Lieutenant Colonel Henry Murray V.C.Print Page

The plaque commemorates Lieutenant Colonel Henry Murray who was a recipient of the Victoria Cross (V.C.) for his actions during World War One. The plaque is part of the Commemoration Way Project which honours Western Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross and George Cross.

Henry ("Harry") Edward Murray was born at Evandale in 1880 and enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) in 1914. He landed at Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915 as a machine gunner and was promoted within a month to Lance Corporal and awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal . He was wounded twice at Gallipoli and earned the nick name Mad Harry and by 1916 had been promoted to captain. He was wounded twice at Mouquet Farm on the Western front and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

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 awarded 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.

The service and sacrifice of Western Australia's Victoria Cross and George Cross recipients will be remembered in perpetuity with each recipient being commemorated at highway rest stops south of Perth. Veterans Minister Joe Francis said the project, similar to Remembrance Driveway on the Federal and Hume highways between Sydney and Canberra, would see plaques honouring WA's 17 Victoria Cross and two George Cross recipients placed at rest areas on highways leading to Albany.

"The rest stops will be on Albany Highway between Perth and Albany and along South Western Highway between Pinjarra and Kirup," Mr Francis said. The plaques will be installed at rest stops in chronological order, starting with the South Western Highway (Frederick Bell VC).  Each will contain a short biography of the recipient and part of their citation as gazetted. "While the Victoria Cross is awarded for extreme gallantry in the face of the enemy, the George Cross - open to service personnel and civilians - was instituted to recognise extreme bravery that did not involve contact with the enemy. The series of plaques will be called Commemoration Way, and will be rolled out between ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day, 2016."
Media Statement, 20th April 2016.

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