Gallipoli
Henry William Murray, or ‘Mad Harry’ as he was known for his dashing bravery on the battlefields of Gallipoli and the Western Front rose through the ranks of the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) from private to Lt. Colonel.The man who was to become the most decorated member of the AIF was born in Tasmania in 1884. He was an early enlistment in the AIF at the outbreak of war in August 1914 and went ashore with his 12th battalion at the Gallipoli Landing on April 25th 1915. Within four weeks Lance Corporal Murray had won the Distinguished Conduct Medal and his first ‘Mentioned in Dispatches’. Four times he was wounded at Gallipoli and in that hectic period he was promoted to second lieutenant.
Western Front
In December the entire Allied force was successfully evacuated and the Australian contingent returned to Egypt to be reinforced prior to the move to the Western Front. Harry Murray had been promoted to captain in the 13th battalion, part of the newly-raised 4th Division, which was one of the three Australian divisions involved in the capture of Pozieres. The site was a vital objective in the Somme Battle that began on July 1st 1916. All British attempts to seize the battered site had been repulsed and it fell to the Australians to achieve that goal.
A measure of the ferocity of that three weeks battle was the tragic casualty rate; with 22,000 Australians killed or wounded. In August they were further involved in taking the site of the old Mouquet Farm. Captain Murray was awarded the DSO when his company of 100 men was in danger of being overwhelmed by a larger enemy force. He skilfully extricated his troops and at the same time returned with a number of prisoners.
Somme Winter
During late 1916 and early 1917 the front line troops endured the frightful privations of the Somme Winter, the most bitter for forty years. The battlefield was reduced to a barely negotiable sea of mud and despite the atrocious conditions the Australians were kept on the offensive in pointless assaults on impossible objectives. On the night of 5th February the 13th battalion seized a position near Geudecourt known as ‘Stormy Trench’. Leading ‘A’ Company, Captain Murray consolidated their position as it held off three determined counter attacks. Murray then led a dashing bayonet charge that finally drove them off.The Australians then endured a night of concentrated shellfire, during which they suffered heavy casualties. Again Murray rallied his troops and led further bayonet and grenade charges. By morning the enemy broke off their attacks and abandoned the position. For his outstanding bravery at ‘Stormy Trench’ Murray was awarded the Victoria Cross.
Bullecourt
The Fourth Division’s greatest trial came in March 1917 at Bullecourt where the enemy were entrenched behind the formidable Hindenburg Line. The initial assault was planned without artillery support, and using the un-tried tanks to crush the wire for the accompanying infantry. It proved to be an error of monumental proportions. For fours the infantry waited in no-man’s-land in a blizzard for the tanks to appear. With the approach of daylight and no sign of the tanks they made a strategic withdrawal.On the following night, and despite enemy awareness the assault was ordered; again without artillery support. A handful of tanks took part until they were all destroyed or broke down in the snow. Nevertheless the infantry captured part of the Hindenburg Line and held on grimly against determined counter attacks. Finally it reached the point of having to abandon the position or surrender. Captain Murray distinguished himself with the rescue of a wounded man during the desperate return across no-man’s-land. For his actions during the Bullecourt tragedy he was awarded a bar to his DSO.
At the time of the armistice in November 1918 Harry Murray was a lieutenant colonel commanding the 4th Machine Gun battalion. His decorations included the Victoria Cross, DSO and Bar, the DCM, French Croix de Guerre in addition to being ‘Mentioned in dispatches ‘ on four separate occasions.Lt. Colonel Murray's tenure with the AIF terminated in 1920, and on his return to Australia he began a new career as a grazier in northern Queensland. During World War II He commanded a regiment of the Volunteer Defence Corps.until his retirement from active duty. He died of a heart attack in a Queensland hospital on 7 January 1966 following a motor accident. Australia’s most decorated soldier was aged 82.
