poundmaker and the Cree surrendered on 26 May 1885. Over thirty years later, Morris succeed Wallace as commander of the 234th Battalion.

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