Saturday, 6 June 2026

Tilly Morris (1886 - 1981)

Tilly Morris, born Tilly Dik, is the sister-in-law of Rachel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Morris family HERE. Bryer family HERE.

The original name of the family was Dik (Dikiene in Lithuanian) and the family, while registered in Raguva, Lithuania, lived in what is now Panevėžys, Lithuania. However, when Dinah's eldest brother Jacob arrived in England the clerk did not understand Yiddish and since Jacob called himself Jacob "Monnes" (Menachem), the clerk thought he said Munes was his last name. This was not English enough so the clerk anglicized it to Morris. Later when Jacob brought out other members of his family they changed their name to Morris as well

Parents: Joseph Dik (1851 - 1924) and Golda Chaya (1846 - 1923)

Born: November 1886 in Ponevezh, Kovno District, Russian Empire, now Panevėžys, Lithuania,  Ponevezh [Russian], Ponevezh [Yiddish], Poniewież [Polish], Ponewiesch [German], Panevēža [Latvian]

Hebrew name: Tova daughter of Tsvi Yosef

Siblings
According to AI searches there were several other children who were born in Panevėžys as well, but I have yet to corroborate this

Migration to England: In Lithuania, at that time, the eldest son was drafted to the Russian army when they reached the age of 18. Therefore, Tilly's eldest brother Jacob left Lithuania planning to travel to America but on arrival in Liverpool did not have enough money to complete the journey. The local Jewish Leadership offered help on condition that he marry a Jewish girl and settle in England.  Once settled in England he brought all his family to join him in Liverpool and all his siblings changed their name to Morris. Tilly came to Liverpool sometime before 1910

Married: Isaac Epstein in (January - March) 1910 in LIverpool, England

Children
Their first child was born in 1911 when Isaac was 27 and Tilly 24 years old and their last child was born in 1927 when Isaac was 43 and Tilly 40 years old 
  • Baruch Epstein 1911 - 1982
  • Leah Epstein 1913 - 1985
  • Naphtali Epstein 1914 - 2000
  • Esther Epstein 1915 - 2013
  • Sarah Epstein 1920 - 2003
  • Zahava Epstein 1927 - 2024

Census
1911
In the 1911 census taken on 2 April that year, Tilly and Isaac have been married for one year and are living in a 6 room dwelling at 15 Vine Street, Liverpool, England. Isaac is age 26 and a travelling draper and clothier on his own account and Tilly is a housewife age 24. Living with them is their infant son Baruch who was born on 12 March 1911. Also living there is a boarder, Milly Morris age 21 who is a dressmaker, and a domestic servant, Maggie Graley, age 15


1921
In the 1921 census taken on 19 June 1921, Tilly and Isaac are living in a 6 room dwelling at 48 Erskine Street, Liverpool, England. Isaac is age 37 years and four months and a travelling draper and clothier working from home. His place of birth is given as Wloclawek, Poland.Tilly is a housewife age 35 years and six months and born in Poneviezys, Lithuania. Their children are Boruch age 10 years and four months, Leah age 8 years and 10 months, Naphtali age 7 years and one month, Esther age 6 years and one month, Sarah age 1 year and one month



1939 Register
In 1939 the family are living at 99 Granby Street, Liverpool, England. Isaac is now a master butcher with his own business. Living with Isaac and Tilly are their children Leah and Esther who both work in the family butchery, and Sara. Baruch and Naftali had already emigrated to Palestine


Electoral Registers
1948
In the 1948 electoral register Tilly and her children Naphtali and Zahava are living at 99 Granby Street, Liverpool, England. Her husband Isaac died in 1941

1960

In 1960 Tilly and her child Zahava and her husband Martin Dover are listed as living at 2 / 3 Croxteth Grove, Cheshire, England

Death
6 April 1981 (2 Nissan 5471) in Johannesburg, South Africa, age 94. She was buried on 7 April 1981 in the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg, grave block H, grave no 3375


Tombstone for Tilly. Inscription: "In loving memory of Tova Epstein passed away 6th April 1981. Deeply mourned by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. M.H.D.S.R.I.P."

Hebrew translation: 

Westpark Cemetery details for Tilly

Jewishgen Cemetery record for Tilly

Place of Birth
Tilly Morris was born in Panevėžys, Lithuania

PANEVEZYS (Panevezhis; Lith. Panevežys; Rus. Ponevezh), city in Lithuania. In 1766 the Jewish community numbered 254; in 1847, 1,447 Jews were registered, and in 1897, 6,627 Jews (50% of the total population) lived in Panevezys. An ancient Karaite community is also known to have existed there. A number of noted rabbis officiated in Panevezys, among them Isaac Jacob Rabinovich (Itzele Ponevezher), Joseph Kahaneman, and Jeroham Leibovich. The Hebrew poet Judah Leib Gordon served as a teacher in the city from 1853 to 1860. Naphtali Friedman, a noted advocate, served as delegate from Panevezys to the third Duma.

In May 1915, during World War I, the Jews of Panevezys were sent along with other Lithuanian Jews to the interior of Russia by the Russian military authorities. Most of them returned after the Russian Revolution. In 1923 there were 6,845 Jews living in Panevezys (35% of the total population), most of them occupied in small trade and crafts and some in larger business enterprises and industry.

The community had an active social and cultural life. Its educational institutions included Hebrew and Yiddish primary schools, two Hebrew secondary schools (one belonging to the Zionist-orientated Tarbut educational system and the other, for girls, to the religious Yavneh), a Jewish pro-gymnasium, and libraries.

The Panevezys Yeshivah, which had a high reputation, was founded by Liebe Miriam Gavronsky, daughter of K.Z. Wissotszky. When the Jews were expelled during World War I, the yeshivah was first moved to Ludza in Vitebsk province and then to Mariupol (Zhdanov) in the Ukraine. After World War I Rabbi Kahaneman founded the great Ohel Yiẓḥak yeshivah in Panevezys with about 200 students. In 1944 the yeshivah was reestablished by Rabbi Kahaneman in *Bene Berak, Israel.

Panevezys was occupied by the Germans in 1941 a few days after the outbreak of the German-Soviet war. A ghetto was established from which Jews were transported and murdered in September 1941. They were buried in 12 mass graves. In 1968 the Jewish cemetery at Panevezys was destroyed.

Residence

In 1911 Tilly and Isaac family are living at 15 Vine Street, Liverpool, England. The building no longer exists


In the 1921 census Tilly and Isaac are living at 48 Erskine Street, Liverpool, England. The building no longer exists


In 1939 the family are living at 99 Granby STreet, Liverpool, England


From 1949 to 1962 Tilly lived at 3 Croxteth Grove, Cheshire, England
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Wednesday, 3 June 2026

Sidney William Loewenson (1916 - 1984)

Sidney William Loewenson, known as Sonny, is the nephew, by marriage, of my niece of Rachel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Morris family tree HERE

Parents: Benjamin (Bennie) Loewenson (1884 -1946) and Annie Friedberg (1887 - 1976)

Tombstones for Sonny's parents who are buried in the Jewish cemetery in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, nowadays Zimbabwe

Born: 6 June 1916 in Que Que (now Kwekwe) in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)

The family lived in Que Que as his father was a storekeeper there (Southern Rhodesia voting register 1920-22)

Hebrew name: Zorach son of Baruch

Occupation: Civil engineer

Siblings
  • Jeanette Ruth Loewenson (1915 - 1970) married Solly Lazarus in Bulawayo, Rhodesia on 7 July 1935
  • Cecily Rosline (Cissie) Loewenson (1919 - 1999) married Joseph (Joe) Lazarus (1917 - 1997)
  • Louis Jack Loewenson (1921 - 1944) married Joyce Hughes (1925 - ) in Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales in October - December 1943

Sergeant Louis Jack Loewenson was a 22-year-old Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Flight Engineer on an overnight night bombing mission to Berlin on January 2 1944. Serving with 100 Squadron, he was among the crew of an Avro Lancaster III JB549 that failed to return from the raid. No trace of the plane or its seven crew were ever found. His son David Louis Loewenson was born, after his death, in (July - September) 1944. His widow later married Clifford John Townley Ingham and their son, James Ingham, was born in 1954

Because his remains were never recovered or identified, Louis has no known grave. He is officially commemorated on Panel 233 of the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, England, which honours Commonwealth air forces personnel lost without trace during World War II (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

Sidney's Military Service
Sonny enlisted with the British Army, Corps of Royal Engineers, on 3 April 1940, service number 167272 as a Lance Corporal. He was made a 2nd Lieutenant on 18 June 1940 and was a War Substantive Lieutenant when captured in Crete on 5 June 1941 and became a prisoner of war (POW)

Sonny was created a 2nd Lieutenant on 18 June 1940 (Supplement to the London Gazette, 11 February 1941, p. 819)


Extract from the British Army casualty lists where Sonny, previously listed as missing, is now confirmed to be a Prisoner of War as well as a subsequent entry updating his rank. W/Lt is a War Substantive Lieutenant - during war time, if an officer held a temporary or acting higher rank for a specific period (usually a few months), that promotion was officially locked in as "War Substantive"

Sonny's ex-prisoner of war document (click on document to enlarge) which he completed on 16 May 1945. He was incarcerated at 
  1. Salonika Transit Camp (June to August 1941)
  2. Oflag XC (A German POW camp located in Lübeck) (August - October 1941)
  3. Oflag V1-B (A German POW camp exclusively for officers located in Warburg) (October 1941 - September 1942)
  4. Oflag VII-B (A German POW camp for officers located in Eichstätt, Bavaria, Germany) (September 1942 - August 1944)
  5. Oflag V-A (A German POW camp for officers located in  Weinsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) (August 1944 - April 1945)
  6. Stalag VII-A (A German POW camp in Moosburg, Germany) (till 29 April 1945)
Sonny returned to the Rhodesian Forces on 26 August 1945 (Supplement to the London Gazette, 16 October 1945, p. 5055)

Marriage: Leah (Lee) Morris on 5 December 1954 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Lee was 33  and Sonnyy 38

Marriage certificate for Lee and Sonny who were married in the Parkview Greenside synagogue, Johannesburg on 5 December 1954

Children
Their first child was born in 1955 when Sonny was 39 and Lee 33 years old. Their second and last child was born in 1957 when Sonny was 41 and Lee 36 years old 
  • Barry Loewenson 1955 -
  • Rene Loewenson 1957 -

Electoral Registers
1939
In the 1939 electoral register Sidney is a civil engineer living at Umshandinge Dam, Fort Victoria, Rhodesia

1945
In the 1945 and 1946/8 electoral registers, Sidney is a civil engineer living at 18 Gifford Avenue, North End, Bulawayo, Rhodesia

Biography
LOEWENSON, Sydney William. B.Sc. (Eng) FRhod. I.E. M.R.I.M. M.I.W.P.C. Born Que Que, Rhodesia, 6th June, 1916, son of late Benny and Annie Loewenson. Educated Milton School, Bulawayo, University of Cape Town. Secretary of Water Development for The Rhodesian Government. Member Salisbury Hebrew Congregation, Salisbury Zionist Organisation, committee member Mashonaland Maccabi. 1962-64 Chairman Midlands Branch Rhodesian Institution of Engineers, 1964-68 Hon. Treasurer Rhodesian Institution of Engineers, 1972-76 Chairman, Rhodesian National Committees (a) International Commission on Large Dams and (b) International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage. Served in World War Il 1939-1945 Royal Engineers, Palestine, Egypt, Crete, Prisoner of War, Germany. Married Lee Morris, 5th December, 1954. One son, one daughter. Member Alexandra Bowling Club. Recreations: Bowls, Tennis. Add: 11 Laurie Road, Milton Park, Salisbury. Private Bag, 7712, Causeway, Salisbury. (South African Jewish Yearbook, 1967/8)

Death
1 November 1984 (6th Cheshvan 5745) in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, age 68. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery there

Tombstone for Sonny. "In loving memory of Sidney William [Loewenson]. 6.6.1916 - 1.11.1984. Deeply mourned and sadly missed by his beloved wife and children. May his soul be bound in the bond of eternal life [abbr.]."

Hebrew translation: "Here is buried / A wholehearted and upright man / Zorach son of Baruch / Departed on the 6th day of Cheshvan 5745 / May his soul be bound in the bind of the living"

In Memoriam
IN MEMORIAM. LOEWENSON, Sidney William. Sadly missed by his loving son for four years. United soon in the days of the Moshiach. (The Australian Jewish Times⁩, 21 October 1988)

Residences
In 1945 Sidney is listed as living with his parents at 18 Gifford Avenue, North End, Bulawayo, Rhodesia

In 1968 Sidney and Lee are living at 11 Laurie Road, Milton Park, Salisbury, Rhodesia
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