Lieutenant-Colonel A.D. Murphy†
2nd Bn., Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians)

The commanding officer seemed to bear a charmed life, and it became a belief in the Battalion that he could not be killed. But he exposed himself fearlessly not because he was invulnerable but because he was brave. No braver man than Alfred Durham Murphy ever stepped on French soil.

(Witton, The History of the Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment, vol. 2, 244)

When Major Alfred Durham Murphy assumed command of the 2nd Leinsters in August 1916 at the age of twenty-six, he was one of the youngest battalion commanders on the Western Front. Born on 4 July 1890 in Southwark, Surrey, England, was the son of a retired Tipperary colonel and joined his father’s regiment in 1911. He went to France in September 1914 with the 2nd Leinsters as a junior lieutenant but by May 1916 was second-in-command.

During the 18 August 1916 attack on Guillemont, Murphy had been temporarily assigned to command another battalion in the brigade. The assault ended disastrously with many 2nd Leinster officers killed or wounded, including Lieutenant-Colonel R.A.H. Orpen-Palmer. Murphy returned the next day and assumed command of the battalion. Despite his young age and relatively short time with the regiment, he earned intense respect from all ranks. The regimental historian F.E. Whitton remarked:

… other officers would say, half in admiration and half in envy, “the men will follow Murphy anywhere”—the men to whom, in spite of his rapid advancement, and with that curious affectionate regard for the man rather than the rank, he remained “Mr. Murphy” till the end.

For his exceptional courage and leadership, Murphy received the Military Cross and Distinguished Service Order. Aside from a temporary posting to command a brigade, Murphy remained at the head of the 2nd Leinsters for the next fifteen months.

On 6 November 1917, an enemy shell struck the battalion headquarters, killing nine men including Lieutenant-Colonel Murphy. In his regimental history, Witton eulogized, “A brave officer, a just commander, a loyal comrade and an upright man, the memory of Alfred Durham Murphy will remain so long as there exists a recollection of the Regiment.”

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