Morris, William Edward (1894-1962)

Transcription of obituary published in the Minutes of Conference

WILLIAM EDWARD MORRIS: born in Kidderminster in 1894. Educated at Kidderminster Secondary School, he started work as a clerk in the finance department of the local Co-operative Society, a training which was to prove valuable in future years. Following a period of preparation at Hartley College, he entered the Primitive Methodist ministry in 1921, and served in the following circuits: Manchester, Greenock, Paisley, Ellesmere, York, Bradford, Glossop and Shrewsbury. He became a supernumerary in 1960. 

Throughout his ministry he was a diligent student, with a wide range in the fields of theology and biblical studies, and this was reflected in his pulpit ministry, the fruit of a well-stored mind. His historical interest was considerable, and he did great service in collating and publishing material associated with his circuits, a permanent legacy for future historians. He was a man of noble spirit, zealous in all his work—as in all his play, for he was a keen footballer from his college days and an ardent cricketer. He had a passion for social righteousness. Gracious and friendly in his personality, he won confidence in a ministry rich in pastoral care. He was a wise administrator in circuit affairs. A man of great discernment, he was prepared to defend his convictions and did so in clear-cut argument. 

During his prolonged affliction he manifested great fortitude uncomplainingly. He had a deep sense of vocation, and the secret of his ministry was a life wholly committed to Christ. He died on 5 October 1962, in the sixty-seventh year of his age and the forty-second year of his ministry.

Family

William was born on 9 December 1894 at Kidderminster, Worcestershire, to parents Edward, a carpenter (1911), and Ellen.

Before entering the ministry William worked as a clerk for the Kidderminster Industrial Co-operative Society (1911).

He married Mildred Hope Price (1896-1977) in the summer of 1925 in the Ludlow Registration District, Shropshire.

William died on 5 October 1962, at Church Stretton, Shropshire.

Circuits

• Hartley
• 1922 Manchester IX
• 1925 Greenock
• 1928 Paisley
• 1933 Ellesmere
• 1939 York Wesley
• 1942 Bradford Dudley Hill
• 1947 Glossop
• 1955 Shrewsbury
• 1960 Church Stretton (S)

References

Methodist Minutes 1963/184

W Leary, Directory of Primitive Methodist Ministers and their Circuits, 1990

Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers