The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (260818) Flight Lieutenant Duncan John Murchison, 9 Squadron (HMAS Canberra), Second World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (260818) Flight Lieutenant Duncan John Murchison, 9 Squadron (HMAS Canberra), Second World War.

260818 Flight Lieutenant Duncan John Murchison, 9 Squadron (HMAS Canberra)
KIA 9 August 1942

Story delivered 9 August 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Flight Lieutenant Duncan John Murchison.

Duncan Murchison was born on 20 January 1916 in Melbourne, the son of Finlay and Fanny Louise Murchison. Before the war, he worked as a clerk, and served in the 30th Battalion of the Militia, where he reached the rank of corporal. At the outbreak of the war, Duncan was living in Sydney, and in 1940 he married Marjorie Ferguson of Mosman. Duncan and Marjorie had much in common: both were the children of sea-pilots who had served for many years on the pilot steamers of Sydney and Newcastle.

Duncan enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 4 March 1940 at Mascot in Sydney. He served first as an air cadet, then from August 1940 as a pilot officer. He joined 9 Squadron in December 1940, and would serve with them on the HMAS Canberra. When attached to ships in the Navy, this squadron was used for air reconnaissance, anti-submarine activity and artillery spotting. They flew Supermarine Seagull aircraft which launched from the ship’s deck with the use of a catapult, and on returning from their mission, they landed on water.

Duncan was recognised as a talented and reliable pilot. In a recommendation for promotion in March 1942, an officer wrote:

Flying Officer Murchison is a particularly good type, and above average as a Naval co-operation pilot. He has a pleasing personality and is popular in all company. He is loyal, tactful and keeps himself physically fit.

The officer added that Duncan was “considered by the Navy to be their best Air Force officer and naval co-operation pilot”.

On the back of this recommendation, Duncan was promoted once more, this time to the rank of Flight Lieutenant on 1 April 1942.

Seventy-five years ago today, Duncan was aboard the HMAS Canberra when it came under heavy Japanese attack while supporting US Marines near Savo Island in the Pacific. In the chaotic fighting, he was reported as missing, presumed dead. His death was officially confirmed in March 1943. He was 26 years old.

He would never meet his infant daughter Robyn, who was only six days old when her father died.

His name is commemorated on the Port Moresby Memorial in Papua New Guinea, which lists the names of over 700 Australians who served in the Second World War and have no known grave.

His name is also listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Flight Lieutenant Duncan John Murchison, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section