226098 Sgt. John Thomas Murphy British Army 420th Field Company Royal Engineers from:Widnes, Halton Cheshire England My grandfather, Jack Murphy, grew up in Widnes, Halton, Cheshire, son of Irish immigrants and he enlisted in Army I believe before WWI.
He served Egypt, Gallipoli and Macedonia. He was proud to have been a sapper and told many a story about pre-invasion time in Egypt, Achi Baba, trenches, erecting hand grenade screens. He was evacuated with dysentery.
One story was that he was standing sentry duty outside a large tent in which the brass was having an officer's function with meat and alcohol. He could hear inside, one officer said to another "if the Turks could only see us now!" He would tell that story and others with a chuckle and some resentment until his death!
He emigrated to US in 1920s and lived to be 96. Spending his last years in Rancho Cucamonga California. The San Gabriel Mountains 10,000 foot tall are right there. He would sit outside, smoke his pipe and drink his whiskey and reminisce about never getting to Achi Baba. I am trying to find info about his war service.
|