Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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13003876   Private John Joseph Murphy
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Dated added: 30/12/2015   Last updated: 06/10/2019
Personal Details
Regiment/Service: 50th Company, Pioneer Corps (British Army)
Date Of Birth: 10/12/1896
Died: 17/06/1940 (Killed in Action)
Age: 43
Summary      
Private John Joseph Murphy was the husband of Mary Ann Murphy, (nee Quinn) Cookstown, Co. Tyrone and had 7 children. During the withdrawal of troops from Northern France, soldiers including John Joseph Murphy were being evacuated on board the S.S. Lancastria when it was attacked by German Bombers on 17th June 1940. One of the bombs went down the funnel of the Lancastria and she sank within 30 minutes, with the loss of between 2000-4000 soldiers.
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 John Joseph Murphy
Cemetery Details
Grave
Cemetery: Dunkirk Memorial
  Dunkirk, Pas-de-Calais, 
Grave Ref: Column 153
CWGC Casualty 2773152
Summary      
The town of Dunkirk is located in the department of Nord in the extreme northern tip of France approximately 12 kilometres from the Belgian border. During the First World War Dunkirk was a major port of debarkation for the British Expeditionary Force in September and October 1914. Throughout WWI it was a seaplane base and later an American Naval Air Service base. The town was also a French hospital centre and the 8th Canadian Stationary Hospital was there from November 1918 to April 1919. Although an estimated 7,500 shells and bombs fell on the town during the war, ship building and other port activities continued. During the Second World War, Dunkirk was the scene of the historic evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France in May 1940.
Local Memorial Details

No Memorial Name Townland
1 Cookstown Cenotaph WWII - North Panel Cookstown
Local Institute / Local Book Details

No Name Page
1 Cookstown War Dead Book WW2 319
References and Links
No Link Reference Map Doc
1 1901 Census lists Murphy family Lists John Joseph as age 4 living with the family at house 48 in Coagh St, Cookstown, Tyrone
2 Ahoy - Mac's Web Log Photo, memorial details & more information on HMT Lancastria
3 BBC WW2 People's War Details of the Lancastria
4 FindAGrave.com Photo of Private John Joseph Murphy's inscription
5 French language Lancastria website More photos and accounts of the Lancastria's sinking
6 Lancastria website list of casualties Murphy John Joseph (43) Pte 50 Coy AMPC 13003876*
7 Wikipedia - RMS Lancastria Explains ongoing controversy on the sinking
Cookstown District's War Dead Acknowledgements 2010-2023