Henry William Murray, (1 December 1880 – 7 January 1966) was an Australian grazier, soldier, and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Decorated several times throughout his service in the First World War, Murray rose from the rank of private to lieutenant colonel in three and a half years. He is often described as the most highly decorated infantry soldier of the British Empire during the First World War.
Born in Tasmania, Murray worked as a farmer, courier and timber cutter before enlisting in September 1914. Assigned to a machine gun crew, he served during the Gallipoli Campaign, where he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal before the withdrawal from the peninsula. He was later transferred along with the rest of his battalion to France for service on the Western Front, where he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order during the Battle of the Somme. In February 1917, Murray commanded a company during the battalion's attack on the German position of Stormy Trench. During the engagement, the company was able to capture the position and repulse three fierce counter-attacks, with Murray often leading bayonet and bombing charges himself. For his actions during the battle, Murray was awarded the Victoria Cross. Soon after his Victoria Cross action, he was promoted to major and earned a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order insignia during an attack on the Hindenburg Line near Bullecourt. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in early 1918, he assumed command of the 4th Machine Gun Battalion, where he would remain until the end of the war.
Returning to Australia in 1920, Murray eventually settled in Queensland, where he purchased the grazing farm that would be his home for the remainder of his life. Re-enlisting for service in the Second World War, he was appointed as commanding officer of the 26th (Militia) Battalion. Taking his discharge in 1944, Murray returned to his farm and died in 1966 at the age of 85.
Early life Murray was born at Clairville, near Evandale, Tasmania, on 1 December 1880, the eighth of nine children of Edward Kennedy Murray, a farmer, and his wife Clarissa, née Littler. Descended from convicts on his father's side, Murray was baptised on 23 November 1885, and attended Evandale State School. When he was fourteen years of age, his parents withdrew him from school to work on the family farm. However, his mother continued his education, placing emphasis on English. The family later moved to Northcote, near St Leonards, where Edward Murray died in 1904. Harry Murray joined the Launceston Volunteer Artillery Corps in 1902, serving until 1908, when he migrated to Western Australia where his two older brothers had previously settled.
Murray initially worked on his brother's wheat farm, before becoming a courier for a mining company at Kookynie, transporting gold and mail by bicycle or on horseback. He travelled the same track on a fortnightly basis, gaining a reputation for being a crack shot with a .32 carbine that he carried. At the time of his enlistment in 1914, Murray was working near Manjimup, in the south west of Western Australia, employing timber cutters for the railways.
First World War Enlistment and training Murray enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in Perth on 30 September 1914. He declined the offer of a commission, and was posted as a private to A Company of the newly formed 16th Battalion, 4th Brigade. Appointed to one of the unit's two machine gun crews, he was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp for training, where he became the gun No. 2, whose job it was to feed ammunition belts through the gun; Percy Black was No. 1 and the pair soon became firm friends.
On 21 November, the battalion entrained for Fremantle, boarding troopships headed for Melbourne; it was there that the four battalions combined to form the 4th Brigade under the command of Colonel John Monash. After completing their basic training in Victoria, the brigade left Port Melbourne aboard Troopship A40, Ceramic on 26 December. After a brief stop at Albany, Western Australia, they arrived in Egypt in early February 1915. The brigade marched from Alexandria to Heliopolis as part of the New Zealand and Australian Division of Major General Alexander Godley.
Gallipoli The Allied commanders planned to defeat Turkey and force a supply route through to Russia via the Bosporus and the Black Sea. As such they planned a land invasion on the Gallipoli Peninsula. On the afternoon of 25 April 1915, Murray's 16th Battalion landed at Ari Burnu, Gallipoli. Setting their machine gun on Pope's Hill, Black and Murray fired their gun throughout the afternoon and into the night. The following day, the battalion's two machine gun crews sniped at the Turkish soldiers on Russell's Top, and Murray and his gunner continued fighting during the counterattack on 26–27 April, despite being wounded.
Promoted to lance corporal on 12 May, Murray was evacuated to Egypt eighteen days later, due to a gunshot wound to his right knee. His knee soon stiffened and he was posted to a hospital ship set to return to Australia. Murray, however, had other ideas and made his way to the wharf at Alexandria where he boarded a transport bound for Gallipoli. Arriving at the peninsula on 3 July, both Murray and Black received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for their actions between 9–31 May, during which time they tirelessly manned their machine gun, "inflict[ing] serious losses upon the enemy". Murray was again wounded on 8 August when the machine gun section of the 4th Brigade covered the withdrawal after the attack on Hill 971. On 13 August, he was promoted to sergeant, commissioned as a second lieutenant and transferred to the 13th Battalion.
Murray was again evacuated to Egypt on 26 September due to dysentery. After nearly six weeks in the 2nd Australian General Hospital at Ghezireh, he rejoined the 13th Battalion at Gallipoli on 7 December, before leaving for the last time in the Allied evacuation later that month.
Returning to Egypt, the AIF expanded and was reorganised; the 13th Battalion was split and provided experienced soldiers for the 45th Battalion, while the 4th Brigade was combined with the 12th and 13th Brigades to form the 4th Australian Division. Murray was promoted to lieutenant on 20 January 1916, and then to captain on 1 March.
Western Front: June 1916 to April 1917 On 1 June 1916, the 13th Battalion embarked at Alexandria for Marseille, France, before being deployed to the Western Front. In mid-June, the battalion moved into trenches at Bois Grenier near Armentières, and on 13 July they relocated to Bailleul, in time for the Battle of the Somme.
On 29 August, Murray commanded A Company—which consisted of fewer than one hundred men—in a successful attack that captured Mouquet Farm under heavy fire. His men repelled four German counterattacks before he ordered them to withdraw. He remained in command until the next morning, when he fainted from loss of blood from two wounds he had sustained during the action. Murray was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his service during the action, an event that was published in a supplement of The London Gazette dated 14 November 1916. He was later evacuated to England aboard the hospital ship Asturias, and admitted to the 4th General Hospital, London, where he was to share a ward with Albert Jacka and Percy Black, who were recovering from wounds received at Poziéres and Mouquet Farm respectively. After nearly six weeks of recuperation, he returned to the 13th Battalion in France on 19 October.
Following a period of patrols and trench raids, the 13th was relieved by the 5th Battalion on 6 December, and marched back to Ribemont, where Murray was granted leave to England. On 4 January 1917, he was Mentioned in Despatches. The battalion returned to the front in February, relieving the 15th Battalion at Gueudecourt. On 4 February, the battalion's commanding officer received the order to attack Stormy Trench; it was during this action that Murray would earn his Victoria Cross (VC).
On the night of 4–5 February 1917, the 13th Battalion—with Murray commanding A Company—attacked the German position at Stormy Trench. Preceded by a heavy artillery barrage, A Company seized the right of the position after overcoming stiff resistance, consolidating their gains by setting up a makeshift barricade. The Germans counterattacked, prompting Murray to send an SOS signal to the artillery officer, calling for more support. Although repulsed, the Germans counterattacked twice more. On the third attack, Murray organised a twenty-man grenade bombing party and led them in a charge against their attackers, pushing them back to their original start line. On another occasion when the company lost some ground, Murray rallied his men and retook it. Between midnight and 03:00, the company maintained spasmodic bombing, repelling further assaults with the aid of artillery support. By 20:00 on 5 February, the 16th Battalion relieved Murray's company, which had only 48 survivors from the 140 who had begun the attack.
The full citation for Murray's VC appeared in a supplement to The London Gazette on 10 March 1917, reading:
In April 1917, the battalion relocated to Bullecourt in preparation for an attack on the Hindenburg Line. On the night of 11 April, seven battalions of the 4th Australian Division assembled for the advance, which was launched at 04:30. Murray's company seized a section of German trench, but were quickly isolated. By 07:00, ammunition was running low and casualties were high. Murray sent for artillery support, but conflicting messages meant that it was not provided, so the Australians were forced to withdraw. During the action, the 4th Division lost 2,339 of the 3,000 men that it had committed, with 1170 captured as prisoners of war. Among the dead was Percy Black, who had been killed while trying to find a gap in the barbwire surrounding the German trenches. Murray was awarded a Bar to his DSO for his efforts during the battle, and was promoted to temporary major. He was later informed by General Birdwood that had the attack at Bullecourt been successful, he would have instead been awarded a Bar to his VC.
Western Front: April 1917 to repatriation, March 1920 After Bullecourt, the 4th Brigade withdrew to Ribemont, where reinforcements brought it up to strength. During this period, Murray oversaw musketry training before being granted convalescent leave to London in May. While in the capital, he was decorated with his Victoria Cross and Distinguished Service Order by King George V in Hyde Park on 2 June 1917. Promoted major on 12 July, he rejoined his battalion later in the month, and during the 4th Brigade's advance to the Hindenburg Line over subsequent months, was involved in actions at Messines, Ploegstreert Wood, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle and Passchendaele. For his actions at Passchendaele, Murray garnered a mention in Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's dispatch of 7 November 1917.
Following Passchendaele, the 4th Brigade spent three months in reserve. Murray became second in command of the 13th Battalion, frequently assuming temporary command of the unit while the commanding officer was absent. Granted leave to Paris from 12 January to 2 February 1918, he was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on 15 March and assumed command of the 4th Machine Gun Battalion. Commanding the unit during the German spring offensive, Murray's rank was confirmed on 24 May.