MURRAY, Francis Henry
| Service Number: | 2151 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 June 1915, Place of Enlistment Brisbane, Queensland. |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Cardwell, Queensland, Australia, 6 August 1894 |
| Home Town: | Cardwell, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Cardwell, Queensland, Australia, 4 September 1957, aged 63 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Cardwell Cemetery, Qld |
| Memorials: | Cardwell Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2151, 26th Infantry Battalion, Place of Enlistment Brisbane, Queensland. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2151, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Armadale, Brisbane | |
| 20 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2151, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Armadale embarkation_ship_number: A26 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Jun 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 26th Infantry Battalion | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2151, 26th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , Wounded in The Somme | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Honoured Military Medal | |
| 13 Oct 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 26th Infantry Battalion |
Francis (Frank) Henry Murray
Francis (Frank) Henry Murray (2151)
Researched and written by The Cardwell and District Historical Society.
Francis Henry (Frank) Murray was the son of John and Amelia Martin (née Weiss) Murray of Glencoe Station. John Murray came to the area from Victoria, where he had been a steeplechase jockey and in 1888 was managing the Glenbora Run situated at Kennedy, where horses and cattle were agisted. In 1895 John won the contract to carry mails by packhorse weekly from Cardwell to Cashmere via Deep Creek, Bedford Creek and Kirrama, and continued as mailman for many years, on and off, including doing the mail run to Deans at Banyan Creek. The Murrays took up residence at Glencoe on the outskirts of Cardwell in 1896 and their children attended Cardwell State School.
Frank was born at Cardwell on 6 August 1894. He also had the mail run for a time from Cardwell to Banyan, Lower Tully, Upper Murray and across the range to Kirrama Station before he enlisted on 22 June 1915. He had also done occasional work for the Shire Council.
Frank enlisted at Brisbane (service number 2151) and left for overseas on 20 September 1915 on HMAT Armadale with the 7th Infantry Brigade, 26th Infantry Battalion, 4th Reinforcements. Initially he saw service in Egypt (joining his unit at Tel el Kebir) before the Battalion departed for France in mid-March 1916. He survived action at Pozières and in the Somme Valley but was wounded in action on 4 October 1917 on the border of France and Belgium. This was the date on which the 26th Battalion participated in the capture of Broodseinde Ridge. Like most of his soldier mates, he also spent time in hospital a number of times for various sicknesses.
He attained the rank of Corporal before returning to Australia on HT Medic, to disembark on 31 May 1919. After the War he took up residence in Sydney and died on 4 September 1957.
Submitted 28 December 2020 by Lynette Turner
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