MURRAY, David Macleay
| Service Number: | 3788 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 August 1915, Enlisted at Holdsworthy. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hamilton, New South Wales, Australia, 28 November 1892 |
| Home Town: | Macksville, Nambucca Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Civil Engineer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 November 1916, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France, AIF Burial Ground, Flers, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Wauchope Rawdon Island School and District Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3788, 1st Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Holdsworthy. | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3788, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: RMS Mooltan embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 11 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3788, 1st Infantry Battalion, RMS Mooltan, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
David Macleay MURRAY (Service Number 3788) was born on 28th November 1892 at Hamilton. On 1st September 1913 his position is described on his record card as ‘Uni Graduate, Head Office’ in the Public Works Department. On 19th March 1914, he is shown as ‘Left for University’, but a year later is shown as Draftsman and he retained this role until 1st January 1917 when he is shown as a 2nd class Draftsman. Prior to 1st January 1917 railway construction was undertaken by the NSW Department of Public Works, but from that date the responsibility was moved to the NSW Railways themselves, so the relevant staff, including Murray, became employees of the NSW Government Railways.
Murray never worked for the NSWGR. He was released from duty to join the AIF on 25th August 1915 and reported missing, later re-determined to have been killed in action, on 5th November 1916, seven weeks before he was administratively changed from employment in one government agency to another.
Murray enlisted at Holdsworthy on 25th August 1915. On his Attestation Papers he described himself as a civil engineer. He was not married and gave, at first, his mother living at Nambucca River as his next of kin, though this was later changed to his father. Allotted to the 1st Infantry Battalion, Murray embarked RMS ‘Mooltan’ at Sydney on 11 thDecember 1915 and reached Egypt in February 1916. On 14th February he was taken on the strength of the 1st Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir.
After a short period of further training Murray proceeded to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France through Alexandria and Marseilles where he passed on 28th March. He became missing in action on 5th November and this was later changed to killed in action.
E. C Smithurst (6099) reported:
‘I, with a burying party, found the body of the above, about the 10th to 15th Feb.1917 along with some 20 others. They had not been found before, as their identification disc were found on their bodies. They were unrecognisable except for the discs. It was a bit of luck coming across them as there were hundreds of Germans in a heap around them. This was near The Butte at Leau Court Abbey. He might be 30-years-old, 5 feet 8 ins, medium complexion and architect by profession. Single man, he came from N.S.Wales.’
He was buried about 450 yards NNW of Gueudecourt (Sheet 57C. SW. N.20.9.3.7). Despite this detailed reference his grave could not be located after the war and he has no known grave. He is remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.