Malcolm George Douglas Murray

Malcolm George Douglas Murray of Eastwood, South Australia was born on 4 Hanuary 1887.

He was educated at tSt Peter's College, Adelaide and later at Trinity College, Cambridge England.

Whilst at Cambridge he surprised Oxford by taking down C B Fry's record for the long jump and put the inter-university figures up to 22ft 0½ inch. While in England he served three years as a Lieutenant in the British Territorial Army (King Edwards Horse).

Prior to enlisting in the AIF on 3 October 1917, he was a grazier and with his wife and two children lived and worked on his farm at Magill on the edge of the Adelaide hills.

Immediately after enlistment, he was posted to B Company at Mitcham Camp and towards the end of October joined the 33rd quota of reinforcements for the 9th Light Horse Regiment. He was made an acting corporal on 16 February 1918 and at the end of April Corporal Murray, 33rd reinforcements, sailed from Sydney aboard HMAT Port Darwin. After disembarkation at Suez on 7 June, he reverted to his substantive rank that day but was promoted to corporal two days later and allotted to General reinforcements on 19 June.

He reverted to Trooper on 9 August and joined the ranks of the 9th Light Horse Regiment on 18 August 1918 but on 8 October was admitted to the French Hospital at Damascus suffering from the effects of acute dysentery and died there on 25 October 1918; he was 31 years of age.

Malcolm’s uncle, the Honourable Sir George John Robert Murray, KCMG, BA, LLM, served South Australia as the Chief Justice, Chancellor of University of Adelaide and Lieutenant Governor.