MURPHY, Allan Michael
(Service number 38978)
Unfortunately on the 8th of October 1918, Allan was killed in action, while serving with the 2nd South Canterbury, just after the allies had broken through the Hindenburg Line. (Courtesy of I Davidson, "Unknown Warriors of the NZEF" )
Unfortunately on the 8th of October 1918, Allan was killed in action, while serving with the 2nd South Canterbury, just after the allies had broken through the Hindenburg Line. (Courtesy of I Davidson, "Unknown Warriors of the NZEF" (Facebook page )
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 23 November 1895 | Place of Birth | Ellesmere |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 17 June 1916 | Age | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Cave | ||
| Occupation | Farm hand | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 2nd SC Regiment | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Michael John Murphy (father), Cannington Cave, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | New Zealand Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 22nd Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company | ||
| Date | 16 February 1917 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 78 Navua | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | Devonport, England |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal, Victory Medal | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 8 October 1918 | Age | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Le Cateau, France | ||
| Cause | Killed in action | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Honnechy British Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Cave First World War Memorial, Cannington District War Memorial | ||
Biographical Notes
Allan Michael Murphy was born at Ellesmere on 23 November 1895, son of Michael John and Harriet Murphy.
He joined up when he was 20, after his brother Ernest Manfred Murphy had been killed in action on the Somme. At the time he was a farm hand working for his father on their Cannington property. He was single, 5ft 8in, 130lbs, with a dark complexion, grey eyes, and dark brown hair. Murphy signed up with 22nd Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company on 17 June 1916 and embarked for England at Wellington on 16 February 1917 on the HMNZT 78 Navua. He left England for France on 26 May 1917. He spent time sick behind he lines in August with an inflamed knee joint, requiring him to return to England for treatment. He did not rejoin his unit in the field until April 1918. Four months later he was killed in action on 8 October 1918 during the second Battle of Le Cateau when the Allies captured the St Quentin–Cambrai railway, 12,000 prisoners and 250 guns for 536 casualties.
Allan is buried in Honnechy British Cemetery, 8km from the village of Le Cateau.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [August 2013 & June 2021]; Commonwealth War Graves Commission at http://www.cwgc.org/; Unknown Warriors of the NZEF Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Unknown-Warriors-of-the-NZEF-1629775073978020/ [September 2016]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records [June 2021]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Maree Bowen, SC branch NZSG; Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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