Ian Ernest McLeavy Morrison (31 May 1913 – 12 August 1950) was an Australian journalist and

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. He was one of the first journalists to be killed in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. The Academy Award-nominated film '' Love is a Many-Splendored Thing'' is based on Morrison's love affair with author Han Suyin in Hong Kong.

Early career

He was born on 31 May 1913 in Peking, as the oldest son to Australian adventurer and journalist

George Ernest Morrison George Ernest Morrison (4 February 1862 – 30 May 1920) was an Australian journalist, political adviser to and representative of the government of the Republic of China during World War I, and owner of the then largest Asiatic library ever as ...

(1862–1920) and Jennie Wark Robin (1889–1923). His father had been living in Peking on and off since 1897, when he had been stationed there as ''The Times first Peking correspondent. In 1919, the family moved to the United Kingdom, where the father died in 1920. Ian Morrison and his two younger brothers, Alastair Gwynne (1915–2009) and Colin (1917–1990), were all educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

before continuing to

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. From 1935 to 1938, Morrison was appointed English

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

Hokkaido Imperial University , or , is a public research university in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Founded in 1918, it is the fifth-oldest government-authorised university in Japan and one of the former Imperial Universities. The university finds its roots in Sapporo A ...

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, Japan. From 1938, he was secretary to the British ambassador in Tokyo, Sir Robert Craigie. In 1941, Morrison married the Austrian/Czechoslovakian Maria Therese Neubauer in Hong Kong. They had met earlier in Shanghai. They had two children, Nicholas and Petra. In 1946, his brother Colin married Maria's sister, Steffi.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Morrison covered the Pacific Front, being promoted from freelance contributor to full-time staff correspondent of ''The Times.'' His first assignment was to cover the

Battle of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

. During a November 1942 air raid during the

Battle of Buna-Gona A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, he was mildly injured. In December 1943, he fractured his

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

and suffered head trauma as a result of a

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

on New Guinea. He then telegraphed ''The Times'':

Regret involved in airplane accident enroute obtain eyewitness operational full stop hospitalised injuries seriouser than yestertime hope recover soon Dickson Brown newschronicler kindly consented cover next three days thereafter Curthoys sorry disappoint you good story

He did not return to combat journalism for seven months, and by the following December he had been shot once again, so he telegraphed ''The Times'':

Left hospital today. Thumb, in which fragments of Dutch bullet are lodged, will take at least a fortnight to heal up, but hope to resume filing about Thursday. Another bullet grazed side without doing any damage.

Morrison wrote four books related to World War II: * ''Malayan Postscript'' (London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1942) * ''This War against Japan'' (London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1943) * ''Our Japanese Foe'' (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1943) * ''Grandfather Longlegs: The Life and Gallant Death of Major H.P. Seagrim, G.C., D.S.O.'' (London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1947)

Between the wars

After the war, he was stationed in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

as a correspondent for ''The Times'' and travelled widely for them. While visiting Hong Kong, he met and had a love affair with local doctor and future author Han Suyin (according to his aunt, he was a ''ladies man'' with paramours all over the Far East and in Australia). Their story was told in her semi-autobiographical first novel ''

A Many-Splendoured Thing ''A Many-Splendoured Thing'' is a novel by Han Suyin that was a bestseller upon publication in London in 1952 by Jonathan Cape. The book was made into the 1955 film '' Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'', which inspired a popular eponymous song. I ...

'' which was made into a very successful film (with him now American and played by

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

) in 1955.

Korean War

When the

broke out in 1950, Morrison was despatched there by ''The Times.'' He published his first article from the

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and ...

on 10 July. He died on 12 August 1950, when a jeep carrying him, Indian Colonel M. K. Unni Nayar, and British journalist Christopher Buckley, struck a

landmine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...

that killed all three. He and Buckley were buried together at a private

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

cemetery in

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

with other correspondents acting as

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

s. An American

Guard of Honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

fired a salute, and the

Last Post The "Last Post" is a British and Commonwealth bugle call used at military funerals, and at ceremonies commemorating those who have died in war. Versions The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infan ...

was sounded. His name is listed in the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club as a member killed in the line of duty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Ian 1913 births 1950 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Australian war correspondents Journalists killed while covering the Korean War People educated at Winchester College Landmine victims 20th-century Australian journalists Australian expatriates in China Australian expatriate journalists