Canada. A Trio To The 5Th Battery, 1St Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, Died Of Wounds Sustained At The Battle Of St. Julien

1914-15 Star (40688 GNR: F. MURRAY. CAN:FD:ART); British War Medal (40688 DVR. F. MURRAY. C.F.A.); and Victory Medal (40688 DVR. F. MURRAY. C.F.A.). Naming is officially impressed. Court-mounted with swing bar pinback, original ribbons, dark patina on the BWM, tape residue on the reverse of each award from mounting, contact marks, very fine. Accompanied by copies of his Index Cards, Attestation Paper, Service Records, Medical Records and Pay Records, along with copies of two newspaper articles from the Kingston Daily British Whig (now the Kingston Whig-Standard).

Footnote: Frederick John Murray was born on May 10, 1893 in Dover, England, the son of Jane Murray of Kingston, Ontario, a widow, herself a native of Dover. He immigrated to Canada at the age of 13, settling in Kingston, Ontario and was a devoted member of St. George's Cathedral. By the age of 17, he became a cab driver and in doing so, developed into an expert horseman. He had been employed as a cab driver for four years and was a resident of Kingston when he signed his Attestation Paper with the 3rd Battery, 1st Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery on September 22, 1914 at Valcartier Camp, at the age of 21, naming is next-of-kin as his mother Mary Jane Murray of Kingston, Ontario, stating that he had no previous military service, that he was not married, that his religion was Church of England and that his trade was that of Teamster. He came from a military family, as his father had been in the Imperial Service for twenty-one years. His three brothers would also enlist for overseas service during the First World War: George enlisting at Montreal with the 21st Infantry Battalion, Thomas having enlisted with the 1st Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles and Samuel with the 14th Regiment of the First Contingent. The husbands of his three married sisters were also at the front. Murray's unit sailed on October 3, 1914, his enlistment information confirmed at 1st Field Artillery Brigade Headquarters on December 22nd. After four months training in England, he embarked Avonmouth for service in the French theatre, on March 2, 1915. Murray was acknowledged as both a Gunner and a Driver with the Canadian Field Artillery. Murray was in action on April 25, 1915 at the Battle of St. Julien, part of the Second Battle of Ypres, when he suffered gun shot (shrapnel) wounds to his head. He was initially treated at No. 1 Canadian Field Ambulance, then transferred to No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station, before being admitted to No. 13 General Hospital at Boulogne. By April 27th, his condition had been declared to be "dangerously ill" at Boulogne, with Murray living but one more day. 40688 Gunner/Driver Frederick John Murray, 5th Battery, 1st Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery died of wounds on April 28, 1915, at the age of 21, his father having predeceased him by nineteen years. The younger Murray is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas de Calais, France, Grave Reference: VIII. B. 7, a large civil cemetery and is commemorated on page 30 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. For his First World War service, Gunner Murray was posthumously awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which were forwarded to his mother, Mary Jane Murray, along with his Memorial Plaque, Scroll and Memorial Cross. She also received a War Service Gratuity in the amount of $180.