Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Murray Ridgway Willing was born in Moonta, South Australia on the 2nd of October, 1919 to parents Roy Willing and Gladys Gesche Bert. Willing grew up in South Australia's town of Price, where he would enjoy playing sports, such as Football and Cricket. He attended his local school, Price Primary School, which he only attended to the age of 14 as his father was in the hospital with Polio and he was needed to help out around the house. By the age of 20, he had a job as a carpenter at the saltworks. The day he moved out of his childhood home was the day he enlisted for World War II .

On the enlisting day, he arrived in Wallaroo, South Australia, on the 11th of March 1940 to join many other soldiers and fight in World War II as a part of the Australian Imperial Force. Willing was an underage enlister, as he was only 19 years old (you had to be aged 20-35), so he faked his birthdate to enlist, and he enlisted with service number SN SX2079 . He was eager to enlist with his mates as they all thought it would be a fun adventure and overall great experience. They believed it would be fun as that was how the government told the war to be, convincing young men that it was a fun place to be. He also felt the need to help his country out, as they were desperate for more soldiers to enlist (Figure 5). Little did they know how much the war would impact the lives of themselves, and the rest of the world.

He and his mates trained at the Keswick Military Army Barracks, which now has the Army Museum of South Australia, in memorial of those soldiers that fought for our country, including Murray (Figure 7). He trained at the Army Barracks for 10 weeks, until he had grown the strength he needed to go to the war zone. When his unit, the 9th Australian Division, finished their training, they embarked on their first overseas journey to the Middle East, which was the start of everything .

He went overseas with his mates to the Middle East and North Africa during the month of December 1940 where he began his service as a ‘Rat of Tobruk’. He embarked on his journey in the Middle East, with the service “Siege of Tobruk'', with the commander, Leslie Morshead. He was a proud Rat of Tobruk. Their job was to reinforce and construct a defensive force, while also observing the enemy, the German-Italian army . His service in the Middle East lasted from December 1940 to March 1942. He embarked to another service in August 1942, joining the 2nd/10th Battalion (this battalion was sent to the Middle East, Syria and Papua New Guinea) in the ‘B’ company, serving as an infantryman. Fighting in Papua New Guinea, there were over 400,000 troops on the island, with a vast majority of those troops Australian, led by General Douglas MacArthur. The 2nd/10th Battalion then moved to Buna in December 1942 and began the “Battle of Buna'', which was Willing’s greatest achievement at war. The Battle of Buna lasted from the 1st of November 1942 to the 2nd of January 1943. Willing spoke about how the war was chilly and wet during the cold season, with the temperatures dropping from 20 to 15 degrees. The temperature was very hot and humid during the warm season, reaching 50 degrees celsius. During the war, he did suffer from malaria and did suffer from many fevers, which would’ve been cured by medication but they had a limited supply of that. When the soldiers were fighting in Buna, they were fighting during the cold days (temperature as low as 20 degrees, which made fighting extremely difficult, considering it was generally raining and muddy, which made it hard to run, and hard to see and aim for shots . Many soldiers do suffer from mental illnesses or any other diseases, but Willing was a very hard man, so if he did, he didn’t show it .

The Japanese forces during the Battle of Buna were fierce and relentless, considering they were the troop that began the war in the village on 21 July 1941. The Japanese were well entrenched around the island and the government stations by the time the 2/10th battalion moved to the island. The battalion found it difficult to knock down the Japanese forces, despite the support from the tanks. On the morning of 18 December, the Australian battalion concluded that the only way to knock down the Japanese troops was to eliminate them one by one. The 2/10th Battalion made many attacks but they received very few gains in return, which is a clear representation of how strong the Japanese forces were. In the end, the 2/10th Battalion was tired and depleted, so Australian troops reinforced the 2/12th battalion to take their place (Figure 4). Willing along with his troop fought until their bodies couldn’t take it anymore, and continued to fight until help came their way. They played a major part in giving the Allies the victory, and this battle continued to be one of Willing's greatest achievements in his life .

While serving with the battalion in Milne Bay, in Papua New Guinea, he came across an attack with the Japanese forces. He was involved with the forward company which was on a fighting patrol when Japanese forces sneakily attacked their defensive position. The defence position was lightly armed and the Japanese attacked without notice. The attack was led by two midget tanks and it was dark at night, which left Willing and his force with no control over the situation. The battalion was split up, with half of them returning to Milne Bay. The group that Willing escaped with was cut off by the opposing forces but his group made it back to the battalion by travelling inland and finding a base. During his time with ‘The Battle of Buna’, he was tragically wounded in action, a gunshot to the chest. He was being transported to an aircraft when he was ambushed by multiple Japanese aircraft. Willing had no exit out of the vehicle, so he put a blanket over his head and waited whilst bullets were fired. These two stories were the ones he was most proud of, and he would talk about if the topic came up .

He was discharged from the Australian Army 20th October 1943, and returned home to the Yorke Peninsula, to a property in Ardrossan. From there he started his haulage business, Murray R Willing & Co. Carrier where he would transport sheep to the Abattoirs and grain to the silos. He consistently travelled back and forth from Adelaide to Ardrossan with his trucking business, transporting goods . 

Willing won many medals such as 1939-45 star, Africa star, Defence medal, War medal 1939-45, Australian service medal 1939-45 and Return from active service badge which he wore when he marched or attended any official events . He was proud of the work he did in the war, and kept all his friendships from war, living his life to the fullest . 

Since he had a booming business, he was able to retire early, in Ardrossan, and be more involved with his interests such as his bowls and golf, becoming an active RSL member. He would participate in the Adelaide ANZAC day march each year and would go to Adelaide each month for an official lunch . On March 13th, 1943, Willing was able to come home from war for two days to marry his beloved, Laurel, while wearing his Army uniform. The two of them started a family of their own, giving birth to their daughter, Margaret and their son, Nevill. In 2012, Willing became a member of the DVA mission and joined others to Milne Bay for the 70th anniversary, in honour of the battle of Milne Bay. Murray died of natural causes on the 6th of April 2020, aged 100 years. Along with his memorial, Willing also got a Price and District Roll of Honour, which gives him the recognition he deserves .

Murray Willing, a young man that grew up in the small town of Price, was a courageous and friendly man that was humble and did great service towards our country. He never let the trauma and hell of war get to him deep down, and was a tough and strong man for doing that. He was and will continue to be an inspiration and mentor to the community and others around him. Willing, along with his mates and fellow soldiers, went through a lot of trauma and ache during their time at war, but continued to stay courageous and strong through it all. Even though Willing may have passed on, quite recently, his memory still burns bright and all his hard work that was shown through his time at war will forever be recognised by family and community. May he rest in peace, this great Anzac. 

Australian War Memorial 2020, Battle of Buna, viewed 19 May 2020,

<https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84314>.

Interviewee -  Margaret Bulpitt (nee Willing): 4/5/2020

War history online 2016, World War Two’s long struggle for New Guinea, viewed 19 May 2020

<https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/world-war-twos-long-struggle-new-guinea.html>.

Before the war Murray Willing worked as a labourer. He lied about his year of birth and enlisted in Wallaroo, South Australia in March 1940. His first overseas service was in the Middle East and North Africa from December 1940 until March 1942. He is proud to be a Rat of Tobruk. He embarked for service again with the 2/10^th Battalion in August 1942, serving in “B” Company as an infantryman.

Murray vividly remembers one particular aspect of the battle with Japanese forces at Milne Bay. He was part of a forward company of the battalion which was on a fighting patrol to KB mission when Japanese forces attacked their hasty defensive positions at night. Lightly armed and provisioned the battalion was attacked by two midget tanks supporting enemy infantry. He recalls fighting at night made control difficult and the battalion was split, some went directly to Milne Bay, but Murray was part of a group that was cut off by the enemy. They returned inland through the Stirling Range to make their way back to the battalion.

In December 1942, Murray moved to Buna with the 2/10^th Battalion and took part in the Battle of Buna, during which he was seriously wounded in action, with a gunshot wound to the chest. As he was being transported to an aircraft for evacuation the airfield was strafed by Japanese Zeros. Still strapped to the vehicle, Murray pulled the blanket over his head and waited, but fortunately the bullets missed him.

Murray was discharged in August 1943. After the war he established a heavy haulage company. He has been an active member of the RSL and participates in the Adelaide ANZAC Day march. He maintained strong friendships with his wartime mates and their families and has a close affinity with younger generations of soldiers. Murray was an active lawn bowls player and golfer.

In August 2012 he was a member of the DVA mission to Milne Bay to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Milne Bay.