From the Maitland Mercury report:
Private John Bede Murray was Maitland’s only soldier killed in action along the Kokoda Track on October 23, 1942.
He lived in Bourke Street, Maitland, with his wife Dorothy and he was a linotype operator at the Maitland Mercury at the time of enlistment.
Private Murray’s death was deemed accidental after a two inch mortar bomb exploded prematurely. He was 31.
He was originally buried at Eora Creek village and later his body was exhumed and reburied in Port Moresby War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea.
He was remembered for his wartime service in the 100th anniversary edition of the Maitland Mercury on January 7, 1943, at the height of World War II.
Full report by Rebecca Berry available at Maitland Mercury, 25 Apr, 2012.
