Quote: lionarmour87 "thats another great peice Admiral .
Can you give us what you know about Oliver Morris ?I know he was killed in ww11'"
There's something about him in the 100 Leeds Greats book that was published a few years ago and that's what this is based on ...
Before looking, I knew that he signed from Hunslet around the time of World War II breaking out (the start of the 39 / 40 season) and part of the transfer fee included a 'war clause' to ensure that a large sum wasn't paid for a player that wasn't going to be able to take part in the league.
He originally came from Pontypridd RU (Ohhhh, I'm working down there in Mid-September ... Might see what else there is about him when I am down there) and signed for Hunslet.
It's worth remembering that Hunslet weren't the South Leeds footnote we know of today and were a major, if not bigger than Leeds, force in the game. None more so than the 1938 Championship Final between Leeds and Hunslet and played at Elland Road. There were over 54 000 inside that day, I think the second biggest crowd in Elland Road history (after all, it WAS an NU Ground to start with .. Home of Holbeck RL !). Morris came to the fore as a stand-off, blunting Leeds' Australian half-back and all time great, Vic Hey. Morris's performance was integral in Hunslet's 8-2 win and to date, their last ever Championship win.
He scored four times in his first five games for the Loiners, including one against Bramley before the declaration of war in early Sept.1939. With the country under confilct, major sporting occasions were banned and RL reverted to a war time emergency Yorkshire competition. Playing in conjunction with another Welshman, Dia Jenkins, in the half backs , Morris finished the first season with 19 tries and that included a hat-trick against Hull KR.
In the 1940 - 41 season, he bagged four in a game against Batley and finished that season as leading scorer with 14 tries. Also, because of the threat of German air raids during those times, the capacity at Headingley was cut to a maximum of 8 000 for home games, but the consensus of those that saw him play thought he was an asset to the team.
The highlights of Oliver Morris' career at Leeds were the two war time Challenge Cup victories in 1940/41 and 1941/42, both Vs Halifax. Since many men were away at war, many sides disbanded for the duration of the conflict or had their grounds taken by the state, so as well as regular players, there were some 'guest players' from other teams making an appearance. For example, in those war time cup final sides, Leeds boasted several players from Hunslet and even one from Warrington. With Wembley and London off-limits, the ties were decided on a two legged basis. Morris scored in the 1942 final.
It was shortly after that season that he enlisted in the Army and specifically requested a Welsh regiment, as he thought they'd play more rugby (for a brief period, the RFU's anti-league stance relaxed during the war and indeed, there was a famous cross-code game at Headingley played during that time ... Don't worry, the League lads won it !), so I suppose that might have been a possibility.
Sadly, I don't know much more about his military career, other than his regiment was sent to the frontline straight away and he was killed in action in Northern Italy, I think in late '42 or 1943.
His career was :
App. 61 Tries : 44 Total Points : 198
I also recall reading in a programme or somewhere online, that there's at least one other Leeds player from that era, who also is technically still 'Missing In Action' as an RAF crew, somewhere in the Far East .... Anyone care to remind me who that is ?
