JOHN (JACK) JOSEPH HENRY MURRAY
Regimental No. 63646
14 October 1896 - 16 July 1918
Private John Joseph Henry MURRAY, known as Jack, was the only child of Patrick Christopher and Pauline Agnes Murray (nee Taucher). He was born 14 October 1896 at Masterton. His father was from Dublin, Ireland, and was a painter and paper hanger, while his mother was from Christchurch.
On the 1911 electoral roll the Murray family was living in Black Rock Road, Newlands, Wellington. Jack was working as a Freezing Works Hand for the Wellington Meat Exporting Company whose premises were at the bottom of the Ngauranga Gorge, not far from Jack’s home.
Jack attested and completed his first medical examination on 22 October 1915. He alleged he was 20 years old to meet the minimum age requirement for those enlisting, even though he had only turned 19 a mere 8 days earlier.
He was medically examined by Dr W M Shand[1], and was passed as fit to serve. His application, however, came to nothing as his mother contacted the military officials, and on his personnel file is written in large letters and circled “mother objects, under age”.
Finally, however, on 15 June 1917, by which time he was 20 years and 8 months old, he was able to enlist. The details on this medical sheet were slightly different from the earlier medical examination and stated that his apparent age was 21, he was single, 6 foot and ½ inch tall, weighed 150 lbs, had a chest expansion of 32 to 35½ inches, a clear complexion with hazel eyes, dark brown hair, good eyesight and normal heart and lungs. He was also free from hernia, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, had no contagious skin complaints, fits, or other “slight defects”. It was noted that he had had pneumonia 18 months previously but recovered fully, so was passed fit for duty. His religious beliefs were that of the Roman Catholic Church. His last known address in New Zealand was Newlands, Johnsonville, Wellington, and his next of kin was his mother, Mrs P. A. Murray.
On 22 August 1917 Jack was posted to H Company 31 Reinforcements and then on 7 September he was transferred to F Company 32 Reinforcements. After his initial training he embarked from Wellington on 22 November 1917 on the HMNZT 95 “Willochra”, sailing for Liverpool, England, as a member of E Company No. 20 Platoon[2]. He arrived in Liverpool on 8 January 1918. From there he marched into Sling Military Camp on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire the same day and was listed on the Sling Camp Nominal Roll as belonging initially to the 4th Reserve Battalion Canterbury Regiment and then the 3rd Reserve Battalion Canterbury Regiment. While at Sling Camp Jack was given more training and on the 20 March 1918 he left for Etaples, France. He arrived at Etaples on 21 March 1918. Jack had only 3 more months to live.
By 23 March 1918 Jack had sent on to Rouen and where he was assigned to the No. 2 NZ Entrenching Battalion[3], which he remained with until 13 July 1918 when he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion Canterbury Regiment. Only three days later, on 16 July 1918, he was killed in action. In the area of Rossignol Wood, less than 2 kilometres from the village of Gommecourt, which “is one of the many insignificant hamlets which dot the rolling farmland between Arras and the River Somme”.[4] He was still only 21 years old.
Although his file doesn’t record precisely where Jack was killed the Canterbury Regiment history provides some details regarding the circumstances leading to Jack’s death. Jack had been involved in supporting the 1st Canterbury Battalion establishment of posts close to the north-eastern edge of Rossignol Wood which was defended by German pill boxes. While casualties in each battalion were described as “light” Jack, along with eight others from the 2nd Canterbury Infantry Regiment, was killed by heavy German machine-gun fire[5]. 24 hours later the Canterbury Battalion was relieved and Jack’s Battalion was placed in brigade support with headquarters in Gommecourt Wood and the companies occupied the old German trenches between Rossignol Wood and Pigeon Wood to the north-east.
Jack was buried by Chaplain Captain George C Cruickshank, a Church of England chaplain who was attached to 2 Battalion Canterbury Regiment. Clearly no priest was available for the burial but this wasn’t an uncommon practice as men needed to be buried quickly.
Jack was initially buried in Gommecourt Chateau Cemetery, which had been begun by the Germans. Jack was one of 55 soldiers from New Zealand who were killed in July and August 1918 and buried there. After the Armistice graves were brought in from the battlefields in the environs of battles in July 1916, March 1917, and March, April and August 1918, and from certain smaller burial grounds also in the area, and Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery was created, between the villages of Gommecourt and Foncquevillers. There are now nearly 750 war casualties from 1914-18 commemorated in Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery. Of these nearly two-thirds are unidentified and special memorials have been erected to ten soldiers from the United Kingdom known or believed to be buried among them.
Jack’s service entitled him to the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which were sent to his father on 10th November 1921 and 15th September 1922 respectively. His next of kin were entitled to the Memorial Plaque and Scroll, these also being sent to his father in Newlands, the former on 9th February 1922, and the latter on 24th November 1922.
Although his military personnel file asserts there is no evidence of a will, John had made one while in camp in Trentham and there is a certified copy, dated 23 April 1919 in the file. The original Will was dated 8 December 1917 (at which time Jack was en route to England) but it was witnessed by P Battey, YMCA Secretary, and David Mines, soldier, both of whom were at Trentham at the same time as Jack. He left his estate to his parents.
Two weeks after Jack’s death his parents and other family members placed notices in the Wellington Evening Post (31 July 1918, page 1), in the New Zealand Roll of Honour section on the front page. He was clearly loved very much by his extended family, as well as by his “sincere friend, Belle”.
The following sad wee ditty was inserted “by his loving mother and father” -
“Killed in action” say the cables,
That is all the tale they tell
Of the brave young lad that left us,
Of the lad we loved so well."
On the same day there is a brief note in the Personal Matters column on page 8 of the same paper advising Mr P.C. Murray of Newlands had been informed that his only son has been killed in action “on the 16th inst.” This note refers to Jack’s education in Catholic schools in Wanganui and Petone.
Patrick Christopher Murray died on 2nd December 1924, aged 52, and was buried in the Roman Catholic section of Karori Cemetery. His grave is unmarked by a memorial headstone, and his wife appears not to have been buried with him.
Interestingly there is also a memorial in the New Zealand Roll of Honour in the Wellington Evening Post on 30 January 1917 to a Sergeant J.H. Murray of the 7th Australian Light Horse, who was killed in action 9th January 1917 in Egypt. He was the brother of Jack's father, and therefore an uncle to Jack.
Research conducted by Vivienne McIsaac with supplementary input by Barbara Mulligan and Zane Kidd
SOURCES
Archives New Zealand: http://archway.archives.govt.nz/
Auckland Museum Cenotaph Database: http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/locations
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: http://www.cwgc.org
National Library of New Zealand – Papers Past: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast
http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/somme/gommecourt.html
[1] Dr Walter Moray Shand 33 Vivian St Wellington
[2] The Grey Funnel. The official organ of Troopship 95 on her 8th trip to the Homeland page 28
[3] Entrenching battalions were temporary units formed in the British Army during the First World War. Allocated at Corps level, they were used as pools of men, from which drafts of replacements could be drawn by conventional infantry battalions
[4] http://www.gommecourt.co.uk/place.htm
[5] The History of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914 - 1919 by Captain David Ferguson, M.C. Published 1921 page 242
Regimental No. 63646
14 October 1896 - 16 July 1918
Private John Joseph Henry MURRAY, known as Jack, was the only child of Patrick Christopher and Pauline Agnes Murray (nee Taucher). He was born 14 October 1896 at Masterton. His father was from Dublin, Ireland, and was a painter and paper hanger, while his mother was from Christchurch.
On the 1911 electoral roll the Murray family was living in Black Rock Road, Newlands, Wellington. Jack was working as a Freezing Works Hand for the Wellington Meat Exporting Company whose premises were at the bottom of the Ngauranga Gorge, not far from Jack’s home.
Jack attested and completed his first medical examination on 22 October 1915. He alleged he was 20 years old to meet the minimum age requirement for those enlisting, even though he had only turned 19 a mere 8 days earlier.
He was medically examined by Dr W M Shand[1], and was passed as fit to serve. His application, however, came to nothing as his mother contacted the military officials, and on his personnel file is written in large letters and circled “mother objects, under age”.
Finally, however, on 15 June 1917, by which time he was 20 years and 8 months old, he was able to enlist. The details on this medical sheet were slightly different from the earlier medical examination and stated that his apparent age was 21, he was single, 6 foot and ½ inch tall, weighed 150 lbs, had a chest expansion of 32 to 35½ inches, a clear complexion with hazel eyes, dark brown hair, good eyesight and normal heart and lungs. He was also free from hernia, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, had no contagious skin complaints, fits, or other “slight defects”. It was noted that he had had pneumonia 18 months previously but recovered fully, so was passed fit for duty. His religious beliefs were that of the Roman Catholic Church. His last known address in New Zealand was Newlands, Johnsonville, Wellington, and his next of kin was his mother, Mrs P. A. Murray.
On 22 August 1917 Jack was posted to H Company 31 Reinforcements and then on 7 September he was transferred to F Company 32 Reinforcements. After his initial training he embarked from Wellington on 22 November 1917 on the HMNZT 95 “Willochra”, sailing for Liverpool, England, as a member of E Company No. 20 Platoon[2]. He arrived in Liverpool on 8 January 1918. From there he marched into Sling Military Camp on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire the same day and was listed on the Sling Camp Nominal Roll as belonging initially to the 4th Reserve Battalion Canterbury Regiment and then the 3rd Reserve Battalion Canterbury Regiment. While at Sling Camp Jack was given more training and on the 20 March 1918 he left for Etaples, France. He arrived at Etaples on 21 March 1918. Jack had only 3 more months to live.
By 23 March 1918 Jack had sent on to Rouen and where he was assigned to the No. 2 NZ Entrenching Battalion[3], which he remained with until 13 July 1918 when he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion Canterbury Regiment. Only three days later, on 16 July 1918, he was killed in action. In the area of Rossignol Wood, less than 2 kilometres from the village of Gommecourt, which “is one of the many insignificant hamlets which dot the rolling farmland between Arras and the River Somme”.[4] He was still only 21 years old.
Although his file doesn’t record precisely where Jack was killed the Canterbury Regiment history provides some details regarding the circumstances leading to Jack’s death. Jack had been involved in supporting the 1st Canterbury Battalion establishment of posts close to the north-eastern edge of Rossignol Wood which was defended by German pill boxes. While casualties in each battalion were described as “light” Jack, along with eight others from the 2nd Canterbury Infantry Regiment, was killed by heavy German machine-gun fire[5]. 24 hours later the Canterbury Battalion was relieved and Jack’s Battalion was placed in brigade support with headquarters in Gommecourt Wood and the companies occupied the old German trenches between Rossignol Wood and Pigeon Wood to the north-east.
Jack was buried by Chaplain Captain George C Cruickshank, a Church of England chaplain who was attached to 2 Battalion Canterbury Regiment. Clearly no priest was available for the burial but this wasn’t an uncommon practice as men needed to be buried quickly.
Jack was initially buried in Gommecourt Chateau Cemetery, which had been begun by the Germans. Jack was one of 55 soldiers from New Zealand who were killed in July and August 1918 and buried there. After the Armistice graves were brought in from the battlefields in the environs of battles in July 1916, March 1917, and March, April and August 1918, and from certain smaller burial grounds also in the area, and Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery was created, between the villages of Gommecourt and Foncquevillers. There are now nearly 750 war casualties from 1914-18 commemorated in Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery. Of these nearly two-thirds are unidentified and special memorials have been erected to ten soldiers from the United Kingdom known or believed to be buried among them.
Jack’s service entitled him to the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which were sent to his father on 10th November 1921 and 15th September 1922 respectively. His next of kin were entitled to the Memorial Plaque and Scroll, these also being sent to his father in Newlands, the former on 9th February 1922, and the latter on 24th November 1922.
Although his military personnel file asserts there is no evidence of a will, John had made one while in camp in Trentham and there is a certified copy, dated 23 April 1919 in the file. The original Will was dated 8 December 1917 (at which time Jack was en route to England) but it was witnessed by P Battey, YMCA Secretary, and David Mines, soldier, both of whom were at Trentham at the same time as Jack. He left his estate to his parents.
Two weeks after Jack’s death his parents and other family members placed notices in the Wellington Evening Post (31 July 1918, page 1), in the New Zealand Roll of Honour section on the front page. He was clearly loved very much by his extended family, as well as by his “sincere friend, Belle”.
The following sad wee ditty was inserted “by his loving mother and father” -
“Killed in action” say the cables,
That is all the tale they tell
Of the brave young lad that left us,
Of the lad we loved so well."
On the same day there is a brief note in the Personal Matters column on page 8 of the same paper advising Mr P.C. Murray of Newlands had been informed that his only son has been killed in action “on the 16th inst.” This note refers to Jack’s education in Catholic schools in Wanganui and Petone.
Patrick Christopher Murray died on 2nd December 1924, aged 52, and was buried in the Roman Catholic section of Karori Cemetery. His grave is unmarked by a memorial headstone, and his wife appears not to have been buried with him.
Interestingly there is also a memorial in the New Zealand Roll of Honour in the Wellington Evening Post on 30 January 1917 to a Sergeant J.H. Murray of the 7th Australian Light Horse, who was killed in action 9th January 1917 in Egypt. He was the brother of Jack's father, and therefore an uncle to Jack.
Research conducted by Vivienne McIsaac with supplementary input by Barbara Mulligan and Zane Kidd
SOURCES
Archives New Zealand: http://archway.archives.govt.nz/
Auckland Museum Cenotaph Database: http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Cenotaph/locations
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: http://www.cwgc.org
National Library of New Zealand – Papers Past: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast
http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/somme/gommecourt.html
[1] Dr Walter Moray Shand 33 Vivian St Wellington
[2] The Grey Funnel. The official organ of Troopship 95 on her 8th trip to the Homeland page 28
[3] Entrenching battalions were temporary units formed in the British Army during the First World War. Allocated at Corps level, they were used as pools of men, from which drafts of replacements could be drawn by conventional infantry battalions
[4] http://www.gommecourt.co.uk/place.htm
[5] The History of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. 1914 - 1919 by Captain David Ferguson, M.C. Published 1921 page 242