An emotive Officer’s Great War Memorial Plaque awarded to Second Lieutenant Eric Dennys Murray, 19th Hussars who was killed in action on patrol duty near Le Bizet on 16th October 1914, the attempted rescue by Sergeant Brunton and Private Jerome of his squadron led to the award of two Distinguished Conduct Medals and is covered in detail in the well-known publication Deeds that Thrill the Empire.
Great War Memorial Plaque; (ERIC DENNYS MURRAY)
Condition: a small area of Verdigris towards the bottom of the plaque, otherwise Good Very Fine
Along with a reproduced photograph of Murray in uniform.
Eric Dennys Murray was the Second son of Sir George Sheppard Murray of Cleveland House, St. James’ Square, South West London, a late unofficial member of the Legislative Council, Singapore, Straits Settlements and of Lady Murray.
Eric would join the 19th Hussars as a Second Lieutenant in 1913 and would go to France in August 1914, where he was present through the Retreat from Mons, and the Battles of the Marne and the Aisne. He was killed in action while on patrol duty near Le Bizet on 16th October 1914. He had led out his troop to reconnoitre near the cross-roads, a quarter of a mile from Le Bizet. Leaving his men under cover, he proceeded alone to look for some German trenches, which had been reported near the village. On leaving the shelter of some houses, he was fired on and seen to fall. Sergeant Brunton and Private Jerome of his squadron tried to effect a rescue, but were driven back by heavy fire, for this act they both received the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Major McClure of the 18th Hussars wrote to his father:
‘Your son is a great loss to me. He came out as a recruit and grew into a good officer, with a very gallant heart.”
Captain Lyon of the 18th Hussars, writes to his father:-
‘Major McClure, I know, wrote to you of his gallant death. I wish there were more as brave as your son.’
A Lance Corporal in his Squadron writes: -
‘We all feel great loss of Mr. Murray, to whom we were so much attached.’
A representative image of Murray getting shot whilst standing in the road appears on page 344 of Deeds that Thrill the Empire, and Brunton’s DCM is covered in detail on page 349:
‘On the morning of October 15th 1914 our 3rd Corps under General Pulteney, who had detrained at St. Omer on the 11th and advanced as far as Bailleul, driving the enemy before them, were ordered to make good the line of the Lys from Armentieres to Sailly and in the face of considerable opposition and very foggy weather, they succeeded in doing this, the 6th Division at Sailly-Bec St. Maur and the 4th Division at Nieppe.
At this time B Squadron of the 19th Hussars was Divisional Cavalry to the 4th Division and about one hour afternoon on the 16th Sergeant Brunton’s troop officer, Lieutenant Murray, received orders to proceed to the village of Le Bizet and reconnoitre it. He accordingly set off at the head of a patrol consisting of Sergeant Brunton, another Sergeant named Emerson, and six men and at about 2pm arrived on the outskirts of the village. The officer and Brunton proceeded to examine the place through their glasses, and the sergeant reported two of the enemy outside a house. This showed that the village must be in the possession of the Germans, though in what strength had yet to be ascertained.
The patrol then galloped in open to order to a little inn some five hundred yards up the road where they got under cover, without dismounting. Leaving Brunton in charge of the patrol, Lieutenant Murray accompanied by Sergeant Emerson and private, galloped across a field to the entrance of the village where he dismounted and wandered into the road.
At once several rifle shots rang out from houses on the right, and the officer was seen to gall. Emerson and Groom rode back at full speed to where their comrades were posted and reported what had occurred, upon which Sergeant Brunton sent Emerson to Romarin to inform their squadron commander, and with the rest of the patrol, galloped towards the village and dismounting called for a volunteer to help him. A private named Jerome offered himself, and dismounted with his rifle, and Brunton having sent the rest of the patrol with the led horses back to the inn, he and Jerome crawled towards the wounded officer in the roadway.
As they raised him up, they came under a heavy rifle fire at almost point-blank range, and were obliged to the Lieutenant go and rush for cover. Happily, neither of them was hit, most of the bullets whistling harmlessly over their heads, and, after waiting a little while, they made a second attempt; and though again exposed to a hot fire, succeeded in dragging Lieutenant Murray under cover. Then they found, to their sorrow, that they had risked their lives to no purpose, as the unfortunate officer was quite dead. He appeared to have been wounded in three places – in the head, the left head, and the region of the heart. Since they could do nothing more for him, they decided to leave him and endeavour to reach their horses, and stooping low, they doubled across some ploughed fields towards the place where the rest of the patrol was waiting. This distance they had to traverse was about four hundred yards, and the ground absolutely devoid of cover; but though they were heavily fired upon, not only from the rear, but from some brick-fields occupied by the Germans on their left, they succeeded in getting back safely. By the time the squadron had arrived from Romarin, and on their approach, the enemy , who seemed to have numbered about eighty, evacuated the village and retreated.
Sergeant David Brunton, whose gallantry on this occasion gained him the Distinguished Conduct Medal was later severely wounded in the right shoulder by shrapnel and slightly gassed on May 24th 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres.