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 Wilson 1908-01-01 – ? 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.
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.[6]
On the evening of Monday, September 28 1953,[7][8][9] just prior to a shareholders' meeting at the company offices, Murray and another director (William Ewart Livingstone) were shot dead by a former director[10] (and current shareholder) of the company, William Charles Fawcett. The weapon was a sawn-off .303 rifle,[11][6][12] with which Fawcett shot each of his victims once through the heart; they were both dead within minutes.[6] Murray worked at the office, and Fawcett had waited outside in his vehicle until he saw Livingstone arrive.[13] They were alone in the office.[14] He had brought his rifle with him that day with the intention of killing both men. [Citation needed] [15]
Fawcett was seen leaving the office after the shooting and driving away, by Livingstone's daughter[16] He went home to his wife at their home at 66 Victoria Avenue, Claremont (near Murray's home in Congdon Street, Swanbourne)[16], told her what he had done, cleaned the gun, and (it is to be supposed) waited for the police to arrive.[15] He was arrested either one[13] or four[17] hours later. The next day he was charged with murder,[17] but later a jury found against this.[11]
He said that his motive was financial: he believed that the directors were trying to cheat him out of his share in the company[15][10]. He had attempted legal action, but didn't have a case.[15]
The trial was held on the evening of Monday, 14 December,[10][16] and the "elderly", "diminutive", "white-haired".[14] Fawcett was found not guilty on the grounds of insanity.[16] He was also in the timber trade.[16]
Fawcett had expressed "interest in the Rifle Club movement" in 1940.[18]
Photos
1920s (from his military record)
Media coverage
- 1953-11-26
- Rifle Victim Left Estate Of £4,587[9]
- 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 6.2 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.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 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
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Verdict Of Insanity At Murder Trial. Sydney Morning Herald, 15 December 1953, p. 8. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18401354
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 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
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Murder of Timber Directors. Barrier Miner Broken Hill, NSW. 30 September 1953, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50067079
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 New Angle In W.A. Murders. The Advertiser, Adelaide, SA. 30 September 1953, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48928021
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Double Murder Charge Remand, Sunday Times (Perth), p25, 18 October 1953. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59680487
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 FAWCETT IS AGAIN REMANDED. Mirror (Perth, WA) 17 October 1953 p. 1. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75787673
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 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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