Leon Henry Morris signature

On this day in 1916 Leon Henry Morris signed up in Deseronto. He stated that he was born in Deseronto on December 17th, 1891. He was the son of Dennis Morris and Laura (née Ruise) and married Nellie Mountenay on August 8th, 1911 in Napanee.

Morris was an ‘automobile driver’ who had previously served in the Canadian Horse Artillery. He joined the 254th Battalion with the regimental number 1093018. He was five feet seven inches tall, with a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His service record shows that he was transferred to the Nova Scotia Forestry Battalion, stationed in Halifax, where he was appointed acting sergeant in April 1917. He suffered from recurring bouts of appendicitis, and refused to undergo an operation to remove the appendix. The army recommended in July 1917 that he be discharged and his file notes that he deserted in September 1917.

Leon Henry Morris seems to have divorced Nellie, as she left Canada for Detroit in 1925 with their daughter, Margaret.