Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

A War pensioner of World War One, Byran Murdock, was found dead in his hut at Caboolture yesterday morning.  He was last seen alive at noon of Friday.  Although police do  not regard his death with suspicion, a post-mortem examination has been ordered to ascertain the cause of death.

REST IN PEACE

MURDOCK, Bryan.— The Funeral of Bryan Murdock, late 2nd Tunnelling Coy., 1st A.I.F., will leave the Funeral Chapel, Wlckham St., Valley. This Wednesday) Afternoon, at 2.30  o'clock for Lutwyche Cemetery.
K. M. SMITH. L2031.

From Australian Remembrance Army

Sapper Bryan Murdock (Service No. 7538), an Australian World War One veteran, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with a plaque recognising their service for Australia.

We unveiled his plaque in Lutwyche Cemetery on 15 April 2023, along with a further 246 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page

Bryan Murdock, also recorded in documents as Bryan Murdoch, was born on 12 June 1886 at Goondiwindi, Queensland, the son of John Edward Murdock and Esther Murdock, née Corrigan. He enlisted at Naval House, Sydney, New South Wales, on 19 June 1917 as a 31-year-old single labourer. After initial training in Australia, he embarked from Sydney on 8 August 1917 and arrived in England at Liverpool on 2 October 1917.

Following further training at Parkhouse Camp on Salisbury Plain, he was assigned to the Australian Tunnelling Company, a specialist unit responsible for underground warfare, trench construction, and defensive mining operations on the Western Front.

Murdock proceeded to France on 14 November 1917 and joined his unit in the field later that month. He served in the Hazebrouck and Flanders areas, where Australian tunnellers worked in extremely difficult and hazardous conditions, often underground for extended periods and exposed to cold, damp conditions and gas. Within weeks of arriving at the front, he became ill and was admitted for medical care.

From December 1917 onwards, he was repeatedly hospitalised with bronchitis, which developed into a chronic condition. He was treated by field ambulances in France before being transferred to hospitals in England, including Canadian and Australian military hospitals and the Bath War Hospital. His medical records show ongoing respiratory problems that prevented a return to active service.

By early 1918, he was removed from front-line duty and transferred through Australian command depots in England for convalescence and light duties. In April 1918, he was formally classified as unfit for further overseas service and approved for return to Australia on the grounds of debility caused by active service.
Murdock returned to Australia in June 1918 and was finally discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 3 December 1918 in Sydney. His discharge was recorded as being due to disability and debility resulting from his war service.

After the war, Murdock lived quietly in Queensland and, in 1934, is recorded as living in Spring Hill, Brisbane. On 10 May 1947, he was found dead in his hut at Caboolture. A newspaper report published the following day described him as a war pensioner of the First World War and stated that he had last been seen alive at noon on the previous Friday. Police indicated that there were no suspicious circumstances, but a post-mortem examination was ordered to determine the cause of death.

Sapper Bryan Murdock was buried four days later in Anzac Portion 7, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane. He was a single man who never married and had no known children.

After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice. His identity and dignity have now been restored.

We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget.