SAPPER M. J. MURRAY ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS

Mervyn James Murray.Service number - SX38282.Rank - Sapper.Unit - Fortress Company Rabaul.Service- Australian Army.Conflict/Operation - Second World War, 1939-1945..Date of Death - 01 July 1942.Place of Death - South China Sea.Cause of Death - Died at sea (Montevideo Maru).Cemetery or Memorial Details - Rabaul Memorial, Rabaul, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea..(found on ebay)..On 22 June 1942, some weeks after the fall of Rabaul to the Japanese, a large number of Australian prisoners were embarked from Rabaul's port on Montevideo Maru. Unmarked as a POW ship, she was proceeding without escort to the Chinese island of Hainan, when she was sighted by the American submarine Sturgeon near the northern Philippine coast on 30 June. ..Unaware that it was carrying Allied prisoners of war and civilians, Sturgeon fired four torpedoes at Montevideo Maru before dawn of 1 July, causing the vessel to sink in only 11 minutes. .. "There were more POWs in the water than crew members. The POWs were holding pieces of wood and using bigger pieces as rafts. They were in groups of 20 to 30 people, probably 100 people in all. They were singing songs. I was particularly impressed when they began singing Auld Lang Syne as a tribute to their dead colleagues. Watching that, I learnt that Australians have big hearts.". — Eyewitness Yoshiaki Yamaji, interviewed Oct. 2003..The sinking is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history. A nominal list made available by the Japanese government in 2012 revealed that a total of 1054 prisoners (178 non-commissioned officers, 667 soldiers and 209 civilians) died on the Montevideo Maru..(wikipedia)