William Murray Wilson
 Flying in the Middle East, c. 1942
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| Birth: | , Claremont, Western Australia |
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| Death: | , West Perth, Western Australia |
| Parents: | James Herbert Wilson 6 February 1872 – 1 June 1942 Edith Olive Wilson (née Hall) 1882 – 1966 |
| Siblings: | Dorothy Jean McHarg Wilson 1904-09-24 – 1974-06-23 Olive Adele Lang (née Wilson) 1908–? William Murray Wilson 1914–1953 Herbert Bruce Wilson 1918 – 3 October 2005 Frederick Gordon Wilson 21 June 1906 – 1963 Lilian Jessie Rae Hussey (née Wilson) b. 1910, d. c. 2013. |
| Partners: | Helen Margaret Wilson (née Hall) 10 July 1915 – 21 February 2000 |
| Children: |
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Murray Wilson (4 June 1914 – 28 September 1953) was a pilot and timber merchant from Perth, Western Australia. He was killed in 1953.
Murray was born in Claremont[1] on 4 June 1914 to Jim and Edith Wilson.
His father had a house in Shenton Park on half an acre. It was still there, although unrecognizable, in 2005.
Murray served in the RAAF during the Second World War (service number 406376[2]). His father died in June 1942, just after Murray turned 28.
For his service during the war, Murray was awarded[3] four campaign stars (1939–45 Star, Atlantic Star, Africa Star & Clasp, and Pacific Star) and three medals (Defence Medal, War Medal 1939–45, and Australia Service Medal 1939–45).
| Unit | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Initial Training School (ITS), RAAF Base Pearce | ||
| No. 9 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) RAAF Station Cunderdin | ||
| No. 4 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) RAAF Geraldton | ||
| No. 5 ED Perth | ||
| Australia to UK | ||
| No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC) Bournemouth | ||
| No. 3 School of General Reconnaissance (S of GR) Squires Gate | ||
| No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (OTU) Silloth | ||
| No. 500 Squadron RAF Stornoway | ||
| 1444 Ferry Training Flight (FTF) RAF Horsham St Faith | ||
| UK to Middle East | ||
| No. 459 Squadron RAAF Middle East | ||
| No. 75 Operational Training Unit RAF (75 OTU), RAF Gianaclis | ||
| No. 13 Squadron RAAF Gove, NT[5] | After August 1944 | Before June 1945 |
Aircraft flown: de Havilland Tiger Moth; Avro Anson; Lockheed Hudson Mk I, II, III, V; de Havilland Dragon Rapide aka Dominie; Martin Baltimore; Bristol Blenheim Mk IV, V (aka Bisley); and Lockheed Ventura.
His crew while he was with 459 Sqadron was: Roy Woodhouse (navigator, born c.1910, also crewed with Murray at East Sale); Jack McMasters (gunner from Melbourne who possibly had 10 children); Smiles; Bill McCarthy (from the Snowy Mountains); and Rasheed (from South Australia, possibly of Syrian descent).[6]
At some point during the war he suffered a possible fractured ankle when he fell from the rafters in a mess hall. He was off duty for 6 weeks so returned to Perth. There is a photo of him and Margaret at Safety Bay with his leg in plaster and using a walking stick.[6]
By the early 1950s, Murray was a director in the timber firm C.M. Wilson Co Pty Ltd which was founded by his uncle Charles William McHarg Wilson and operated from premises on Troode Street in West Perth.[7]
On the evening of Monday, September 28 1953,[8][9][10] just prior to a shareholders' meeting at the company offices, Murray and another director (William Ewart Livingstone) were shot dead by a former director[11] (and current shareholder) of the company, William Charles Fawcett. The weapon was a sawn-off .303 rifle,[12][7][13] with which Fawcett shot each of his victims once through the heart; they were both dead within minutes.[7] Murray worked at the office, and Fawcett had waited outside in his vehicle until he saw Livingstone arrive.[14] They were alone in the office.[15] He had brought his rifle with him that day with the intention of killing both men. [Citation needed] [16]
Fawcett was seen leaving the office after the shooting and driving away, by Livingstone's daughter[17] He went home to his wife at their home at 66 Victoria Avenue, Claremont (near Murray's home in Congdon Street, Swanbourne)[17], told her what he had done, cleaned the gun, and (it is to be supposed) waited for the police to arrive.[16] He was arrested either one[14] or four[18] hours later. The next day he was charged with murder,[18] but later a jury found against this.[12]
He said that his motive was financial: he believed that the directors were trying to cheat him out of his share in the company[16][11]. He had attempted legal action, but didn't have a case.[16]
The trial was held on the evening of Monday, 14 December,[11][17] and the "elderly", "diminutive", "white-haired".[15] Fawcett was found not guilty on the grounds of insanity.[17] He was also in the timber trade.[17]
Fawcett had expressed "interest in the Rifle Club movement" in 1940.[19]
Photos
At Rottnest with the family
1920s (from his military record)
1930s
Bef. 1940, Militia (16th Bn.)
Picnic, 1940s
c. 1941
Middle East, c. 1942
UK, c. 1942
Max Glenn, Arthur (Hanson), Ron Carrigan, and Murray
c. 1942, probably England
c. 1942, probably England
c. 1943
Bournemouth
England
Middle East, 1943
Murray (left) in kilt, probably in Perth
Gove, NT, 1945
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Media coverage
- 1953-11-26
- Rifle Victim Left Estate Of £4,587[10]
- William Murray Wilson (38), a Perth company director who was shot dead in a city office on September 28, left estate valued for probate at £4,587/7/8.
- All his property was bequeathed to his widow. The will submitted for probate was made on a Royal Australian Air Force will form, and witnessed by two other airmen, on July 10, 1941.
- Mr. Wilson left a widow and three children.
References
- ↑ Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. Registration number 208 in the district of Claremont.
- ↑ National Archives of Australia, barcode 5259925 WILSON WILLIAM MURRAY: Service Number - 406376; Date of birth - 04 Jun 1914; Place of birth - CLAREMONT WA; Place of enlistment - PERTH WA; Next of Kin - WILSON HELEN.
- ↑ Letter to WM Wilson from the Department of Air, 18 September 1953. https://www.flickr.com/photos/freosam/14993078453 retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ↑ W.M. Wilson's RAAF log book
- ↑ [[:File:NWA0923 - No. 13 Squadron - Gove, NT. - 1945-06-29.JPG
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 hmw:Roy Woodhouse's comments about Murray's logbook, c.1995
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 COMPANY CHIEFS MURDERED IN W.A. The Mercury page 2, 29 September 1953. Hobart, Tasmania. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27174075 "A propelling pencil carried by one of the men was cut in two by a bullet before it entered his body.
- ↑ Index to general register of deaths Western Australia.
- ↑ Index to death notices in the West Australian/ Western Australian Genealogical Society. [Bayswater, W.A.]: The Society, [1989]. 1985-1989, 1990-1992, 1993-1994, 1997-1998. Microfiche Drawer no. 44; Call no. mc N 486 in the Newspapers/Microforms Reading room at the National Library of Australia.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Rifle Victim Left Estate Of £4,587 (1953, November 26). The West Australian, p. 9. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52943092
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Verdict Of Insanity At Murder Trial. Sydney Morning Herald, 15 December 1953, p. 8. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18401354
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Found Guilty But Insane. Townsville Daily Bulletin, 16 December 1953, p. 1. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63215264
- ↑ 2 TIMBER DIRECTORS KILLED IN WA OFFICE. Barrier Miner, Broken Hill, NSW. 29 September 1953, p. 2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50066887
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Murder of Timber Directors. Barrier Miner Broken Hill, NSW. 30 September 1953, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50067079
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 New Angle In W.A. Murders. The Advertiser, Adelaide, SA. 30 September 1953, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48928021
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Double Murder Charge Remand, Sunday Times (Perth), p25, 18 October 1953. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59680487
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 FAWCETT IS AGAIN REMANDED. Mirror (Perth, WA) 17 October 1953 p. 1. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75787673
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Double Murder Charge In W.A., The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 September 1953 p. 6 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18379987 "He stood silently at attention during the proceedings, which lasted little more than 30 seconds. He was not represented by counsel."
- ↑ Letter from WC Fawcett re medals (Fawcett military record, page 19)
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Storage locations: Folder 1, Folder 2, Box 1, Congdon shelf 13 (box 1, box 2), Congdon box 7, Congdon box 17,
WA Museum collection
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