A First World War soldier who had lived in Summerland served through almost the entire war.
Huson Grand Murray was born on March 1, 1892 in Toronto.
His father was Charles Murray, age 30, and his mother was Mary Grand, age 33. He had two sisters. In 1914, at the age of 22, he moved to Summerland and according to records was an agriculturalist.
He sold his fruit to the large Stirling and Pitcairn packinghouse in Kelowna.
On Dec. 3, 1914, in Victoria, he enlisted with the 30th Battalion.
During those times, people often used nicknames and Murray’s nickname was Tonky.
In February 1915, he sailed to England. Two months later, he was transferred to the 15th Battalion and sailed to France.
On May 21, 1915, he was wounded in battle but returned to duty the next day. A week later, he was again wounded in battle and again returned to duty the next day.
In February 1916, he sailed back to Kingston, Ont. and received his military certificate in the Army Medical Corps.
On April 19, 1916, he was admitted to hospital with ‘nervous exhaustion’. His medical report stated that Murray, “had been in France since April 1915 and had been in all the action that Canada have fought here.”
On Oct. 17, 1916, he again served in the 7th Battalion. On April 13, 1917, he was severely wounded in his leg and spent several months in hospital. He was given leave to return to Canada, but his ship hit rocks and was sunk. Murray survived.
According to letters written in 1917, his brother-in-law Norman Bell convinced Murray to join the Royal Air Force, like he had done. Murray was appointed to the Royal Air Force 204th Squadron on April 30, 1918.
Murray’s rank with the RAF was 2nd Lieutenant.
On Oct. 27, 1918, while flying over St Denis, Westrem with a squadron of six Sopwith Camel biplanes, they encountered between 30 and 40 German Fokker aircraft. The squadron of six biplanes were shot down, including Murray’s F3940 Camel, killing Murray.
He was buried at the Nazareth Churchyard in Belgium; the only military burial at that cemetery.
Murray has served through almost the entire World War. He had enlisted early in the war, and he was killed close to the end of the war, at the age of 26.
