Corporal Charlie Morris returned home with ADF personnel to help with the flood clean-up

David Kirkpatrick
Updated May 3 2022 - 9:58am, first published April 29 2022 - 12:30pm

For at least one soldier, Operation Flood Assist in Lismore was a homecoming he appreciated.

Corporal Charlie Morris, an infantry soldier from 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment in Adelaide, was one of the thousands of ADF personnel deployed in northern NSW to help with the flood recovery.

He returned to his home town of Lismore as part of Operation Flood Assist.

Australian Army soldier Corporal Charlie Morris (left) from 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and his sister Georgie Morris at the Rivers Secondary College in Lismore, New South Wales, during Operation Flood Assist 2022. Picture: CPL Jonathan Goedhart
Australian Army soldier Corporal Charlie Morris (left) from 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and his sister Georgie Morris at the Rivers Secondary College in Lismore, New South Wales, during Operation Flood Assist 2022. Picture: CPL Jonathan Goedhart

Born and schooled in Lismore, Corporal Morris grew up in the neighbouring town of Caniaba with his four sisters.

He enlisted in the Army in 2014 and never envisaged returning almost eight years later to help the community recover from devastating floods.

"It is very personal and rewarding for me and I felt like it was my duty to come back to Lismore and contribute to the enormous recovery effort," Corporal Morris said.

"We have felt nothing but warm welcomes and the town has been so supportive of us being here.

"I am very proud to be able to come back home to Lismore to help the community that I grew up in, and I hope Lismore gets back on its feet as fast as it can and gets back to the town that I know and love."

His sister, Georgie Morris, a math's teacher at Lismore High School, spoke of how proud she was of her big brother returning to their home town to help with the clean-up.

"My sisters and I are super proud of Charlie joining the Army," Ms Morris said.

"We are so appreciative of the ADF coming to our town to provide support. Every time I've seen an ADF person in town they are always smiling, always offering help and asking how we are going."

More than 3000 ADF personnel are still deployed in northern NSW on Operation Flood Assist.

David Kirkpatrick

I'm a media professional with over 34 years of experience in public relations and journalism, including a decade setting Lismore's news agenda as the editor of The Northern Star. I have proven track record in growing audiences and improving engagement by delivering quality local stories for and about the Lismore community.