MURPHY, Neville Douglas
| Service Number: | 429986 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 October 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Pilot Officer |
| Last Unit: | No. 2 Operational Training Unit Mildura |
| Born: | Unley, South Australia, 9 June 1924 |
| Home Town: | St Peters (SA), Norwood Payneham St Peters, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Aircraft accident, Golgol, New South Wales, Australia, 23 September 1943, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Mildura (Nichols Point) Public Cemetery, Victoria War Graves Plot C. Row A. Grave 9 |
| Memorials: | Adelaide WW2 Wall of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 10 Oct 1942: | Involvement Pilot Officer, 429986 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct 1942: | Enlisted Adelaide | |
| 10 Oct 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, 429986 | |
| 23 Sep 1943: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer, No. 2 Operational Training Unit Mildura | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement |
Neville "Spud" Murphy
Neville was the best mate of my step-mother's Uncle Bernie Elliott Coulter. For a while, he was even part of Bernie's family, as his mother, Emiline May Coulter (nee BERNIE) took him in as a teenager owing to Neville's parents' divorce.
A lasting legacy was that when my step-mother, Carol was still in the womb, Neville pronounced that the baby should be named "Carol" - regardless of sex. She was born only a few days after the air crash that killed Spud.
This story was written on the back of the photo that Carol kept of Spud for all her life. It came to light after Carol's own death in 2024, 80+ years' later.
Submitted 6 May 2024 by Margaret Korn
Biography contributed by David Barlow
Son of Ruthven Lehunte Murphy and Nina Mignon Murphy of Norwood, South Australia
Pilot of Kittyhawk aircraft A29-60 of Number 2 Operational Training Unit which crashed at the Gol Gol Air to Ground firing range, NSW
Click images to start slideshow.