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Captain Denis Luke Maurice MURPHY (IA/664 )
21st King George V's Own Horse (Central India Horse), I.A.C. attached to B Squadron, 1st Special Air Service Regiment Date of birth: 22nd August 1916 Date of death: 18th January 1943 Killed in action aged 26 Buried at Enfidaville War Cemetery in Tunisia Plot IV Row C Grave 18
Denis Luke Maurice Murphy was born on the 22nd of August 1916 the son of the Hon Justice Sir Stephen James Murphy ICS, Judge of the High Court Bombay, and Lady Lillie Murphy, of Costebelle, Kyrenia in Cyprus. He was educated at Lancing College where he was in Heads House from May 1930 to December 1934. He served as a Sergeant in the Officer Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A in 1933. He was a member of the Football XI in 1933 and 1934 being Secretary in the latter year. He was a member of the Swimming Team in 1933 and 1934 and was Captain in 1934. He gained his School Certificate in 1934 and was a member of the Athletics Team in the same year where he was a pole vaulter. He was appointed as a House Captain, a Prefect and as Head of House in 1934. He went on to the Royal Military College Sandhurst in 1935 from where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on the Unattached List for the Indian Army on the 27th of August 1936. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 27th of November 1938 and to Acting Captain on the 14th of May 1940. In January 1943 Denis Murphy was placed in command of a patrol of eleven men from B Squadron, 1st SAS on operations to harass enemy supply lines in Tunisia ahead of the allied advance there. They entered their area of operation in the Nalut area on the night of the 16th/17th of January finding a “network of enemy roads” there. They attempted to locate the road to Dehibat, which lay some 20 miles to the north west, but without success. As a result they halted to rest at 3am on the morning of the 17th. After three hours they moved south and halted again at 9.30am in a wadi. A guard was mounted on the sides of the wadi; some of the men slept while others carried out repairs to vehicles and equipment. At midday the guard was withdrawn and preparations were made to move off. At 12.20pm a heavy fire opened up on the patrol from the western side of the wadi made up of rifle, machine gun and mortar fire. One of the patrol members was Sergeant A.E. Badger who reported the following:- “Captain Murphy ran from jeep to jeep endeavouring to get the crews organised and the jeeps started.” Sergeant Badger managed to start the engine of his vehicle and opened fire with his Vickers machine gun at the enemy who by this time were attacking from both sides of the wadi. Having fired three magazines Badger’s gun jammed and he noticed that by this time, although one other jeep was returning the enemy’s fire, another was in flames. Shouting to Privates A. Hearn (who was slightly wounded) and R. Guard to jump aboard he managed to escape to a position six miles to the southeast. Soon after they were clear of the area they noticed that all fire in the wadi had ceased. They waited until 8.30am on the 18th in case others were able to join them, but none did, and they departed. When Badger had last seen Denis Murphy he was unhurt and was trying to start one of the Jeeps. Three other men died with him:- Lance Sergeant Fred Senior Private Malvern Nixon Corporal Leslie Jock Brown

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