(a short look at Sniping and how it developed in World War One)
Morris’ talk originated when he asked the British Deer Society what they would like him to talk about, . approaching 2018 and the commemorations related to World War One and there was an overwhelming request to deliver something on the sniping gamekeepers. The British Deer society has many highly qualified stalkers and ex-military snipers.
Morris says that this was a new one on him, saying that he had always avoided the topic. as stalkers always talk about their shooting skills,) so he started from scratch on the assumption that keepers would have been called up and their skills utilised in such a role – so he started looking for evidence of this and jointly with the National Gamekeepers organisation and the Royal Armouries at Leeds, eventually delivered three talks Gamekeepers and sniping in World War One, Gamekeepers and sniping in World War Two and Modern Sniping. Mentioning that his assumptions as an historian were sorely tested.
Morris’s career commenced in the military and theoretically ended in 1982 but since then has been called up as a specialist reservist on numerous occasions, spending a lot of time in the Middle East and would have been working on Eastern Europe had he not been ill.
Morris moved into education after 1982 working for a short time as a teacher and then as headteacher before moving into inspection and teaching in universities as well as heading schools. he always worked with SEND children who had severe behavioral issues.
Morris has since worked in the MoD / FCO and DEFRA. His research degrees were on lessons learned after Somme, Hibernaculum’s for Barbastelle bats, and strategic financial planning /crisis recovery.
Morris’s World War I interests are eclectic, but has focussed on Airships and submarines for some time. Presently Morris is the Branch Coordinator Trustee for The Western Front Association