McMURCHY, Donald Richard
(Service number 25/1178)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank | Lance Corporal |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 25/11/1888 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Wanstead, Hawke's Bay | ||
| Occupation | Ploughman | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married. One child | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Barbara McMURCHY (wife), care of Mrs J. Ellery, Mayfield Post Office, Canterbury | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 3rd Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 5 February 1916 | ||
| Transport | Ulimaroa or Mokoia or Navua | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 13 April 1959 | Age | 70 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Donald Richard McMurchie was born on 25 November 1888 at Timaru, the only son of James and Mary (née Dawe). He was educated at Washdyke School (McMurchie), leaving at the age of fourteen to go out to work. He enlisted as McMurchy, lived as McMurchy and died as McMurchy. Donald married Barbara MacKay on 19 April 1911 at Ashburton, Their son, James Gordon McMurchy who was born in 1911 at Mayfield, lost his life in the Second World War. On 3rd January 1917 while Donald was at the Front in France, his father died accidentally, being kicked by a horse and found dead in a water race. Lance-Corporal D. R. McMurchy returned to New Zealand per the “Corinthic” (Draft 236), arriving in May 1919.
Sources
New Zealand War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [27 January 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Departement of Internal Affairs) [27 January 2020]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [27 January 2021]; Ruru Cemetery headstone transcription [27 January 2021]; Timaru Herald, 24 April 1919 (Papers Past) [07 May 2016]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.