ESCAPE (Signed)

SIGNED by the Author. 16th March 1965.When the Japanese invaded Kavieng on 23 January 1942, Murray and sixteen others escaped by sailing a small boat to Oro Bay, Papua. In August the Inter-Allied Services Department, a section of the newly formed Allied Intelligence Bureau, recruited him, gave him the rank of lieutenant in the A.I.F., and sent him to Cairns, Queensland, for training. Having established an I.S.D. base in Darwin in December, he remained there as camp adjutant. In March 1943 he transferred to the North Eastern Area Section of the A.I.B. in search of action. First he set up and commanded a training camp at Tabragalba, near Beaudesert, Queensland. Next he led a bold and successful reconnaissance mission to Cape Bun Bun, New Ireland, in November 1943. In the following month he took an American party on a pre-invasion survey of Boang Island; they fended off Japanese attackers with a skilful ambush and withdrew unscathed. Radio-network supervision and further intelligence collecting in the New Ireland area kept Murray busy until World War II ended.

Cool-headed, aggressive and independently minded, Murray was almost the archetype of the ‘Islander’ Australians whose field leadership placed his section of the A.I.B. at the forefront of intelligence-gathering and guerrilla-warfare organizations. His exploits won him a captaincy (February 1944), the Military Cross (March 1945) and the American Silver Star (June 1945). He transferred to the Reserve of Officers in February 1946 and returned to Lakuramau plantation, near Kavieng.

Z’ Special Unit / Coastwatchers

First Edition. pp. 260. Signs of wear. Previous ownership markings. #230216

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