Pte. John (Johnnie) Herbert Murphy
"C" Coy. 38th Battalion, CEF
Service No. 189927

Johnnie was born in Bayham Township, Elgin County, Ontario, Canada to Charles Edward Jones Murphy and Thurza Ann Light, aka. Edward and Annie Murphy. He was the great grandson of Edward Jones Kniffen.

At the time of enlistment in the army, at the age of 18, he was living in Vienna, Ontario and was involved in farming. He enlisted in St. Thomas on 28 January, 1916 and on his medical fitness certificate, signed in Port Burwell, Ontario, he was recorded as being 5 ft. 7 ins. tall, light brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. His religion was shown as Methodist. His Attestation Papers show him enlisting in the 91st Overseas Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Then on 28 June, 1916 Johnnie embarked on the troop ship Olympic (sister ship to the Titanic) in Halifax, Nova Scotia arriving in Liverpool, England 5 July, 1916 . He then departed Southampton for Le Havre, France.



HMT Oylmpic in war-time dazzle camouflage.
His military records show that on 20 July, 1916 he was transferred from the 91st Battalion to the 36th Battalion, W. Sandling, then on 21 August, 1916 he was transferred to the 38th Battalion, Havre, France. On 31 August, 1916 he was taken on strength (TOS) by the 38th Battalion. Then on the 27 September he left for his unit in the field, arriving on 29 September, 1916.



The Canadians arrived on the Somme in September 1916. They relieved the Australians near Pozieres. What they found was an obliterated landscape strewn with rotting corpses. By late September the 38th was stopped near the village of Epileque for refitting and training. They replaced their Canadian made Ross rifles with the superior British made Lee Enfield Mark 111 Rifles.  Some Ross rifles were retained for sniper use. It was at about this time that Johnnie joined his battalion. They entrained at Saint-Omer, reaching Canaas on 9 October and bivouacked on the west slope of Tara Hill. Until 17 November, the 38th was occupied with work parties and periods in the front line. On the 17th November, the 38th took over a section of the front line from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers as part of the attack on the Desire trench and Grandcourt.

Trench maps showing the battle field

The 38th Battalion was part of the 4th Canadian Division which was to play a central role in the final engagement of the Battle of the Somme. Its objective was to capture the newly-dug Desire Fire Trench and Desire Support Line to the north of the Regina Trench. The Canadian contribution began in the early hours of 18 November. Overnight it had snowed and with a slight temperature rise the previously frozen ground had turned to mud. The falling snow had turned to sleet and rain which greatly reduced visibility and made it hard to navigate correctly. The strong winds and soggy ground also reduced the accuracy of the Mortars.


Nevertheless, at 6.10 am, in limited visibility the artillery and machine gun barrage commenced as the 38th "went over the top" for the first time. The attacking battalions had been in, or in front of, the Regina Trench waiting for the barrage to start. By 9.20 am and despite the whirling sleet the 38th had taken the Desire Trenches and established a foothold in the Grandcourt Trench. The 4th Canadian Division succeeded in taking 627 prisoners. The 38th Battalion had suffered about 500 casualties, one of them being Johnnie Murphy.

John Herbert Murphy has no known grave.

He is remembered on the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge and on the Port Burwell War Memorial.