Murray, John Clarke

SOLDIER DETAILS:

John Clarke Murray
Private 15th Battalion 47905
June 3, 1916
Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres Belgium
Sister lived in Milton, Ontario.
Maple Leaf Legacy Project

Book of Remembrance
Parliament Buildings Ottawa

Menin Gate Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves

Menin Gate Inscription
Thanks to Sabine

Private Murray is not memorialized on either of the Milton Cenotaphs but he is remembered in the "Book of Remembrance" in Ottawa and on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium (Panel 18 - 24 - 26 - 30)

Private Murray's case is unique in that a cable of August 23, 1916 reported him wounded and missing but he was not confirmed KIA until March 14, 1917.

Other Links:

	CEFSG Matrix Unit Information 15th Infantry Battalion
	Library and Archives Canada 15th Battalion War Diary 1916
	Nicholson Chapter 5 and Map 4b for Battle of Mount Sorrel

SOLDIER SUMMARY:

When Private Murray attested to the CEF on May 27, 1915 he noted that his sister Maude lived in Milton West, Ontario. He had 1 years experience with the 31st Regiment (Owen Sound). His regimental number suggests he signed up direct to the 17th Battalion, however records suggest he was attested, if only briefly, to the 37th Battalion. His medical and pay records clarify that he was transferred to the 17th Battalion on June 20, 1915 and then from the 17th Battalion to the 15th Battalion on July 16, 1915

Private Murray went to the 15th Battalion (1st Division, 3rd Infantry Brigade) in France on July 17, 1915. He was charged and served 14 days Field Punishment #1 in December 1915. In February 1916 he attended the Trench Mortar School, and served as Batman. He was reported wounded and missing on June 3, 1916, subsequently changed to killed in action on that date.

On June 3, 1916 the CEF was heavily involved in the Battle of Mount Sorrel, south of the Ypres Salient. The Germans had devastated the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles on June 2nd and advanced well into Canadian territory. The 15th Battalion was now moving against the German Wurttemberg Divisions south of Observatory Ridge, when they were turned back, all units suffering heavy casualties.

The war diary reports the details of June 3, 1916 (page 1; page 2) in what was described as "the perfect HELL of artillery and machine gun fire". Private Murray did not survive his day in hell, nor did many of the 15th Battalion.

The soldier pages contain information that is available from a number of resources. The following hyperlinks are active where the information is available:

	Soldier Name: Veteran Affairs Canada, Canadian Virtual War Memorial
	Soldier Number: Library and Archives Canada, Attestation Papers
	Cemetery: Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Debt of Honour Register
	Remembrance: Maple Leaf Legacy Project, Remembrance of Canada's War Dead

The summary of the service is taken from the soldier's service records, if they were available from Library and Archives Canada. A complete copy of the service record is available in electronic and paper format in the Alex Cooke Memorial Archives at the Milton Historical Society. Using that summary, combined with the key references, a summary of the events leading up to the death of the soldier has been prepared. The research information available is as noted on the Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group web site Matrix Project as well as in the Library and Archives Canada On-Line War Diaries.

A summary of all the soldiers is contained on the Web Blog "Great War Soldiers of Milton, Ontario CANADA". Please also be sure to purchase your own copy of "Milton Remembers World War I - The Men and Women We Never Knew" by John Challinor II and Jim Dills, edited by Ken Lamb.