MURPHY, PATRICK
Rank:
Service No:
Date of Death:
Age:
Regiment/Service:
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Text on stone:
Rank:
Service No:
Date of Death:
Age:
Regiment/Service:
Grave Reference:
Text on stone:
Serjeant
3764554
23/09/1944
36
Royal Welch Fusiliers 4th Bn.
I. E. 16.
To save mankind, Himself he scorned to save. Sadly missed By wife and sons
R.I.P.
Additional Information:
Son of John and Mary Murphy; husband of Edna May Murphy, of Stonehouse, Plymouth.
Patrick Murphy was killed during the battle for Reusel. Initially buried at the village of Oerle.
From surviving service records, the following outline of Patrick Murphy’s life and military service can be reconstructed.
Patrick Murphy was born on 1 May 1905 in Rathmines, Dublin. Before enlistment he worked as a bootmaker. He was married and the father of three children. His physical description records him as being 5 feet 5 inches tall, with blue eyes and brown hair.
He enlisted in the British Army on 5 January 1925 and joined the King’s Regiment (Liverpool). In the years before the Second World War he served extensively overseas: in Malta (25 November 1926 – 29 September 1927), Sudan (30 September 1927 – 11 December 1928), Egypt (12 December 1928 – 7 March 1932), and India (8 March 1932 – 27 March 1933).
During the early stages of the Second World War he served with the British Expeditionary Force in France from 15 September 1939 until 22 June 1940.
On 15 May 1941 he transferred to the Reconnaissance Corps. On 3 June 1942 he returned to the King’s Regiment, and on 1 August 1944 he was posted to the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Patrick Murphy embarked for North West Europe on 5 June 1944.
He was killed in action on 23 September 1944.
The son of Patrick Murphy (Mike) visits the cemetery on a regular basis.