Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Enlisted 19 Aug 1914 as Private, and embarked on 20 Oct 1914 aboard HMAT Ascanius with the 10th Infantry Battalion

Served Egypt and France

Discharged in the UK on 01 Aug 1919 to take up appointment as Australian representative with the Imperial War Graves Commission

Letter from his Service Record:

BASE RECORDS OFFICE, A.I.F., 7th November, 1919.
Quartermaster and Honorary Captain,
R.W.Murphy, M.B.E., "Stralis"
36 Lytton Grove, Putney, London, S.W.,
ENGLAND.

I have much pleasure in forwarding hereunder copy of extract from Twelfth Supplement, No. 31377 to the London Gazette, dated 3rd June, 1919, relating to the conspicuous services rendered by yourself whilst serving with the Australian Imperial Force.

CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDER OF KNIGHTHOOD.
THE KING has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of His Majesty's Birthday, to give orders for the following promotion in and appointment to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for valuable services rendered in connexion with the war :-
To be a Member of the Military Division of the said Most Excellent Order :-
Quartermaster and Honorary captain REGINALD WILLIAM MURPHY.

The above has been Promulgated in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No. 113 dated 6th October, 1919.
Major. Officer i/c Base Pecords.

"TABULATED EMPIRE'S MILLION DEAD...  Remarkable Work By A South Australian

Two Australians have been closely connected with the work of the Imperial War Graves Commission, which, in behalf of Great Britain and the Dominions, has spent £10,00,000 on the graves and headstones of 700.000 fallen soldiers in 60 countries. One is Col. C. E. Hughes, now in charge of the Eastern Command of the Commission, and the other Captain R. W. Murphy, now the Commission's Assistant Director of Works in London. Col. Hughes, who is a native of Tasmania is in Cairo. He has charge of all war cemeteries through the East, where he is treated with a respect, that many Eastern Monarchs would envy. Capt. Murphy, who is a South Australian, was originally with the 10th Battalion. He was selected as the officer to reorganise the method of casualty reports from Gallipoli. He took a prominent part, too, in the rapidity with which we got to work on Gallipoli after the Armistice with the Turks, and the speed with which we got our prisoners of war away from Turkey. Since he has been with the Graves Commission, every name of the million dead has passed before his eyes. He prepared all information for the 700,000 headstones, and is now busy with the last big batches of names for the memorials to the 500,000 missing. The result is a remarkable, tribute to his zeal and efficiency." - from the Adelaide Register News-Pictorial 23 Nov 1929 (nla.gov.au)

"HOW WAR GRAVES ARE MAINTAINED.  Review of Work Of Commission.  By R.W. MURPHY

Twenty-one years ago, in October, 1914, the first South Australian troops sailed from the Outer Harbour, the 10th Battalion on the Ascanius, the 3rd Light Horse Regiment on the Port Lincoln, and other units on the Medic. That was the beginning of those dreadful years of anxiety for mothers, wives, and sisters, for in 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1918, the call was for more and more of our men. Today, in Adelaide, one may read in the seclusion of the State War Memorial the dreadfully long lists of names of the thousands who did not return. They gave all, and all honor is theirs. The organisations built up since the war to preserve the spirit of duty and sacrifice have been steadfast in their purpose. The Legacy Club has set an example to the rest of the Empire, and the Trustees of the A.I.F. Cemetery at West terrace, have made a place of beauty, where returned men are laid to rest. This cemetery is the only one of its kind in Australia; the sloping marble stones give the impression of ex-soldiers at complete rest after having carried a heavy burden. The State branch of the Returned Soldiers’ League has excellent headquarters, and the growing membership shows that time is proving the value of the old bonds of comradeship." - from the Adelaide Advertiser 12 Oct 1935 (nla.gov.au)

"TODAY WE WILL THINK OF THE DEAD. By REG W. MURPHY

Former Chief Administrative Officer in the UK for the Imperial War Graves Commission. Maj. Murphy was the Australian Government's nominee on the staff of the Imperial War Graves Commission after World War I and was in France in 1938 for the completion of the Villers Bretonneux National Memorial. He was in charge of preliminary arrangements for the unveiling ceremony by His Majesty the King. Since World War II he has been Chief Administrative Officer in the United Kingdom of the Commission. He has now retired and has returned to SA." - from the Adelaide Advertiser 11 Nov 1950 (nla.gov.au)

"Second Death In Double Shooting

Reginald William Murphy 64, of Arnold street, Underdale died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital on Saturday from a bullet wound in the head. His wife, Mrs. Anne May Murphy, 65, was shot dead in her bedroom at about 7 a.m. on Friday. Mr. Murphy, a retired British Army officer, was found lying on the gravel path outside the bedroom window. A .22 rifle was lying under him. Detectives were told that Mrs. Murphy had recently been informed she was suffering from tuberculosis." - from the Adelaide Advertiser 30 April 1956