Morris William "Mo" Shapir (9 September 1917 — 15 August 1942) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played with

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

. He was killed in action serving with the R.A.A.F. in

World War II 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 ...

Family

The son of Eleazar Shapir (1898-1988) and Rosetta Blanche Shapir (1898-1975), née Gooding, Morris William Shapir was born in South Melbourne on 9 September 1917. He was engaged to Norma Turnbull (his death prevented their marriage).

Football

Recruited from Melbourne High School Old Boys (MHSOB) in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). He sustained a leg injury in the 1936 pre-season training.

Military service

Shapir served in the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

as a

Flight Sergeant Flight sergeant (commonly abbreviated to Flt Sgt, F/Sgt, FSGT or, currently correctly in the RAF, FS) is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structur ...

. On 22 October 1941, Shapir's flak-damaged

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

(IV R1765), piloted by RAF Flight Lieutenant James Anthony Hosking "Jimmie" Sargeaunt, crashed while returning from a bombing raid. The crew bailed out over

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

in England. One of the crew (the rear gunner who had not bailed out) died, and another two were wounded (including Shapir who suffered internal injuries and a broken leg). ::

Death

On 15 August 1942, the bomber Shapir was on (Wellington IC DV676), piloted by RAF Flight Sergeant Alfred Ronald Beaven (1269424), was lost over British-occupied Egypt. Shapir's remains were not found, and he is commemorated on the

Alamein Memorial The Alamein Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the El Alamein War Cemetery, El Alamein, Egypt. The memorial commemorates 11,866 Commonwealth forces members who died during World War II. The memorial was designed by ...

.Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Footnotes

References

* Main, J. & Allen, D., "Shapir, Morris", pp.332-334 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002. * Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
Roll of Honour Circular: Flight Sergeant Morris William Shapir (400357), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.

Roll of Honour: Flight Sergeant Morris William Shapir (400357), ''Australian War Memorial''.

Air Forces WW2 Casualty: Flight Sergeant Morris William SHAPIR (400357) of the Royal Australian Air Force, ''Royal Air Force Commands''.

Flight Sergeant Morris William Shapir (400357), ''Commonwealth War Graves Commission''.

External links

* * 1917 births 1942 deaths Australian Jews People educated at Melbourne High School Australian rules footballers from Melbourne North Melbourne Football Club players Australian military personnel killed in World War II Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force airmen People from South Melbourne Military personnel from Melbourne 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1917-stub