William Murray Wilson

William Murray Wilson
(1914–1953)

Flying in the Middle East, c. 1942
Birth:	1914 June 4 Thu, Claremont, Western Australia
Death:	1953 September 28 Mon, West Perth, Western Australia
Parents:	James Herbert Wilson     1872–1942 Edith Olive Wilson (née Hall)     1882–1966
Siblings:	Dorothy Jean McHarg Agnew (née Wilson)     1904–1974 Frederick Gordon Wilson     1906–1963 Olive Adele Lang (née Wilson)     1908–1970 William Murray Wilson     1914–1953 Herbert Bruce Wilson     1918–2005 Lilian Jessie Rae Hussey (née Wilson)     b. 1910, d. c. 2013.
Partners:	Helen Margaret Wilson (née Hall)     10 July 1915 – 21 February 2000
Children:	Three (all living)
Keywords:	H.M. Wilson Archives
Authority control	Permalink: archives.org.au/WMW Wikidata: Q88222462 Wikitree: Wilson-84876 FamilySearch: LDWF-Y3Q Ancestry: 312353766403

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 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). His father died in June 1942, just after Murray turned 28.

For his service during the war, Murray was awarded 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).

Units and locations of service

Unit	From	To
No. 5 Initial Training School (ITS), RAAF Base Pearce	1940 November 11 Mon	1941 January 8 Wed
No. 9 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) RAAF Station Cunderdin	1941 January 9 Thu	1941 March 8 Sat
No. 4 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) RAAF Geraldton	1941 March 9 Sun	1941 July 5 Sat
No. 5 ED Perth	1941 July 6 Sun	1941 July 17 Thu
Australia to UK	1941 July 17 Thu	1941 September 2 Tue
No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC) Bournemouth	1941 September 3 Wed	1941 September 28 Sun
No. 3 School of General Reconnaissance (S of GR) Squires Gate	1941 September 29 Mon	1941 November 29 Sat
No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (OTU) Silloth	1941 December 24 Wed	1942 March 17 Tue
No. 500 Squadron RAF Stornoway	1942 March 18 Wed	1942 May 11 Mon
1444 Ferry Training Flight (FTF) RAF Horsham St Faith	1942 May 12 Tue	1942 May 31 Sun
UK to Middle East	1942 June 1 Mon	1942 June 6 Sat
No. 459 Squadron RAAF Middle East	1942 June 16 Tue	1943 February 28 Sun
No. 75 Operational Training Unit RAF (75 OTU), RAF Gianaclis	1943 February 28 Sun
No. 13 Squadron RAAF Gove, NT	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).

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.

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 at 10 Troode Street in West Perth.

On the evening of Monday, September 28 1953, just prior to a shareholders' meeting at the company offices, Murray and another director (William Ewart Livingstone) were shot dead by a former director (and current shareholder) of the company, William Charles Fawcett. The weapon was a sawn-off .303 rifle, with which Fawcett shot each of his victims once through the heart; they were both dead within minutes. Murray worked at the office, and Fawcett had waited outside in his vehicle until he saw Livingstone arrive. They were alone in the office. He had brought his rifle with him that day with the intention of killing both men. ^{[Citation needed]}

Fawcett was seen leaving the office after the shooting and driving away, by Livingstone's daughter He went home to his wife at their home at 66 Victoria Avenue, Claremont (near Murray's home in Congdon Street, Swanbourne), told her what he had done, cleaned the gun, and (it is to be supposed) waited for the police to arrive. He was arrested either one or four hours later. The next day he was charged with murder, but later a jury found against this.

He said that his motive was financial: he believed that the directors were trying to cheat him out of his share in the company. He had attempted legal action, but didn't have a case.

The trial was held on the evening of Monday, 14 December, and the "elderly", "diminutive", "white-haired". Fawcett was found not guilty on the grounds of insanity. He was also in the timber trade.

Fawcett had expressed "interest in the Rifle Club movement" in 1940.

1953-11-26, Rifle Victim Left Estate Of £4,587:

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.

Electoral rolls:

• 1939: 98 Herbert Road; Division: Perth; Sub-division: Subiaco; Elector number: 9083; Occupation: civil servant.
• 1943: 98 Herbert Road; Division: Perth; Sub-division: Subiaco; Elector number: 9433; Occupation: civil servant.
• 1949: Congdon Street; Division: Fremantle; Sub-division: Claremont; Elector number: 12729; Occupation: merchant.

Photos

• 

  At Rottnest with the family

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  1920s (from his military record)

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  1930s

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  Info.

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  Bef. 1940, Militia (16th Bn.)

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  Picnic, 1940s

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  c. 1941

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  Middle East, c. 1942

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  UK, c. 1942

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  Max Glenn, Arthur (Hanson), Ron Carrigan, and Murray

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  c. 1942, probably England

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  c. 1942, probably England

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  c. 1943

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  Bournemouth

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  England

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  Middle East, 1943

• 

  Murray (left) in kilt, probably in Perth

• 

  Gove, NT, 1945

References

This page is part of the H.M. Wilson Archives.

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