MURPHY, Edward John
| Service Number: | WX5914 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Northam, Western Australia, 18 December 1917 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Accidental, At sea (Nino Bixio), Mediterranean Sea, 17 August 1942, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Col 93, El Also memorialised at Goomalling Cemetery WA. |
| Memorials: | Alamein Memorial (El Alamein), Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Goomalling Drinking Fountain Memorial, Goomalling War Memorial Swimming Pool |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, WX5914 | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX5914, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Edward John Murphy's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Edward was one of 41 Australian POWs killed when the Italian transport ship Nino Bixio was torpedoed by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on 17 August 1942. The Nino Bixio was transporting Allied POWs from Libya to Italy. Of the 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident, four died later by execution. Most of the Australian casualties were from the 2/28th Infantry Battalion.
Biography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Edward (Ted) was the eldest son of Dennis and Sarah (Sadie), one of five children. He and his only brother Denny signed up on the first day of enlistment in Goomalling. Denny was also a POW, in Italy and Stalag 317 (WX5893). Their sister Theresa served in the AWAS (WF94828).
Ted's mother Sadie remarried in 1933 to James Francis GALLAGHER and they had two daughters together. Ted's father died in 1941, aged 73 (see obituary: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253435271).
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