MURRIN, William James
| Service Number: | 3399 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 13th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Petersham, New South Wales, Australia, 20 April 1897 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Stanmore Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Railway porter |
| Died: | Illness, France, 28 October 1916, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, Nord Pas de Calais Plot I, Row B, Grave 19 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3399, 4th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3399, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3399, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Sydney | |
| 28 Oct 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 3399, 13th Field Artillery Brigade, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3399 awm_unit: 13th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1916-10-28 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
William James MURRIN was born on 20th April 1897 at Petersham in Sydney. His parents were William James and Amelia Agnes Murrin and their family home was in Marrickville, NSW. However, for his schooling young William was sent to school at Stanmore.
He joined the NSW
government Railways and Tramways as a junior porter in the Traffic Branch at Lismore. On 10th March 1915 he transferred out, becoming a gatekeeper in the Traffic Branch at Sydney. On 5th October 1915 his position changed again, to junior porter in the Traffic Branch at Sydney. However, before this change, on 26th August 1916, he was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces.
He joined the AIF with the rank of Private (Service Number 3399) and was posted to the 11th Reinforcements to the 4th Infantry Battalion. He nominated his father as his next of kin. When he enlisted he gave his postal address as being at Woonona, NSW.
He embarked for Egypt aboard HMAT A17 ‘Port Lincoln’ at Sydney on 13th October 1915. After arriving in Egypt he joined the 4th Infantry Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on 21st January 1916 but on 13th February 1916 he was transferred to the 56th Infantry Battalion. On 16th March 1916 he was transferred again, this time to the 5th Division Artillery and the following day he was taken on strength of the 13th Field Artillery Brigade and posted to the 51st Battery. With the transfer to the artillery his rank was reclassified from Private to Gunner.
On 16th June 1916 he embarked with his unit at Alexandria for France and disembarked at Marseilles on 23rd June 1916. He then remained on duty with his unit until 5th October 1916 when, during operations near Armentières, he was admitted to hospital with tonsillitis. He was discharged on 14th October 1916. On 28th October 1916 he was admitted to hospital again, this time with pneumonia. He died of this disease the same day.
His grave is in Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, Nord Pas de Calais, France. His place of association is Marrickville, NSW.
After his death his mother was awarded a pension of £1 per fortnight with effect from 4 January 1917.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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