2nd Lieutenant Harry Murray, V.C.

2nd Lieutenant Harry Murray of the 13th Battalion, AIF at Cheshire Ridge - Gallipoli, November, 1915.

Harry Murray was born at Launceston, Tasmania, on 1 December 1880. As a youth he helped run the family farm. He was also interested in the military and joined a militia unit, the Australian Field Artillery, in Launceston.

Murray moved to Western Australia at the age of 19 or 20 where he worked as a mail courier on the goldfields. When he enlisted in the AIF as a private on 30 September 1914, he was employing timber-cutters for the railways in the south west of Western Australia. He landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 as a member of one of the 16th Battalion's two machine-gun crews. Murray was wounded several times, spent June in hospital, was promoted to lance corporal on 13 May and won the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery between 9-31 May. He was wounded again on 8 July and a month later experienced a remarkable series of promotions. On 13 August he was made a sergeant, commissioned second-lieutenant and transferred to the 13th Battalion.

By 1 March 1916 Murray had reached the rank of captain and soon after sailed for France with the 13th Battalion. On the Western Front Murray defied the statistics, participating in each of his unit's major actions and surviving. He received the Distinguished Service Order for his role in the fighting at Mouquet Farm, where he was twice wounded. His wounds kept Murray from the front until October.

Four months later, on the night of 4-5 February, Murray led his company's attack on Stormy Trench, near Gueudecourt. Over almost 24 hours they repelled counter-attacks, fought in merciless close quarter battles and suffered under intense shell-fire. Some 230 members of the Battalion were killed in the fight and Murray won the Victoria Cross.

In March 1918 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of the 4th machine gun battalion. He remained in this position until the end of the war. In April during the attack on Bullecourt Murray won a bar to his Distinguished Service Cross. In October 1918 Murray was awarded the French Croix de Guerre and in May 1919 was promoted to CMG.

With the fighting over, Murray toured England studying agricultural methods. His service in the AIF ended on 9 March 1920 and he settled on a grazing property at Muckadilla in Queensland. The following year he married Constance Cameron, but the marriage lasted just a few years and in 1925 he moved to New Zealand where he married Ellen Cameron. The couple returned to Queensland in 1928 and purchased another grazing property at Richmond.

Murray enlisted for service during the Second World War and commanded the 26th Battalion in north Queensland until August 1942. He retired from the army in early 1944. Regarded as a shy and modest man, he was described as the most distinguished fighting officer of the AIF. Murray died of a heart attack following a car accident on 7 January 1966.

Corporal Walter Ernest Brown VC DCM

Corporal Walter Ernest Brown VC DCM

 Wally Brown was a grocer. He did not necessarily want to be a grocer but neither did he want to follow in the footsteps of his father as a miller. The small Tasmanian community of New Norfolk, into which he was born in 1885, was a progressive ‘postal, telegraphic and money order township'. The town boasted the New Norfolk Literary Institution complete with a library of some 1200 volumes and a 'very fine and well built lunatic asylum’. Progressive it might have been, but at 26 years of age Brown had itchy feet. In 1911 he left New Norfolk for the bustling lifestyle of Petersham in Sydney.

On 26 July 1915 the lure of adventure and, no doubt, a sense of duty, led Brown to enlist. In January 1916, he found himself in Egypt as a Light Horseman. Life could not have been any further removed from his small Tasmanian birthplace. Any romantic notions that Brown had of bringing the fight to the enemy in Egypt were quickly dispelled, particularly after he was posted to the Camel Corps. His idea of fighting the enemy would not have been arguing with some great odorous, stubborn beast of burden. He was determined to get to the Western Front, and the action.

To get to the front, first he needed to get to Cairo to obtain a transfer to a unit that would serve in France. As luck would have it, he ‘lost’ his dentures and Cairo was where he would have to go to get them replaced. History tells us little more of his dentures, but the next record we have of Brown, shows him heading to France as a reinforcement for 20th Battalion. However, by November 1916, far from serving in the front line unit of his choice, he found himself again fighting uncooperative beasts in the 1st Australian Field Butchery.

Five years after the birth of Brown, Claude Clark Hughes entered the world in Yea, '79¾ miles NNE of Melbourne', population 577. The town was replete with sub-treasury, savings bank and telegraph, a far cry from its inauspicious beginnings as 'Muddy Creek Settlement'. Later, the family moved to Whittlesea and Claude became a butcher. It was as a butcher that he enlisted in the AIF on 17 September 1915. By late August 1916 he found himself in France posted to, not surprisingly, 1 AFB.

When Brown arrived at 1 AFB in November the two men soon became great mates and Brown's infectious thirst for adventure rubbed off on Hughes. Though they were separated when Brown was transferred to 2 AFB in May 1917, they remained in touch. When Brown finally joined 20 Bn on 8 August 1917 as part of ‘A’ Company, Hughes arranged to join with him. Private Oswald McLardy from ‘A’ Company commented later that ‘Brown and Hughes were inseparable cobbers...’ Finally the two friends were going to fight the war in ‘the proper way.’

Between 5 and 10 October, 20 Bn were fighting near Passchendaele when Brown distinguished himself tending to wounded men under heavy fire. He was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions. In the same fighting, on 9 October, Hughes was killed. The previous month, Claude had written to his parents, the letter reaching them after his death. His father sent a copy to the Melbourne Argus in November 1917:

Dear Mother and Father,

I am now amongst the big noises, and under shell fire. It was very fierce at first, and I felt a bit shaky, but I slept all right last night. On my birthday I will be in the thick of it, and helping to do my bit in the proper way. What a birthday party. I know you will feel very anxious about me, but if you could only see the boys here who are with me you would feel proud that you have one to represent your family. It is fine to see the confidence and spirit of our boys, and if it happens that I get bowled over, don't feel down-hearted, feel proud you did not rear a slacker.

At Wagga Wagga, on 21 June 1940, following the outbreak of the Second World War, he re-enlisted (service number NX35492), giving his date of birth as 1900. His age was soon discovered and he was posted to 8Bn as corporal and promoted to lance sergeant on 1 July. In November he transferred to 2/15 Field Regiment and later reverted to gunner at his own request. The regiment moved to Malaya in August 1941 and was in Singapore when it fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942.

Brown was last seen in the hours prior to the capitulation of the Allies to the Japanese disappearing toward the enemy lines saying 'No surrender for me.' He was posted as missing on 16 February 1942 and presumed dead on the 28th. His body was never recovered. His name is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, 22 kilometres north of the city of Singapore. Brown was survived by his wife and two children though their seven year old son died of meningitis the following year.

Sergeant Stanley Robert McDougall, 47th Battalion, AIF - Victoria Cross

Sergeant Stanley Robert McDougall, 47th Battalion, Victoria Cross action at Dernancourt.

Stan McDougall (1889-1968) was born in Tasmania, and became a blacksmith. He enlisted in August 1915 and fought at Pozières, Messines and Broodseinde. He was promoted to sergeant in January 1918.

At Dernancourt, when he saw the enemy knock out a Lewis gun position, he attacked two German machine-gun teams, killing their crews by "hosing" them with the Lewis. He then attacked a second wave of Germans, burning his hands on the hot barrel casing of his gun. When a German officer aimed his pistol at some Australians, McDougall killed him with a rifle and bayonet. Twenty-two Germans were killed and 30 were captured, largely as the result of McDougall's actions. Eight days later, at the same place, McDougall won the Military Medal, taking over the platoon when his commander was killed.

After the war McDougall became an officer with the Tasmanian Forestry Department, and later, while inspector-in-charge of forests in north-east Tasmania, performed outstanding work during bushfire periods. He died at Scottsdale in 1968.

Citations:

Victoria Cross
'For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when the enemy attacked our line, and his first wave succeeded in gaining an entrance. Sergeant McDougall, who was at a post in a flank company, realized the situation, and at once charged the enemy's second wave single handed with rifle and bayonet killing seven and capturing a machine gun which they had. This he turned on to them, firing from the hip, causing many casualties and routing the wave. He then turned his attention to those who had entered, until his ammunition ran out, all the time fiing at close quarters, when he seized a bayonet and charged again, killing three men and one enemy officer, who was just about to kill one of our officers. He used a Lewis gun on the enemy, killing many, and enabling us to capture 33 prisoners. The prompt action of this non-commissioned officer saved the line and enabled the enemy's advance to be stopped.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 150
Date: 24 September 1918

Military Medal
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty at DERNANCOURT South West of ALBERT on 5th April 1918 during heavy enemy attack, he took a Lewis Gun to a very exposed position where he could enfilade enemy at close quarters up to 30 yards. he maintained his gun until ti was pierced by a bullet, then crawled 300 yards, got another gun and returned to his post in "No Man's Land" where he was responsible for many dead. Later during our counter-attack he organised a platoon after the officer was killed and led them in the attack. He is absolutely fearless and his contempt of danger is amazing as right throughout his conduct has been of a similar high standard.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 185
Date: 27 November 1918

Captain Hugo Throssell. V.C.- 10th Light Horse, AIF

Captain Hugo Vivian Hope Throssell VC, 10th Light Horse, AIF. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery at Hill 60, Gallipoli.

Hugo Vivian Hope Throssell (1884-1933), soldier and farmer, was born on 26 October 1884 at Northam, Western Australia, youngest son of George Throssell, storekeeper and later premier, and his wife Anne, née Morrell. One of fourteen children, Hugo was educated at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, where he captained the football team and became a champion athlete and boxer. He then worked as a jackeroo on cattle stations in the north of the State. In 1912 he and his brother, Frank Erick (Ric) Cottrell (b.1881), took up land at Cowcowing in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Severe drought during the next two years strengthened the bond between them; they were later described as 'David and Jonathan' in their devotion to one another. Hugo was tall, with a long face and strong features.

With the outbreak of war Hugo and Ric joined the 10th Light Horse Regiment, formed in October 1914. Hugo was commissioned as second lieutenant and remained in Egypt when the 10th was sent to Gallipoli in May 1915. He landed on Gallipoli on 4 August, three days before the charge at the Nek—'that FOOL charge' as he described it—when 9 officers and 73 men of his regiment were killed within minutes. Throssell was one of the leaders of the fourth and last line of attacking troops which was recalled after having advanced only a few yards. This experience increased his eagerness to prove himself in battle. He wanted to avenge the 10th L.H.R. which, like so many of the Anzac troops, was battle-worn, sick and depleted. His chance came later that month at Hill 60 during a postponed attempt by British and Anzac troops to widen the strip of foreshore between the two bridgeheads at Anzac and Suvla by capturing the hills near Anafarta. Hill 60, a low knoll, lay about half a mile (0.8 km) from the beach. Hampered by confusion and lack of communication between the various flanks, the battle had been raging for a week with heavy losses.

At 1 a.m. by moonlight on 29 August the 10th Light Horse was brought into action to take a long trench, 100 yards (91 m) of which was held by Turkish troops on the summit of Hill 60. As a guard, Throssell killed five Turks while his men constructed a barricade across their part of the trench. When a fierce bomb fight began, 'a kind of tennis over the traverse and sandbags', Throssell and his soldiers held their bombs on short fuse until the last possible moment before hurling them at the enemy on the other side of the barricade. Throughout the remainder of the night both sides threw more than 3000 bombs, the Western Australians picking up the bombs thrown at them by the Turks and hurling them back. Towards dawn the Turks made three rushes at the Australian trench, but were stopped by showers of bombs and heavy rifle-fire. Throssell, who at one stage was in sole command, was wounded twice. His face covered in blood from bomb splinters in his forehead, he repeatedly yelled encouragement to his men. For his part in the battle Hugo Throssell was awarded the Victoria Cross. It was the first V.C. to be won by a Western Australian in the war.

Evacuated to hospital in England, Throssell was promoted captain and joined his regiment in Egypt. He was wounded in April 1917 at the 2nd battle of Gaza where his brother Ric was killed. On the night that Ric disappeared, Hugo crawled across the battlefield under enemy fire, searching in vain for his brother among the dead and dying, and whistling for him with the same signal as they had used when boys. Hugo returned to his regiment for the final offensives in Palestine and led the 10th Light Horse guard of honour at the fall of Jerusalem.

On 28 January 1919 in the Collins Street registry office, Melbourne, Throssell married the Australian author Katharine Susannah Prichard whom he had met in England. They settled on a 40-acre (16 ha) mixed farm at Greenmount, near Perth. His wife wrote that those early years of marriage with Hugo, whom she called Jim, were her happiest. When she became a foundation member of the Communist Party of Australia in 1920, Hugo joined her as a speaker supporting unemployed and striking workers. He claimed that the war had made him a socialist and a pacifist. The combination of her award-winning novels and Communism, and his Victoria Cross, brought them fame and notoriety.

Hugo acted as soldiers' representative on the Returned Soldiers' Land Settlement Board, became a real estate agent and worked temporarily in the Department of Agriculture in Western Australia.

Hard times came in the Depression. Katharine believed that her political activities lost Hugo his job with the settlement board, and that his passion to own land led him to borrow recklessly from the banks. He joined the search for gold at Larkinville in the early 1930s. When that proved unsuccessful, he devised a scheme which he hoped would prove a money-spinner. While Katharine was on a six-month visit to Russia, he organized a rodeo on his Greenmount property on a Sunday, not knowing that it was illegal to charge entry fees on the Sabbath. The only money Hugo raised from the 2000 people who attended was a meagre silver collection for charity. The episode plunged him further into debt and shattered his optimism.

Imagining that he could better provide for his wife and 11-year-old son if he left them a war service pension, he shot himself on 19 November 1933 at Greenmount. Friends blamed his melancholy on an attack of meningitis at Gallipoli and saw it as the cause of his suicide. He was buried with full military honours in the Anglican section of Karrakatta cemetery, Perth.

In 1954 a memorial to him was unveiled at Greenmount, opposite his home. In 1983 his son Ric presented Hugo's Victoria Cross to the People for Nuclear Disarmament. The Returned Services League of Australia bought the medal and presented it to the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. A pencil portrait of Hugo Throssell by the Australian war artist, George Lambert, is also held there.

Major Blair Wark V.C.- 32nd Battalion AIF

Major Blair Wark, 32nd Battalion, Victoria Cross action during fighting from Bellicourt to Joncourt, France.

Blair Wark had been a militia officer in New South Wales before enlisting as an officer with the 32nd Battalion, AIF, in mid-1915. A year later he fought in the battle of Fromelles, where he was highly commended for his work, despite being wounded. Next year at Polygon Wood he won the Distinguished Service Order.

Wark’s finest feat took place during the attack at Bellicourt, on the Hindenburg Line, in his battalion’s final action. During 29 September - 1 October 1918, he constantly showed outstanding leadership, often in advance of his troops. He was responsible for the capture of some field artillery, the silencing of machine-guns and the capture of many prisoners.
An outstanding citizen and soldier, Wark was active in business and public affairs in Sydney. He was commanding a militia battalion during the Second World War when he died suddenly aged 47.

Corporal James Lihou, DCM and BAR, MM.

Corporal James Lihou DCM and BAR MM of the 13th Battalion AIF.

Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal on 7 July 1918; bar to the medal, 18 September 1918, Military Medal, April 1918. Killed in action at Le Verguier, France on 18 September 1918, aged 23.

Citations:

Distinguished Conduct Medal
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in charge of a Lewis gun section during an attack. Throughout the advance he fired from the hip with great effect, and when an enemy post threatened to hold up the line he engaged it so effectually that a bombing section was enabled to approach it from a flank without casualties and kill all the occupants. Shortly after, when one of his section became a casualty, he carried his gun as well as his own right up to the final objective. He set a splendid example of cheerfulness and cool confidence to his men.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31
Date: 4 March 1919

Military Medal
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 1
Date: 2 January 1919

Bar to DCM
'For great gallantry and initiative during the attack on the 18 September, 1918, near Le Verguier. He and a small party of seven attacked a machine gun post, killing three of the crew, and taking the remainder prisoners. Later, when the party reached the first objective, they met with opposition from several machine guns. Sergeant Lihou charged ahead, bombed and captured one crew, thus enabling his party to get into the trench. He was later severely wounded while charging a machine gun single handed.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 35
Date: 15 April 1920

Sgt. William Dobson Scorer, 8th Battalion, AIF.

William Dobson Scorer, 24th Battalion, of Essendon, Vic. A clerk prior to enlistment he embarked with the 6th Reinforcements from Melbourne on board HMAT Ulysses on 27 October 1915. He was taken on strength and transferred to the 8th Battalion on 24 February 1916. After a series of promotions he reached the rank of Sergeant (Sgt) on 27 July 1916. 

Sgt Dobson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in an attack on Broodseinde Ridge east of Ypres on 4 October 1917. According to the recommendation "he assisted in guiding the battalion to the assembly position. During the advance he maintained direction on the flank in a most efficient manner, and, when held up by machine gun fire, crept forward alone and put the gun out of action. Though wounded, he continued at his task until badly wounded at the final objective, setting a fine example of courage and initiative.'" 

Sgt Scorer was admitted to hospital on 9 October from the extensive wounds he substained; he later developed pneumonia and died on 24 October 1917, aged 24. He is buried at Etaples Military Cemetery, France.