Colonel Pulteney Henry MURRAY (1849-1912)

Individual Events and Attributes

Marriage

Individual Note 1

1849-1912. Only child of Pulteney Murray and Jane MacKenny, who died when he way about two. He was brought up by his aunt Catherine Anne - "Aunt Donny", whilst his father remarried and had three children. Before any of these children appeared his father had joined the Royal Irish Constabulary - on the official documents for the RIC he left the space for information about any children blank. It paints a rather bleak picture of his childhood that his mother had died and his father wanted nothing to do with him. (17/11/1849 Edenderry, Queens County - 1912) (1877 lived in Parsonstown. in 1901 lived at The Grove, Lancaster. Married Mary Leaycroft Ingham 20/1/1876, St. Paul's Hammersmith; lived at 2 Adelaide Road, Hammersmith at time of marriage). Military career with 1st Shropshire Light Infantry. Its Commanding Officer 1894. Ensign 53rd, February. 1869. Musketry-Instructor,1877 to 1880. Adjutant. 1881 to 1883, including the Egyptian War. Commanded 2nd Battalion, February, 1894, to 1898. Worked in Canada, West Indies, Bermuda, Egypt and Malta. 5' 8 ½ "! (85th Regiment (2nd KSLI)).

The Obituary of Pulteney Henry Murray:

"The death took place on Sunday at Southsea of Colonel Henry Murray. Colonel Murray served through the Egyptian War of 1882 as captain and adjutant in the King's Own Shropshire Light Infantry, and was awarded the medal and Khedive's Bronze Star. In 1900 he was appointed to the command of the 4th Regimental District, and afterwards he held the command of the North-Western District at Chester."

Despite this obit. Murray actually died in Bermuda, at his wife's family home, according to various other sources.

In Bermuda - 1870 to 1875. 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment. (later, King's Shropshire Light Infantry).

Individual Note 2

Khedive's Bronze Star

The Khedive of Egypt presented a bronze star to all Officers and men of the Navy and Army who were engaged in the suppression of the rebellion of Egypt in 1882. The Star was re-issued for 1884, 1885-6, 1886-9 and 1890. One clasp was issued with an Arabic inscription to those who fought at Tokar on Feb 19th 1901.

Most of the battles in the final years of British influence in Egypt were rewarded with issues of the Egyptian Medal, but the Egyptian Khedive Tewfik Pasha showed his gratitude for British help with issues of his own bronze star for the campaigns in his kingdom.

One of these, the siege and capture of the Mahdist stronghold of Tokar in the Sudan, was unusual in that no British award was made for it, although the Khedive's Star could be worn in uniform. Tokar had since 1883 been the seat of the Beja leader Usman Dinga, and the 1891 campaign resulted in his briefly being captured.

Those who had already been awarded a Khedive's Star for earlier Egyptian campaigns were awarded only the bar for the Tokar campaign; issues of new undated stars with this bar are comparatively rare, therefore, as they went only to the newest soldiers in the forces involved. One such must have received this medal, but as it is unnamed, we do not know who he was. Lester Watson acquired the medal at some point before 1928. (see illustration)

Individual Note 3

PHM's medals: "Murray, Capt. P.H.:

Egypt 1882 ; Khedive’s Star 1882

(with 1887 Jubilee medal)"

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