Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Kenneth Hope Murray of Unley Park, South Australia was born at Mount Beevor near Harrogate in the Adelaide hills and attended St Peter College 1907-1911. Prior to the war Kenneth along with Old Scholars John Gower and Guy Taylor was on the staff of Elder Smith and Co (Gower and Taylor of the 10th Battalion AIF lost their lives at Gallipoli in 1915.) Shortly after war was declared Kenneth left for England to join the British Army as an officer in the 1/6th (Morayshire) Territorial Battalion.

Before the war, the battalion, then located at Elgin in the northeast of Scotland was part of the Seaforth & Cameron Brigade, Highland Division but after reaching France in May 1915 was renamed the 152nd Brigade, 51st (Highland) Division. The Seaforth Highlanders earned an enviable reputation as fearless fighters, during the war and the unit suffered an estimated 8,830 casualties; seven men received the Victoria Cross. [i]

In the lead up to Battle of the Somme in 1916, twenty two year old Second Lieutenant Murray was severely wounded and died on 18 June.

His brother Bill (OS) enlisted in February 1916 and served in the 9th Light Horse Regiment until he returned to Australia after the war.

[i] James, E A, Historical Records of British Infantry Regiments in the Great War 1914-1918, Rank Xerox Copy Bureau, Birmingham Revised Edition, 1976, p. 166 and p. 243