{"id":790052,"date":"2026-07-09T22:03:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T22:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/790052\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T22:03:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T22:03:27","slug":"australian-war-memorial-makes-magnificent-discovery-of-first-indigenous-military-cross-recipient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/790052\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian War Memorial makes ‘magnificent’ discovery of first Indigenous Military Cross recipient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the image of an Indigenous person who has died.<\/p>\n

The story of Sidney Leonard Morse had been lost to history \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n

In 1943, the Devonport-born Bendigo butcher became Australia’s first Indigenous recipient of the Military Cross.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

In 1943, Sidney Leonard Morse became Australia’s first Indigenous recipient of a Military Cross for his actions in New Guinea. (Supplied: Australian War Memorial)<\/p>\n

“To find that we have an Aboriginal man that’s moved through the ranks, been recognised for his bravery and his service, it’s a magnificent find,” the Australian War Memorial’s Indigenous Liaison Officer Michael Bell said.<\/p>\n

The Military Cross was introduced in 1914 and awarded to officers for gallantry.<\/p>\n

But Captain Morse’s achievements would have remained hidden, were it not for a chance discovery by a volunteer historian at the War Memorial who was collating family trees.<\/p>\n

“Sidney Leonard Morse’s story came to light through that ongoing research of identifying and recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen and women,” Mr Bell said.<\/p>\n

\"War<\/p>\n

War Memorial Indigenous Liaison Officer Michael Bell says the chance discovery of Captain Morse’s achievements was a magnificent find. (ABC News: Lily Nothling)<\/p>\n

Aged 20, he enlisted in the Army as a private in 1939, and by 1943 was serving as a captain.<\/p>\n

The Military Cross was awarded for his efforts in New Guinea, including at the Battle of Mubo where he led his company against multiple attacks.<\/p>\n

The citation commended the young man for his “conduct and bold leadership”.<\/p>\n

“Captain Morse was an inspiration to his men as he moved from section to section encouraging and directing the fire without regard to his personal safety,” the citation read.<\/p>\n

Research reveals distant relatives\"A<\/p>\n

Australian War Memorial curator Shane Casey (right) says research is still underway to determine how many Indigenous servicemen there were. (ABC News: Lily Nothling)<\/p>\n

War Memorial curator Shane Casey said more than 2,900 Australians received a Military Cross before the medal system was overhauled in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

“We really don’t know how many Indigenous servicemen won the Military Cross,” Mr Casey said.<\/p>\n

“Research is still underway to determine just how many Indigenous servicemen there were and where they were embedded.”<\/p>\n

But research has led the War Memorial to Captain Morse’s distant relatives in Tasmania.<\/p>\n

\"Aunty<\/p>\n

Aunty Brenda Hodge, a distant relative of Sidney Morse, says she is hoping to find his descendants.\u00a0 (ABC News: Georgia Hogge)<\/p>\n

For Aunty Brenda Hodge, discovering her familial connection to the accomplished officer came as a delight.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Sidney Leonard Morse enlisted in the Army as a private in 1939. (Supplied: National Archives of Australia)<\/p>\n

“I was excited and amazed and very proud,” she said.<\/p>\n

Aunty Brenda is now searching for more answers about Captain Morse, who died in 1991 and was known as Bill.<\/p>\n

“Most of all I’m hoping that we can find some of his descendants and family members,” she said.<\/p>\n

“All we know is that they had two children \u2026 and six grandchildren.<\/p>\n

“We do not know if Sidney’s family are aware of their Tasmanian Aboriginal heritage, but as a distant relative, I would love to have contact with them and be available to assist them with any research if they wish.”<\/p>\n

Their extended family tree already includes almost 200 relatives who have served Australia across the Army, Navy, and Air Force.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

War Memorial Indigenous Liaison Officer Michael Bell says he is thrilled the name and military accomplishments of Captain Morse can now be recognised. (ABC News: Lily Nothling)<\/p>\n

Mr Bell said he was thrilled Captain Morse’s name and military accomplishments were now known.<\/p>\n

“It gives us a deeper breadth and understanding of the contributions and sacrifice and service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the image of an Indigenous…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,32187,372485,44,372484],"class_list":["post-790052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-war-memorial","tag-military-cross","tag-news","tag-sidney-leonard-morse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}