Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Captain D. G. C. Murphy, Monmouthshire Regiment, who was taken P.O.W. at Ypres in May 1915 while serving in the 1st Battalion

1914-15 Star (Lieut., Monmouth. R.); British War and Victory Medals (Capt.), officially impressed naming in smaller than usual capitals, generally good very fine (3) £180-220

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals to the Monmouthshire Regiment formed by Lt. Col. P. A. Blagojevic, O. St. J., T.D..

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According to the recipient’s MIC entry, he did not actually receive the above described awards until June 1935 (nor had any awards been issued to him at an earlier date).

Dennis G. C. Murphy, the son of Dr. and Mrs. W. E. Murphy of Cwmbran, was taken P.O.W. at Ypres on 8 May 1915, in an action which he later described in a letter home to his parents:

‘At about 05.00 a.m. the Germans started a heavy bombardment with shrapnel and high explosive shells, and, having got the range perfectly, settled down to a lot of damage ... I was in support with two platoons of ‘B’ Company and Leyshon and Anthony were in the fire trench. Up to about 12 o’clock we were all right and had only about ten casualties in the Company. At about 12, Leyshon sent Anthony down to me to bring up the supports, and at the same moment Dimsdale arrived, having spotted that our lines had been broken on the right, and that the enemy held a ruined farmhouse, and were firing at us. He told me to take all the men I could, to go along the reserve trench as far as possible, and retake the house at all costs. Leyshon being at the moment in no great danger, I pushed off ... On our right the damage had been far greater than in our trenches and we had a terrible difficulty in getting along, owing to the wounded and narrowness of the trenches ... I was now about 200 yards from the farmhouse. We were under heavy shell and machine-gun fire, and I had lost several men, and the word had been passed up that Dimsdale was hit. Anyway I got as far as the machine-gun which was still going strong, and found out from their Sergeant that this was the last point held by them, and that the enemy were in front of us. I at once saw the only thing I could do was to hold the trench as long as possible, as the enemy were through, and were commencing to work down our line, having us on three sides, backed up by artillery, which was firing perfectly, mowing down our line as the Germans came along it. At about 1.30 a shell burst right on the machine-gun, smashing it, killing the crew, and knocked me out. I think I must have been out for about ten minutes, and then passed the word down the line to reinforce us as soon as possible, and then we got it hot. Why I wasn’t killed I do not know. I believe I fainted once or twice, but eventually found myself in the Cheshire trench, which was full of dead and wounded. I was jolly glad I carried a flask, I can tell you. I crawled back to our trenches, as I could hear our boys still at it, and I lay down in the trench, as I was done-in completely. A shell burst close to me again and made me feel pretty sick. The next thing that I knew was that I was on my own, but I could still hear fighting on my left, so I and a stretcher-bearer crawled down the line, and I got into a trench held by Ted Williams, the Colonel, and Evill, just about beat to the world. After we had been there for about an hour, Ted was shot. I also saw Leyshon lying in a trench hit, as I thought, in the head and shoulder. The Colonel gave the order to retire again to the left, Evill bringing up the rear. There was no time for messing about with the wounded, but to struggle to hold the tenches, if possible, until dark. I do not exactly know what happened, but I found myself in the trench, at about 6 o’clock, as far as I can tell, and much the same thing happened there, the Germans eventually getting right behind us and they would end up by rushing us. I think I must have been in a state in which I didn’t know or care if I was dead, and was absolutely done-in. Will continue in the next letter ... ’ (The Free Press of Monmouthshire, 3 September 1915 refers).

Nor was Murphy’s time as a P.O.W. a particularly easy one:

‘Captain Murphy was first taken to Halle, then to Burg (via Magdeburg) and then to Augustabad, and finally by train to Strohemoor, which he considered to be the worst camp in Germany. Of the total food parcels alleged to have been despatched to him, Captain Murphy only received about half of them and of the many cards and letters he sent home only two ever arrived. In nearly all cases the parcels which were received had been tampered with, having been opened by the Germans and selected items taken out’ (History of the Red Cross in Monmouthshire refers).