Murray John McGregor (1915-1952)
Murray was born on 12 April 1915 in Bunbury to Allan Murray and Louise Christiana McGregor of 12 Molloy Street (reference; reference; reference). He had two sisters, Doreen Mary (1913-1992) and Margaret Amy (1919-2017), and a brother, Allan Neil (1917-1991) (reference).
In 1925 Murray and his brother Allan were awarded prizes at the Diocese of Bunbury Cathedral bazaar for regular attendance as Cathedral Sunday scholars (reference).
He was educated at Bunbury High School (reference). When he was at school, he participated in most sports and was a football team member when it won the inter-high school competition (reference).
Before the war, Murray worked in the metropolitan area of Perth (reference). He travelled between Perth and Bunbury to visit, such as in 1937 when he spent a fortnight in Bunbury with his mother (reference). In 1937 he lived at 47 Forrest Avenue in Perth and worked as a grocer (reference).
Murray enlisted at Claremont and served in the 28th Battalion during the Tobruk campaign during the second world war (reference; reference). His assigned service number was WX6668, and his rank was Private (reference). In the Bunbury High School’s 1941 magazine, Kingia, Murray was listed along with other ex-students that had signed up to serve the war effort (reference).
In 1941 after returning to Western Australia due to illness, Murray was interviewed on his experience at Tobruk (reference; reference):
"Stories of besieged Tobruk and of the gallant defence put up by our troops were related by Pte. Murray McGregor, of Bunbury, who has recently returned from the garrison, where he contracted an illness which resulted in his return home. Private McGregor is the first local A.I.F. man to return from Tobruk and he had plenty to tell of the life and hardships endured by the men there. The food and comforts question seemed to be one of the biggest drawbacks and it is not possible to keep up a steady flow of fresh food owing to the hazardous trips the boats have to make. Sometimes they have to leave port before they have finished unloading because of the proximity of German' planes. Pte. McGregor said, "Just the same the little boats are doing a great job. When I came down to hospital I travelled on the 'Waterhen' on which I met another Bunbury boy. I think it must have been on her next trip that she was sunk. We lived mostly on bully-beef—there is any amount of this. This is a daily menu which is divided among an average of from eight to ten men: three loaves of bread, a couple of tins of bully-beef, a couple of tins of bacon, one tin of golden syrup or treacle, one pound of margarine, and this is sometimes varied by a couple of tins of m. and v. (meat and vegetables), or a tin of either peas or beans.
"It was impossible for us to get much in the way of comforts," he continued, "but what we did get were good. They were there but no one could get them to us. Water of course, was the worst inconvenience—for for while we could only get half a bottle of water a day, while even when things were normal we could only get one bottle full. This had to do us for washing, shaving and drinking. I became an expert at having a shave and a wash in a tinful of waiter," he added. "water is scarce, but beer is even more scarce. We had only two issues while I was there—one bottle between three or four men. With tobacco, too, we had to be pretty careful—we used to put our butts in a tin to save tobacco."
Pte. McGregor then went on to describe his experiences when in action. He first saw action on Good Friday, although he stated the majority of the men did not know what day it was. Pte. McGregor was high in his praise of both the Australian and Indian troops and said: "The Aussies are the best soldiers in the world, and the Indians, too, are hard to outclass.
"The continual bombing and shelling is very nerve-wracking," he continued, "and there is no relief from it. We lived in holes in the ground where we ate and slept—just like rabbits. Tobruk is a good place in which to save money because there is nothing there to buy. On our way up there it was a sight to see the stuff left behind by the 'Ities." There were thousands of trucks and piles of clothes in the trenches—enough to stock all the shops in Bunbury. But all were full of fleas. I saw plenty of 'Itie' prisoners. The majority of them were good singers.
"We saw plenty of 'Jerry' planes—too many, in fact. One of the pilots we brought down was only sixteen—just a boy. The Australian nurses are doing a great job, and the Australian hospitals are the best to be in. On our way home we were met at a big port by the Red Cross with a fleet of cars to show us the sights. Myself and two others were taken in hand by an American woman, and her Scottish husband, who is manager of Thos. Cook Ltd. They gave us the best day we had had since leaving home. They showed us all the sights and gave us lunch in their lovely home. At Tobruk, of course, there was no papers from home, or at least cuttings with the races and football results. Even from so far afield he is still following league football in this State and he says that he was glad to note that at date of writing Claremont were doing well.
At Tobruk, of course, there was no leave whatever—the only leave being permanent leave. Naturally, I am pleased to be home again and see a few bright lights- everything over there is blacked out."
Pte. McGregor concluded with a reminder to the people at home to work hard at providing comforts for the overseas troops. He stated that the only thing that brightens their lives is the mail and the comforts from home.
Pte. McGregor's brother and brother-in-law are serving with the A.I.F. overseas. Both went through the Syrian campaign.”
His account of his experience excluded his many close calls with death while at Tobruk, and plays down how the hospital ship he was sent home on, was sunk on the way back to Tobruk (reference).
After returning to Bunbury, he lived with his parents in Molloy Street, Bunbury (reference; reference). He remained living at 12 Molloy Street, with his siblings occasionally visiting for events such as Christmas, and at times also living there such as in 1943 Allan was there while working as a labourer in Bunbury (reference; reference). In 1943 Murray was working as a shop assistant, and by 1949 he had acquired new work as a fitter (reference; reference).
In 1947 Murray was the best man for his brother's wedding (reference). While life events such as this wedding continued for those who had returned from the war, Murray never forgot his mates from the A.I.F.. He wrote a tribute in The West Australian to his 'best cobber' Barley Harris, who was killed in action in New Guinea (reference).
Murray never recovered from the illness he contracted during the Tobruk campaign (reference). On Sunday 9 November 1952, at the Bunbury District Hospital, he died at 37 years old (reference). His funeral was at the Church of England portion of the Bunbury cemetery on Tuesday 11 November 1952 (reference).