Pte. Laurence Murtach* 93rd Batt. April 04, 1917

* Murtach is an incorrect spelling
*Death date does not match official date of April 30 1917.*Murtagh served with 39th Battalion, not the 93rd.

 

Lawrence Murtagh's name as inscribed on the Vimy Memorial

 Pte. Lawrence Murtagh         412505

Lawrence Murtagh was born in County Clare, Ireland in 1895 to Thomas Murtagh.  He probably immigrated to Canada in 1910 at 15 years of age.  There is a T. Murtagh, aged 15 years, listed as a passenger aboard the S.S. Corsican, a ship with a unusually high number of children from England bound for Ottawa, Canada.  This makes it highly probable that Lawrence Murtagh was an orphaned child, who came to Canada as a “Home Child”.  A 1911 census also shows that Lawrence is working as a “domestic” employed at farming in the district of Chateauguay, Quebec. 

On February 18, 1915, Lawrence Murtagh enlisted in the 39^th battalion C.E.F. in Peterborough, Ontario.  At the time he was boarding at 100 Gladstone Avenue in the home of Sergt. W.R. Field, (who had enlisted previously in the Peterborough contingent of the 2^nd Battalion).  On his attestation papers, he listed his primary occupation as farm hand and that he had no previous military experience.  At the time, he was almost 19 and a half years old, stood 5 foot 5 inches tall, had a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.  His listed his religion as Roman Catholic.  The recruiting sergeant also scribbled on the paper the words “parents deceased” (which gives credence to his probability of being a “Home Child”.

Upon arriving in England, the 39^th Battalion was broken up and its members, including Lawrence Murtagh, were used to reinforce other battalions currently fighting at the front.  Pte. Murtagh was assigned to the 14^th “Royal Montreal Regiment” Battalion. 

Pte. Murtagh was listed as one of the 14^th Battalion “Killed in Action an April 30, 1917.   At this time the 14^th Battalion was in a supporting position on the newly captured Vimy Ridge, west of Arleux-en-Gohelle.  The Germans, seeking revenge for the loss of their precious Ridge spent the following weeks raining down artillery and sniping at the new Canadian occupants.  It is likely that Pte. Murtagh was killed under such conditions.  He was buried in an isolated grave, most likely close to where he fell.  Today the grave site is not known, so his name appears on the Vimy Ridge Memorial.  He is commemorated on the Dummer Township cenotaph in Warsaw, Ontario.



Peterborough Evening Examiner May 29 1917, P.5

Sources:

Canada. "Soldiers of the First World War (1914-1918)." Record Group 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4930 - 35. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.
Library and Archives Canada, 2007. <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1911/index-e.html>. Series RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds. Microfilm reels T-20326 to T-20460.
Passenger Lists, 1865–1935. Microfilm Publications T-479 to T-520, T-4689 to T-4874, T-14700 to T-14939, C-4511 to C-4542. Library and Archives Canada, n.d. RG 76-C. Department of Employment and Immigration fonds. Library and Archives Canada Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
War Graves Registry: Circumstances of Death Records. Record Group 150, 1992–1993/314, Boxes 145–238. Library and Archives Canada. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
War Graves Registry: Circumstances of Death Records; (RG150, 1992-1993/314, Boxes 39-144); Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.