Robert Arthur John Morris (born 11 March 1913, date of death unknown), also known as Roy Morris, was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. Morris was signed to Norwich from

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in 1933. He had also appeared for

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

and

Southall Southall () is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

. He made his Norwich debut in 1933, and remained with the Canaries until 1938, when he joined Southern League side

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

, where he would make 69 first team appearances until

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 ...

Career

Born in

Hatton, London Hatton including Hatton Cross is a small settlement and locality in the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Hounslow, on the south-eastern edge of London Heathrow Airport and straddling the A30 road. Prior to 1965 it was in the county of Middles ...

, Morris was on the books at

, where he featured mostly in the 'A' team. While with Brentford, Morris also turned out for

sides including

and

. He was signed from Brentford by

on 8 May 1933. He earned the nickname "Roy" while with the Canaries after

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Tom Parker continually referred to him as Roy rather than Robert. Morris made his professional debut for the club on 7 October 1933, becoming the 391st player to represent Norwich. City lost the match 2–0 at home to

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in the

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

match. After five years with Norwich, Morris moved to Southern League side

on 22 July 1938 for their second-ever season, but remained on City's transfer list with a value of £500. He made his Colchester debut on 27 August in their 2–0 win against Gillingham at

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was the home of Colchester United Football Club from its inception in 1937, up until the club relocated to Colchester Community Stadium in 2008, resulting in its closure. The ...

, and scored his first goal in the next game on 3 September as the U's beat an Arsenal 'A' side 2–0. Having helped the club to the Southern League title in his first season with the club, Morris ended the campaign with 65 appearances, the most of any player at the club across the season. He began the 1939–40 season by appearing in all of Colchester's games before the league was abandoned following the U's 0–0 draw with Ipswich Town Reserves on 2 September owing to the outbreak of

. During the war years, Morris appeared for a number of sides, including

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

in May 1940, five appearances for

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

in 1940–41, six appearances for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

in 1942–43, five appearances for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in 1943–44 and a further three for Palace in 1945–46.

Honours

;Colchester United *1938–39

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

winner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Robert 1913 births Year of death missing Footballers from the London Borough of Hounslow People from Hounslow English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Brentford F.C. players Slough Town F.C. players Leyton F.C. players Southall F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Southend United F.C. wartime guest players Fulham F.C. wartime guest players Crystal Palace F.C. wartime guest players Reading F.C. wartime guest players English Football League players Southern Football League players