Dunrossil, Lord (1893-1961), William Shepherd Morrison, Viscount Dunrossil, was a British soldier, lawyer, and politician who served as governor general of Australia in 1960 and 1961. He died in office, in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 3, 1961.
Morrison was born in Argyll, Scotland, on Aug. 10, 1893, and educated at George Watson’s College and Edinburgh University. His education was interrupted by World War I (1914-1918), in which he served with the Royal Field Artillery and won the Military Cross. Because of the war, he did not complete his education until 1921, when he received his Master of Arts degree from Edinburgh. He became a barrister, a lawyer who has the right to argue cases in higher courts, in 1923. He won election to the House of Commons in 1929 and represented Cirencester and Tewksbury, in Gloucestershire. He held his seat for the next 30 years, becoming speaker of the House of Commons in 1951. In 1959, he announced his retirement from Parliament for health reasons. Later that year, he was named to succeed Sir William Slim as governor general of Australia, and he received the title Viscount Dunrossil.
