William Murdoch Le Brun [1895 - 1916]

William Murdoch Le Brun, was a young man on a mission, a 20 year old young man desperately wanting to get to fight in the war with his friends. Yet not even 12 mths after enlisting he was dead.....

Willie was born in Brunswick, a suburb just 6 klms north of the city of Melbourne. His parents being Murdoch Le Brun and Rebecca Ann Moore.

Murdoch and Rebecca had ten children, William being their third child.

William Murdoch Le Brun Joined the AIF (Australian Imperial Forces) on 13 July 1915, declaring he was 20 years and one month of age,  his previous employment was as a Farmer.

He nominated his Father as his Next of Kin, stating the address was Mirboo South, in Victoria, Australia.   He was 5' 7" tall, weighed 8st 11lbs,  chest 32-35.   His complexion was medium, eyes blue, hair Brown and had a scar on front of left wrist, 1 1/2" long and his service number was 3393.  

He departed Melbourne on board HMAT A71 "Nestor" on 11 October 1915 and he was taken on strength at 7th Battalion at Tel-El-Kebir, Egypt on 7 January 1916.  

He was admitted to hospital at Serapeum, Cairo, in January suffering from Mumps and discharged one month later, rejoining his Battalion in March. He embarked Alexandria 26 March 1916 for France, disembarking at Marseilles and the 7th Battalion entered the front line trenches for the first time on 3 May.

The 7th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the First World War. Like the 5th, 6th and 8th Battalions, it was recruited from Victoria and, together with these battalions, formed the 2nd Brigade. The battalion was raised by Lieutenant Colonel H. E. “Pompey” Elliott within a fortnight of the declaration of war in August 1914

William Murdoch Le Brun was killed in action on 2nd June 1916 and buried by Rev G W Carter at Military Cemetery Rue David, 3 1/2 miles SSW of Armentieres, France on the 11th June.   His personnel effects were listed as:  Disc, Prayer Book, Razor, Pipe, Handkerchief, Mirror (broken), Belt, with Badges, Buttons, Gun metal Watch (glass broken), letters, coins (4), Wrist Strap.   These were dispatched by registered packet to his mother in December 1916.

 

On 23 Aug 1916 the National Mutual Life Assoc received a copy of Williams death certificate to allow processing of his life insurance policy.  His mother requested advice on 23 Sep1916 regarding  whether William had left a will, and any details of deferred pay, as she wanted to finalise his affairs.   On 3rd Oct she received a reply stating their was no record of a will, and information regarding deferred pay would be forwarded to the District paymaster for answer.

on 15th Oct 1920 Rebecca (mother of William) received his 1914 -15 Star, the Memorial Plaque and Kings message on 16th Jan 1922, and the Victory Medal 1st Feb 1923.   He was also awarded the British War Medal but the date of receipt is unclear.

Of the nine children of Rebecca Ann MOORE and Murdoch Le BRUN, three of their sons went to war and only one returned.

William Murdoch Le BRUN 1895 - 1916

Charles Richard Le BRUN  1899 - 1943

Ernest Harold Le BRUN      1909 - 2006

I have also completed a blog post on Charles Richard Le BRUN as seen HERE.

William Murdoch Le Brun's name will be projected onto the exterior of the Hall of Memory at the AWM in Canberra on:

• Mon 15 September, 2014 at 12:06 am
• Tue 4 November, 2014 at 1:07 am
• Sun 28 December, 2014 at 4:46 am
• Fri 20 February, 2015 at 3:05 am
• Fri 10 April, 2015 at 1:37 am
• Thu 21 May, 2015 at 11:22 pm
• Mon 29 June, 2015 at 5:33 pm

These dates and times are estimates. The actual time of projection could change as a result of weather and other factors, so it is advisable to check closer to the date. In the rare event of a temporary loss of electrical power, the names scheduled for display in that period will not appear until the next time listed

LEST WE FORGET

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