Cpl
Winsleigh Alexander Murray

Informations sur naissance

Année de naissance:
1885
Lieu de naissance:
North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Informations générales

Profession:
Clergyman

Informations service militaire

Pays:
Australia
Force armée:
Australian Imperial Force
Rang:
Corporal
Numéro de service:
3170
Incorporation date:
01/05/1916
Incorporation nom de lieu:
Lambton, New South Wales, Australia
Unités:
 —  Australian Infantry, 35th Bn. (Newcastle's Own Regiment)  (Dernière unité connue)

Informations sur décès

Date de décès:
12/10/1917
Lieu de décès:
Moorslede, Belgique
Cause du décès:
Died of wounds (D.O.W.)
Âge:
32

Cimetière

Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood
Parcelle: II
Rangée: B
Tombe: 4

Distinctions et médailles 2

British War Medal
Médaille
Victory Medal
Médaille — 12/06/1923

Points d'intérêt 3

#1 Lieu de naissance
#2 Lieu d'enrôlement
#3 Lieu du décès (approximatif)

Mon histoire

Corporal Winsleigh Alexander Murray served in the Australian Infantry 35th Battalion, part of the 9th Brigade, of the 3rd Division.
On the 12th of October 1917 the 3rd Division participated in the First Battle of Passchendaele. The Division advanced with two brigades, the 9th and 10th. The attack of the 9th Brigade was carried by the 34th and 35th Battalion and had two main objectives. They would first secure the area until after Augustus Wood and then they would try and capture Passchendaele village.
At 5.25 am the 34th Battalion started to advance in total confusion due to the heavy German shelling of the jumping-off lines. Not soon after, the 35th Battalion joined the attack. Together they moved on towards the first objective. On their way, the 35th Battalion was able to overrun Defy Crossing, Hillside Farm and Augustus Wood.
When the 35th had consolidated its first objective, they moved along the Passchendaele road towards the village itself, in front of which lay their second objective. Patrols entered the village and found it abandoned. However, they were not able to secure it as they were quickly forced to retreat. At around 3 pm, both Battalions were pushed back past Augustus Wood and they eventually arrived close to where they had initially started.
Several witness reports in Corporal Murray’s Red Cross Wounded and Missing File state that he was hit in the buttocks after they had passed the first objective. They claim he was lying in a shell hole and refused to be carried by the stretch bearers as there were other men that were more badly wounded. When the Battalions were forced to retreat, the wounded were left behind. For some while, Corporal Murray was listed as missing in action and presumably killed in action, but after the war his body was found in Moorslede. Corporal Winsleigh Alexander Murray was probably taken prisoner during the German counterattack and was brought back behind German lines, where he presumably died of his wounds. He was buried east of the village of Morrslede, together with an unknown Australian and Canadian soldier. After the war his remains were exhumed and interred in Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood.

Sources 5

35th Australian Field Artillery Brigade, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/52/4).
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583
Autre référence
Australian War Memorial. Red Cross Wounded and Missing
https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1495450/
Sources utilisées
First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, MURRAY W A).
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx
Sources utilisées
McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 113-115.
Sources utilisées
Palazzo A., Defenders of Australia. The Third Australian Division. 1916-1991 (Loftus, Australian Military History Publications, 2002), pg. 36-41.
Sources utilisées

Complément d’informations 4